entrancelogs | [EVENT] Kanra versus Tatsuya

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[EVENT] Kanra versus Tatsuya

Who: Orihara Izaya [

has_signed_on] and Arisato Minato [

jivitadana]
Where: [Inaba] The forest
When: [Backdated] The evening of Saturday, March 17
Rating: PG+ for conversation and its subsequent consequences
Summary: Izaya and Minato finally discuss killing and being killed
The Story:

It was past curfew. Definitely past curfew. But Minato wasn't going to let some arbitrary time defined as "curfew" stop him from being outside his tent in the middle of the night. He had become accustomed to staying up past midnight even from home, and he hadn't wanted to be cooped up in a tent, not when he had been stuck in his room for about a month recovering from sickness. Any chance he could get with being outside was a chance he wasn't going to waste.

After ducking away from any of the adults who might've been on patrol, Minato found himself sitting up in a tree, one of his silver earphones on his ears with music playing, the teal digital display on his mp3 player lit up, acting as the only source of light coming from him. The other earphone was on his chest against his white shirt. His jacket was tied around his waist and effectively hiding his Evoker and its holster. He already considered himself lucky to have his personal items on him since everyone was stuck outside with no way of going back inside the Mansion.

He would've drowned the whole world out if he could with his music, but he had to have one ear open in case anyone found him and told him to get out of the tree and be a rational person and sleep in a tent. But in the meantime, he liked the juxtaposition of his music along with how peaceful the night had been too. It was a nice change from the previous events that had taken place.

Little did he know that that peace would soon shatter like glass. But that much was perhaps to be expected, considering who it was that was going to be joining him this evening.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This whole situation of keeping kids in line was beginning to make a nuisance of itself. Or, perhaps, the need to keep them in line.

Izaya didn't spend much time putting the fine line between the two under the microscope. He slipped seamlessly between the campgrounds and the surrounding woods several times, watching the blur of people and their movements.

As such, it was just a little difficult to spot someone, movement at rest, up in the trees. He peered up at the near silhouette, slightly obscured by the branches, and decided to approach for further inspection. He deduced right off that this person had to be young, or small, because while he couldn't make out specifics in frame, the mass was all wrong for anyone over the age of twenty. Izaya really didn't care for what this event told him.

He laughed dryly under his breath and went with it anyway, "Hey, you're not supposed to be here, you know?"

It seemed conversational enough, all things considered. If you were in the woods. At night.

Minato's eyes glanced downward. It seemed about time that someone would come and chase him down out from where he wanted to be. Minato knew too that being in a tree wasn't where he should be either if for his own safety and for the peace of mind of whoever it was that was telling him to come down.

He took off his headphone and turned off his mp3 player. He would come down in a minute or two, but only after he acknowledged the one talking to him. That voice was way too familiar.

"... Where am I supposed to be, Orihara-san?"

Izaya winced, inwardly. Orihara-san...definitely not a preference of his. He recognized that voice though, something unforgettable, despite what his mind set was when he had first heard it.

That kid, he'd simply labeled him as 'Yuu's friend', and had left it at that.

It was the same as he would do now, as he stepped closer, shrugging and leaning against the tree. Professional and casual all at once, that was his operating style.

"If you tell me with a straight face that this is where you were last night, I might let it slide."

Minato turned, his back not against the tree anymore, as he sat along the branch he had been currently occupying. He peered down, seeing the top of Izaya's head and how far it was down to the ground if he jumped down from where he was.

"And if I don't?"

Said also with a straight face as requested. Minato was only curious, after all, to see just how this "curfew" thing was going to be enforced as well.

He had seen Izaya at work before. Minato could be a little bit more on guard, but he hadn't yet. What was wrong with holding a conversation of sorts? It sort of meant he could stay up there in the tree longer.

"Oh?" A pause. Izaya seemed to consider this, if only for the dramatic effect before he finally glanced back up at Minato.

"You would actually do that? I could come up there and get you, you know." He couldn't help the smile spreading across his face.

He had chosen his words carefully, deliberately open to interpretation. What Minato would do with it was the fun part of the guessing game that was already running through Izaya's mind.

Now that Minato considered it again, it might've been somewhat rude to hold this conversation while he was up higher than Izaya. After all, Minato was younger, and should he really be up somewhere above a supposed adult while they talked?

Thus Minato took the invitation, but instead of joining Izaya down on the ground, he beckoned to him with a hand. Just once. If Izaya said he could come up there, then he should make good on his word. Minato was partially curious and wanted to see just how Izaya was going to come up there and get him too.

Izaya's expression was near curious as he watched Minato's hand. The invitation seemed too friendly for a person of their acquaintanceship, and yet...

For all he knew, in the next thirty seconds, Minato was going to explain the meaning of life and death and Izaya has just wasted three seconds of his life realizing this. Or perhaps Minato was just that friendly of a person. Either one, he realized, he would be okay with.

So wordlessly, he accepted the offer and reached up, taking a hold of one of the lower branches. Swinging himself up to Minato's level afterwards was an easy feat.

Perhaps for one brief moment did Minato's expression reveal that he had been impressed with Izaya's ability to be that resourceful and athletic. He didn't doubt or underestimate Izaya, but this was the first time he had seen more of what Izaya had been capable of executing physically.

He scooted over a bit to give Izaya room on the branch they now shared. There, now they were both equal and on the same level.

"This is better than being in a tent."

It was not the best argument to fight against some curfew rule, but Minato had only said it as a way to share his opinion on the matter. And may as well open with something on topic before bringing up something else he had wanted to with Izaya.

"The same could be said about many places when you bring a tent into the equation," he responded quickly, though his attention was far from on Minato. He held up a hand in pause, inspecting the branch and it's ability to hold their combined weight. Satisfied, settled down next to him comfortably.

"Though, in my opinion, the curfew is way too early anyway. I understand that you could still stay up...but sitting around in a tent, why would you do that?" He accented the question with a shrug.

In fact, most everything he said was accompanied with various hand gestures.

"Mn, I'm not."

Minato nodded in acknowledgement that he heard Izaya and also had to agree about the curfew. He had his hands in his pockets now since he was now settled and seated as comfortably as he could be, almost in opposition of the way Izaya gesticulated and emphasized everything with his hands and body language.

He did look over at Izaya, not ignoring him, of course. He couldn't and shouldn't.

"... You seem well."

If anything, Izaya didn't seem at all perturbed by Minato's reserved nature. As in most situations, he was willing to and prepared to be the more kinetic force of a pair. Eccentricities? He had it covered.

Especially once Minato made his observation. He looked over at him and just couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah? Well, I can't really complain about anything at the moment so...~ You also look pretty well, considering last time I saw you." He deliberately left the statement there, willing to bet Minato would continue to play the Ambiguous Game with him.

Minato must've looked better. He was alive. Unlike the last time he had had the pleasure of being in Izaya's company. But such was the result of that particular event. Minato wouldn't have changed what happened during it either.

He waited for the briefest of seconds before asking his question.

"What do you remember from the last time we met?" Was it a test of some sort? Maybe. He didn't know Izaya very well as a person just from one or two meetings. Maybe this was one way to find out more.

"From that time?" He answered without missing a beat, though he still mused it over. Unnecessary but still happening.

He can tell already, that in retrospect, he will have to categorize Minato's ability to be reserved, assertive and so kind as something very both admirable and interesting.

"I would have to say everything, of course. I'm not sure why it would be anything else." He kept his voice purposefully friendly until, "Why?"

There was a slight bite to the question.

Minato noticed the slight change in intonation, but his expression never revealed that he had noticed. He did replay Izaya's words over again in his mind, finding that Izaya was interesting in the same vein that Izaya found him interesting. Not that he would've guessed that Izaya found him remotely interesting to start as there wasn't anything to be interested in at all.

Izaya might not have said so much out loud, but it was what was left unsaid that spoke volumes, not to mention the inflection on the last of his words. Minato shook his head just slightly.

"Curious."

And that was true, he had been and still was.

"Did you like our last meeting?"

His question struck Izaya as odd, for obvious reasons. He briefly entertained the idea that perhaps he was mistaken or Minato was messing with him; that there was some follow encounter that was missing in his memories. It was unlikely, however, though worth considering.

With precarious balance, he shifted, facing Minato instead of looking at him sidelong. "You might want to try that again. You know, and ask the question you actually want to?"

Minato would've smiled a bit had he been more of the type to do so. That was the question he had wanted to ask, but it didn't mean he didn't have more questions on top of that. Still, in some way he did like the banter between them so far if just for the fact that Minato had to be even more careful of his word choice than usual.

But he could relent. After some more consideration and going through the list of everything he wanted to ask, he settled on one.

"Why him?"

Oh.

That hadn't been the question Izaya was placing his money on. He had been expecting specifics, yes, but maybe not quite that specific. Or at least, not so soon. But he had already turned down one of Minato's questions and doing so a second time would be near uncivil. This one was more interesting to him, anyways.

"Aikawa?" he questioned though he knew it was unnecessary to specify. "Maybe my desire to win was stronger than his desire to live. Who knows. You asked nearly the same question back then too, didn't you?"

Izaya was right. Minato had almost asked, but hadn't. It had already happened by the time Minato had run into the informant, and there wasn't anything he could do to turn back the clock or change the past. Hadn't he already learned that from home?

"There isn't any winning with life or death."

Not that he meant to lecture or had intended it to come out that way, though Minato wouldn't be able to help it if Izaya took it in that manner. He was only stating it again as a matter of fact.

But Izaya had to know why or could guess why, even if the event had some influence over him. Enough time had passed between that even and now. Perhaps also Minato might've had too much faith in him? Perhaps he should wait and give him the benefit of the doubt before wondering why there hadn't been a shred of remorse.

Unsurprisingly, Izaya brushed off any moral implications without much trouble. Intentional, unintentional, did it matter?

"You're right, of course." He readily agreed, because why not? "But at that time it was the absolute truth. So that's why. Is that what you were looking for?"

Minato couldn't be picky with answers he received, and hadn't been, really. He should consider himself lucky to get answers at all from Izaya. He had time to analyze them more later if he so wished.

Instead of nodding or shaking his head at Izaya's question since either answer he gave would've been somewhat of a lie as it was complicated, he went ahead and asked another question. Not in retaliation, not as a challenge, but again, just out of curiosity.

"If the reverse had happened, would that change your opinion?"

This time, he didn't make a show of out of thinking the question over. He couldn't, because to answer that he would have to know additional information. The question back was quick.

"When you say that, do you mean the reverse of us, or between him and I? It seems there would be a difference there."

"Between him and you."

Minato didn't need to discuss himself in the equation, and hadn't wanted to since it had been his decision to be killed in the first place. It shouldn't have been relevant.

"Oh! In that case I might just have to say yes. Like you, I am not driven on a need for revenge. Or, am I wrong in thinking that?" They were, after all, alone in a forest at night.

Regardless, Izaya had meant to re-introduce Minato as a subject of conversation. Aikawa Yuu was not here at present. Thus, Aikawa Yuu was of no interest to him. He wanted to learn more about Minato, even if that meant implying that the kid might just kill him here and bury him out amongst the trees.

Izaya wasn't quite going to get his wish just yet. Minato turned the conversation back to the informant.

"Do you think you're wrong?"

Revenge was the last thing on Minato's mind. More accurately, revenge hadn't even occurred to him, which meant it couldn't have been the last thing on his mind if it never crossed it at all. Funny that that's where Izaya's mind had gone instead to some degree.

Izaya had to bite back his automatic response to the question. -- No, no of course not, kid. Because Orihara Izaya was never wrong. -- But he could at least put some thought into it, or appear to do so.

"Honestly? I don't have any reason to believe such. But then again, what does my opinion matter concerning your actions? You could always just give me an answer."

He was just a little determined to avert the conversation from himself and redirect it towards Minato.

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