badfic_manor | Video or in person

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Video or in person | Greenhouse

Please stop crying?

[Lenalee is looking a little worse for wear, hair a tangled mess and dark circles under her eyes. She can be seen cradling a wailing child with the same black hair as her, but brown eyes.]

Come on, use your words... are you hungry? Do you- ow! [The child stops crying long enough to gleefully yank at a lock of her hair. Lenalee covers his tiny fist with her hand, slowly prying off his fingers with a weary sigh.] No hair pulling.

[The toddler is placed on the ground once Lenalee gets her hair free, and she fixes him with a stern look.]

That isn't the way to get what you want. Use your words.

[There is a moment of silence as the child's lower lip wibbles, and then he is screaming again. Lenalee wavers for a moment before bending to pick him back up, bouncing him on her hip.]

Brother would know what to do with you. [He's the one with childcare experience. Although... the thought of him happening upon her holding a child at all resembling herself is worrying.] It's a good thing Brother isn't here, though...

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.... All the other children screamed like that when they were hurt. Not me though.

[He takes another step forward]

Food is in the "kitchen". I like the Kitchen.

[But something confuses him, he tilts his head and drops his hands to his sides again]

...Old enough? I don't know how old I am. If I show you I can make him stop screaming, will I be old enough?

[Lenalee is caught off guard by the simple statement.]

Who hurt you?

[She does not move back when he steps forward, but she makes no motion to hand over the child either.]

Maybe. Why don't we go to the kitchen, and see if that makes him happy?

The bad men. But they won't hurt me anymore. [He giggles] They won't hurt anybody anymore.

[He doesn't step aside to allow Lenalee to pass. Instead his brows knit together in frustration]

You can't let him scream all the way there.

[Unbeknownst to him his powers are beginning to act up. Parts of the green house are starting to warp slightly, small tears appear to be ripping into reality, giving way to small black voids. Of course this is all an illusion, however Mukuro isn't quite in control of it. It is still potentially dangerous]

Edited 2011-06-30 17:15 (UTC)

[Well that is worrying. Much as Lenalee sympathizes with the boy, she won't hesitate to stop him by any means necessary, if it comes to that.]

Stop that.

[Spoken in the same stern voice she used on the baby before, and she moves to place a warning hand on Mukuro's shoulder.]

How do you intend to make him stop screaming?

[Mukuro's eyes widen and he smacks her hand away, stumbling backwards and falling on his rear. He didn't want people to touch him. He always got hurt when people touched him. He scoots back away from Lenalee until he's got his back against a plant]

DON'T TOUCH ME!

[The illusion begins to worsen in response to his fear. A table breaks down the middle causing pots and plants to go crashing to the ground. Then there's the screaming child which is doing nothing to ease his nerves. He brings his hands over his ears, and his knees to his chest, trying to block everything out.]

MAKE HIM STOP! MAKE HIM STOP SCREAMING!

[Lenalee immediately withdraws her hand after the slap, using both to support the child in her arms. The screaming and sudden chaos of the room only make him wail harder, and Lenalee lets her boots activate, as they have been screaming to since the first illusions began. With the child to consider, she might have already bolted-- except for the nagging fear that flying with him could be just as deadly as this room collapsing. Running through the air feels fine to Lenalee, but she knows that it is not as easy on passengers. That will be a last resort.]

He won't stop screaming until you stop that!

[But she presses him close to her shoulder, offering a lock of hair to tug on; trying to coax him to quiet down even a little.]

You're scaring him!

I'm... scaring him..?

[The baby was screaming because of him? Did that make him the bad man? The deterioration and warping in the room stops. It's not getting better, but the chaos is no longer worsening.]

So I'm bad... I'm a bad man... for making him scream... if I make him stop... will I be a good man again?

[Mukuro lifts his head, things finally beginning to set back into place]

Edited 2011-06-30 21:17 (UTC)

[Lenalee breathes a sigh of relief as she manages to get through to him. His emotional state is obviously on a hair's width trigger, but at least things have stopped getting worse.]

[She wants to tell him no, he isn't bad, but first things first. She is having enough trouble comforting the toddler; attempting the same on this boy could be dangerous.]

Fixing all of this is good.

[He seems to be going in that direction already now, so that's something.]

How do you want to cheer him up?

fixing...? I-I don't know how...

[He looks around at the distortion he was causing... he wasn't sure exactly what he was doing... or how. Things seem to be fixing on it's own... so it should be alright? He doesn't move from his little curled up ball. He wanted to get closer to the child... but he didn't want to be touched again...]

Well... whenever I want things to happen... they just... happen... so... if I want him to stop crying... then he will...

You're doing fine.

[But she has no idea how long this calm will last, and the last thing she needs is to do something that might trigger another reaction like that. Lenalee will not be attempting to touch him again.]

Are you certain that won't hurt him?

[She can't begin to imagine how a power like that works, or why, but judging by whatever just happened she has no reason to doubt the claim. Except that she does have reason to doubt that he has control over those powers.]

I-I don't want to hurt him.... I would never hurt him... I'm a good man...

[Very cautiously he gets on his hands and knees and reaches towards the child, but hesitates and scoots back again. He didn't want to make the child cry more. That would make him bad.]

I know you are.

[Sympathy and optimism are clashing with common sense and planning for the worst possible scenario in a difficult way. After several seconds of deliberation, Lenalee sinks down to her knees, before sitting cross-legged with the toddler in her lap.]

Can you do it from there?

I think so...

[Mukuro crawls forward just a bit, and blinks. The kanji numeral in his eye goes from a one to a five, and immediately the distortion is gone. Even the table that had broken is fixed, everything is as it was before hand as though nothing had even happened. And like he said, the child soon quiets down]

[While Lenalee notices the change in his eye and the last remnants of destruction around them disappearing, she doesn't have time to focus on it. She remains perfectly still, ready to yank the child back if anything begins to go wrong again. But it doesn't-- instead he slowly quiets, seeming perfectly happy.]

That's an amazing power.

[Mukuro scoots back against his plant, and brings his knees up to his chest, hugging them close]

I told you I was a good man.

[She nods, running her hand through the baby's hair with something akin to wonder at the sudden change.]

I think that you are.

[The small child simply yawns in response. After his little fit he was exhausted]

Who are you?

[Lenalee lets the child lay back against her, lowering her voice to a whisper.]

My name is Lenalee.

[Her eyes flick up to Mukuro, fingers splayed across the child's chest to keep him from falling over.]

And you?

...I don't have a name, I was too little when I arrived. But my number is Sixty-nine... that's what I get called.

[He remains curled up in his little ball, scooted back up against the plants, peeking up at her over his knees]

[She winces at the explanation. Though she had a name to hold onto when she was taken, the story hits very close to home.]

Do you want me to call you that, or something else? We could come up with a name.

...

[He looks up, rather confused]

I thought you need your parents to give you a name...

That's usually how it works, but... If they never did, then we can make one up ourselves.

... I would like a name I think.

[He fidgets a little awkwardly]

Can it be a special name?

Of course! Do you have anything in mind?

... I... don't know many names... I know Ken and Chikusa... and Tony... but Tony is gone now. all the others just had numbers like me.

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