ROLESWAP AU MASTER POST

[didnteventry]

[a post for this au!]

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[didnteventry]

[Throwing the bag is the easy part. Jumping from a high place, on the other hand, is scary. It's only the fact that staying is even scarier that allows him to do it.

His landing is terribly ungraceful. He can't stifle the yelp when his knee twists, and he stumbles sideways into Shinji. Normally he wouldn't get close enough to touch, but this time he finds himself clinging to his brother's shirt.]

[disenfranchised]

[ the bag is caught with ease and tossed next to shinji's. he watches with precision as byakuya jumps, ending up with his hands on his shoulders to steady him. he eventually breaks off and stands up straight, glancing to byakuya's knee to silently ask if he's alright. ]

[didnteventry]

[He shifts back and forth a bit, confirming that he can put weight on that leg. It hurts, and he's sure it'll swell and stiffen by tomorrow, but for now it's workable.

Reaching for his bag, he slings it over his shoulder and starts to walk away. Shinji might be the leader, but Byakuya's eager to run. He can feel them being watched, and he has the distinct sense that they're being allowed to run right now. That might bode ill for later, but he'd still rather not wait for the old man to change his mind.]

[disenfranchised]

[ shinji doesn't feel any of this paranoia. he's shut it out years ago, so he picks up his bag and follows until he's back in the lead and breaks into a run -- though a bit slower than he would normally go, out of an odd concern for byakuya's leg. he frowns, not liking to feel obligated or held up. man, these sibling sort of feelings today have really been nothing sort of a huge pain in the ass. ]

We're running until we absolutely can't anymore!

[ but in the end, to allow byakuya to be killed wouldn't be right.
he's a shitty brother, but he isn't a bad person. he's not like every other motherfucker in this family. ]

[didnteventry]

Okay.

[Pain is something he can ignore, when it's minor. That's something he learned a long time ago. Magic is painful, using it is painful. He hasn't had to be infested with worms for training to have hurt.

So he powers through it, running after Shinji with an unusual amount of determination. He's a whiny, uncertain, wishy-washy kind of person. He's always unsure of where he's going or what he's doing, always swinging between superiority and inferiority and pride and self-loathing. He changes his mind as fast as he changes his moods. This, though, he's sure of. He has to get away.]

[disenfranchised]

[ so they run. shinji looks over his shoulder every so often, glaring at byakuya threateningly, as if telling him not to slow down. to tell the truth, he's surprised, maybe even impressed by the fact that he's keeping up. they run until shinji's lungs are on fire and he can't feel his feet. he stops, inhaling sharply. they're several miles from the house. he reaches into his pocket, touching the money he's got. ]

W-We're gonna take a bus. [ he breathes. ] It doesn't matter where. The first one that's leaving.

[didnteventry]

[It's hard to breathe. Fear of death might have kept him running, but the moment they stop, the instant he loses momentum, it all catches up with him. While Shinji talks about buses, Byakuya's legs go out from under him. He'll be able to keep moving in a few minutes, probably, but he needs to catch his breath and stop trembling.]

...Do you really want to leave home like that? You won't have anything nice anymore, y'know.

[disenfranchised]

[ shinji raises an eyebrow, still frowning. ]

I can get my own nice things. [ he refuses to compromise his lifestyle, he'll simply have to reacquire things. he folds his arms, feeling a little defensive, even with byakuya on the ground. ]

Are you chickening out?
If you die I won't be able to stay there -- [ he's so loathe to admit this. so much he bites at his bottom lip, regretting saying anything already. ]

If you die, then it will just be me and him.

[ byakuya existing as that buffer is something he hadn't realized until just an hour ago. ]

[didnteventry]

I'm not chickening out. I just...

[He didn't think Shinji would ever run with him, that's all.]

Why did you bring me with you?

[disenfranchised]

[ his posture stiffens up.
truthfully, it's because he feels sorry for byakuya
for the first time in his life. ]

It will really piss off the old man, won't it?

[ he may hate byakuya or think he hates byakuya
but he hates zouken so, so, so much more. ]

[didnteventry]

It... Yeah.

[That makes sense. That's a justification that doesn't require second-guessing the status of his relationship with his brother. He can accept that, so he sticks it firmly in place over his doubts and stiffly tries to get back on his feet.]

Let's go somewhere really far.

[disenfranchised]

[ that gets a smug sounding huff from shinji and he stands a little taller, watching the other get back up. ]

As far as possible. [ so they walk across a couple sets of tracks to the station, where shinji picks up a brochure to start browsing departure times. ]

For now, though, we'll get on whatever is leaving next.

[didnteventry]

Okay. Where's that?

[Normally he wouldn't hover quite so close. He keeps a safe distance, just enough to dodge irritated swats or lean in to deliver his own. He's more afraid than usual tonight, so he hovers right on the edge of Shinji's personal space.]

[disenfranchised]

[ he folds up the literature, shooting something of an uncomfortable glare over his shoulder. byakuya's fear is more palpable than usual, but shinji has something of a larger area of personal space than most people require. even with family. especially with family. no one can be trusted. he visibly bristles, eyes actually somewhat wary for a split-second. ]

Misaki City. It's leaving in five minutes. [ he glances to the clock above the ticket station, double checking. ]

[didnteventry]

Get tickets, then. Before he decides to drag us back.

[disenfranchised]

[ shinji nods. the tickets are pretty cheap, considering. about ¥1200 each. he almost hands byakuya a ticket, then decidedly keeps both, gesturing he stay close. but not too close. ]

Keep your head down. [ people would probably notice two (identical) twins getting on a bus after nightfall, wouldn't they? ]

[didnteventry]

Okay. Sorry.

[Yeah, attractive seaweedheaded twins stick out pretty bad, it's true. Byakuya doesn't mind being the one to try not to be noticed. He's rather desperate just to get on the train and be gone.]

[disenfranchised]

[ shinji has no real trouble making light conversation with the ticket taker. they're going to visit their aunt, who has fallen ill. he boards the bus with a big, false smile and it quickly dissolves once he's shoved himself into a corner near the back. he's got his book clutched to his chest. page 457 right? ]

It should only be a couple of hours.

[didnteventry]

[He takes the seat across from Shinji, huddling close to the window and keeping his eyes trained downward. The farther away they get, the easier it is to breathe. If they get far enough, then maybe it'll turn out they really were allowed to go.

Of course, that means Grandfather will find someone else to use. But that's just going to have to be fine. He always wanted someone with more talent than Byakuya anyway.]

[disenfranchised]

[ outwardly, it doesn't seem like anything is wrong with shinji. he's eerily calm, like this had been a planned excursion. and what's more, he's just happy he can finally continue reading his book. reaching up to click on the reading light, he settles into the seat and glances to byakuya before looking back down at the page.

he had no real emotional attachment to their house; to fuyuki city.
leaving doesn't make him feel anything. he's not leaving anything behind, and that's what makes it so simple. shinji's perfectly confident.

then again, he doesn't realize what sort of damage that their grandfather could actually create. it's not information he's ever been privy to. ]

[didnteventry]

[It's nothing he's going to explain right now, either. As long as it doesn't come to get them, that information is safer kept tucked away in Byakuya's mind. It would just make things harder on Shinji.

It's already been a long day for Byakuya, anyway. Before he came to talk to Shinji there was a long training session, preparing for the war. He hadn't been chosen yet, so they had to start working harder. Given that, it's no surprise that the gentle rattle of the train has him nodding off within a few minutes.]

[disenfranchised]

[ shinji eyes byakuya, casually, several minutes into the ride. good. if he's asleep then there's less chance for him to freak out over something. they rarely interacted outside the house, so shinji doesn't know if he claims to see ghosts all of the time or even if he's actually just a crazy person. he's got plenty of assumptions and ideas, though. shinji is content to read, thoughts only trailing off as he finds himself staring out the window every so often. eventually, he's planning their next route. it'd be a little more expensive this time.

the bus stops.
shinji hesitantly reaches over and shakes byakuya by the shoulder.
once.
twice. ]

C'mon. We gotta go.

[didnteventry]

[Once is enough. He's too jumpy to sleep past being touched, so he wakes up all at once It takes him a moment to process what Shinji's saying, but once he does he reaches for his bag and nods.]

Are we staying here or going somewhere else?

[disenfranchised]

We've got twenty minutes to catch a train to the capital city. [ he thumbs through the money in his pocket quickly, as if to double check it was still there. ] It'll take all night.

[didnteventry]

That's fine. If there's anywhere we'd disappear, it's there.

[And of course they have to disappear. They can't afford to be even a blip in the static of the city. They have to stay out of mind, at least until this war is over with.]