savethecitydesu | Go green?! The music of melancholy playing through the gardens!!

Entry tags:

niko,
toshio

Go green?! The music of melancholy playing through the gardens!!

Who: Niko, ???
Where: Kochi Jinja Park
What: A chance encounter
When: June 16, Afternoon

Kochi Jinja Park is set east in the city. It is, as far as places in the city goes, one of the few that offers some semblance of peace for those who go there. Oh, it's not that it's not loud and bustling: you can count on every gradeschooler, highschooler with free time (which is rare) and women with babies going there, because unlike other attractions in the city (even the popular Scarlet Road), Kochi Jinja park is free.

Because of this, there's a bit of corner-cutting in the park's maintenance, but only on small things. Some signs have grown rusty from rain, and a few benches are not suitable for even the most tolerant of bottoms, lest you want them to crack under you. But by and large, the rows of trees - planted neatly - grow to offer shade across the many, crisscrossing paved paths, most of which lead to the park's main attraction: the botanical gardens of the city.

They're an attraction because the municipality forgot about them about ten years ago, and thus brought forth many, many protest groups that demanded the funding to be returned to them. What began as repeated acts of civil discontent became the eventual occupants of the gardens, which rapidly became the place for most of anyone needing a stage for social commentary, or simply for a place to fetch attention, to count on an audience whose legs are too tired from park walking to wander off. And yet, most strangely, the plants growing there (if somewhat wildly) have managed to thrive.

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There was one thing Kochi Jinja Park Niko could rely on over Scarlet Road: it was quieter and had less competition.

The twenty-year old musician wasn't a stranger to the botanical gardens area. Almost everyone who came to the park went there eventually, either to rest or check it out, so Niko could count a few listeners being around. On luckier days, maybe some might even toss some yen into his case. On unluckier, whatever. Least he had shade.

Not that it mattered, though, once Niko was tuned in. He was playing, seemingly unaware of anything except what he was playing - though an observer would notice the way his eyes occasionally flicked to whoever passed by or how he nodded in thanks whenever the rare person dropped something in his case. He was switching between tunes on whim, even throwing in some of MK's stuff for whoever was into that stuff.

It occurred then that, just as he came to the tail's end of that song, Niko found himself with some company that he hadn't seen coming. Perhaps he had been really in the 'zone' with that last song, but it's hard to miss it when there's a creepy kid around thirteen years old, crouching down next to you.

"That was nice," the boy said, voice sedate. He was wearing tattered black jeans, a black shirt that had purple and green patterns on it - tiny ones, like vine patterns, stretching around it from the back - and, perhaps in the most child-like trait, a pair of once-cool sneakers, which had been worn down to the point where white was now erring on the darker shade of grey, and the shoelaces had become a bit of a mess. None of this did anything to distract from the fact that his eyes were a sort of hazel color... well, one would want to interpret it as hazel.

The truth is they were a bit more like gold.

Niko ended that beat late, nearly jumping at the sudden appearance of the kid breaking into the closest thing he had to a zen zone. Niko's fingers recovered automatically, transitioning into free improv. It wasn't uncommon for grade schoolers to hang in the park; it still didn't keep Niko from looking at the kid with barely concealed irritation at the interruption.

"Thanks," Niko said simply (always give thanks), before promptly attempting to tune the kid out, relying on the old idea of 'if you ignore it long enough it'll go away'.

The boy knew about old ideas. In a way, he was all about old ideas.
He just didn't seem to feel like he had to obey them, and continued to crouch there, practically unmoving, fixing Niko a long look. He barely blinked.

Twitch.

Even though Niko kept playing, it didn't escape his attention that the kid was still there. It was hard to ignore something right there, just staring away at you.

A long while later and ignoring not working, Niko asked, a bit curtly, "Got somewhere else to be?"

"I'm good here right now," the kid said, though as he sat down hands coming to rest on his knees - and clearly without any intention to go away - it detoured he searched inside one of his pockets, searching there before he took out a small bill.

It didn't look right for a second. A bat of an eye and you'd miss the fact it looked entirely like a foreign currency, but then it was a 1000 yen bill. "Got some time if you do. I just want to hear some music without putting headphones, if that's okay... and you're not half bad."

Twitch. His burned hand flexed.

Niko didn't notice how the currency went from foreign-to-yen but his eyes locked on the bill when he noticed it, the look lasting longer than he would have bothered a year ago. Realizing that made him scowl slightly and he quickly turned his gaze to the kid instead. Niko's own hazel eyes (not 'gold' like the kid's but on the much lighter end) narrowed slightly.

"Thanks." That one was more habit than genuine. "Don't need to be right beside me to hear anything, though."

The boy was aware that he was annoying. He did wait his sweet little time to respond, which he did by straightening up, and seemingly walking up behind Niko-- behind the tree, that is. Maybe it was the music covering it, but his steps were noiseless. A moment later, Niko would hear a little grunt, like someone making an effort before some physical activity, and heard some rustling from above. Within a moment, the boy had perched himself on a tree branch, and was now watching from above, arms crossed under his chin.

There, he waited until Niko had finished a song before talking again. "Do you know 'Ticket to the Moon', sir?"

Niko didn't look behind him until he heard the grunt and rustling in the tree. The kid looked comfortable enough up there (at least, it didn't look like he was going to slip or drop) so, with the extra distance, Niko was able to more easily ignore him. At least until he talked again.

Niko looked up at the kid, a bit dubiously. That was pretty retro; wasn't common for most kids that age to be into that stuff, let alone old foreign music. However, as if to reply, the next song transitioned to ELO's Ticket to the Moon. The lyrics came to mind, and he hummed it softly to himself:

'I've got a ticket to the moon
I'll be leaving here any day soon
Yeah, I've got a ticket to the moon
But I'd rather see the sunrise in your eyes.'

before he pulled himself out of his thoughts to ask, "That?"

If what the kid was asking was actually the latest single for an Anime or some shitty auto-tune crap or something, kid was out of luck.

"That's the one," the boy said, peering down at Niko over his folded arms, allowing Niko to carry on if he thought of actually playing the song.

A small breeze flew by then. Refreshing and smelling, unusually, like fresh, young woodland, even more than it should in the middle of the city. It was a nice change from the charged, slightly dusty air. Sure, the town wasn't big enough for major pollution, but it was like a zephyr had somehow managed to sneak between the buildings, carrying the scent of the forest that grew on the other side of town, and brought it there.

Niko nodded slightly. Kid chipped in 1000 yen, might as well earn some of that.

It was a subtle change the wind brought - enough to make even the grumpiest assholes relax a little. Some of the default ill-tempered tension faded off Niko's face. Ticket to the Moon was slower and more melancholy than Niko usually played but whatever. He kept playing, his humming barely audible over the music.

However, as he played, that tension slowly creeped back.

'I wish I could go back there again
And everything could be the same.'

Twitch.

'Yeah, I've got a ticket to the moon
But I'd rather see the sunrise in your eyes.'

Twitch.

'Ill be rising high above the earth so soon
And the tears I cry might turn into the rain
That gently falls upon your window
You'll never know.'

He put himself on auto-pilot, attempting to tune out the lyrical portion of the song, but those who were paying attention would notice 'something' missing from his playing - whether from technique or 'feeling'. Niko noticed it and the irritation was visible.

He got to about the halfway point ('Soaring madly through the mysteries that come/Wondering sadly if the ways that led me here/Could turn around and I would see you there-') before he stopped. He closed his eyes and unconsciously clenched and unclenched his hand. He stayed like that for a few moments before abruptly switching to a generic American song that consisted mostly of 'Fuck you!'.

It was only at the tail's end of Niko's revised musical choice, when sufficient fuck yous had been given, that he'd hear laughter. Rich laughter that was a little too much on the bitter side to be coming from a kid.

"Well, you're not big on nostalgia, are you?" the boy said from his branch, grinning with amusement. "I think that's fine, that's cool. Got too much people looking back, sometimes..." he added, voice slipping at the end into a sudden, sad-sounding quietness. And was there a hint of self-mocking in the voice? It was hard to tell. "Sorry about the song choice, then."

Then he rolled around the branch, and horrifyingly so, dropped-- though not all the way. He clung to the branch with his two legs, hanging upside down on it. "Soooooo," he drawled. "Having a bad day?"

"Not my favorite topic," Niko replied, a gross understatement if his manner and scowl had anything to say about it. He waved his hand dismissively. "Don't need to apologize. Paid for some music, after all."

His mouth still quirked darkly at that. That sort of reasoning was the only thing that got Niko through idiots requesting either ear bleeding songs, earworm or the latest fad songs, or 'Oh would you play this one! I don't remember it very well-no, you're playing it wrong-still wrong-this is important to me! It's me and my so-and-so's song!' bouts. Or mouthy brats.

Despite that, Niko still reacted when the kid dropped. He instinctively took a few quick moves before it kicked in that the kid was fine and hanging in just fine. He stared flatly, his eyes narrowing slightly at more than just the question.

"Tch. No more than usual."

There was a brief instant there where the boy noticed Niko's reaction to his fake fall-- nothing more than a small spark in his eye, but it was there.

"Ahh..." he drawled, letting Niko play while making a show of leg strength by supporting himself for nearly two minutes in his precarious position, seemingly unbothered by his blood going to his head. "What's your name?"

Niko kept half-expecting the kid to either get tired or finally drop, eyes occasionally sidelining him. It was a lot like expecting the anvil to drop on the coyote - it was a disaster (or bawling kid) waiting to happen so when it didn't it was an odd, mixed feeling. The 'Jaws' theme might've been unconsciously into his improvised bits now.

"Niko Lovell," Niko replied, 'Lovell' sounding questionably closer to 'Roberu' than its proper pronunciation. A beat. "You?"

"Harusuke Toshio," the boy replied. He then supplied. "But that's not my real name. It's just one I really like using."

Then, with a little impulse, he bent over to reach for the branch with both arms. This put him in a better position to just drop down, falling neatly on his feet, briefly crouching before he stood up. Not even a grunt.

"Lovell-san, do you like plants?"

"...Right." Niko said, a bit dubiously. Toshio lived up to him preferred name at any rate. Niko was sure would-be gymnasts would weep tears of envy at Toshio's skills, let alone how easy it was for him.

"They're around." He nodded to around them. The botanical gardens may've had less in the way of upkeep but it was in bloom. "Don't particularly have to like or dislike them unless they become a pain."

"I like how you say that and there's a nice sense of 'I don't care' in your voice at the same time," the boy said, strangely with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Think you have time to come look at some plants I'm raising here? And yeah, I know you're on the clock, but I promise it'll be worth your time."

A pause, before he added, somewhat flatly: "Don't worry, though. It's not drugs or nothin' like that."

"It's what I'm good." Someone had joked that once but he'd been about right there: 'Niko, master of the art of does not give a shit in multiple languages and gestures'.

"And when you say it like that, it doesn't come across suspicious at all," Niko replied dryly. He rolled his eyes. "What kind of plants could a kid like you has could be worth much, least of all for me?"

"Well, you'll see," the boy said as he dusted himself a little before starting a lazy walk into the botanical gardens. The iron gates leading in were broad open - they always were - as the rusty old sign informing of the visiting hours had long since fallen off and taken over by overgrowth in an almost poetic scene.

There were people there, of course. Kids, adults, and the occasional pair of lovers that thought the over-sized flowerbeds provided an excellent place to hide somewhat indecorous behavior. "So anyway, I--" the boy began, just as a boy and a girl in passionate, tongue-locked embrace rolled in front of them, from the colorful caesarpinas to a small hedge bush that had long since lost its trimmed form. The traffic of couples, or the occasional six year old trying out rollerskates and becoming a public menace were not the worst thing one would spot there: "Anyway, I--" the boy was about to start again when he spied an empty bottle of water on the ground. With a frown, he sighed, picked it up, and began to walk in the general direction of a place to dispose of it

"I guess I just want to give you something back. Your music is cool, and... guess there's just not a lot of people like that. Most people are just looking back a lot. Getting all nostalgic and stuff... Though, I suppose," he stopped to finally drop the bottle... on a trash bask that was already so full that the bottle simply rolled out back onto the ground, drawing a sigh from the boy. "I get why people look back into the past sometimes... But whatever."

He continued to walk. It was about two minutes until the boy reached a tall hedge bush, looked over his shoulder at Niko, peeking left and right to make sure nobody was spying on them before pulling some of the plant aside, carefully-- revealing a small tunnel, a tiny path that had clearly been threaded many times by someone of small size. "This way."

Niko watched as the kid started walking, frowning, before he ran a hand through his hair. "Tch." He didn't have time to do his usual clean up but he shoved did a quick wipe before he gathered up what little was in his case and put away and zipped up his guitar into the case bag. It didn't take long to catch up.

"You don't have to. Not like there's anything special about it. Just don't see much point to it," Niko replied. After a beat, he added, a bit reluctantly, "1000 yen's still better than I've gotten all day."

He kept following though until Toshio revealed...a tunnel. In the park.

"Really?" Niko shot Toshio a flat, disbelieving look before kneeling down to look through. It looked like he could fit but it'd be tight for most adults, let alone Niko. "This really the only way?"

The tunnel came in two parts. A small bit of it was just wading into thick plants, and only near the end was there an actual hole on the ground.

Toshio simply dropped down, pushing his way into the thick foliage. "Don't worry, there's no way of getting stuck. Come on," he encouraged, leading the way-- if only counting on the fact that Niko was worried when he nearly fell off the tree. Someone like that wouldn't let a kid crawl into a bush tunnel so deep that, at points, there was no sunlight peering through the plants.

Niko's eyes narrowed, feeling a headache coming on. "Yeah. That totally makes up for the chance of tunnel giving out or the lack of light or the freaking hole in there."

However, Toshio had already dropped and gone through. Niko swore but didn't hesitate. He unslung his bag and hid it in the bushes before following after Toshio. He winced at the fit and as the dirt and foliage scratched away at him. He growled under his breath, "Too old for this..."

Eventually, the boy came out of the tunnel, since Niko saw light again. It was, of course, blinding after half a minute crawling in the dark, so only when he'd emerge would he realize where he was...

The question of the moment was: is he too old for wonder? [Recommended music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC8jlId6lQo)]

Colors. The strangest, yet most subtly beautiful colors appeared before his eyes. Burnt yellows the color of a rich sunset in the summer, blues from oceans that you only see in pictures of islands that you will never think to visit, and reds the color of an eclipse. There were flowers, in rows, in patches, in bushes, separated one from the other by dirt paths and trimmed grass pads. Strange flowers too, as none of them would be familiar to Niko... a few seemed like nature's forgotten creations, with stalks too long, or petals of unsightly, yet wonderful shapes. A few looked like blooming spiders, and others like tiny tongues of fire, pointed heavenwards. A sound of running water, bubbling, could be heard coming from among some bushes that concealed further depths of this place. Some of the walls were ornate too, with crisscrossing, geometric patterns that hinted of stars and foreign skies.

This was not like the rest of the garden. This was cared for. There wasn't a single flowerbed overgrown with weed, or lattice fence that hadn't been worked on. There was no garbage, no unruly teenagers, no cigarette butts on the ground. In fact, this had to be something that nobody had ever seen, or else the gardens would have never closed.

Niko's eyes fluttered at the sudden light light,forcing him to cover his eyes a little while they adjusted. And when he could see again, he found himself unconsciously un-tensing and eyes widening.

Niko didn't knew next to nothing about plants, gardens, or greenery. But in that moment, it felt like stepping into another world entirely. The rest of the gardens weren't even like this on their best day - this place was more like an idealized space, separate and unspoiled.

He stood up (wincing at the ache), eyes taking everything in before he looked at the kid directly. "...Some of the plants your raising, huh. What's the rest belong to?"

"Me," the boy said, with a calm, even look on his face, enough to burrow a bit of suspicion in the mind of anyone who would hear him. Suspicion that he might just be telling the truth.

"Right." The skepticism in Niko's voice wasn't as strong as it usually was, though. Niko shoved his hands in his pocket and nodded to everything. "All this belongs to and is taken care of by just you."

The boy rubbed the back of his neck, briefly looking preemptively tired, a hint of a wounded, mildly annoyed look on his face. "Sigh. Heeeere we go again," he said, before breathing deep. "People could at least comment on the flowers first before the questions and the eye rolling starts. I mean, it's not too hard, is it?" he said, almost in a pouty, childish whimper. "I got feelings too, you know..."

Having done his little monologue, he took in another deep, deep breath, and looked up at Niko. "Yes. All this... belongs and is taken care of by just me. And," he blinked slowly "Right now? Just about right now, you probably got an idea in the back of your head. You're going to be pushing it down, fighting it because it sounds silly and stupid... but just so you know, that thing your gut is telling you to suspect? It's spot on."

'Because it is stupid and silly' was on Niko's lips. Almost. Instead,

"Tch. Sounds truthful enough." At the very least, it sounded like Toshio believed it. It felt honest but that was about it. He scuffed the ground, and walked up to one of the rows of strange flowers, his eyes slowly surveying everything with grudging appreciation.

"...Don't know squat about plants or whatever. This work looks way better than anything in shops or magazines hell, some of the touted tourist spots. Completely different from the rest of the gardens."

The boy didn't reply initially. He had wandered off - one would imagine not too far, since he returned quickly, very quickly - with a plant waterer. It was purple, plastic, and had a friendly looking elephant shape to it.

"That's because it is. Anyway, I'm not going to hold you up here too long," said Toshio while watering some plants, which perked up a little from the water alone, in the way plants do in cartoons. "I just thought that, since you were nice enough to worry about me not falling to my death, and playing a song... well a fraction of a song for me, I'd give you something in return."

He took a few steps into the plant patch, carefully avoiding them while watering a bit more. Seemingly thoroughly invested in this, he didn't talk for a moment. "You live here in Hiyoku, or are you visiting?" he asked while watering a small bush of deep orange, bell-like plants. The petals were shut but, the moment a drop of water hit them they opened up into blossom, basking in the moisture and, at the same time, releasing a fragrant aroma that, for the lack of a better comparison, smelled like hot chocolate on a cold rainy autumn afternoon, distinctly burning that visual into the mind of whoever smelled them.

"Wasn't that worried," Niko replied, waving his hand dismissively. "And like I said, don't really need anything in return.Kid drops off branch. Who doesn't react? It's just common courtesy."

Niko walked up and down some of the rows, studying everything. As 'pretty' as everything was all he could think right now was 'weird'. If he didn't know he was awake, it'd be tempting to say this was more like someone's dream than reality. The place even smelled different and the scent of hot chocolate made Niko's step falter for a moment.

Then he registered Toshio's question and that pulled him back. Niko looked down for a moment, and his reply had an uncharacteristic hesitance that he himself didn't notice, "Living. For now." Beat. Then, a suspiciously quick, "How the fuck does a plant smell like chocolate?"

"You'd be surprised how many people don't know squat about common courtesy, then," the boy replied, sounding a bit wistful, if a tad bitter. He continued his task before arching a brow at Niko. "Chocolate during a rainy day in the fall," he said, without any pretentiousness or harshness in his correction, but only to point out that Niko wasn't alone in getting the mental image. "Well, it should be obvious. This here is a magical plant that defies all logic, and you're about to freak out and call me a liar, or something of the sort. So let me get in my happy place for this."

He put down the watered then and reached into his pocket, producing an old, if thankfully wrapped up bit of hard candy, which he took this mouth before Niko could respond, spending a moment in silence before nodding lightly, and addressing the boy with the kind of voice you can only manage when your mouth is partially occupied with foodstuff. "Alrighdd, hidd me widh idd."

Niko didn't freak out. He simply gave Toshio the same, flat, skeptic look he used to give to another younger boy when he fed Niko tall stories.

"Right. Magic. So basically, you're crazy."

There was a brief moment where Toshio looked incredibly tired. An aged, weary look that doesn't belong on a kid's face. It was rapidly replaced with a sort of annoyance that was far more fitting for a small, bratty frame, though there a little too cold and mature for mere, childish tantrums.

Crack went the hard candy, crushed between his teeth.

"Right... you know, I think if I go on talking to you, I'll forget that I ever meant to do you a favor. It's just, you know, how it's going to go, and I've done this so many times and had so many people do this to me..."

There was a little pain at the end of the words.

"So screw it."

The wind stopped. Had it been blowing? Well, it was now notoriously absent, as was every noise for just a second.

Then the boy hesitated, clenching his teeth for a second and staring at Niko for a moment before the wind returned, and the flowers resumed their lazy dance. "Nevermind. I," he bit his lip, "don't need you to believe in me anyway. I'm not a god anyway. Let's just get this over with," he said, turning his back to Niko--

The wind blew, firmly, and almost angrily, if it was possible, hitting him on the face and forcing him not to look at Toshio for a second. Then Toshio was in front of him again, holding a small object... Just a tiny pot, made of clay, and inside it enough dirt to support a small flower of wispy white petals, not like anything Niko had ever seen.

"Listen to me, because I'll say this just once. You don't have to believe in me or in this, but if you won't, then at least do some of that courtesy thing you do for a crazy kid... This," he shoved the flower at him, "is going to protect you. There are bad times coming to Hiyoku, and people will want to hurt you, and manipulate you into becoming something that you are not, and if you're not careful, you won't have a choice on the matter."

He breathed deep. "This flower will save you from having someone steal your name and your life like that. Just once. There's only one flower like this. You don't have to water it, you don't have to take care of it... but you'll know it's worked, because it will die when that happens. When it does, you can come here and talk to me about crazy all you like... Now, please take it, before I change my mind."

There was that instant, right when the wind stopped: it was the equivalent of stepping on a landmine or worse, being the building moments right before the wrecking ball crashes.

Despite his conscious mind knowing he was dealing with a creepy, delusional kid, there was something in that moment that made Niko's eyes defensively narrow, his right hand clench tight, and his body go tense. It was as silly and stupid as everything else the kid had said so far but there was also that suspicious feeling that felt real.

That feeling didn't quite fade, even when the moment passed and Niko's hand unclenched. But despite the gut feeling, Niko's snap-impulse was quick to provide the thought 'Bullshit.'

That's what this was - how he was reacting, what Toshio was going on about, and what the flower was supposedly for. Simply bullshit... No different than a certain little girl saying a flower ring was a good luck charm or insisting it was protection for the monsters in the closet.

Niko's hand clenched again from the involuntary comparison. Just common courtesy, he told himself, nothing else. After a long tense silence, Niko took the plant from Toshio.

"Basically, shit storm's coming, need to watch out for self, and this flower can help me do that. Got it," Niko said, keeping a straight face and his usual brand of sarcasm or skepticism out of his voice. "And if crazy happens I'll know who to go to." And, after a brief moment's debate (even if this all was still bullshit), he scuffed the ground slightly and added, "Thanks, I guess."

"I think you should go now," the boy said, tersely, and after holding his breath for a moment. "Not trying to be rude. Trust me, when I try I at least do it well..." he added, a tad deadpan. "But you can only stand being with someone who thinks you're just a crazy kid for so long, you know? Anyway, I've got a lot of gardening to do..."

Despite trying to keep his voice flat, there was a certain sulkiness to it. The boy turned around before he could be addressed further, and began to water a different range of plants. They had the oddest way of shaking lightly when the water hit them, but surely it was just that the drops were making the minty-smelling leaves 'dance', and not that the plant really moved or anything.

Niko's eyes narrowed. He didn't reign in the snipe on time this time. "Yeah, well, you told me to hit you with it. Don't ask for it if you really can't."

He turned off his heel to make the way back. A sidelong glance caught the movement of the plants but all he thought was 'weird'. His sight lingered on Toshio slightly before he said, "But whatever. Like I said, thanks anyway."

And then he was on his way.

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Go green?! The music of melancholy playing through the gardens!!

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Sorry for edit

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