biteouttagrimes | IC CONTACT

Yeah. The one you lost but then got back. Don't tell me you lost it again.

[Ouch.]

Like hell I did!

Good. I'd be upset. That's our pact, you know. Our bond. The promise that I'll keep my word when I tell ya I'll do somethin'.

[ Rick's tone is light and almost teasing, but there's a bit of truth behind his words. ]

So what about the gun?

Yeah... I know.

[Tetsuo, for his part... would agree. This gun's important to him; it always was. Even at his worst, when he lost it one last time... getting told it still was his somewhere was like hearing there was a part of him he hadn't actually lost. He treated it like a toy at first, but the pride in his voice now is unmistakeable.]

Check it out.

[The feed clicks on, unsteady at first as Tetsuo tries to adjust the camera. The gun's all but unrecognizable, scratched black traded out for vibrant blues and whites twisting around each other down the barrel. They end in heads - four of them to a side, snarling mouths open and waiting to spit metaphorical fire at the end of the barrel.

Those lines aren't random. They're necks, outlined in blue fire, twined around each other until they reach the body, painted to wrap around the rest of the gun. Claws and limbs are defined in intricate detail, scales patterned in.

This isn't just any gun anymore, and in a way, it never was. Not when Rick gave it to him, not when Kaneda took it, not when he threw it at Kaneda in a fit of rage at losing his war .... nor when Kaneda took it with him into battle against Pan, letting him fight in spirit, if not in body. It's a promise - between him and Rick, between Tetsuo and Kaneda, between Tetsuo and Nonah 05, and it now looks the part.

If Rick can recognize artistic styles, this could be Kaneda's best work. There's some writing on the base, but it's in Japanese, and wouldn't translate to English words readily - a name, maybe?]

[ Rick mirrors the video switch and he regards the gun in surprise. Lately it seems he gets to see a whole display of Kaneda's work. From the gun Kaneda showed him himself to the keyblade keychain designed by him and given to Riku. Now, Tetsuo's gun has been transformed by Kaneda's artistry. Rick smiles. It's a nice sentiment. And now the gun is far more than a simple weapon. ]

What's it mean? I know he makes 'em to represent things. People. So who does yours represent now?

[Tetsuo hadn't expected that Rick would actually catch there was symbolism here. He wasn't clear what Rick's relationship to Kaneda was, though there's none of the rage or anger at the vague mention now. It's a good question, and a more complicated answer than 'a person'.]

He's got a dragon, too. That's what it represents... [He trails off, running a hand through his hair in thought, not that it's clear on-camera. How to explain it...] This one's me. On its own, it's an old legend.

[But with the other, it's closer to yin and yang. Red and blue.]

[ That's interesting -- the symbolism that goes between them. And it's nice that Tetsuo's weapon actually represents him because it feels more personal that way -- that Rick didn't just give a gun to Tetsuo that's supposed to represent someone Rick hasn't even met. So he smiles his approval. ]

I get it. [ Sort of. ] You two are connected. That's what it means.

[He shifts the video up to properly hold a conversation - looks like he's bleached his hair sometime since they last had a video call. It's white now, tipped with blue.

Kinda like that dragon.]

Yeah. [Close enough.] That's exactly it.

[If anyone needed to see this, it was Rick. No one else needed an explanation, no one else needed to see it, but Rick was there for a long time. He doesn't remember it the way Rick would, but he does remember that Rick tried to talk about it. They're connected now- maybe they always were, it's hard to know - but part what let them formally acknowledge that came from Rick himself.

He's owed that knowledge.]

[ Rick is surprised when Tetsuo unveils his new hairstyle. But he doesn't comment. Crazy kids and their crazy trends. It will just take some getting used to. ]

I'm glad. Glad I didn't have to see you two walk the same path I did with my best friend back home. What you guys have? That's real special. An' jus' like those guns represent, there ain't nothin' that can come between it. Not no more.

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