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the_zone2022-08-06 09:56 am
kirihara_akaya) wrote in the_zone2022-08-06 09:56 am
[log] Gakuto & Kirihara
Who: Gakuto, Kirihara
When: August 6th
Where: just outside the base, where the bath springs are going to be
What: Fireworks and friendship
Having finished most of his preliminary work on the bathhouses, Gakuto had some time for a little pet project of his. He had come across some novelty firework “recipes” and was making a small stockpile of them, in case they ever had celebrations or whatnot. He, of course, had tweaked the recipes a little, to add more color. Because of this, he had to make sure they worked. He loaded a bunch into a crate and started carrying it to take it outside. He was pretty surprised he wasn’t having any trouble lifting it, but he has been working out lately.
Still, setting off fireworks, especially kiddie novelty ones, wasn’t exactly exciting by yourself. That’s why when he spotted someone, he called them over. “Hey, wanna play with some fireworks?”
Kirihara jumped at the voice from behind him. And then promptly grinned at the question once he'd had a moment to let it sink in. "You want me to play with fireworks?" He asked, trying not to sound too excited but that was hard. Was he even allowed to play with fireworks? Kirihara wasn't sure but he wasn't about to go asking for permission right now. Not when he might get told he couldn't.
"What do you got?" Kirihara asked, trying to look into the crate the redhead was carrying. "I can carry that for you if you want." Might as well be nice to the person offering to let him play with potentially explosive things.
Gakuto smiled and handed over the box. No reason to carry it if he was offered help! “I’ve got a couple things in there that I’ve made. Sparkles, Fountains, snap bangs. Stuff that looks pretty cool, but won’t get command or security on my ass. I need to test them because I’ve added color and I need to make sure it works.” He grinned. “You got time?”
Kirihara took the box without a problem. He did give the redhead an approving look though because the box was heavier than he thought. Redhead might be tiny but he was stronger than he looked.
"For this?" Kirihara asked, peeking inside the crate. "Definitely got all the free time for this." And apparently the things weren't going to make command and security upset. That was even better.
Gakuto was pleased. “Great. I’m Gakuto, by the way!” He introduced himself as he started walking back to the bay doors. “You good with going outside…? I’m not a fan of suiting up, but it’s probably best in case I messed something up in the formulas.”
"I haven't been outside since I got here but it can't be that different from some of the places I've been," Kirihara answered. He was curious to see what the outside of this planet was like. He'd been hoping his name would get called for one of these missions but apparently luck hadn't been on his side this time. "I'm Kirihara," he added, almost as an afterthought.
Gakuto thought about the name for a moment. Oh. This guy. He wasn’t sure he was allowed to take him outside…but no one said not to? “Okay, cool. We’re just gonna be close to the base. Should be fine. We just have to suit up.” He made it over to the nanosuits and helmets. “You’re in the military, right? So I don’t need to help you with this.”
"Don't worry, all the sandworms around here are basically dead," Kirihara said. He didn't like that Tooyama had been the one to do that work (just another way Kirihara was failing at being better than the guy) but it was nice to not have to worry about outside threats.
Seeing the suits and helmets, Kirihara just laughed. "I've basically been living in these for years," he said, setting the box down so he could start changing into one of the nanosuits.
“Yeah, apparently Tooyama went crazy the first few weeks here.” Gakuto laughed, grabbing himself a suit. Luckily, his arm covers fit underneath, since they were skin tight, so he didn’t mind changing in front of someone else. “They don’t really allow for modesty, but it sure beats frying out there.”
What was modesty? Kirihara was already half-changed, paying no mind to the scars that literally criss-crossed his torso. Some of them were old, faded to simple pale lines. Others were newer, still in the puffy, pink stage that indicated they were still healing which was annoying since it'd been almost a year since he'd been in the field. If someone knew what to look for, they might even be able to attempt a guess at what sort of weapons would have made the various wounds the scars indicated.
"Lucky brat," was all Kirihara had to say about Tooyama. "He gets to have all the fun and I have to stay grounded on the sidelines."
Gakuto couldn’t help but stare for a moment. Suddenly, he was feeling much more…at ease? He shrugged it away before laughing. “So you’re another one just like him, huh? You enjoy ripping and tearing?” While he was sure there was a good reason, you couldn’t help but feel for a guy who couldn’t do the job he wanted to do.
Kirihara noticed the staring and quickly finished getting changed. "Sorry if it bugs you," he said, his voice a little quieter than it'd been. "I know they bug a lot of people." He tended to forget about the scars unless someone else noticed them.
Then Kirihara shook his head. "I was trained to use firearms, not to rip stuff up like he does. But I guess we're kinda similar? We had some of the same people involved in training us at first."
Gakuto shook his head and decided his skin could use some air, so he removed his arm covers. “They don’t bother me. I just feel silly now.” He laughed. Gakuto’s burn scars had only healed up 6 months ago, so they were relatively fresh. “Firearms, huh? I bet you’re a crack shot!” Kirihara seemed like he would be pretty good.
Oh, apparently Gakuto had some scars? Kirihara didn't see what the big deal was. "I hold some UEA records," Kirihara said as he picked up the helmet. He made a face. "These things are the worst." So uncomfortable and hot and they always stank after his hair started getting sweaty.
“That’s awesome!” Gakuto grinned. “Yeah, my hair is too pretty for this…” He groaned, but safety first. “But hopefully the fireworks will be fun enough that you’ll forget!” He headed out after he put his helmet on. “Let’s go.”
Picking up the box, Kirihara followed Gakuto out after shoving his own helmet on. "Where are we setting up?" He asked. It was so nice to be outside. He had to fight the urge not to just run in excitement, in happiness. It was only the promise of fire and minor explosions that kept him from doing something really stupid.
Gakuto headed over to the clearing he would be blowing up soon. “This is perfect, since if we fuck up, I’ll be blowing it up soon anyway.” He said. “...Maybe they’ll let you come at least watch…” He knew Kirihara couldn’t have massive explosives, but watching couldn’t hurt…right?
"Maybe," Kirihara said. The doubt was clear in his voice. Then he perked up and added, "I bet I could talk Yanagi into letting me watch on the cameras at least." Because there were cameras everywhere. Even out here. They were the most boring cameras ever. "What are you blowing this area up for again?" Was the pool getting bigger?
“Yeah, I’ll make sure you can watch somehow.” Gakuto promised with a wink… not that Kirihara could see it. “We’re building a bathhouse.” He answered. “Highly requested. I guess some people enjoy sitting naked with other people.”
Kirihara blinked. He stood there, trying to process that for a moment. "What?" Was all he could ask in confusion. "Who would want to sit around naked with a bunch of others? That just sounds boring." About the only thing to do with that sort of activity was talk and talking without something to do was boring.
Gakuto laughed. “I feel you. When I used to go when I was a kid, I always got in trouble for being too energetic.” Always splashing about and causing a ruckus. “Alright, set the box down and pick something out!”
Just the mention of someone else's childhood was enough to make Kirihara frown. He didn't feel very happy or cheerful. But at least Gakuto gave him a perfect way out. Kirihara nodded, setting down the box and rummaging through it. He pulled a few things out to get a better look at what was inside before pulling out something that looked like it might explode. "Let's see what this does. You got something to set it off with?"
Gakuto noticed the energy around Kirihara change for a hot moment and decided kid talk was probably best to steer clear of. “Oh, that one is cool because you don’t need anything! You just pull the string and it should spark and fire. Hold the cone part away from you and I, of course.”
Kirihara gave the thing another look. Now that he was looking, he noticed the string. "How in the world does it work?" He asked, curious about how it could spark and catch fire without a source. That didn't make sense in his mind. But then, before Gakuto could answer the question, he pointed the cone away from them, and the base, and pulled the string.
As the sparks and purple puffs exploded from the firework, Gakuto grinned. “It’s a pull trigger system. It strikes a match from the inside, basically.” That was the easiest way to explain it. “They’re the most accessible and fire safe.”
Purple was neat. "Well that one worked," Kirihara said. If he didn't sound enthused, well, that was because it was hard to get super excited by that result. "Are there any that do something bigger? Or maybe have multiple colors?" That'd be cool to see. Like, if one started with one color but the longer it went off, the more it transitioned to a completely different color.
Gakuto nodded and grabbed a fountain from the box. “If this works right, it erupts like a volcano and the lava will turn different colors!” Gakuto said, grabbing a lighter from his box. Not his brightest moment but the nanosuits didn’t have pockets. “Here you go.” He said, handing over the lighter.
Kirihara stared at the lighter. Then he looked at Gakuto. Then back at the lighter. "You trust me?" He asked in a small, soft voice. People didn't trust him. Not with anything. He hadn't even been allowed knives for cutting up food to eat. So being handed a lighter felt like the biggest sign of trust ever. Gakuto might have started as a stranger but after this, Kirihara decided the guy was firmly in the 'friend who must be trusted and protected' category.
Gakuto nodded. “Yeah, I trust you.” He smiled brightly. “You came out here to help me, right? And it’s just a lighter. If you catch me on fire, it wouldn’t be the first time for me!” He laughed. “Just have fun, okay? Nothing here is gonna kill anyone.”
"No one trusts me," was all Kirihara could say. He reached out, trying to keep his hand from shaking as he took the fountain and lighter. Someone actually trusted him. They weren't afraid or scared or treating him with kid gloves. They appeared to fully trust him. It was funny how happy that made Kirihara. He hadn't felt this happy in a long time. Part of him almost wanted to run back in and tell Dr. Yagyuu. This was progress, right? But the more rational part of Kirihara said wait because there were fireworks here.
Putting the fountain in a spot that seemed a safe enough distance away, Kirihara quickly lit it before running back over to stand by Gakuto.
If Gakuto noticed the shaking, he said nothing. When Kirihara re-joined him, he waited in anticipation as the wick got small and smaller until the fountain erupted with loud, whistling sparks. Soon, the lava started, shifting colors every couple of seconds. “Alright, we’re two for two! Maybe you’re my lucky charm!”
Kirihara grinned, watching the fountain with a look of pure wonder on his face. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten to do something this fun. "This is the coolest," he said, his eyes firmly on the color changing lava. Once it looked to be out, he picked another firework out of the box, one that looked similar to the fountain he'd just done, and lit it next to the one he'd just done.
The fountain Kirihara grabbed was similar to the previous one, but every few seconds, along with the color change, short bursts of sparks would come out. “Oh, good!” Gakuto folded his arms, quite pleased. “The delayed bursts work.” He watched Kirihara’s reactions, happ with the response. It was exactly what he was hoping for. “So all of the ones shaped like that do pretty much that. There are some pull trigger ones that have different colors, the snap bangs should explode with color, too…”
"Did you bring these?" Kirihara asked, his eyes never leaving the fountain. These things were cool, way cooler than anything else he'd ever been allowed to play with. At least, that's what it felt like at this moment. "These things are really awesome, sir."
“I made them!” Gakuto grinned. This kid was great. Way better than his own little brother. “I appreciate the compliment, but you don’t gotta call me sir. Just Gakuto is fine! Or Big Bro, if ya want.” He laughed. Yeah, like a guy who was taller than him would call him that, even if he was younger.
"Families are stupid," Kirihara said immediately. He kept trying to forget his. That'd been easy until he'd come here. There were so many people here who kept bringing up the topic. "These things are way cooler than a family." At least the fireworks hadn't let him down yet.
“Yeah, I have to say I agree.” Gakuto nodded. “But Gakuto is fine. I don’t like being called Sir.” His father always insisted on being called Sir. “They’re pretty cool, right? Are you okay testing something just a little less exciting? Just to see if it works?”
"It's the military training," Kirihara replied. "They've been beating things like "sir" and "ma'am" into my head for years." It was starting to get hard for him to remember a time he wasn't in the military. "Sure. You pick the next one." Mostly because Kirihara wasn't sure which ones were the less exciting ones.
Gakuto grabbed a couple of sparklers. “I’m not military, so loosen up a little.” He handed Kirihara a sparkler. “These are your run-of-the-mill sparklers with a twist. They should spark different colors while they burn, but at the end, it should let off a short burst of light.”
"Must be nice to not have people yelling at you and telling you what to do." Kirihara wasn't sure what was in his contract with the UEA but he was positive that they'd never let him go. If they hadn't done it already, they never would. Even though he couldn't remember much, there were a few things he knew that would be bad for several people if he ever mentioned them.
To distract himself, Kirihara lit the sparkler he'd been handed.
“Eh, life always has someone yelling at you and ruining your life. Maybe life just decided I had enough of it growing up.” Gakuto shrugged. “And I still have things I can’t do here.” He watched as the sparkler started sparking, flashing green, then blue, then purple. The burst of light at the end was a dazzling mix of all three. “Whoa…that was actually cooler than I had hoped.”
"They're all working and cool." It was Kirihara's attempt at a compliment. He wasn't good at being kind and thoughtful but he kind of wanted to for Gakuto. The guy was nice and trusted him and was smart enough to make these things. "How'd you learn to make these anyways?"
Gakuto thought the compliments were plenty thoughtful. “Ah, I’m a chemist by trade. Went to school for it, but I like blowing up stuff more, so I became a demolition man.” Gakuto said. “Explosives are just chemistry, really.” He smiled. “Thanks for helping me out by the way. I was hoping to make more of these to lift some spirits, you know?”
Kirihara gave Gakuto a curious look, not that it'd be the easiest thing to see through the helmet. "You can go to school to learn how to blow things up?" Someone should have told him that years ago. Maybe then he would have paid attention when he was in school. "I bet these will make all kinds of people happy."
Gakuto laughed. "I mean, yeah, I guess you can. I didn't discover it until college, though." He was pleased that Kirihara seemed to like them. "...okay…I've got one in the box that maybe I shouldn't have brought…but if you promise to aim it away from the base, I'll let you light it."
Well that had 1000% of Kirihara's attention. "I promise," he quickly promised. These had been neat and entertaining so whatever was left? It had to be awesome. Maybe even better than awesome. "Which one is it?"
Gakuto took a firework out that looked more like a small rocket. He placed its base on the ground before handing it over. "Angle the tip toward the part of the sky you want to see it in. This one is called a dragon's tail, so it should make a swirl pattern in the sky. If I did it right, it'll start yellow and end red, passing through orange in between."
Kirihara nodded, actually listening and paying attention. This was important after all. He followed the directions as closely as he could. He angled the firework away from the base. He might not be the smartest but he definitely wasn't stupid enough to shoot a firework at the base either.
Lighting it, Kirihara stepped back and waited.
The rocket went up into the air and soon exploded in a pattern of twisting swirls, although the color pattern was backwards, starting in red and ending in yellow. "Great angle on that one! Got my mixture mixed up though. Ah well…"
"It worked though," Kirihara said, trying to be helpful. "And it looked really cool." He wondered if it'd look even better at night, with a dark background to make the colors pop even more. Or would the darkness just drown out the colors?
"Thanks, Kirihara!" Gakuto said, very chipper at the compliments. "Weird question; when is your birthday?"
"It's coming up in September," Kirihara replied. That was one thing he'd never forget. "Why?"
"Want me to make you some special fireworks? For your birthday?" Gakuto asked. "Since you helped me out and all."
Kirihara's eyes went wide in surprise at the offer. "Really?" He asked, not quite believing what he'd heard. "You'd do that?" And then quickly he added, "it's at the end of September. The 25th."
"Then I have plenty of time to come up with some cool stuff!" Gakuto nodded. "Hell yeah. You're pretty fun to hang out with, and you seemed to like them."
This place was strange. It was full of people who were just good and nice. Kirihara wasn't complaining. If anything he was just kind of sad that he hadn't found people like Gakuto and Marui and Sanada and Niou earlier. Maybe if he had, he wouldn't have ended up so messed up. All he could do was nod in response. He was kind of afraid that if he tried to say something, he'd end up accidentally saying something stupid.
Gakuto could feel that Kirihara was having a moment and just patted his shoulder. "Should we head back inside? I'm dying of thirst." He started cleaning up before turning to look back at Kirihara. "Don't stress too much, okay? I don't know what you're coming from, but there are some great people here…and even if someone tells you differently, I think you’re pretty cool."
Kirihara gave another nod. "Might be good," he managed to choke out. "Someone's probably looking for me." Or would be soon. And he didn't want Gakuto to get in trouble. Not before but especially not now.
Gakuto nodded and hefted the box into his arms. "Go ahead and run ahead, if you're gonna get in trouble." Gakuto said. He was also offering Kirihara a chance to be alone to sort himself out, if needed. "Thanks again for your help!"
Normally Kirihara would have stuck around, would have at least attempted to be helpful. But he was kind of feeling off. Not in a bad way but in a way that made him think he should probably go find Dr. Yagyuu sooner rather than later. "Thanks," was all he said before quickly heading back to the base's entrance.
Gakuto watched Kirihara going, taking his time so he could save face. Gakuto was now making it his mission to come up with some awesome fireworks for Kirihara's birthday.
When: August 6th
Where: just outside the base, where the bath springs are going to be
What: Fireworks and friendship
Having finished most of his preliminary work on the bathhouses, Gakuto had some time for a little pet project of his. He had come across some novelty firework “recipes” and was making a small stockpile of them, in case they ever had celebrations or whatnot. He, of course, had tweaked the recipes a little, to add more color. Because of this, he had to make sure they worked. He loaded a bunch into a crate and started carrying it to take it outside. He was pretty surprised he wasn’t having any trouble lifting it, but he has been working out lately.
Still, setting off fireworks, especially kiddie novelty ones, wasn’t exactly exciting by yourself. That’s why when he spotted someone, he called them over. “Hey, wanna play with some fireworks?”
Kirihara jumped at the voice from behind him. And then promptly grinned at the question once he'd had a moment to let it sink in. "You want me to play with fireworks?" He asked, trying not to sound too excited but that was hard. Was he even allowed to play with fireworks? Kirihara wasn't sure but he wasn't about to go asking for permission right now. Not when he might get told he couldn't.
"What do you got?" Kirihara asked, trying to look into the crate the redhead was carrying. "I can carry that for you if you want." Might as well be nice to the person offering to let him play with potentially explosive things.
Gakuto smiled and handed over the box. No reason to carry it if he was offered help! “I’ve got a couple things in there that I’ve made. Sparkles, Fountains, snap bangs. Stuff that looks pretty cool, but won’t get command or security on my ass. I need to test them because I’ve added color and I need to make sure it works.” He grinned. “You got time?”
Kirihara took the box without a problem. He did give the redhead an approving look though because the box was heavier than he thought. Redhead might be tiny but he was stronger than he looked.
"For this?" Kirihara asked, peeking inside the crate. "Definitely got all the free time for this." And apparently the things weren't going to make command and security upset. That was even better.
Gakuto was pleased. “Great. I’m Gakuto, by the way!” He introduced himself as he started walking back to the bay doors. “You good with going outside…? I’m not a fan of suiting up, but it’s probably best in case I messed something up in the formulas.”
"I haven't been outside since I got here but it can't be that different from some of the places I've been," Kirihara answered. He was curious to see what the outside of this planet was like. He'd been hoping his name would get called for one of these missions but apparently luck hadn't been on his side this time. "I'm Kirihara," he added, almost as an afterthought.
Gakuto thought about the name for a moment. Oh. This guy. He wasn’t sure he was allowed to take him outside…but no one said not to? “Okay, cool. We’re just gonna be close to the base. Should be fine. We just have to suit up.” He made it over to the nanosuits and helmets. “You’re in the military, right? So I don’t need to help you with this.”
"Don't worry, all the sandworms around here are basically dead," Kirihara said. He didn't like that Tooyama had been the one to do that work (just another way Kirihara was failing at being better than the guy) but it was nice to not have to worry about outside threats.
Seeing the suits and helmets, Kirihara just laughed. "I've basically been living in these for years," he said, setting the box down so he could start changing into one of the nanosuits.
“Yeah, apparently Tooyama went crazy the first few weeks here.” Gakuto laughed, grabbing himself a suit. Luckily, his arm covers fit underneath, since they were skin tight, so he didn’t mind changing in front of someone else. “They don’t really allow for modesty, but it sure beats frying out there.”
What was modesty? Kirihara was already half-changed, paying no mind to the scars that literally criss-crossed his torso. Some of them were old, faded to simple pale lines. Others were newer, still in the puffy, pink stage that indicated they were still healing which was annoying since it'd been almost a year since he'd been in the field. If someone knew what to look for, they might even be able to attempt a guess at what sort of weapons would have made the various wounds the scars indicated.
"Lucky brat," was all Kirihara had to say about Tooyama. "He gets to have all the fun and I have to stay grounded on the sidelines."
Gakuto couldn’t help but stare for a moment. Suddenly, he was feeling much more…at ease? He shrugged it away before laughing. “So you’re another one just like him, huh? You enjoy ripping and tearing?” While he was sure there was a good reason, you couldn’t help but feel for a guy who couldn’t do the job he wanted to do.
Kirihara noticed the staring and quickly finished getting changed. "Sorry if it bugs you," he said, his voice a little quieter than it'd been. "I know they bug a lot of people." He tended to forget about the scars unless someone else noticed them.
Then Kirihara shook his head. "I was trained to use firearms, not to rip stuff up like he does. But I guess we're kinda similar? We had some of the same people involved in training us at first."
Gakuto shook his head and decided his skin could use some air, so he removed his arm covers. “They don’t bother me. I just feel silly now.” He laughed. Gakuto’s burn scars had only healed up 6 months ago, so they were relatively fresh. “Firearms, huh? I bet you’re a crack shot!” Kirihara seemed like he would be pretty good.
Oh, apparently Gakuto had some scars? Kirihara didn't see what the big deal was. "I hold some UEA records," Kirihara said as he picked up the helmet. He made a face. "These things are the worst." So uncomfortable and hot and they always stank after his hair started getting sweaty.
“That’s awesome!” Gakuto grinned. “Yeah, my hair is too pretty for this…” He groaned, but safety first. “But hopefully the fireworks will be fun enough that you’ll forget!” He headed out after he put his helmet on. “Let’s go.”
Picking up the box, Kirihara followed Gakuto out after shoving his own helmet on. "Where are we setting up?" He asked. It was so nice to be outside. He had to fight the urge not to just run in excitement, in happiness. It was only the promise of fire and minor explosions that kept him from doing something really stupid.
Gakuto headed over to the clearing he would be blowing up soon. “This is perfect, since if we fuck up, I’ll be blowing it up soon anyway.” He said. “...Maybe they’ll let you come at least watch…” He knew Kirihara couldn’t have massive explosives, but watching couldn’t hurt…right?
"Maybe," Kirihara said. The doubt was clear in his voice. Then he perked up and added, "I bet I could talk Yanagi into letting me watch on the cameras at least." Because there were cameras everywhere. Even out here. They were the most boring cameras ever. "What are you blowing this area up for again?" Was the pool getting bigger?
“Yeah, I’ll make sure you can watch somehow.” Gakuto promised with a wink… not that Kirihara could see it. “We’re building a bathhouse.” He answered. “Highly requested. I guess some people enjoy sitting naked with other people.”
Kirihara blinked. He stood there, trying to process that for a moment. "What?" Was all he could ask in confusion. "Who would want to sit around naked with a bunch of others? That just sounds boring." About the only thing to do with that sort of activity was talk and talking without something to do was boring.
Gakuto laughed. “I feel you. When I used to go when I was a kid, I always got in trouble for being too energetic.” Always splashing about and causing a ruckus. “Alright, set the box down and pick something out!”
Just the mention of someone else's childhood was enough to make Kirihara frown. He didn't feel very happy or cheerful. But at least Gakuto gave him a perfect way out. Kirihara nodded, setting down the box and rummaging through it. He pulled a few things out to get a better look at what was inside before pulling out something that looked like it might explode. "Let's see what this does. You got something to set it off with?"
Gakuto noticed the energy around Kirihara change for a hot moment and decided kid talk was probably best to steer clear of. “Oh, that one is cool because you don’t need anything! You just pull the string and it should spark and fire. Hold the cone part away from you and I, of course.”
Kirihara gave the thing another look. Now that he was looking, he noticed the string. "How in the world does it work?" He asked, curious about how it could spark and catch fire without a source. That didn't make sense in his mind. But then, before Gakuto could answer the question, he pointed the cone away from them, and the base, and pulled the string.
As the sparks and purple puffs exploded from the firework, Gakuto grinned. “It’s a pull trigger system. It strikes a match from the inside, basically.” That was the easiest way to explain it. “They’re the most accessible and fire safe.”
Purple was neat. "Well that one worked," Kirihara said. If he didn't sound enthused, well, that was because it was hard to get super excited by that result. "Are there any that do something bigger? Or maybe have multiple colors?" That'd be cool to see. Like, if one started with one color but the longer it went off, the more it transitioned to a completely different color.
Gakuto nodded and grabbed a fountain from the box. “If this works right, it erupts like a volcano and the lava will turn different colors!” Gakuto said, grabbing a lighter from his box. Not his brightest moment but the nanosuits didn’t have pockets. “Here you go.” He said, handing over the lighter.
Kirihara stared at the lighter. Then he looked at Gakuto. Then back at the lighter. "You trust me?" He asked in a small, soft voice. People didn't trust him. Not with anything. He hadn't even been allowed knives for cutting up food to eat. So being handed a lighter felt like the biggest sign of trust ever. Gakuto might have started as a stranger but after this, Kirihara decided the guy was firmly in the 'friend who must be trusted and protected' category.
Gakuto nodded. “Yeah, I trust you.” He smiled brightly. “You came out here to help me, right? And it’s just a lighter. If you catch me on fire, it wouldn’t be the first time for me!” He laughed. “Just have fun, okay? Nothing here is gonna kill anyone.”
"No one trusts me," was all Kirihara could say. He reached out, trying to keep his hand from shaking as he took the fountain and lighter. Someone actually trusted him. They weren't afraid or scared or treating him with kid gloves. They appeared to fully trust him. It was funny how happy that made Kirihara. He hadn't felt this happy in a long time. Part of him almost wanted to run back in and tell Dr. Yagyuu. This was progress, right? But the more rational part of Kirihara said wait because there were fireworks here.
Putting the fountain in a spot that seemed a safe enough distance away, Kirihara quickly lit it before running back over to stand by Gakuto.
If Gakuto noticed the shaking, he said nothing. When Kirihara re-joined him, he waited in anticipation as the wick got small and smaller until the fountain erupted with loud, whistling sparks. Soon, the lava started, shifting colors every couple of seconds. “Alright, we’re two for two! Maybe you’re my lucky charm!”
Kirihara grinned, watching the fountain with a look of pure wonder on his face. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten to do something this fun. "This is the coolest," he said, his eyes firmly on the color changing lava. Once it looked to be out, he picked another firework out of the box, one that looked similar to the fountain he'd just done, and lit it next to the one he'd just done.
The fountain Kirihara grabbed was similar to the previous one, but every few seconds, along with the color change, short bursts of sparks would come out. “Oh, good!” Gakuto folded his arms, quite pleased. “The delayed bursts work.” He watched Kirihara’s reactions, happ with the response. It was exactly what he was hoping for. “So all of the ones shaped like that do pretty much that. There are some pull trigger ones that have different colors, the snap bangs should explode with color, too…”
"Did you bring these?" Kirihara asked, his eyes never leaving the fountain. These things were cool, way cooler than anything else he'd ever been allowed to play with. At least, that's what it felt like at this moment. "These things are really awesome, sir."
“I made them!” Gakuto grinned. This kid was great. Way better than his own little brother. “I appreciate the compliment, but you don’t gotta call me sir. Just Gakuto is fine! Or Big Bro, if ya want.” He laughed. Yeah, like a guy who was taller than him would call him that, even if he was younger.
"Families are stupid," Kirihara said immediately. He kept trying to forget his. That'd been easy until he'd come here. There were so many people here who kept bringing up the topic. "These things are way cooler than a family." At least the fireworks hadn't let him down yet.
“Yeah, I have to say I agree.” Gakuto nodded. “But Gakuto is fine. I don’t like being called Sir.” His father always insisted on being called Sir. “They’re pretty cool, right? Are you okay testing something just a little less exciting? Just to see if it works?”
"It's the military training," Kirihara replied. "They've been beating things like "sir" and "ma'am" into my head for years." It was starting to get hard for him to remember a time he wasn't in the military. "Sure. You pick the next one." Mostly because Kirihara wasn't sure which ones were the less exciting ones.
Gakuto grabbed a couple of sparklers. “I’m not military, so loosen up a little.” He handed Kirihara a sparkler. “These are your run-of-the-mill sparklers with a twist. They should spark different colors while they burn, but at the end, it should let off a short burst of light.”
"Must be nice to not have people yelling at you and telling you what to do." Kirihara wasn't sure what was in his contract with the UEA but he was positive that they'd never let him go. If they hadn't done it already, they never would. Even though he couldn't remember much, there were a few things he knew that would be bad for several people if he ever mentioned them.
To distract himself, Kirihara lit the sparkler he'd been handed.
“Eh, life always has someone yelling at you and ruining your life. Maybe life just decided I had enough of it growing up.” Gakuto shrugged. “And I still have things I can’t do here.” He watched as the sparkler started sparking, flashing green, then blue, then purple. The burst of light at the end was a dazzling mix of all three. “Whoa…that was actually cooler than I had hoped.”
"They're all working and cool." It was Kirihara's attempt at a compliment. He wasn't good at being kind and thoughtful but he kind of wanted to for Gakuto. The guy was nice and trusted him and was smart enough to make these things. "How'd you learn to make these anyways?"
Gakuto thought the compliments were plenty thoughtful. “Ah, I’m a chemist by trade. Went to school for it, but I like blowing up stuff more, so I became a demolition man.” Gakuto said. “Explosives are just chemistry, really.” He smiled. “Thanks for helping me out by the way. I was hoping to make more of these to lift some spirits, you know?”
Kirihara gave Gakuto a curious look, not that it'd be the easiest thing to see through the helmet. "You can go to school to learn how to blow things up?" Someone should have told him that years ago. Maybe then he would have paid attention when he was in school. "I bet these will make all kinds of people happy."
Gakuto laughed. "I mean, yeah, I guess you can. I didn't discover it until college, though." He was pleased that Kirihara seemed to like them. "...okay…I've got one in the box that maybe I shouldn't have brought…but if you promise to aim it away from the base, I'll let you light it."
Well that had 1000% of Kirihara's attention. "I promise," he quickly promised. These had been neat and entertaining so whatever was left? It had to be awesome. Maybe even better than awesome. "Which one is it?"
Gakuto took a firework out that looked more like a small rocket. He placed its base on the ground before handing it over. "Angle the tip toward the part of the sky you want to see it in. This one is called a dragon's tail, so it should make a swirl pattern in the sky. If I did it right, it'll start yellow and end red, passing through orange in between."
Kirihara nodded, actually listening and paying attention. This was important after all. He followed the directions as closely as he could. He angled the firework away from the base. He might not be the smartest but he definitely wasn't stupid enough to shoot a firework at the base either.
Lighting it, Kirihara stepped back and waited.
The rocket went up into the air and soon exploded in a pattern of twisting swirls, although the color pattern was backwards, starting in red and ending in yellow. "Great angle on that one! Got my mixture mixed up though. Ah well…"
"It worked though," Kirihara said, trying to be helpful. "And it looked really cool." He wondered if it'd look even better at night, with a dark background to make the colors pop even more. Or would the darkness just drown out the colors?
"Thanks, Kirihara!" Gakuto said, very chipper at the compliments. "Weird question; when is your birthday?"
"It's coming up in September," Kirihara replied. That was one thing he'd never forget. "Why?"
"Want me to make you some special fireworks? For your birthday?" Gakuto asked. "Since you helped me out and all."
Kirihara's eyes went wide in surprise at the offer. "Really?" He asked, not quite believing what he'd heard. "You'd do that?" And then quickly he added, "it's at the end of September. The 25th."
"Then I have plenty of time to come up with some cool stuff!" Gakuto nodded. "Hell yeah. You're pretty fun to hang out with, and you seemed to like them."
This place was strange. It was full of people who were just good and nice. Kirihara wasn't complaining. If anything he was just kind of sad that he hadn't found people like Gakuto and Marui and Sanada and Niou earlier. Maybe if he had, he wouldn't have ended up so messed up. All he could do was nod in response. He was kind of afraid that if he tried to say something, he'd end up accidentally saying something stupid.
Gakuto could feel that Kirihara was having a moment and just patted his shoulder. "Should we head back inside? I'm dying of thirst." He started cleaning up before turning to look back at Kirihara. "Don't stress too much, okay? I don't know what you're coming from, but there are some great people here…and even if someone tells you differently, I think you’re pretty cool."
Kirihara gave another nod. "Might be good," he managed to choke out. "Someone's probably looking for me." Or would be soon. And he didn't want Gakuto to get in trouble. Not before but especially not now.
Gakuto nodded and hefted the box into his arms. "Go ahead and run ahead, if you're gonna get in trouble." Gakuto said. He was also offering Kirihara a chance to be alone to sort himself out, if needed. "Thanks again for your help!"
Normally Kirihara would have stuck around, would have at least attempted to be helpful. But he was kind of feeling off. Not in a bad way but in a way that made him think he should probably go find Dr. Yagyuu sooner rather than later. "Thanks," was all he said before quickly heading back to the base's entrance.
Gakuto watched Kirihara going, taking his time so he could save face. Gakuto was now making it his mission to come up with some awesome fireworks for Kirihara's birthday.