[AQ] Crushed and Hurt [Ai/Daichi]

[Daichi]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}F a l l i n g t o p r e s s u r e
Description: Lately it seems that you’ve been more aware of the pressure put on you as a member of society, as well as the growing responsibilities in your personal/school life. Maybe they’re growing or just the continuing presence of the stress in your life are finally making you want to give up.
Try to deal with the pressure on your own with other activities: -2 Guardians, +1 Faberge, +2 Roost
Look for X-eggs to channel your frustration towards them and cure them: +2 Guardians, +1 Faberge, +2 Roost
Look for X-eggs to channel your frustration towards them and break them: -2 Guardians, -1 Faberge, -2 Roost
Encounter an X-egg and fail to do anything about it: +1 Guardians, +2 Faberge, -2 Roost
Talk to a friend about it, maybe they’re feeling the same: +3 Guardians, +1 Faberge
Ignore it and keep going, it’s inevitable: +3 Faberge, -1 Roost
Fall deeper into the pressure: +1 Guardians, +2 Faberge, -2 Roost
Requirements: Tag for X-mod if encountering
Original submitted by Catrifer

Everything was going to pieces as far as the eye could see. Daichi didn't know a lot about what was going on but- It was enough to clearly see how bad it could get. With West Oto students withdrawing and hiding it was clear what the plan was. At least to him it was. They wanted Seiyo to burn from the inside out. Which was what was happening. Daichi wasn't immune to it either. He wasn't even on talking terms with Taiki. Hell Taiki wasn't even with him.

The school had its own problems and its own drama that no one wanted to deal with, they didn't want to just sort it out and apologize or be better people. All they did was threaten the ones who made mistakes so they wouldn't make them again. That didn't solve the problem. It didn't fix anything. It made things worst because it breeded fear. Hate breeds hate. With little to no compassion in the self righteous students of Seiyo, nothing could snuff out that hate. Cures don't always work nor do they always last.

Or at least thats what Daichi thought as he stared out the window of his homeroom. School had ended and people had already left for clubs or to just get back to dorms. He still sat there packed up and ready to go but just- He couldn't find a reason to leave just yet. Going back to his dorm would prove, boring. Cooking club room wasn't an option, anymore. The room was quiet, there was the small hum that hung in the air from the heater. It was getting colder outside. 

Sighing quietly he stood up from his desk and grabbed his bag. Even if he wanted to stay he wouldn't be able too.

Pushing open the door to the class room he stepped out into the hall without much worry. However as soon as he did he saw a long haired boy pass by the door. Didn't he know him. "Ai?"

[Ai]

Some time had passed from Ai's last West Oto High escapade. He found himself there more often that he would've liked and while he not always went there looking for a fight, somehow it always ended up happening. That brought upon plenty of rumors and it even contributed to the hunters laying low for the longest time now. That in itself wouldn't be a bad thing if not for the hurt that Ai kept causing to others, whether it was for the sake of Justice or not.

The longer he went on, the more self-conscious Ai became about his behaviour. He never really wanted to hurt anyone, he wanted everything to be friendly, peaceful and normal, but it wasn't that way, it couldn't be. With everyone fighting and getting involved, the boy felt the need to keep up. If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to protect those he cared about. He had to choose a side and fight for it , otherwise he'd be left alone and that was what he dreaded the most.

In a world where there seemed to be no in-betweens, Ai felt compelled to stand for the lesser of the evils. Though lately, he felt just so guilty about how he'd treated some people. Someone made him see a few things, she showed him that his ways were wrong and since then, Ai's been stuck at a standstill, refusing to speak up on issues he wasn't directly involved into nor publicly voice his opinion on what he thought was good or bad. But for how long would he be able to hold back before pressure fell again upon him?

Meanwhile, tense as the atmosphere at Seiyo was, life still had to go on. Ai was still running two clubs (with the absence of Takeo, all the counseling club duties fell on his back), he was still working towards his dream of becoming a singer through Faberge and was still trying to keep up with school. He didn't feel like his usual happy self, though, not when everyone he knew were on different sides. Leaving school or being unreachable, all Ai could think of was to bring everyone back together, but how?

Ai was just heading back from band club practice when he heard a voice call out to him. Puzzled as he did not recognize it well,Ai turned around only to be faced with Daichi, a boy he'd met some time ago at the planetarium. "Oh, hey there!" He managed to pull out a slight smile. Ai tried to pretend he was more or less ok, so that others wouldn't pick up on it and possibly worry. If they started asking him questions, he wouldn't be very comfortable answering them. Whoever liked to be seen in their weak state, anyways? "How are you, Daichi?" He asked the other, assuming there must be a reason why he'd approached him.

[Daichi]

If he knew what the other was thinking, he would find them very close as having the same mind. For awhile, ever since the incident at the Dance club event- Daichi hadn't been the same. Whatever smile he used to wear with pride and hope for a better future was more or less gone. As optimistic as he tried to be he was always a realist in his heart. He was taking a back seat to all of it now. Taiki wasn't with him anymore, Norio had him. While staying with a friend and avoiding Taiki as much as he could. Norio actually cared enough to get Taiki while Daichi was away. He couldn't talk to Taiki because he was his actual heart, he would just repeat and confirm his feeling. He didn't want that.

He was trying to hold on to the very last bit of hope he had, if he talked to Taiki again he might not be able to keep it. Or at least thats what he feared.

Even with the boy being the one who broke Lapis, which he had hes own reasons for. The hero still trusted Taiki with him. He wasn't a monster or a bad person. He made a mistake. He made a choice. Which he was allowed to do. No one lives a life without mistakes or fuck ups. People, especially teenagers aren't perfect. That being said he knew not everyone would forgive or forget what happened.

He thought with sometime they would get over it an move on. But no. No. They just kept bulling and pushing, and hurting the people who where already down on themselves for making mistakes. That wasn't right. The effects of it were there in plain sight too. Tweets were there. The empty chairs in classrooms. While everyone was trying to hard to 'beat' the people they called 'enemies' everything really just amounted to a bunch of bullying they would never admit to doing. Or if they did, they would just call it 'justice' and keep doing what they wanted no matter what anyone else said because they 'know' they are 'right.'

It was fucked up.

So he was so tired of pretending to be happy and not upset. Why act anymore? Why pretend to be okay when clearly it just wasn't working? So he stopped being happy. He stopped being, 'Daichi'. You know what happen? No one cared. Not a soul. Even after all his tweets. Even after he stopped going to the cooking club room and started to miss guardian meetings. No one noticed. When he was upset and told people he wanted to be alone, you would think they would reach out still- Because they should care right? Fight their way in. Break down walls and, at the very least try. But they didn't. He wasn't X he was just being a fucking brat, right? So until he gets worse, no need to make him feel better.

Daichi looked at the boy with eyebrows drawn together in concern. " I'm not great but all live..." He said slowly, before adding. " Ai, are you okay man?" There was something a little odd about him. Though the hero wasn't completely sure of himself.

[Ai]

Optimism was more or less a coping mechanism for Ai as well. Despite other people being skeptical about either his dream of becoming a rock star, either his ability of defeating the egg hunters, the silver haired still had hope. As long as his friends were by his side, he could still have a purpose, despite things taking the wrong turn every once in a while. Now, however, most of his friends were unreachable, even his girlfriend, so the hope in his heart was slowly dying out.

He'd witnessed the dance event too, though he had stayed out of it at that time. He'd been filled in on all the events via Junko/Takeo and twitter, and that gave him the (wrong) impression that he had the right to meddle in. He had realised it wasn't the case a little too late when everything had already gone downhill too much. He wanted to apologize, but to whom? To everyone? Would they even listen to him? Hell, most of them didn't even know him.

As time passed, Ai figured that although he was trying to deny it, he secretly blamed most of the things he'd done on Nagamasa. Fair enough, the samurai fairy made him lose control and do plenty of things he didn't really mean to do, but he was his wish, his heart. If anything, the fault was originally his for having been so angry, for having destructive thoughts when he made his wish. But at this point, it was too late to stop it. The only thing Ai could do was try to trust that Nagamasa wouldn't go too far the next time they fought. That he won't end up critically injuring someone.

"Hmm, more of the same." He shrugged at the boy's question. After their meeting at the planetarium, Ai got to know Daichi a bit and considered him a good acquaintance. He was happy about having made another friend. He walked a bit closer to the boy, giving his shoulder a light pat. "Wanna hang out for a bit, maybe tell me about it? I was about to go grab something to eat, maybe you want to join me."