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[There it is.]

[Tetsuo, just because you're psychic and can leap off the balcony to safety doesn't mean your brother can't follow. He's the world's biggest adrenaline junkie, and it shows in the way he gets a running start and vaults over that balcony top, hand swinging from the railing and dropping him down with as little shock as possible.

He rolls, getting to his feet almost seamlessly and breaks into a run, hand and comm out as he texts with one hand.]

keep running [You're dead. You're so dead.]

[Logically, Tetsuo knows there's no way in hell he can outrun Kaneda. It's not his strength, and never was; Kaneda was the one who could clear half of a chain link fence in one jump, or kick a Clown off his bike, or run fast enough to make it hard for Tetsuo to lock onto him the first time they truly fought.

Sometimes, instinct overrides every ounce of common sense and intelligence. This isn't a fight, there's no stand to take... so he runs. There's no time to get his bike out. No time to do anything but try to book it and trust he can jump farther than Kaneda can now.

... but he can't resist continuing to escalate this for no reason.]

😛

[Tetsuo was right to accept his inevitable fate, and Kaneda couldn't blame him for at least trying to run anyway. Kaneda was fast, but he'd get a little distance before he caught up with him. And with the texting feud going on between them, it might even take a little longer. Hell, Tetsuo might even get around the block before he's overtaken by his more-athletic older brother.

His vigor escalates with the situation, and his brain focuses more on his feet carrying him than what his hand is doing.

So the next text might not come out as--]

adfddddddddddddddddddddffffffffkjjjjj

[Trust him. He's angry.]

[Tetsuo's job, now that he has learned the secret of emoji, is far easier than Kaneda's. He needs all that concentration to shoot out one foot, hitting the ground at an angle to sharply pivot to the side as he races out of the yard and into the street. He's not crossing, keeping to the sidewalk. Kaneda's text reply barely gets a glance before he's laughing wildly with the rush of fear and adrenaline, enjoying this mad rush as long as it lasts.

Texting is hard. But he instantly knows what to do, and this is easy. There is one other trick in his arsenal, one he only really grasped when figuring out base coding on that stupid pinball machine. Or, rather... ]

did your comm get its language changed to stupid

[The fine art of copy and paste.]

[That text comes through, and Kaneda's eyes harden not in sheer anger, but competition. Tetsuo was going to get it--there was no doubt about it. And sometimes, actions speak louder than words.

Much, much louder. With a megaphone.

His glove tips back other hand held out to catch that coin that often housed itself in his middle finger. Out it comes, and with a quick little flip in mid-run, he lets it fall into his palm.

Heads. Heads.

Kaneda couldn't have smiled more if Maya had just fuckin straight up kissed him. Because not long after he gets that verdict...he literally tosses that comm like a skipped rock right at Tetsuo

The joys of good luck? Your aim's always spot on.]

[It's been a while since Tetsuo had to run, really run, and he's out of practice. He can tell already, in the strain in his legs and chest completely different to when he's letting his power do the heavy lifting. But there's a newfound thrill to the sensation. He can keep going. He doesn't even hear Kaneda behind him beyond footsteps somewhere behind him. No angry yelling, no threats-

Maybe he'll get out of this scott free! Hah! Take that, Kane-

That illusion is shattered when something hard slams into his leg at just the right spot to alter his balance at just the right second. One foot gets knocked out a little too far at the impact, the other catching on his leg long enough to send him straight down to the pavement. He's lucky he's got no exposed skin; the worst he gets is a few bruises.

...

Not wasting time with looking behind him, he scrambles desperately to try to get back to his feet before karma catches up with him, his own comm clattering to the ground in his haste.]

[Too little, too late. Kaneda was faster than most military recruits, a skill that had come quite in handy when it came to getting away from the cops. And when he really put his mind to it, he could keep up with even running vehicles. So when luck rings true, and the comm hits his brother in the back of his leg, he wastes no time in keeping the pace and covering ground, using the awkward scramble of Tetsuo's feet as his last window of opportunity to take him down.

With a half dive, half scoop, he rolls onto the ground with him, shielding most of the blow with his own back before upright again with Tetsuo in a headlock, elbow right around that neck while the other ruffles those white locks.

And...that's as far as it goes. No physical harm comes, no punches thrown or smacks upside the head. Just the equivalent of roughhousing, those fingers purposely mussing up that already-hopelessly styled hair.]

WHAT'D YOU CALL ME?

C'MON! SAY IT! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!

[Footsteps approach far too quickly, and the next thing he knows, Kaneda's hand roughly shoots under him, pulling him up off the pavement and halfway onto him, death grip firm enough that no amount of frantic squirming can hope to free him. On the ground like that, he can't even try to kick, doing little more than yelping in surprise as he's pulled up again.

God damn,Kaneda's gotten strong.

This reminder comes with a flash of panic that he's entirely at the mercy of his older brother. His hands scrabble desperately for ground as it sweeps away from him, angling one elbow back to try to shove into Kaneda's side, but the angle is off and he can't get any power to the blow.

The absolute worst thing in the world comes to pass. Kaneda's elbow hooks harmlessly around his neck, locking him firmly in place while not constricting anything. His other hand roughly digs into Tetsuo's head, making his unbrushed white bird's nest even worse. And everyone on the street could see this happen.

NOOOOOO!]

Rrg- LET GO!

[Hands immediately go to Kaneda's arm, trying to pry it away. He arches his back to draw his shoulders further down, trying to slide underneath that elbow and struggle his way to freedom. He can win this! He can still fight!]

Edited 2016-04-24 19:52 (UTC)

[All the while, Kaneda's laughing. The public could see this, maybe, but it was such a better alternative to the way they'd been only months ago. When a streetlamp would be the endgame, and Kaneda's head sporting a nice bruise at best and a concussion at worst.

His hand doesn't yield from that hair, ruffling until it resembles a stray tumbleweed and pulling him closer.]

C'mon, Tetsuo! I mean...I'm only shit, right? This is what you expect of me!!!

[It's choked out between laughter, his grip harder to maintain the harder he tries to keep it under control.]

[Failing getting under Kaneda's elbow, he tries to slide a hand between his head and Kaneda's hand. Kaneda's arm, solid from months of exercise, prevents him even ducking his head defensively. There's no direction to move.

Before he found his powers, he'd have been a lot angrier over this than he is now. There's few things worse than being powerless against everything in the world, without agency or the ability to stop what happens. Until he found his powers, that was his life; things like this could damage what little image he'd built up, reminding him that there was no one he was ever going to be equal to. The rage built and built, without even his outlet standing as a reminder of somehow being less.

But now? If he needed to, he could turn this on its head. He COULD do something, if he could focus enough, and twist that power dynamic to the extreme opposite. The streetlight just down the road stands testament that in this world, right now, he's not helpless. Maybe it's because there's a choice that he's not exercising it that it's not infuriating and deeply humiliating. Just a little humiliating, more irritating than anything.

There's no psychic retribution. The worst Tetsuo does is jam an elbow hopefully into his side again to distract him.]

You're worse than shit! Get off me!

[Kaneda takes the blow, and it might hurt that elbow a little more than it normally would--like Tetsuo had just slammed it right into a metal door or wall. It doesn't go without recoil though, as Kaneda's hand goes to cover the area where the damage was dealt, laughing and falling over onto the sidewalk.]

Yeah? Well, what does that make you then?

[It's hard to form coherent sentences when you're laughing, but he does feebly grab his comm again and flick it at him again, with 1/20th the power he originally did.]

A little shit!!

[He has to resist the urge to rub at his elbow. He always forgets that this stuff hurts more than he's ever expecting it will. Kaneda Shotaro, made of stone. Hell, his head was always full of rocks, at least the rest of him matches....

Stupid Kaneda.

All of that is broken the second Kaneda opens his mouth, still laughing.]

Oh yeah??

[He whirls back around to tackle his brother, either completely forgetting his earlier revelation that this would do absolutely nothing, or counting on it. Once there, all he's going to try to do is pin him. Emphasis, probably, on try - Kaneda can probably lift him up without too much trouble.]

You wanna say that again?!

[If Tetsuo was going to try and be a threat, it does the complete opposite, Kaneda laughing like a playful puppy as he bats at Tetsuo's fierce pinning. It's weird, seeing him this carefree as Tetsuo tries to yell at him. He could flip Tetsuo over right now if he wanted to get the upper hand physically, but he doesn't see the need to. It's not a show of dominance or strength.

He's literally just being a shit to his brother.]

LITTLE. SHIT!

[Takes one to know one, after all.]

[Tetsuo wasn't sure what he was expecting. Probably for Kaneda to twist and pin him down again instead, turning Tetsuo's attempt at twisting Kaneda's words around into an even more ridiculous mockery. But instead, he just swats at him ineffectively, laughing all the while. It's a miracle he gets out any words at all.

It's really hard to be angry at him like that, and it shows. His volume doesn't build, his tone doesn't grow more antagonistic, and there's a threatening twitch at the corner of his mouth before he gets hold of himself.

Nope, he's not supposed to be amused. Nope. Instead he hangs onto Kaneda, moving to sit on his chest and shifting his weight to press his hands down onto Kaneda's shoulders. This isn't a show of anything other than being mutually annoying at this point.]

That makes you the worse shit!

[That's supposed to make sense.]

[A past Kaneda might've. A past Kaneda might not have seen the signs of what felt like a power struggle. Or maybe he needed that power at the time to keep things in line--to keep people alive.

But Kaneda had learned a lot this year. Many things. One of them--the most important one--was that Tetsuo was never and COULD never be angry at him for what he'd done. He'd done alright. And that...a familial love blossomed from that seed like no other. And a certain gentleness escaped along with it.

There's a few grabs of his wrists, but nothing overly forceful as he takes the verbal beating and feeling the weight of Tetsuo on his chest. He coughs, but only from laughing too hard.]

THE WORST!!

You're the worst!!

You wanna see the worst?!

[Tetsuo's grin threatens further into full visibility, spreading across his face as Kaneda's hands grab at his wrists. He only makes sure he's leaning as hard as he can on those (too broad, dammit!) shoulders, making a point of being difficult to remove. Yeah, that's right, Kaneda. Just try to get up. Go on, amuse him.

Or admit you can't do it.]

Mirror's back that way!

[If Kaneda really wanted to, he could sit up and prove Tetsuo wrong right this second. He was second to none in who had the most muscle between them, and it would be easy to just flip the power struggle right now.

Of course, that would ruin the fun that Kaneda's having just watching his brother literally figure out what to do with this laughing mess he's become.]

Why do I need a mirror? You're right here!

Not me, idiot!!

[Kaneda's right. He had absolutely no followup or endgame planned to this. He hadn't thought he'd get this far, and it shows down to the lack of any good banter. Only one idea surfaces, and he risks looking to the side, calling his comm from the pavement to hang in the air in front of him.

He has to lift one hand off Kaneda to unlock it, thumping his hysterical brother's shoulder for emphasis first before risking this. FINE... he'll show him...]

[Kaneda doesn't exert his force--Tetsuo's not actively harming him, and he's too busy finding this rather amusing to even try. His hands grip at Tetsuo's wrist as he calls that comm to his hand, eyes trained on it before returning to Tetsuo.]

Definitely...you.

[He can't help but laugh each time Tetsuo's fist pounds into his shoulder.]

Who are you calling? Tell em I said hi! And that [Loudly.] TETSUO IS THE BIGGEST SHIT!

I'm not calling anyone!!

[Instead he's unlocking it and heading over to the camera, aiming to get as unflattering a photo of his laughing brother as possible. It takes a few tries, lending some weight to the phone theory.

Until Tetsuo spins the comm around with the tap of a finger, revealing Kaneda complete with weird expression in between fits of laughter.]

I'm showing you! This is what a big shit looks like!

[And NOW he grins fully, satisfied with himself.]

[Kaneda takes this moment to stop laughing, eyes wide and staring at his unflattering photograph like a deer in the headlights. That certainly was him, caught between laughs and presumably taking a breath (which is why his mouth's open in such a funny way, he guesses.)

...

Sure would be a shame if--

Yes, that is his hand reaching up to press the trashcan button, deleting that picture.]

Whoops!

HEY! You think I can't get that again?!

{He goes to the camera again, not bothering to spin it around in his haste to capture another "perfect" moment. THAT'S IT THIS IS A PHOTO WAR NOW]

[Oh, but Kaneda's ready for you this time, putting a hand through his hair seductively and 'posing'.]

You know, they're gonna see the position YOU'RE in too.

Wha-

[Through some minor miracle, he doesn't drop the comm in his haste to jump off of his brother.]

Idiot! What the hell?!?

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