soul_logs | [open] sketching from a view

Entry tags:

[open] sketching from a view

Characters: Steve Rogers and OPEN

Location: Near the top of Shibusen's stairs, so like this.

Rating: PG

Time: May 15th, morning

Description: With the riots dying down, Steve wants a little time to draw.

With the people being rescued and the citizens slowly calming down, Steve has started to relax a bit. He'll probably never fully relax, especially in a time of war, but he knows that when there's some available downtime, it's good to take it. Rest up and refocus so that he'll be ready for the next mission or crisis that occurs. Back in WWII, it was a blessing to get a full nights sleep. Although the citizen unrest is not really similar to fighting HYDRA, it was still rather chaotic.

Since morning training is still canceled, Steve has brought his sketchpad with him to an area that's near the top of Shibusen's long stairway. He hasn't really gotten much of a chance to draw Death City from this view, mostly because of other priorities that needed to be taken care of. However, drawing is still one of his favorite hobbies and luckily for him, it's something that he can do in any world ~~well one would hope at least~~. With a pencil in hand, he flips to a blank page and begins to outline the city below him. It's not a city he is completely familiar with, but it's still something he wants to remember.

Although, his sketchbook is already somewhat filled with pictures of people and places he doesn't want to forget.

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"Yes." He didn't hesitate when giving his answer. He had no reason to stay and only every reason to go back. Not for the sake of P.A.N.D.R.A.. Hyoubu knew they'd be fine even without him. However, as long as the Queen existed, as long as there were espers who needed his help against the Normals, he couldn't stay.

"There are a lot of things I still need to take care of."

Steve nods at his answer. He doesn't seem the type to really run away from things. He should've expected that, people always fight against prosecution in some form or another. Hopefully, the government and people will get rid of their prejudice, but he realizes that's not always easy. Just gotta keep trying, in the end.

"Planning on helping the other espers?"

"Among other things."

He has to wonder why the first thing Steve thinks he's going to do is help people. While Hyoubu had sworn to use his power to help espers, he was by no means a good person.

Honestly...I'm a criminal. I'm supposed to be a bad guy.

"Not gonna go into detail about those 'other things,' are you?"

It's a little more cynical sounding, if Steve is honest with himself. However, he still thinks that Hyoubu cares about the other espers and wouldn't harm innocent people. He hasn't done so yet in Death City, as far as he could tell at least.

Hyoubu shrugged. "If you really want to know that badly I don't mind telling you." It wasn't a big secret back home either. Of course, there were things he wouldn't be willing to go into detail about.

"Don't mind listening, but only if you want to tell." He figures that Hyoubu won't go into everything, but even knowing just a little more helps.

"Well, we have some side businesses but Magi could take care of those easily enough." After all, he had created PANDRA in such a way so it could continue to exists even without him. "There's also my revenge against Normals that I've put on hold temporarily." Or not so temporarily, depending on your viewpoint. "And there's this one organization I plan to completely destroy."

All the while, he listed these things off as if they were mundane as mundane as some kind of grocery list.

Steve supposes that it's good that he has put his revenge on hold temporarily, better if it was gone completely though. But he knows that there's not much he can do at this juncture.

"Which organization would that be?"

"Black Phantom." It's not like he made his intentions a secret. Still, even now just saying that name left a bad taste in his mouth. "While I hate all Normals, it's nothing compared to what I feel for these bastards."

"What is the Black Phantom involved in?" It doesn't sound like anything good and if Hyoubu hates them, they must be an extreme type of group. "Do they plan on killing espers?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're awfully nosy?" It's not that he particularly minded, he just felt that needed to be pointed out if it hadn't been before.

"They're involved in a lot of things." Hyoubu claimed to hate a lot of things, but his feelings about Black Phantom was different in its intensity. "Including the buying and selling of espers as tools."

"Always stuck my nose in other people's business. Wanted to see if I could help out." Steve doesn't look particularly ashamed of this. "But it's part of the reason why I was beaten up when I was younger." Although, 'younger' was just a few years in his view.

He nods, not really surprised by the answer. "There's always groups like that. People taking advantage of others." Or people putting the blame on them for no reason. "But seems that you and others are resisting them. Planning to shut them down."

Somehow, the way Steve seemed convinced that he was a good guy irked him. He really wasn't. Hasn't been for decades now. (Or so he told himself.)

"I don't plan to just shut them down. I'm going to annihilate anything and anyone connected to them." He was, after all, a criminal. "I won't even give them the chance to beg for their lives."

Steve doesn't exactly think of him as a good guy, but not really a bad person either. He of course doesn't like the thought of Hyoubu killing innocent people and would try to stop him if he ever saw that happening.

"Even if it involves innocents?" There's some definite frowning now.

He was a bad person, though. He had given up on being anything else and he's past the point of being able to regret it.

"They use children, you know. They take child espers who are in despair or have been hurt by the cruel world they were born into and they strip them of those few things they still had. Their freedom, their memories, their sense of self...Black Phantom takes and takes and takes until there's nothing left and then they sell them to the highest bidder." For a moment he remembers Phantom's Daughter...no, her name was Yuri, wasn't it? And somehow it only fans his hate. But his tone remains conversational, though there was a noticeable edge to it now.

"Even those who aren't directly involved are complicit in Black Phantom's crimes. None of them are innocent."

Steve might be starting to really see that.

It is indeed really terrible what this group is doing. Using even children and stripping them like that and all for a little profit. Power or money seems to drive a lot people to these type of atrocities. Still though...

"If they're not directly involved, why would you go after them? Stopping the main source, the Black Phantom organization, should be first priority."

"My first priority is definitely the leaders, but I won't go easy on anyone who gets in my way." Unless they were one of Black Phantom's esper pawns. That would be a whole different story altogether.

"It doesn't matter if bystanders are hurt in the process then." Steve should've expected this, but it doesn't stop him from being disappointed. It was nice finding a soldier that was from World War II, even if he was from a different type of Earth and on the opposite side.

"As I said, if they're working for Black Phantom then as far as I'm concerned they are also guilty." In a detached sort of way, Hyoubu felt it was a bit of a pity. He was sure his younger self, despite being on the other side, would have liked Steve.

But that was no longer who he was.

"If they're part of the children operation, then they are guilty. But you were talking about killing people that aren't even aware of the atrocities that they've committed."

"I'm only interested in protecting espers. Whether those Normals live or die doesn't matter to me."

It was very likely that he was burning bridges here, he knew. But he had burned too many of those to count; what was one more?

"Don't think I can agree with someone that only cares for one type of people." He holds back his bitter tone, but his expression probably shows his displeasure still.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised." Hyoubu could see that displeasure clearly, and it made him shake his head, "Unlike you, I'm not really a good guy, you know? I'm just a criminal."

"A criminal that wants to help espers, but at the same time, doesn't care if 'Normals' are hurt in the process." He wonders what type of criminal activities he's involved in.

Selling stolen goods, threatening head of states...stuff like that. Oh and the occasional homicide. There was that too.

"Those two things aren't mutually exclusive, you know."

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[open] sketching from a view

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