Video

[neededlassie]

...Are you sure I don't look silly?

Are you kidding me? You look badass. C'mon, hurry up and turn the thing on.

Wait! What if... what if someone laughs at me? [Like a girl. Or worse, a cute girl.]

Then you tell 'em to go fuck themselves.

Okay... Okay, I'm ready, are you ready?

Yeah. Let's do this.

[The camera clicks on to the two boys. Shaun's trying to look confident (and only partly succeeding) sitting next to Yusuke, showing off his brown hair that's slicked back and poofed up into a perfect imitation of Yusuke's own trademark pompadour. He gives a cheeky grin and a wave.]

Hi!

[Yusuke grins and gives Shaun a hearty clap on the shoulder.]

Check 'im out, guys! He cleans up pretty well, doesn't he?

[Shaun's grin disappears with a squeak and he elbows Yusuke in the side.]

Yusuke!

[Yusuke grunts and spreads his hands.]

Hey, I'm just sayin', y'look good now that I fixed your hair. Maybe now people won't mistake your big-ass head for a mop.

[He emphasizes this with a light push to the side of Shaun's head.]

Yeah and then you're gonna mess it all up.

[Shaun touches the side of his head carefully, seeing if it's messed up after the indeterminate amount of time they'd spent with Yusuke fussing over it and combing it back.]

And my head's not big! Your head's big.
Oooh, nice comeback.

[Yusuke folds his arms and lifts his chin, looking smug.]

Anyway, you don't gotta worry about anything messin' up your hair. I greased it up so good, you could roll down a hill and not dent it.

[He shoots Shaun a sly sideways look.]

You wanna try?

[Shaun grins again.]

Wanna have a race to see who can mess theirs up the fastest?

[Yusuke smirks.]

Sure, but you better not cry when you lose.

Bring it, Yusuke!

[And then Shaun remembers that they're on camera still.]

...So, uh... I don't know what else to say. I guess, bye?

Yeah. Later.

[Yusuke reaches out to switch the 'Gear off. Then he pauses.]

... oh wait. One more thing––

[He glances at Shaun, then leans in conspiratorially towards the camera. He doesn't even try to keep his voice down.]

If any girls out there want Shaun to take 'em out on a date now that he knows what to do with his hair, speak up. He'll show you a great time.

[The grin on his face can only be described as "shit-eating".]

Yusuke!! [Except Shaun's embarrassed little boy voice cracks even more embarrassingly on the last syllable, making a dive for the Pokegear as Yusuke cackles and clicks the camera off.]

((If you want one or the other in particular, say so in the header! Otherwise, either Yusuke or Shaun will respond (probably Shaun, since it's his 'Gear).))

Comments

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Ever since the last time they talked, Blake has left Shaun Mars alone. He's said what he had to. Him trying to look out for the kid would just make things worse. The kid's been all right even since Jayden vanished months ago. The best thing Blake can do is keep from scaring him and making him cry, and that means keeping his distance. It's a lot different from solving the problem by any means necessary.

It's a lot fucking harder.

When that comes up on his screen, all his resolve flies right out of his head and he's grabbing for his phone.]

What the hell did you do to him?!

[video]

[angerpoints]

[... well, hello to you too, old man. Yusuke doesn't know why he's being yelled at right now, but that certainly doesn't stop him from scowling and snapping:]

I did his hair! What the hell does it look like?

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

Who the hell is letting you screw around with this kid? He looks like a goddamn Elvis impersonator!

[Blake jabs his finger at the screen.]

And watch your fucking mouth!

[video]

[angerpoints]

[Yusuke grinds his teeth. Oh, how he's missed having Blake hop up his ass over dumb shit. He lowers the volume of his voice a notch, speaking to Blake in the sort of slow, patient way one might speak to someone really, really dumb.]

Look, old man. His hair's gettin' long, so he let me mess around with it. It's not like I kicked down the door and held him down while I sprayed two can's worth of hairspray in his face.

[Is that... is that really the amount of hairspray he went through...? Maybe. At any rate, now that he's gotten that out of the way, Yusuke points right back at him, shouting at him with renewed fervor.]

And anyway, what the hell is it to you?! It's not like it's your hair I fucked with! There probably isn't even enough there to fuck with!

[If that sounds like more of an insult than it does a simple observation, that's because it is.]

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Dealing with a traumatized child is hard. Dealing with a loudmouth pain in the ass, that's second nature.]

You used two cans of-- you're gonna give the damn kid cancer!

And you stay the hell away from my hair!

[He has plenty of hair! Even if he yanked out a couple gray strands this morning.]

How did you even get the kid away from whoever's looking after him? They are gonna be pissed.

[video]

[angerpoints]

Dumbass, I'm lookin' after him! We've been travelling together for the past four months!

[He exclaims, in a snotty, belligerent tone of voice that implies that Blake should've figured this out already. Duh, old man.]

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Blake's eyes bug right out. Enjoy the precious three seconds where he is speechless.

Cause what comes next is, simply but very meaningfully,]

You?!

[video]

[angerpoints]

That's right. Congrats, officer. Looks like old age hasn't made you as deaf as it has ugly.

[Yusuke folds his arms, staring Blake down with steely-eyed defiance. He knows where this is going. Bring it, Blake.]

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Blake snaps into decisive action.]

I'm calling Crazy Animal Island's child protection services.

[video]

[angerpoints]

[--!

Well, so much for Yusuke being prepared to maintain his composure in the face of whatever bullshit Blake threw at him. Yusuke sits forward in his seat and throws his hands up in the air, looking exasperated.]

What the hell, he's fine!

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

Who the hell let you take care of a kid?! Do you even know the first fucking thing?!

[Blake's expression sharpens to accusation.]

You're letting him stay up all night and eat candy, aren't you.

[video]

[angerpoints]

[Yusuke scowls.]

No, I'm lettin' him do whatever the hell he wants. Believe it or not, old man, he's not stupid. I don't have to make decisions for him!

[And he doesn't, really. Shaun's smart enough to act responsibly without Yusuke twisting his arm into it, which is... probably a good thing, considering that Yusuke is about as irresponsible as it gets. Whoop.]

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[That is exactly what Blake was afraid of.]

You can't let a fuckin' twelve year old do whatever he wants! He's just a kid, he's supposed to have somebody responsible keeping an eye on him!

[video]

[angerpoints]

He doesn't need me to tell him to do the right thing, he does it just fine on his own!

[URGH. Why does it feel like this conversation is going nowhere fast? Yusuke doesn't even know where the hell any of this is coming from. He points at Blake again and snaps:]

Look, why the hell do you care, anyway? What, didja run out of things to bitch at me about, so you decided to just get a bug up your ass about me giving some kid a hairstyle you don't like? Get a fuckin' life!

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

That kid's--

[A weird look comes over Blake's face for a second. He rallies and shoves it away. If Shaun hasn't told Yusuke all about the whole damn mess back at home, he's sure as hell not spilling it.]

He's from the real world. That makes him under my jurisdiction. That means I keep any damn punks from going around giving him cigarettes!

[video] 1/2

[angerpoints]

I'm not GIVIN' him cigarettes, you fucking--

[video] 2/2

[angerpoints]

[Wait. Yusuke stops, his brow furrowing. Did Blake just say what he thinks he just said?]

Hold on. What do you mean, "the real world"?

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

You damn well better not be, or I will kick your greasy-haired ass so hard into orbit it'll take goddamn NASA to find you.

[Blake huffs impatiently.] The real world. The one with a government, and no ghosts and monsters.

[video]

[angerpoints]

What, like worlds with ghosts and monsters can't have governments? Gimme a break! How do you know the president's not some kinda alien where Shaun's from?

[Look, maybe he's just imagining things, but something about the way Blake answered him a moment ago struck him as kind of strange. After all, this isn't the first time Blake's talked about "the real world". And that look that flashed across his face for a second...

... well. Point is, Blake's response was weird. And now it's bugging him, so you know what, he's gonna pursue this topic a little. Better than just sitting here listening to the old man yell his ears off.]

[video]

[neededlassie]

He didn't do anything!!

[Ruh-roh, Blake, this is what you get for talking around the kid like he's stupid.

Especially since he hasn't left the room. Good job.]

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Aw crap. A look flashes over Blake's face. He stepped in it now.]

Stay out of this, kid.

[It only directly concerns you.]

[video]

[neededlassie]

[YOU DONE STEPPED IN A BIG PILE OF BULL...POOP, MISTER.]

Nuh-uh! Yusuke's my friend! You're not the boss of me, I can hang out with whoever I want.

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Blake is the responsible adult in this situation and as such carries authority and is too the boss of you.]

You're a minor. You're supposed to have an adult taking care of you.

[video]

[neededlassie]

[I would have, if my dad was here.]

I'm a trainer, and I can travel with whoever I want.

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Well whose fault is tha-- Oh. Right. Blake's.]

You can't be going around with some irresponsible punk! He doesn't have the first damn clue what he's doing!