Chapter Text
“I suppose not everyone on the surface thinks like Libel and the others.” The Celestial sounded scorned and tired. What properly got Vida’s attention was the mention of Libel’s name - practically everyone on the surface knew Libel for helping them with something, and Vida was no exception. Not like he’d ever admit it.
“They were going to use me… the Celestial, to bring peace. To bring freedom.” The ghosts were whispering up a storm all around Vida’s consciousness - half wanted him to kill the kid on the spot, some were frantically agreeing with everything the scorned teenager said, and some were trying to convince Vida to just leave him and put Placer on guard duty already.
“On top of that, they even took my feelings into accord. They gave me the chance to see things for myself.” That sounds like Libel, alright, Vida thought to himself. The ghosts got louder.
“…Never in my life have I used my powers for something other than the duty I was born into. I was happy to be of use in such a way…” Listening to the spirits screaming from every direction in the background, feeling the weight of his axe, Vida couldn’t help but think that he was similar. Not like he was going soft on the kid.
“And though you only see me as a source of income, Libel said I could bring hope.” That stung a little bit. Vida was neutral on most things, but selling human beings never sat right with him. Horca was openly against it, as well. This whole plan was a desperate measure, since there was a disease ravaging the 12th district that was starting to pick off the lower parts of the Kokujohyako. The only reason that Vida and Horca agreed to the plan was to avoid seeing more of their comrades die.
“Vida, yes? I want to use my powers to help the people of the surface… won’t you help Libel with his plan?” The kid finally went quiet, waiting for an answer. For a few moments, Vida simply stayed silent, trying to listen more carefully to individual spirits. ‘Kill the boy, he’s nothing but a curse!!’ One shouted. Another chimed in, ‘What if he can help? If the Ark sends help to the surface, won’t you not need to kill so many people?’ Finally, one soft voice sounded out over the others, ‘He’s right. You’ve gotten too cold, little brother. Help him. It’ll make things better, and if you fail the Resistance will still send supplies as thanks.’ It was Vida’s dead elder brother, Fukari. He was right, of course - the Kokujohyako’s original purpose was always to help others, not to hurt. All the crime came about due to sheer necessity.
“…Fine. Follow me.” The Celestial lit up with excitement, having not expected Vida to agree with him. The elder warrior led him through an area of old, busted up buildings, never once lowering is axe. After around five minutes of walking, they reached their destination - a slightly taller, better cared for building. Arme assumed that it was the main base of operations - it was also covered sporadically in blood red and teal banners and sashes.
“Vida-aniki, is it time for me to guard?” The one with blue hair - Placer, he remembered - came to meet them at the door, having heard their approach.
“Aa- Vida-aniki, why is the Celestial with you? Did you change plans?” Placer’s face let up in confusion and excitement - it seems that he wasn’t fond of the “selling people” idea either.
“Yeah, he sticks with us. We leave as a group at sundown.” Vida strode into the building, patting Placer’s shoulder as he walked past. Arme was a bit shocked - Vida seemed so much more calm and kind now, like that hard exterior just disappeared entirely. Arme scampered to follow Vida, with Placer lagging behind a bit. When they entered the building, five more faces greeted them - all in the Kokujohyako’s signature colors. One with shaggy brown hair stepped foreward to greet Vida as they entered.
“Vi-chan, you decided to bring in the stray? Did one of them convince you?” Vida visibly cringed at the nickname tagged at the beginning, his eyes scanning around in what Arme assumed was embarrassment - it was a bit hard to tell, since most of Vida’s face was covered by his shirt collar at all times.
“Horca, I told you to stop it with that nickname. For one, you’re only a year older than me, and secondly it’s embarrassing. But yes, it was my brother. He brought up some good points.” The brown haired man - Horca - just laughed it off and moved to pat Vida’s shoulder in response.
“I’m glad that guy is still helping you out. I thought he’d quit when you got all moody and disappear.” Arme was feeling more confused by the second - what did they mean, Vida’s brother convinced him to help? Nobody else was there the whole time, and Vida’s communicator had no lights on…
“Vida-aniki can hear the dead people. Fukari-nii’s been dead a few years now,” Placer snuck up behind Arme to provide context, probably having noticed his confusion.
“What’s your name? Just calling you Celestial is stupid.” Ah, so that was Placer’s goal. Arme was a little startled from being snuck up on, plus he was trying to figure out what exactly Placer meant with his comments on Vida, so he didn’t answer for a second.
“My name is Arme, nice to meet you properly,” He responded with the grace and politeness that the Church had always expected of him.
“Can I call you Acchan?” Placer had bounded in front of him, and was now sporting a big grin.
“S- sure, that’s fine…” Arme was probably blushing, but that didn’t matter. Nobody had ever given him a nickname before, and even if it was super cutesy and a little embarrassing, it made him really happy.
Vida and Horca were holding a conversation along with a few other members of the Kokujohyako - updated plans for the Celestial, what food and medicine resources were left, who else was falling ill, what bounties were out in the area. It felt like depressing idle chatter, and Horca hated it. But, he was glad that Fukari helped Vida come to a final decision on what to do with the Celestial - Arme - that didn’t involve selling him. Nobody here liked that idea. They’d committed any number of crimes, but a line had to be drawn somewhere. Hell, some of the Kokujohyako’s members had been sold like property at some point. From what the scout, Jinto, had said, the Rebellion’s highest ranking trio were headed towards the 12th district, likely in search of Arme. Vida closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, nodding like that was exactly what he expected.
“I knew Libel was too soft on the kid to just leave him. If I remember correctly, he was injured in the fight. Placer, Horca and I will meet the Rebellion at sundown outside the district walls with Arme. We’ll bring some small medical supplies and a bit of food. It may be a long journey. Dagito is in charge until our return.” Vida took out his commander demeanor, issuing orders like second nature. Horca had always admired how Vida could show entirely different parts of himself to enemies, friends, and those under his command. Horca wasn’t exactly soft, but more often than not his heart was on his sleeve. While he had been lost in thought, Vida had finished giving his orders and dismissed the other members, now turning to Horca.
“You were right. The kid doesn’t deserve something like that.” Vida’s words were curt, but nobody could’ve been able to tell exactly what expression was on his face due to the mask.
“You see yourself in him, don’t you? Don’t be afraid to admit it, I see that too.” Neither needed to specify what they were talking about. Vida’s duty of avenging the dead souls of the district was no secret or dishonor, but it was a mantle he never exactly wanted. Arme and Vida, both cursed to destroy… Horca had to wonder if it may be possible for the Church to help dispel Vida’s curse as well. Without responding, Vida turned to where Arme and Placer were chatting.
“You two, eat something. We leave in an hour. Arme, don’t worry. We’re meeting with Libel.” Arme’s eyes lit up like miniature suns, and his excitement was overly obvious. It didn’t take long before he was recounting everything about the Resistance Leader to Placer, who was one of the few people who never had a proper introduction to Libel. Horca could tell that the conversation wouldn’t end before they had to leave, so he grabbed both teenagers by the scruff of their tops (was Arme’s hat a… drape? What was that) and pulled them gently to the “kitchen” area. It was really just a large storage room with a few tables and boxes of canned food. Placer grabbed some canned beans to split between himself and Arme, while Vida grabbed a packet of granola and left the communal areas to eat. Nobody actually knew why Vida refused to show his face to anyone, and none of them questioned it either. Horca had his suspicions. He grabbed the nearest food item - it turned out to be some canned “beef” that tasted like dog food. Gross. He sat down with the teenagers and listened to their chatter, and that did honestly make him feel better. It was going to be a long few days.
After a few minutes, Vida left his personal room and headed to the medical area to grab extra supplies for the journey. Several of the medics were scampering around trying to treat the sick, but thankfully there weren’t any wounded around at the moment. He took a moment to ask what supplies they have the most of, to make sure he didn’t take anything that was about to run out. Armed with a bag of cloth bandages, gauze, and peroxide, he left for the food area minutes later. Horca, Placer, and Arme were still eating and chatting, and paid little attention to Vida’s entrance as he packed up some canned foods for the trip. He sat next to Horca once he finished, quietly listening in on the conversation. It was mostly Arme talking about Libel, Fuga and Kura, with Placer asking intermittent questions and Horca supplying small stories of the times when he met with the group. The conversation started to taper off once they got to a point where Arme had already recalled all of his time with the Rebellion, so Vida decided to pitch in to keep it going another few minutes before they left.
“A few years back, I got jumped by some assholes with filthy brains in their heads, around the 9th district. I was out on a supply run, and didn’t have my axe in hand since I was carrying the food.” He silently gripped his axe tighter from its position low under the table. Horca knew this story, but Arme and Placer didn’t. Horca was probably surprised that Vida was willing to tell it at all. “Libel was walking in the area at the time, heard the dickheads shouting, and came running. Beat them up real good. He helped carry the remaining supplies to the cart and I haven’t seen him since.” Arme had a look of concealed confusion. His education on real life probably hadn’t gotten to things like this. Placer understood, and had that puppy-dog look of worry, like it hadn’t already been 3 years. Vida was ready to change the subject and get moving, for sure. He took a look out the window for dramatic effect.
“We’ve got to leave now or we won’t make it in time to intercept. I don’t want the Rebellion storming our base, since they still think we have you captive.” he gestured to Arme, and then to Placer. “Placer, could you grab a few bedrolls and meet us out front?” Placer’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“Got it, Vida-aniki. Man, this Libel guy sounds so cool… I can’t wait to meet him!” Placer bounded off happily to do his task, while Horca herded the other two towards the building’s entrance. Within a minute, Placer was back with the bedrolls, and they began walking in silence. Vida couldn’t help but regret telling his little story, since it seemed to have made the younger teens uncomfortable. He wouldn’t say that out loud, though. Nobody besides Horca and Placer need to know he’s got a… soft side. It takes a while of walking, being stared at by gauntly faces, the voices in Vida’s ears chatting away to fill his silence. The eventually reach the outer fences of the 12th district, just as the sun dipped below the mountainous horizon. Horca at least probably noticed that Vida chose the route that didn’t go by the pit. He said nothing about it as they waited for the Resistance to show up.