raptornest | [PSL] meet your new neighbor

[PSL] meet your new neighbor

He’s been told his name is Yoki Hisakawa. He’s ten years old, he’s suffering from “severe retrograde amnesia”, and, as of a few days before he was found, he is an orphan.

According to the hospital, he’s “okay, but should be careful”. His ankle and head are almost healed, but his left eye had to be removed. He’s not supposed to be running any marathons or climbing any trees, but he’s been declared healthy enough to be released from the hospital.

In a way, he misses it already. Or… maybe he just misses when he first got there. Before they tracked down his mother’s body, buried in rain-loosened mud and stone a couple miles from where he was found, nobody could be quite sure who he was. One of the nurses was Japanese - like his mother, he’s been told, though he was born here in England - and, looking at his white hair and pale blue-green eye, took to affectionately calling him “Ginko”.

He misses that. Each time someone calls him “Yoki”, it takes him a few moments to remember who that is. Looking at pictures doesn’t help; if he looks at a picture, then a mirror, he can’t deny they look similar, but-- how can he be someone he doesn’t remember being?

The people he’s being sent to live call him Yoki, too, but he guesses they seem nice enough. He’s been told they’ll be taking him shopping tomorrow, so he’ll have more than just the one change of clothes he was given as he left the hospital, and to make himself at home, and that dinner will be ready in a few hours.

He’s not totally sure how to go about ‘making himself at home’, so, in the meantime, he’s substituted wandering into the backyard, lying down in the grass, and staring up at the summer sky above him.

Close enough.

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Ginko nods, accepting that explanation easily enough. Then he stares down at the ground on the other side of the fence, considering how to get down - until Joker drops to the ground himself. Well, that should work.

He doesn't actually say anything in reply; he just nods again, then slides off the fence after Joker, trying to sort of reach down and catch hold of his shoulder to steady himself.

It's a bit of a stumbly landing, considering Joker has to take a couple of steps back lest he be bowled over, not having another hand to steady Ginko himself, but then it's done, and he grins at the boy. "See, nuffin' ta it!" Especially when there's a second party to catch you.

Taking a step back, he glances around the small alleyway that goes inbetween the backs of the houses. "So, what sorta things do ya like? I can start there and show ya around the place."

What... does he like. Right. That strikes him as a question that would be easier to answer if it weren't for his... situation. Most of the time in that he was actually awake in the hospital, there were some kind of tests going on, and if not... well. He had a few books and magazines to pick from, and, if the sun wasn't too bright, they would open the blinds on the window. So...

"Um... plants are pretty cool. 'N bugs." He has no idea if that's any help at all.

Good news, he's in England, and that does help. Sliding his hand down to Ginko's hand, Joker smiles at him. "Yer in luck, fere's a creek not far from here. Sometimes when yer really lucky, I've even seen deer and such around there." They're not too deep into the city limits, after all, which means there's a lot of nature to get familiar with. As the elder sibling to a whole host of younger ones, forays into what little wilderness is about are common.

After a moment of confused hesitation, Ginko curls his fingers around Joker's - but only barely. It's not really a matter of taking hold of his hand, so much as it is kind of a weak mirroring of Joker's actions. But it's something.

"...It sounds nice."

As long as he's alright with it, Joker figures that's the most he can ask for. It wouldn't do to go chasing off this new friend of his and, by extension, his family. So he leads him along, going through various little side streets and towards where the trees grow tall.

"Yeah, it's pre'y nice. bes' in the summer, when ya don' have ta worry abou' freezin' things off."

"How cold does it get in winter?" Very, he's guessing, but he's still curious. While he follows along with Joker, he lets himself look around a little more, taking in the layout of the neighborhood.

All told, it's really a rather nice neighborhood. Plenty of greener, although those closer to the buildings tend to be more maintained. In the direction Joker takes him, they're a bit more wild, branches brushing against branches and grass growing tall.

"Ah, cold enough for snow," Joker says, laughing. "Although s'nah half bad when you've somewhere warm ta go." Pausing, he looks over his shoulder at Ginko. "Yer hair is similar ta it, actually, but yer eye stands out."

Snow. He knows what it looks like, but he can't be sure if that's from seeing it in person or just looking at pictures. After a moment of trying to figure that out, he gives up. Trying for too long just makes his head hurt.

He nods absently, and the mention of his appearance seems to bring on an almost automatic reply, memorized and prepared to repeat if it's brought up. "'S albinism. I don't have enough pigment, so I look like this and I have to wear sunscreen 'n stuff."

"Oh." A pause. "Hell, should I 'ave brought some?" He figured it was hair dye, or just platinum, that kind of extreme blond. Shows what he knows.

Well, it's no big deal. He can go running back to get some from his house if it comes to that.

"No, it's alright. They made sure I put it on before going outside." He looks back at the house he's staying at by way of explaining who "they" is referring to.

"It's s'posed to last until tonight. Unless I go swimming or something, and I'm not supposed to be doing that anyway."

"Well, good." He's more than familiar with how sometimes not the best families end up being the ones to foster the kids who need the most.... but if it's turning out like this so far, then it's probably a good fit, he figures. Turning down a path that leads to more dirt than concrete, Joker hums.

"So we'll keep ya ou' of the creeks and such. Shouldn' be hard."

Ginko watches his step as they moved onto the less carefully-paved ground, then looks back up at Joker after a moment. "Mm-hm. Unless I fall in or something."

Not that he's planning to, but he feels like it should be specified.

"Hey, I'm here!" In contrast to Ginko's carefulness, Joker grins back at him brightly without looking where he's going at all. "I won't let it happen ta ya."

He glances around to get an idea of where they are exactly, keeping an eye out for some of the more hidden paths. "I have a bunch of brothers and sisters, so I'm an expert at this sorta thing now."

"..."

He really just... doesn't reply to that first part, because he can't think of much to say. He looks up at Joker, then back at the ground, and keeps walking.

Before too long, though, he does speak up again. "How many?"

It's fine if he's quiet. Joker can deal with that fine enough, especially since it lets him focus on not getting brained in the head with a wayward branch. He even starts to hum to himself.

There's a skip in the song when Ginko speaks up again, and Joker laughs a little. "Three sisters, and four brothers!" he says cheerfully. "Although one of the brothers is new."

That seems to Ginko like it's... probably a lot of siblings. He doesn't have much of a frame of reference, but the point remains.

"New? Is... he a baby?" That'd be what that means, right?

"Ha!" The path is almost completely nonexistent underneath their feet now, mostly grass and bits of forest debris covering up the dirt. "Nah, he's probably... Eh, a year or so younger than me?"

He grins back at him again. "We're all adopted, although most of us were together before."

"Oh." He nods. Makes sense. "They said I... might get adopted, later. Right now I just live here. There's another kid in the house, too, but she's actually theirs."

He can't really think of the little girl as his sister just yet. Maybe he will eventually, but at the moment...

'Might' get adopted 'later'. So he's in a foster home for now... Joker hums in understanding. He remembers foster homes, and how unpleasant the whole experience was of being bounced around. If not for the lot of them sticking together through sheer luck and ingenuity as they did, he thinks he would have been downright miserable.

"Well, I guess we'll see how it plays out," he says simply. "Have ya met the other one, yet? If yer gonna be livin' with her and her parents, then ya should get ta know her really well! Helps a lot." Like in getting adopted permanently.

"...No. They showed me pictures." A girl a little younger than him, with dark hair and pale skin. "Her name's Tanyuu. But she was asleep when I got here."

He's quiet for a moment before adding, "They said I gotta be quiet with her so she doesn't get tired out. I think I can do that."

That... might have been a joke, arguably.

"Ha." Hopefully it's a joke, because Joker is laughing a little bit. Underneath the sound of their chatter, he can distantly hear the sounds of water running gently. They're getting closer. "I bet."

An idea hits him suddenly, however, and he pauses to turn a little bit towards him. "Oh, y'know wha' could be nice? Drawin' her somefin."

It was at least close enough to one that Ginko isn't bothered - though, even if it weren't a joke, he's still kind of getting a handle on how to talk to people, enough so that being laughed at might still go over his head.

He tilts his head, staring questioningly at Joker. "I dunno if I can draw."

"Ya just put a pencil ta paper." He mimes the gesture out casually. "Even if s'nah wonderful, it'll be nice, yeah?" The thought that counts, and all of that. It'll definitely make a good impression, too, he's sure.

"Or maybe paintin'. I think yer allowed ta get away with a lot more nonsense with paint."

"...Maybe." Ginko's gaze drops to the ground and his brow creases, just slightly, as he considers that. Maybe it'd be a good idea.

"What should I draw?"

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