noodles in the sky, noodles in my eye
Two years later, in the middle of a class held by the company whose founder goddamn created the instant ramen, I bring you the continuation of Lavi and Kanda growing up together.
Previously, on The Years of the Warmed Over Book Worm
The year of the Alpaca Moth
At 15 and a bit, Lavi finds himself firmly entrenched in that age of invulnerability, where he knows all and is all. There is little left to fear once you've gone through the horrors of cracking voices and messy dreams, the closest ally being an elderly adoptive father who fondly shared the contents of his first wet dream as the sheets get hung out to dry.
All is right on the world, and right now Lavi is sure he only has himself to thank. His online studies are going well; he could be accepted into university next year, if the fancy took him (it might).
His favourite sibling, his littlest older brother, decides to postpone his own entrance into university for a few years. Kanda’s excuse had been that after Froi's recent health scare (it should be illegal to just suddenly suffer from a mild stroke, it should be disallowed for one man to be able to scare so many so badly, urgh) he needed someone not blind (Marie) not incompetent (Daisya) and not a complete jack of asses (haha) to make sure it never happens again.
Besides, Spanish is a language that surprisingly none of them have picked up to any degree of proficiency, and in Peru at least, there is enough of a show of Japanese people that Kanda very often has the power to steer them right, if not smart.
In the cloudy capital, in a pretty little duplex in a nice neighborhood with wind chimes clanging loudly over the top of the barbecue on the rooftop deck, Lavi does A - level Chemistry and he feels like his path to greatness has never been more assured than it is now. The tomcat that he often sneaks in while he's home alone nips at his bare toes, but socks are not welcome when it's a rare sunny day and he just wants to bake every body part.
The wind picks up; Lavi raises his face to meet it, a weathervane of a boy. He feels like a riot trapped in skin, which Daisya has told him quite giddily is not an unusual sensation for boys of a certain age, oh, just wait till you see p-o-r-n.
(Lavi has intimately met and enjoyed the wonders of private browsing and his own bedroom; during those times the riot could not be contained even by the cage of skin).
Tomcat nips at his toes, and Lavi decides to go get some ice cream, without awaiting a chaperone. Daisya is with Tiedoll at hospital, and Kanda is with Marie in the neighbouring town, trying not to terrorise a prospective buyer.
Hell, he can get ice cream for everyone. He isn't used to the roads yet, and this is their first big city in a while, but eh, what could go wrong?
-
And lo, there was a Great Big Crash. Before he passes out, Lavi hears himself think,
Last to come, first to go. Better me 'n Froi.
-
Next time he opens his eyes, he is met with blinding lights on one side and a whole lot of nothing on the other. His throat feels rubbed raw, his head feels detached from his body and his brain feels further afield. He can't concentrate on anything, and that worries him, more even than screaming pain shooting from many body parts that won't twitch even when he druggedly, loudly demands that they do.
Him murmuring abuse at his right hand rouses the other inhabitants of the room, and like dead moths come to life they flock to the light, entering from the shadows behind the curtains that surround him. He would panic further, he really would, but the first one revived is his littlest big brother, come right by where his aching head rests on the pillow, looking like a murder.
Lavi is hazy and half - gone, but his favourite person to observe is Kanda, and he knows when his brother is blisteringly angry. It doesn't take him firing on all cylinders to figure out that whatever put him in this bed put that look on his brother's face.
It doesn't escape him either, that despite how Kanda's face looks, his brother has reached out enough to hold Lavi's hand, tightly enough for the splints holding his middle and ring fingers to creak, tight enough to be felt.
It all comes in a messy rush; the car coming out of nowhere, taking the corner at speed, taking Lavi's feet from underneath him. He hears some hideous cracking in his head; that might be imaginary.
He remembers bleeding out into a cold pool of melting chocolate ice cream, and thinking the blood looks like cherry swirl, which is great because Daisya likes that kind of thing.
Lavi's had a lot of close shaves over the years, by virtue of an active lifestyle and a dire disregard for consequences, and it feels like all the bad mojo decided to get in a heavy hit to remind him that Lavi should never believe he can hold onto things.
But Kanda keeps his hold, unwavering, even as Lavi cries and shakes viciously and dry-heaves his terror out, as Froi rubs watery eyes and prays in French, as Marie quietly pats his foot in the cast as he waits for a verbal description, as Daisya squirms with pity and hopeless concern.
Kanda is firm, Kanda is strong, and Lavi tries to breathe in some bravado when the doctor tells him his right eye is gone, probably smeared like green jelly on pavement (the doctors were not quite so descriptive but Lavi’s brain moves a hundred thousand miles a minute and he’s landed on, what would green jelly taste off aside from Lavi-eye?).
They’re fortunate; the doctor and a couple of the nurses speak excellent English, and as one they say Lavi will be okay. He’ll be one eye short, he might limp for the rest of his life because of his shattered leg, but his brain is looking good and he’s strong and still growing.
Lavi isn’t, uhm, super comforted by any of this, but Kanda is 100% convinced. His littlest big brother nods most solemnly, and then glares (probably with love) at Lavi. “At least you got it out of your system early.”
Like being hit by a car wasn’t much different to a rebellious phase. Like a missing eyeball is just like a bad case of acne. Like scaring the everloving shit out of himself and his (dear, dear) family is pretty much the same as painting his nails black and piercing his tongue.
He can’t help; Lavi feels his lower lip wobbling but this time, at least, he’s laughing as he weeps.
--------
Guys at this point Lavi is going to be growing old in real time ;9
A general update! I got hospitalised so that the doctor could run more tests; the nurses and doctors were so kind, the elderly cleaning lady was fantastically weird and told me about how she went on a disco binge in Bali with her friends, one of whom broke their leg and still carried on dancing for another 2 weeks, and I got upgraded to a private room free of charge because the shared rooms were blocked. I had another follow-up appointment on Monday, where the doctor said I'm recovering really well, and while I was having blood drawn for some blood test, the nurse went hey, hey, do you remember me? From when you were hospitalised? And I didn't but I know beyond a shadow of doubt that I liked the hell out of everyone I met while I was in hospital so I smiled and said of course and she said,
while drawing blood from I, the no-longer-anaemic,
your sister is in Kyoto, right? What was she studying, again?
And in this way I am reminded that I have no goddamn filters and despite what I always, always say, I actually really like talking to people (esp. when they're super nice).
During the procedure, while I was sedated and trying to stay lucid, the doctor said, hey, hey, are your parents nice people?
Sedated and in a hell of a good mood, I went, yeah, duh, of course. And the doctor and the nurse went I thought so. Need good parents to make a good kid.
Sedated and now in an even better mood, I started giggling. God fuck the hospitalisation was more like a holiday, and thanks to Japan's national health insurance coverage, it cost very very little.
Research lab work has started; I've spent 3 hours weeding in the woods behind campus. I got cuts on my hand and mud on my pants and I spend a huuuuuuuuge amount of time thinking I am so very very stupid and so very, very slow, but today, right now, I'm feeling pretty good so let's go with that. Hope you're all doing good too! Somehow!
Previously, on The Years of the Warmed Over Book Worm
The year of the Alpaca Moth
At 15 and a bit, Lavi finds himself firmly entrenched in that age of invulnerability, where he knows all and is all. There is little left to fear once you've gone through the horrors of cracking voices and messy dreams, the closest ally being an elderly adoptive father who fondly shared the contents of his first wet dream as the sheets get hung out to dry.
All is right on the world, and right now Lavi is sure he only has himself to thank. His online studies are going well; he could be accepted into university next year, if the fancy took him (it might).
His favourite sibling, his littlest older brother, decides to postpone his own entrance into university for a few years. Kanda’s excuse had been that after Froi's recent health scare (it should be illegal to just suddenly suffer from a mild stroke, it should be disallowed for one man to be able to scare so many so badly, urgh) he needed someone not blind (Marie) not incompetent (Daisya) and not a complete jack of asses (haha) to make sure it never happens again.
Besides, Spanish is a language that surprisingly none of them have picked up to any degree of proficiency, and in Peru at least, there is enough of a show of Japanese people that Kanda very often has the power to steer them right, if not smart.
In the cloudy capital, in a pretty little duplex in a nice neighborhood with wind chimes clanging loudly over the top of the barbecue on the rooftop deck, Lavi does A - level Chemistry and he feels like his path to greatness has never been more assured than it is now. The tomcat that he often sneaks in while he's home alone nips at his bare toes, but socks are not welcome when it's a rare sunny day and he just wants to bake every body part.
The wind picks up; Lavi raises his face to meet it, a weathervane of a boy. He feels like a riot trapped in skin, which Daisya has told him quite giddily is not an unusual sensation for boys of a certain age, oh, just wait till you see p-o-r-n.
(Lavi has intimately met and enjoyed the wonders of private browsing and his own bedroom; during those times the riot could not be contained even by the cage of skin).
Tomcat nips at his toes, and Lavi decides to go get some ice cream, without awaiting a chaperone. Daisya is with Tiedoll at hospital, and Kanda is with Marie in the neighbouring town, trying not to terrorise a prospective buyer.
Hell, he can get ice cream for everyone. He isn't used to the roads yet, and this is their first big city in a while, but eh, what could go wrong?
-
And lo, there was a Great Big Crash. Before he passes out, Lavi hears himself think,
Last to come, first to go. Better me 'n Froi.
-
Next time he opens his eyes, he is met with blinding lights on one side and a whole lot of nothing on the other. His throat feels rubbed raw, his head feels detached from his body and his brain feels further afield. He can't concentrate on anything, and that worries him, more even than screaming pain shooting from many body parts that won't twitch even when he druggedly, loudly demands that they do.
Him murmuring abuse at his right hand rouses the other inhabitants of the room, and like dead moths come to life they flock to the light, entering from the shadows behind the curtains that surround him. He would panic further, he really would, but the first one revived is his littlest big brother, come right by where his aching head rests on the pillow, looking like a murder.
Lavi is hazy and half - gone, but his favourite person to observe is Kanda, and he knows when his brother is blisteringly angry. It doesn't take him firing on all cylinders to figure out that whatever put him in this bed put that look on his brother's face.
It doesn't escape him either, that despite how Kanda's face looks, his brother has reached out enough to hold Lavi's hand, tightly enough for the splints holding his middle and ring fingers to creak, tight enough to be felt.
It all comes in a messy rush; the car coming out of nowhere, taking the corner at speed, taking Lavi's feet from underneath him. He hears some hideous cracking in his head; that might be imaginary.
He remembers bleeding out into a cold pool of melting chocolate ice cream, and thinking the blood looks like cherry swirl, which is great because Daisya likes that kind of thing.
Lavi's had a lot of close shaves over the years, by virtue of an active lifestyle and a dire disregard for consequences, and it feels like all the bad mojo decided to get in a heavy hit to remind him that Lavi should never believe he can hold onto things.
But Kanda keeps his hold, unwavering, even as Lavi cries and shakes viciously and dry-heaves his terror out, as Froi rubs watery eyes and prays in French, as Marie quietly pats his foot in the cast as he waits for a verbal description, as Daisya squirms with pity and hopeless concern.
Kanda is firm, Kanda is strong, and Lavi tries to breathe in some bravado when the doctor tells him his right eye is gone, probably smeared like green jelly on pavement (the doctors were not quite so descriptive but Lavi’s brain moves a hundred thousand miles a minute and he’s landed on, what would green jelly taste off aside from Lavi-eye?).
They’re fortunate; the doctor and a couple of the nurses speak excellent English, and as one they say Lavi will be okay. He’ll be one eye short, he might limp for the rest of his life because of his shattered leg, but his brain is looking good and he’s strong and still growing.
Lavi isn’t, uhm, super comforted by any of this, but Kanda is 100% convinced. His littlest big brother nods most solemnly, and then glares (probably with love) at Lavi. “At least you got it out of your system early.”
Like being hit by a car wasn’t much different to a rebellious phase. Like a missing eyeball is just like a bad case of acne. Like scaring the everloving shit out of himself and his (dear, dear) family is pretty much the same as painting his nails black and piercing his tongue.
He can’t help; Lavi feels his lower lip wobbling but this time, at least, he’s laughing as he weeps.
--------
Guys at this point Lavi is going to be growing old in real time ;9
A general update! I got hospitalised so that the doctor could run more tests; the nurses and doctors were so kind, the elderly cleaning lady was fantastically weird and told me about how she went on a disco binge in Bali with her friends, one of whom broke their leg and still carried on dancing for another 2 weeks, and I got upgraded to a private room free of charge because the shared rooms were blocked. I had another follow-up appointment on Monday, where the doctor said I'm recovering really well, and while I was having blood drawn for some blood test, the nurse went hey, hey, do you remember me? From when you were hospitalised? And I didn't but I know beyond a shadow of doubt that I liked the hell out of everyone I met while I was in hospital so I smiled and said of course and she said,
while drawing blood from I, the no-longer-anaemic,
your sister is in Kyoto, right? What was she studying, again?
And in this way I am reminded that I have no goddamn filters and despite what I always, always say, I actually really like talking to people (esp. when they're super nice).
During the procedure, while I was sedated and trying to stay lucid, the doctor said, hey, hey, are your parents nice people?
Sedated and in a hell of a good mood, I went, yeah, duh, of course. And the doctor and the nurse went I thought so. Need good parents to make a good kid.
Sedated and now in an even better mood, I started giggling. God fuck the hospitalisation was more like a holiday, and thanks to Japan's national health insurance coverage, it cost very very little.
Research lab work has started; I've spent 3 hours weeding in the woods behind campus. I got cuts on my hand and mud on my pants and I spend a huuuuuuuuge amount of time thinking I am so very very stupid and so very, very slow, but today, right now, I'm feeling pretty good so let's go with that. Hope you're all doing good too! Somehow!