You are a useless child, useless child without me to guide you

[ojisankink]

It’s very, very cold.

Barnaby can feel the urge to sneeze itching at the tip of his nose, interrupting his sleep. He tries to ignore it as best he can, but breathing in the cool air only makes it worse until he has no choice but to rub at his nose.

For a moment, when he tries to lift an arm to do just that and finds it pinned to his side, he panics, eyes shooting open. That’s when he notices he’s been tucked in. Not as well as his mom or Samantha would… it’s very sloppy, the blankets wrinkled and… adult sized clothing layered over top of them. Weird.

That’s when Barnaby finally gets a look at the room surrounding him and can deduce this is definitely not his house. It’s way too old, and dusty, even if it seems someone did their best tidying up the mess. There’s no sign of his toys or stuffed animals. His chemistry set isn’t on the dresser like it should be.

The only toy he seems to have is his little blue robot. He must have snuck it into bed again, even if Mom tried to stop him.

Before they went to bed… wherever this is.

After a few moments of fidgeting, Barnaby gets untangled from the sheets, nearly falling off the bed with a yelp before he regains his balance. Toy still clutched tightly in his hands, he looks down at himself, silently grateful that whoever put him to bed didn’t change him into pajamas, and heads out into the maze of hallways.

This place is huge… but Mom and Dad wouldn’t have gone far without him, right?

“Mom? Dad? Aunt Samantha?”

He calls for them a few times, until he remembers who his parents were making plans to visit with the night before. Is this really his house?

“Mr. Maverick? Anyone?”

Comments

[lostbunny]

Barnaby is a smart kid. He knows that, his parents have told him that many times before. But it seems Kotetsu is just as smart, quickly realizing what would be wrong with... shaking hands with Hundred Power. And actually noticing that they both have the same power before Barnaby did.

He gasps, unable to hide his excitement.

"Yes! How did you know? That's what everyone calls it, since I have it on a time limit. We just don't know how long it'll last yet... but it's not super strength permanently."

That's about as much as he can explain about his power right now, but at least Kotetsu knows what he's talking about and has a similar power. Barnaby beams to realize he has a companion here.

"It's nice to meet you yoo! Um, kind of a coincidence to meet another NEXT."

[oldmantiger]

"Because...I don't shake hands with people, either. When I glow like that." His expression falters for a moment. "My dad says I shouldn't touch anyone. Just in case." Or else he'll hurt them. And since he can't really control when the power comes or goes, it's led to Kotetsu learning not to touch people at all.

It doesn't seem like quite as much of a coincidence to Kotetsu, given what he's seen already. Then again, he has a theory that he hasn't quite accepted is disproven yet. "I guess so. I kinda thought this place might be a school, though. Y'know. The kinda school where they send NEXT to." Where they could learn to control their powers away from normal people.

[lostbunny]

"...Oh. You have to be careful touching normal people when your power is working, yes. But I'll be okay! You shouldn't hurt me if I glow the same, right?" Barnaby just has to activate his powers at the same time, and then Kotetsu won't have to worry.

He tilts his head in confusion. "Really? I'm not even old enough to go to regular school yet. My mom says I probably could go to kindergarten if I wanted, but I like visiting my parents at work more."

[oldmantiger]

"Woah, really?" Kotetsu laughs in amusement. The blue glow around him starts to slowly die away. "Wow, you're tall!"

It's impossible to be scared of Barnaby, even when he's glowing with the light of the Hundred Power. Kotetsu looks down at himself, just to reassure himself that this fit is over for at least another hour. Then he sidles around Barnaby and out of the closet, dusting himself off a bit.

"How old are you? I'm twelve! We just got done with summer vacation." A summer vacation that just about changed his life. The memory makes him stick his hand in his pocket and curl it tight around his capsule figure again. He babbles happily, just grateful to have found someone to talk to so easily. "Do you know where Oriental Town is? That's where I live. What about you?"

[lostbunny]

Barnaby's powers quickly fade the longer he's talking, but he doesn't really mind, noticing that the other child is back to normal too. He blushes faintly and giggles.

"No, I'm not! Dad says I'll hit a growth spurt and then I'll be really tall. I'm only four!"

His eyes go wide. "You're twelve? You're like almost a teenager!" He's really old! And thus, really cool. Barnaby moves a little closer, happy to be able to talk with someone so easily.

"I know Oriental Town! I live a couple hours away, in Sternbild. We have a really big house, but sometimes we have the nanny stay overnight and stuff so most of the bedrooms are taken."

[oldmantiger]

"You're only four?!" Kotetsu's eyes go wide and his jaw drops. Barnaby is practically a baby! Even if he's a baby with the Hundred Power, Kotetsu knows he has to keep him safe. Maybe that's why they were assigned to be roommates. Maybe the teachers here trust that Kotetsu can help Barnaby and take care of him in such a new place. "Wow! But you sound really smart. So maybe your parents think you'd be okay starting school early."

Not like him.

At least Barnaby gives him an opening to talk about something better. "Oh!" Kotetsu claps his hands together, bouncing a bit on his toes. "I've been to Oriental Town! My school took a field trip there last week, for summer vacation!" He looks left, looks right, suddenly conspiratorial - before he leans in close to Barnaby to share his most precious secret.

"Do you know Mr. Legend? I actually met him."

And all it took was being taken hostage during a bank robbery.

[lostbunny]

Barnaby gets a little redder when Kotetsu points out his age, going back to fiddling with his toy sheepishly. “Maybe? I don’t know. School sounds really fun, and I could learn a lot, even if I like going to see my parents at work a lot too.”

Besides, then his parents won’t have to have Samantha around nannying as often, and they won’t have to find babysitters as often. So maybe it’s okay if he starts school earlier. He just wonders why his parents didn’t say anything about it…

He beams when Kotetsu starts rambling on, only for his smile to fade into complete awe.

“You met a real life superhero? Like the ones on TV? That’s so cool! My parents have a friend who knows all the superheroes, but I never got to meet anyone.”

[oldmantiger]

"Yeah! Like the ones on TV!" Kotetsu draws himself up proudly. "He said that I could be a real hero, too. And I'm gonna be. One day when I grow up, I'm gonna go to Sternbild and help people, too!"

He slings an arm around Barnaby's shoulders, even if this means he has to lean down a little bit. "What do your parents do, Barnaby? They sound cool. Mine own a shop. It's pretty boring. I have to go sometimes, though. Like when Mom's working late and I have homework to do."

[lostbunny]

“That’s so cool! I bet you’ll be an awesome hero! You could like… fight bank robbers and stuff! It’ll be exciting!”

Maybe a little scary too, which is why Barnaby definitely doesn’t have any plans to go into that line of work. But Kotetsu sounds confident, so he’ll be okay.

Barnaby automatically brightens when asked about his parents. “Oh, they’re really amazing! They’re scientists that make robots! They’re like making special armour for heroes too, but they want to make robots that will help people and… and that look like people! It’s so cool…”

[oldmantiger]

"Wow!" Kotetsu lets out a low, impressed whistle. Barnaby's parents sound amazing. "So they help heroes help people - that is really cool! And robots that look like people? That sounds just like Astro Boy!" His favorite cartoon, now and later.

He catches sight of the sign on the door out of the corner of his eye, just before they walk past it entirely. Kotetsu stops, tugging on Barnaby's hand and pointing up at it. Here's their stop - at least for now. But as he does so, another thought occurs to Kotetsu, and he finds himself asking somewhat hesitantly:

"What about you? Do you want to do that kind of thing when you grow up? Like make cool armor and Astro Boys and stuff?"

[lostbunny]

“Astro Boy? I guess so. I think it’s really cool though! They’re really, really nice.”

He’s very lucky to have them, and right now, he’s lucky to have a friend that is going to help him find them. He stops when Kotetsu does, but the conversation is keeping him distracted, even if they should continue on.

“I really want to! I like the robots they make, and I bet I could make cool ones too. And, and maybe I could make a real Astro Boy. For you.” Even if he doesn’t know what it is, because Kotetsu is cool and he deserves it.

[oldmantiger]

"Nah, I don't need a robot like that. Maybe to be friends with, but I couldn't take care of him like his scientist dad does in the manga." Kotetsu knows that it's hard enough for him to be a little brother. He aspires to be more like Muramasa...but it makes more sense to him to focus all his potential big-brotherness on Barnaby instead. "What'd be really great is if you could make some cool power armor! To fly around with and help me stop bad guys!"

Kotetsu pushes open the door to their room and steps inside, taking a look around before beaming back at Barnaby.

"Then it would be like we're saving the day together, huh?"

But to do that, they need to get home, first - or at least find out how to contact Barnaby's parents so they can get the two of them home. Kotetsu puts his hands on his hips to give the room another look.

"Do you know what your parent's phone number is? I guess we could call them...but I haven't seen any phones. Or power plugs. Or...kind of anything electric?"

That really does seem weird now, that he thinks about it.