The Power to Protect

[madimpossibledreamer]

This is another one that's been sitting around and I'm not sure it'll ever go anywhere.  But it's kind of fun.
~Dreamer~

Main Points:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Persona AU
Summary: Someone's gone on a quest.
Word Count: 700
Rating: Gen

 

What do you want?
I don't…ever want to feel so helpless again.  I want to be able to protect the people I care about.

          A grey-haired man wearing gloves stood watching the gaggles of people go by.  They'd never know or appreciate all the trouble certain people had gone through to save the world, but….
          "That really doesn't matter, does it?" he asked himself out loud.
          His attention was caught by an unfamiliar tongue in the middle of Japenese conversations.  English.  Someone was trying to speak English.  He glanced over to find a foreigner staring around him, seeing if anyone was listening.  Curiosity piqued, he strode over.
          "Hey, you know you'd probably get an answer faster if you actually spoke in Japanese."  English.  No need to assume the guy spoke anything else.
          The newcomer glanced at him with a sheepish look in the visible eye that wasn't underneath an eyepatch.  "No, actually, I probably wouldn't."  At the raised eyebrow, he chuckled and continued.  "Uh, because I really don't know that much Japanese, and the little I do know comes from watching anime, so…Also I figured I'd at the very least get attention faster, if not an answer, because someone's brain would go, hey, one of these things you're hearing is unlike the others."
          Interesting.  "Didn't have money for a tour guide?"
          "Didn't have money for a lot of things.  So if you're looking for easy money, I’m not the guy.  I'm practically broke.  I-I mean, not that you look like the type of guy to be a thug, I'm just saying…"
          A smile served to stem the flow of words.  He wasn't offended after all.  In fact, he was a little flattered, not that the man had thought him without honor for a few seconds (because that was absurd) but that the newcomer had been able to perceive his strength.  "Living in Japan is expensive."
          The guy nodded.  "I was planning to work for pay.  Or just a place to stay.  I mean, I do have a visa and stuff."
          That was a little less intriguing, but what would drive a guy to do something like that, with such poor planning?  "Why Japan?"
          Another sheepish smile, but this time the brown eye wasn’t focused on his conversation partner's face.  The foreigner's visible brown eye was looking far, far away with a touch of disquiet.  "Well, this is going to sound ridiculous, but…." deep breath, "…I'm on a sort of quest for power.  Not the kind of world-domination power.  That's something no one should have.  The power to protect the people I care about."
          Startled, the grey-haired man stared, thoughts in disarray.  Those eyes had known loss, which means….
          The power to protect those you care about.
          The newcomer continued without noticing.  "I'm clumsy, and I lost the eye, and I'm terrible at Latin.  But I can't sit by and be useless again."
          He nodded in understanding.  "I'll help.  Where were you trying to get to again?"
          The foreigner pointed to a small shrine on a map.  Not far away, so directions were easy.  Just to be safe, though, he put the directions into the phone he was handed, and put in his number, just in case the newcomer got lost.  "Are you sure about that, though?"  He'd be a great recruit, if his mind wasn't already set.
          The guy seems startled, but then his face softens into a smile.  "Yeah, I'm sure.  Thanks, though."
          "If you'd ever like to spar, I'd look forward to it."  Clumsy or not, the foreigner looks like he isn't as soft as he presents himself.
          After a pause, his only answer is an effortless, somewhat cheesy grin.  "Well, I've got your number."  With that, the guy waves, picks up his bags, and heads out through the crowd.  In a few seconds, he's gone from sight.
          He takes a moment to wish that both of them get what they desire.  Too much had been lost already.  But something else should be remembered, too.  Pushing oneself past one's limits and doing suicidal things were different.  He'd learned that lesson, but hopefully the stranger had already or would soon learn that, before it became fatal.
          "Don't overdo it."