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There’s a radio playing somewhere in Mimi’s workshop, but it’s too faint for Gentu to make out what song is playing right now. It could also just be that he’s not thinking straight, the match he had tonight was one of his more pathetic losses. He knew he couldn’t let that happen again, he’d just have to win the next match. Kappa wasn’t as tough as he looked anyway, he could manage it.
He’s brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Mimi ripping off another piece of gauze tape with her teeth. Her hands are gentle where she wraps it around the gash on his left arm, and he wonders how he ever managed this kind of life when he was younger, when he didn’t have people like her looking after him. She hasn’t said much to him since he wandered aimlessly into her shop covered in cuts and bruises and it makes the time stretch by slowly. Part of him is thankful she hasn’t asked him any questions yet, the other part wants to just admit to everything and hope she’ll forgive him.
Gentu knows she’d be even more upset than she already is if she knew why he had been out getting into fights again. Scratch that, She’d be upset if she even knew this was far from the first fight, and definitely not the first he’d lost. He’d just have to fix H.I.R.O like he planned, then he could leave his past for good, and everything could go back to the way it used to be. If he had to take down a couple psyren drones to sell for scrap and win a few more poker games to make it happen, he could do that easily.
“Nomu said you took him to some kind of boxing ring tonight. He told us you were fighting there for money.” His first instinct is to lie, to spin some excuse for what he’s been doing, but he can never lie to her. Even if his conscience would allow it, she’s smart enough that he’s sure she’d see right through it. He can’t figure out how to explain things in a way that wouldn’t make her more concerned for him though, so he stays silent. “Gentu, look at me.” The tone she speaks with is firm, and he meets her determined gaze immediately. “What has you sneaking off behind our backs and getting yourself hurt like this? Rebel and I are worried about you, and we’re worried about the example you’re setting for Nomu.”
He wants to tell her that this is all his fault. Nobody knows who broke H.I.R.O and created the rift, but he knows it has to be his fault. Out of all of them, he can only see himself as being the culprit, the one who used it for his own personal gain too much. Gentu has always been too reckless for his own good, too greedy, too selfish, and that’s why things have started to spiral out of control again.
He’s been back at the kami gang’s den too many times, lost too many games of cards for him to throw in the towel now. It’s too late for him to just give Mimi’s greatest invention back to her as a busted piece of scrap. His only option now is to get the parts to repair it himself so things can start getting back to the way they were, so Nomu can go back to his own time period.
He still hasn’t responded to her, and the silence stretches on farther as Mimi’s expression softens slightly. She must know he’s tense, and he wonders how she can always read him so well. Maybe she can read him well enough to understand that he won’t have to explain his actions.
“We all love you, Gentu, we’re not going to judge you for anything you do, but we want you to have some stability and safety. We’re all family, we want to see you thrive, we want to keep playing music with you, and keep seeing your art in our city.” She reaches out to ruffle his hair, a smile creeping up her cheeks. “We even want to keep making fun of your stupid pizza order!”
“The Gentinator is not stupid!” He sticks his tongue out at her.
“Sure, buddy.” Smiling makes his split lip hurt, but he doesn’t mind right now. With everything he’s been doing, he hasn’t had much time to actually spend with his band, and he hadn’t realized just how much he missed it. “Just…” She sighs, ”Just don’t be afraid to tell Rebel or I what’s going on with you, we want to be there for you.” She moves away from him and gives him another look over, seeming satisfied with her work patching him up. “I’m gonna get you a bag of peas from the freezer for those bruises, don’t get into any more boxing matches while I’m gone.”
As he watches her leave, he reminds himself why he originally decided to revisit the kami gang. He had let his ego run wild again and it got him in trouble, but all of his effort from here on out would be to fix things. He didn’t care how many fights he’d have to lose or what he’d have to bet, he’d get what he needed to fix his mistake.