Fic post: Like A Second Skin

[printfogey.livejournal.com]

I'd given up on being able to think of something good for this prompt (I've already used up all my Sogeking ideas ^_^), but lo and behold, 298 words eventually did emerge. And for a character I have distinct problems with, at that. Unsure if I could do him justice.


Title: Like A Second Skin
Medium: Fic
Rating: G
Prompt: Two-Faced
Characters: Kaku
Word Count: 298
Spoilers/setting: Set any time after the end of the CP 9 cover page story


Not all undercover agents work the same way, and Kaku's still quite young. But he already knows he does his best work when he can genuinely like whoever he pretends to be.

And never more so than in Water 7, where he was for so long. It all grew on him: his own keen, neat, and honest shipwright persona; his boss and co-workers there; his tasks and habits; the people and the city itself. It was fake, it was pretence, he never forgot his purpose – and in the end, he threw it all away instantly once the order came, secretly relieved he was able to without hesitation. But he still liked it all well enough while it lasted, even let himself bask at times in the pleasure of being Kaku the uncomplicated shipwright.

Now the Government that he and the others like him did this all for has rejected them, seeking their arrest. But there's no going back to civilian life, not for them. Their training, their past work, even their very nature prevents that. Besides, the World Government may change its mind one day: if Spandam falls, they might still get pardoned. Meanwhile he and the others mostly stay on a secret island where they train new recruits – building for the future, as they must. There will always be a need for people like them.

But sometimes, there is also a need for repairs on their island, or for constructions. He's always the first one to volunteer then, smiling keenly, hands happy to hold hammer and saw and wrench once more; to briefly be useful in a different way than usual. He hums a little while he works, whistles even. And he tells himself he does not miss that distant city he can never go back to.

Comments

[night-mare-chan.livejournal.com]

Awww. T.T I really like this. Why is there not more Kaku fic? While reading this I couldn't help but picture that smile he got when he flew over the rooftops of Water 7. I think you captured his essence really well and it sort of occurs to me to ask....which is the reality now? The assassin or the shipwright? Which is the real Kaku? Is it changing?

Also I never thought of the government betraying them like that but it's true. Stupid world government.

But--yes, awesome snippet!

[printfogey.livejournal.com]

There used to be! Lots of it. (I think most of it was slash shipping him with Lucci, sometimes with other people like Jyabura or even Zoro.)

That's pretty much what I wanted to evoke! Was that smile real or fake? Maybe even if it was real it couldn't be helped but also be fake under the circumstances? Is there maybe even a part of Kaku who wishes he worked for someone like Iceburg again? That's the kind of thing I wonder about... I do wonder what the C.Pol 9 are up to now: the cover page story really didn't say much, and in any case that was two years ago.

Thank you! *bows* I'm very happy you enjoyed it!

[jadekitty777.livejournal.com]

AAaaah I think you did great with Kaku! Especially right here:

"does his best work when he can genuinely like whoever he pretends to be.... in the end, he threw it all away instantly once the order came, secretly relieved he was able to without hesitation."

This is really insightful because it balances well the Water 7 Kaku we're first shown - the one who is amicable and kind - and the Enies Lobby Kaku later revealed, whom tends to be rather uncaring and unapproachable. And the end... oh man that's kind of bittersweet especially since it fits so well with the kind of regretful nature he has after his fight with Zoro after he is informed he was fired. Of all the CP9, I definitely believe Kaku would be the most likely to miss his old shipwright life and those he left behind; but this litte ficlet kind of gives a nice bit where he's found some level of peace despite all that has happened.

This was exactly what I was hoping to see with this prompt. And while quite a few Straw Hats can fit the prompt rather well, it's very refreshing to see a less developed character getting some attention. It's great work!

[printfogey.livejournal.com]

Very happy to please you! I'm relieved I was able to write Kaku without being too harsh on him - he's been hard for me to like, I guess precisely because of that very conflict you point out between how he first appears and how he is later when revealed as a CP9 agent. Yet he does have glimmers of decency and honour even so - but there's no doubt as to where his loyalties lie. (Which might also be part of why I find him so troubling: one is more used to people like that on the antagonist side to show more doubt or even some open opposition.) In an old fic of mine Paulie says of him that he's "wasted in the murder business" because he's way too good a shipwright.

I'm glad your prompt made me try a character I'd always found too hard to write before!

[postingwhore.livejournal.com]

In an old fic of mine Paulie says of him that he's "wasted in the murder business" because he's way too good a shipwright.

I'd love to read this fic!

I really liked what you've written here, too. Kaku does seem to be someone who would really have enjoyed the undercover work at Water 7, and you captured that really well.

[printfogey.livejournal.com]

Very glad you liked it! :D

The old fic can be found here (http://serrende.livejournal.com/12679.html), though I should say Kaku's not actually in it, only mentioned. It's all Paulie and Usopp getting drunk together in Water 7, after the battle at Enies Lobby.