Speech Patterns
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Takao talks too much.
Of course, he does a lot of things too much. He eats too much, shows off too much...probably the only thing he doesn't do too much of is think. But it's the talking that gets to Kai.
Takao talks all the time. He chatters to fill silences. He rambles if he feels awkward or uncomfortable. He babbles when he doesn't know what he's talking about (that happens a lot). He even mumbles when he's eating, because he refuses to be quiet for the length of time it takes to chew and swallow a mouthful of food. Even when they're training he keeps it up, yelling and whooping encouragement to himself and his teammates. Every time Kai hears an exuberant shout of: "Sweet move, dude!" he can feel his jaw twitching.
Kai has always tried to ignore his jabbering, insofar as it's possible. But lately he's realised to his dismay that, somewhere along the way, he actually started listening to Takao. Not all the time of course - that would be a twenty-four/seven job - but sometimes. And while most of what Takao says is pointless blather, at times he actually says something...something worth hearing. Much to his bemusement, Kai has found himself listening out for these occasional somethings; recently he's been doing so more and more.
It was one of those somethings that dragged him back from the icy brink, once...
Kai doesn't talk unless he has something to say. He doesn't feel the need to fill a silence with meaningless words, and he's never been the type for casual conversation. But when he does say something, it's because he wants people to hear it. And they usually listen, if only out of surprise. He says his piece, then stops and lets people make of it what they will.
Takao, on the other hand, seems to talk for no reason other than to make a sound. As if he's constantly reminding the world of his existence, telling it that he intends to make all he can of life. And the world notices Takao - whatever anyone might think of him, they can never pretend he's not there. He's much too present to be ignored. He's the noisiest, most alive person that Kai has ever met.
Sometimes Kai wonders what it might be like to speak as easily as Takao does. He's even caught himself wondering how it would be to talk to the other boy. To just talk to him about nothing in particular, simply for the sake of talking. But of course he wouldn't ever do that, because it's not in his nature to. It would be like a fish jumping out of the water and going for a casual stroll down the street.
So when Takao arrives for practice and says: "Hey Kai, what's up?", he responds with a shrug and a grunt, just like he always does. Takao starts talking to Max instead, and soon the two of them are laughing and joking, ignoring the Chief's attempts to interject details of his newest training plan. Kai folds his arms abruptly as Takao gives a hoot of delight. This childish prattle - when they should be training - exasperates him, and he frowns.
But he still listens.