Twelve wondered how Nine did it, how he put his feelings aside and only focus on smooth, clean logic. Twelve believed in logic too, but his personal version depended heavily on his emotional side. Nine always took the less solid things like instinct and gut for granted.
But part of his way of thinking came with the fact he couldn't help but leave pieces of himself everywhere. The ability was a double-edged sword. On one hand, this combined with his synesthesia made him able to remember so much. When an important piece of the past needed to be found, the way a certain chemical smells or the exact time the sun set, Twelve was the man for the job. However when he left too big a piece of him somewhere, that meant he became attached and his soul was tethered to whatever it was.
When they first escaped, a sweet, old lady had offered them a roof over their head. The kindness of the act had resonated with Twelve. She didn't know them, yet treated them better than any of the adults at the Rising Peace Academy had. That's why the sight of Nine slipping a few yens out of her purse had made him explode with anger.
"Keep your voice down," Nine had whispered. "And try to understand, we need it more than she does. She has children to support her."
Still Twelve had been adamant, and so the money went back where it belonged. However a few weeks later, he came down with a cold from all the nights spent outside. Nine had expressed his sympathy, but that was all he could give.
"We might have been able to afford medicine if we had some extra cash." The look in his eye makes his words crystal clear.
That was just the start of their conflicting viewpoints. They learned to compromise and get along most of the time. Nine learned to understand he wasn't always right, and Twelve learned to stop leaving pieces of himself everywhere. Things started to go smoothly for them. Well, as smoothly as it can when your body is slowly breaking down. The plan was coming all together and they were ready to make their mark on the world.
But then Lisa Mishima crashed into their lives. Nine had seen it coming the moment he say her. Still Twelve insisted he wouldn't get attached. He wasn't checking up on her because he wanted to make sure the lonely girl was ok, no he just wanted to make sure she didn't snitch. He didn't bring her home because he couldn't stand to see her so alone, it was something anyone would do.
However when they learned she had been captured my Five, he realized he had left too many pieces with her. Nine remained calm and wanted to avoid such an obvious trap, and Twelve couldn't understand him. When she had been trapped in that plane, he had obviously been upset as well. He left pieces of himself with her too, how could he abandon her?
She had been nothing but a shadow of girl, but they had been the same. The days they spent together had felt magical. He had wanted them to be family. He realized their connection had grown to be just as important as his connection with Nine.
He couldn't let her die, for he'd die too. Just as he would if Nine died.
A.N. This was kinda another look on a piece I wrote after episode 7 aired (Pale Yellow). Twelve is very complex, being the most caring and the most uncaring at the same time