entranceway | 13; video

Entry tags:

13; video

[Souji's MIA since Sunday morning. He hadn't thought to warn anyone about where he was going, since it wasn't supposed to take this long.

Now, Souji's lying on his back on his futon, on top of the blanket and fully clothed. The device is on the floor to one side, capturing a very boring feed of Souji not moving.

At all.

Then he gasps, the sound strangled, his chest heaving like he's never breathed before. He opens his eyes and stares at the ceiling for a minute before sitting up, moving as though his whole body aches. One hand goes to his head and he sits there, disoriented for several minutes before getting up and walking out of frame.]

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[Minato smiled a little since Souji seemed to be enjoying himself and eating. Souji needed to eat after what he had been through, anyway. The smile somewhat faded after time, however, with what he wanted to bring up.]

... There's something else that you're good at.

[Souji glances up. He had a feeling Minato would bring up...things...again. He waits for Minato to go on, raised eyebrows inviting him to.]

[After that look, half of Minato didn't think he should, while the other half was just as adamant in that he should. The latter half won out, but just barely.]

Coming to see you was about you. But you turned it back on me.

...Sorry.

[He means it. It's a habit, something of a defense mechanism, and most of the time he doesn't realize he's doing it.]

[Minato shook his head.]

It's okay, don't apologize. ... I wanted you to know.

Do you want to go back to it?

[Minato was about to answer that they could and use a collective plural pronoun, but he stopped himself.]

Do you?

I will.

[It'll probably be uncomfortable for him, but he's willing to. Minato's one of his closest friends--close on a level no one else ever can be. If he's going to talk to anyone about this, Minato is the best choice.]

Okay.

[Minato thought of a small slice of blue velvet cake and pushed it gently toward Souji.]

When you do that, it's like you're hiding or protecting something.

[Souji smiles a little and thinks up tea for them both.]

That might be why I started doing it.

[Minato nodded as thanks for the tea. He brought his hands out of his pockets to cup them around the warm beverage.]

But what are you hiding or protecting then?

[Souji digs into the cake and considers his answer before he speaks.]

Myself. I was a kid and I didn't know what else to do.

[Minato nodded slowly and then looked down at his tea.]

What are you hiding from?

Does it matter?

Sometimes.

[But Minato wasn't going to push his luck so far as to ask what it was exactly then.]

... Now I have to ask why you do it.

Talking about others is easier than talking about myself.

[Minato was quiet for a while, thinking about that. Talking to or with others might've also been easier. Hm. If that's the case...]

... Who are you?

[Souji blinks and sets his tea down. He already knows that answering that particular question is something he's going to avoid if at all possible, and he feels like he should apologize to Minato ahead of time.

Instead:]

You know who I am.

Do I?

[Minato took a sip of his tea.]

That's presumptuous of me.

[Souji sighs.]

Is this necessary?

You can't tell me you're hiding yourself when you don't even know what that self is.

[Hadn't they finished saying how arrogant Minato is?]

[He feels like he's under attack, but tells himself to ignore it.]

I didn't say that I don't know.

[Minato tipped his cup around the round bottom edge once.]

Then what are you trying to say?

[Stop throwing the ball in my court all the time, Souji.]

...It's not that easy to answer.

[Minato nodded. He knew that it was that way. He could wait for an answer.]

I know. ... I know you define yourself depending on who you're with.

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