13; video

[eatsyourscience]

[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.]

Comments

[video]

[jivitadana]

Souji?

[Okay, so this scene is a little weird. What is with you?]

[video]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji comes back to the device.]

Hey, Minato.

[masukukunai]

[Yousuke had noticed Souji wasn't around yesterday. Usually they see each other everyday, even if only for a short amount of time. Always enough to at least say hello. He wasn't too worried though-- Souji was curious creature and probably got sidetracked by something, like playing with an animal, or following a trail of half-eaten cookies. He could take care of himself.]

[Or so he thought.]

[At first, the video confuses him. But quickly it fills him with cold dread. Souji wasn't breathing.]

Partner? Sou--?

[He wakes up, and Yousuke jumps. It's like his own heart has stopped, and just then started to beat again.]

Hey, are you okay? Souji? Partner?

[video]

[jivitadana]

[Don't you "hey, Minato" at your senpai. You look sick. Doctor and healer instincts kicking in along with being... well, senpai-ish.]

Are you okay?

[eatsyourscience]

[It hurts a little to breathe, like he's overtaxing some muscles somewhere doing so. He takes a breath and reaches for the device so that he can actually look into the camera.]

I'm here.

[video]

[eatsyourscience]

Yeah... Yeah. I'm a little surprised, that's all.

[masukukunai]

Yeah, I can see that.

[Yousuke grimaces. There's definitely something wrong, though he can't put his finger on what It's very familiar... In an awful way.]

What happened? You look like crap.

[video]

[jivitadana]

[Some silence passed.]

About what?

[video]

[eatsyourscience]

This isn't where I was earlier.

[eatsyourscience]

[This is one of those moments when Souji wishes he were the type who could lie and actually pull it off. Unfortunately, he's not the type who lies at all except to Dojima, but that was special circumstances so this is going to be very awkward.]

I was lost in the woods.

[video]

[jivitadana]

[... That's weird.]

Where were you?

[Is this 20 Questions or something?]

[masukukunai]

Yeah? [He raises an eyebrow.] Did something go down there? How'd you get back?

[eatsyourscience]

I woke up back here.

[He will connect the dots on this is Yousuke doesn't do it himself. He's really not sure if saying bluntly that he died wouldn't be better, though.]

[masukukunai]

[Normally Yousuke probably would have made him connect those dots. But he remembered-- no, he knew what had happened there, because it had happened to him as well.]

How did you... When...

[He swallows hard.]

Where are you?

[eatsyourscience]

My room.

[video]

[eatsyourscience]

I was out in the forest. I woke up back here.

[video]

[jivitadana]

[...

... It didn't take much to figure it out.

...

Have some more silence.]

[masukukunai]

[Yousuke doesn't say anything else. He turns off his device and hoofs it straight to Souji's room. He doesn't knock either. Screw privacy. He slides to his knees on the floor and embraces Souji in a squeeze-the-air-out-of-your-lungs hug right there on his futon.]

[video]

[eatsyourscience]

...You're upset.

[eatsyourscience]

[Okay, wow, he was just getting used to breathing and now it is difficult again. But he doesn't try to squirm away or anything. Instead he puts an arm around Yousuke.]

I'm alright.

[video -> action]

[jivitadana]

[Screw talking.

Have a knock on the door to your room.]

[masukukunai]

No you're not.

[action]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji sighs. He knows who that is.]

Come in.

[eatsyourscience]

I'm not hurt. [That's what he meant. Although he's not all that upset either. It's more like a shock to the system than anything.]

[masukukunai]

[Yeah, getting swallowed up by some trees and getting crippled and then shot in the face aren't exactly on the same trauma level. Still, Yousuke isn't happy.]

[He breathes a sigh out of the bottom of his lungs, and loosens up his hold on Souji. A little.]

I know.