14th side; dead au yousuke; action

[masukukunai]

Why...

[He wanders, bruised and battered, glasses cracked and skewed. White eyes peeled in wide, unflinching terror. Stumbling and staggering through fractured worlds that he barely registers, just trying to move forward, just trying to get away.]

Why...!

[He falls to his knees, and after a few faltering tries, doesn't bother to get back up.]

We were, we were... It was supposed to be over! He was the one, and we took care of it, when no-one else would, and...

[A sob chokes, whithers and dies in his throat. The sound is unbearable, like an animal slowly bleeding out.]

It wasn't supposed to end like this...

Comments

[eatsyourscience]

It wasn't what it seemed.

[masukukunai]

[He fights with it in his mind, again. It feels like this could continue infinitely if he willed it to. It was the nature of this place. You could think forever, but nothing would change.]

[Yousuke slumps, defeated. He was so, so tired.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji sits down next to him.]

It's okay.

[masukukunai]

[Yousuke snorts.]

You keep saying that.

[eatsyourscience]

I guess saying it doesn't make it so.

[masukukunai]

Not really.

[eatsyourscience]

I don't know what else to say.

[masukukunai]

Me neither.

...I'm happy that you try, though.

[eatsyourscience]

It's all I can do.

[masukukunai]

All we can do...

[He lowers his head a bit to nudge Souji's shoulder.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji puts his arm around Yousuke's shoulder and places a hand on his head.]

Right. We.

[masukukunai]

Your kindness never wears off, huh.

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji's expression twitches in a slight wince, but at this angle, he doesn't think Yousuke could see it.]

Not for you.

[masukukunai]

[He can't. A welcome distraction from another complication.]

They all will too, right?

[eatsyourscience]

Yeah. They will.

[masukukunai]

[Slowly, very slowly, his body decompresses. Not relaxation, but more like exhaustion. He breathes.]

I'm really tired.

[eatsyourscience]

You can rest now.

[masukukunai]

[He closes his eyes.]

Tell me something good.

[eatsyourscience]

Nanako survives. She's fine now.

[masukukunai]

Yeah?

[For the first time, his lips tremble and quirk in the semblance of a smile.]

That's great. Really great. She was the one who should have lived.

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji nods.]

She recovered well.

[masukukunai]

Mmmn...

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji scritches at Yousuke's scalp.]

Rest.

[masukukunai]

[He's trying.]

Keep talking. Just... Until you have to leave.

Please.

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji nods and talks about some of the things they did together in Inaba. About the culture festival and the camping trip and eating watermelon in the backyard at his uncle's house.]