Pipipipipipi

[inthejunk]

Hanamura Yosuke. I can't answer right now, but if you leave a message I'll be sure to get back to you!

Comments

[inthejunk]

Hey...

[Whatever firmness was in his voice before softens out.]

Hey, don't do that.

[The video flicks on. He's still shivering, but indoors now. In a convenience store of some sort.]

Look at me. Okay? Just uh...take slow breaths, nice and deep. They're here. They're real. A-and you're definitely not alone. You have both of those guys, now. Um. Uh...okay, k-know what I do when I miss my mo-uh, my home? I imagine the scent I miss.

[Except he suddenly realizes the problem with this, and wrinkles his nose. Okay, yeah. Teenage boys and mothers have some very important differences to be considered, in this situation. He's trained with Shika before, after all.]

...No, wait. Don't imagine how those guys smell. Uh. Crap.

[reassures]

[It takes a few minutes for another text to pop up.]

shika smells like cigarettes

but not all the time

[And then-- a video feed pops up. Nill is sitting on the floor, with her legs pulled up to her chest. As the feed flickers on, she's just wiping her her face, drying her cheeks; although no new tears show while the feed is on. Even during the month or so that Shika was gone, Nill didn't cry.]

im always afraid

[inthejunk]

[He does the same thing he did the very first time he saw her-and for a moment, the sense of déjà vu is almost tangible-unlike the screen, when he reaches down to touch it helplessly. She's crying, again...this time she got the right guy back and she's still crying. How is he supposed to fix that?]

Oh, man. That...don't think of it that way, okay? This place really sucks. I know it does. I-you've really had some bad luck here. But I promise-

[Sigh.]

Even if those guys get lost somewhere again for a while...you won't have to wait by yourself. But don't worry. They both came back, right? You said it before when I was-

[His voice catches, and he rolls his eyes at himself, forgetting the video feed for a second.]

Sorry, my throat is full of gunk. Um. Anyway, remember what you said before? He'll always come back for you. So you don't have to be afraid.

[reassures]

all of the worlds are bad

[It hasn't been just here. Her world was bad - NeoGenesis was terrible, and sometimes she thinks this place is the worst of them all.

And for a moment, she feels incredibly guilty. Her Yosuke had wanted to go back to his world to save it, and she wonders if this one will have to do that some day too. If he would die because of it, if he even made it that far. Or-- Maybe if he left, he could have something better.

Nill doesn't start tearing up again until she realizes that she really doesn't want him to.

Her hand comes up to clutch the locket around her neck - probably one that she clung to a lot while Shika was gone - and Nill nods her head slowly.

She doesn't reach to type any other messages out, and just mouths out the worlds "thank you".]

[inthejunk]

[He nods, a little uncertainly. She doesn't look very cheered up. He's pretty lousy at making people feel better, more often than not. But no matter how he wracks his brains, he can't think of a single cliche that serves this situation well. And that's what he usually falls back on when he doesn't have any words of his own.]

It's fine to call on me when you need help. Just so you know.

[reassures]

[She smiles at him, small and a little strained, but reassuring; and she nods. Yes, she knows. ...She definitely knows that now. She opens her mouth again, but the moment she does someone knocks on the door behind her and Nill jumps. She stands abruptly, wiping at her eyes one more time, and quickly types;]

thank you

sorry. i have to go

[And with a brief and apologetic look, Nill cuts the feed.]