estoria | try to stop the flow, double-clicking on the go (CLOSED)

[ Of course, it's kind of his Thing to be prompt and timely. His CereVice is also in the basket by the door, and Yu himself is further in, seated idly with a black messenger bag at his side. He kept an eye out on the door for his friend, so he spots Naoto once she comes in, smiling and waving her over. ]

Sorry, [ he says, not sounding particularly sorry. ] I had some time on my hands, so I thought I'd prepare in advance.

[ He'll gesture at the seat beside him if she wants to sit down as well. He lays one hand on the messenger bag, smiling a little still, but now there's something crooked about it. A certain knowing. ]

Thanks for meeting me. This should help get you up to speed, but none of the things I have to tell you are good. Whatever you might have already heard, Tellus and CERES are even more dangerous than you think.

[ A pretty grim thing to say, but all he does is reach into his bag. He pulls out what seems to be the broken off earpiece of a pair of headphones, a few brightly colored buttons, and a mask, the surface of it split by one long crack down the middle and spiderwebbed with many more fine cracks. All this he places on top of the bag once he's got it settled on his lap, along with one item he withdraws from a front pocket: a small key. With that spread laid out, Yu takes a breath. ]

These items are all related to different events of the past few months. Have you heard anything yet about the trip into the Labyrinth or the mass kidnapping that occurred recently?

I'm beginning to suspect as much. [She says softly, smoothing the seat beside him with her hand before sitting down, focusing on the items he's pulling from his bag as much as she can.

She recognizes Yosuke's headphones and Chie's buttons instantly, but the mask and key... they're foreign to her. Naoto leans in, but she doesn't quite reach out to touch them. Not yet.

She sits back up straight, looking at Yu, her expression serious. Yu's not showing these to her for a fun mystery, after all.] I haven't. But unless I'm misremembering, the key and mask aren't any of our possessions. What do they have to do with the others? [Unlike the other two.]

[ Yu lets her examine what she wishes, quiet while she thinks. His expression is sober now too, knowing the stories he'll have to tell her won't be pleasant things to hear. He'll nod at her question, picking up the mask in particular. ]

In the week or so leading up to the Labyrinth, a traveling carnival came to visit Cerealia. There, a fortune teller named Aria was handing these out. Once you accepted a mask, it followed you around. If you tried to get rid of it, it would come back to your hand. Try too many times, and it would attach itself to your face.

[ Yu frowns at the mask, turning it over in his hands. ]

Based on another CERES stunt from a month or two prior, I had a friend help me cut my mask open, thinking we might find a clue of some kind. We didn't, and my mask reformed itself on its own. A few days after that, the rest of the cracks started appearing on the mask.

[ He pauses, organizing his thoughts. He's never one to talk this much, but there's a lot to explain, and no one will know this particular story as thoroughly as he does. ]

It turned out the masks were connected to something we found in the Labyrinth. Or rather, someone. We were able to find a terminal that let us talk to one of the Flamines.

[ Yu holds the mask out if she wants to take a closer look at it. ] The Flamines value masks very highly. Anyone with a broken mask was branded a Maskbreaker. [ One last small pause, and he says the next words as if reciting them from memory, which he is: ] "Maskbreakers are put to death when we find them."

[She takes the mask from him as it's offered, turning it over in her hands. What an interesting material... she can't tell precisely what it's made of. It's not stone, it's not clay, it's not plastic. It's cold to the touch.

As she inspects it, she listens to his story, not wanting to interject until he pauses. It sound annoying enough at first, but increasingly sinister as he goes on. Her expression darkens, her brow furrowing.

It's not the part about talking to the Flamines that strikes her. People have mentioned talking to the Flamines before. It's the fact that he's telling her that Maskbreakers are put to death... and what Neji said about not even death being permanent.

His tone. What she knows. She hopes he's not going where she thinks he's going with this. She glances downward, her voice low when she answers.] They came after you, then. [A statement, not a question.]

[ He looks at her for a moment, expression inscrutable. For her to come to that conclusion... does she already know? About-- ]

Not yet, [ he says softly, his voice uninflected. ] All we have is their threat. I'm not the only one with a broken mask. There's several of us, among them my close friends. [ Athena. Kyoko. ... Merlin, if he returns. ] I don't intend to let them just do whatever they want with us, but there's a lot we still don't know. Do you remember the toe tag you had in the asylum? There was a red smiley face on it. That's sort of their symbol. If they're tampering with ViViD levels, things could be getting a lot worse behind the scenes.

[ He pauses for a beat, small things about his expression shifting as his eyes search her face. ]

What made you think they'd come after me?

[She exhales softly through her nose, her shoulders relaxing softly as she hands the mask back to him. Maybe she was wrong after all.] I didn't think you'd be telling me the story if it didn't have a conclusion along those lines. If not yet, then it still remains a possible eventuality.

[The thing about the toe tag, though-- that she didn't know.] That's the first I've heard about them gaining control over ViViD, however. Considering that we can apparently be physically pulled into it at any time regardless of our consent, that's... more than a little concerning.

Have they really not made any attempts on your life and that of your fellow Maskbreakers?

[ Taking the mask back, he lets his thumbs drift over its surface as he listens. He nods to her first point - fair - and frowns slightly at her second. ]

That's what Dipper and I were thinking. They've been found in CERES buildings before, but to go this far... something's up. And ... no, [ he adds thoughtfully. ] Not that I've been able to tell. Those of us with broken masks haven't been specifically targeted.

[ Gathering up the buttons, headphone, and key in one hand, he slips the mask back into his bag before laying those objects out again. ]

I think it's coming. [ He says it neutrally, calmly, and he meets her in the eye. ] I just don't know when.

[She meets his gaze, her expression calm and serious. If she were Yosuke, she might have cracked a joke here to relieve tension with levity. But that's not her style.] I don't disagree. If they take it so seriously that the penalty is death, I doubt they'd just be willing to let it go by unpunished.

Which means that either they've been unable to take action before now, or they're biding their time... with what you've told me so far, I think it's too soon to tell either way. I suppose I don't have to tell you to be vigilant. [It should go without saying.]

What does it have to do with Yosuke-senpai's headphones, or Chie-senpai's buttons? [Not to mention the key.]

[ He knows, on both counts. He appreciates his friends for all kinds of different reasons. When it comes to discussing the facts of a case like this - especially the darker, scarier stuff - there's few people he's wanted around quite as badly as Naoto. Not that he doesn't rely on his other friends, but her brand of calm logic is good to have in moments like this.

Her warning gets his mouth to briefly, ruefully quirk, and he shakes his head. ] I know.

[ Yu picks up the buttons and the headphone piece. This one is actually harder for him personally, and his eyes hood a little. Yosuke's reaction to finding out why his headphone had been here... had been hard. ]

I found these in the Labyrinth. Deep underground, we were able to find an altar. A sacrificial altar to Tellus's gods. There was blood there, though I don't think it was recent. [ ... ] I found Chie's buttons and Yosuke's headphone there.

[Her expression matches his when he tells her where they'd come from. That's ominous, to say the least.] ...before you continue, senpai, this isn't the first time you've mentioned the Labyrinth. I'm assuming, because you've been able to take them with you, that it's not a part of ViViD?

[Yosuke is, of course, walking around.] I'm sure you've already considered the possibility that they're a fake meant to rattle us or scare us from looking further.

No. The Labyrinth is an abandoned part of the city that we all got taken to abruptly one night.

[ His expression shifts into something grim and unhappy, but he nods at what she says. ]

There were all kinds of objects down there from different people. Several of us considered they might just be fakes. But the altar had been used not long before. The colonist who was sacrificed on it told us all about it himself, once he was revived.

[ The look on his face goes tighter still; something about this angers him. ]

Mosley-san was the one who performed the sacrifice. And Mosley-san told him that regular sacrifices had to be made to appease the gods.

[ Releasing a breath, Yu relaxes, turning the headphone piece over in his hand. ]

... it's impossible to say one way or another. And in any case, the altar's been destroyed.

Then it's true what I've heard. Death really isn't permanent here for anyone. [She reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose.] I'm not sure that's as reassuring as it might have been intended to be. Particularly because while Yosuke-senpai is with us... [Chie isn't. So it's, if nothing else, capricious who it resurrects. If they were in fact sacrificed.]

Did he mention what the penalty was? I'm inclined to brush it off as a local superstition, but I'm curious as to what they believe might happen if their gods weren't 'appeased.' Particularly because, as you say, there's no way of further appeasing them.

... Chie's not. [ He knows. It's horrified him ever since she left again. Is she in the Nexus code? Or did she get--

He can't think about that. About England's visceral description of what it was like to be sacrificed, to have his organs and eyes ripped out, while he was still alive.

Yu blows out a breath. ]

Actually, Mosley-san himself told me that it was a superstition. [ His anger comes back, flinty and cold. ] He said that CERES tried to dissuade the natives from the practice. He was lying to me, since he turned around and sacrificed England. As for the consequences... those are real. Before I got here, the spirits flooded the entire colony. I don't know if they'll do something like that again without regular sacrifice, but they've tampered with our lives as much as CERES has, so it's not unreasonable to think.

[ A beat, and he admits what he doesn't like to think about: ] It's possible that wasn't the only altar, either.

[At any other time, in any other context, she would have to immediately ask about 'sacrificing England,' because in this context, those two words do not make any sense to her. But she files both of those back in her mind to bring up later.]

The two questions that raises for me... do we know whose spirits they are, and how much of the Labyrinth have we explored?

I admit, if there is the possibility of actual consequence beyond mere myth, the idea that it would have to be brutal enough to make human sacrifice preferable to facing it is not very reassuring.

[ For a moment he stays quiet as he absorbs those two questions. The first he can answer. The second he isn't sure he wants to.

After taking a moment to organize his thoughts, Yu shifts to put the buttons and headphone piece away, leaving only the key still sitting on the bag. ]

There are four elemental spirits. Ardeo for fire, Occidi for earth, Maris for water, and Caeli for wind. All of us are picked by one of the spirits when we arrive here. I belong to Ardeo. Yosuke belongs to Caeli. There's no immediate way to tell who you've been chosen by. I found out through circumstance. [ After a beat, he murmurs: ] I should ask Rise what her spirit animal was.

[ A beat to give his head a slow, single shake, and continue. ] A being known as the Bridge is their queen. When England was sacrificed, she was there. The sacrifice was made for her. If anyone is going to punish us for not performing sacrifices, it'd be her.

[ Yu presses a curled fist into his other palm now that his hands are free. ] As for the labyrinth, it's hard to say. When we were all first there, we were taken by surprise. No one had any supplies, and you can't find any there. Within a few days everyone was starving and weak. We explored what we could, but it wasn't a priority.

[ Something about his expression shifts, dims; there's a darkness behind his eyes. It holds for a few seconds before he sighs and the moment passes. ]

I'm not against going back, but we'd need to be extremely well-prepared.

That sounds... very difficult. I'm glad you're all okay. [She says, softly and sincerely. She's not sure when it was that the safety of her friends became her primary concern, but there's no getting around that.]

Four elemental spirits and a unifying queen... and they each get to pick us as we arrive. We may not know how they choose us, but do we have any idea what they want? What they're trying to do by divvying us up between them?

From what I'm hearing from you, it doesn't seem like the problem was the Labyrinth itself but the circumstances in which you were pulled into it. Perhaps venturing in with proper preparation would be possible.

...how did you find your way out?

[ Yu inclines his head with a fleeting, warm smile, knowing her sincerity for what it is. He knows better than most just how much Naoto really cares.

He considers her questions about the spirits for a moment before answering. ]

They seem to think of us as their people. They tried to rescue us once by taking everyone out of the colony, but we're not capable of surviving in the jungle for long. CERES had to come get us before we all suffocated. CERES and the spirits have a long history... it's possible they just want us on their side.

[ Yu pauses again over the Labyrinth. His expression is inscrutable. ]

The Labyrinth is going to be dangerous even if we do have supplies. If we go, I want to avoid most fights, and we're only bringing the Investigation Team.

[ No Dipper. No Hiro. Even if Hiro has Baymax, he won't risk their lives on a return journey. He just won't.

And Minato... is too unpredictable an element. Too easily hurt. Too willing to die. ]

No one really knows how we got out. All of a sudden, we were just back in our apartments as suddenly as we'd been taken.

Hmmm... but if they want us on their side, then why threaten us with reprisal unless sacrifices are performed? On the surface, it wouldn't seem rational. There might be something else there. [She taps a finger against the front of her chin.] Otherwise, it seems like we're pawns in a larger power struggle. How thrilling. [She adds, dryly.]

I'd agree that a small group we can trust seems like the most optimal scenario. And a four-man party is, of course, something we're all accustomed to. [Though Rise isn't usually counted in that.]

But senpai, if it really was that simple, are you certain it wasn't something more akin to ViViD? Or have they previously demonstrated teleportation capabilities?

We've been told that the spirits might disagree with their queen. It's difficult to say how reliable that information was, though. [ The mysterious fourth party... ] But that's definitely how we're treated. Everyone here just wants to use us to advance their own schemes.

[ The distaste is clear on his face. People have died - over and over - for this struggle. ]

And yeah, they have. Remember when I said CERES saved us from suffocating? We all blacked out, and when we woke up, we were in our own beds again. The spirits have the power to teleport us around, too. [ Softly, somewhat wryly: ] You get used to it, after a while.

I undoubtedly will. Whether or not that's a good thing remains to be seen. [But that seems to settle most of that.] Then it's decided. We'll prepare to investigate the Labyrinth and attempt to map it out at a later date, as part of the Investigation Team's continuing duties.

[She pauses for a moment.] That explains three of the four items you've shown me. What relevance does the key have?

[ He merely nods his approval of her ideas. He has serious apprehensions about returning to the Labyrinth, but he sees the utility of it.

Ah. So they've come to the key. Yu picks it up and turns it over in his hand. ]

This is connected to the mass kidnapping I mentioned. Colonists were taken in groups of four or five to various places. Mine ended up in a prison, which is where we found this.

[ He pauses for a moment. She should know. Yosuke and Rise do. It wouldn't be right if Naoto didn't. As reluctant as he is to share this last piece of information, she deserves to know just how dangerous this world can really be. ]

The prison had a powerful guardian. It took two members of our group by surprise and killed them. [ His voice stays level, but his eyes are on the key. ]

The three of us that remained attacked it, but without realizing, we caused it to overload. It blew up and killed all three of us.

[ He lifts his gaze to meet hers then, still calm, but a little grim, too. ]

Edited 2016-07-31 07:29 (UTC)

['It killed all three of us.'

Naoto freezes, her fingers digging into the legs of her pants. It sounds impossible. (How do you talk about a man's death when he's sitting right next to you?) But he's saying it with such seriousness-- and not his usual dry deadpan-- that she knows he's not lying. He died there.

Her gaze drifts downwards, leaving his.] ...in the asylum in ViViD, I was told that even death isn't permanent here. When you mentioned that having a cracked mask was a mark of death... I thought that might be what you were leading up to.

[And when it wasn't, she'd let her emotional guard down.

Death isn't permanent here, but does that really diminish the reality of it?] Senpai, I don't... really know what to say. I'm sorry. [What the hell do you tell a man when you're talking about his death?]

[ Yu is quiet, listening to her logic and understanding now why she'd responded the way she did. He says nothing in response to the comment, merely letting go of a slow, measured exhale through his nose.

In the end, when she apologizes, he shakes his head, gentling his expression. ]

I'm here now, and that's what matters. But it's an important reminder to constantly be on our guard. Death isn't permanent, but it can have consequences, and I don't take it any less seriously.

[ Finally he tucks away the key, too, leaving his lap free of objects. ]

Was there anything else you wanted to know? That covered everything I wanted to tell you personally.

[This is going to require some serious thinking on her part. Fortunately, she often thinks best on her own. So her reaction is a very slow nod as she tries to process Yu's death and put it behind her.

It's not easy. But she can't let herself be consumed by it, either. Move forward, Naoto. She closes her eyes and takes a breath, exhaling. Right.] I have every intention of being on my guard, senpai. Complacency is a dangerous thing.

I do have a question for you, however. When I met up with Yosuke-senpai in ViViD, he... didn't seem to know things that, from my perspective, he ought to. I'm curious about you, as well.

Do the phrases 'Labrys' and 'Sister Complex Kingpin of Steel' mean anything to you? [Yes, move on to the next subject. Don't dwell on his death.]

I wouldn't expect any less of you. [ Said with faint, fond pride.

Her question gets him to tilt his head, but he listens quietly. However, the names she mentions get his eyes to widen. Probably the reaction she was looking for. ]

The P-1 Grand Prix. [ He sits up a little straighter, startled. ] You know about it? Rise and Yosuke haven't experienced it yet. It's led to some ... confusion. [ His tone is a little wry. ]

[There's that recognition, unmistakable through and through. Naoto nods.] Yes, that's it exactly. I haven't checked with Rise-san yet, but Yosuke didn't know what I was talking about. The five months I've experienced from March to August... he has no memory of that time period at all. I suspect something or someone has tampered with his memory, though I'm not sure why.

I'm somewhat relieved you know of it, senpai. About the Grand Prix and the Shadow Operatives. Otherwise, I feel like I'd have more than a bit of explaining to do.

[ ... five months?

Yu pauses, his mouth thinning into a line. ]

You might have a few things to explain, [ he says after a moment, thoughtful and vaguely displeased. Not with her, but with the continued weird timeline shenanigans. ]

Since my awareness is only up through Golden Week. Meaning I'm three months behind you, still. In fact, to my recollection, we hadn't even finished the case involving Labrys and the P-1 Grand Prix, yet. This means you know how it turned out?

[ It's a question, but also a statement, since obviously, she must. There's something else he very badly wants to ask--

was there a boy

no, a man, with blue hair

--but he doesn't ask it, keeping it trapped behind his teeth instead. He never had substantive evidence about Minato's appearance or lack thereof with his existing knowledge. They only met a small handful of Mitsuru-san's associates. But that didn't mean he wouldn't get involved in the second half of the case, along with the rest of Minato's team.

Right?

Can I take that to mean that you are another guest of that room?

I have... a certain desire. It may take a very long time for it to be realized. In order for my wish to be granted, I require much greater power than what I have.

May I ask you something? To continue fighting in order to prevent an undesirable future... It is a path of endless hardship. Would you still choose to walk it?

He's always had an uneasy feeling. ]

...I see. That's somewhat vexing. [She says, frowning. If Yosuke and Rise doesn't know about the Grand Prix at all, and Yu doesn't know how it ends, then that means none of them even know about the incident with the Midnight Stage and the Love Meets Bonds festival.

Maybe she shouldn't bring that up. It's a little embarrassing.] But yes, I do know how the P-1 Grand Prix is resolved, of course. That was nearly three months ago, after all. [She gives him the thinnest of smiles.] If it helps, it's resolved peacefully, with the help of the auxiliary members of the Shadow Operatives.

...had you met them, yet? [It suddenly occurs to her that she doesn't know what he last remembers.] Takeba-san, Iori-san, and Amada-san. [It's a rare lapse of attention and focus on her part. She'd promised Minato to not mention his fate, after all. Were she not somewhat perturbed by even Yu not remembering everything, she might have realized that she's inadvertently done so by omission.

Careless, Naoto.]

[ Yu goes quite still, his expression a study in carefully composed blankness. It's all he can do to cover for the way his stomach just dropped out, for the way his skin just flashed cold.

He knows he should be grateful to hear their newest (well, to him) case resolved peacefully, but he's fixed on the names.

Mitsuru, Akihiko, Aigis. A Takeba, Iori, and Amada. ]

We never met anyone named Arisato.

[ His voice is very soft, and it's not a question. ]

[And instantly, Naoto gets it.

It all falls into place. Minato's request. The information Yu was looking for. Minato knew Yu, in this place. They were apparently close. Minato didn't want Yu to know... and Naoto can't quite disguise the momentary surprise on her face, or the faint expression of horror as she realizes that she's stepped in it.] --no, we don't.

[She says, softly. She can't lie to him. But perhaps it's still salvageable...] I-- I do recall seeing that name in some of the documents I was given by the Kirijo Group. It's possible he's a former member. [In fact, he is a former member. Permanently former.

Naoto is not a very good obfuscator.]

Edited 2016-08-01 06:54 (UTC)

[ It's not the surprise that does him in.

It's the horror.

Yu abruptly gets to his feet before she's even done speaking and paces away, one hand pressed over his mouth. He doesn't go far -- a few steps, at most, but his back is to her.

Many, many things are clicking into place in his mind. Conversations and quiet moments. The jungle. The Labyrinth. A kiss that wasn't. And Elizabeth, odd, strange Elizabeth, challenging a Wild Card, fighting an undesirable fate...

The Minato he knows wouldn't let his team go without him. Funny, then, that Mitsuru had been clearly and unequivocally the leader. He doesn't doubt that's true even with the new names Naoto gave him added into the mix. She has that kind of presence.

She was leading because Minato wasn't.

Couldn't. ]

Naoto.

[ His voice is just as soft, but his head is slightly bowed. ]

He's not... [ a pause, a shift ] He's dead?

[ It's both a question and not. ]

[If Naoto were the type to use profanity, she'd do so right here. There's no getting around it: She was careless.

Shit.

And the look on Yu's face strikes her. It's the look she'd just given him minutes ago when he'd told her the truth. No, it's worse. She'd been somewhat expecting it, after all.

How close were those two?

What the hell does she say? Does she keep her promise to Minato? Does she lie to her senpai, her leader, her friend? Naoto's good at solving puzzles and pulling information together, but this, this, the messy minefield of human interaction...

...she feels like someone like Rise might know what to say here.

Naoto purses her lips.] I... senpai, I...

[She closes her eyes.] He was a former member of the Shadow Operatives-- SEES. The file didn't say what happened to him. [Technically true.] I have my theories, but they're just that.

He sacrificed himself.

[ The words just come out, and they, too, are not a question. There's emotion to them now, something charged and heavy that makes them sound a little strangled. Yu paces forward a few more steps to reach out to another chair and grip the back of it, pressing his face into his other hand.

I can't let you and Dipper-kun take responsibility for something I would have done for anyone else on the team, because you're all my friends.

He has no idea what actually happened to Minato. But he has no doubt whatsoever that it involved a sacrifice. ]

He's been lying to me for months. No wonder he...

[ Yu trails off, head and shoulders bowed. It takes him a long, agonizing moment to get his composure together enough to risk turning around, but even then, there's no mistaking it.

He is very angry. And it manifests as pure cold. ]

We were dating. [ He says it baldly, without inflection. ] Before he left. If you could call it that.

[ Should you really have to question what someone special to you thinks about you?

No wonder. ]

[This is going from bad to worse. Naoto barely has time to process the new information coming at her. Her senpai and Minato were dating and she's just inadvertently told him about the other boy's death, long before any of them knew each other. (She didn't even know he was into men, but that's wholly besides the point).

The other things he's saying, though... Naoto comes to her feet as well, rounding the couch they'd been standing on.] --senpai, don't you think you're jumping to conclusions?!

[It's as much of a protest as she can manage, but that's not very strong. Even aside from what she's said, he clearly knows Minato far better than she does. It's possible that he's hinted as much, or demonstrated as much, while here-- and what she'd told him was merely the last puzzle piece Yu needed to put it all together.

But she still feels responsible.] You don't know that he was lying to you, do you? We were just talking about how we can have differing memories of actions that from one point of view haven't happened yet!

Isn't it possible that even if he did die, he didn't know it when you were-- when the two of you were together?

[ He tracks her with his eyes as she comes to her feet and moves towards him, but doesn't much otherwise react. Not until the last thing she says. That makes his eyes narrow. Not in anger (and even if it were, he couldn't be angry at her for this) - but a sort of pained thoughtfulness. ]

There's so much you don't know... [ There's no judgment or condescension in his voice when he says that. It's just true, and nothing she can help. Yu shakes his head. ]

He always kept me at arm's length, and never really seemed certain about things. The only reason I knew he was even happy with me was because someone else told me. For a long while, I wasn't even sure he returned my feelings at all. Now I know why he was being so distant.

[ Which of us was he protecting? Me, or himself? Is that even what it was about? Or did he just not want to face it? ]

... I'm certain he sacrificed himself because I saw him do it here. Die to save others. [ His jaw flexes. ] The things he said and did at that time... it all leaves me with no other conclusion. If Minato had to die, he'd do it to save the people around him.

[ His voice descends into a hush towards the end, and for a moment all he looks is upset. This hurts. Heartbreak and fury vie for place in his chest. But he quickly passes a hand over his face, pulling his composure together all at once. His expression is mostly blank except for half-hooded eyes when he looks at her again. ]

... I may not know exactly what happened, but I feel sure he's been hiding things from me. This... [ A beat, and he shifts. ] I'm sorry you've become involved.

[It's logical, sure. And she does know that at least now, Minato Arisato knows of his death. But the expression of Yu's face is heartrending, and it seems clear to her that it's as much from a feeling of betrayal as much as it is from learning about his death.] You can't know that for sure, senpai! Even if it seems likely-- [And, let's face it, it does...] --you mustn't just assume the worst!

[But Minato had asked her to not tell anyone. Does that mean he knew all along and was hiding it, or that he'd just learned it and didn't want to face it? She's not sure.

She doesn't know if what she's saying is helping or making it worse.] It may be that he's just that kind of person.

...senpai, I can't tell you how to feel. I don't... exactly know what it's like to have that kind of special attachment to someone. And it's possible that he was intending to conceal something from you.

But we've always-- [A short breath, exhaled through her nose. She fights to get her voice under control. It won't help anyone if she's emotional, too.] The truth. That's what we've sought, as long as I've known you. Making a rash leap to conclusions can only hurt.

[ Yu can tell she's trying to keep herself calm, that she must be feeling this too. And all it does is make him frustrated. With this situation, for putting Naoto in such an unfair and precarious position. With himself, for losing control around her and dragging her down with him. With Minato, for all of this, for not so much as trying to explain.

His jaw works as he stays quiet and simply listens to her. The way his throat feels tight when he swallows makes him want to leave. ]

The truth, [ he echoes, soft and worn. ] That's what I intend to find out, once and for all. ... but not tonight, [ he adds, shaking his head slowly. ]

I want... I need to think.

[ He straightens and starts to move, towards the messenger bag he left behind on his chair when he stood, but he pauses and turns to face Naoto instead. ]

Don't think any of this is your fault. If I got moved forward in time again to after the P-1 Grand Prix, I would have figured it out on my own anyway. I already had suspicions. All you did was confirm my thinking.

...even so, I was careless with my words. [She exhales, trying to relax. It's difficult.] I didn't mean to bring this up. Certainly not when we have other issues looming over our heads.

But the truth... that's what you're after, isn't it? [She doesn't turn back around to look at him.] It's the only thing that matters.

Don't leap to conclusions, senpai. That's the only thing I can tell you right now.

... of course. But how we feel is important to consider, too. ... that goes for Minato-san as much as myself.

[ The truth. He's been chasing it as long as he's been here, has risked his life for it and knows he'll do so again before the end. Whenever that is, whatever that will be.

But living the life he led in Inaba, getting to know people and watching them grow... hearts are important, too.

Now he does move towards his bag and picks it up, pulling the strap over his shoulder. ]

Like I said, all I want to do for now is think. When I talk to him... [ A beat. ] I'll keep what you said in mind.

[ His tone isn't short. For as burnt out as he sounds, he's being sincere. ]

If you think of any questions, let me know. ... I'll see you later, Naoto.

[ Unless she has something more to add, he'll make his way out. ]

Very well.

Until we speak again. [She says, softly, and doesn't stop him as he leaves.

Well this turned out to be a disaster.]

try to stop the flow, double-clicking on the go (CLOSED)

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