[closed] give yourself hope, or i'll give you mine.

[agoodfamily]

Who: Nakama and Minato
What: Calming down and sharing dark secrets.
When: Day 9.
Where: Room 805, Heimdall.
Rating: PG? Probably a lot of talk of death.

Comments

[moribundity]

[ Minato is definitely coming. Knowing what he did about Nakama (little as it actually was), he felt obligated to help. She's not the only one angry and hurt, either. He harbors a lot of resentment toward Vriska, too - how could anyone be so deliberately insensitive? It's not as if he doesn't realize that there are bad people in the world, too, but to go out of your way to be horrible to someone who's been through a lot just to prove a point? He has a hard time accepting that that is anything but horrible behavior.

There's a knock at Nakama's door. And then a second one. And then he tries to door only to find it unlocked. Minato opens it a few inches, just in case she decides she definitely doesn't want him here, or more likely decides that she'd like to at least appear a little more put together - not that he'd mind if she wasn't. ]

Nakama-chan? It's me.

[agoodfamily]

Come in.

[She clears her throat and tries again.]

Come in.

[Her face is puffy and red, but she does appear to be done crying for now. She's still huddled against her headboard, though, her oversized grey sweater pulled over her knees and arms wrapped around them.]

[moribundity]

[ He enters the room wordlessly, frowning when he sees her huddled up like that. Minato walks over slowly, sitting on the bed nearby.

He's silent for a few long moments. ] I'm sorry she upset you. That wasn't right.

[agoodfamily]

I'm used to people like that. [Hollowly.] I know how they work. I thought I could change her, but...

[A dark laugh.] I just played right into it. Didn't I?

[moribundity]

[ He shrugs. ] Maybe. The goading seemed pretty deliberate. [ To soften that blow, however, he adds: ] It doesn't matter though. You can't control how you feel, especially when it's about something you care about.

[agoodfamily]

[She glances at him, and her look is slightly grateful.]

I guess you know now, huh. What we had to give up to save the world.

[moribundity]

[ Did he? Apparently she thought he'd received enough clues. There'd been a sacrifice required - Nakama had implied as much just now. He frowns. ]

Not exactly...

[agoodfamily]

[She's too depressed to worry about how someone will react. He's come to comfort her, so he'll get the brunt of it, unfortunately.]

We had to die. Our life force ran the weapon we used. That's why all of my friends are going to die at thirteen years old. That's why...

... why I died.

[moribundity]

[ That's a surprise. Though maybe it shouldn't be. It seemed almost like a running theme, along with so many others - save the world and pay for it with your life. That was his story, too, and it would most likely be Minako's as well, and now he was learning that the two of them weren't the only ones to sacrifice everything. ]

Have I told you yet? [ Minato whispers the question, asking himself as much as he's asking Nakama. ] I had to do the same thing. At least it was just me. My friends were spared.

[ What if they hadn't been though? What if the Seal required his friends' life forces, too? Would he have hesitated more? Most definitely. It's easy to sacrifice yourself, but much harder to watch the people you care about die. ]

1/3

[agoodfamily]

Wh -

[Her first, panicked thought is that she was right. The game did exist on other worlds, and he was a part of it. Those other robots...]

2/3

[agoodfamily]

[But his friends were spared... that means it couldn't be the game. No one could survive that unless their world was destroyed, which would kill them anyway. There's no way.]

3/3

[agoodfamily]

[It takes her a moment to get past her own issues and realize that Minato died, too. By the sounds of it, for whatever reason, he made the same sacrifice. And she's been obsessing about she and her friends as if they were the only ones who ever did.

She feels horribly guilty.]

I - I'm sorry.

[moribundity]

[ He's not aware of everything going through her head, of course, but the shock and her pity are familiar enough, at least from what he can see as an observer.

Slowly, he shrugs and gives Nakama a small smile that doesn't really mean much. ] It's okay. I'm sorry too - for you, not me.

[agoodfamily]

[She wants to talk about it, to share the experience, but she's not sure what is appropriate to ask. After a long silence, she speaks up.]

Did - did you choose to be the one? Or were you chosen?

[moribundity]

[ He'll share pretty much anything, something that she'll have to experience herself. He doesn't look at all uncomfortable with this first question, just tilts his head thoughtfully. ]

I think I was chosen... by fate. No one else could do it, the circumstances were too perfect. But I guess I also chose, in a way. I signed the contract, even if I didn't know what it was. And we all went into it thinking that we'd probably die. [ A shrug. ] So a little of both, I guess.

[agoodfamily]

The contract... we had one of those, too. But we were told it was for a test of a new video game. Once we were signed up, we had no choice but to fight.

[It's weird, talking about this with someone who can understand. Her body is relaxing even more now; she lets go of her legs and stretches them out a little, almost nudging his back with her feet.]