What is this place?
[ He leans against the large door at his back, idly thumbing the strange device in his hand.
The sun is wrong, at an odd angle, meaning that his flight took him away from Japan at the very least.
But there is an oddness in the air, and something tastes wrong. Smells wrong. He would have picked up on it even as a human. In a breath, he tries ( Read more... )
The sun is wrong, at an odd angle, meaning that his flight took him away from Japan at the very least.
But there is an oddness in the air, and something tastes wrong. Smells wrong. He would have picked up on it even as a human. In a breath, he tries ( Read more... )
...... That voice. It was one that Minato had known well, all too well. At times it even sounded similar to his own. And to hear it again here?]
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He really was here now. It was unmistakable. Minato picked up his comm device now, holding it in both of his hands.]
... Ryoji?
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He looked at the screen, and could not help thinking that the boy's colors were wrong. Too much blue and gray and...]
Who...are you? You know my name...why?
[ It was not what he wanted to say, but his thoughts were too jumbled, caught between a dorm full of ex-friends and a boy that looked...looked like him.
He stared at the screen, shaking off his confusion and plastered on a smile. ]
Sorry - [ A laugh ] - That was rude. I would like to know your name, though.
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Minato's thoughts raced back. There wasn't any reason he could think of as to why Ryoji wouldn't remember, but... Oh. Wait, there might have been one possible reason. But he thought perhaps he could clear it up by answering Ryoji's question. Or he hoped it wouldn't make it more confusing. Which it might.
Being in Wonderland already would lend itself to an explanation. Along with everything else accompanying it. Minato did owe him one after startling him.]
... It's okay. I'm Minato. Arisato Minato.
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[ The word was out of his mouth before he even had time to process it, and he felt his mind stumbling, trying to keep up.
Arisato. His last name was...but...it could not be that uncommon a name, could it? But, Arisato Minato...only one letter stood between this boys name and hers...and for some reason, this boy knew his name.
He cleared his throat, ducking his chin down into his scarf even though he knew it would muffle his voice.]
It's...a pleasure to meet you, Arisato.
[ He looked around, feeling a weight settle into his stomach.]
We are someplace odd, aren't we?
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He nodded on both counts, the introduction and to Ryoji's second question.]
You can call me Minato. If you like.
And we are. I can come find you. To explain.
[Everything. Or almost everything. The network was far from secure for what he had to say, although he could put up the best of filters and locks on their line of communication if he had to. He wouldn't have blamed Ryoji for being apprehensive on meeting him in person.]
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He was not a coward, never a coward, and he could not have denied his curiosity if he tried, but caution caught his words, forcing him to think them over before he responded. He had learned where recklessly following instinct got a person.]
An explanation would be greatly appreciated, Minato, though I would not like to force one out of you.
[ He did, however, want to leave the front stoop he was currently occupying.]
That being said...I would rather like to meet you in person. Inside. If you think that's best.
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I'll be there shortly.
[After he retrieved something out of his desk drawer that would help with said explanation, Minato immediately was up and out of his room. Though his usual walk or stides were so casual, this time he hurried a bit more than normal. He headed down the stairs to the front door and opened the front door.
And there Ryoji was. In the flesh. It had been months at home and months here since Minato last saw him in this form. But here he was. He looked the same, just as Minato had remembered him... or his version of him.]
... It's... really you.
[... He knew he should have said something else. Anything else. Yet what does one say to someone with whom there ( ... )
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Apparently this impulse was too strong to ignore, because, while he did not actually step towards Minato, his hand did jerk up before he could stop it. He curled it into a fist and tucked it back at his side.
He forced a laugh.]
Yes, it's...it's me.
[ A frown. He very rarely stuttered.
He had to pull himself together. It had been a tough day, yes, but here was somebody offering help and an explanation, and he was completely botching their...first?...meeting.
He gave a short bow, more a head-nod than anything.]
It is good to see you. Thanks for coming when I called.
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But Minato couldn't help smiling just a bit once more. He wouldn't have wished Wonderland on anyone, but it really was nice, if not somewhat emotionally overwhelming, to see him. Not that he would let his expression betray that emotion more than it normally would have.]
Mn, it's no problem. Come inside.
[With that, Minato invited Ryoji inside the Mansion. He did want to show him around.]This is Wonderland. But... maybe I should explain about ( ... )
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That might be for the best.
[ He knew he should be looking around, memorizing the layout of the mansion as he followed Minato it, and he did task half of his mind towards following the lines of halls and doors, but the rest of his thoughts were rather preoccupied.]
So, at the risk of sounding like a presumptuous information leach, I think I might start twitching if you don't give me something to chew over.
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But that's right, Minako was much more talkative and outgoing than he was, and Ryoji was most likely accustomed to that. Minato decided that perhaps it would be best to start with the explanation and back it up with some evidence or proof of some sort.
From the inner pocket of his school uniform blazer, Minato pulled out a photograph of himself with Minako and handed it to Ryoji.]
You know her, right?
Our worlds are similar. She and I are the only differentiating factor.
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He stared at the photo, and he had seen her less than an hour ago, but looking at her bright smile as she stood there by Minato, he felt something twist in his chest.
He doubted...she would never smile like that at him again, not with the choice he had dropped upon her.]
That's-
[ But there was something far more important displayed in the photo. He had lived in her soul, he had seen everything she had seen, and he had never been here. He had never met this boy.
Similar worlds.
And, suddenly, there was only one thing in his mind. If he had not seen her time here, and if this really was limbo, then this...this must be...After.
And while the implications of time and space rolled around in his head, he voiced the only question that could ever matter.]
Did she do it? Please tell me she made the right choice. You know, don't you?
[ In the back of his mind, he began to process the rest of what Minato had said, and, more importantly, what he hadn't said...]
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Somehow their worlds had run parallel to each other. Their worlds were so alike, and yet it was only with Wonderland did the lines ever cross or intersect. And to think that all the difference there had been, from what Minato knew, was himself and the girl with the similar name.
There was that choice, and thankfully, Ryoji had been the one to give them one at all. Was it to live their last days in bliss only to vanish with the coming of the Fall, or to fight against what seemed like the impossible?
Though he and Minako may have differed in personality, they did make the same choice. And neither of them had regretted it.]
The Fall was stopped. In my world and in yours.
It was March for the both of us. Spring. It's peaceful
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That's wrong. He's wrong. It's all wrong.
There are no deus ex machinas in real life. Kids that look like Death do not show up in magic mansions hidden in the in betweens to tell him that the end could be...had been...averted.
If there was one thing that had returned alongside his memories, it was the absolute knowledge that the end cannot be averted, whether that applies to a person or to a world. When the time comes...it comes.
He looks at the boy's eyes and sees nothing but honesty.
Certainty.]
Maybe...maybe there are more than two worlds.
[ And maybe Nyx was different. If Minako could be replaced by Minato, then the Fall could be...something that was not the end of all things.
...
Minato had faced the Fall, even if that meant something different in his world, and he knew who Ryoji was.
And he had smiled at him, like he was genuinely glad to see him.
If Minato and Minako were the only differing pieces, then-]
You know me, because I was with you, wasn't I? In your world, I was placed inside you, not her.
[ ( ... )
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This Ryoji standing before him might not have been the exact same one he had known back at home, but everything about him, from the concern about the world itself, the anxiety over and yet the acceptance of the inevitable and his role within it, was the same. For all of Ryoji's smiling and occasional mischievous ways, he was still as perceptive as ever. Wisdom and insight came to Ryoji so easily.
It was comforting in a way for Minato as well, and though he might not have said it out loud, he really did miss Ryoji in any reincarnation he might have taken or from any world he may have originated, as anyone would miss one of their closest friends after having been separated for the longest time.]
You were with me since that day on the bridge. Until the promised day.
[Minato still smiled at him, soft ( ... )
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