24 November 195[_]

[vengeanceshota]

[Minato. There is a tiny thing bursting into your room. Want a hint as to who it is? It's orange.

And has flippy hair.

And is shaking all over.

And probably white as a ghost.

No he doesn't care about your privacy, he looks mentally scarred.]

Comments

[personajesus]

[truth be told, Minato isn't looking too good himself. he hasn't bothered to actually get out of bed yet. he's sitting up, at least, but is currently just sitting there, the side of his head leaning against the wall and music blaring from his headphones into his ears.

how he actually manages to hear Ken enter the room is a mystery, but he does somehow and lifts his head to see who it is. once he recognizes the tiny trembling thing as Ken, his eyes widen a little before he looks down again, pulling the headphones from his ears.]

...I'm sorry. I couldn't--...

[it seemed like he had a lot of things to apologize for, these days.]

[vengeanceshota]

It... it wasn't real, right?

Mayfield did something, again. A-Aigis-san wouldn't-- You didn't--

[Minato was apologizing. It had to be real, then. But he still didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe that he hadn't been able to save his friend three times, that Aigis had killed him, that someone he trusted had--]

[personajesus]

I don't know what happened.

[he lifts a hand to his forehead then, as if trying to hold his head together. he still hasn't properly looked at Ken, not really, but if he looked would he see a smashed in skull, blood and--

he pushed the thought away.]

Aigis... just...

[vengeanceshota]

Minato-san...

[His breath is shaky, his voice is too, he's afraid and this is wrong and nothing will ever make sense again and he feels it again and again and he can't get the sight of Minato bleeding on the floor--Minato collapsing in front of him--Minato in the hospital bed, his hands are cold and Ken's the furthest away from the bed, he can barely see him, hiding in the back behind everyone else, just getting glimpses as the rest of SEES moved around, they'd never really been close, it wasn't his placeHe doesn't know what to say. He feels like he should say something, but the words won't come out of his mouth. He feels like there's something in his throat, making it hard to swallow. He can't look away from Minato, though. Because if he looks away and Minato dies again... it'll be his fault. He's the one they decided was Minato's brother. He's the one closest, the one who should make sure that Minato is okay. He doesn't care that he's the "little brother" of this mock family. Maybe it's just to make up for all the times he

[personajesus]

[the free hand that isn't against his forehead is clutching those covers just a little bit, fingers tangled in the fabric like an anchor to the world with no clear intentions of letting go just yet. he's trying his best to be okay, really he is-- he's trying to hard, but images keep flashing through his head, of the stranger and the bullets coming at him and Ken's body, falling to the ground, and then the nothingness and the pain was gone, but waking up again afterword hurt a little bit sometimes, too.

Aigis was 'broken'. he'd failed to keep Ken from dying, again, and in such an awful way. And the stranger had died, and what if, what if Aigis had gone after Mitsuru then, too? or someone else?

...Minato was trying his best to be okay, but it wasn't working very well. finally though, that hand against his forehead moved away, lifted up one of the earphones and placed it back over his ear, the other one left to hang against his chest as usual, and he finally turned to look over at Ken.

at least the music helped.]

...are you alright?

[vengeanceshota]

[Ken was silent, still shaking.

The answer was obvious, but he wasn't going to say.]

[personajesus]

[...yeah, he figured as much.

he shifts a bit then, moves so that his back is against the wall and his legs are dangling off the bed before lightly patting the spot beside him on the bed.]

[vengeanceshota]

[He paused for a second, as if to ask "me?

After a few seconds and silent deliberation, he pulled himself into the bed next to Minato.

And for maybe half a second, he wondered if it would have been like this back home, if they'd been close.]

[personajesus]

[once Ken sits down next to him, Minato moves to grab that unused earphone, tugging on the wire a bit to give it some extra slack before holding it out for Ken.]

...thank you. For trying to help me.

[vengeanceshota]

[Music had never been Ken's thing. When he was worried, he always lost himself in practicing, in getting better, in promising himself he'd never let it happen again.

But this time, he couldn't do that, and his hands were shaking too hard to be able to even hold a broom--dying changes things. Especially dying violently.

So he takes the headphone, and slips it over his ear and maybe smiles just a little bit--it was familiar, this music, he'd heard it once or twice when Minato's music was turned up loud enough. But then he frowns when Minato speaks.]

It didn't work.

[personajesus]

[Minato had always liked music, ever since his childhood; it was his lifeline and safety blanket, and even now he always turned back to it when he needed to just not think, to just take a few moments and try to calm himself down or make the world quiet-- and it still worked to this day, despite the voices in the back of his head. he doesn't look over when Ken speaks up, instead tilting his head back to lean it against the wall and instead stare at the ceiling.]

You stayed.

[and for him, there are a lot of unsaid things in that statement. because Ken had died trying to help him, even though Minato had told him to leave. it was dangerous, but Ken had tried to save him even though it was already probably too late.

Minato hadn't been able to keep Ken or the boy that had shown up safe.]

[vengeanceshota]

... I didn't want you to die again.

[And sometimes, words are just enough. Sometimes you just don't have to say anymore.]