Video 004 // Absence

[redcloakedthief]

[He's trying very, very hard to smile while he makes this broadcast. Trying very hard to look unaffected, but as he runs his hand through his hair and laughs dryly, it's clear not all is right.]

...For those of you who knew her, Saya's gone. Her name is gone as well, so she must have gone [back to being dead-- A minute hesitation.] home.

[He

Comments

[sweepered]

[... So Saya's gone, huh?

....

... Ah, well. That's life. Train smiles lightly.]

It's kinda funny. She always thought that I'd go before her.

[redcloakedthief]

[A glance.]

...It's a matter of perspective, then. She's been--She was here much longer than you've been here, after all.

[sweepered]

True, but I think she wasn't expecting me to be the one to 'leave her behind' or something like that.

[He sighs.]

Geez, and here I was hoping she'd at least get better before leaving...

[... In all honesty, though? He's okay with this.]

[redcloakedthief]

[A tilt of his head; he's smiling, if wryly.]

Get better?

[countrybeloved]

[It's probably somewhat callous how Zen's first thoughts are for how Shirayuki will react, more than anything else. Still, it's hardly as if he's ever really been too optimistic about relationships, so Saya's departure doesn't honestly hurt him that much.]

... Hey, who knows? She might come back like you did.

[He... doesn't really believe that, but he doesn't know what else to say.]

[redcloakedthief]

[There's silence for a moment. And then--]

I've been keeping track. For every 10 people who leave, 1 person might come back. Half the time, they don't retain any of their memories of this place.

[countrybeloved]

Well, those are rather depressing statistics. Still, you were that outlier, and considering how similar the two of you probably are, you never know.

[He doesn't really know what he's saying right now, to be honest. At the moment, he's trying to decide whether to let Shirayuki see this for herself or tell her himself.]

[redcloakedthief]

[Another long pause. And then he laughs.]

Because we're both strange, she might come back with her memories intact? Well, we'll see. It should be in around three days or so.

It isn't a big deal either way. People...leave all the time.

[1/2]

[aimforthesun]

[...]

[2/2]

[aimforthesun]

[... He feels like he should've expected this. Of course she'd leave, because-well, he's actually not entirely certain of why, but...

....

Geez... why does he almost feel like crying right now? This shouldn't matter-but he knows it does.

He doesn't even know what he's trying to convince himself of anymore.]

... Tch. Figures.

[redcloakedthief]

[...Ah. Billy. A long pause.]

...Where are you right now?

[aimforthesun]

... Why does it matter?

[ceruleanvices]

...you're fucking kidding.

[redcloakedthief]

...Heh. I wish I were kidding.

[ceruleanvices]

Son of a fucking bitch...

[redcloakedthief]

[He laughs wryly.]

That's one way to put it. Are you going to be alright? People leave all the time. This shouldn't be...as unexpected as it is.

[ninthserenade]

Y-You're kidding, right? ...Please say you're kidding.

[redcloakedthief]

...I wish. No, I'm not kidding.

Heh. Sorry.

[ninthserenade]

[He keeps the smile up for as long as possible, silently praying to whatever God he could think of that he'd say it was an early April Fool's joke--

And it shatters when it isn't.]

But... But she--We never-- Why?

[redcloakedthief]

[...His expression is stuck in a smile. A tight, wry, forced smile.]

Who knows? Why are we here at all? Why are we still here when others have left? Why do they disappear?

There are a lot of good questions that I possess no answers to.