I don't believe our team was built on a very solid foundation, I'm afraid.
[He watches the screens idly.]
I would have erased anyone with the right stipulations, as you see, and some of my choices would have caused strife between us. Buzen and Matsui did not like I erased you, for example, since you were young and considerably innocent. They would have killed me this week if I had remained alive. If I had killed someone Rang was especially fond of, the same would be true, I think.
Buzen told me he would break himself before he ever killed anyone else, so he had no loyalties to the rest of us, even if Rang or Matsui had been the only one left.
And Matsui would likely only continue living if Buzen was left alive with him. He had no loyalties to me, and he did not like Rang.
[The grab surprises him, and the startle floods out to match his expression. It does manage to get him to look at Rin without smiling like a jackass.
The surprise fades into despondence.]
As I've said, he has no loyalties to Rang. He does not like Rang. And I'm already gone. The promise wasn't for him. The promise was given to me and Rang if we had been left alive and our team had won. We were to bring Buzen back, not Matsui.
[The air coming from him is demurely offended! Like a willowy, Victorian maiden. His shoulders hunch, but he doesn't fight Rin off. What is he... a savage???]
You know we can't do that. Don't forget what Nightingale told you. Doing so could put everyone there in jeopardy, including your own team.
[Rin is fucking killing him which is ironic. He puts a hand on Rin's chest like he's trying to physically bar him from being a good boy for no reason. STOP BEING DUMB.]
Why does it matter so much to you? If we aren't able to help Nightingale figure out how to fix this game, then only one team can win anyway. If your team doesn't win, they won't get to go back. There's no point in you trying to keep my team from being erased.
[ D is a helpless maiden so his hand does not do much to push Rin back.
He looks a little angry when D asks the question, giving him an incredulous look. ]
We don't know what's going to happen. Look around us! Everything's... insane. Maybe we can all get out, and maybe we can't, but why wouldn't I want your team to have the best shot of getting out of here possible?
[Maybe if you weren’t a stupid JOCK. Actually, he knows martial arts, so he could still beat Rin up.
He rebuffs the feelings back with his incredulity.]
Because two of us despise humans? Because I killed you without hesitation? Buzen and Matsui are swords—even if they are noble now, they’ve ultimately cut down human life because they are weapons made by man.
So why do you want us to have an opportunity to get out of here?
[ Now he's fully angry, and he shoves D back a little, finally letting go of him and face red from how frustrated he is. ]
Because I'm seventeen and I don't want to see the people around me die? Why is that so hard to believe? Why the hell wouldn't I want you to get out of here?
[ He's just like, how can one person be SO WRONG!! ]
People can do shitty things in shitty circumstances. Maybe if I spent 600 years with a psychotic older brother watching humanity at its worst, and then I was thrown into a killing game, I'd be a human-hating murder too! I'm not- I'm not going to decide who deserves help and who doesn't based on that.
[ this is so funny considering that rin's future au job is a cop
He blinks at the gesture, still tense and waiting for a fight despite the shift in emotions he's getting from D. ]
... Who wouldn't be hurt by that? [ It sounds very upsetting!! ] That guy shot your father, right? Is this another way of you telling me that you hate me?
[Rin as AU Leon. Except Leon has a little bro not a sis.]
No.
[Here, things start feeling… muddled. There is a hesitant affection which keeps getting rolled over by waves of objectiveness. A self-imposed restriction which ultimately ends in frustration, then… resignation.]
The detective is human and did what had to be done to keep my father from killing every human.
[ Rin watches him carefully, anger and fight instincts subsiding as he tries to picture a life like this: a father that's a distant stranger, killed and brought back as a son.
He doesn't miss the blip of affection. ]
... Seems like you could have a friend to go back to, if you really wanted.
[ Rin just like, (historian voice) they appeared to be good friends. ]
None of this is making me not want you to get out of here.
You continue to sound just like him. I’m wondering if maybe you are his little brother rather than Chris.
[He’s amused, and then it fades into the same resignation from before.
He shakes his head.]
The detective and I are even now. He would have died from the wounds my father’s trial inflicted on him, but I saved him. And then I left. Chris had found his voice, so he didn’t belong in the pet shop any longer.
And the detective knew too much about me. I took the pet shop and began looking for another Chinatown to inhabit. It’s better for them this way. I have a duty, and they have normal lives. Like you.
It’s better for you if you didn’t worry about us, though I’m not against helping try to save everyone.
[ Rin has to look at him for a moment and wonder if D kept a child in his pet shop? Hello?
He looks a little skeptical, still annoyed by everything that he's hearing, even if he should probably be sympathetic. ]
You probably have no idea how much I've changed in the past two weeks.
[ since you didn't pc me
He looks up at the screens. ]
I don't get why you're so insistent on being alone, but I'm willing to bet that you'll change too. [ And then, annoyed again as he scowls at D. ] And quit trying to tell me what's good for me.
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w2, friday
He is just standing with his hands tucked into his sleeves, watching the screens.]
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He gives D a cautious look. ]
I'm sorry. He was your teammate.
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D smiles, but it does not match the disappointed feelings he's radiating. As usual.]
I wonder what will happen tomorrow... Matsui had me promise to bring him back if something happened to him. I suppose it is up to Rang now.
I'm not sure if Matsui will survive the weekend.
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Why... not?
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He cares for Buzen very much. He also doesn't think much of his own life. I don't think he will choose to exist without Buzen.
And then when he goes, so too will Rang.
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Y-you think he'll... take his own life?
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[He looks at the screens again, smiling, though the air is heavy with something bittersweet.]
We may be meeting the rest of my team in the near future depending on how things go.
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[He watches the screens idly.]
I would have erased anyone with the right stipulations, as you see, and some of my choices would have caused strife between us. Buzen and Matsui did not like I erased you, for example, since you were young and considerably innocent. They would have killed me this week if I had remained alive. If I had killed someone Rang was especially fond of, the same would be true, I think.
Buzen told me he would break himself before he ever killed anyone else, so he had no loyalties to the rest of us, even if Rang or Matsui had been the only one left.
And Matsui would likely only continue living if Buzen was left alive with him. He had no loyalties to me, and he did not like Rang.
So we were doomed from the moment we began.
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But- that includes Buzen. If the team is gone, then he loses his chance of bringing Buzen back. He doesn't know that this place exists!
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The surprise fades into despondence.]
As I've said, he has no loyalties to Rang. He does not like Rang. And I'm already gone. The promise wasn't for him. The promise was given to me and Rang if we had been left alive and our team had won. We were to bring Buzen back, not Matsui.
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We'll... send him a message then. We'll tell him that Buzen's not gone.
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You know we can't do that. Don't forget what Nightingale told you. Doing so could put everyone there in jeopardy, including your own team.
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Then... what are we supposed to do? [ Rin, why are you so upset. This isn't even about you. ] We can't let your team wipe out.
[ ... ]
We could look for a way to send one of you back? From this side?
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Why does it matter so much to you? If we aren't able to help Nightingale figure out how to fix this game, then only one team can win anyway. If your team doesn't win, they won't get to go back. There's no point in you trying to keep my team from being erased.
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He looks a little angry when D asks the question, giving him an incredulous look. ]
We don't know what's going to happen. Look around us! Everything's... insane. Maybe we can all get out, and maybe we can't, but why wouldn't I want your team to have the best shot of getting out of here possible?
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He rebuffs the feelings back with his incredulity.]
Because two of us despise humans? Because I killed you without hesitation? Buzen and Matsui are swords—even if they are noble now, they’ve ultimately cut down human life because they are weapons made by man.
So why do you want us to have an opportunity to get out of here?
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Because I'm seventeen and I don't want to see the people around me die? Why is that so hard to believe? Why the hell wouldn't I want you to get out of here?
[ He's just like, how can one person be SO WRONG!! ]
People can do shitty things in shitty circumstances. Maybe if I spent 600 years with a psychotic older brother watching humanity at its worst, and then I was thrown into a killing game, I'd be a human-hating murder too! I'm not- I'm not going to decide who deserves help and who doesn't based on that.
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He staggers a bit in surprise, a drop of hurt and guilt following. For a moment, he just frowns stubbornly at Rin while his feelings swim uncertainly.
Then they soften into something bittersweet and nostalgic. He reaches up to push the tangled red fringe out of the way with the back of his fingers.]
You remind me of the detective. He had to shoot his childhood friend once because the man had become a criminal. It really hurt him to do so.
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He blinks at the gesture, still tense and waiting for a fight despite the shift in emotions he's getting from D. ]
... Who wouldn't be hurt by that? [ It sounds very upsetting!! ] That guy shot your father, right? Is this another way of you telling me that you hate me?
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No.
[Here, things start feeling… muddled. There is a hesitant affection which keeps getting rolled over by waves of objectiveness. A self-imposed restriction which ultimately ends in frustration, then… resignation.]
The detective is human and did what had to be done to keep my father from killing every human.
[The resentment for some reason doesn’t come.]
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He doesn't miss the blip of affection. ]
... Seems like you could have a friend to go back to, if you really wanted.
[ Rin just like, (historian voice) they appeared to be good friends. ]
None of this is making me not want you to get out of here.
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[He’s amused, and then it fades into the same resignation from before.
He shakes his head.]
The detective and I are even now. He would have died from the wounds my father’s trial inflicted on him, but I saved him. And then I left. Chris had found his voice, so he didn’t belong in the pet shop any longer.
And the detective knew too much about me. I took the pet shop and began looking for another Chinatown to inhabit. It’s better for them this way. I have a duty, and they have normal lives. Like you.
It’s better for you if you didn’t worry about us, though I’m not against helping try to save everyone.
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He looks a little skeptical, still annoyed by everything that he's hearing, even if he should probably be sympathetic. ]
You probably have no idea how much I've changed in the past two weeks.
[ since you didn't pc me
He looks up at the screens. ]
I don't get why you're so insistent on being alone, but I'm willing to bet that you'll change too. [ And then, annoyed again as he scowls at D. ] And quit trying to tell me what's good for me.
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Just like the detective tch thinking he was doing criminal activities like keeping a child in his shop…]
Oh. I can imagine. Humans change very quickly when they experience terrible things.
[Rin is scowling, but D is teasingly amused despite either threat. This is the most like Leon he has ever been consistently.]
Finally rallying against your fate?
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