eatsyourscience | (no subject)

(no subject)

To begin with, it was Naoto's idea to check up on things in the TV world, and it had become so normal to spend rainy afternoons inside that Souji agreed without requiring much in the way of an explanation, though she provided one anyway. He agreed with all the points she made--that they should keep an eye on the movements of the fog, the density of shadows in various places, if anything had changed since Adachi's defeat--but more than anything, he was beginning to miss that world and the time they spent there.

Chie and Yukiko passed, and so did Kanji when Souji tracked him down at lunch, but Rise was happy to accompany them--a good thing, because Souji didn't think it would be wise to go in without her--and so were Yousuke and Teddie, who agreed with Naoto about the importance of keeping an eye on what was going on in that world. Souji couldn't blame him.

Inside, everything seemed the same. Even the damp smell, the feeling of the fog against his cheeks in odd juxtaposition to the way it vanished in the view through his glasses were the same. He asked Rise to do a scan of the area, but wasn't expecting her excited, staccato announcement that there was a new area she hadn't seen before.

When Kanzeon vanished, Souji glanced around to find everyone looking at him and he almost smiled at how comfortable it had become to see them relying on him. He gave a slight nod and with Rise directing him, led the way past locations they already knew.

They stopped when the ground disappeared in front of them. An expanse of open, empty space spread in front of them, filled with a swirling fog that he could see. Resisting the urge to remove his glasses and clean them, Souji squinted. All that was visible were what looked like several bare, unornamented platforms hovering in the air, each at a greater distance than the last from where they stood.

He looked around, then down, then took a step into open space. Rise called out after him, but trailed off when a walkway materialized beneath his feet, extending for a short distance ahead of him. A few steps across what looked and felt like smooth, gray stone confirmed that it would continue to appear ahead of him as he walked instead of leaving him to step blindly and hope he hadn't come to a corner without noticing. Hefting his sword a little higher, he looked back and nodded to the others that they should proceed.

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Teddie's right there with Yousuke, growling at the Shadow. Souji is his sensei. He helped him figure out who he is and find some value in his existence. Teddie's not going to let him down now.

Souji shuffles right past them, as though he's sleep walking. Teddie yells after him, but he sounds very far away, his voice ringing like he's yelling down into a well.

Only half aware of what he's doing, Souji spreads his arms out and finally opens his eyes, though the effort is like that of lifting a car off of the ground.

He takes another step forward, then another, and then, when there's no room left to progress, he takes a third, pressing into and then through the Shadow's side. Like putty, it yields around him and reforms as he disappears.

"Souji!"

Yousuke tries to stop him, rushing forward to get in his way, but his shadow continues to lash out at him and knock him back. Each time he's knocked to the ground, but he gets back up as if he doesn't feel the pain. That might even be true. Something like that was trivial to him in the light that he might lose his his partner. He simply wouldn't let it happen.

"Give him back, you son of a bitch!"

Battered and bruised, he keeps getting up. He can hear the others-- he can't tell which one-- yelling after him, and after Souji, but he doesn't care. Susano-O clears a path with blades of wind. When he gets close enough, he digs his knives into the gross mass as if he were trying to tear his leader out, screaming at the top of his lungs in rage and desperation.

Edited 2012-05-19 23:23 (UTC)

Here, where the world is quiet, Souji can feel all of them. All one-hundred-eighty-six of them in utter, complete harmony, not one voice out of place.

This is what he is. All these pieces are him. They aren't fragments; each piece is whole and necessary. He would be empty without them, yes, but he isn't as long as he can hear them here, like this.

The Shadow feels his acceptance and it stills, quiets, and then shrinks, returning to where it belongs, leaving Souji standing on the platform, staring at the card hovering above his cupped hands. It dissolves in soft yellow sparks and Souji sits down on the ground, tired, too tired.

Rise's hurrying to his side before he has the chance to collapse completely and Teddie follows, looking around defensively for any lingering shadows.

Yousuke's tearing away at the putty-like flesh, until everything suddenly seizes up and goes quiet. He's baffled. He would have sunk his teeth into it if it helped Souji, but then it just... stopped?

He falls down on all fours, vision obscured by sweat and blood and hair in his eyes. He raises his hands and tries to clear it away as best he can, hearing Naoto's shoes thud their way past him. Before he even can see he scrambles to follow her.

"Senpai!"

"--Partner!"

Yousuke barely trips his way to his leader, falling back down when he reaches his side, grabbing his arm to reassure himself that he's really there.

He's okay. He's okay.

Souji takes a deep breath, then a couple more and rubs his eyes with his hand.

"...You're bleeding, Yousuke."

Yousuke looks down, and then to his hand. Oh yeah. He was bleeding, wasn't he? It wasn't even close to being his first priority, he could barely feel it.

"It's okay. I'm okay-- I thought that thing had eaten you. I was trying to tear you out."

Naoto kneels next to Souji and looks over him with a careful eye. There's no sign of anything odd, or any injury (that wasn't there before)... She lets out a sigh of relief.

"You gave us quite a scare, senpai."

Souji looks down, then back up, and offers a small smile.

"It's over now."

Which is Rise's cue to break into exaggerated tears and cling to his arm.

The entire team seems to let their shoulders down in unison. Yousuke helps to hold Souji upright, while Naoto stands and looks around. The fog that had filled the place before was now lifting, and it was easy to see the path back to the entrance.

"I have a few questions for you, senpai," Naoto says, setting the safety on her gun and carefully holstering it, "but I think it would be best if we return home and take care of ourselves-- and you-- first."

Souji nods and with help from Yousuke and Teddie, despite Rise being in the way, he gets back to his feet.

"I'll explain." After everyone's taken care of.

Yousuke throws Souji's arm over his shoulder, giving him something to lean on... And give himself something to lean on too. They were all exhausted.

"Come on buddy. I've had enough TV world today to last me a lifetime."

Souji nods while Teddie leads the way back back to the main hall. With Yousuke on one side and Rise on the other, he's not worried about losing his footing. He hardly remembers the trek back, though, except that, thankfully, nothing eventful happens until they're back in the electronics department at Junes and getting some odd looks from the few people in the area.

"Come on, into the stock room," Yousuke stage-whispers, leading the rest of them, "There shouldn't be anyone back there this time of day. We'll be cool."

Souji would rather go home and collapse on his futon or the stairs or right in the entryway as long as it was home, where everything and everyone was okay.

But he sucks it up and nods and manages to get to the stock room with the others, where he leans against the wall and considers just lying down and napping.

Everyone just needs a second to sit. Yousuke unceremoniously falls to his rump and pulls a kerchief out of his back pocket to try and clean up where he was visibly bloody, so he wouldn't get as many weird looks on the way back. There was also a back door out so they could leave incognito.

"I could call Dojima-san," Naoto suggests, "As I don't believe that senpai can make the walk back at the moment. To be frank I'd prefer the hospital because of the exposure to the fog, but if that were to spread to the media, it could cause needless panic."

"Totally," Yousuke agrees, considering spitting to make this come out better, "that's the last thing we want. Dojima-san's cool, he understand how this works."

Souji grimaces. His uncle isn't going to let it go so easily, not after what happened to Nanako in the fall. There will probably be yelling.

"I can make it."

"Can you?" Naoto says sternly, meaning I don't think you can.

"Does it really matter how you get there?" Yousuke adds, "Either way, it'll be the same. And dude, you know we're tight, but I'm not lugging your heavy ass halfway across town."

"He'll yell."

"Yeah, Dojima-san yells. That's kind of his thing."

Souji grimaces again, disconcerted by the lack of concern they're exhibiting over just how traumatic Dojima's yelling can be, especially to their brave leader.

...

He laughs quietly and closes his eyes.

"Yeah, okay."

Yousuke gives a thumbs up.

"Good choice!"

Naoto rolls her eyes and begins to dial the number.

"Do you want to talk about this now, or later?"

"Do you?"

He was safe, and while they were all 100% baffled by what just happened, that was much, much more important. It could wait.

"I can."

"Yeah, but if you don't want to, it can wait."

"...We all know how painful it is, senpai."

Souji shakes his head. "It's nothing I didn't already know."