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Entry tags:
AWAKENING
Who: Everyone
When: Midnight, June 6th
Where: Green Valley Orchids
What: It is time.
The subway stop near the orchards was not the type of place that most people liked to be when darkness fell. The orchards near the school were set up almost like a public park, which wasn’t so bad in and of itself, but it’s also the area where over half of the murders happened before the curfew was first put in place. It was a place people didn't go unless absolutely necessary and most had started taking alternate routes to avoid the stop. As one of the first subway stations built in the city, its architecture didn't really mesh with those that came after it. It had jagged corners where the smell of wet earth lingered, making it unpleasant even for those brave enough to continue to use it, and there had even been talk of closing it permanently once routes and nearby stations had been revamped to be better able to take care of the traffic.
Due to this, it only has the bare-bones of a shelter, fallen into disrepair as the curfew was enforced city-wide, and a couple of night guards, (probably already asleep due to the lack of activity they’re expecting), so characters arriving there will be mostly unnoticed. For a place that had such a bad history, most people rightfully avoid it.
For most of them it will be their first meeting with each other. There will be a bit of time to talk before their phones display a zero. Plenty of time to talk about what they suspect and what might just happen...and that horrible vision they had shared. Then there’s that countdown on their phones...ticking away the last few minutes.
The lights go out when the countdown ends. The lack of sound is, for lack of better word, worrying. Very soon, only the light of the phones serves as makeshift flashlights for the small group. But soon, even as words get displayed, a deep male voice echoes, which could be much more worrying.
Considering the choice of words, that might be Luci.
The voice laughs again.
A voice in your mind warns you this might be the biggest mistake you'll be making in your entire life...and yet your heart feels like it's going to burst from your body from the joy you feel...
It begins with a scream nearby. The same noise that they heard during the vision. The trees begin to turn grey as the sounds of hundred of creatures moving can be heard from all sides. The application opens, displaying them all in real time.
The group is surrounded.
By all logic, they should be running, but their legs feel bolted to the ground. They can't move.
The creatures begin to get closer. The trees start to rot nearby.
Breathing begins to increase. The sound of voices and memories quickly flashing before their eyes that might cause some to clutch at their head...exactly the same thing that the man had been doing back in the vision. If they look down at their hands, they will see them fading, see-through.
Yet for them, something is different. Just as the creatures are about to attack, they stop. A vision of the Velvet Room flashes before the eyes of those gathered as the two attendants silently nod. Then a return to reality as a light of color pierces the night from their hearts. A single voice can be heard, drowning out anything they might be hearing.
It laughs and fades, as time quickly returns to this world. There's only a few seconds to react before it all goes to hell. A faded hand to reach into your chest.
The choice is yours. Death...or Awakening.
It’s a feeling unlike they have ever felt. Never have their bodies been so alive. Their minds fill with lost memories, their bodies adapting into tools to defeat the creatures before them.
The voice is encouraging, almost. To those with navigator skills, the voice speaks up once more as well.
It’s time to reclaim the night.
[OOC: For the purpose of this battle, the shadows all have 1HP and are strong against nothing. That means any attack will be able to kill them, weapons and guns included. For this log only, CHARACTERS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO COMBINE SPELLS, as knowledge of this will be unlocked later on. There are about a HUNDRED shadows to be defeated, so there are as many needed for your characters to enjoy killing off. You are free to NPC them and to create situations and close calls.
An OOC PLANNING POST can be used to ask questions or to form teams.]
When: Midnight, June 6th
Where: Green Valley Orchids
What: It is time.
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
The subway stop near the orchards was not the type of place that most people liked to be when darkness fell. The orchards near the school were set up almost like a public park, which wasn’t so bad in and of itself, but it’s also the area where over half of the murders happened before the curfew was first put in place. It was a place people didn't go unless absolutely necessary and most had started taking alternate routes to avoid the stop. As one of the first subway stations built in the city, its architecture didn't really mesh with those that came after it. It had jagged corners where the smell of wet earth lingered, making it unpleasant even for those brave enough to continue to use it, and there had even been talk of closing it permanently once routes and nearby stations had been revamped to be better able to take care of the traffic.
Due to this, it only has the bare-bones of a shelter, fallen into disrepair as the curfew was enforced city-wide, and a couple of night guards, (probably already asleep due to the lack of activity they’re expecting), so characters arriving there will be mostly unnoticed. For a place that had such a bad history, most people rightfully avoid it.
For most of them it will be their first meeting with each other. There will be a bit of time to talk before their phones display a zero. Plenty of time to talk about what they suspect and what might just happen...and that horrible vision they had shared. Then there’s that countdown on their phones...ticking away the last few minutes.
ZERO UNTIL MIDNIGHT
FINALLY! Ahahahahah! Ahhh, damn does it feel nice to be able to speak and not
just write. Hey lambs, are you all ready?
just write. Hey lambs, are you all ready?
Considering the choice of words, that might be Luci.
It's time. Can you feel your heartbeats increasing? Your mind about to explode? Questions swirling in your mind? Just make sure you don't go alone. Groups are
best, go all together and you'll never find the answers.
best, go all together and you'll never find the answers.
The voice laughs again.
Not that you have much of a choice at this point! Have fun, give them hell, and tell
them I sent you! I'll be taking care of that pesky guard problem for you.
...Let's go for a night stroll."
Communication ends just as abruptly as it started. No time to back down now, as the door where the guards are staying is quickly locked on its own before the subway system itself appears to be taken over by a virus that flashes on every available screen. With a click, the locked doors to the outside are swung open. them I sent you! I'll be taking care of that pesky guard problem for you.
...Let's go for a night stroll."
A voice in your mind warns you this might be the biggest mistake you'll be making in your entire life...and yet your heart feels like it's going to burst from your body from the joy you feel...
AWAKENING
It begins with a scream nearby. The same noise that they heard during the vision. The trees begin to turn grey as the sounds of hundred of creatures moving can be heard from all sides. The application opens, displaying them all in real time.
The group is surrounded.
By all logic, they should be running, but their legs feel bolted to the ground. They can't move.
The creatures begin to get closer. The trees start to rot nearby.
Breathing begins to increase. The sound of voices and memories quickly flashing before their eyes that might cause some to clutch at their head...exactly the same thing that the man had been doing back in the vision. If they look down at their hands, they will see them fading, see-through.
Yet for them, something is different. Just as the creatures are about to attack, they stop. A vision of the Velvet Room flashes before the eyes of those gathered as the two attendants silently nod. Then a return to reality as a light of color pierces the night from their hearts. A single voice can be heard, drowning out anything they might be hearing.
The time is now. I am thou, thou art I! Your mind is trapped, but I can set your soul free! My other self, will you die, or fight back?
Accept me for who I am! Forge this contract by letting go of your fears! Revolt against this world, and TEAR OUT YOUR HEART!
Accept me for who I am! Forge this contract by letting go of your fears! Revolt against this world, and TEAR OUT YOUR HEART!
It laughs and fades, as time quickly returns to this world. There's only a few seconds to react before it all goes to hell. A faded hand to reach into your chest.
The choice is yours. Death...or Awakening.
THE BATTLE IN APPLE GROVE
It’s a feeling unlike they have ever felt. Never have their bodies been so alive. Their minds fill with lost memories, their bodies adapting into tools to defeat the creatures before them.
Defeat...destroy...unlock the skills of your heart and show them what it means
to cross you."
to cross you."
The voice is encouraging, almost. To those with navigator skills, the voice speaks up once more as well.
Lead them into battle. Hone their skills into true annihilation!"
It’s time to reclaim the night.
[OOC: For the purpose of this battle, the shadows all have 1HP and are strong against nothing. That means any attack will be able to kill them, weapons and guns included. For this log only, CHARACTERS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO COMBINE SPELLS, as knowledge of this will be unlocked later on. There are about a HUNDRED shadows to be defeated, so there are as many needed for your characters to enjoy killing off. You are free to NPC them and to create situations and close calls.
An OOC PLANNING POST can be used to ask questions or to form teams.]
Haruka Sorazawa (Lenka Utsugi) (OTA)
[It's dark and damp inside the subway station, and perhaps a little too loud, with so many people arriving continuously in an hour or so. The crowd trying to hush itself sounds like the quietest thrum of bees, or the fridge running, or dozens of very frightened students and productive(?) members of society wondering where exactly to stash their weapons now that reality is hitting back.
If you want to get away from the masses and the seething anxiety a little, though, there's plenty of smaller nooks and crannies even with the falling down state of the subway. Haruka's retreated to one of these since arriving, after breaking more traffic laws than he's likely broken in his 15 years of existence, and his scooter is leaning next to him -- along with a couple bags of fertilizer, what looks like some lab equipment, a decent pile of molotov cocktails, and other sundry things that look more like he's opening a small gardening research facility than getting armed.
He's quiet and still enough that it's possible to trip over him or his(?) belongings, and it's easy to mistake him for being either calm or half-asleep until you notice the white-knuckled grip he has on the gardening shears at his disposal. It might not be entirely wise to startle him at this stage.]
2. God, Eat Your Heart Out
[It's exhilaration, and horror, and somehow terribly familiar (fighting thousands of feet from the earth, knowing that he's courting death with every step, but dancing to the tune of his blade anyway), even the scream that starts it all and shreds at his insides because he's heard too much of it today. Last week. Two weeks ago, two years ago, all his life.
A shiver rips through him as their enemies -- things, they're things that feed on everything that lives, and yet don't eat, something in him whispers in outrage -- increase in number and much as he wants to charge and scatter them his feet won't move. His thoughts are sluggish: Haruka Sorazawa is not someone who knows how to deal with mortal danger, Haruka Sorazawa can fight but not this, none of this, Haruka Sorazawa isn't needed here. This isn't his battlefield, but something in him knows exactly how this rush of adrenaline works: the flash of blades, the stunning roar of gunfire, how steady his hands need to be to hold something covered in blood, how his own insides look against the ground--
Accept me for who I am! Forge this contract by letting go of your fears!
He's always, always been afraid. Speak softly. Move like a mouse. Don't let them find you. Live like a shadow, pass like a candle in the night, unable to do anything, unable to help anyone, unable even to save those important to you. He doesn't know what this fear is. But--
TEAR OUT YOUR HEART!
He's come this far, and Utsugi Lenka doesn't fear anything when it comes to protecting those who need him. He can't. His hand is already sinking into his chest nearly before the command is finished, not obedience but acceptance: do anything to survive, even if it doesn't seem like survival. Give of yourself everything, and when you have nothing left, trust that those who come after will walk the path that you have laid out. Tearing his heart from his chest is nothing: in fact, it feels a little too right, like the hollowing out after a well-fought battle inversed -- the battle is just beginning.
(Utsugi Lenka had nothing. Haruka Sorazawa has nothing. They both have things to protect, in this moment, and that's enough to keep walking; to run, because following at their heels is a yawning darkness, all the things that they have lost and the things that they will never have. It crystallizes, unseen, into a vast and bloodstained suit of armor -- limbs empty, containing nothing but a voracious presence, lined with teeth -- wreathed in a stranglehold by what looks like the twisted trunk of a tree, barren of leaves. A knight without a mount, moving only under the power of the tree inhabiting it, charred roots pulling furrows across the ground like giant, grasping hands.)
... Someone is screaming, and gradually the raw feeling in Lenka's throat tells him it's himself. There are blades in his hands and an emptiness in his thoughts, and he doesn't remember moving at all; but he's rushed forward without bothering to wait for further voice instructions. He's going to annihilate these creatures, Shadows, Aragami, it doesn't matter.]
Never again... I won't let you... ever again, I'll destroy every last one of you!
[It doesn't even matter if someone is already fighting them, or if what's in his way is friend or foe -- anything that interferes with battle will be moved, and anything else that moves will stop moving. Fighting for him is, at the moment, terrifying and necessary in its simplicity.]
3. Wildcard
[As always, let's talk shop if you want to do something different or more specific, I'm flexible and we have a lot of Shadows to catch! Let's go! ☆]
1. Finale (Since we already have Eligor teamup thread planned)
He stops, a few feet away still.]
Hey, Haruka. I have something for you.
yosh
It takes another moment or two for him to register the backpack, the fact that John is probably being blocked by the sheer amount of stuff he's somehow acquired in between forgetting his shoes and forgetting how he got here, and... he lets go of the shears with one hand. It looks a little difficult, like he's been gripping it for dear life the whole time he's been here.]
John... Sorry again. [he's already apologizing, remembering that he should, before he actually remembers what the apology is for -- there's another pause while he reorients] Something?
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[John wondered how Lenka had reacted -- aside from the forum post. His grip on the garden shears revealed a little bit about how scared he must of been. Somehow that was more comforting than any false bravado. John was suddenly reminded of two boys hiding behind bleachers to avoid a gang of bullies, making a joint decision to run out and face them together. He never thought they'd be having to make that decision again--although this was far more serious. Now they wouldn't just be getting bloody noses and being shoved in a trash can. They could...
John swallowed, shaking his head and reaching into his bag.]
Y-yeah. It's not much, but I figured with all that happened in might be good to have before this all goes down.
[From his backpack he produces a clear, plastic baggy. The contents are a little smooshed from the traveling, but they are still recognizable as a few beignets from the cafe and a few of the sugar cookies they made using the Christmas cookie cutters: two angels frosted green and white, a star, and a Christmas tree that they'd made blue for no reason. He holds this out to Haruka.]
I didn't have time to make your favorite...but I figured these are just as good. Sorry they're a little squished, it was kinda hard to transport them properly.
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[That's all the reaction Haruka manages for a long moment, staring blankly at what's been offered to him like he'd forgotten what cookies or beignets were, like they were the first and only baked goods he'd ever seen in his life. It might have been comical, if not for where they are, what they're about to do. And his throat's suddenly closed, there's a brief tremor in his shoulders.
Outwardly, he manages to get to his feet, his legs are somehow steady after being curled against the damp subway walls for who knows how long, and gingerly reach out to take the present. It's far from the first time John's shared his baking, or his snacks, but...
Inwardly, something furious and terrible and strange finally shuts up a little, for the first time tonight since that vision drove him out of his bed and his home and all the way here without letting him think. It feels like he can finally breathe a little -- after three weeks of holding his breath every time his phone chimes, pretending he doesn't see too many things every time he closes his eyes, gripping at daily life like the gardening shears he's failed to put down.
They baked these. They're in this together, somehow. He's hungry.]
They're good. They're always good. [his voice is a little shaky, but he manages the words this time, even if they turn out a little nonsensical] Beignets are magic, I think.
[They've established the power of beignets and baked goods as a remedy to all kinds of problems for years now, but if he's going to stop making sense altogether, he's going to do it with feeling.]
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Once Haruka actually speaks, John manages a weak, but sincere smile. It's really hard to smile at the moment, as he can't help but keep thinking about what is going to happen in only a matter of minutes...but at least they're going into it together.]
Yeah--yeah they are.
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1
There's at least ten minutes until midnight, so Rommy waves his twin off and makes his way out of the crowd and into the shadows to take a breather.
It's by accident that he stumbles across Haruka, and even then it takes him almost tripping over a bag of fertilizer to realize there's someone there. ]
What the-
[ There's a pause as Rommy squints into the shadows, and while the face is familiar, that means nothing. It could be from class, one of the people from Lon's gardening club, just someone who has a locker near him- he's got nothing. ]
You know everyone else is back there, right?
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He's really not paying enough attention, though, if they're about to be attacked somehow. He knows, but none of them are meant to deal with something like this. Thus: Rommy's quite successfully ambushed him. He tilts his head at him in baffled silence for a moment longer.]
I know. I needed to think. I need to sort this. [another tilt of the head, this time towards supplies and weaponry at his feet; he obviously hasn't bothered to start any kind of sorting] ... You're Rommy? I think.
[He doesn't really know him well enough to call by nickname, but Haruka's realizing at this point he doesn't actually know the guy's full name. Whoops.]
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[ He's peering down at what he'd tripped over, and it's obvious when the gears click into place, sudden understanding flooding his expression as he notices the gardening shears and fertilizer. ]
I'm Lonán's twin. You're in gardening club, right?
[ He doesn't give any time to answer before plowing on, words tripping out in a wave of curiosity ]
What'd you bring all of this shit for? You know most people're geared up for war, not science experiment, yeah?
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(That being said, it seems like a good number of people prioritized food. Despite all the morbid questions and frightening freak hallucinations of the past few weeks, he's still not given to think of a last supper first and foremost. He might end up regretting that...)
Haruka waits patiently for Rommy to size up what he's got strewn out, making a vague note to himself that he doesn't have all that much time left to clean it up, and he's going to need to hide the scooter-- but for now...]
Haruka, yes. I know Lonán from the club. [a pause, in which he finally moves to at least get the basic gardening stuff out of the way; they've served their purpose] I met a chemist on the way. This is also... a way to wage war.
[He's really good at explaining things, obviously.]
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[ He pokes the fertilizer with the tip of his shoe, giving it a dour look. ]
You know this shit is shit, right?
Like, actual crap?
[ He will never understand his twin's choice of hobby, because honestly, who would willingly go near this crap? ]
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2
......Haru-? [And then another shadow jumps in between them, because why not.]
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Small, hard to spot and deadly fast, as they're both finding out while they're distracted -- Lenka flings the initial Shadow away with a quick flick of a sword, preventing it from latching on to Natsume -- somebody shaped like Natsume -- Natsume's clothes.]
Natsume. [he manages the name with a surety he doesn't feel, only momentum and battle focus turning it into a call instead of a question] How many?
[He's not keeping count, precisely, but there are a lot of these and Lenka has a vested interest in making sure all of them are gone by the end of the night. He'll fight all night if he has to, but... Then there's a hiss, as the other Shadow lands on his head.
Now, how will they get it off without stabbing him in the face, the eternal question.]
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If only stabbing in the face was a viable answer...but no, after a split second's hesitation the thought comes into his head that he has spells now. Maybe spells could work?]
...Garu.
[The shadowy bird behind him flaps its wings, and a cutting gust of wind attacks the Shadow on Haruka's head. Hopefully that works, because it's definitely not the only Shadow in the area, and whoever either of them is, Nakigitsune wants his friend to get out of this safely.]
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Hypothetical defacement aside, Lenka somehow recognizes the word when it's uttered -- Garu, the dead leaf crackle at his shoulder lets him know, is something he possesses as well -- but that doesn't exactly help him anticipate getting a gust to the head at point-blank range. It doesn't really hurt, but combined with the weight of the Shadow what it does do is unbalance him.
Lenka's unwanted hat jerks backwards and then dissolves in a cloud of darkness and unsettling writhing movement. Lenka himself falls spectacularly on his butt, though he manages to more or less catch himself so that at least he's back in a crouch a moment later. A little winded, a little wounded in the pride and the backside, but--]
... Thanks. [he's not looking at Natsume as he says it, but that's because there are more Shadows inching closer, drawn by the sounds of battle and fallen prey] I'm not that... I only know how to use these swords right now.
[Sure, he's done more than his fair share of bladeswinging, but dual wielding is something else. He's not entirely sure how the hell anything here is working, even though it is. That too, however, is its own breed of familiar. What is his life, really.]
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Does knowing magic mean he's something like a low-level saniwa now? No, that's not quite the same, is it.]
I'm...not sure how I knew it. [There's a small moment of hesitation, a glance back at his Persona(???), before he hurries to help Haruka back up. He can see the approaching Shadows as well, noting their numbers silently in his head, getting back into a fighting position as soon as his comrade's back on his feet.] I only ever knew swords, before.
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2
When he sees Lenka barreling his way, he has to throw up his sword in hasty defense.]
Wait! I believe I am like you!
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His focus is starting to slip a little, along with the rest of him in the precarious footing created by the rain, so when he sees something moving he's liable to raise his swords first and ask questions later; that being said. Alucard the terribly well-dressed dhampir prince is still a sight more human-looking than whatever they've been fighting so far.
Twin red and blue blades pause in their rush without contacting Alucard's, Lenka blinks once at close range, and then slides right past him on a particularly sodden patch of leaves. Smooth.]
You're... [unfamiliar, utterly, he might have seen the hair fluttering in the subway at some point but then, there are plenty of people with surprisingly memorable hair in their midst; so that's unhelpful] You're fighting them. Sorry.
[It might have been a good thing Lenka overshot his target at this point, since more Shadows are starting to appear, drawn by the sound of battle.]
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What is your name? My name is Alucard.
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[The other good thing about having his back to his fellow -- app victim? Shadow warrior? Something? -- is that Lenka can hide the minor rush of embarrassment beneath the night and the continuous drumming of rain. Regardless of the fact that it wasn't precisely him at all, and despite what preparations he did make... it's hard to deny that overwrought is a very optimistic term for the way he ended up here. A child half his age could have done better.
The rules Haruka plays by are not nearly the same, but he can't find it in himself to be very forgiving of someone who shouldn't exist in the first place (should he?); Lenka is the one who has to clean up the mess, and he has no time to properly understand what he's up against, why he's here or even which memories are whose.
But... something about the way the man at his back has introduced himself snags at his awareness. Alucard isn't a normal name, here or at home, so what-- Oh.]
Alucard. I'm Lenka. That's my name.
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Except obviously that hadn't happened. What did happen is he'd had a conversation with Lenka before, the user who had sparked that conversation about Lucifer.]
It is good to meet you face-to-face, Lenka. Now then. We have Shadows to attend to. Are you ready?
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1
There's Haruka, still. Michi hadn't really said much to him since he picked him up, had he? And though they hadn't known each other that long, he still felt obligated towards him in a large way. 01 had always been there. He and 1001 (and what turned out to be Yoshio) were Michi's first friends on that app. What he's doing now, Michi isn't even sure. Something dangerous. Something really illegal. But they're all in so much danger now that it's hard to even care about that fact. What does that say about the world they're in right now, that explosives don't even seem like the most dangerous thing they could be doing?
Michi gets up, taking one of his water bottles, and walks over. He stops a little ways away, oddly hesitant. Okay, so he does care about the whole explosives deal at least some.]
Hey...
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There are a million things he needs to get done before midnight, but at the moment where Michi approaches him, he isn't doing any of them -- and he's so focused on not doing them that with the distance between them it takes him several moments to realize he's being stared at. And that someone has spoken.]
... Hey. [after a moment, he nods and makes a vague motion in the hopes that Michi will stop hovering regardless of how much of a mess his stuff is including the explosives] You found what you needed to?
[Which incidentally includes both things and people, in the peculiar economy of words Haruka tends to get into when his mind is elsewhere.]
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I dunno. Probably not. I really dunno.
[He's repeating himself, but it's not clear if he realizes that or not. His eyes focus first on Haruka, then flick back over to rest on some of the myriad supplies that Haruka's assembled. It seemed easier when he just thought he should do this than actually saying it, but that's been the case for basically everyone he's talked to. They're all going to die. It shouldn't matter.
But that just makes it matter more, anyway.]
But, uh. Look... thanks. For everything.
[He could stop there, but he doesn't. Once he starts, he finds the words just start flowing.]
I know it wasn't by choice that we shared the same demon username. That didn't have to mean anything. It didn't to some people! But... this would have been a lot harder to deal with if we hadn't all stuck together.
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And at the very least, he's thirsty enough to down at least half the water bottle at once after all the running around both he and Michi have already done before the main event. Once that's done, he finds himself staring down at the top of Michi's funny bushel of hair and listening to him ramble. Had Haruka been any wordier than he really is, he probably would have joined him.
Instead, he bats away the stray urge to give him a quick pat on the head, and waits for his words to slow down enough to get one in edgewise.]
Thank you for the water. [even at the end of the world (that's an exaggeration, even if it feels a little like it), routine and courtesy take precedence] And you don't have to thank me. We helped each other, even if it started with a username. We'll keep helping each other.
[His voice gains in firmness as he speaks, dredging the words up from somewhere even he can't quite reach. He's not speaking exclusively to Michi any more, even if he is definitively included; the quietness of his voice is more anticipation than hush.]
We'll stop all this.