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[isdf]

HELLO

"Greetings. This is Kisaragi Yuma."

GOODBYE

TEXT | VIDEO | VOICE | ACTION

Comments

[handfast]

[ yuma.....you gotta lighten up buddy. anyway yuma can do what he wants but hak is going to take a seat on the ground because his leg hurts. ]

Not like they really gave us a choice. The odds were stacked against us from the start. [ a sigh! ] But you still tried. Thanks for that.

[isdf]

[There are chairs right there, Hak.

Trying isn't enough. It doesn't matter how stacked the odds were: He should have beaten them, because he was made to win.]

. . . How are your injuries?

[handfast]

They're fine. I went into the river.

[ promptly forgot something as you do, but he doesn't know what it is so it's fine. ]

What about you? I didn't see you when I left.

[isdf]

[Then Hak paid another price to lessen this one. It doesn't do much to allay Yuma's guilt, knowing that he's at least responsible for a fractured knee.]

I was struck just twice, so there was no need to enter the river.

[handfast]

Did you at least get them looked at? We have supplies.

[ even if they weren't that serious.....he's glad yuma didn't get hurt as badly. ]

[isdf]

Edamura provided an ice pack for the bruise, and I treated the cut myself.

[Neither bothers him much, though.]

[handfast]

That's good.

[ .....

damn, what does he say now? he's always been bad at this sort of thing. ]

How are you feeling.....you know. [ you know?? ] Emotionally.

[isdf]

[His expression doesn't change as Hak struggles to put voice to the thought. No, he doesn't know.

Once he does, he can't help the sting of shame that lances through him.]

Please do not worry. I am stable now.

[handfast]

[ why is talking to yuma like talking to a brick wall? but he tries to rein in his impatience, because after all he'd seen on that little adventure, it's clear that there is something deep troubling this guy. ]

Maybe, but you were clearly bothered before. You can talk about it if you want, you know. [ ... ] We'll listen.

[ well, maybe medea won't, but other people will. ]

[isdf]

. . . Thank you, but there isn't anything to talk about.

[He'd rather that they put it behind them.]

What you witnessed at that maze was nothing more than a lapse in judgment. It has since been rectified.

[handfast]

[ ]

You're not a machine. You don't have to talk like that.

[isdf]

[He stands there for a moment, processing.]

Like "that" . . . ?

[handfast]

Like you're just some kind of machine to be used and then put away.

[isdf]

. . . My apologies, but this is how I always talk.

[handfast]

Don't I know it.

[ weirdly enough, he wishes jae-ha were here. creepy pervert or no, he always knew what to say. ]

I just...you don't need to be so hard on yourself. It's okay to make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. And yeah, sometimes people get hurt because of those mistakes but that's why we have to work together and look out for each other. You don't have to do everything alone.

[isdf]

[His gaze wanders, evasive in their roaming before they snap back to Hak.]

I am aware of the importance of teamwork; however, that doesn't explain what this has to do with my manner of speech.

[handfast]

It means you can relax. [ not that he thinks yuma knows how to do that. ] You don't have to talk like you're working all the time.

[isdf]

[He knows how. He can prove it.]

I am most relaxed when I'm working, so there should be no problem in continuing as I have been.

[handfast]

[ ..... ]

So....you're stressed out when you're not working?

[isdf]

[He nods. Yes, sir.]

[handfast]

[ my god ]

Aren't you only [ what was it again ] seven though? [ god. ] You're seriously seven.

[isdf]

. . . I am an adult.

[He is most certainly not seven years old.]

[handfast]

Then why did you tell me you were seven last time?

[isdf]

It was eight.

I was under the influence of a curse. It wasn't my birthday, either.

[handfast]

Then what about that answer to your question?