i wish i could protect you here; oh please don't cry;

[thanabro]

Characters: Ryoji and Minato [OU] and Minako
Setting: The Cathedral
Format: Action because I'm lazypants.
Summary: Ryoji wakes up from his dreams and needs some time alone. What he gets are run-ins with the two people he doesn't want to see right now.
Warnings: Mentions of death. Also strong language maybe?


[He had woken up, and he had fled from where he was, trying to find a quiet place. One of the dreams in particular was sticking with him - Minato, accusing him of not doing enough to save them. He was right. He hadn't done enough.]

[Ryoji stumbled into the cathedral, finding a spot and curling up, tears streaming down his face. he hadn't done enough. He wasn't a martyr, wasn't someone who died for a cause - he died selfishly, only caring about the people that mattered to him, not the rest of the world. He was weak. He was supposed to have been dead for ten years - what kind of Seal could he make if he didn't even have enough to give up?]

[Even through the muffling effect of the cathedral, his sobs were still audible. He blinked in surprise, not even realizing how hard he had started to cry, but he couldn't stop. He probably looked disgusting right now, but he couldn't bring himself to move.]

Comments

[evokingfool]

[After waking up from his slumber, Minato have many questions in his mind. Death and Aigis sealing the Shadow inside him as a child.

And there's one person here who would know about it.

But before that, Minato's worried. Did Ryoji get afflicted with dreams as well? So he exit his dorm and search for his "brother". It took him a while, but eventually, Minato arrived at the floor where the cathedral was.

He looks inside and hear sobbing. Sobbing? Worried, the SEES leader steps inside and search for the source of it.]

...Ryoji?

[thanabro]

[Ryoji looked up at the sound of Minato's voice, and tried to scrub his eyes, trying to get rid of the tears. He couldn't see him. He didn't want to see him. But he couldn't just tell him to leave. His voice was rough when he spoke.]

Minato... I'm sorry...

[evokingfool]

[He notice the obvious signs of crying, and quietly walks over to Ryoji and kneels down.]

What for?

[thanabro]

[He's not seven anymore. Nightmares are just dreams. They don't mean anything. And yet... this one has terrified him so much that he still can't sake it, even in his waking hours.]

I had a nightmare... where what I did wasn't enough, and you and Minako had to take my place... and then you appeared to me.

[This is... just horribly awkward.]

I... you told me that I just didn't try hard enough. That I... I had the power but didn't use it. That I didn't want to protect you, really.

[He drops his head against his knees again, shaking. It's not true, and the accusation hurts, even now, even knowing that it was just a dream.]

[evokingfool]

[Nightmares may be just bad dreams, but it doesn't mean they can't hurt them. All they need was the right images, the right scenario or words to strike at a person's core.]

Ryoji...

['Take his place'. It's related to that "seal". But he won't linger on that thought for long. Ryoji comes first.]

I would never say that, you know that. I know you did a lot for me and Minako. It's far more than enough.

[thanabro]

I... I know... but...

[His voice is a bit muffled, and he's trying desperately not to cry again.]

I just... I love both of you. I'd never want anything to happen to you. It... I'm not trying to pretend that I'm the most selfless person in the world... but you two have been the only thing I could hold on to in my world. I'd do anything to see you two safe.

[It hurts, to be accused that he didn't try enough. He wasn't some noble martyr, he was a terrified and scared boy who tried to do something and desperately hoped it would be enough. Maybe it hadn't been. But he had at least tried, and done the only thing he could see as a possibility.]

[Letting them die was not a possibility.]

[complementing]

[It's rare for her to be in the cathedral, but she felt like something was drawing her to this place, and had headed over to investigate. It certainly didn't take long for her to figure out what was setting off that 6th sense of hers-- not when she could see Ryoji doubled over and visibly upset in one of the pews.

Minako makes her way over quickly, the whole place around her quiet even though normally her footsteps would ring loudly in the open area. When she reaches Ryoji, she gently places a hand on his shoulder, kneeling to put them on the same eye level.]

Ryoji? What happened? Why are you crying?

[thanabro]

[He flinches, and looks up at Minako. His eyes are red and puffy from crying, and he sniffs before wiping his face.]

M... Minako... I'm s... sorry... I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough...

[complementing]

What? What are you talking about?

[She brings him close and into her arms for a tight hug.]

Not strong enough for what?

[thanabro]

[He leans into her, and tries to think of how to explain.]

I... I had a nightmare. I know they're not real, obviously... but it felt really real. That the Seal didn't work, and that you and Minato took my place. Minato said I wasn't strong enough, that I didn't want to help.

[... He knows Minato would never say that, but he can't help but wonder.]

I just... I'm scared that I really didn't do enough to help you two. That it went somehow wrong...

[complementing]

[A nightmare...that's right, Ryoji had been one of the people who had fallen into a deep sleep recently. She intakes a soft breath and pulls away a little, touching her forehead to his.]

Ryoji...Minato would never, ever say something like that. He knows how much you sacrificed for us. Everything you did, you did for us. If that's not strength and courage, then I don't know what is.