011 | ❝Those long days passing by from that door...❞

[pitiedthefool]

Characters: Yu Narukami, and you
Setting: Room 2-02 → Floor 13 → Floor 11
Format: I'll match you.
Summary: It's his cousin's birthday, and while she isn't here... he knows that this date has significance for others, too.
Warnings: Silent protags, all the feels... I'll update later.

Once the pumpkins began appearing in the cafeteria, Yu knew without a doubt which month it now was. Knew, yet as he woke up on the fourth day to notice the date... nothing could prepare him for that sucker-punch to his gut.

The fourth of October... Nanako-chan's birthday. If he remembered right, that would make her eight years old were she here. The thought of her being present made him sick to his stomach, too. For someone so innocent to be subject to the horrors of this place, but at the same time, the thought of her being dead and gone and not even possible to one day reunite with her in Yomi where he would have ended up subject to whatever retribution a certain goddess of death and creation deemed fit for how he handled the life and world he and his friends had brought about...

He only paused to change, stare at the family photo he kept framed even when he carried it around, stuck the sword in his belt, and pick up a small package before leaving the dorm unless one of his roommates stop him.

Floor 13

It's quiet in the chapel as usual, and he doesn't mind it at all as he knelt there on the floor, lighting a stick of incense before his family photo. One was there before, but the other...

Yu closed his eyes, praying what was probably one of the simplest desire any older brother could have.

'Please... Let my little sister be happy and safe on her birthday, wherever she may be. May she never have to experience these horrors...even if it means we never see each other again... her safety is enough.'

If there was just one possibility, please... let her be alive somewhere or in a timeline where the world they fought to protect isn't gone...

For some reason, he felt even closer to his Persona as he stood there, a single tear falling down his cheek before no more could come. ...Probably going to be there for a little while, too... since he's also praying for the others. He doesn't know why, but for some reason Aragaki-senpai's name came to mind.... as did Ken's.

Floor 11

For some reason, should one wander to the eleventh floor, one may find a certain bowlcut leaning against the staircase, eyes closed. Had he fallen asleep listening to the roar of the many waterfalls on this floor?

'Can't get my mind out of those memories...Now time to tell them "Don't take my dream."'

...Not likely. More like he just needed the fresh air, and this... was more serene than the crushing emptiness above.

Anywhere else, you can probably find him wandering. Good luck getting him to say much today, though.

and no one ate dinner that night-- i mean whut

Comments

[pitiedthefool]

[The tower has a history for making things seem worse. Really though, he tries to stay more on the positive side... It's just hard to on days like today even though he shared the same thoughts on making it through that Labrys likely did. She just seems like that kind of person, with such a warm heart - literal or mechanical didn't matter.

...Especially with that outburst, holy-]

...It isn't-

[Yes, he did catch that wording... and it makes him wonder just what all his future self said to her before they had to part ways back home. Yet he doesn't voice his curiosity, instead deciding to focus on her emotional and mental state. Especially if she was clinging to him now, and with her choice of words in confiding in him...

He doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her, either.]

I don't know, and I know there are some choices I've made that I'm not proud of... but whether it's wrong or right, I'd rather face it than live a lie.

[Like he nearly chose once by throwing Namatame in...and not telling the others he suspected Adachi.

'No one said reality was fair... but that's what we chose.']

It's alright to be scared. ['I am, too.'] Just don't forget you aren't alone, here. We'll all face this together.

[Like they faced every challenge that came their way... and he'll count whatever their future selves went through to save Labrys with what he remembers. They were friends, after all--it counted in his book. Though what she said last weighs heavily on him, and while it may not be exactly the same as death- it scared him that she would do something so drastic.]

Don't deactivate yourself, Labrys...

[fuhgeddaboudit]

...Even if we're together, what's it mean if we might end up hurtin' each other? It'd be easy for the people runnin' this place to do somethin' like that.

So what if it happens again? I'd rather be a pile a' scrap metal than kill anyone else.

[pitiedthefool]

[It's a good thing that she can't see his sad smile right about now, because the only thing that is crossing his mind right now is that she's kind of lucky. Because even if he had to, he can't. Literally. He can't hurt someone else unless they threaten the safety of others. Stupid. absolute. orders...]

There's always a way to fight it. What we all managed last month said that much, and you know... I'd be willing to bet that if another situation like that arrives, we'll find a way out of it too. We were able to do so much already, right?

[He loosens his grip slightly, mostly in an attempt to look his friend in the face.]

...We did it last year, too. Back in Inaba.

[fuhgeddaboudit]

Wait, you had t'-...

[There was a sudden expression of guilt on her face. Her Shadow had put them through all that, and...it was something they'd already done?]

i thought i tagged this, sorry ;__;

[pitiedthefool]

...Sort of.

[Kunino-sagiri was a bitch, and he does try to explain that, as he retells the circumstances calmly as he can. How he was the only one unaffected, how the others couldn't control their bodies and that he had to keep fighting as he dodged their attacks. Not an easy feat with Yukiko's Agidyne, just saying.

Don't give him that look, Labrys. They all had fights similar to what may come about in their futures, yes... but every fight is different.]

Please don't give up because of people like those in charge.