towerofanimus

Characters: Shinji Matou & OPEN
Setting: Dormitory Floor 2; Cafeteria; Library
Format: Action preferred, but I'll try to match.
Summary: Shinji tries to puzzle out his situation.
Warnings: Man idk, I'll update this as things come up.

dormitory
[There is a small, (probably) unfamiliar child in the dormitory today. He doesn't seem as frightened or upset as a child perhaps should be after waking up in a strange place and being informed that his world has been destroyed. Instead, he's seated in front of one of the network terminals, his heels resting on the stool's legs.]

[It's hard to say what he's doing. He isn't touching the device at all, only staring at it really, really intently. Then, abruptly, he makes a noise of frustration and kicks it.]

—Ouch!

[Oops. He must have kicked it too hard, or hit his leg on it as he did so, as he immediately reaches down to cradle his knee.]

[This isn't the first terminal he has tried to do...whatever it is he's trying to, and it probably won't be the last. He might even venture to the first and third floor dormitories to see if he has better luck there.]

cafeteria
[So, after completely failing at what he wanted to do, Shinji has gone to the cafeteria. Maybe things will go better if he has a little food in his stomach? Maybe. Being in a less irritable mood should definitely help, at least.]

[Except the only thing he's given to eat is plain oatmeal. Obviously, this offends his eight-year-old culinary sensibilities. He hasn't touched it yet, and is instead just glaring at it like it's the source of all his problems where he sits at one of the tables.]

library
[...Yep, he's right back to his fruitless efforts with the terminals. This kid is tenacious, even if only in the way a small, loud terrier might be.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So you don't have any akternative, but you expect me to swallow that? Do you take me for an idiot?

[He glares at her with all his might, before whirling around to face his oatmeal once again.]

Forget it! You're the last one I want to hear an explanation from, anyway.

[Even before the war, before this whole absurd mess she unwillingly got dragged into, she didn't really call Shinji out on the things he said. Even if he did offend or annoy her in some way, she kept quiet.

And she continues to do so. She kind of deserves any harsh words he has, after all.]

I could help you, though. I've been here since August - and it's February now. I can fill you in on a lot of things you might want to know.

Alright, then how about you start with this, then: How the hell is it even possible for you to have been here for six months already?

[He must intend to make her earn the privilege of expositing to him, or something.]

I think time passes differently here. That's what I've come to understand, at least... I'm not sure how, though.

Besides... is it really weird that it's been a while since... well. [Since I killed you?] Since we last saw each other? Before I was brought here, I had just finished fighting an opponent completely different from you and Rider.

[She's not going to mention that she came from the end of the War... it seemed too much like gloating, and that's the last thing she wanted to do with him.]

"Since we last saw each other"? What, can't even bring yourself to admit what you did? Hah, that figures! Ugh, how did I lose to a wimp like you?!

[Has there ever been a more bitter child? Though his anger is somewhat undercut by the way he stabs at his oatmeal with his spoon, not scooping it up and instead just jabbing at it irritably. It's probably for the best that she didn't mention winning...]

[Despite his bratty response, though, he is filing that information away for consideration.]

[Hakuno can be incredibly dense in some areas, but in others, she can be incredibly sharp. She can sense Shinji's bitterness, and it's only making her own worse.]

I'm not proud of what I did. That's why I don't talk about it. I don't think that makes me weak, just... not a complete psycho who can talk about killing a kid and not bat an eyelash.

No, what makes you weak is that you think avoiding saying what you did makes it any better. [stab stab stab] I should be asking you to beg for my forgiveness!

[In any other case, it would probably be funny, seeing an eight-year-old demanding a teenager beg them for forgiveness. But this is as far from funny as you can get, in Hakuno's opinion.]

But there's nothing I can say or do that could ever earn your forgiveness. I know that. So there's no point. Even if you say that begging will help, I don't deserve anyone's forgiveness for what I did.

So you're not even going to try?! You coward!

[No, it isn't funny at all. He isn't even sure what he wants for her to do, but he's going to keep berating her until she does it.]

I know I'm a coward. [She doesn't quite yell, but there's no hiding the anguish in her voice as she says this.] I can try to be strong. I can try hard enough that some people will believe that I am, but deep down, I'm really not. I can never, ever face the people whose lives I've ruined, and I don't pretend that doing so isn't cowardly.

I just... [Her hands curl into loose fists as she grows frustrated with herself. Why is she dumping all this on an eight-year-old kid?] I want to do something. I really do. But I don't think anything will be good enough.

Fine. [With that last outburst out of the way, the volume of his voice actually lowers, though his tone stays just as angry and bitter as it has been.] Whatever. You're right — you can't do anything that'll ever be able to make up for it, so why don't you just go crawl under some rock where I never have to see your face again?!

... If you never want to see me again, that's fine. [It stings a little, since for however much of a jerk he was to her, she still once considered Shinji a friend.] Sorry... guess I'll get on that right now.

[And with that, she turns to leave.]

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