towerofanimus | we've come back here to rebuild

Characters: Ryoji Mochizuki and you!
Setting: Dorm 4-12 and Floor 96. Various floors for B.
Format: Any, I'll match you!
Summary: Ryoji's a bit broken down after recent events, and it seems that dealing with it alone isn't working, as much as he wishes it was.
Warnings: What you'd expect from a panicky, emotional teenager. Some blood and violence, and maybe some suicidal thoughts.

A: Dorm 4-12

[Once the modifications had been undone, Ryoji had ended up trudging back to his room. For a moment, it almost seemed as if he was still droned, from his blank expression and the slow, deliberate movements. Honestly, though, he had just shut himself down, deciding that feeling numb was better than feeling anything else.

Occasionally, bursts of emotion still flooded over the wall he'd hastily set up. After all, he remembered everything, and that included every person he had injured or murdered. It would have been easier on him if he had ended their lives quickly and painlessly, but for some reason, in that state, he was completely different from how he usually was, believing that suffering should be prolonged rather than cut short.

It was during one of these bouts of depression that he decids to check his trunk. As childish as it was to rely on that silly Jack Frost toy for comfort, it was soothing to hug that toy, to hold something, if only to reassure himself that he did still exist. He died and he still existed, as much as he didn't want to. Everyone else still existed too, right?

When he opens the chest, however, his eyes are drawn not to the cheerful plush Persona, but to something that hadn't been there before. They look like some red bits of stone. Bewildered, Ryoji reaches over to grab a piece, turning it over in his hands... until he spots that outline chiseled onto the rock.

He stares, and Minato's unseeing eye stares back at him, though it is splattered with blood that has dripped onto the toy he was looking for.
Ryoji tries to muffle his sobs in his pillow instead.]

B: Various monster floors

[It seemed like a lot of people relied on fighting the creatures around the Tower to blow off steam. Ryoji did it occasionally too, if only because knowing that he was getting rid of something that could kill the residents helped make him feel that maybe he did have a purpose here. Maybe he could help sometimes.

Still, every time he stabs a monster, it's Diarmuid's face that is twisted in pain instead of a clearly inhuman face. It is Cecil's scream that he hears instead of a demonic screech. It isn't long before Ryoji has to retreat.]
C: Floor 96

[He knows it's a bad idea for him to come here, but he's careful. He doesn't stay too long. All he does is stay until the pain goes away. This time, though, even when the memories start to dissipate, he knows. He knows he should be sad, and guilty, and hopeless, but he just doesn't know why.

He knows he should leave, before he does permanent damage to himself, but he can stay for a few more minutes, right? Just a few more minutes, until he forgets the emotions along with the reasons behind them.]

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[He nods slowly, allowing himself to stand shakily.]

I'll thank you... who are you?

[Why does she make him feel so guilty?]

A friend of yours. My name is V/V.

[She doesn't want him to feel bad because of her...]

V/V... I'd like to be your friend.

[He trusts her now. If she leads him out of here, he'll come along, even if he does still worry.

That's good, because I like you, and I like to be friends with people I like.

[Gently leading him to the stairs now.]

Well, that makes sense. No one wants to be friends with people they don't like. Sometimes, though...

[He shakes his head. Sometimes what? What was he going to say? He decides he shouldn't think about that, and should focus on getting to the stairs.]

[Once the stairs were reached, V/V would let go of Ryoji's hand.]

Do you want to go upstairs now? It's the quickest way to the elevator anyway, or you can sit in someone's room until your memory is back.

...Wherever you want to go. I don't know where anything is. I don't even know if I know anyone here.

[He feels a little lost without that hand guiding him along, and in fact, he kind of looks like a young boy who strayed to far from the path. He's acting younger than he looks... maybe a little more like his true age would indicate.]

[She takes his hand again, then.]

We'll go upstairs and sit in my room.

Okay. Thank you.

[He squeezes her hand, grateful, and even smiles a bit, though it's weak.]

[Carefully, she leads him up the stairs, making sure he doesn't trip.]

You'll be okay.

I will... a-as long as you stay with me, right?

[He sounds so lost and afraid... Even without those memories, he has the feeling that he should feel sad about something, and that maybe that something involved this girl... Is she really his friend? Or did he ruin that friendship?]