[When they dart over and swarm, he pulls Sheba closer and ducks his head, even knowing it won't do anything. He knows it won't do anything. He's brought enough lives to their ends with his own hands to recognize when someone knows that their words will be the last, even if always before they bore him curses, not thanks.
But he doesn't let go. He can't simply leave her, not until the glitch and he sees nothing but clear wires and film. It's only then that he pulls back even slightly, letting her limp body slide away from where he clutched it to his chest, but not yet out of his arms.
It's a good long moment before he can move, a long moment where shadows gather behind him, and they trail on his heels when he gets up, bearing her to a nearby couch and arranging her as though asleep. It doesn't mean anything; there's no one else to pay any respects before the retrieval units inevitably haul her off with all the dignity afforded a sack of grain, but that doesn't stop him from gently folding her hands, from brushing a bit of hair out of her face.
He doesn't, can't weep. But he wishes he could. And from all around him, voices -
You'll weep for her, but not for us?
Why is she so important? You barely know her.
If you wanted to save her, you should have found her sooner.
How pitiful. No wonder you couldn't save Auldrant. You couldn't even save a single little girl.
It's that last that makes him snap.]
Get out! All of you, out!
[Of course, they only step closer. Asch makes a small noise, sliding down to his knees in front of the couch.]
There was nothing I could have done... Nothing, for any of you...
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[When they dart over and swarm, he pulls Sheba closer and ducks his head, even knowing it won't do anything. He knows it won't do anything. He's brought enough lives to their ends with his own hands to recognize when someone knows that their words will be the last, even if always before they bore him curses, not thanks.
But he doesn't let go. He can't simply leave her, not until the glitch and he sees nothing but clear wires and film. It's only then that he pulls back even slightly, letting her limp body slide away from where he clutched it to his chest, but not yet out of his arms.
It's a good long moment before he can move, a long moment where shadows gather behind him, and they trail on his heels when he gets up, bearing her to a nearby couch and arranging her as though asleep. It doesn't mean anything; there's no one else to pay any respects before the retrieval units inevitably haul her off with all the dignity afforded a sack of grain, but that doesn't stop him from gently folding her hands, from brushing a bit of hair out of her face.
He doesn't, can't weep. But he wishes he could. And from all around him, voices -
You'll weep for her, but not for us?
Why is she so important? You barely know her.
If you wanted to save her, you should have found her sooner.
How pitiful. No wonder you couldn't save Auldrant. You couldn't even save a single little girl.
It's that last that makes him snap.]
Get out! All of you, out!
[Of course, they only step closer. Asch makes a small noise, sliding down to his knees in front of the couch.]
There was nothing I could have done... Nothing, for any of you...