mineo

[dotcom]

Comments

[sengokus]

[ . . . he'll quietly start rewrapping takeru's injuries]

... what else was she wearing? How tall?

[he doesn't know if it's possible to find her - but he can at least make the effort]

[dotcom]

I don't know what her height would be here, since everything was off there.

[ but he like? gestures? it's. Very Short. ]

[sengokus]

I guess in comparison to you, if she was your size and not... everything else's.

[but he will accept the. Very Short. and this will admittedly make him feel even worse later in the medbay!

. . . . ]

How're you feeling?

[dotcom]

[ mods: tiny hand
us: screaming

but he shrugs. ]

I'll cope. It was just a lot of things happening at once, so I didn't get to process it while it was happening.

[sengokus]

[ . . . . he's just quiet for a second but - ]

... I know I'm not Yanagi-senpai, or even Shiraishi-san or Okazaki, so I might not get stuff right away....

[he can acknowledge that but - at least he thinks he's somewhat okay at dealing with people. even if he thinks he's clumsier with takeru than most.]

But you know I'm here if you need anything, right? I'll try to support you, however I can.

[dotcom]

[ he doesn't answer right away, instead staring at mineo's face like he's searching for something in it. ]

I'll be fine. The kid might not have even been real, since so much stuff here seems to be illusions.

[sengokus]

[hope takeru finds what he's looking for!

but he's just going to tilts his head at that]

... but she helped you, right? So even if you can say that maybe it was all an illusion, that doesn't change how you feel about it.

I'm not saying you have to feel bad after all that but - .... it just wouldn't be a surprise if you did.

[dotcom]

[ ... ]

Don't mention the kid to other people. The others probably aren't going to openly talk about it. I don't think I'm going to bring her up either.

[sengokus]

[ . . . . he nods. even though if he thinks that means, if anything, takeru really is pretty affected by it.]

Yeah, I won't.

[ . . . ]

Are you gonna ask the Avatars about her?

[dotcom]

About the whole experience in general, since what the fuck.

[ what the fuck! ]

[sengokus]

[he nods at that]

Yeah. Makes sense. I'll do the same then.

[now that he knows where the boundaries are for who he can talk to about it.

. . . . ]

.... I tried to text you, while you were gone. It came up with a read receipt - but with the timestamp fifteen minutes before I even sent it. Vira-san gave me the same error.

[dotcom]

Really?

[ huh. he looks thoughtful. ]

Time did seem to go by oddly towards the end. I guess something was off with it?

[sengokus]

Yeah. Hers was an hour before.

[ . . . . but he just. rubs the back of his neck and still looks aggravated, like the memory of it bothered him - ]

... I really freaked out. I couldn't find you anywhere, and I really ran all over the place.

It was like - bad karma for making you run to the gym the other day.

[he was just

so fucking worried]

[dotcom]

[ oh

he is so uncomfortable with where this conversation is now going. ]

Don't do that again, then.

[sengokus]

[takeru hates feelings so much but mineo has so many of them]

I'm obviously not going to -

[he just looks aggravated now]

I'm just saying - and it's not even your fault or anything - that I just... really hate this place!

[dotcom]

I do too.

[ he glances at his hand again.

... and then blinks, like he just remembered something. ]

There were random items we brought from there. It was just... things we found, that for some reason seemed important even though they were mostly just junk. They let me keep a dagger, but I'm just going to keep it in my room.

[sengokus]

[ . . . . his brow furrows at that.]

Important....?

What did the others get....?

[dotcom]

A teddy bear, a cat toy, a gem... they were all things that didn't seem important, they just felt it?

We let the kid touch the knife while I was holding her. When she did, I was just hit with... this really intense emotion. I don't know if it came from the item or her.

[sengokus]

[ . . . he tilts his head]

Can I see it...? Later, I guess. [where are they]

Do you - could you describe how it felt...?

[mineo: takeru can you distinguish different emotions]

[dotcom]

[ ... ]

Scared. Alone. Being lost and unable to find help from people who are supposed to help you.

[sengokus]

[oh.

mineo's expression stutters for a second - like ah, I get it - and he doesn't even so much as pause before he just says]

I'm gonna try to find her.

I won't - tell anybody else... and maybe it was an illusion but... I'm gonna do my best.

[dotcom]

[ he honestly isn't that hopeful they'd see her again. it's partly why he reacts so much as he does later on in the night, at the sound of the small hands banging against the pod door. because those knocks, for a moment, gave him hope.

but that isn't relevant for now. ]

Don't let it get in the way of everything else. I can deal with it.

[sengokus]

I know you can. And it's - ... well, it'd be a lie to say it's not at least partially for you, and for all of you who are probably worried about her right now.

But... I mostly don't really want to leave someone feeling like that alone either, if the feelings came from her. So I'll try to do what I can.

[dotcom]

[ ...

he goes quiet. ]

Okay.

[ okay. I

[sengokus]

[ . . . cool. permission received. mineo just nods once and sighs.

and then - he hesitates half a second like he's not sure if takeru's just gonna deck him, but he'll at least put a hand on. wherever he isn't injured. like a barely there touch on his shoulder?]

.... sorry you went through that, Takeru. We'll punch whoever designed place in the face hard enough they regret ever doing it.

I'm glad you're back.