mineo

[dotcom]

Comments

[dotcom]

[ unfortunately

that's just how he sounds like when he has to give his honest opinion on people ]

Do you have a problem with how I talk?

[sengokus]

[he just

raises his hands by his head in surrender]

N-No, come on, don't get mad....!

[dotcom]

I was saying that it's admirable that you're able to to make up your mind and to leap into situations, even if it puts you at risk. It's stupid, but sometimes it's needed, and it's been working out for you here.

[sengokus]

[ . . . oh.

well that manages to land a lot easier. he looks surprised at takeru saying that anything he does is admirable, stunned for a second]

.... oh -

[far more heartfelt and touched:]

Thanks.

[dotcom]

[ he shrugs. ]

You remind me of someone at times. It's actually pretty annoying, but it's not entirely a bad thing, especially while here.

[sengokus]

... I do...?

Who?

[ . . . . well.

he has an idea.]

[dotcom]

That doesn't matter.

[ he quickly moves on. ]

The point is, that person was very yappy and didn't know when to back off. It gets on my nerves, but I can admit that sometimes I needed that. You're also like that.

[1/2]

[sengokus]

[ . . . . it sounds familiar.

familiar enough that mineo manages a little bit of a laugh.]

Then if that's what you need, I'll continue to provide, Takeru.

[sengokus]

[ . . . ]

And in the spirit of not knowing when to back off -

You're talking about Hoshino, right?

[dotcom]

[ .....

no comment. ]

[sengokus]

[ . . . . . . he just sighs and finishes off what's left of his water bottle.]

We have to talk about this too. I just decided.

[his brow furrows]

Why're you putting it off?

[dotcom]

Putting what off?

[ he wants to hear mineo say it as directly as possible. ]

[sengokus]

Talking about how Hoshino was working with you on your case when I saw your memory, but she was working with me in mine.

[ . . . . ]

And I'd say that maybe she took my suggestion about just going to work on a different case like I told her to, and that wouldn't be weird.

.... but you don't seem to remember anything about Adonis getting me.

[so that means.

not only are they from different dates and times - they're from totally different sequences of events.]

[dotcom]

Alternate timelines? Unless you're actually delusional.

[ ... ]

You know, if that's what's going on, we won't see each other again after this.

[sengokus]

[a tilt of his head, confused]

Sure we will.

[dotcom]

And what makes you say that?

[sengokus]

I'm trying to come back to life after fucking up badly enough that I lost my chance the first time.

[mineo is, at present, currently trying to literally defy death. he has no illusions about how much power he has to accumulate to get that to happen.]

I think trying to resolve our memories, even if we're from alternate timelines, so that we don't forget each other and what happened here is manageable.

[dotcom]

[ ... ]

Adonis is trying to recruit me.

[sengokus]

[ . . . . ah.

he's shocked - to start. there's something in his gaze that shows it. the fury, the pain, the rage directed toward one organization that calls themselves the deliverers of justice. and what do they want with takeru—

before it clicks.

right.

revenge.]

.... yeah?

What're you thinking?

[dotcom]

I got an offer that was too good to refuse.

[ although he knows that mineo won't like hearing that. ]

And then I got a different one right after, and ended up here.

[sengokus]

[ . . . . . . . he doesn't like hearing that. it's obvious in the furrow of his brow and the way that his hand clenches in a fist - though he has the decency to press it against his own jaw to rest his head rather than swing.]

.... you can't take it.

[he said it before and he'll say it again - ]

You're better than them.

[dotcom]

Well, if things work out here, then that won't matter. I wouldn't have any use for them.

[ although he knows that still isn't what mineo wants to hear, since the implication there is still that takeru considered it. ]

[sengokus]

[it sure is! and mineo just bristles at it before he insists, a bit more furiously - ]

They don't get to use you! They don't get to just kill Fuji-senpai, and then steal you away because they promise you more death! You—

[he bites his tongue - because he can't tell takeru what to do. not when he doesn't get it. takeru lost someone important to him, and he's so focused on revenge that he's willing to risk his life here for it.

but it still makes mineo so fucking mad]

.... you don't need those assholes. Not now, not ever.

[dotcom]

He killed my mother. She died protecting me, and then he went for trial for it and got out because of his connections. I tried to kill him, but because of those connections, I couldn't even get close.

[ he shifts in his seat, turning so that he can face mineo more fully. ]

They showed me a video of him in Japan. I don't know if you've ever really wanted someone dead-- no. Not just dead. That you want to be the one to do it, so you can just watch the life fade out of them. It's a pretty consuming feeling.

Time can pass without me thinking about it. It's not always at the front of my mind, but it's there somewhere. It's shaped the person who I am today, and who I will be every day after.

[ even ichika couldn't shake that, despite everything she had done for him. ]

When you see the face of someone you hate that badly, it's hard to say no, even when you know you're just being used.

[sengokus]

[ . . . . he listens. to his credit, he listens instead of just blowing up. even for how severe his expression is, he acknowledges how much takeru is telling him - even giving him the details that he'd left out in the past.

could mineo forgive that situation, if he lost his mother? his sister? could he be able to walk away from that kind of loss, knowing that the system had failed him and his family? in a way, he knows something similar to it but.]

.... I don't even know who I'm supposed to hate, or what I want done with them.

[their situations are different - takeru knows exactly the person who he can't forgive is. but if mineo were to have his own answer dangled in front of him, would he be able to do anything but run after it? if it came from someone other than adonis?

isn't that just another reason why he's here?]

... what were you going to do after? [past tense, because takeru is going to get his wish here. he's not going with adonis.] You get your revenge and then - what, you'll be under Adonis' thumb? You'll help with X-Day and just leave the rest of us behind?