i am.

because i have quite a few even threads in my drafts, i’ll be replying to those and leave it up to whoever i’m threading with to decide if they want to continue. i won’t be offended if you decide to drop it and i’m also 100% okay with you possibly sliding a message my way if you want to have a different thread with our characters. 

   “Of course it’s not worth it.” It was the first real exchange Senjougahara had with the stranger, but she wasted no time in being spiteful. She didn’t like being here to begin with, and moreover she didn’t like the burden of collecting the fragments being thrust upon her regardless of what was in it for her.

   “Why else would they want us to take care of it instead of them? Don’t you think it’s suspicious that the moment people start arriving here they immediately tell us to risk our lives trying to fix their mistakes?” They were gripes she had ruminated on for a while evidently, arms folding across her chest as she continued. “It’s easier for them to throw money at the problem and let people die for it. Politics are politics no matter where you go.”

     “I couldn’t agree with you more.” Oz states, the smile on his face is bitter and strained. He had an odd feeling about the turn of events as soon as the message first appeared. Everything seemed laid out a bit too conveniently. Those that relayed the message seemed a little too calm, a bit too prepared. The money is a nice cover up for those that don’t want to think more about the issue at hand; a giant prize that many couldn’t deny. Wealth is a good enough motivator as any, possibly the best depending on the types of people that are being dealt with.

“Oh, you needn’t be ashamed. It’s hardly as though you’re the first to inquire about such a thing.” It sounds like he’s not very good at many of the skills necessary for living alone. Why, he’d just said so, in as many words!

Poor boy. But being able to make tea? Sophie can appreciate his priorities. Though she does suppose that such a desperate situation would lead a boy to questioning the what to do if it becomes necessary to acquire more food. “I hope it doesn’t come to you having to try to cook then,” she says, suddenly overcome with the distinct feeling that her own cupboards might not be as prepared for such a situation as she’d thought there to be. She’d gone a little overboard with the fresh fruits and vegetables available in the marketplace, and as such, there likely wasn’t going to be very much by means of preserved items.

Clapping her hands together, Sophie stands up with a jolt. “Time crunch or not, I do believe we have something to attend to. I don’t care if you’ve actually managed to get a bite of decent food in a while, but if we can take a moment to sit down, we can take a moment to go down to my home and stock you up for some time.”

The deft way with which she turns to the boy, in conjunction with the firm expression on her face, should express to him that he would have to make a display of incredible stubbornness if he were to try and turn her offer down. “Well, come along. We ought to get a move on before our enemies take the same opportunity.”

     Oh, well that’s a reply Oz wasn’t necessarily expecting. He thought it was his own little thought, brought forth from his inability to properly care for himself like he ought to. Or at least was expected to here, but knowing someone else has close to the same idea…well, he isn’t quite sure since he doesn’t know whomever it is personally. At least the reassurance eases the negative feelings he has towards himself somewhat; he appreciates her reassurance. 

     The fact that the woman stands so suddenly shocks Oz enough that he jumps slightly, banging his knee on the table. He’s too focused on her words and firm tone to think much of the sting. He’s heard this type of tone before, usually coming from Alice when she gets particularly stubborn about one thing or another, and Oz was always much too weak to deny her much. That and she wasn’t afraid to literally push him around, not that Oz minded that part much. It was nice to have such a lively person in his life. He feels his heart ache. He hopes she’s well. 

     The voice again jars Oz from his previous thoughts, and this time the boy does actually get up from his chair. She’s got a look that leaves no room for argument, but the thought of someone giving their food away to them just because of his own incompetence makes something unpleasant sink to the bottom of his stomach. He told himself he’d be better at accepting help from other’s, but it’s a lot harder than he anticipated. It’s quite hard to break ingrown habits, especially when he doesn’t want to be too burdensome. 

She nods back in a gesture of quiet gratitude. ‘Quiet’ wasn’t really in any way, shape or form her usual vibe. It kinda came with the territory of being a natural musician, especially one who focused on the electric guitar; bold, dynamic, and vibrant, always something to say. It was kinda chicken/egg in that regard; both an inspiration and a channel for the bright fire already within her. 

Regardless, she was a tad more thoughtful at the moment. Being in this sorta situation kinda brings that out, especially when you’re hardly used to such tense encounters. Seeing someone just drop like that was a handy reminder of the kinda stuff she got put right in the middle of. What else would she see over the course of this adventure?

“Ah, all good then.” She smiles assured, the cheer already beginning to come back. May was nothing if not resilient in that regard. “I suppose you don’t get that kinda power without knowing how to handle it, most of the time.” She easily chats and keeps pace next to him, her energy not just in her demeanor. Hardly any athlete, but she kept fit as best she could. “At the very least, you won’t have to worry about that for too long if we’re all doing good on those Fragments, right?”

She pulls out a couple stuffed in her jacket, their colour glittering in the light as she showed him. “In fact, that was why I was having to deal in the first place. Thought I’d gotten ahead of them all, but turns out I still had one more on my tail. Which is where you came in, of course. Again, cheers for that.”

     “That is usually the case, yes.” Though not hesitant to return her smile with one of his own, Oz knows that particular statement might have seemed vague of him. He didn’t know how to properly tap into his powers when he first received them, (or the second time really, but details) had thought they were just shared from being contracted to Alice. But now that he’s fully aware of the origin of them, it is safe to say he knows how to use them with enough skill to put up a good fight. “Though,” he decides to continue, might as well share his thoughts on the matter that’s been bothering him since this whole thing started. “the scythe is only a weapon, kind of a medium. I have more powers, but I’ve been unable to access them since I got here. I guess they don’t want Masters possibly being stronger than Servants.” It would be nice if he at least had access to his chains, that would make keeping enemies at bay much easier than it has been.

     Oz turns to look at the glittering Saint Fragment when she pulls it out, humming in appreciation. “Good job then!” he congratulates, smile on his face growing wider still. “I dunno how many fragments there are, and honestly it could be a lot with how small they are. But I’ve seen a lot of people looking for them, so you’re right, this whole thing should end soon.” The competition factor may or may not delay things if people try to steal from each other, but Oz is the positive sort, so he wants to give them the benefit of the doubt. “I’ve got my own collection of them too.” He pats the bag slung over his shoulder and resting against his hip. He hasn’t really counted how many he’s gotten over the past few hours, but it’s good enough for him, however many there are. 

     “The helping you part was no problem.” He reassures, deciding that he likes the woman. Her attitude reminds him of his own in a small way, the positive outlook on the situation at least. He’s glad he found her when he did. It’s common enough for him anyway – jumping in to help others when needed. 

He’d seen things around once or twice–things that seemed almost akin to gemstones or something, glittering in odd places. But he’d never given much thought beyond that, honestly (he’d heard they were there for a reason, to collect them, but frankly that wasn’t something he felt the need to divulge himself into).

Now, however, he’s giving it thought, but perhaps not for the reasons that whomever had brought him to this place had intended. He sees the boy climbing the tree from a distance away, and it seems a dull curiosity drove him closer, until he was standing beneath the branches and looking upwards with brows furrowed as though he were trying to grasp understanding of something.

Was it really that worthwhile that one would climb a tree for it? From his understanding, there were rewards, but he hadn’t looked into them all too deeply. This scene looked rather ridiculous from his point of view, but perhaps there was something he was missing.

“Jump down?” Shu sounds almost incredulous at the notion; the tree isn’t exactly tiny, and he can’t imagine jumping from that height would leave someone entirely unscathed. “Do you have a wish to cause injury to yourself? Or are you a tactful magician?”

Despite his disbelief and almost sharp tone, he still moves out of the way enough to give the other some space. Somehow he doubts that this boy will change his mind about jumping, and he really doesn’t want to have someone landing on him from such a height.

     Magician isn’t what he’d call himself, magically maybe – given the circumstances of his entire existence in the first place, but that could also be just considered odd. Here in this city and at this point in his life, Oz decides not to give much thought to his existence nowadays. It’s a nice turn of event from the minor existential crises he’d have near daily since he was ten or so. The state of his mental health is still a work in progress, but it’s getting better. Now isn’t the time to think about that anyway. He’s still caught off guard from possibly having an audience when he scaled the tree and now this stranger is concerned for him while also wondering if he’s a magician. How novel. 

     “Yes, jump down.” Oz repeats, not to be rude or seem impatient in any way – just restating the fact. He doesn’t really want to explain himself, feels it’s a bit too embarrassing, but he will for this stranger’s sake, since he seems rightfully worried. Oz’s tree climbing habits always sent most of the manor servants into a tizzy, especially when he climbed particularly high. Gil especially, but Gil was always known to be a worrier at heart. Oz is somewhat surprised he never found a grey hair on his friend’s head when he was ten years older. Must be his genes. 

     “I used to climb trees all the time when I was back at home, and you don’t climb trees as a hobby without knowing how to get down from one.” he’s accidentally fallen out of a tree before, but that was when there were bushes underneath. Grass is a better alternative than the concrete, so he isn’t worried about too bad an injury if he does get one. “I’ve never broken a bone either.” Oz adds, not to boast, but for reassurance sake.

     Once he’s sure the other is back enough, Oz begins the process which involves dangling by his hands from the branch and swinging his legs. This goes on for a few seconds before he feels relaxed enough to let go, pushing off the branch on an upward swing of his legs. His ankles hurt a little when he lands, underestimated the distance probably, but he’s had worse. Momentum makes him stumble and nearly fall, but he’s fine. 

“O-Oh, actually-” Phoenix perks up upon hearing the voice, then is forced to cut himself mid sentence so that he won’t pathetically fall on the floor. Would anyone remind him again why he chose to take this route to grab this Fragment again? It’d be so much easier if he had a stepladder with him…

“Y-Yes, you can help me. It’d be much welcome, in fact!” Ignore the intense shaking of his body as he holds to the gutter before him as if his life depended on it (even though it doesn’t, thanks to his constitution as a Servant). “You see, I-I have spotted a Fragment right in the middle of this gutter and I’d love very, very much if I could get to it, buuut I don’t have super limb stretching in my list of skills. S-So, if you could-”

A sudden yelp leaves his lips as he once again almost loses balance. “I-I-If you could help me, it’d be very appreciated!”

     Ah! Oz’s eyes widen slightly in understanding. So that’s he was trying accomplish; it would explain the strangeness of the situation. Oz squints up at the gutter, hand shading his eyes from the sunlight. He can’t see the glow of a Saint Fragment from his position, but he’ll believe the stranger regardless. Not many people would willingly put themselves in a predicament such as this without a good reason. He’ll go get it sure, but his concern is more so on the adult given the fact that he’s hanging so precariously. A fall from that height onto the concrete could hurt. 

     “I’ll find a way to grab it for you. I’m going to see if there’s a fire escape of some sort on the side of the building.” Oz states and goes to do just that, though he decides to keep the conversation going just so the stranger knows he hasn’t abandoned him. His voice rises as he compensates for the growing distance. “I don’t know how you managed to get so high without anything to help you, so good job on that front.” No infected on the side of the building that he can see; that’s good.

“Pure luck,” he confesses. Julian peers out a crack through the wooden boards that adorn the window and every other like it. “I came through this area during one of my earlier jaunts. I was looking for fragments and noticed that the door was unlocked and that the place was abandoned. Whoever owned it never bothered with the upkeep.”

His eyes settle upon Oz. The boy must come from a well to-do family if he’s concerned about his etiquette, never mind their situation. A vague sense of pity settles upon his lips, his smile growing bitter at the thought. No matter what he does, there’s no way he can protect all the children abandoned in Utopia. How ironic.

The smile fades as he speaks, “What I said earlier about seeking higher ground, what I meant was heading for the roof. You’re not afraid of heights, are you, Oz?”

     Oz isn’t sure what causes the expression on Julian’s face to shift, but it rubs him the wrong way regardless. Not in the sense that he’s offended by it, but more so because he thinks he’s the cause of it for whatever reason. It is something he’s still growing into, making peace with the fact that people are going to be concerned about him no matter what he does or says. It’s still strange to think about, stranger still that it’s coming from a someone that just met him. 

     It’d behoove him to take his mind off of all that though, he decides. He’ll have enough time to muddle through his near constant issues of self-worth after this entire fiasco is over and done with. He’s already been caught off guard more times now than he’d like to admit just because his thoughts drifted elsewhere for a moment. 

      Really she is just the slightest bit concerned. Being (mostly) human herself, the situation with the residents affected by the shards is a little alarming. She at least has her Fullbring to take care of herself with, but she can’t say the same for some of the other human (or human-looking, at least) Masters around. It isn’t like she wants anyone to die, after all. Who knows what happens if you die in what’s supposed to be the last bastion for humanity?           His offer catches her wholly off guard, and she spends a good few moments staring at him in disbelief before actually voicing it with a soft noise of confusion.           “…wait, seriously?” 

          Someone being… not simply reasonable but honestly grateful is still such a new concept to her. Even after Kurosaki and Inoue, the idea of someone appreciating something she does for them (though in this case her intentions hadn’t been the most pure) is still somewhat foreign. So her stare at him is perhaps a bit too long, a bit too intense, until she seems to shake herself out of it and hesitantly nods.            “I mean… if you want I guess? What– you really don’t want the money at all?”            That much money could buy a lot, after all, not to mention that it could, if applied properly, give someone a lot of leeway with certain groups. 

      Oz isn’t surprised but the disbelief his offer brings forth, this is a sort of competition after all. It’s common to expect an everyone for themselves way of thinking. It’s something he does often however, acts of kindness and sincerity that many don’t bother to expect and are thrown off when faced with it directly. His own valet had issues accepting Oz at his most generous and they both grew up together. He can’t help it when his smile turns a shade amused.  

     “I insist.” He presses on, reaching into his pocket to hold the Saint Fragment out to be taken. “I am grateful for what you did and this happens to be the best way for me to show it right now.”

     Ah, the money. The driving force for most everyone out right now and gathering the fragments. Oz can understand why it’s such an appealing lure. A lot can be done with that amount. For others however, not for himself.

[ It’s okay. I was wondering if you were alright. Maybe I can wait with you. ]

Marry looks up again. Ah.

This person really was like him. Gentle and reassuring, like a big brother—

This time, the thought of it doesn’t upset her, but calm her a little. Even if it isn’t the boy she had been expecting… This person wasn’t a bad person. Anyone who smiled like that… Couldn’t be a bad person.

“I…”

She stops. For a moment, she just takes a few breaths. The stranger waits patiently for her to gather her words, never showing any impatience. 

“I was just having a rest… Um, somehow… I ended up staying out all day.”

Marry says that, her hands running along the seams of her dress. 

“I’m sorry for worrying you…”

The girl goes to bow, along with her apology, but something catches her attention from behind the boy and she freezes before she could complete the gesture. 

“L-look out!!!”

Her eyes flash red. Behind Oz, a strange looking person stands frozen, a large weapon raised to strike—

Without even thinking, Marry had activated her ‘eye’ ability, freezing the attacker in spot. 

     Oz waits patiently as she speaks, nods slightly in a show of encouragement to help her get the words out. She seems rather timid, he thinks, not exactly an ideal disposition to have when one is alone out here, but things seem to be fine so far. He’ll make sure to see her to a safer area at the very least, someplace she can stay until this all blows over. 

     He is on the cusp of reassuring her that everything is fine, when she shouts a warning without preamble. Oz instinctively whirls around, one hand used to place the girl behind his back while the other grasps his scythe, newly summoned. He is poised to defend, but finds that there is no need. Though the would-be attacker has their weapon raised, they are frozen and unblinking. Oz stares too for the moment, shocked at the change of events, but he easily takes it in stride like he does most things. 

The most troubling part of fighting the infected was to make sure none of them die. A single spell would have been enough to wipe them out if dealt with the full capacity of his mana, but holding back meant that they have more chances to stand up again. Still, Crow managed to make do – using another Kouha spell, he was successful in blinding the closest infected before knocking them out.

He doesn’t blame the kid for being cautious. They just met, and he has done nothing in proving he is worthy of trust. Especially when he came in wearing a mask – the superhero allusion isn’t the first thing everybody would first think off the bat. Crow can’t help but smile. Keep that wits about, and the kid should be fine.

…Well, outside of incidents like these.

“Be assured.” And his voice was full to the brim with confidence. “I shall take them all down without fail.”

Hand to hand combat was by no means his specialty, but he was a quick leaner and the basics were easy to grasp. A sharp arm shove to the stomach followed by a straight punch to the face and another takes their fall. So far, so good, but the speed of his work left much more to be desired.

“It’s pretty simple, and you shouldn’t need to use too many. They’re more interested in fragments than us, you see.” Three people left. Crow mumbled something, and three different kinds of lights illuminated the ground he was standing on. If they were all distracted, and he was quicker than usual… He may be able to finish this with one shot. “Make a loud noise to grab their attention, and then throw it as far away as you could.”

     The confidence in the other’s tone is nice, makes Oz feel less nervous about the whole situation. Even better is that actions are able to back up the words spoken as more of the infected fall from whatever power is being used. Though he still feels a little cautious about the situation since it is a very dangerous one, Oz figures he can trust this person to get rid of the few remaining adversaries without getting hurt. Nothing has been done to change his mind about that fact as he watches one fall to simple combat, quick and efficient in execution. 

     The masked stranger is right, Oz knows, having been chased by the group of infected citizens because they caught sight of a Saint Fragment as he put it in his bag after finding it. They do give off a very nice glow after all; very eye catching that makes them easy to spot in most areas. The remaining few will definitely be more focused on the fragments then him once he tosses a few. Oz had thought about that plan before, but decided it would be no use since he was alone the moment he thought of it, and doing that wouldn’t guarantee all of them would be gone. But now, he is quite confident it can be done. 

     “Alright, I’ll do it. I’m trusting you to do your best as well.” he says finally, exhaling a breath to calm his nerves. Rummaging around farther in his bag, he grabs hold of two Saint Fragments from the bottom. 

Where did it go?

They wouldn’t have taken it, would they? The infected obsessively pursued fragments, driven by whatever strange virus had overridden their mental faculties, but that? Why would they? It didn’t look that similar – it wasn’t even the same shape or colors, though it was similarly small with an odd shiny surface, so maybe to their addled minds…

Even if they had, though, he couldn’t go chasing down every infected in the city in this state. Norman straightened up to lean on the iron pipe that had become his constant companion, even more so now that he’d managed to twist his ankle while retreating from an unfortunate run-in with them earlier. That was when he’d lost it, as far as he could figure. His Triplicata had been in his pocket, last he’d checked, but most likely it had been jostled out of his pocket sometime in his desperate escape.

He had taken a fall, and had forced himself to get back up and keep running despite the pain in his leg. The damage didn’t seem to be terribly extensive, but he still found it rather painful to walk on. It had seemed best to retreat and rest it for now, but he knew for a fact the residential district would be more risky to pass through in order to get to his room, with so many passing through with fragments to deliver them to the drop point. He’d thought to see if he could contact his servant with the device, for him to come and make sure that Norman could make it there safely, but…

He’d doubled back as soon as he’d realized it was missing, just a bit panicked. The object had been a lifeline: map, means of communication, monetary exchange… Who knew if it could even be replaced? Lucky him, the area where he’d fallen had cleared out enough to search reasonably safely, but it was a larger area, out in the open, and he couldn’t remember exactly where he’d fallen. Where could it have…

The boy had looked under and around cars, along the gutter on both sides of the street (he desperately hoped it hadn’t ended up down one of the drains somehow), along the sidewalk – nothing. Not a trace. He heaved a sigh and cast one last glance around him, along the still empty sidewalk. Maybe if he searched further up…

And, as it had been for the past hour, luck seemed to be dead set against him. Norman started to limp his way up the street, reluctant to place too much weight on his leg, and caught sight of another young man. Not an especially notable fellow, apart from the enormous scythe he bore – but that had become a rather typical sight, Norman thought, a little ruefully. He would have passed the other by had he not seen him bend down to pick up something…small…and blue… Ah.

Well, best not to let his frustration show. He put on a polite smile and tried not to act in too much of a hurry making his way toward the blond. “Excuse me! I’m sorry. That’s mine.”

“I dropped it earlier. Ah, my name is Norman, if you’d like to double check that it really belongs to me.” He offered a little chuckle. “It would really be unfortunate for someone to try to steal a Triplicata, wouldn’t it?” To steal someone’s identity, and funds, and lifeline, essentially crippling them. But you wouldn’t do that, would you, Mr. Scythe? Of course not!

Not that Norman was entirely sure what he would do about it if the other did decide to pull something like that. He’d almost have preferred that the infected ended up with it… They were a bit easier to deal with than the business end of a scythe, that was for sure.

@ilfaux

     Oz has been wandering around enough that he’s grown tired of it, but it isn’t like he can stop midway. Well, he probably can, but Oz is a stubborn sort and had promised himself he’d see this whole fiasco through until the end. It wouldn’t sit well on his conscious if he just stayed inside the entire time and waited for danger to pass. With no one around to really talk him out of his more self-sacrificing and dangerous behavior, recklessness is only added upon tenfold. 

     Though alone, he’s been doing well for himself – at least that’s what he’d like to think. Not as injured as he could be with bruises lining his sides and a few scuffs here and there. It’s nothing he can’t bear through, however. The scavenger hunt for Saint Fragments has been going well for Oz; he has always been good at finding things, used to paying attention to small details and the like. He was always an expert at hide and seek because of it. 

     Out of the corner of his eye, Oz sees a faint shine that could easily be a Saint Fragment, but when he decides to inspect it closer, he quickly discovers that it isn’t so. He wonders what a Triplicata, of all things, is doing on the ground. Definitely not a safe place for it to be, but he supposes someone could easily lose track of theirs with all the chaos in the city at current. His is still snug in his own pocket, somehow not lost despite all the activity and movement he’s been going through today. 

     Near immediately after he decides to pick it up, does he hear a voice near himself. It’s a little startling, if only because now isn’t a good enough time to sneak up on anyone. Though it’s his own fault for not paying more attention and listening more closely for footsteps. He just hopes they didn’t see him startle slightly. 

     Oz doesn’t expect to see someone younger than him, but there’s more genuine curiosity than surprise on his face as the boy speaks. He doesn’t take the other for a liar, especially when the final statement is spoken. Though Oz isn’t sure if that’s mentioned to further his own validation as the rightful owner of the Triplicata or dissuade Oz from possibly stealing it. He hopes it isn’t the latter. Oz doesn’t think he looks much like a thief of any sort. 

     “I’m not going to check, I believe you.” It’s not naivety that leads him the decision, more so because Oz knows a liar when he sees one. It’s just something he learned to pick up growing up in the environment that he did – where everyone smiled nice and told pretty lies for their own gain.

     He holds the Triplicata outward, keeps a loose enough grip on it so the other knows he isn’t lying about just simply handing it over. Oz uses this time to take a proper look at the boy, sees him leaning on the pipe in a way reminiscent to how Oz leans on the handle of his scythe when he’s feeling particularly tired but doesn’t want to be without protection. It’s a little concerning, that and his solitude. Oz has always had a heart too big for his chest to hold, too much kindness and concern for complete strangers. He could never help it, no matter how many times he was advised against it. 

As the adrenaline subsides and the exhaustion settles into his bones, Julian begins to pace. Any form of movement keeps the blood flowing and the brain running. He coughs into his arm and lets that serve as his comment regarding the musty building. The young man is right; the temperature does them no favors.

Still, he heads across the room and wheels an abandoned chair over, offering it to the stranger. Julian perches against the wall and checks his Triplicata for the time. A five minute sprint and he’s out of breath. He can’t keep doing this. With a wheeze, he pinches the collar of his shirt and tugs, allowing air to flow through.

When it stops hurting to breathe, he speaks up, “My name’s Julian by the way. Could I have yours?” Just because they were fleeing from mad men didn’t mean he’d been robbed of his civility.

     Oz isn’t expecting the stranger to be kind enough to get a chair for him, but he’s grateful regardless. With some effort, he lifts himself to sit properly on it, rolling back a tad as he does so. He likes these types of chairs, is the nature of the mundane and childish thought that passes through his head. These weren’t back home – the types that roll and rotate – so the novelty of sitting in one hasn’t worn off. Idly, he shifts from side to side, not a full rotation for that would be rude, plus he doesn’t have the energy to do so at the moment.

     “Ah,” Oz says and pauses his motions after the man – Julian – speaks. Introductions are important, he can’t believe he forgot to do so. He could easily blame the fact that they just did a whole lot of running very quickly, but that would be too simple. “Sorry, I’m usually better at the whole manners things. I swear. But it is nice to meet you, Mister Julian. My name is Oz.

12: is there something you would like to say to someone?

     When doesn’t Oz feel the need to do more, say more? He’s always been vocal with his emotions, but there were some words that seemed too sincere - too revealing - to utter them into the air. This confidence in his emotions is something newly grown into. 

     Oz has witnessed more people leave his life than he would have liked, their souls now waiting for the hundred years it takes to be reborn into the world. Some of them went so suddenly he couldn’t even process what happened until after their final moments. Others he didn’t know ached for until they were well and truly gone. There are those that lived, those he didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to before his inevitable departure. 

     He wonders if they miss him. He hopes so because he thinks he’ll never stop missing them.

     “I’d want to thank them for giving me a life worth living.”

23: how have you felt today?

     “A little tired honestly. I shouldn’t have stayed up as late as I did, but this isn’t the first time that’s happened.”

30: when was the last time you talked to one of your best friends?

05: what’s something you’re not looking forward to?

     “Hard to say,” he muses and shrugs his shoulders. “I’m more of a deal with things as they come sort of person since I’ve found that things rarely go as planned. I guess I’m expected to fight at some point with the whole Master and Servant deal going on. I'm not really looking forward to that aspect of being here. I’m not a fan of baseless fighting.”

21: have you ever wasted your time on someone?

already answered!

29: how late did you stay up last night and why?