It's not okay. [He says, quiet as his claws tighten around the stone. It's an oddly easy admission, just slipping out like that. It's easier, somehow, when it's just a voice.]
[The admission is a surprise. It's not unwelcome in the slightest-it had been wearing on the tip of his tongue and she's shocked it didn't come out sooner.
But it's there now-hanging in the air above them and she-]
Don't. [She can't come. He can't take this and turn it into an actual inconvenience for her, can't let her come out looking for him and waste her time and energy on something he should be able to deal with himself. He can't be that selfish. He can't take his pain and shove it off onto someone else.]
[No. No, he doesn't want that. He doesn't want her to come and find him, doesn't want someone to see him this shaken and hurt. It's going to take so much effort to pull himself back together, to keep his tone gentle and hold a quiet, polite expression on his face. He can't--]
If you really want to, I won't stop you. [He can't refuse a request like that, something innocent and hopeful, it would hurt her if he tried to shut this down. He doesn't want to hurt people who are just being kind. He can't do that to someone (not again).]
Do you know the mana pool by the... the tree houses? I can meet you there.
[It's a place she used to visit. Back when there was a surly man holing up in one of the homes, with a couple cats that loved him dearly. Back when she would lay up there on particularly hot days or make grass whistles under the shade of the tree.
She used to go there. It's familiar enough that the quiet 'mhm' ccomes out of her mouth before anything else. It'll be easy to hide him there.]
[He considers not showing up. It would be easy. Just don't meet at the agreed-on location, just stay hidden and never let anyone find him ever again.
But that's childish, it's selfish. Treating her like that would be beyond cruel, and Yukio... people have always said he's kind, he's gentle, he's not the sort of person who would hurt someone who tried to help him.
That's the reputation he has to keep.
So he shows up at the mana pool, makes sure he looks presentable, takes a few seconds to throw some water at his face and try to snap himself out of this mood that threatens to crush him. A smile, but it says stay away instead of any kind of good humor. But he knows how to smile like that, to shove everything that aches away inside himself and present some kind of face to the world that people will accept.]
Hello. I'm sorry you felt like you had to come all this way.
[The importance of doing this isn't lost on her. Even if the pain in his voice wasn't evident over the stone, she would come here, try to meet with him, maybe talk with him for awhile.
It's okay if he wants to hide, and she'll help him do it, but he doesn't need to be alone.]
I know where to hide you here. You have to follow me.
[And away she goes. Ambling ahead until she reaches the edge of Ammy's garden, near an area where the vegetables are growing tall enough to hide someone. She practically jumps into the leafy mess, taking a leap of faith that nothing's horrible in here, before shoving her hand out to get his attention.]
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[Apparently so!! She's filled with a newfound [determination] to make this happen somehow.]
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Maybe there's an actual joke waiting in the wings?]
... Ren who?
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[Was there ever a real joke hiding in her demon mind?? Unlikely.]
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I'm sorry. I can't right now.
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You don't have to say 'I'm sorry.' It's okay if your heart hurts.
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But it's there now-hanging in the air above them and she-]
Do you want to hide?
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He opens his mouth anyway.]
Yes.
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[It's quiet, for the briefest moment, as she relies on her age old method of reaching out to his heart.
But that's impossible to do from here.]
Where are you?
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Please, don't trouble yourself on my account.
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[There's someone afraid, who wants to hide, and now that he's admitted it-that's impossible to ignore. He may not be able to hide on his own and she-
Knows all too well how important it is to hide when you're scared, when you're hurt-it helps.]
I can walk. That's very easy to do.
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If you really want to, I won't stop you. [He can't refuse a request like that, something innocent and hopeful, it would hurt her if he tried to shut this down. He doesn't want to hurt people who are just being kind. He can't do that to someone (not again).]
Do you know the mana pool by the... the tree houses? I can meet you there.
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She used to go there. It's familiar enough that the quiet 'mhm' ccomes out of her mouth before anything else. It'll be easy to hide him there.]
Okay, I'll come right now.
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[He considers not showing up. It would be easy. Just don't meet at the agreed-on location, just stay hidden and never let anyone find him ever again.
But that's childish, it's selfish. Treating her like that would be beyond cruel, and Yukio... people have always said he's kind, he's gentle, he's not the sort of person who would hurt someone who tried to help him.
That's the reputation he has to keep.
So he shows up at the mana pool, makes sure he looks presentable, takes a few seconds to throw some water at his face and try to snap himself out of this mood that threatens to crush him. A smile, but it says stay away instead of any kind of good humor. But he knows how to smile like that, to shove everything that aches away inside himself and present some kind of face to the world that people will accept.]
Hello. I'm sorry you felt like you had to come all this way.
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[The importance of doing this isn't lost on her. Even if the pain in his voice wasn't evident over the stone, she would come here, try to meet with him, maybe talk with him for awhile.
It's okay if he wants to hide, and she'll help him do it, but he doesn't need to be alone.]
I know where to hide you here. You have to follow me.
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He lets her take the lead, follows politely behind. Tries not to think too much or feel anything.]
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This way, this way!
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You're sitting in someone's dinner.
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[That's not the PROBLEM REN.]
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Yukio steps in after her, kneels in the dirt and lets the overgrown garden close up around them both.
He doesn't feel any better, but he wasn't expecting to. It's just plants and dirt and a girl he barely knows taking a sympathetic interest in him.]