zenitsu

[soba]

meme here

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[swordflash]

How come? Did you get into a fight with them?

[soba]

[ he shakes his head ]

I'm just leaving. It'll be easier for them, too.

[swordflash]

[ it's complicated, toi said. zenitsu can't wrap his head around how something can be so complicated that one would leave family. ]

Are you gonna be all right, leaving like that?

[soba]

[ he nods. ]

I'm going to have to be.

[swordflash]

[ that doesn't sound reassuring. ]

Just don't isolate yourself. That's more tiring than anything else.

[soba]

I'll... have my brother.

So it'll be fine.

[swordflash]

[ he doesn't need enhanced hearing to hear that pause. is his relationship with his brother also complicated? ]

Thanks for sticking around.

[soba]

Where else would I go?

[ his room. ]

[swordflash]

My room's clean. I didn't go there yesterday.

You won't dry out while you're in here, will you?

[soba]

I could always sleep in the tub.

[ maybe he can drown retroactively and everyone has been talking to a ghost this whole time ]

[swordflash]

[ don't. ]

You could. That means you'll have to go back at some point, so you can't stay out here too late.

[ not just because it'll be uncomfortable, but also because zenitsu can feel the monster's vying for control. that's not something he wants toi to see. ]

[soba]

... I guess.

I'm sure other people probably want to check on you.

[ he knows zenitsu has friends, despite apparently thinking everyone dislikes him? zenitsu your self worth ]

[swordflash]

[ people always leave, okay? always. ]

You think so?

[soba]

[ that's a mood ]

People were pretty worried about you.

[swordflash]

I wish I could hear their sounds. I'm sure they'd all sound really kind.

[soba]

[ ... ]

Are you going deaf?

[swordflash]

[ he just about feels that way. ]

Before I came to this mansion, I had really good hearing. By listening to the sounds someone was making, I could tell what they were like. I can't hear them anymore, but I think almost everyone here would sound kind if I could.

[soba]

[ that... kind of seems beyond just having good hearing. it's kind of amazing what the people here can do, when their abilities aren't being blocked. ]

You think so?

[swordflash]

I could be wrong. I've been wrong a lot before.

[ he's been wrong here, too. hearing or no, he's always fumbling. ]

But it's what I want to believe.

[soba]

In that case, don't say people here dislike you again, stupid.

[ if they're kind then they're your friends ]

[swordflash]

I said that, didn't I?

[ it felt as if a lot was going on at once—all those ordinarily encouraging words, twisted by the underlying accusations, provoking the monster and magnifying his fears under their scrutiny. ]

When you said my name, it sounded scary.

[soba]

... scary? What do you mean?

[swordflash]

I wasn't expecting you to say anything.

Actually, more people spoke up than I thought. It was hard to think straight.

[ not that he was thinking straight to begin with. from start to finish, the trial was pure hell. ]

If what you said is true and the others come by, it might get stuffy in here. I appreciate it, but you don't have to stay.

[ as exhausted as he sounds, he means those words. he isn't kicking toi out without reason, either. ]

[soba]

[ ... ]

I'll come back later. To see if there's anything else you need for the rest of the night. Okay?

[swordflash]

Okay.

[ his answer is terse, yet meaningful.

they were lucky. when toi comes back, he'll enter the ballroom to a cage with the monster in control. the monster rumbles, testing the chains with the same forward and backward movement of an arm. toi will go ignored unless he approaches, at which point it'll bare its fangs.

neither the host nor the monster appears to be in need of anything at this time. it would be best for toi to retire for the rest of the night. ]