[ He hadn't gone very far, for how short the memory is, but he slows to a stop and waits for Nimona to catch up. It was one of the last days he was still alive, but it never really stood out to him, until now. Even without watching it, the voices still echo in his mind, both his and sensei's. ]
[a pause, and then she holds her hand out to him? if he wants it.]
... We don't have to talk about any of it if you don't want. [even though she really wants to, because there was a lot to unpack there, but.] The only thing is - do you want me to call you Hanako, still?
[ That means she knows and likes the stabby batshit insane Hanako, and he's pretty sure she'd still like that better than how he was before... quiet and reclusive, not really wanting anything to do with anyone, a crybaby who loved the moon and the stars and threw them away. ]
But maybe you can do me a favor and smash those things if you ever see me on them?
Yeah, okay, but usually when you're friends with someone you don't just go wow, your life sucks, sucks to be you, bye! Usually.
[she taps his hat gently.] I'll ignore them or break them if you want, but it's because you asked, not because I don't want to avoid dealing with the things that affect you.
[ that's me getting punched in the gut in the very last panel
Hanako, for his part, looks just as enraged, white-knuckled grip on the hilt of the knife he hadn't even realized he'd pulled out when the first of the villagers started approaching.
Nimona's eyes turn white, and he doesn't even wait for her answer, he stabs his knife straight into the statue's panel and shatters it. ]
[it startles her, the way he shatters the panel. she's so on edge watching this, this part of her life that drove her to the brink. she jitters backwards, fists curling, expression - a lot, but mostly agonized. every time she relives this, it's so hard to pull herself back out of the hole she's been slowly ascending while she's been here.
she opens her mouth. and then closes it. and brings a hand up to rest over her heart instead.]
[ It's not even his memories. He's never been ostracized like that before. But still- still... seeing the innocent hope in Nimona's eyes get squashed by an iron fist makes him beyond angry.
He takes Nimona's other hand, and leads her away from here. ]
[she stumbles at first, but. she follows, quietly, letting him lead.]
... When I first saw you when we got here, you were that big shape. I thought... [well. she thought he was like her. that's the last thing she remembers, the way gloreth's statue stared at her across the city, the way she ripped herself apart into something worth killing.]
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Sorry. I'm just— ...thinking.
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[a pause, and then she holds her hand out to him? if he wants it.]
... We don't have to talk about any of it if you don't want. [even though she really wants to, because there was a lot to unpack there, but.] The only thing is - do you want me to call you Hanako, still?
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I mean, yeah. I'm Hanako.
[ voice quiet, but steady. ]
...Amane Yugi is dead. He's no longer a part of this world.
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[just, names are very important to her. so. it's important that she uses the right one.]
... I think there's still a little bit of that person in you. But okay. Hanako.
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Maybe. But I'm a supernatural. It's different from simply being a ghost. It means there's no way to say how much "me" is left in me.
[ How much humanity. How much "Amane Yugi". And at the rate he's going, it's starting to be none at all. ]
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I haven't ever known you as anything else. [but she still likes him, and cares about him, so. it's hard for her to gauge how horrible this is.]
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[ That means she knows and likes the stabby batshit insane Hanako, and he's pretty sure she'd still like that better than how he was before... quiet and reclusive, not really wanting anything to do with anyone, a crybaby who loved the moon and the stars and threw them away. ]
But maybe you can do me a favor and smash those things if you ever see me on them?
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[...]
Sure. I won't look. I'll just break them.
[... she's good at breaking things. always has been.]
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Thanks, Nimona. There's nothing good in them. They're only going to make you uncomfortable, so destroy them before I hurt you.
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You're not going to hurt me. I'm more concerned about you getting upset by them. [:\!!]
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It's fine if it's me! It's my life, after all— I can't stand back and let everybody else deal with it.
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[she taps his hat gently.] I'll ignore them or break them if you want, but it's because you asked, not because I don't want to avoid dealing with the things that affect you.
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He gives her an appreciative sort of smile, regretful and relieved both. ]
I know. It's in the past, so don't worry about it. Really.
What do you want to do with yours?
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before she can answer, a flicker of comic pages move to them, surrounding them. almost more like pages of a storybook. once upon a time...]
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Hanako, for his part, looks just as enraged, white-knuckled grip on the hilt of the knife he hadn't even realized he'd pulled out when the first of the villagers started approaching.
Nimona's eyes turn white, and he doesn't even wait for her answer, he stabs his knife straight into the statue's panel and shatters it. ]
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she opens her mouth. and then closes it. and brings a hand up to rest over her heart instead.]
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He takes Nimona's other hand, and leads her away from here. ]
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... When I first saw you when we got here, you were that big shape. I thought... [well. she thought he was like her. that's the last thing she remembers, the way gloreth's statue stared at her across the city, the way she ripped herself apart into something worth killing.]
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Thought what?
[ He has no real destination in mind. Just that walking feels better than standing still. ]
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[she doesn't seem to mind just walking.
he can probably see a flash of a comic page that wisps by.]
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We're close enough.
[ Monsters.
As if responding to his thoughts, a panel of his own passes by, a distorted image of Hanako as any normal person would see him. ]
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We're close enough.
[she agrees, quietly. a beat of hesitation.]
... I made my mind up too. I wasn't going anywhere. Not after that.
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[ Nimona, who is a thousand years old, compared to his paltry fifty. ]
I thought, despite everything, you hung on. I was the one who gave up.
[ He was the one who died. Nimona, if she's alive, she can still move on. ]
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No. I was done. [...] I was ready to be done, and then I woke up here.
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His grip on hers does tighten, though. laces their fingers so it'd be even tougher to let go ]
That still counts. You still hung on. And now things are getting better, aren't they?
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