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concoursec2010-09-05 04:53 pm
heartlinks.livejournal.com) wrote in concoursec2010-09-05 04:53 pm
Entry tags:
goodnight, moon.
Character(s): Minako Arisato (dreamer) & Minato Arisato (viewer)
Location: Dreamland :|b
Rating: ...PG?
Open/Closed/Finished: Closed.
Summary: Story-format. Minako's memories of October 4th. Spoilers. Looks better without custom comment pages.
The sky is eerily coloured, the full moon a sickly green-yellow.
She’s running, running as fast as she can through the familiar streets
lined red with the crimson of blood, and she’s not alone. She hears her
comrades pant; she’s not surprised, she’s tired herself after fighting
that shadow – but she’s pushing herself forward. She can’t stop now.
The bad feeling inside of her grows...
A gunshot rings, echoing.
For a second, she falters. Somebody behind her gasps
but the red haired girl in front of her doesn’t stop so she follows.
They had to move. They had to. They had to get there in time or—
A second gunshot, louder than the first.
And then—
“Shinji!”
Somehow, they had caught up with him.
She could see his figure running and then
coming to a stop some distance ahead of them.
She slows down too, ignoring the beating of her heart
as she takes a step into the alley and glances past her upperclassmen to...
His maroon coat is red with blood, his blood,
a trickle of crimson from the side of his lips to his chin.
He stands, wobbling, in a pool of red – he’s bleeding.
Suddenly, it’s harder to breathe.
Her head is spinning.
She can feel the metallic taste of blood on her tongue.
Her head hurts, she can’t breathe
and her eyes are burning.
She sees the mouths of her friends move
but she can’t hear their words.
She sees him look at Ken and then at Akihiko
but all she can focus on is the sight of him,
lying on the ground,
bleeding.
—bleeding to his death.
He was going to die, just as... Just as her parents had.
Wordlessly, she rushes forward with her heart stuck in her throat.
When he turns to look at her, she shakes her head and her hands
hesitate to reach out
to touch him.
The first sound she hears is his sharp inhalation
and then he speaks, gently, “Don’t cry... Minako...”
She never realised she was crying.
Her tears are warm on her cheeks in the cold October night.
“This is how... it should be...”
She fumbles for her evoker, wanting to
change her Persona from an offensive one to a support one
when his coughing and gasping distracts her.
In her blurry vision, she sees him lie back and close his eyes.
“The hospital... W-We need to get him to the hospital…”
She barely registers Fuuka’s words as she reaches out
and rests her fingers on his unmoving hand.
Her left hand, wearing the leather watch, covers her right hand.
“Y-Yes, let’s waste no time... ”
She barely hears Mitsuru cringe.
“It’s the Dark Hour... until it ends, the doctors won’t be...”
“No... Then is he not going to make it!?”
Behind her, Ken screams in pain.
Lowering her head, she sits there, holding his hand, and weeps.
*
The hospital is sickeningly white and cold.
Her fingers are red with his blood from when she had touched him.
Somebody is pacing but she’s too tired to raise her head to see whom.
Somebody is beside her and leaning on her; that contact comforts her as they wait.
Heels click against the surface of the floor.
Looking up, she sees Mitsuru returning, accompanied by a doctor.
She doesn’t hear fully what the doctor says, only catching a few phrases:
His heart cannot... In a coma... Chances of him waking up...
Again, she begins to cry.
Location: Dreamland :|b
Rating: ...PG?
Open/Closed/Finished: Closed.
Summary: Story-format. Minako's memories of October 4th. Spoilers. Looks better without custom comment pages.
The sky is eerily coloured, the full moon a sickly green-yellow.
She’s running, running as fast as she can through the familiar streets
lined red with the crimson of blood, and she’s not alone. She hears her
comrades pant; she’s not surprised, she’s tired herself after fighting
that shadow – but she’s pushing herself forward. She can’t stop now.
The bad feeling inside of her grows...
“I gotta make sure I don’t leave anything behind…
No doubts, no regrets.”
She didn’t understand.
“Leave behind?”
“I keep telling you what to forget and what to remember…
What to want and to not want...”
He hesitated. "I’m... selfish, aren’t I?”
“That’s not true,” she said, frowning.
He didn’t seem to hear.
“...Hey. As long as I’m already being selfish,
I want you to do one more thing for me.”
“All right,” she said, nodding.
“You don’t have to forgive me...
But forgive everything else.”
“Don’t have to forgive...?” she repeated.
“...You’ll understand later.
It should be like this for a little while longer.”
She noted the distant look in his eyes,
as he looked at his hands and smiled.
“I just want it to be... normal...”
Is this what you meant? Senpai?
A gunshot rings, echoing.
For a second, she falters. Somebody behind her gasps
Fuuka? Yukari?
but the red haired girl in front of her doesn’t stop so she follows.
They had to move. They had to. They had to get there in time or—
A second gunshot, louder than the first.
And then—
“Shinji!”
...Akihiko-senpai?
Somehow, they had caught up with him.
She could see his figure running and then
coming to a stop some distance ahead of them.
She slows down too, ignoring the beating of her heart
as she takes a step into the alley and glances past her upperclassmen to...
...senpai?
His maroon coat is red with blood, his blood,
a trickle of crimson from the side of his lips to his chin.
He stands, wobbling, in a pool of red – he’s bleeding.
Suddenly, it’s harder to breathe.
Her head is spinning.
She can feel the metallic taste of blood on her tongue.
No. No, it can’t be! No! Senpai didn’t—
Her head hurts, she can’t breathe
and her eyes are burning.
She sees the mouths of her friends move
but she can’t hear their words.
She sees him look at Ken and then at Akihiko
but all she can focus on is the sight of him,
lying on the ground,
bleeding.
—bleeding to his death.
He was going to die, just as... Just as her parents had.
Senpai can’t be... No!
Wordlessly, she rushes forward with her heart stuck in her throat.
When he turns to look at her, she shakes her head and her hands
hesitate to reach out
to touch him.
The first sound she hears is his sharp inhalation
and then he speaks, gently, “Don’t cry... Minako...”
Crying...?
She never realised she was crying.
Her tears are warm on her cheeks in the cold October night.
I promised... I promised not to cry—
“Sounds like you’re enjoying your days,” he said, smiling.
”You look best when you laugh.”
The compliment, too sudden, made her tilt her head
to glance at him inquisitively.
He lowered his head, looking straight at her.
“So don’t cry, got it...?”
“Of course I won’t!” she answered cheerfully.
“Yeah... Keep smiling. Just like that.”
“This is how... it should be...”
No! This isn’t it... This wasn’t—
“Looks like everyone enjoyed it,” he said, laughing quietly.
She grinned, clapping her hands together in delight,
the taste of his cooking still fresh in her mind.
“Let’s do it again some time!”
A hesitant look crossed his face for the briefest of moments,
but he was still smiling.
“...If the opportunity comes up.”
He laughs again, gently.
She fumbles for her evoker, wanting to
change her Persona from an offensive one to a support one
when his coughing and gasping distracts her.
In her blurry vision, she sees him lie back and close his eyes.
“The hospital... W-We need to get him to the hospital…”
She barely registers Fuuka’s words as she reaches out
and rests her fingers on his unmoving hand.
Her left hand, wearing the leather watch, covers her right hand.
“Y-Yes, let’s waste no time... ”
She barely hears Mitsuru cringe.
“It’s the Dark Hour... until it ends, the doctors won’t be...”
“No... Then is he not going to make it!?”
Behind her, Ken screams in pain.
Lowering her head, she sits there, holding his hand, and weeps.
The hospital is sickeningly white and cold.
Her fingers are red with his blood from when she had touched him.
Somebody is pacing but she’s too tired to raise her head to see whom.
Somebody is beside her and leaning on her; that contact comforts her as they wait.
Heels click against the surface of the floor.
Looking up, she sees Mitsuru returning, accompanied by a doctor.
She doesn’t hear fully what the doctor says, only catching a few phrases:
His heart cannot... In a coma... Chances of him waking up...
Again, she begins to cry.
Stupid... Stupid!
I’m sorry, senpai—
Just for today, please...
Please forgive me for breaking that promise...
no subject
The intermittent flashbacks to conversations he doesn't recall having with Shinjiro-senpai are new, though there's something about the responses on his side - like they're almost-but-not quite his inner voice...
Once they all arrive at the place of his death, Minato senses a dread and fear he doesn't recall.
He was going to die, just as... Just as his/her parents had.
The feeling of being closer to Shinjiro-senpai than he remembers being - that's when he realizes he's viewing Minako's memory of that fateful day, before Shinjiro addresses her.
Further flashbacks make him feel... he's not sure, himself. It's hard to separate what he's feeling from what Minako's feeling, but he can tell Shinjiro was glad to have had a friend who made his last month on Earth bearable.
Meanwhile, he, one visit to the movies and two night walks aside, had pretty much left him to be Akihiko's problem. Some leader he is.
And so the dream continues, and he doesn't notice the hospital scene any more than Minako did in her time. He lets the sadness and the regret wash over him, both larger than he had felt on that day. It's a sign that she cared and lost more.