[He hears Minako's orders. Lucian...that's the doctor that Noah saw a few months ago. The one that couldn't tell him anything about his arm. The bitter and angry part of him thinks that there's not going to be shit that doctor can do for him right now if he couldn't do anything before, why bother...
But the anger is fast to turn away to Lucian and focus more on himself. That claw attacked his friend. It attacked someone who had been nothing but kind to him. It wrecked the place he worked, the place that Minako worked so hard to help run and that the owner put so much of herself into. And he couldn't do anything to stop it.
Demon arm, that's what people kept calling it. Maybe they were really right. Maybe it was a demon arm, or he was the demon. Or at least some kind of monster. What else could he be if he did this? Lots of people got powers from retrospec and they didn't do this.
He has another round of coughing and hacking, this time with less blood. He then pushes himself back so he's sitting on the floor properly. He's exhausted from having so much strain on his body. Hungry too, but he feels too sick at himself to even address that.]
I'm sorry...fuck...I should've been more careful.
[He's not sure how, he hadn't known this could happen. But he was the one who messed this all up, so he had to have done something wrong. He does a lot of things wrong, after all]
[The words are firm but her voice is soft, hands equally gentle as she helps him lean up against the wall. She flits away from his side for a moment, bringing back a glass of water to him, dimly realizing that her hands are trembling from some mixture of adrenaline and exhaustion.
What else can she do to help? She has to do more to help. Minako pulls a handkerchief from her pocket and starts to dab at the sweat on his face, pushing back his bangs to get a better look at him. Sitting up to do so reminds her that her phone is in her pocket too. With some hesitation, she takes it out and sets it down on the ground, the speaker still on.]
[He tenses up when Minako touches him, even flinching a little. If he had more energy, he'd pull away -- purely out of fear that whatever happened will get set off again. But when it clearly doesn't, he eases up a little- in time to hear Ryoji's voice over the phone.
God, he feels so bad.]
I-I'm fine, it's stopped. Minako looks okay too.
[He's exhausted, store, and he's probably got a number of scrapes from being dragged around- but like hell is he going to talk about. Not to someone he attacked]
I'm fine, don't worry about me. You don't have to apologize either.
[ If Ryoji could get up and run, he's fine. Any injuries that Thanatos incurs doesn't get directly transferred to himself; he simply feels exhausted, but who wouldn't be exhausted after seeing everything that had happened? ]
How did you get it to stop? Are you two still inside the store? You should get out if you can, just in case walls or roof collapse.
You would never on purpose, so it's not your fault.
[ It's easy pushing these sentiments onto somebody else, when not too long ago he'd been in Noah's shoes beating himself into the ground with guilt over the very same thing. ]
...If it's a time limit, that makes things simpler, at least. I could come back? I don't need to grab a doctor on foot, I can call.
[Yes it is, he wants to argue- but he knows Ryoji can be rather stubborn when he thinks something. So he grits his teeth a little to bite back the urge to fight. Too tired for that.
But at the suggestion...Noah is unsure. He's not an idiot, he knows it happened from Ryoji touching him, and calmed down when Ryoji left. Could it possibly happen again? But at the same time, he doesn't want to banish Ryoji and maybe it is safe.
He ends up glancing over at Minako, the expression on his face reads one that doesn't know what to do, and is looking for her input. For her to lead.]
[Minako has been quietly listening to the conversation until now, taking the moment to let herself feel exhausted-- but when Noah glances her way she straightens up out of her slump, alert once again.]
Yeah. Come on back, Ryoji. But be careful when you come in, okay?
[ Careful because of... broken glass, he's supposing, or the aforementioned potential building collapse, but he about-faces immediately to head back. ]
Minako, could you summon me? That way, I'll be there in an instant.
Nnnnoo? It's more like I can summon him. [A wry smile.] One sec.
[She brings the Evoker to her head again-- sorry you have to see this up close, Noah-- and fires it off, her voice a murmur instead of her usual shout.]
[ There's a flash of light, almost blinding, before the space before the two of them seems to plunge into darkness with the contrast. From that, Thanatos materializes into view, like a mirage of first, then solid and real. ]
[NOPE NOPE THIS IS BAD. He can feel the energy build up in his arm, like it wants to activate again thanks to the sudden MASS OF DARKNESS in front of them. Fortunately, it still doesn't have enough energy to fully activate, so it more like twitching spasms with a few crackling sparks of gray energy as Noah does his best to cling to it and keep it from going nuts]
[Well, that answers the question of whether or not Thanatos was the one to activate the arm. Minako immediately jerks her Evoker away from her head, mentally dismissing Thanatos so that only Ryoji will remain.]
[ Ryoji pops back into existence and his first reaction is to approach Noah and that arm of his, reaching out as if wanting to look at it or touch it or something, if only he could help. He works in a clinic, but muscle spasms are one thing, and sparks are another. ]
[The reaction to Ryoji is the one she's more worried about at the moment, but it...seems like it isn't so bad? At least the arm isn't lunging for him. Minako gently catches Ryoji's hand and gives it a squeeze.]
Careful.
[That's what she'd wanted him to watch out for, more than broken glass.]
[ LOOK. Ryoji wasn't there to connect the dots with Noah's arm settling down the moment Ryoji left, but he sure as hell sees it start to reactivate when faced with Thanatos again. The first time it'd happened, it was just him, but Thanatos is within him and will forever be within him.
His shoulders drop, and he isn't holding Minako's hand back so much as he simply lets it hang there in her grasp. ]
[And here comes the fallout. Minako's heart lurches painfully and she struggles to her feet to face her friend, still hanging onto his hand.]
Ryoji...it's not your fault. You couldn't have known. [She glances back at Noah as well, trying to be firm.] Neither of you. So don't blame yourselves. We know now, and we're going to manage, okay?
[ Not knowing doesn't make him feel any better, because what happened already happened, and it was a horrible experience for all of them. Noah most of all, who doesn't meet Ryoji's eyes and in the silence, all he can read is blame.
How're they supposed to manage this? The simplest way: Ryoji pulls his hand away from Minako. ]
I'll stay away. Minako, if you could make sure Noah gets home safe...
[Noah shakes his head, pushing against the wall to pull himself up as he continues holding onto that arm]
No, I'll go. You two were gonna go eat ice cream, you should do that.
[He wasn't going to let Ryoji exile himself like this. He was the problem. He was the one who had trouble controlling this thing. He was the problem. That part isn't a new thing, at least.]
[Minako lets out a frustrated huff of breath. She just wants to shake them and tell them to stop being upset and feeling guilty, that this is a problem but it's not such a big problem that they can't figure out a way to deal with it. But she understands Noah's need to be alone. Of the two boys, he's probably the one more in shock about what just happened with his arm.]
[ How could they simply walk away from this and go eat ice cream, what the fuck, Noah.
Ryoji chews at his bottom lip to keep himself from speaking up or acting out, because if he had his way, he'd put Noah on 24 hr surveillance to make sure he's truly alright. But he would also hate it if somebody were to do that to him, so he steps back again, with a sigh that threatens to turn into a grumble towards the end because it isn't a happy solution, but it's Noah's decision. ]
...Yeah, get some rest first, and please let us know when you're feeling better.
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But the anger is fast to turn away to Lucian and focus more on himself. That claw attacked his friend. It attacked someone who had been nothing but kind to him. It wrecked the place he worked, the place that Minako worked so hard to help run and that the owner put so much of herself into. And he couldn't do anything to stop it.
Demon arm, that's what people kept calling it. Maybe they were really right. Maybe it was a demon arm, or he was the demon. Or at least some kind of monster. What else could he be if he did this? Lots of people got powers from retrospec and they didn't do this.
He has another round of coughing and hacking, this time with less blood. He then pushes himself back so he's sitting on the floor properly. He's exhausted from having so much strain on his body. Hungry too, but he feels too sick at himself to even address that.]
I'm sorry...fuck...I should've been more careful.
[He's not sure how, he hadn't known this could happen. But he was the one who messed this all up, so he had to have done something wrong. He does a lot of things wrong, after all]
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[The words are firm but her voice is soft, hands equally gentle as she helps him lean up against the wall. She flits away from his side for a moment, bringing back a glass of water to him, dimly realizing that her hands are trembling from some mixture of adrenaline and exhaustion.
What else can she do to help? She has to do more to help. Minako pulls a handkerchief from her pocket and starts to dab at the sweat on his face, pushing back his bangs to get a better look at him. Sitting up to do so reminds her that her phone is in her pocket too. With some hesitation, she takes it out and sets it down on the ground, the speaker still on.]
...do you two want to talk?
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Yes! Noah? Noah, is everything okay now? Are you hurt? Bleeding? Minako too?
[ He can't see and it's endlessly frustrating. ]
Do either of you need an ambulance? First aid? What should I tell Lucian?
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God, he feels so bad.]
I-I'm fine, it's stopped. Minako looks okay too.
[He's exhausted, store, and he's probably got a number of scrapes from being dragged around- but like hell is he going to talk about. Not to someone he attacked]
Are you okay?! I'm so sorry.
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[ If Ryoji could get up and run, he's fine. Any injuries that Thanatos incurs doesn't get directly transferred to himself; he simply feels exhausted, but who wouldn't be exhausted after seeing everything that had happened? ]
How did you get it to stop? Are you two still inside the store? You should get out if you can, just in case walls or roof collapse.
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[Even if he had no way of knowing this would happen, he still feels responsible.]
It- It just stopped. I feel really drained, so maybe it just...just ran out of fucking energy? [...] I'll move in a moment.
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[ It's easy pushing these sentiments onto somebody else, when not too long ago he'd been in Noah's shoes beating himself into the ground with guilt over the very same thing. ]
...If it's a time limit, that makes things simpler, at least. I could come back? I don't need to grab a doctor on foot, I can call.
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But at the suggestion...Noah is unsure. He's not an idiot, he knows it happened from Ryoji touching him, and calmed down when Ryoji left. Could it possibly happen again? But at the same time, he doesn't want to banish Ryoji and maybe it is safe.
He ends up glancing over at Minako, the expression on his face reads one that doesn't know what to do, and is looking for her input. For her to lead.]
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Yeah. Come on back, Ryoji. But be careful when you come in, okay?
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Minako, could you summon me? That way, I'll be there in an instant.
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You can summon people...?
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[She brings the Evoker to her head again-- sorry you have to see this up close, Noah-- and fires it off, her voice a murmur instead of her usual shout.]
I summon you.
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[NOPE NOPE THIS IS BAD. He can feel the energy build up in his arm, like it wants to activate again thanks to the sudden MASS OF DARKNESS in front of them. Fortunately, it still doesn't have enough energy to fully activate, so it more like twitching spasms with a few crackling sparks of gray energy as Noah does his best to cling to it and keep it from going nuts]
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—Oh, that looks bad...
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Tch- the summon set it off I think.
[But at least it seems to be weakening now, the sparks start going on and the spasms decrease]
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Careful.
[That's what she'd wanted him to watch out for, more than broken glass.]
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His shoulders drop, and he isn't holding Minako's hand back so much as he simply lets it hang there in her grasp. ]
You mean I set it off.
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[Noah glances away as he keeps holding onto his arm. He doesn't want to say it, but his guilty expression alone is telling.]
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Ryoji...it's not your fault. You couldn't have known. [She glances back at Noah as well, trying to be firm.] Neither of you. So don't blame yourselves. We know now, and we're going to manage, okay?
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How're they supposed to manage this? The simplest way: Ryoji pulls his hand away from Minako. ]
I'll stay away. Minako, if you could make sure Noah gets home safe...
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[Noah shakes his head, pushing against the wall to pull himself up as he continues holding onto that arm]
No, I'll go. You two were gonna go eat ice cream, you should do that.
[He wasn't going to let Ryoji exile himself like this. He was the problem. He was the one who had trouble controlling this thing. He was the problem. That part isn't a new thing, at least.]
I wanna be alone right now anyway.
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Text us later?
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Ryoji chews at his bottom lip to keep himself from speaking up or acting out, because if he had his way, he'd put Noah on 24 hr surveillance to make sure he's truly alright. But he would also hate it if somebody were to do that to him, so he steps back again, with a sigh that threatens to turn into a grumble towards the end because it isn't a happy solution, but it's Noah's decision. ]
...Yeah, get some rest first, and please let us know when you're feeling better.
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