IC Inbox for neornithes

[birdinhand]

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[yokubo]

[ That was kind of strange... but he'd better not say anything about it. ]

But you're here with her now. That's what's important, isn't it?

[birdinhand]

I don't know if it's really that easy... [Finally he seems to realize there's nothing to be done about it now and leaves it the hell alone.]

[yokubo]

Maybe not, but don't people always say the things worth fighting for are the hardest? If anyone is worth your best effort it's Hina-chan, right?

[birdinhand]

Yeah... it is. [He sighed.]

[On a semi-related note...] By the way... Have you talked to Weiss at all in the last couple of days?

[yokubo]

Hm? [ What kind of question was that? ] Uh, I haven't called her or anything for a little while. Why?

[birdinhand]

So you haven't heard yet. [He scrubs at his face. This is going to suck.]

[yokubo]

Did something happen to her?

[ He looked pretty worried then. ]

She's okay, right?

[birdinhand]

[He understood Eiji's concern, but he needed a moment to actually spit it out. After several seconds..] She's not badly hurt, no. If anything it's superficial. I think I got her hair mostly.

I tried to set her on fire for dumping that acid on me during the fight against Philip. [That angry, vicious part of him he was tamping down right now didn't really regret it. Worse, he hadn't decided if he agreed with that or not yet.]

[yokubo]

Ankh! [ He shot up from the bed and looked at him in complete exasperation, but the sudden pressure on his toes hurt more than he'd expected so he fell to the bed again just as quick. He put his hands to his face and groaned, both because of the pain and because of Ankh. ]

You can't do stuff like that! [ Eiji turned to him again, the evident worry back on his face. ]

[birdinhand]

I know, I know! It's not something I'm proud of. That's just another for the list. It was stupid, impulsive, and way over the line.

I'm just glad I didn't actually pull it off...

[yokubo]

[ Ankh really had been a totally different guy back when he was just Shingo... ]

Why did you change your mind? Because of Hina-chan?

[birdinhand]

[A wry smirk.] No, a guy working in the library got involved. Thanks to that sick doctor, now everyone knows Hina is connected to me. He was probably bluffing, but I can't take the chance.

And even though it's crazy, I still want to do the same thing to that bitch the President or whatever she calls herself. [He takes a deep breath. Keeping his anger under control can be hard sometimes.]

[yokubo]

Oh, um, I see. Well, people probably would have found out eventually anyway...

[ He crossed his arms like he was thinking hard about everything An-- Shingo-san? Ankhingo. Everything Ankhingo was saying. ]

Hurting people is what they do though. We wouldn't really be different if we did the same stuff.

[birdinhand]

Yeah, I know. And it's not like we were hiding it very well.

[He takes a second to find the words.] How do I put it? It's like sometimes I feel like I'm just along for the ride and my body moves on its own. Usually when my Branch of Sin is involved.

[yokubo]

So... you didn't go back to Hina-chan because you wanted to protect her from that?

[birdinhand]

Maybe, but that's not all of it. That's actually gotten a little worse since I got in here. Even if I let go of the attitude, the anger, and everything else, I'm not the person I was when I left.

[yokubo]

But you still love her, right? Maybe it's okay if things aren't the same as long as the important things haven't changed.

[birdinhand]

Yeah... [He kind of curled into himself some more. He lowered his head so his forehead was resting on his arms and his face was hidden under his hair and behind his knees. He clutched at the folds in the fabric of his jeans.]

[yokubo]

Shingo-san... [ Eiji paused on the name. He didn't know if that was the right thing to say, but it seemed like he didn't want to be Ankh right then. ]

I know you wouldn't like it if I pretended to know what it's like to be you and deal all the stuff you have, so I won't. But... I think we both know it's hard to be alone, right? I've said it a lot before but every time I say I want to be your friend and that I'll support you I mean it. So, as soon as let me... that's what I'll do.

[birdinhand]

[He still keeps his face hidden when he talks.] You've already been that, Eiji. You've been a better friend than I've deserved.

[yokubo]

[ Eiji could barely keep his jaw from dropping. Shingo-san really thought of him that way...? The initial shock wore off quickly, soon to be replaced by a huge grin. He really couldn't hold back a laugh. ]

Hina-chan would be really surprised to see us get along, huh?

[birdinhand]

[He picks his head up and wipes his face. He gives him a wry smile.] Yeah. Maybe next time she'll get to see it.

[yokubo]

Should we fight when we see her tomorrow so she isn't confused?

[ Joking.

Sort of. ]

[birdinhand]

[Despite everything, he laughed a little.] After today I probably won't even talk to you. No offense, but I think Hina and I are going to spend most of the day together tomorrow.

[yokubo]

H-hey! No fair! I wanna see her too!

[ LEGIT PANIC. ]