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[rassera]

"Oi, it's me. Leave something here, would ya?"

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[rassera]

[The moment Tetsuo speaks, Kaneda leans up again, looking at him through the darkness of the room and giving him his full, undivided attention.

You have the floor, Tetsuo.


He's listening.]

You don't...?

[iamtetsuo]

[The sentence is lost, and it doesn't look like Tetsuo's got any interest in fighting to get it back.]

[rassera]

...It's gonna bug the crap out of you if you don't say it, you know.

[And bug the hell out of him, too, but that's probably not very helpful to hear.]

[iamtetsuo]

[WHAT IF HE DOESN'T WANT TO]

[rassera]

[Don't pull that shit with him you 'woke' him up at midnight for this goddamn garbage.]

[iamtetsuo]

[FUCK YOU YOU'RE JUST NOT GONNA SAY ANYTHING ANYWAY.]



Do I turn sixteen at all?

[rassera]

...

[It's immediate. The colour drains from Kaneda's face, eyes widening as soon as he hears it. He knows damn well Tetsuo isn't talking about this place. He already technically had his birthday.

So that just leaves...back home.


His head turns away for a moment, biting his lip until he can feel the skin crack. Instinct by now tells him to shut down all thoughts of Neo Tokyo. To hide it from Tetsuo as best he could. It was for his own safety, after all.

But Rick told him that he needed to be open with him. That it was better to hear this from him instead of someone else. He wasn't wrong, either. He couldn't hold every secret from Tetsuo. Pan already had an idea, and who knows how long until he figures out the whole story.]


I don't know. Maybe.


[It's soft, almost apologetic.

But at the same time, not no.]

[iamtetsuo]

You already thought I was dead, Kaneda. There's no maybe.

[rassera]

[Ah, here we go.



A hand runs through his hair, clenching it tightly and gritting his teeth.]


You're not dead.

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo's body freezes in place.]

What...?

[What the shit - is Kaneda still lying to him? That's what that had to be..]

[rassera]

[If Kaneda was trying to deceive Tetsuo, his face certainly didn't show it--in fact, he almost looks confused himself. Like he's not sure what to think. Or maybe...he's not sure what happened exactly.]

I don't -think- so, anyway.

You just...went somewhere else.



It sounds crazy...

Video;

[missleadingquestions]

That's not exactly something to be super proud of, you know!

[She laughs. Yes, Kaneda, you look good for a guy stuck in a jungle.]

[iamtetsuo]

[Kaneda sounds unsure. Kaneda never sounds this unsure of anything. That's what makes it hard to reject what he's saying outright; something seems weirdly off about the whole thing.]

What does that mean?

[rassera]

[It's hard, judging how much you can give away. He wasn't going to keep things secret from Tetsuo for forever. But he could at least control when and where those secrets were revealed.]

It was hard to sort out in my head, when I got here.

Video;

[rassera]

Sounds like a yes to meeeeeee.

[iamtetsuo]

So all that stuff you said...

[He clenches his hand on the pillow]

Video;

[missleadingquestions]

Alright, alright, you look good. Just, good and dingy.

[Snickering, she rolls her eyes.]

You're showing off a lot for someone who's busy!

[rassera]

[His blood runs cold at that, hand clenching tight on the fabric of Tetsuo's shirt in return.]

Tetsuo.

[The truth was hard, he knew that.

It's even harder to make up for past mistakes.]

The truth. Neo Tokyo is gone. You're not dead. And...


None of it was your fault.


[I'm sorry.]

text - Wednesday morning/before Maya's back

[failureisntachoice]

Do you know where Maya is? We were supposed to meet this morning and she didn't show. I can't get a hold of her.

[iamtetsuo]

[Breathing in shakily only to let it out in an equally shaky question]

Are you really telling me this because it's true? Or because I want to hear it?

text;

[rassera]

me neither

she never left the house but she disappeared

looking for her now ill find her

text;

[failureisntachoice]

Where are you? You're not looking for her alone.

text;

[rassera]

[A pause, but an eventual text.]

heropa

building where she works

[He's not being difficult on purpose this time, he just can't read any of the signs.]

text; -> action?

[failureisntachoice]

You're lucky I know where that is.

[ And so is she, if he's not going to bother giving her an address. But that's the city where both she and Maya live, one she is very familiar with by now. She's headed straight to the TV station on her motorcycle. ]

action

[rassera]

[When she arrives, Kaneda's leaning against the wall to the entrance of the building, hands stuffed in his pockets and sulking. Really, teaming up with Tex was on the bottom of the list of things he wanted to do today, but whether he'd admit to it or not, he's worried about Maya.

Because she never LEFT the house.

And her texts keep bouncing back to him. It's like when Ken was gone all over again, the sickening lurch in his stomach getting more and more noticeable.]

Oi, don't even bother looking here. No sign of her.