neverplaysfair | Game 028 [Action] - It Was Worth a Shot...?

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Game 028 [Action] - It Was Worth a Shot...?

[ Hey Luceti, who remembers that stunt Joshua pulled ages and ages back?

Well, guess what. He's trying again, in a different place. Because the ever-so-lovely earthquake has resulted in a shift of what he thinks is Luceti's center, but pretty much no one but Josh cares about that anyway.

Let's hope there aren't too many people in House 29 in the wee hours of the morning, because between there and the ruins of what was once House 22 stands Joshua. He's still for a moment, hands raised to the sky, murmuring to himself.

Suddenly there's a flash of light.

Then loud, echoing, sharp enough to feel like a punch straight to the chest, ]

CRACK!

[ Yup, he failed again. This time around, though, he's lying crumpled on the ground, completely unmoving. Occasionally there's a faint crackle as a soft wisp of power flickers across his skin and vanishes.

Um. He might need help. ~~Beware the zapping.~~ ]

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[ You're still my Producer, like he should be able to bring Joshua back, like it's his duty -- and it is. He's pulled Josh out of cross-dimensional scrapes before, and if he had the ability to do it now, even if it meant walking right back into Their punishment, he'd do it in an instant. Even if he wasn't allowed a last look at Shibuya, he'd do it in an instant. Getting Josh home was synonymous with keeping Shibuya safe, here, and it was the highest priority. ]

... I would if I could, but the best I can do is mimic her music. We're still stuck here and I still don't have a way out -- think I'd still be here if I did?

[ Not that he'd leave without Joshua. Even if he made the jump just to get a glimpse of the city, that could mean capture and punishment and no way for Josh to follow him home. And the city needs Joshua more than it needs him. ]

Let me take you someplace here that's safe. Not safe from me, maybe, but safe from everything else this place can throw at you.

[ That hurts, a lot more than he'd ever admit. He needs Shibuya, desperately, between his withdrawal and his Ascension there were just too many things straining Joshua. These aren't thoughts he wants to be having now, not when he can't seem to move and his head is throbbing, but he's remembering the faint wisp of Shibuya's Music Sanae imitated for him and the single strain that Neku could play, the only thing he could play; and after however long he'd been here, even Neku was starting to forget it, to develop his Music in a way that was free of Shibuya's influence.

This wasn't what he wanted to be thinking about. He should really be thinking about his own survival, about the fact that the Fallen Angel who tried to kill him is only a few feet from him and he can't get his power more than a few inches off his skin. But he's exhausted, and his head hurts, and he just really, really wants to go home. Or at least sleep. The prickling beneath his skin won't even let him do that. ]

Fine.

[ It's all he says. ]

[ The relief shows on his face, along with an edge of something warmer, brighter, maybe pride. Sanae is careful when he approaches again, and he does, trying not to trigger fresh panic but so hopeful that it's hard to keep his movements slow and deliberate. Like trying not to startle a wild animal, he thinks. With all the survival instinct and adrenaline in Josh right now, it's like watching his step around something big and dangerous and jumpy.

Once he's as close as he dares, Sanae settles into a crouch by Joshua's side and steels himself for what could be a very nasty jolt. He doesn't doubt that Joshua is strong enough now to be a threat to him, particularly when he's injured and cornered and afraid. But teleporting a wounded or unstable being is risky at the best of times, and he'll need all the stability he can get -- so he reaches out to touch Joshua's arm, needing only a moment of physical contact. ]

[ With each step, Joshua can feel his panic increase a little more. It's hard if not impossible to resign himself to this entirely, not with what he knows, not when he can sense even more clearly than before that one spot of stain on Sanae's Soul. Energy starts flickering again as Hanekoma crouches down, and is Joshua just imagining that his own fingertips are finally moving again? But when he reaches out, Joshua feels a sharp jolt of emotion--he's going to Erase me--and before he's even realized it, lashes out in retaliation. With his state as unstable as it is, the unconsciousness of the action, and his power out of whack, the attack has nowhere near the strength it could. But it's there, and it's still potent, and the sharp CRACK even startles Joshua.

He has to wonder if he truly hadn't meant to do that. ]

[ Sanae recoils with a sharp sound of pain, actual pain, not just alarm or surprise. Josh might not be quite to his level, and that attack may not been have quite what it could've, but the energy coming off of him is harsh and strong on its own. It gets him backing up a whole lot faster than he'd approached, and all up his arms he feels burned in a way he hasn't for decades. Sanae finds a safe spot five feet away and returns to waiting and watching. More coldly, now.

He wonders if he should throw himself at Joshua, if he can move fast enough to get in an instant of contact before Josh manages to defend himself -- or would that be too damaging of an approach? He has to do something or they'll be out here all day, and he has to do something soon or someone could come across them, and it might not be someone friendly.

He speaks without meaning to and the words are nearly snarled. ]

Let me help you.

[ Joshua isn't going to apologize. It's something that possibly deserves an apology in itself, but what was done to earn that reaction negates any thoughts of "sorry" that Josh might have had.

He waits a few seconds for his breathing to return to normal, for his pulse to drop to something that might be considered reasonable. He wants this ordeal to be over with almost as much as Sanae does. Fuck, he just wants to go back to Shibuya and fall asleep. Or at least have this damn headache go away. ]

If you're inclined to believe me, that was an accident.

[ There's a coldness to match Sanae in his tone. ]

[ He eyes Joshua warily for a few moments more, but then Sanae just gives a nod in response -- accident or not, it's done with now and Josh isn't actively attacking, that's good enough for him -- and moves closer again. Not quite as slowly or carefully as before, but he's avoiding sudden movements as best he can. ]

I just wanna touch you for a second, and then I'll back off.

[ And then he's close again, leaning in smoothly to reach for Joshua's hand. ]

[ There's another crackle that Joshua can't suppress, but he doesn't lash out again. This is painful for both of them when they're both forcing a trust that was lost and hasn't yet come back, but trusting Sanae is so much easier said than done for Joshua. He wants to lash out, he's terrified of what the other can do to him in this state, but no. In the worst case, the more annoying he makes this for Sanae, the more likely he is to lash out at Joshua in retaliation. And Joshua is under no false impression that he'd stand any chance like this if Sanae got serious.

It doesn't stop him from drawing a sharp breath and holding it. ]

[ His fingers land on Joshua's, the world shifts, and quite abruptly they're not outside anymore. Sanae's bedroom looks much like it did the last time Josh had seen it; there's more art now, new sketches tacked to the walls and new paintings of Shibuya standing on canvases, but no murals and no traps. Nothing to bring pain or Erasure or even hold him still. While Joshua has been covering his walls with art that keeps people locked out, Sanae's been preoccupied trying to comfort himself with drawings of home.

He's brought them right to the bed -- the lack of a power cap certainly helps his accuracy when it comes to things like this -- so that Josh has got somewhere warm and soft to rest and recover, assuming this is the sort of thing that'll fix itself. The instant they've gotten their bearings, Sanae is on the defensive again, backing up to put some space between them. ]

[ The shift is what catches him. He wants to startle, but all that does is send out more shocks along his skin. For a moment, he's waiting for it, if not expecting it: the pain, or the traps, or something that isn't going to be pleasant. Power wisps across his skin as a substitute for him being tense for a second... two... three... and after a bit it dies down by degrees when nothing comes.

Joshua chances a look around to see if there are any traps like his own, and his gaze freezes on the first canvas he spots. It's Cat Street; he can recognize it instantly. He's startled for a moment, but then the pain of separation he'd been feeling not moments ago hits him hard once more and he turns away... only to see the Scramble Crossing with 104 looming in the background.

Joshua makes a face, disgusted and pained at the same time, and lifts his gaze to the ceiling. He swallows thickly. ] You're disgusting. [ But there's more pain than conviction in his voice. ]

[ He shakes out his hand like he'd been burned, having caught the very beginning of that attempt to go tense, and says nothing. That hurts to hear, particularly because of why he's hearing it, because of how he'd been hopeful that the bedroom would be well-received; after all, there are no traps and no sketches of Joshua's head on a pike or some such. Just Shibuya and the comforting familiar places in it that he paints before he starts to lose the details. The mental images he puts down on paper while he still can, even if there's an ache to it.

He hadn't thought much on how Joshua would respond to the art in the bedroom, other than hoping the guy would appreciate that none of it is deadly. Sanae is confident enough in his powers that he's willing to leave his room open to all, and has a certain amount of faith that Josh isn't acting on the offensive and will stay that way. There's no one to protect himself from, so the bedroom stays unguarded.

But. ]

If the art's freakin' you out, I can move it.

[ Oh, it's being better-received than Joshua's indicating.

It just hurts to see scenes so familiar, so familiar and they're almost a part of himself. They should be, at least, but they aren't anymore, not here, not in this place. That Sanae would be the other to paint her, to remind Joshua of just what those familiar streets and buildings looked like, hurts him in a way that he knows isn't entirely rational.

But when Sanae was the reason that Shibuya almost fell far beyond the point of no return, Joshua feels a bit entitled to his indignation. ]

That's not the problem with it and you know it. [ He can just barely force the edge that he's entirely too exhausted to be using. ]

We've all got our ways of coping.

[ And that's all he says. There are drawings of things besides Shibuya, sketches of damaged wings and of Angels he'll most likely never see again, drawings of places and people he's come across in Luceti. Shibuya dominates most of the room, though, in both drawings of Noise and Reapers as well as the places they're both so familiar with. He couldn't help but try to save those memories before they faded. He needed a little piece of home to be here with him, even if it's only a pale copy of the original.

He doesn't blame Joshua for the indignation or the edge in his voice. But he isn't planning on abandoning this pastime and this means of comfort because he might not, in Joshua's eyes, deserve to pursue it. ]

[ There's more sparks across Joshua's body, but lo and behold, his hands clench into fists, gripping the blanket beneath. It occurs to him that he might be exhausted due to how much power he's wasting, but it's hard to not do anything to trigger it.

Being in Sanae's place again after so long is not a comfort; far from it. He's on edge and vulnerable and still has a screaming headache besides. Still, he keeps his gaze on the ceiling, because congratulations Sanae, not having Shibuya hurts him more than he's paranoid of you. ]

What will you do when They bar you from her, then?

[ It's half said with the intent to hurt, and half a genuine question. ]

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Game 028 [Action] - It Was Worth a Shot...?

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