dear_mun | Reserved to After Living

[ Hearing Yuno scream like that was painful for him, but obviously, it wasn't his intent. With the wound closed, he remembered what he heard in health class; cautery can actually cause more risk of infection due to damaged tissue that bacteria thrive in.

He still had Deus' Core out. Of course, his priorty was first to stop the bleeding. He is going to need to focus more power out of this thing, and he didn't want to risk that while she was bleeding. ]

Yuno, I don't have my family anymore. [ His parents had a life of their own, with the Third World's version of him. ] I don't even have friends besides you, Muru Muru, and Ninth. [ He presses the core to Yuno's wound, his palm holding to her. He was going to try to rewind time just on that part of her body to before the wound. It might cause some slight trouble with the tissue being 'newer' than the rest of it, but hey, it had to be better than this. ]

If you die, what do I have left? You're all I have, Yuno.

You d-don't have to say it so coldly! (Yuno hisses at Nagato.) Yukki's l-life is worth a thousand of m-mine! (If not more than a thousand. Infinite.)

B-Because you're here. With me. (This is as close to guilt as Yuno will ever come. Her expression falls for a moment.) That's h-how the game would've ended up. I would be alone w-without you too, Yukki.

(She digs her fingers into the floor, grimacing as her tissue regenerates.)

I'm o-okay dying for you.

I am not saying it coldly. Words do not have actual temperature.

[Yuki...]

Your lives are both equal at this point. One may have better skills in certain areas, but you can both die just as easily as the other can, and if the consequences of one of you dying could be exchanged for the other persons. Your lives are equal.

Yuno, don't talk like that. [ That's right, he's scolding her, not Nagato. ] But it doesn't have to be like that anymore, don't you get it?

[ He listens to Nagato, and while she's right - to a point - he still doesn't want Yuno to think she can just throw her life away like this. ]

She's right, Yuno. You don't have to die anymore. We can be together here, neither of us have to die. And... what would I do if I was here alone without you? This place can even be more dangerous than our own world for all we know.

(His words do more damage than any weapon could on Yuno. She immediately deflates and looks quite...lost. Yukki is mad at her; he doesn't like how she has handled Nagato or the situation. Any moment, he could slip through her fingers.)

You don't understand. (That is directed at Nagato.) Yukki is the one... He is the one that deserves everything. I...don't. (But if he needs her... She sets her expression so that her emotions are contained.)

I'll protect you, Yukki.

[Through all of this, Yuki's facial expression doesn't change at all.]

Yukiteru Amano does not deserve everything. Nor do I or you. However, all three of us need to keep on living. I have objectives to fulfill. If I were to die, the situation would worsen. I imagine things would worsen if either of you were to die as well.

[ Yukiteru frowns, and brings his hand to the side of Yuno's head as the wound finishes healing. It now looks eactly like it did before right she suffered the wound, down to the tiniest hair, bead of sweat, or speck of dust. He places his half of the Core in his pocket, next to his Diary. The Dead End on Yuno's Diary would vanish. ]

Yuno... I wasn't mad at you. [ He knows that face. ] I was scared I'd lose you.

[ If there has been one consistent trait of his, it's that if he's ever legitimately mad at Yuno, it never lasts long. If he can forgive her for nearly killing his parents, keeping him chained to a chair for a week and nearly causing him to atrophy as a result, and then accusing him of not loving her and stuffing him in some illusion machine, then he can probably forgive her for just about anything. ]

... she's right again. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you.

[ Again. But that goes unsaid. ]

SHUT UP! (Yuno tries to lunge again, but she is stopped by Yukki's words. Eyes wide and hands shaking, she feels her anger quickly turn to...relief? Is that what it is?

It seems too big and too all-consuming to be called by such a simple name. Instead of throttling Nagato (or attempting to), Yuno wraps her arms around Yukki and cries.)

D-Do you mean th-that? (His words are beautiful to her. How can Nagato say anyone is equal to him? How can he believe that?

To Yuno, that is insanity.)

[Nagato can say that because she's Nagato and only sees the logic in things. Not Yuno's twisted logic, mind you.

She keeps silent as Yuno tries to embrace Yukiteru, having nothing more to say at this current point in time.]

[ His thumb strokes her temple, and he's all too happy to return the embrace, choosing to ignore Yuno's outburst. You're not killing the mood this time, Yuno! ]

Why do you think I wanted us to kill ourselves instead of one of us winning the Survival Game?

[ He wasn't stupid, he knew what Yuno wanted for him, but it wasn't what he wanted. After everything they had been through together, after she had done more for him than both of his parents put together, and after all they had bee through together, he couldn't bare the thought of living without her. ]

Yuno... that's all over now. We can finally be together. Doesn't that mean anything to you?

(Yuno shakes with an onslaught of emotions. She wants to defend the boy she is clinging so desperately to, but she also wants him to care about her...to agree with her. When he doesn't, she feels as if her whole world has been thrown off-balance.)

Because you're kind. (She closes her eyes and leans into his touch.) You care about so many people. You wouldn't want to see any of them die. (A tear slips down her cheek.) It means everything to me, Yukki. E-Everything.

(Without him, she would have no reason to live. Popularity, intelligence and friendships weren't enough to fix what her parents had done to her. Only Yukki could heal that wound.)

Are you m-mad at me?

[Again, Yuki keeps silent and just watches the proceedings.]

[ It killed him to see Yuno like this. Especially considering the fact that she died by stabbing herself, and if he had the powers he had now, he couldn't have saved her back then. ]

No, I wouldn't. Especially not you. [ He takes a moment to glance back at Nagato, before leaning down to kiss Yuno's forehead. ] This is our chance. Don't blow it, okay?

[ He sighed at her question. ] No, I'm not mad... I guess after everything that happened in our own world I can't really blame you, but Nagato wouldn't hurt me. She just protects that Haruhi person the same way you protect me.

[ It's the only way he can think of to phrase it in a way that would make sense to her. ]

(Especially? Yuno fixates on that one word, her cheeks turning pink. At least her blood flow is healthy.)

Y-Yukki... (She squeezes her eyes closed and inhales shakily.) I'll t-try my best.

(When she opens her eyes again, she focuses on Nagato.) Is that really how you feel about Haruhi? (If so, Yuno can certainly be sympathetic. And maybe even helpful.)

Do you love Haruhi?

[Yukiteru, phrasing it like that doesn't help her situation.]

I do not hold and personal affection on a romantic level for Haruhi Suzumiya. In observing her and making sure that certain pieces of data do not reach her, I can ensure the safety of my universe.

[ .... Maybe he could have chosen a slightly better way of phrasing that, but his point was made, and it stuck. But Yuno can probably relate to protecting her universe, as well. After all... No matter who won, whether it be him or her, surely Yuno didn't desire the destruction of their world? ]

I know you will, Yuno. I never doubted that about you.

(If there was no Yukki, she might destroy the universe or find some way to time hop again. She really isn't fussy about morality.)

That's all you care about? Then...you love the universe most of all? (She reaches up and grabs Yukki's hand, holding it against her cheek.)

Thank you.

I have a personal interest in keeping my universe safe. If it were compromised, everything would be destroyed or altered beyond repair, and I, personally, would be so changed that this identity would cease to exist.

[ And then Yuno missed the point again. He sighs, stroking Yuno's cheek with his thumb as she held his hand there. ]

I believe in you, okay? One of these games will be a place where we can be happy. I'm sure of it.

[ He sighed at Nagato's counter to what Yuno said. ]

Yuno, it would be like nobody winning the Survival Game in our world. Not me, not you, not anyone else.

You don't sound like you care very much. (Her voice is quiet - almost sweet. The danger, for now, has passed.) If Yukki is happy in one of them, I will be too.

(She kisses the palm of his hand before shaking her head. Finally, she gets to her feet and dusts herself off.)

If you didn't win, no one should win.

Emotional responses are new, and thus, are difficult to categorize and process, much less make visible. However, I can assure you that I do hold a personal interest in the safety of my universe.

[ Yukiteru doesn't let Yuno slip away. As if some unseen force is about to take her away from him, he wraps his arms around one of her arm, clinging to her, just as she does to him sometimes. ]

Nagato... it's just that Yuno loves me, and after what happened in our own world, she's afraid someone will try to take me away from her. I can't really blame her after what happened in our own world, but...

[ He shakes his head. ]

I understand your need to protect Haruhi, but maybe you should tell her why it's so important? I guess it's not the same as it is for her and me, after all.

Reserved to After Living

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