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[gorb]

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@

SOBA

✖

CHARACTER NAME

Geto Suguru

CIVILIAN NAME

Zaru Soba

TEAM

Brimstone

HOUSING NUMBER

003

❤

Comments

[gorb]

Where are you? I need to pay for something, and then I'll come and find you.

[eyescar]

you don't have to

[ No. He's trying to be better. He is. So. ]

my room
but i can meet you somewhere else

[gorb]

Come to the park.

( He sends a ping. )

It's empty enough, and the sun is out. It might help. Do you want something cold to drink? Something to eat?

[eyescar]

ok
and no
im fine

[ But he does come to the park, at least, in a dumb hoodie. He looks... Like shit, really. Dark circles under his eyes, lethargic, certainly not his usual, happy self, and he hovers near the ping, looking around nervously. ]

[gorb]

( He arrives with a plastic bag hooked over one arm and a concerned gaze sweeping once over Yuji before he nods to the abandoned swings. )

Be a delinquent with me, mm?

( He takes the one closest to the park entrance, dropping his haul to his feet, leaning forward to pull a soda free anyway. You thought he'd stop giving traumatised children drinks? No. )

It's cola. Full sugar. You look like you need it.

[eyescar]

[ Yuji goes to sit on the swing too, sitting on it wrong so that his back can lean against the chains, and he can hold the other side in front of him, thumb brushing idly over the top of the can of soda. ]

Thanks.

[ And now he doesn't really know what to say. It feels harsh, somehow, to say something like "I know you became a curse user so you must have been really mad or upset, how do you cope with your emotions", but... ]

[gorb]

( His heels dig into the tarmac, swinging himself slow and idle, head tipped towards Yuji. )

Did something happen?

[eyescar]

Choso and I had an argument. It was...

[ He frowns, tilting his head to look at the sky. ]

It was my fault. And not my fault. I guess, it was like that...

[gorb]

( Pepetual only child, but also father of twins, Geto understands. )

Something you think you can't overcome? Or just something that hurts?

[eyescar]

I don't know. I think we'll be okay, but, I think...

[ He gazes at the sky still, voice soft and quiet. ]

I think, maybe... I'm not?

[gorb]

You've been through a lot, Yuji-kun. Here, and back home. Most people would have already buckled under that weight long ago. And even if the fight wasn't a big deal in the first place, it's just another stone on top of the pile you're already carrying, no? It's okay to not feel like you are. What's important is that you don't bottle it up.

( Knee flexing as he pushes himself back, lets gravity drop him back down again. )

You don't have to be the strongest all the time. It's not sustainable.

[eyescar]

Yeah, but...

[ But he can be. He's survived so much so he can protect the others, so what's the point of it all if he gives up now? It doesn't matter that it hurts, if it means the others are okay. It's like grandpa said - he's strong, so he should protect and save people, as many as he can.

How much did grandpa know...? ]

I am strong, so I should. It's okay to, isn't it?

[gorb]

Even glass breaks if you apply enough force.

( Mild, lacking in judgment. )

Would you judge anyone else for needing a bit of support?

[eyescar]

I'm not glass.

[ Said almost poutingly.

But it is a good point, and he shakes his head. ]

No, but... It's different.

[gorb]

( A snort, not unkind. )

Why?

[eyescar]

Because I promised. And because...

[ Yuji might be blinking back tears, now, a lead weight in his chest as he breathes in and out. ]

All the bad things that happened... They're my fault.

[gorb]

All of them? That sounds doubtful, Yuji-kun.

( Maybe he should go back in time and have words with people. )

[eyescar]

Everything happened because I ate Sukuna's finger. I brought him back, and then - and everything else happened because of that. If I hadn't eaten the finger, or if they'd executed me right away...

[ The spiral of negative emotions is inside of him, always has been, and he can't help but blame himself, too low and vulnerable to argue against it in his head at the moment. ]

It's all I can think about. I can't stop.

[gorb]

( The metal of his swing creaks as he gets up, comes to crouch before Yuji on the tarmac. A hand lifts, curls around his shoulder. )

Tell me why you ate that first finger, Yuji. What was going through your head, do you remember?

[eyescar]

Why...?

[ Yuji blinks up at him, then frowns, considering. ]

I thought... If I left, I'd have nightmares. That I wanted to help people, that... That maybe I had a curse, too. But the reason I ate it was because Megumi said that it would give me cursed energy, and I thought if I did that, too, then I could be strong. That there would be a way to save everyone.

[gorb]

So, you wanted to protect people?

( He knew that, but it needs to be said plain. )

The strength you sought, it was for the sake of keeping other people alive, no? Whatever was happening, it must have been scary. You stayed, you didn't run. You swallowed a finger to do something good, didn't you?

[eyescar]

Looking back at it, I don't think the curse was even that scary.

[ Not after all the other things he's fought. ]

But... Yeah. Megumi was afraid, and I guess I was too, but it was the easiest answer. If I ate the finger, I'd be able to protect him and my classmates. I didn't know anything about Sukuna then.

[gorb]

Whatever happened afterwards, whatever might have been the fallout, you wanted to help. You saw a frightened person, and you hoped to fix it. And, Yuji-kun, just because you were a vessel doesn't mean you are to be held accountable for Sukuna's crimes. If not you, then it could have been someone else. If not you, he might have been taken by a weaker person. Do you really mean to tell me you didn't do everything you could? Because I wouldn't believe it.

( He knows this boy. )

You're not to blame for it. Sukuna is, or the higher ups are, for not outfitting their sorcerers better, or I am, for defecting and upsetting the balance. You understand, don't you? That things will have fallout, but you don't have to be held responsible for every little bit of it.

[eyescar]

That's what everyone says. I hear it all the time, about Sukuna, and the Rift, and everything else that happened. Even Higuruma-san said I was innocent, but...

[ He swallows, his hand resting over his chest. ]

I still feel so bad, all the time. And I don't know how to stop it.

[gorb]

( He sits back on his heels, assessing. )

You're going to feel bad about it, Yuji. I wish I could tell you that you won't, but it's going to follow you for the rest of your life. But doing this? Telling someone. That's a good thing. It might not feel like it just yet, but some day you'll be able to breathe a little easier. It will hurt less. You just have to be kinder to yourself.