Reverse Tarot - ic-general

Shinji sat in his usual hunched position on the sofa, eyes on the TV which somehow still worked after all this time. The concert looked like it was going to be a pretty big event; from the live feed it appeared that easily hundreds were already there. The number of people almost made him anxious about going (not that he’d admit that, though.) Honestly, he didn’t even know who this Nozomin was, and their music probably wasn’t the kind of stuff he was into. But the others were going, and apparently they’d decided that Shinji was too, even forcing him to “dress up” for the event – “dress up” was a loose definition, of course, but the wolf ears perched on top of his beanie were far more than Shinji would have done on his own.

"Shouldn't you take the beanie off, Shinji-kun? Or maybe we could cut holes in the beanie to make them poke out from the top-- to make it more realistic!" Ryoji smiles up at him as they made their way towards Tokyo, riding a train to get there. He was absolutely THRILLED at the prospect of going to a concert in person. He had never done so, but because of Minato's influence he was a lover of all things musical. Plus, he got to see Nozomi in person! He wondered what she was like... The train starts to pull into the station, announcing their arrival in Tokyo, and Ryoji stands so quickly he almost falls over when it stops. "Come on! We want to get good spots!" @Kura [has returnethed]

"The hat stays on. Be happy I wore these damn ears in the first place." Shinji's words were accompanied with an unimpressed look. Ryoji's energy was ridiculous. Clearly, he was very excited about the whole thing - he even seemed excited to be on a train, of all things. Shinji, meanwhile, had never been big on travelling and was quite relieved to arrive at the station. He shook his head as Ryoji sprung out of his seat, an eye roll accompanying this as he nearly fell over. Once the train had stopped, Shinji stood up slowly. Heavily placing a hand on his companion's shoulder, he directed him towards the door of the train. "Yeah, yeah, just try not to hurt yourself, I ain't explainin' to the hospital why you don't show up on their system." Shinji assumed they only had to follow the flocks of excitable costumed people to find their way to the venue. He took a deep breath before moving himself and Ryoji into their midst. So. Many. People.

5:57 AM

@Kayla, male thot enemy of state

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" The exclamation echoed throughout the empty dorm followed immediately by hurried footsteps and the sound of a very emotional fist hammering on a door. "Ryoji. Open the fucking door. What the fuck does Makoto mean?" @Kayla, male thot enemy of state (edited)

Ryoji hurriedly looks around the room, trying to find a way out. His closet was too full, under his bed was too full, and he was certain he was going to be brutalized by Shinji's fists if he didn't find a way to hide! But... it made his heart ache. It all made his heart ache to think of what Shinji was going through. He was going through it too... He loved Kotone too... He approached the door, leaning into it, facing the opposite wall. "... I... I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. But... as you have likely suspected, I am not human." He purses his lips. "I'll let you in if you promise not to beat me up." @Kura [has returnethed]

Not human. Shinji obviously knew something was up with the guy but frankly didn't give half a damn. But the hesitation... there was clearly more to this, and Shinji clearly was not going to like it. A frustrated sound which was part-sigh and part-growl rose from Shinji as he roughly brought his forehead to rest against the door beside his still-clenched fist. "What. Did. He. Mean." It wasn't a question. It was a demand. @Kayla, male thot enemy of state

So, Shinji didn't promise not to beat him up, which meant it was still on the table. Oh, dear... Ryoji was definitely antsy now. He looks over his shoulder, trying to speak clearly into the door. "The moon that always hung over Iwatodai Harbor, over everyone in the dark hour... it was... a goddess, so-to-speak. Her name is Nyx," He looked away, staring at the bed before him. "Nyx... I am a creation of hers. A part of her. I am what is known as Death." He hated this. No, Shinji deserved to know, but Ryoji didn't want to tell him any of this... he wanted to go back to things being easy between them, Ryoji trying to learn how to cook, helping Shinji around the house... "My job was to bring the end of humanity, by beckoning humanity's depression to Nyx's doorstep: A creature called Erebus. Neither Nyx nor Erebus could be killed, and... and..." He hangs his head, closing his eyes. "Kotone gave her life to guard Nyx's inner chamber, so that Erebus may never pass. She's there now... she was the first thing I saw when I woke up... hung up as a Martyr..." He purses his lips, his voice sounding wet. "I'm... so sorry..." @Kura [has returnethed]

Nyx. Death. Erebus. Martyr. This was a lot to take in and Shinji had never wished his life wasn't caught up in all this weird bullshit as much as he did right now. "You... your job..." he faltered as he tried to gather his thoughts. "You fucking... you caused all of that shit..." Then it sank in. Ryoji, the weirdo he'd been living with and had actually become kinda fond of, was the reason Kotone was dead. The only person he ever really gave a shit about other than Aki was dead because of Ryoji. And he'd been hiding this the entire fucking time. Ice spread through Shinji's chest and he felt his legs weaken as a single tear rolled down his cheek. "Y-you're sorry..." his voice was quiet and had a clear tremble. "You're fucking sorry?" Shinji's voice was stronger now and he punctuated the sentence with a hard punch to the door in front of him. "YOU WERE THE CAUSE OF ALL OF THIS, YOU KILLED KOTONE, AND YOU'RE FUCKING SORRY?!" Tears were flowing freely as Shinji glared at the door and continued to punch it, not giving a shit about the blood beginning to weep from his knuckles. He was shrieking more than shouting now, emotions showing strongly through his voice. "YOU'RE THE REASON ONE OF THE ONLY PEOPLE I EVER GAVE A SHIT ABOUT DIED AND YOU KEPT IT HIDDEN THIS WHOLE FUCKING TIME!!!!" A final swing at the door caused a cracking sound; Shinji wasn't sure whether this was from his hand or the now-pummelled wood and he didn't care at this point. Any physical pain he should've been feeling was drowned out by the stabbing of loss and betrayal tearing a hole through his chest. "You... fucking..." Breathing heavily now, he sank to his hands and knees. A final softer headbutt to the bottom of the door was followed by audible sobs as Shinji crumpled himself on the floor, shaking from emotion and adrenaline, thoughts now racing through his mind faster than he could catch. @Kayla, male thot enemy of state