...Mondo, do you think I can do it? Kill Junko...?
Oh, um....you're askin' me? Why?
I figure you would give it to me straight, and I ask Kyouko about this stuff enough as it is. She says she thinks I'll be able to...but I think she means it from a strength-capability view. I mean...can I bring myself to do it?
...no clue.
That so...?
Sorry. Probably ain't the best person to ask these sort's a things about. I know you're the best chance to take down Junko, but...I really dunno if you're gonna follow through when she's in front of you...
All I know is that we've only got a couple 'a hours left before we gotta leave. Then we're fightin' tomorrow. So you got until then to make sure you're gonna do it.
And if it's possible...I'll be there with you to help you out...and if I'm not, Kyouko definitely will. She's got your back better than anyone.
Yeah, she does, doesn't she?
...I'm sorry I never made the time for us to get closer. Before all this.
...too late for that kind a' stuff. Gotta focus on the now...
Pyrrha is the collective blorbo for CRWBY. Died eight years ago but the wound is somehow still fresh enough that every time she shows up via Illusion or Hallucination or just plain wishing she was there it gets us in the heart anew. Every Time!!!
it's something like he'd throw you his flask to take a swig from and watch you drinkin from it while he leant against the door frame and when he- you- finally got called back on again he'd take a sip from it too real slow like- like it weren't the whiskey what he were tryna savour or- or- maybe something like
4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance;
I just think Chuuya deserves to snap for this arc. Crumble under his unaddressed trauma. Be evil for a little while. Make Dazai face some consequences for a change. A little corruption arc, if you will.
ekubo revealing that teru wasn’t being forced to say this + teru’s admiration for mob being so strong it broke him out of his actual brainwashing there’s so much to say abt teru succumbing to a false god in a false likeness of mob only to be saved by his reverence towards mob once again
Because I gotta be selfish right now otherwise I'll regret it. And you'll never know how I feel. After all, we gotta make peace with the fact that I might die tomorrow.
Don't speak like that! Why are you already deciding you'll die?!
It's not like I fucking wanna think that, but Jesus what do you want me to think?! I ain't sayin' I'm going down easily but I'm being realistic!
That's why I'm being unfair to you right now. Because I can't bear the thought that one of us leaves without me ever saying anything.
...I would be lying if I said I didn't feel the same once upon a time. In reality, my feelings might have been as strong as yours.
What...?
But I had to learn to not feel those emotions. Because it was inappropriate given our previous dynamic. Being an employee for the Kuzuryuu Clan - being your head bodyguard and weapon...I told myself it was impossible. A pipe dream that wasn't worth entertaining and one that would get in the way of my duties.
That is why I could never come clean...
And then you met Kirishima...
I did.
And...I didn't have to suppress anything with her. By then I had already quashed my previous feelings. Learned to move on. So, I got to experience what it was like to feel...like a regular teenager.
And that just wasn't possible for us, was it...?
...I sometimes think...in another universe you and I would have found each other.
Yeah. Yeah, I think that's a nice thought. I hope that those two versions of us are getting the life I thought we'd have.
I wish that for them too...
*He stands up* I've kept you long enough. And I've gotta rally all the Kuzuryuu Clan members before everyone ships off.
...listen, despite everything I just said, I want nothing more than you being happy. If you're happy, and we're friends, then I'm all good. So, please, let's keep on as we were.
You're still the most important friend I've got around here.
Yes, it's as you say. You're...my best friend, Fuyuhiko.
Echo curls up in the window seat of the apartment Fox has somehow acquired for them. It’s laden with the ugliest throw pillows known to Coruscant and a few other worlds. It doesn’t matter, each one was carefully chosen by their commander and that makes them the best pillows Echo has ever seen. He’s got a real flimsy book held up with one hand but he hasn’t looked down at the pages since Fox’s arrival.
Fives sidles up to Fox with a happy hum before he takes over unbuckling armor. “Well aren’t you a pretty sight?”
Fox doesn’t rise to the bait or try to slap Five’s hands away. Visible emotions aren’t really their partner’s thing but something flickers across his expression. He looks between Fives and then Echo before looking back at Fives. “Are we dating?”
Of all the questions…
Fives’s immediate reassurance breaks off as he doubles over with the force of his coughing.
That leaves Echo to take over. He half stands before he realizes that maybe Fox wants the space—that their commander wasn’t on the same page after all. Instead he stays put and makes sure he catches Fox’s gaze. “We were under that impression, yes, but if it’s not what you want then nothing needs to change.”
“Oh.” Fox says.
He doesn’t jump to reassure them that he wants them in return but that’s alright. Any immediate answer Fox could give wouldn’t be true. It’s honestly a point of pride that Fox trusts them enough to tell the truth.
Meanwhile, Fives stops dramatically choking on his own spit long enough to go back to helping with Fox’s armor. He isn’t immediately pushed away, so that’s also a good sign.
Echo watches from his window seat and hopes.
There’s not much physical difference between Fox’s blacks and their own, but it still soothes a possessive nerve to see Fox replace his dirty blacks with Echo’s. It’s his favorite set, the one with a little tear down the side mended with a decorative stitch in blue.
Fives scoops up the dirty blacks and scuffed armor to do maintenance on in the other room, shooting Echo a sharp look as he does. That is where he deviates from routine, pausing this time before he kisses Fox’s cheek to give their commander time to pull away.
Fox does no such thing. He leans into the touch, tipping his forehead to rest against Five’s. Then he’s pulling away to drop onto the seat next to Echo. “So if you thought we were dating, I’m guessing you’ve already filed the paperwork?”
That draws Echo up short. Sure he doesn’t abide by the regs as strictly as he used to, but surely he would have known if there was paperwork. “For dating?”
“Mm.” Fox isn’t looking at Echo. “We’re in different battalions. I’m head over the military police force. That’s more than enough to be a conflict of interest.”
“Fuck. We can get it done tonight if you…” Echo breaks off when he catches a telltale amused twitch of Fox’s nose. He shoves their commander with a bright laugh. “You bastard! Who taught you a sense of humor?”
Fox’s lips tip up ever so slightly at the corners in the closest he ever comes to a genuine smile. “I found these parasites in the drunk tank. I think their bad habits are starting to rub off on me.”