“W-what are you doing?! Stay back!”
Panic flared up in his voice. Raiden slammed himself against the wall, pushing for a way out that just didn't exist.
“I could kill you, Rose! Stop!”
He had done it once before. He had nearly done it again. Why the hell was she coming closer? Why was she crawling to her own demise? He wouldn’t be able to stop himself again; the closer she got, the easier it would be to do it. He grit his teeth and felt his whole body tremble in fear and frustration. He shut his eyes tightly, foolishly hoping she would stop when his vision of her ceased.
In that moment, his long-buried desire to protect her resurfaced. This was not a shout made in self-loathing, but one made in a desperate desire to assure her safety. The feeling had snuck up upon him, completely undetected. It had even managed to bypass his self-loathing, which would have shot it down on site. And here it was now, facing down Raiden, forcing him to see the truth.
What he felt towards Rose never truly went away. It was here, and it always would be.
He accepted this and opened his eyes and let them fall upon her. There seemed to be a new kind of clarity in them, a nostalgic lustre that hadn’t been seen in years. He exhaled slowly and breathed out the tension in his form.
Moving just as slowly now as she had been before, Raiden removed himself from the wall he had pressed himself up against. One hand propped his body up, and one hand was beginning to stretch out towards Rose. He tried to lead with his palm, as if leading with his fingers was more of a threat (they were.) Raiden froze when his hand was about a foot out from his head. He couldn’t for the life of him move any closer. He once again felt a loss in control of his own body, but some part of him knew this was different. He couldn’t move, but he could stare at her and actually look at her for the first time in years.
