Ranam sends a message to everyone saying "If you are trying to find Crypt-kun or myself, we are staying in the house of leaders. -Ranam"

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@miracleofdespair
Ranam sends a message to everyone saying "If you are trying to find Crypt-kun or myself, we are staying in the house of leaders. -Ranam"
Still Not Moving Forward || Taichi || Motive 5 reaction
He wasn't sure exactly when they appeared. Taichi was minding his own damn business, as usual, and working within his space. He didn't actually have a person in mind for this one, so he was just... working. The very beginnings of a knitted beanie, sky blue and navy. Who would he even be compelled to give something to that he hadn't already? No one left to apologize to, no one left he considered a friend, or an acquaintance, even.
Taichi hadn't heard footsteps, or a noticeable entrance of anyone into the store closest to a home he could have. He had no way of noticing someone was there until he heard a voice.
"...."
He jumped, surprised by the unexpected entry. Though, with the familiarity of the voice, he wasn't particularly concerned. He raised his head and smiled awkwardly. Such an expression quickly changed once he saw the additional guest she had procured.
"Erika-san? How did you... find them...? How are they here? Erika-san?"
The five lights spread apart, chittering in words only he could hear.
"..."
He flinched as each of them spoke. This was not how he intended to meet with them again. There was... no way this was real. And the others... It wasn't exactly possible to bring the dead out of the tree, right? This was fake. Erika wouldn't talk like that, either, right?
"... Shit."
He swallowed any other words he could have spilled and dropped his project, passing through and making his way out of the memory's crack.
Motive - The Past Is Never Dead
It’s been about five days since the lights went out on Ryuuya and the light garden. Even now, when you would occasionally head out into the garden during the extended night, everything would go dark for a few moments, before coming back on.
Worrisome.
But on the fifth night, you found that you didn’t need to worry about being left out in the dark.
The purple lights followed you everywhere, outside of the garden and even into the trials. To anyone else, they were just lights. But to you, you saw their true forms, all too familiar to you.
More information under the cut!
Karma Monster || Crypt || Ch 5 Start | Execution Reaction
They had succeeded in one thing, at least.
Gotten a confession.
Not that they needed it. Not really. It felt right, the moment they saw the wound.
Laying there on the floor, though, with arms under their shoulders -- Momoka, of course it was her -- it didn't feel sweet. Everything felt distant. Fuzzy. Cloudy. Momoka hugged them to her and they let her. Every movement hurt, and they couldn't even pull themself together enough to get up and vote.
Not even a drop of that fucker's blood was on their hands.
I thought you wanted to change!
Crypt grits their teeth at Momoka's words, staying silent. They don't look at her. Somehow, in one fell swoop, they failed everyone who mattered to them, either by trying to kill or by failing to. They couldn't win.
They could never win.
There's some debating, some yelling, an invitation to vote for Reiko, but they're only beginning to get their head cleared by the time it's over.
Of course everyone was right and it was Ryuuya. Once the memories, the things they don't want to see are gone, they finally pull away from Momoka a little to push themself up to sit. Does anything physically even hurt anymore? They're sure it does, or will, but they feel.... numb. Numb except for an ache in their chest and a tingling in their fingertips, but they should feel so much more.
They try to block out the conversation between Ryuuya and Reiko, try to ignore how every word makes them feel sick. There's no stinging in their eyes, no lump in their throat; there's just anger. Anger and the knowledge that they had failed. They had failed everyone.
But of course, his death wasn't the kind of pain they wanted him to feel. It was slow, but there wasn't blood. Screaming. Tears and tearing and trying to struggle away. (They picture it, for a moment, how it would have felt to kill him with their own two hands.) The image won't leave. Instead there's just darkness, grass underfoot again, they barely spot his corpse dissolving. They can still feel it under their hands and they reach up to grasp their head. Tightly. Tightly. Only now do they realize that they're trembling, there's a burning pain in their back, throbbing in their stomach from that goddamned wound that still isn't healing and it's black. They know it's black. It's been so long since they had seen it any other way.
It takes them awhile to be able to pull themself, staggeringly, to their feet. Longer to make it to the House of Rest. They don't speak to anyone. The darkness feels almost suffocating.
"Istari and Zertro... Why did the path to the Opera disappeared?"
Doesn’t matter why.
Chapter 5 Start - New Areas
Click here to view the maps page.
The paths to certain memory zones have disappeared. Nights are now longer.
Chapter 4 End - Dark Dealings
Once the execution ends, it’s not long until you’re warped back to the Light Garden. It’s still nighttime, it looks like, and…
...why is it so dark? Even when trials ended in the middle of the night before, you could still see around the garden just fine. Now you can just barely make out Ryuuya’s body in the branches of the tree, turning to dust like the rest of them, but…
Suddenly, like someone flipped a switch or something, the lights come back on. As in, the little firefly-like lights you’ve all become familiar with by now.
Since when could they turn off?
Execution - May I Have This Dance?
When Ryuuya Okamura opened his eyes, the first thing to catch his eye was the swarm of… people.
...people?
He was… pretty sure they were people.
Though, one couldn’t blame him -- yes, they were humanoid in shape, but you couldn’t really discern any noticeable features on them. Just a horde of silhouettes, mere husks of humans. A scan of the area gave away the location, a large dance hall lit with a series of large chandeliers and decked out in fanciful decor that made the dancer scoff. This wasn’t his thing, it seemed, or perhaps just a touch obnoxious for where he was supposed to die, but so be it.
Ryuuya took a step back, looking over the crowd. It appeared a touch too… densely packed, leaving no clear path through them. The only way out was to go around, and Ryuuya started taking a few steps around the mass, but it didn’t take long for it to go long.
A hand from the crowd grabbed him by the arm. The music kicked up, and he was dragged in.
Inside the crowd was alarmingly hectic - it was less dance and more swinging each other around. Ryuuya was slammed repeatedly into one member of this crowd after another, their own wild movements doing nothing to soften the blow. He’d been struck to the ground, and it took him a while of getting kicked around to get back up on his feet.
As the dancer slowly pushed through the crowd, the music steadily grew louder, the chaos in the room more chaotic. The room shook, and one of the chandeliers crashed to the ground just outside of the crowd. It only seemed to lead to things growing worse, the mob only growing more wild, more of the chandeliers dropping to the ground, shattered glass coating the floor.
Only Ryuuya seemed to take notice, and was in more of a hurry to escape, but the mass of “people” only thrashed about more ferociously. By the time Ryuuya had finally managed to separate himself from them, he’d almost immediately collapsed, bruised and bleeding on the floor, but not yet dead-- he seemed to be at first, but after a few moments of struggling to stand, he finally pulled himself to his feet and slowly trudged out--
but something had stopped him.
There were two key differences between the figure before Ryuuya and the ones behind him. Firstly, they stood near perfectly still, unfazed by the chaos surrounding them. The second, while noticeable from the back, became more apparent as they turned around to face him:
There was a concerning resemblance to the boy Ryuuya had killed.
He barely has any time to react before he’s grabbed by the hand just once more, the music roared, and the dancer is swung hard into the wall. He barely had time to react as his legs gave out beneath him, no time to even look up before the last chandelier on the ceiling dropped on top of him.
He doesn’t have the mercy of a quick death. He feebly reached out, trying to drag himself out, but it was no use. Slowly, he stopped moving, arms going limp, as the unaware mob danced on without him.
RYUUYA OKAMURA, SHSL SWING DANCER, HAS BEEN EXECUTED.
[art by Chula!]
...And Gosh, They Paid The Price! / ryuuya + reiko / trial end
Ryuuya Okamura could remember it well, the way it felt in the house when it was just him and his mother. When two tremendous tragedies had rocked the household, one so soon after the other…
He never once imagined that he would have caused their biggest one yet, just a few years down the line.
The dancer eyed the podium where his sibling stood-- if not for the radio silence from his peers, her request for them to vote for her would have worried him more. Not that it wasn’t worrying, but the fact that no one made any move to harm her afterwards was… assuring. Didn’t do much of anything for his fear of what was to come for him, nor that sharp pang of regret as that edgy fucklord hosting this disaster game announced that they were correct, but win some lose some, he supposed. Reiko Okamura was safe, he’d done his part as her (barely) older brother…
...he wouldn’t be able to do that anymore, would he? He was leaving her here, with all these…
...his hands trembled, and with a few moments to pause and think, Ryuuya made his way around the circle over to Reiko’s podium, trying to subtly sneak by so as to not startle anyone who’d wanted him dead. Please let him be, he just wanted some time with his sister in peace before his time was up.
Eventually, he stopped at her podium, hands in his pockets. It took him a few moments to speak, and he struggled to look her in the eye.
“...heh. Uh… fucked it up real bad this time, didn’t I?”
…
“...’m sorry, Reiko.”
***
She tried.
That was a lie. The other Okamura couldn’t even say she made an effort. If she really tried, Ryuuya wouldn’t have been voted, she would have saved him, he’d be walking out of here alive. There were so, so many things she would have thought of if the culprit was literally anybody else in the room. She could have kept her composure. The very suggestion of her brother killing someone, her vague fears she was sure were unfounded that history would repeat, like Cain and Abel, except the victim here was her perception on the world, on the others in the courtroom.
It really wasn’t the hand of fate guiding her. Unless it enjoyed crushing her time and time again. Unless its mind worked in ways alien, unknown even to her. Reiko was tired of trying to understand, tired of putting her trust in others only to have it shattered. Above all, she was tired of herself, tired of how trying to make things right somehow always resulted in even bigger tragedies.
Then, it was Ryuuya approaching her. She wasn’t even the one to initiate, and as he drew closer, her gaze instinctively averted for a few moments before rising to meet his. One shaking hand reached up to brush hair aside as her one working eye met his.
And in that moment, Reiko realized her mistake as her thoughts slogged to a crawl, frozen in the amber of time.
She couldn’t rely on cruel Fate to do the saving.
She had to do something herself.
And it was too late.
“...Bro.”
The one word that came from her mouth was numb, weary. A nickname she had used so many times before, in love, in jest, in teasing was the way she addressed Ryuuya at the beginning of the end. There was a lifetime of things she wanted to say, a lifetime that for the past 17 years, she regretted in that moment not speaking up more. Personal tragedy was never something she thought she’d experience since relationships were born and blazed and died as quickly as they came. She never thought she’d be leaving the room without her partner in crime.
The few minutes allotted before he’d be dragged off were far too few to say what she wanted to. All the promises, the teary farewells. No, Reiko had to use her words wisely.
For once, her mind drew a blank.
“...Ryuuya… I’m the one who should be sorry.”
She averted her eyes briefly.
“I… never thought it’d come to this. That you’d have to see your sister like… like that. I couldn’t have imagined… that you would have… but it’s still you. You were hurt, weren’t you.”
Wavering and cracking as the sentence neared its end, Reiko swallowed painfully before continuing.
“But this isn’t… about me. I… I’m not scared of what lies beyond, but you… it should pass quickly. The pain.”
That was the advice she decided to give? On dying?
“...Sorry. I don’t know how much time he’ll give us, and I just… wanted to offer reassurance. Man, I’m shit at that, aren’t I. Listen to me talk now, tcha.”
She trailed off. Seems like she didn’t have much else to say at the moment… either that, or adding more on was unbearable.
***
Ryuuya shifted on his feet as he listened to Reiko speak. The guilt only weighed on him heavier, not that it wasn’t already even before he reached this point. He shut his eyes and took a breath, trying not to cry again. He didn’t need to, now, he didn’t need to make her feel any worse.
The little bit of death advice managed to get a short laugh from Ryuuya, mostly because it was far from what he expected to hear. He wasn’t too sure how assuring it was in the long haul, but he definitely appreciated the thought. A small, weary smile crossed his face.
“I did somethin’ real bad, Reiko. I understand folks gettin’ mad at me… I appreciate the advice, though, definitely… g-gonna be needin’ it, heheh...”
Another deep breath, another period of silence. He brought his hands out of his pockets slowly, feeling them shaking, and turns his head to properly face his sibling. In spite of his best wishes, he could feel tears well up almost immediately.
He’d be leaving her behind, and after what happened way back with Hiroko… he didn’t think he’d forgive himself for that.
“...ya were always the smart one, y’know that, Sis? Don’t doubt that you’ll figure all this out and get outta here. Ya deserve it…”
He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.
“Listen, I ain’t… any good at all that, like… reassuring junk, either, so don’t sweat it. Just, like…”
He sighed, somewhat exasperated. He really wasn’t good at this, was he? Ryuuya looked off to the side again for a few moments, thinking, before turning back to his sister. He rested his hand on the brim of his hat for a few moments, before lightly removing it from his head and reaching up to set it on hers.
Half of him expected some sort of teasing remark, how he’s awful small for the big brother or something along those lines, but now…
“It’s kinda, like… cliche, and I dunno… if I believe in ghosts and all that… but you do, I think? Or something like that? So, like… I’ll always be here with ya, even if not… here here. I’ll always be rootin’ ya on, so don’t forget that...! You can… you can get through this. I know ya can.”
He offered a smile, but trying for anything past that small, sad one he’d started with was too much-- he’d found himself in tears again before he could stop himself.
(he could put on all the bravado he wanted, acted as brave as he wanted, but in the end--)
Ryuuya reached forward and pulled Reiko in for a hug. He wasn’t sure if it was to hide the tears or what-- with the way he shook, it probably wasn’t.
“...’ll always love ya, a-alright Reiko? You can do it…”
(he didn’t want to die. he really really didn’t want to die)
***
Reiko didn’t know what was worse. The anger the others displayed, the wishes from them that her brother was better off dead, the inevitable vengeance so long as Ryuuya was in close proximity to the others and their loved ones. But Ryuuya was hers, as much as she yelled at him, as bitter as her words came. The anthropologist knew that it was Morton’s Fork - the same bad outcome would result no matter what. And if she sacrificed herself?
It would be in vain.
And she hated that beyond all description.
Shame continued to weight heavy on her, pressing down on her back and into the very core of her being. What would likely be- no, were her last few moments (for now) with her brother, she wasted by giving him advice on how to die. But she wasn’t him. She couldn’t have possibly articulated it into words, except… well, it wasn’t so bad when it was all over.
Then why was she still sad?
“...We all did. Ryuuya… you… none of them, none of you deserve this. I… I realize that. I thought it would never happen to you, but… but I couldn’t do enough. I’m sorry, I’m… I’m so, so sorry.”
Her voice came as a breathy whisper to the end of her apology, as if she was on the losing side of the battle against tears spilling freely and hampering her ability to talk. Reiko couldn’t have that, not here, not now. Drawing her shawl tighter around her bony shoulders, the fleeting thought that she had come dressed for the occasion passed through her mind - like an unintentional mourner of some sort attending a wake.
Every word Ryuuya said caused the shooting pain in her chest to grow stronger, until a hand reached up to clutch at the fabric of her dress.
“...How can you… be so articulate at a time like this. How can you find the words to… gh. How can you tell me not to worry! You’re going to die, you’re going to…”
A violent shudder rocked Reiko’s body, and hot tears finally spilled out her left eye as Ryuuya placed his hat on top of her head. Automatically, she reached up to take it off and hold it to her chest, an object that should have protected him, that could have protected him if she would have been smarter, quicker-
“...There’s ghosts. But that scares me more, you know, what if they… what if they hurt you. I’d… I’d say to look after yourself, but… f… fool. I won’t be there all the time to watch over you either, so… you’ll…”
The thoughts flashing through her mind - of going to the tree, of interacting however indirectly with her brother as a ghost caused a round of violent sobs to wrack her body and render her speechless as she held her forearm up to her face.
“...don’t discount yourself, Ryuuya. I’m… I always looked up to you. Motivated me to… get my own talent. Even felt a bit envious when we were younger, you rising up the ranks and all… and me doing what? Being a nerd in my room. Tcha. I remember when we used to converse in that room, no matter what it was about. I… I thought I had everything. I thought I wouldn’t have any regrets, but… that’s obviously not the case.”
She let out a weak laugh.
“I never told you how proud I was of you, for one. How proud I was… and am to call you my brother. I never…”
Reiko swallowed.
“Told you that I love you enough. So… I love you, big lil’ bro Ryuuya. Heh… hehehe…. ahh…”
There she went, dissolving into tears again. When the second wave of crying passed, she looked back up at him.
“...I wanted to get out of here with you. I… I don’t know what I’ll do without you. Please… please don’t leave me, I…”
And then she was being embraced, and she returned it with every bit of strength in her body. She thought she was strong, if not physically, but mentally, but…
But…
“I don’t know what I’ll do without you, Ryuuya. I… I love you too, and I always have. I don’t want… our last moments like this to be bitter. I don’t want…”
She managed to choke out one last thing.
“I don’t want you to go.”
And in that moment, perhaps she could have believed that if she thought long enough, that if she held onto him long enough, that they would wake up together in their house, in Hope’s Peak, instead of this twisted nightmarish realm that oh-so-delicately unfolded, petal by petal, and showed its true brutality.
She couldn’t do anything about it.
Ryuuya Okamura would die, and she couldn’t do anything about it.
(Couldn’t, or shouldn’t?)
(She didn’t want him to go. She didn’t want him to go.)
***
Ryuuya could feel himself freeze up at the last handful of words Reiko had said, and before he knew it he’d all but broken into sobs himself. He clung to her just as hard, desperately trying to calm down. He was supposed to have it all together, but now…?
He could barely speak for a while, only having a brief moment to hiss out a low, whispery,
“I don’t want… t-to go either…”
...before breaking into sobs again.
It took a while to calm himself down-- it was hardly even calm, really, just exhaustion. You could only really cry for so long… even afterwards, he was reluctant to let go. He was afraid to let go.
(he really didn’t want to go)
“...mm… well… guess if ghost stuff… is around here… maybe this isn’t… so much as goodbye, as it is… see ya later? Somethin’ like that…? Heh...”
A part of him doubted it’d be that simple, but he could hope. However little he may have had left, he could hope.
Reiko nodded through tears, though her grip only grew tighter. At least she was too weak to enable the possibility of pre-emptive ghosthood.
“...Right. See you later, Ryuuya. Until we meet again, whenever that is.”
...But that didn’t make this parting any less painful.
Trial End - Resolution
Well, yeah, you’re correct. Obviously. Sucks to be a certain someone here, riiiiiiiight?
He grins at Reiko.
Welp, guess he’s just gonna be dead now. Talk shit as much as you want, I’ll be preparing the execution in the meanwhile.
Trial - Hesitation
Hmph. Well, you know how it goes by now. Come on, kid. The answer is obvious, but you might as well make yourself useful for once.
…
Ouch. Istari takes a long, deep breath, and the memory comes up.
Trial - Vote Results
Calculating votes…
Ryuuya Okamura: 5
Reiko Okamura: 1
Defaulted: 6
RYUUYA OKAMURA HAS BEEN VOTED GUILTY.
Zentaro quietly votes for Ryuuya
Regretful Reiko votes for herself.
Bad Times New Roman || Reiko || Trial 4.3 || [Attn: Everyone]
As she was cautious, she perceived her brother to be impulsive. Her a force that tried keeping him anchored, but... who had comforted her when all of that went down? Who had found his own place in the world while she lagged behind, her mind dark, swirling with all sorts of awful thoughts? Who had extended a hand through the darkness, supported her through those 17 years, as much as they teased and bullied one another?
No, she was the impulsive one. Nothing scratched out the 17 years that they were siblings - laughed together, talked together, shared their hopes and dreams and deepest fears. A cold sensation, darker and more bitter than anything she had ever felt before welled up in her chest after she returned to her podium from her small trip over to Crypt, watching them carefully to see if they might be a threat.
And she... she had voted for her brother. Treated him like a monster. Allowed her morality to grip her in its claws, so selfish was she to maintain her spotless, untouchable image. Reiko Okamura was just as human as the rest of them, as Ryuuya, as Yoshiki, as Crypt-
And she... she had allowed her rage to get the better of her. Curse her inability to control her emotions! At that moment, the one thing Reiko knew, the one truth that was un-ignorable above all was that...
She felt guilt. Hot, piercing, like every literary description she had ever read. Her brother was condemned by her own word, and that was the most grievous crime she could think of. Moreso than any murder, than any taking of life she could think of. And he... he had hopes and dreams and a life ahead of him. What did she have? What would she be left with?
There was a choice to make, she knew. Leaning over, her hair draping over her eyes, Reiko took in a deep breath, held back the tears, and slammed her fist on her podium.
"No."
She ignored the sting. It couldn't hurt worse than how her heart felt at that moment, an acute ache she hadn't perceived since the night Hiroko was taken away from her.
"No.... Ryuuya, I... I..."
How quickly she changed her tune when actual human emotions came into the picture. Selfish. She was selfish, and at no time was that clearer than when she had to confront the reality that it was her brother she attacked in that way.
"...I can't think of the words to apologize. Instead... please... to all of you, I know... I let my emotions get the better of myself there. I know I was... I was angry, I know how sudden this might seem but... he is still my brother."
The anthropologist glanced up, eye red and tears threatening to spill forth.
"...Take me instead. Please don't kill him. If you... if you have any respect for myself and my wishes, I... Living with the knowledge that he is not there would be a worse agony than anything I could imagine. Having to go on without him... If you have any mercy, please..."
A shudder convulsed her body.
"Vote for me. Benimaru-san... Ranam-san, all of you, that is my wish. I have had time to think on it... I do not fear death, as I've mentioned prior. My brother, he has a lot to live for, he has so much, he has... he has to look after my family. He was always the one to do that... I know he... he is a murderer. I know how angry you are... how angry you will be. But he is... we all are teenagers pushed into a... situation beyond our comprehension."
She gripped her podium, knuckles paling.
"And this is my mistake. I... I didn't look out for him enough. I failed in my job as a sister. Do not let him... die for my mistake."
Her final words came softer than anything so far.
"Let me at least make one thing right."
im on the wrong account but. ryuuya defaults
i've been hellbent, baby / ryuuya / trial (re: im so fuckin sad)
In all honesty, Ryuuya didn't know what he expected.
He pulled himself back up to his feet as chaos simmered down. He heard his sister's voice, and it took him everything not to sink back to the floor in tears. She had all his attention, everything she said, every single word-- everything and everyone else in the trial room felt like little more than background noise, than television static. He could understand her being angry, he could understand all of them being angry, honestly, truly, but in that moment as it felt that the entire courtroom was turned against him...
(he was so fucking stupid for thinking he could've gotten out alive)
"..."
He almost missed Ranam, ready to go for him next, ready to be the second person to attempt to attack him that day. A distant part of him felt terrified, but in the moment he just felt... numb, almost. The fear was entirely dulled away, and in its place he... laughed? Maybe? The boy was doubled over at his podium, clutching his hat in his hands as he...
It was amazing how hysterical laughter and hysterical sobbing could sound so similar, and it was incredibly hard to tell which one Ryuuya was doing.
He didn't speak up until his laughing? crying? fit died down, the dancer staring down at his podium. He couldn't look any of them in the eye, not now, not after all this. He heard Daniele address him, and decided to respond to him first-- especially with the last thing he said being... a bit worrying.
"No, no, I killed Shinohara. Reiko didn't do it, and I'm not sayin' any of this to cover for her. I've... ugh, I've... I've been terrified of this... a-all of this, this whole time, the motive just kinda... escalated it? Real bad? Y'know, knowing that some of yall have done some, uh... wild shit, to say the least, haah... I didn't trust Shinohara not to kill again and try to leave us all to die here. That's why I went for him."
He dragged a hand down his face. He hated admitting to all of this, having to swallow whatever pieces were left of his pride, but when he only had so much longer left to live did it even really matter?
"I know what happens when ya get caught, kinda hopin I... y'know, wouldn't. Knew there wasn't... anythin' pointin' to Reiko, other than circumstantial 'she didn't like him' stuff rather than, like, actual proof, so that was enough for me. She didn't have anything to do with any of this, alright? So don't..."
He clenched and unclenched his fists a few times. He hated the idea that she'd get dragged into this mess anyway, no matter how much he didn't want that.
"...don't hurt her. Don't-- don't vote... for her, she didn't... please-- please, don't hurt my sister. Know it's... a real hefty ask, after the shit I pulled, but she doesn't... deserve it. I'm not... I'm not gonna be... a-around anymore... s-so I don't want... nothing happening to her... th-that I can't do anything about, y'know...?
Mean, not that I'll... b-be around to see it regardless, ah? H-Heh..."
He wiped at his face with his sleeve, head still lowered. Much as he had to say, he didn't have the nerve to look most of these people in the face.
"Usahara, I... I owe you and Crypt all the apologies in the world. Doubt either of you'll be satisfied 'til ya see me dead, not gonna start beggin' for ya to forgive me, god knows I never would if ya hurt Sis. Just... don't think I haven't realized what I did to ya'll, or that I don't feel like shit for it. 'm stupid, but I'd like to think I'm not heartless."
He rubbed as hit eyes again and set his hat on his head once more, pulling it down slightly - it wouldn't do much to cover that tear-stained face of his, really, but it was worth the effort.
He lifted his head and peered towards Reiko.
(he let the relationship with the person he cared about most absolutely fall apart, he betrayed the person he grew up with, spent seventeen years of his life with, and he could never, would never, forgive himself for that)
"...couldn't do anything for ya then, and I can't do anything for ya now. 'm sorry you got stuck with such a shithead brother, heheh.
I didn't expect you to take the fall. I didn't want you to, I didn't plan for ya to get involved at all. I know you might not... care... anymore, 'bout me or anything... but I still care about ya. Please... please, please stay safe, please get through this, it'd kill me twice over if somethin' else happened to ya."
He rubbed the back of his neck. Never any good at any of this... serious comforting talk, something he was starting to regret in what had turned out to be the last minutes of his life.
"This probably... doesn't mean much to ya, not now. But... I still love ya, always will, however this turns out, and I'm sorry for doing all this to ya. Please... please stay safe, and get outta here, and... tell Ma and Pops that I ain't comin' home, and that I'm sorry."
With a trembling hand, he set his vote and fell silent.
(dull fear was still fear, numb pain was still pain. ryuuya okamura was going to die surrounded by strangers who hated his guts and a sister whose trust his actions tore to shreds, and the idea of her hating him for this too...)
(that hurt a million times more than whatever was going to happen to him next)