❛ ...hey, you okay ? ❜
he can tell the youngster's nervous ; hell, he had been terrified on his first day, and still was years later.
❛ ------- 'cmere . ❜
a steady hand places itself on his brother's shoulder, gently drawing him closer to his side in silent reassurance. dark brows furrow and digits absentmindedly comb through messy hair as tadashi takes in his surroundings ; the newly-set stage, anxious crowds of tearful families clinging to each other for support, armed soldiers standing around the perimeter to stop runaways, cameras and tvs maliciously glinting in the sunlight...
it's the day all loathe -- the r e a p i n g.
& it's a day that tadashi especially fears, for it's the only thing that could hinder the promise he had made to his parents and brother years ago . . .
'i'll always be there. i won't let anything happen. '
but if he was c h o s e n--he couldn't do that, could he? there was no way he'd be able to protect hiro m i l e s away, forced into a bloodbath where only one out of twenty four emerged as a victor...
a glance down at hiro softens his suddenly hardened features, and an elbow gently nudges his side in an attempt to lighten the mood.
❛ it'll be over before you know it. promise. just don't think about it too much. do what you do best - let that brain of yours wander for a bit. don't pay them any attention. ❜
fingers teasingly tap the top of his head, and tadashi offers him a small smile,
❛ that's the one thing they can't take from you. remember that, b o n e h e a d. those're the last ( words of wisdom ) that you're getting out of me for the rest of the year.
--- i'm spent, thanks to you. ❜
