Blackened Bones
Jun. 30th, 2024 01:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerMain Points:
Persona 2/Persona 4 crossover (Broken Hero) Second Person (Souji POV)
Chapter Summary: Yosuke has an observation.
Word Count: 680
Rating: Teen
Warning: mostly related to Yosuke's and Tatsuya's self-esteem
You cast a worried glance at Kashihara-san, who’s looking a little distant. Lost and hurt, maybe. He doesn’t seem to have taken that personally, but that was still very inappropriate. “You knock it off, Yosuke,” is what you settle on, and he turns to you with a wounded expression, opening his mouth before actually managing to read the room and glancing at everyone else. He shrinks a little at Yukiko’s icy expression, but he does look a little thoughtful.
“None of you took that the way I meant, huh.” He sounds kind of mature like this. The glasses probably help. There’s still a bit of deference, a bit of hero-worship toward you that you’re kind of uncomfortable with, but it’s moments like these where he reminds you you can actually count on him, sometimes, when he’s not waving swords around in public. He reaches a hand up to rest on his headphones. “Look, it’s just...I thought my Shadow hated me. And he did. Part of me still does. But it wasn’t this.” He sweeps his hand outward, indicating the whole dungeon.
It’s a surprise. Most of the time, he likes to pretend his own Shadow doesn’t exist. But that’s actually pretty insightful, too.
Everyone else seems pretty surprised, too, because no one says another word, and he smiles, though there’s pain behind that smile. “I’m just saying, we were all hurt enough by what shit our Shadows said and what humiliating crap they showed. Ours didn’t insist on ruthlessly listing every single thing wrong with us or putting on this...display. And I asked around—nobody at school’s seeing any of this, and after Yukiko-chan everybody’s taken to watching the Midnight Channel, meaning this? This is all for us. Mostly you, Kashihara-san, but maybe trying to warn the rest of us, too. Scare us off, maybe. He wanted to do all of this alone, right? Would his Shadow follow through on that lone hero bullshit?”
It takes Kashihara-san a moment, voice a little hoarse, but he nods definitively. “After more than a decade of doing so, yes, absolutely.”
Yosuke frowns, tapping his foot to a song he’s imagining. “And I guess I’m a little scared. Sure, we took those breaks, and we needed ‘em, but even then, these Shadows are still stronger than anything we’ve fought before, and they keep kicking our asses.”
“We can leave you at the entrance,” you snap, partly because Yosuke’s putting words to things you really didn’t want to think about, and partly because you’re concerned this is about the park scene, and his response is immediate.
“Hell no!” He smiles at you, determined and fierce, tossing his kunai like he’s been doing it all his life. “Just wanted to get that out there. I hate this because we all really deserve our privacy but any weirdo out there with a TV can get a sneak peek of us at our worst. I get the feeling it’s going to be harder from here, and sure, I’m scared, but I’m not backing out now. And I feel bad for Suou-san, because it sucked for me, but this seems worse.”
Yukiko seemingly speaks for all of you when she replies, “I didn’t know you cared, Yosuke.” Though she could stand to have a little more tact, too.
“Of course I do!” He’s probably about to go on another rant, but simmers down when Kashihara-san stands gracefully.
“Thank you, Hanamura-kun.” Weirdly enough, from a glance, you’re all feeling a little more fired up, despite all the doom and gloom.
“Haaah! Let’s do this!” Even Chie’s fully into it, now, although you wince a little as her high kick nearly messes up her balance.
“The nose knows!” Teddie announces, probably because he’s feeling a little left out, since he doesn’t try to act as the guide or rush off or anything.
You just nod, and Yosuke nods back, grin firmly intact. “We got this, Partner.”
Persona 2/Persona 4 crossover (Broken Hero) Second Person (Souji POV)
Chapter Summary: Yosuke has an observation.
Word Count: 680
Rating: Teen
Warning: mostly related to Yosuke's and Tatsuya's self-esteem
“Ugh, I wish we were done with all of this already,” Yosuke whines, spluttering as Chie kicks him from the side. “Chie, knock it off!”
You cast a worried glance at Kashihara-san, who’s looking a little distant. Lost and hurt, maybe. He doesn’t seem to have taken that personally, but that was still very inappropriate. “You knock it off, Yosuke,” is what you settle on, and he turns to you with a wounded expression, opening his mouth before actually managing to read the room and glancing at everyone else. He shrinks a little at Yukiko’s icy expression, but he does look a little thoughtful.
“None of you took that the way I meant, huh.” He sounds kind of mature like this. The glasses probably help. There’s still a bit of deference, a bit of hero-worship toward you that you’re kind of uncomfortable with, but it’s moments like these where he reminds you you can actually count on him, sometimes, when he’s not waving swords around in public. He reaches a hand up to rest on his headphones. “Look, it’s just...I thought my Shadow hated me. And he did. Part of me still does. But it wasn’t this.” He sweeps his hand outward, indicating the whole dungeon.
It’s a surprise. Most of the time, he likes to pretend his own Shadow doesn’t exist. But that’s actually pretty insightful, too.
Everyone else seems pretty surprised, too, because no one says another word, and he smiles, though there’s pain behind that smile. “I’m just saying, we were all hurt enough by what shit our Shadows said and what humiliating crap they showed. Ours didn’t insist on ruthlessly listing every single thing wrong with us or putting on this...display. And I asked around—nobody at school’s seeing any of this, and after Yukiko-chan everybody’s taken to watching the Midnight Channel, meaning this? This is all for us. Mostly you, Kashihara-san, but maybe trying to warn the rest of us, too. Scare us off, maybe. He wanted to do all of this alone, right? Would his Shadow follow through on that lone hero bullshit?”
It takes Kashihara-san a moment, voice a little hoarse, but he nods definitively. “After more than a decade of doing so, yes, absolutely.”
Yosuke frowns, tapping his foot to a song he’s imagining. “And I guess I’m a little scared. Sure, we took those breaks, and we needed ‘em, but even then, these Shadows are still stronger than anything we’ve fought before, and they keep kicking our asses.”
“We can leave you at the entrance,” you snap, partly because Yosuke’s putting words to things you really didn’t want to think about, and partly because you’re concerned this is about the park scene, and his response is immediate.
“Hell no!” He smiles at you, determined and fierce, tossing his kunai like he’s been doing it all his life. “Just wanted to get that out there. I hate this because we all really deserve our privacy but any weirdo out there with a TV can get a sneak peek of us at our worst. I get the feeling it’s going to be harder from here, and sure, I’m scared, but I’m not backing out now. And I feel bad for Suou-san, because it sucked for me, but this seems worse.”
Yukiko seemingly speaks for all of you when she replies, “I didn’t know you cared, Yosuke.” Though she could stand to have a little more tact, too.
“Of course I do!” He’s probably about to go on another rant, but simmers down when Kashihara-san stands gracefully.
“Thank you, Hanamura-kun.” Weirdly enough, from a glance, you’re all feeling a little more fired up, despite all the doom and gloom.
“Haaah! Let’s do this!” Even Chie’s fully into it, now, although you wince a little as her high kick nearly messes up her balance.
“The nose knows!” Teddie announces, probably because he’s feeling a little left out, since he doesn’t try to act as the guide or rush off or anything.
You just nod, and Yosuke nods back, grin firmly intact. “We got this, Partner.”
