The decision has been made. LILITH Japan orders the Outsiders to mobilize to pursue the Imugi.
Given that they are in a foreign country, they are largely dependent on LILITH Koreaβs resources. In response to the decision, the Korean branch provides some assistance: the Outsiders are given just enough vehicles to help transport them, essential supplies, and only a few operatives to help guide them. This is the most the Korean branch is able to give, as they must focus on relocating people and restoring peace following the attack.
LILITH announces that the Imugi is currently resting near Gangneung on the east coast and they must move quickly. The effects of Rift poisoning will grow stronger as they approach the source; a sign that they are close to a kaiju. Upon reaching the mountains just outside the city, LILITH informs them that they are right on top of its location.
However, there is no Imugi to be found. After searching the area, Outsiders will discover the source of the trace and the poisoning: eggs. They will find about twelve eggs. When they report their findings, Seokdang will curse. In their rush, they had followed the wrong trace. They didnβt track down an injured and resting Imugi—they tracked down the Imugiβs nest. So where is the Imugi?
Not long after, Outsiders will receive an update on their implants: the Imugi reappeared in Seoul. After seeing the corpse of its mate, it went berserk and attacked the city again. While many of the citizens were evacuated to nearby Incheon and remaining shelters, just as many perished, with the death toll at 168,000 and rising. LILITHβs Korean base is destroyed.
The Imugi was last seen flying north, but the Korean government prohibits the Outsiders from pursuing it again through their territory. By choosing to pursue the kaiju, the Outsiders have abandoned humanity and thus will receive no further support. They are ordered to leave the country immediately.
LILITH Japan will order them to collect as many eggs as possible and continue to the abandoned city of Gangneung, where they will arrange pick up and return to base in Tokyo.
βΆ AFTERWORD.
Thanks everyone for participating in our first major Event Decision! We hope you had fun discussing what to do both ICly and OOCly.
After failing to capture the second Imugi and also failing to save a large portion of Seoul's population, characters will be shipped back to Japan. The events of the TDM will springboard from there. Feel free to use this post to thread out any aftermath threads if you would like.
All tags on this log are worth 2 points and will count towards August AC.
[Even now, his mind tries to prove why he wasn't wrong, why they weren't wrong. The data they had, the information, the risk, all of it pointed to the best choice being pursuit. Eliminate the threat before it came back. And it DID come back, just as they rationalized-- proving the entire reason why they went after it --only they weren't there because someone else gave them wrong data! Yet no matter how many times he thinks it over, it doesn't change the weight on his shoulders or the drop in his gut.
They failed. They won the battle, but failed to win the war in Seoul. They failed the battle in Vegas, but won the war. Though in the gloom of the current moment, Katsuki remembers the destruction that battle wrought on the city, once again tearing into him over the severity of not taking the worm out before. When it was away from people. How the hell are they not supposed to buckle from these losses? Part of him remains bitter, spitefully wanting to show them exactly what "abandonment" really means. But his heart refuses to betray what it means to be a hero. Even if the path is painful and hard right now.
Katsuki knows Raidou's not good with expressing his emotions, and both of them know it's not easy for Katsuki either. Minus his usual aggressive personality. Showing someone he's hurting, revealing his vulnerability... Raidou's silence is better right now. It leaves Katsuki free to wrestle with his mind, but not alone and lost in his own misery.
A shoulder bumps against his own and Katsuki feels himself give slightly. Heat bubbles under his lower lid, burning his eyes as they scrunch in desperate attempt to keep everything inside. Before closing them completely, tight and hot as the tears come. Frustration, sorrow, anger, hurt, homesick, worry, Leaning against Raidou, those gates break open in the silent comfort of his friend. He's not alone, he's not lost.
Someone like Raidou would understand more than most just what kind of feelings course through right now. Given a responsibility to keep others safe, knowing their lives are in your hands if you don't. They were trusted to be heroes.
[He wants to remain as a rock, steadfast and unmoved, but it's nearly impossible in the face of his friend breaking apart. Raidou's breath simply quickens, breathing from his nose as he keeps it together. But, he gently reaches behind them with an arm to guide Katsuki's head to his shoulder, softly resting his own head against his.]
Go ahead. It's okay.
[It's okay to let it out, here in the safety of his room. With Raidou, a vault who will keep those feeling secure. His own eyes are squeezed shut, his other hand a tight fist on his lap. The only way his emotions ever leak out is with anger, often in the fury of battle when the heat of things carry him away. He doesn't want that to be the only thing he can ever express to those he cares about. For now, he will settle for doing the best he can, which is be a shoulder to lean on when things are their worst.]
[Why the hell is it someone else who always makes him break? When he couldn't stand it any longer and dragged Midoriya out at night to confront him, breaking down over his guilt and frustration in front of the only person he could bear to see him like that. Raidou's presence runs similar to that, cracking through the iron bars usually barricading Katsuki's emotions. He doesn't need anyone's damn permission! ... And yet, without it ...
He turns his head and presses against Raidou's shoulder, a muffled curse breaking into the material of his shirt. No longer shouting like he had in the abandoned Korean city, but the pain and rawness in his voice right now suggests there's still some left. Heat soon bleeds through the other boy's shirt, seething breaths shuddering through Katsuki's shoulders. Frustration, sorrow, rage, all those emotions gutting out at once. Raidou's strong, he can handle this.]
[He certainly doesn't feel strong, not since arriving in Neo Tokyo. That doesn't mean he's not still trying to be the strongest he can be. Even in the face of overwhelming tragedy, they're still here. They have to keep going. Being weak now will solve nothing.
There's nothing weak about feeling the grief and survivor's guilt that comes with what happened in Seoul. They're still human, they're kids, no matter how much either of them would loathe to be called that. The scale of this is like nothing most of the Outsiders have experienced before.
Slowly, deliberately, Raidou shifts to face his friend, one hand on the back of his head to keep its place on his shoulder, the other on his back to draw him close. An embrace like this isn't easy for him, but Katsuki is a friend, a close, trusted one like he's never had before. He can hold out like this for as long as Katsuki needs.
He wants to be strong, but when he speaks up, his voice is distant and weak.]
I don't know how. But we have to keep going. For their sakes.
[How Raidou feels doesn't much affect how Katsuki views him. He's seen his friend struggle with his placement in battle, fight against the inherent weakness of his half-assed kidnapping, and still rise to the occasion each time. Raidou doesn't give up, even when he steps back to reevaluate or assist in other areas. It's that determination that means he's strong.
It's why Katsuki can come to him right now, bitter and struggling. He hates it when people call him a "kid" or think he's less due to his age, but right now, the overwhelming burden presses hard on him, reminding him too painfully of his youth. Would All Might have made the right choice? Endeavor? Best Jeanist? The Pro Heroes who have been at this far longer than him...
Katsuki tightens his hand over his forearm when he feels Raidou shift, not sure if he's leaving or just moving position. The hand on his head stays where it is, caressing and comforting, not forcing him to pull back from the way he's pressing his face into his shoulder. But it's when Raidou pull him in close like that... Katsuki lets go of his arm and wraps it around the other boy's middle, fingers digging into his shirt as he grits against the waves of anger and sorrow.
It doesn't matter if Raidou's voice is weak and distant... it's right there next to him, and Katsuki holds onto it.]
[He won't let go of him. Not until Katsuki's ready. His own emotions roil under the surface, hinted at my the hard swallow before he speaks, the ragged and exhausted voice that follows.]
I'm sorry I didn't come by to check on you. I just... I couldn't. Talk to anyone. See anyone. I couldn't.
[Raidou still isn't sure how he's supposed to do those things, but he knows he has to. There are still people that need them. There will be more kaiju, no matter how long they spend mired in grief.]
We all need some time. To figure this out. How to deal with it.
[A deep breath, to pull himself together.]
No matter what LILITH may do to us, we still all have each other.
[It's painful to hear Raidou talk like this, the drag at his voice thick with emotions that have no other way out. Yet it's a guilty relief to know the summoner does have those emotions, even if they're buried and restricted.]
Don't... [Again, the only thing he says. But he can't tell him not to apologize. Even if he doesn't want Raidou to feel guilty over it, he can't diminish his feelings either. Taking a few more seconds, he forces himself to talk through the harder breaths and embarrassing sniffs. Shit, he never wanted Raidou to see him like this.] It's fine... I didn't... I didn't want to talk either.
[He took this long to come see Raidou as well. Thus there was nothing to apologize for, otherwise it'd turn into a "battle" of who didn't get there first.
The question on every mind is what to do from here. Where to go, how to act, what's the next step, should they bother? Most of them know what they should do, but it crashes so hard with what they want. Or don't want. Hearing Raidou put those thoughts into words breaks through some of the whirling grief and anger, like a ring tossed into water. Solid. Graspable.]
I don't want to. [It hurts to say that. Katsuki has never given up on being a hero. No matter what. And yet, right now, continuing feels like a foolish quest.] We did what we were supposed to do. Why the fuck is that wrong?
Part of me doesn't want to either. [It's very difficult to admit, but when it first happened, when they first got back to Tokyo, Raidou wanted to give up all together. It all seemed so pointless. But when he speaks again, there's the slightest ironic bent in his tone.]
But we're going to. We're going to get up, and do it again. Because we're heroes. It's what we do. That's what you always tell me.
[Though, by that last sentence, there is warmth in it. As much as it would be easier to give up, he knows neither of them won't, no matter how hopeless it seems. They can't. They'll go til either they win or the kaiju wins. It's in their nature.]
We made decisions based on what was presented to us. We were wrong. LILITH was wrong. There's nothing that will fix it. We have to find a way to live with it.
[He lets out a shuddered breath, the hand on Katsuki 's back tightening a bit.]
[He's disappointed in himself for feeling relief to hear Raidou say that. Knowing he's not the only one who's been so injured by the failure, giving up actually slotted itself in as a grumpy choice for once in his life. Spiteful giving up, not because he was weak, but because it was pointless to continue forward. As perfect as Katsuki likes to pretend he is, he's made mistakes before, he's been wrong before, but this time...
Damn, Raidou's hitting him in all the right places tonight. From answering the bitterness to pointing out the truth both of them know shines bright in their hearts. He tightens his fingers on Raidou's shoulder, teeth gritting with the kind words that swarm across his chest. Because we're heroes. It's what we do. So many times he's said that to others, to himself, a reminder of his own belief and the core tenant of what makes a hero.
That's right. A hero only really loses when he gives up. No one else can choose for Katsuki whether he's lost or not. His resolve shakes still, but the cracks are closing up again, refusing with the same heat that's always burned inside him. Raidou's warmth provides the current.]
Aa. We'll win. We have to. That's what heroes do.
[It's not as hard to say those words now. Even if there's a hollow echo to them in the face of their failure, they're not dead. Moving forward, saving more, that's atonement for the lives lost. As Raidou said, they decide based on the information given to them. They weren't wrong. They're not stupid. The Outsiders chose based on what was most logical to succeed.
He exhales hard against Raidou's chest.] We already know how to live with it.
[It's been three days and none of them are dead. They've chosen to live, even with the pain.]
[They'll win or die trying. That's what it comes down to.]
I want to help. But I don't want to make mistakes that cause such tragedy. I...
[Fighting makes him feel weak. Staying out makes him feel like a coward. When he fights with everything he's got, he gets told he's being too reckless. He doesn't know how to reconcile all of this, and it tears him up inside.]
I don't know. I don't know if I ever will know what's right to do. But as long as I keep helping people... if I know anything, it's helping is wrong answer.
[He leans his head against Katsuki's, tired. A bone-deep, soul wrenching exhaustion that started right before he arrived in Neo Tokyo.]
[He has no intention of dying. LILITH brought them here to win, and fuck if he's going to do anything less than complete eradication of the kaiju threat before he's satisfied!]
You didn't-- We didn't make any fucking mistake. If we hadn't gone after that bastard, it would've returned after we left and destroyed everything we saved. [Leaving them in the same predicament, from another angle. "Abandoning" the city to their repairs, too far away when the second attack came without warning. The only mistake that was made was LILITH fucking up the tracking.
Katsuki's aware of the two-fold feelings inside the other boy, having seen him staying away from the worm-zombified prey in Vegas until the blonde forced him into the battle. Getting his arm dislocated against the dragon likely didn't help, but his blade struck several times, drew blood, and pissed the dragon off enough to make it strike out at him. That's the same level of success all of them had. Ants swarming a beast and killing it by a thousand cuts. He would never say Raidou's weak.]
You already said what's right. [He finally finds the strength to move his arm and wrap it around his friend's shoulders, this time drawing Raidou close into an embrace. Head turning to the side, mouth resting close to the summoner's neck.]
We're here to help people. [They're only human (most of them), and even if this mistake was a tragedy... the other possible results weren't pleasant either. Not with the Busan team failing to kill the second dragon.]
Aa. [Living one day at a time. Learning from their mistakes.] Raidou... thanks... for fighting with me.
[Katsuki probably can't see the small smile on Raidou, but he can hear it when it speaks up.]
And thank you. For always having my back.
[He really doesn't know what he'd do here, how he'd have made it this far without Katskui and Yuji. Raidou feels lucky to have so many good friends here, but the two of them have been able to help life him back to his feet and keep him fighting when he's felt at his worst. He wants to be able to do the same for them.
Having others to rely on is a blessing and a curse, but in times like this, Raidou is so glad for it.]
[It's audible. The light in his voice brings a gentle relief to Katsuki's chest again. Raidou's not down and out. He's still here, breathing, alive, ready, even amid the pain. A man who can smile again.]
You've had mine. And you've never given up.
[Katsuki's proud of him for that most of all. He wants to do more to help Raidou, but beyond training and working with him on his skills and new tech, what's left is encouraging and supporting. Yet so many times, the other boy's helped Katsuki as well. In battle and out. He came here not wanting to make friends, and now he's sitting beside one of his best friends in this world.
Clasping his hand and letting him help him back to his feet. So many times Katsuki's had trouble accepting help, offered or needed. But every now and then, he has to face reality.]
Aa. Together.
[That's something heroes do too. Working together to do things they wouldn't have otherwise alone.]
I almost did. I wanted to. But if I did, what would I have left?
[His conscience would never let him sit out forever. Watching his Outsider colleagues put their lives on the line while he did nothing would kill him worse than trying and failing.]
Of course. It's probably better we don't keep staying alone, huh.
[Holing up in their rooms is the easy way out. Maybe Raidou can get some sleep knowing someone is there.]
If you ever find out, I hope it's for a positive reason.
[Retiring from the summoner life. Deciding to step back and live with someone more important than the duty. Personal happiness during peaceful times. Something that would permit him to "give up" without the burden of a conscience telling him he did something wrong. All duty comes to an end eventually.
In the meantime, they can have all the "almost" they want, so long as they don't have a single "did it" to their name.]
Yeah. [He needs to be alone for a while, to parse through things his own way. But eventually... with someone he's close to... he'll spend some time with them.] I'll tape your face shut if you snore.
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They failed. They won the battle, but failed to win the war in Seoul. They failed the battle in Vegas, but won the war. Though in the gloom of the current moment, Katsuki remembers the destruction that battle wrought on the city, once again tearing into him over the severity of not taking the worm out before. When it was away from people. How the hell are they not supposed to buckle from these losses? Part of him remains bitter, spitefully wanting to show them exactly what "abandonment" really means. But his heart refuses to betray what it means to be a hero. Even if the path is painful and hard right now.
Katsuki knows Raidou's not good with expressing his emotions, and both of them know it's not easy for Katsuki either. Minus his usual aggressive personality. Showing someone he's hurting, revealing his vulnerability... Raidou's silence is better right now. It leaves Katsuki free to wrestle with his mind, but not alone and lost in his own misery.
A shoulder bumps against his own and Katsuki feels himself give slightly. Heat bubbles under his lower lid, burning his eyes as they scrunch in desperate attempt to keep everything inside. Before closing them completely, tight and hot as the tears come. Frustration, sorrow, anger, hurt, homesick, worry, Leaning against Raidou, those gates break open in the silent comfort of his friend. He's not alone, he's not lost.
Someone like Raidou would understand more than most just what kind of feelings course through right now. Given a responsibility to keep others safe, knowing their lives are in your hands if you don't. They were trusted to be heroes.
And they failed.]
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Go ahead. It's okay.
[It's okay to let it out, here in the safety of his room. With Raidou, a vault who will keep those feeling secure. His own eyes are squeezed shut, his other hand a tight fist on his lap. The only way his emotions ever leak out is with anger, often in the fury of battle when the heat of things carry him away. He doesn't want that to be the only thing he can ever express to those he cares about. For now, he will settle for doing the best he can, which is be a shoulder to lean on when things are their worst.]
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He turns his head and presses against Raidou's shoulder, a muffled curse breaking into the material of his shirt. No longer shouting like he had in the abandoned Korean city, but the pain and rawness in his voice right now suggests there's still some left. Heat soon bleeds through the other boy's shirt, seething breaths shuddering through Katsuki's shoulders. Frustration, sorrow, rage, all those emotions gutting out at once. Raidou's strong, he can handle this.]
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There's nothing weak about feeling the grief and survivor's guilt that comes with what happened in Seoul. They're still human, they're kids, no matter how much either of them would loathe to be called that. The scale of this is like nothing most of the Outsiders have experienced before.
Slowly, deliberately, Raidou shifts to face his friend, one hand on the back of his head to keep its place on his shoulder, the other on his back to draw him close. An embrace like this isn't easy for him, but Katsuki is a friend, a close, trusted one like he's never had before. He can hold out like this for as long as Katsuki needs.
He wants to be strong, but when he speaks up, his voice is distant and weak.]
I don't know how. But we have to keep going. For their sakes.
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It's why Katsuki can come to him right now, bitter and struggling. He hates it when people call him a "kid" or think he's less due to his age, but right now, the overwhelming burden presses hard on him, reminding him too painfully of his youth. Would All Might have made the right choice? Endeavor? Best Jeanist? The Pro Heroes who have been at this far longer than him...
Katsuki tightens his hand over his forearm when he feels Raidou shift, not sure if he's leaving or just moving position. The hand on his head stays where it is, caressing and comforting, not forcing him to pull back from the way he's pressing his face into his shoulder. But it's when Raidou pull him in close like that... Katsuki lets go of his arm and wraps it around the other boy's middle, fingers digging into his shirt as he grits against the waves of anger and sorrow.
It doesn't matter if Raidou's voice is weak and distant... it's right there next to him, and Katsuki holds onto it.]
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I'm sorry I didn't come by to check on you. I just... I couldn't. Talk to anyone. See anyone. I couldn't.
[Raidou still isn't sure how he's supposed to do those things, but he knows he has to. There are still people that need them. There will be more kaiju, no matter how long they spend mired in grief.]
We all need some time. To figure this out. How to deal with it.
[A deep breath, to pull himself together.]
No matter what LILITH may do to us, we still all have each other.
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Don't... [Again, the only thing he says. But he can't tell him not to apologize. Even if he doesn't want Raidou to feel guilty over it, he can't diminish his feelings either. Taking a few more seconds, he forces himself to talk through the harder breaths and embarrassing sniffs. Shit, he never wanted Raidou to see him like this.] It's fine... I didn't... I didn't want to talk either.
[He took this long to come see Raidou as well. Thus there was nothing to apologize for, otherwise it'd turn into a "battle" of who didn't get there first.
The question on every mind is what to do from here. Where to go, how to act, what's the next step, should they bother? Most of them know what they should do, but it crashes so hard with what they want. Or don't want. Hearing Raidou put those thoughts into words breaks through some of the whirling grief and anger, like a ring tossed into water. Solid. Graspable.]
I don't want to. [It hurts to say that. Katsuki has never given up on being a hero. No matter what. And yet, right now, continuing feels like a foolish quest.] We did what we were supposed to do. Why the fuck is that wrong?
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But we're going to. We're going to get up, and do it again. Because we're heroes. It's what we do. That's what you always tell me.
[Though, by that last sentence, there is warmth in it. As much as it would be easier to give up, he knows neither of them won't, no matter how hopeless it seems. They can't. They'll go til either they win or the kaiju wins. It's in their nature.]
We made decisions based on what was presented to us. We were wrong. LILITH was wrong. There's nothing that will fix it. We have to find a way to live with it.
[He lets out a shuddered breath, the hand on Katsuki 's back tightening a bit.]
I just don't know how to do that yet.
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Damn, Raidou's hitting him in all the right places tonight. From answering the bitterness to pointing out the truth both of them know shines bright in their hearts. He tightens his fingers on Raidou's shoulder, teeth gritting with the kind words that swarm across his chest. Because we're heroes. It's what we do. So many times he's said that to others, to himself, a reminder of his own belief and the core tenant of what makes a hero.
That's right. A hero only really loses when he gives up. No one else can choose for Katsuki whether he's lost or not. His resolve shakes still, but the cracks are closing up again, refusing with the same heat that's always burned inside him. Raidou's warmth provides the current.]
Aa. We'll win. We have to. That's what heroes do.
[It's not as hard to say those words now. Even if there's a hollow echo to them in the face of their failure, they're not dead. Moving forward, saving more, that's atonement for the lives lost. As Raidou said, they decide based on the information given to them. They weren't wrong. They're not stupid. The Outsiders chose based on what was most logical to succeed.
He exhales hard against Raidou's chest.] We already know how to live with it.
[It's been three days and none of them are dead. They've chosen to live, even with the pain.]
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[They'll win or die trying. That's what it comes down to.]
I want to help. But I don't want to make mistakes that cause such tragedy. I...
[Fighting makes him feel weak. Staying out makes him feel like a coward. When he fights with everything he's got, he gets told he's being too reckless. He doesn't know how to reconcile all of this, and it tears him up inside.]
I don't know. I don't know if I ever will know what's right to do. But as long as I keep helping people... if I know anything, it's helping is wrong answer.
[He leans his head against Katsuki's, tired. A bone-deep, soul wrenching exhaustion that started right before he arrived in Neo Tokyo.]
I suppose we do. One day at a time, as they say.
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You didn't-- We didn't make any fucking mistake. If we hadn't gone after that bastard, it would've returned after we left and destroyed everything we saved. [Leaving them in the same predicament, from another angle. "Abandoning" the city to their repairs, too far away when the second attack came without warning. The only mistake that was made was LILITH fucking up the tracking.
Katsuki's aware of the two-fold feelings inside the other boy, having seen him staying away from the worm-zombified prey in Vegas until the blonde forced him into the battle. Getting his arm dislocated against the dragon likely didn't help, but his blade struck several times, drew blood, and pissed the dragon off enough to make it strike out at him. That's the same level of success all of them had. Ants swarming a beast and killing it by a thousand cuts. He would never say Raidou's weak.]
You already said what's right. [He finally finds the strength to move his arm and wrap it around his friend's shoulders, this time drawing Raidou close into an embrace. Head turning to the side, mouth resting close to the summoner's neck.]
We're here to help people. [They're only human (most of them), and even if this mistake was a tragedy... the other possible results weren't pleasant either. Not with the Busan team failing to kill the second dragon.]
Aa. [Living one day at a time. Learning from their mistakes.] Raidou... thanks... for fighting with me.
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And thank you. For always having my back.
[He really doesn't know what he'd do here, how he'd have made it this far without Katskui and Yuji. Raidou feels lucky to have so many good friends here, but the two of them have been able to help life him back to his feet and keep him fighting when he's felt at his worst. He wants to be able to do the same for them.
Having others to rely on is a blessing and a curse, but in times like this, Raidou is so glad for it.]
Together. That's how we'll do this.
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You've had mine. And you've never given up.
[Katsuki's proud of him for that most of all. He wants to do more to help Raidou, but beyond training and working with him on his skills and new tech, what's left is encouraging and supporting. Yet so many times, the other boy's helped Katsuki as well. In battle and out. He came here not wanting to make friends, and now he's sitting beside one of his best friends in this world.
Clasping his hand and letting him help him back to his feet. So many times Katsuki's had trouble accepting help, offered or needed. But every now and then, he has to face reality.]
Aa. Together.
[That's something heroes do too. Working together to do things they wouldn't have otherwise alone.]
Hey... Can I spend the night?
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[His conscience would never let him sit out forever. Watching his Outsider colleagues put their lives on the line while he did nothing would kill him worse than trying and failing.]
Of course. It's probably better we don't keep staying alone, huh.
[Holing up in their rooms is the easy way out. Maybe Raidou can get some sleep knowing someone is there.]
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[Retiring from the summoner life. Deciding to step back and live with someone more important than the duty. Personal happiness during peaceful times. Something that would permit him to "give up" without the burden of a conscience telling him he did something wrong. All duty comes to an end eventually.
In the meantime, they can have all the "almost" they want, so long as they don't have a single "did it" to their name.]
Yeah. [He needs to be alone for a while, to parse through things his own way. But eventually... with someone he's close to... he'll spend some time with them.] I'll tape your face shut if you snore.