Rokudo-san...good morning. [Minato's savoring his breakfast when Rinne shows up, and aside from nursing a cold and still looking pale after a day's worth of sleep he's totally fine.
Physically speaking, that is. Excuse him while he samples some more of the yogurt.]
Kaz... [ Wait, was there always a fourth person living here? Shows how much he paid attention, he didn't even remember that. What a great guy you are, Rinne. At least he seems fine. He's a little exhausted, but otherwise. ]
I haven't seen either of them. I was expecting Ket to wake us both up to tell us about how great CERES was for bringing us back.
Are you doing okay? I think I left that tub behind. [ Priorities. He forgot that Minato hadn't spent money on it, so it didn't even really matter. ]
...I see. [There's an uncomfortable pause as Minato puts down his spoon, suddenly not feeling much like eating his breakfast.
There had been a time once when he would have tried to hide his feelings by looking away while he talks, but Rinne's friendship means enough to Minato that he's willing to look up and be upfront about what happened to Ket, even if he's not so quick to listen to the inner voice telling him that he did the best he could, underneath those circumstances.]
Kaz is probably fine, but Whiss-san was involved in that explosion at the village- he didn't make it. [There's nothing said about whether he's fine, but the fact that Minato knows about Ket dying at all is pretty much an admission of guilt.]
As in... wait. He died? Something about that didn't register as right to Rinne, all things considered. Figuring that Ket could just shift away from the flames was a factor in him helping someone else stay safe, and even if he couldn't, he definitely would've been able to find help in time.
It takes him a moment to digest that. Rinne was fairly decent at keeping it together-- normally, it would mean checking a few things out in the afterlife, but here? ]
...I see. And he hasn't come back yet? [ It should've been long enough, right? It was hard to tell, he only had one bit of reference for when this kind of thing happens. ]
He hasn't. [The river trip had come in handy to distract Minato from his guilt, but now that they're back once more he's left with nothing but that stark reminder of a smile reminding him wordlessly that he had failed to protect what was important to him.
His voice is controlled but far too quiet even for him, almost as if he'd prefer to not be heard. For as much as SEES has helped Minato to understand that there's things he shouldn't be blamed for, the explosion and its aftermath has hit him that much harder because it was his choice to not have been with Ket at that time.] I don't know what's supposed to happen to people who die here too... [There was the chance that he was alive, but who really knew when it had happened in the jungle?]
[ It was just his luck that he had happened to speak to someone about this possibility earlier in the month. It was hard for Rinne to consider that the jungle was any different, but he had to cling onto hope. After all, Ket wasn't even around as a spirit. It was a little too different for him. ]
Perhaps, it's just that enough time hasn't passed yet. [ He wanted to mull over all the different possibilities. It helped him not think of it as a permanent final death, but as, perhaps as CERES intended, a video game. Ket was just in the process of respawning.
Rinne's eyes closed, and he scratched at his head. ] I'm sure that's it. He'll be back soon.
[ Even if he wasn't, he could tell-- there was a tinge of sadness in the air. Until he knew for sure that Ket was gone, it was better to stay reassuring. If he didn't come back-- if they didn't bring them back, that's when it was time to react further. ]
You think so? [Clinging onto hope is difficult for Minato even now, especially when Ket's life was entirely in CERES' hands- yet he can tell Rinne's simply trying to be reassuring.
He smiles faintly, looking up at Rinne now. There's no need for anyone else to be brought down by his own guilt, but he's also thankful that Rinne hasn't said anything else or judged him.] ...I guess you're right, it's too early to tell if he's truly gone. Thanks, Rokudo-san. [For not looking at him the way almost everyone had done, upon learning about the accident that claimed the lives of his parents and how he'd survived unscathed.]
There's no need for thanks. I'm just throwing out a theory.
[ Still, it was one that he wanted to make as uplifting as possible. Rinne had no idea what happened between Ket and Minato before the explosion, nor did he quite get the gravity of the situation. Still, it seemed like he was feeling at least a little better. ]
Do your best to finish your breakfast. I'm sure you had a rough few days, so resting's a good idea for now.
Yeah, it is. [Minato would have just flopped back onto his bed but for the tray still on his lap, and the questionable food is normal enough that he can tuck into it with gusto. He places the tray aside a while later and sneezes without warning.]
Maris dumped all of us into the river...that was a few days ago, and I still haven't recovered. I hope things were better for you, wherever it was that you were brought to.
[A different part of the jungle? Minato's final destination had been the ocean since he was apparently blessed with the power of water (But not blessed against the cold, unfortunately) and if he had to hazard a guess that would leave Rinne with Earth since a jungle didn't fit in with either Fire or Air.]
The same, huh...we went by a few huts that belonged to the natives, and I don't think the problem was with the air. [Give him a moment to sneeze again.] Most of us got scratched by coral after landing in the river, and I felt like it was easier to breathe after healing myself. [Sticking to facts is just one of Minato's coping mechanisms, and he sure needs it feeling as bad as he does.]
[ His deduction would of course, be completely right. Rinne had thought everyone else had been simply teleported around the jungle, until he had spotted Occidi. It was hard to figure out what had been going on in full, but he had to believe it had something do with the various spirits that had been guiding them everywhere.
So, Minato's had something to do with Water, and his had to do with the Earth, most likely. ]
Did you see any of the spirits as well? We were being led through a forest by one of them.
Yeah, I saw Maris by the beach. [He makes a face, not particularly being overjoyed at Maris having sat around while they were dealing with the Kraken.]
So there's four elements and each of them has their own area, separated from the rest...I wonder what do we have in common with them, since we're the only ones who seem to have been taken from the city.
...you might have a point. [The pause in between is when Minato ponders the meaning of ViViD, since he's talked to Sousei before about how odd it seems that they're supposed to be a safeguard against the Flamines yet the game appears to be more important than doing any defending.]
We were told that we were selected as we passed the test, but what if the test had something to do with the elements too? [They only knew right now that non-Air individuals couldn't survive outside, but what if there's more to it?]
No, I don't think that's it. It's... [A period of silence follows after as Minato attempts to find words to describe what he's thinking since being pulled out from the Nexus Code into reality kind of sounds like Persona summoning, but.
The 'but' here soon followed by closed eyes and a passed-out Minato, because it is in fact too damned early in the morning for him to be making theories when he's still sick and tired. Sorry Rinne, he'll get up again sooner or later.]
[ Hrm. Well... it had been a long week, and it wasn't surprising that Minato was still feeling tuckered out.
Maybe it was the best outcome for now. It was better to rest for now and then think about it later. So, he retreats back to his own room. Hopefully nobody loud and old comes in today. ]
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Physically speaking, that is. Excuse him while he samples some more of the yogurt.]
Did you see Whiss-san and Kaz anywhere?
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I haven't seen either of them. I was expecting Ket to wake us both up to tell us about how great CERES was for bringing us back.
Are you doing okay? I think I left that tub behind. [ Priorities. He forgot that Minato hadn't spent money on it, so it didn't even really matter. ]
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There had been a time once when he would have tried to hide his feelings by looking away while he talks, but Rinne's friendship means enough to Minato that he's willing to look up and be upfront about what happened to Ket, even if he's not so quick to listen to the inner voice telling him that he did the best he could, underneath those circumstances.]
Kaz is probably fine, but Whiss-san was involved in that explosion at the village- he didn't make it. [There's nothing said about whether he's fine, but the fact that Minato knows about Ket dying at all is pretty much an admission of guilt.]
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As in... wait. He died? Something about that didn't register as right to Rinne, all things considered. Figuring that Ket could just shift away from the flames was a factor in him helping someone else stay safe, and even if he couldn't, he definitely would've been able to find help in time.
It takes him a moment to digest that. Rinne was fairly decent at keeping it together-- normally, it would mean checking a few things out in the afterlife, but here? ]
...I see. And he hasn't come back yet? [ It should've been long enough, right? It was hard to tell, he only had one bit of reference for when this kind of thing happens. ]
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His voice is controlled but far too quiet even for him, almost as if he'd prefer to not be heard. For as much as SEES has helped Minato to understand that there's things he shouldn't be blamed for, the explosion and its aftermath has hit him that much harder because it was his choice to not have been with Ket at that time.] I don't know what's supposed to happen to people who die here too... [There was the chance that he was alive, but who really knew when it had happened in the jungle?]
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Perhaps, it's just that enough time hasn't passed yet. [ He wanted to mull over all the different possibilities. It helped him not think of it as a permanent final death, but as, perhaps as CERES intended, a video game. Ket was just in the process of respawning.
Rinne's eyes closed, and he scratched at his head. ] I'm sure that's it. He'll be back soon.
[ Even if he wasn't, he could tell-- there was a tinge of sadness in the air. Until he knew for sure that Ket was gone, it was better to stay reassuring. If he didn't come back-- if they didn't bring them back, that's when it was time to react further. ]
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He smiles faintly, looking up at Rinne now. There's no need for anyone else to be brought down by his own guilt, but he's also thankful that Rinne hasn't said anything else or judged him.] ...I guess you're right, it's too early to tell if he's truly gone. Thanks, Rokudo-san. [For not looking at him the way almost everyone had done, upon learning about the accident that claimed the lives of his parents and how he'd survived unscathed.]
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[ Still, it was one that he wanted to make as uplifting as possible. Rinne had no idea what happened between Ket and Minato before the explosion, nor did he quite get the gravity of the situation. Still, it seemed like he was feeling at least a little better. ]
Do your best to finish your breakfast. I'm sure you had a rough few days, so resting's a good idea for now.
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Maris dumped all of us into the river...that was a few days ago, and I still haven't recovered. I hope things were better for you, wherever it was that you were brought to.
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[ No really, that part sucked. He had already technically died once, he'd rather not have to deal with that mess again. ]
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The same, huh...we went by a few huts that belonged to the natives, and I don't think the problem was with the air. [Give him a moment to sneeze again.] Most of us got scratched by coral after landing in the river, and I felt like it was easier to breathe after healing myself. [Sticking to facts is just one of Minato's coping mechanisms, and he sure needs it feeling as bad as he does.]
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So, Minato's had something to do with Water, and his had to do with the Earth, most likely. ]
Did you see any of the spirits as well? We were being led through a forest by one of them.
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So there's four elements and each of them has their own area, separated from the rest...I wonder what do we have in common with them, since we're the only ones who seem to have been taken from the city.
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[ Whatever the true reason is, at least. ]
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We were told that we were selected as we passed the test, but what if the test had something to do with the elements too? [They only knew right now that non-Air individuals couldn't survive outside, but what if there's more to it?]
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[ Followed by what felt like hours of apathy, watching a slideshow... ] Would that be a suitable test?
[ Sigh. It's too early to start considering why CERES brought them here and why the elements were chosen for them... ]
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The 'but' here soon followed by closed eyes and a passed-out Minato, because it is in fact too damned early in the morning for him to be making theories when he's still sick and tired. Sorry Rinne, he'll get up again sooner or later.]
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Maybe it was the best outcome for now. It was better to rest for now and then think about it later. So, he retreats back to his own room. Hopefully nobody loud and old comes in today. ]