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[ Souji knows Shin and he definitely knows that Shin is not okay right now. Whatever it is, it must have hit him hard and Souji can only shake his head when Shin tries to apologize. ].

Nothing to be sorry about.

[ He'll come on in but he doesn't venture far from the door, only taking off his shoes and moving slightly to the side so Shin can lead them to wherever he wants to sit. ]

... What happened?

[ Shin's going to just walk over to his couch and... plops down on it. And then covering his face with his hands. What comes next is muffled, but it's clear what he's saying. ]

Souji.

I am a tragic protagonist in a Kandam series.

[ It's a joke, supposed to be, but Shin's deadly serious when he said it. Perhaps he's inviting Souji to sit next to him first before he continues. ]

[ Whatever Souji thought Shin was going to say next, it was not that. He barely catches what Shin mumbles into his hands but despite the half-joke that it's suppose to be, Souji's concerned expression doesn't change. Instead, he walks on over and sits down on the couch with Shin. ]

[ He doesn't say anything, not yet, choosing to remain silent to let Shin gather his thoughts on whatever else he wants to say. He doesn't want to pressure him to talking about his memory right away. He wants Shin to take his time and to speak whenever he's ready. Souji is here for an entire night. ]

[ Shin took a deep breath, settling himself a bit more before he continued to speak. ]

There was a battle raging, between a bunch of Mobile Suits. Me and my... family were running through it all, trying to desperately get to a ship that'll take us out of there.

[ There's another intake of air. ]

My sister dropped her phone, and I immediately went to grab it for her as they waited. I got to it and picked it up, and that's...

[ Oh boy, he can still remember it, the explosion that threw him off, and the pain related to tumbling down the cliffside. The panic as people tried to get to the ships. ]

When an explosion from a beam round hit the nearby area, knocking me over a small cliff. When I came to, the only thing I could think of then was figuring out if my family was alright-

[ HRK! Shin doubled over, and grabbed an empty bucket immediately, before just... puking. Yeah. That... should tell Souji how bad it got.

Just... give him a moment. ]

[ Shin definitely doesn't need to finish his story for Souji to understand. Even Shin throwing up wasn't needed for Souji to get it. The two of them have watched enough Kandam series to know that the moment that Shin mentioned his family and said that he was a tragic protagonist, this story wasn't going to end well. ]

[ Souji rubs Shin's back, patting it occasionally in between rubs. At the same time, he'll try to reach over for a tissue box that Shin can use once he finishes. ]

... I'm going to stay with you for the night. I'll be here if you want to keep on talking about it, but I'll also be here if you need everything off your mind.

[ He'll leave the freedom up to Shin on what he wants to do. This is obviously getting a pretty severe reaction from him, so Souji's not sure if they should continue talking about this. ]

[ Shin will take the tissue box wordlessly, wiping his face after taking a ply out. It's clear that he's still shaken. The smell was still burnt in strongly in his mind, the smile of burnt flesh, the explosions resounding in the distance.

The panic of people as they try to shove themselves into the shuttle.

But... ]

What... scared me the most, though, was not what happened to my family.

It was my reaction to it.

Screaming at the sky with that much anger and sorrow...

[ ... ]

I've... I've never felt such raw emotions in me before, and that was honestly the scariest thing.

[ Souji stays seated next to Shin, continuing to rub his back until he finishes but he doesn't move his hand away afterwards. He keeps it there as a form of support and he frowns when Shin mentions his reaction. He thinks back to a previous conversation they've had and he would normally hesitate to mention it but this is Shin. They have to be honest with each other. ]

... maybe this is why you've joined the military. To stop another battle like this ever happening again.

...Yeah.

[ He can feel the warmth of Souji's hand, as he sits up slightly straighter from his hunched position earlier. The foul taste is gone from his mouth, mostly. And he's still breathing raggedly. But otherwise he's a bit better than before. ]

I can definitely see why he's part of the military.

[ ...Dissociation. It's slight, but it's there, the fact that he just referred to his own past as if he's talking about another character in a series. ]

Hey, is it weird, to want to distance yourself from your past self? If it doesn't align with what you expected it to be?

[ Until Shin makes it clear that he doesn't want Souji's hand on his back, Souji will keep it there. The dissociation doesn't slip past him and when Shin asks, he just shakes his head. ]

No, I think that's understandable. I knew someone who did the exact same thing. [ They're no longer around but he does know one such person who had the exact same feelings. ] You don't have to be defined by the person in your memories.

...Yeah, I know. But still...

[ .........There's just a long silence as Shin trailed off. A slight dawn of realization that honestly followed a logical conclusion. If Shin's a member of a military organization, and the world was in a state of war... ]

Would that mean I'll start getting memories of a battlefield that had nothing to do with this place?

[ Souji hesitates to reply because he knows that Shin most likely already knows the answer but he just nods. ]

You might... but if it does, you know you can come talk to me about them, right? You don't have to deal with them alone.

[ The irony of Souji saying this, especially what happens to him in a few weeks after this thread... ]

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