tarotcards | IC INBOX ➟ RECOLLE

[ And despite that it's been a few days since the accident, Souji still sounds as... terrible as he did back then. ]

I'm all right.

[ He definitely doesn't sound like it. There's a lack of energy in his voice and what makes him sound like Souji. ]

... is your arm okay?

[ Yeah, he definitely doesn't sound all right and none of that is lost on Yosuke. ]

You sure? You sound pretty out of it.

[ You know. Like before? ]

Yeah. As okay as it can be. I'll be fine in no time.

[ The conversation is... stilted and awkward. It's just simple back-and-forth as if it's a conversation between acquaintances or strangers. Definitely not friends. Souji doesn't answer Yosuke's question and just replies with his own question. ]

Did they say how long it'd take for you to recover?

[ He sees what you're doing there, Souji. He'll allow it for now, since he's just glad that Souji is talking to him at all. Yu hadn't wanted to talk about him very much when he visited. Yosuke had wanted to talk to Souji right after Yu left, but managed to hold himself back. He knows both of the twins are more private, more quiet than he is.

But that only lasts for so long. Souji is just as much a victim in this as Yosuke is, maybe even more, with how the rest of his week had apparently gone. ]

Six to eight weeks.

[ He...could mention that when Yu was over, he'd managed to heal a few of Yosuke's wounds, but decides better of it. He knows how upset Souji had been at the time when he couldn't summon his own abilities.

Yosuke just wishes he could do something to help. ]

Honestly, all things considered, I'm in awesome shape. It could've been a lot worse.

[ But it wasn't, is what's left unsaid. ]

[ "It could have been worse"... Those words pierce through Souji's chest and suddenly, he feels somehow worse than he already did at the beginning of the phone call. ]

... Yeah.

[ He's barely audible now and it's hard not to imagine what he looks like at the moment. ]

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm... also sorry about the accident. About what happened.

[ Souji...

He gets so quiet. Yosuke listens intently, though he hates how small his friend sounds. ]

Hey. It's cool. Honestly.

[ Well, they both know that the accident itself isn't cool, but that's not what Yosuke is waving off. ]

Really--I called because I wanted to hear how you're doin'.

[ And here it comes. Where Souji denies everything that is wrong and forces on a strong persona where nothing bothers him. ]

I'm all right. Yu...

[ Suddenly, he stops and he regrets saying his brother's name. ]

... he healed me after we left the hospital so nothing really hurts.

[ Of course he did. He'd helped Yosuke out a bit, too... ]

That's good, man. You'll be up and at 'em again in no time.

[ Trying to stay positive here. ]

What about the other part?

... do you mean the sleeping part?

[ He hasn't talked to Yosuke about his memories so... ]

Yeah. How's your...head?

[ You know? ]

It...

[ Does he tell the truth? Does he continue his fake front? He's already lied to Yosuke before about this and after the car crash... who really knows. ]

... It's about the same.

[ He should tell the truth. Yosuke has earned that now, hasn't he? ]

...'m sorry.

[ There's a sigh on his end of the line. ]

[ He has and it's why Souji eventually decides to just tell him the truth. He'll get better at it, at sharing, but as of now, it's still like pulling out teeth. ]

No. You have nothing to apologize for, Yosuke. Not for this.

Yeah, I do, though.

[ Since it's Honesty Hour. ]

I noticed something was off when you started texting me at random hours of the night. Like, once is one thing, but I realized you must've not been sleeping much in order to do that. But I didn't say anything. I just figured that you'd be okay. I was, uh...

[ A pause as he sighs again. ]

...I was pretty preoccupied with your brother. I know that doesn't make up for being a negligent friend, but I wonder if I or someone else had said something earlier that none of this would've happened. I'm sorry, Souji.

[ Souji falls silent even after Yosuke finishes talking. He's just a weird mixture of feeling... glad that he has such a caring friend (something he hasn't had asides from Shin) and an overwhelming amount of guilt from all the damage he has caused. He still doesn't know if he could face Yosuke properly after this but... he might as well admit everything now. Yosuke deserves at least that. ]

... It's still not your fault. You couldn't have known.

[ He takes a deep breath. ]

I'm... not good at talking about myself or talking about my problems, so I didn't talk to anyone about this, not even with Yu, so the fault is solely not yours.

[ Admitting this is absolutely huge for Souji, as he hates even thinking about this, but Yosuke took a blow for him and after Yu talked some sense into him... ]

But thank you. For checking up on me. You're a good friend, Yosuke.

[ He knows not even with Yu, originally by Yu's reactions and then a little later when Yu visited. Yosuke knows that they're both private people, but for Yu not to know about it...

Why was Souji keeping it so close to himself? ]

I know. Neither of you guys are. And it's not like it's a bad thing to keep stuff to yourself, but...we care about you, you know? Your friends. Your pain is our pain and all that so we can help each other out. Isn't that how it's supposed to work?

[ At least he thinks so. ]

Hey, I'll be a better friend in the future. That's a promise.

... Thanks, Yosuke.

[ and just like that, yosuke somehow managed to cheer him up. not by a lot because he's still filled with guilt over everything but he does feel better about this, even just a bit ]

I'll come and try to visit you sometime, if that's okay.

Yeah! That's be great. My mom'd be happy too.

[ She does like the twins. ]

IC INBOX ➟ RECOLLE

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