[That's just how things happen sometimes, though. Yoshio doesn't particularly want to yell, so texting was fine, but if Mako is there, then he doesn't mind that, either.]
Yeah.
[He clicks his phone's screen off, then rolls onto his side, so that the right side of his face is against the mattress, to shield his eye. Really, he didn't need to ask -- it's his room too, after all.
It's funny, thinking about it now. He'd told Michi, before he knew it was Michi, that he didn't feel afraid. But now, as the last day draws closer, he's getting there.]
[ that's just how things are in the household, sometimes. mako saves the document he's been working on, ignoring the app's icon blaring at him through the dashboard of his desktop, and closes it before opening the door to their room. ]
Hey.
[ he can tell that yoshio's not doing too hot by the way he's positioned on the bed. mako takes a seat on the office chair in their room, turns to face his younger brother. ]
[Yoshio peers up at him from the bed, then sits up too, still curled into a ball inside his blanket, his legs pulled up to his chest. He's not really sure how to begin, so he just leans forward enough that he can rest his chin on his knees, rubbing a bit of his blanket in between thumb and index finger.]
... I guess so.
[How does he even begin?]
It bothers me that... those memories -- [are they memories, truly? He's still not sure] -- you're not in them at all. I don't know who Sakuma Jirou is. I know he plays soccer. That's it.
[They haven't discussed those visions at all. But Mako must be having them too. They seem to go hand in hand with those headaches and that app.]
[ ...he wasn't going to bring it up. that yoshio wasn't in his memories, that yoshio was instead replaced by another person who isn't him. he wasn't going to talk about how that unsettles him and makes him sick to his stomach. just the prospect of the app treating his family like a sick joke makes him angry, and mako has to take a breath to calm himself down before he speaks again. ]
Listen.... We don't know if those 'memories' are real or not. They could just be hallucinations, Yoshio. Don't forget that.
[ he says that, and yet... even mako isn't entirely sure about it. ]
It's fine, if I'm not in those memories of yours. It's just...this app playing tricks on us. It doesn't mean you're any less of a brother to me.
[They could be. But they feel real. And really, in the end, that's all that matters, isn't it? Things that make you feel bad, no matter how much it's in your head, are still things that make you feel bad.
[ mako sighs, runs a hand through his hair. life was a lot...simpler without all of this. why they were chosen, who's behind it--a few out of the many questions he has. he's been visibly stressed lately and it shows in how he's spent late nights on his computer for research.
he hates all of it. ]
We'll just have to tough it out until the days are over.
[He doesn't want to do that. He wants it to be over -- he knows things will end eventually, everything does, no matter how awful -- but he's uncomfortable with the part where he has to live through it.]
[ he doesn't sound satisfied, though. he doesn't like that this is taking such a huge toll on yoshio; he can tell that it's been bothering him for a while. not like mako's any better, but he's more concerned for yoshio than he is for himself. mako knows he can keep his cool. (spoilers: he can't.) ]
I'll be outside if you need anything. Gotta finish some homework.
[Yoshio doesn't have much else he can say. But even as he's snuggling back down into a small ball on the bed, he peeks out at his brother, his eyes only just visible above the edge of the blanket.]
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Yeah.
[He clicks his phone's screen off, then rolls onto his side, so that the right side of his face is against the mattress, to shield his eye. Really, he didn't need to ask -- it's his room too, after all.
It's funny, thinking about it now. He'd told Michi, before he knew it was Michi, that he didn't feel afraid. But now, as the last day draws closer, he's getting there.]
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Hey.
[ he can tell that yoshio's not doing too hot by the way he's positioned on the bed. mako takes a seat on the office chair in their room, turns to face his younger brother. ]
Looks like you need to talk about something.
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... I guess so.
[How does he even begin?]
It bothers me that... those memories -- [are they memories, truly? He's still not sure] -- you're not in them at all. I don't know who Sakuma Jirou is. I know he plays soccer. That's it.
[They haven't discussed those visions at all. But Mako must be having them too. They seem to go hand in hand with those headaches and that app.]
I don't even know what kind of person he is.
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Listen.... We don't know if those 'memories' are real or not. They could just be hallucinations, Yoshio. Don't forget that.
[ he says that, and yet... even mako isn't entirely sure about it. ]
It's fine, if I'm not in those memories of yours. It's just...this app playing tricks on us. It doesn't mean you're any less of a brother to me.
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[They could be. But they feel real. And really, in the end, that's all that matters, isn't it? Things that make you feel bad, no matter how much it's in your head, are still things that make you feel bad.
But still...]
I don't like it, Mako.
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[ mako sighs, runs a hand through his hair. life was a lot...simpler without all of this. why they were chosen, who's behind it--a few out of the many questions he has. he's been visibly stressed lately and it shows in how he's spent late nights on his computer for research.
he hates all of it. ]
We'll just have to tough it out until the days are over.
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[He doesn't want to do that. He wants it to be over -- he knows things will end eventually, everything does, no matter how awful -- but he's uncomfortable with the part where he has to live through it.]
I'll tell you if I have any more.
[It seems like the right thing to do.]
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[ he doesn't sound satisfied, though. he doesn't like that this is taking such a huge toll on yoshio; he can tell that it's been bothering him for a while. not like mako's any better, but he's more concerned for yoshio than he is for himself. mako knows he can keep his cool. (spoilers: he can't.) ]
I'll be outside if you need anything. Gotta finish some homework.
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[Yoshio doesn't have much else he can say. But even as he's snuggling back down into a small ball on the bed, he peeks out at his brother, his eyes only just visible above the edge of the blanket.]
Thanks. You... didn't have to come talk to me.
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[ like a good older brother should. this mako's a little more...sensitive compared to his former self, at least. ]