soulping | Aoba's Shadow

Of course I missed you. All of us, we've been trying really hard to find you!

[Except...]

....but this isn't right. There's two of you, and your eyes—

If I'm being honest, there's only actually one of us.

And I wonder if that's true. Weren't you only looking because of the reward at the end of all of this? We all know what comes after a game.

[It takes her a minute to realize what he's talking about.]

Reward? ...You mean the shards?

[She says it slowly, disbelievingly. How could he suggest something like that?]

That's not why we're here, Yarrow! What're you saying? The only reward we care about is you!

[ He can't help but chuckle at that. ]

Oh, don't even try. You, with your sense of justice. You have to understand by now what kind of person I am, right? I hurt people. I keep dangerous friends. The more shards I find, the further I'll stray from the Yarrow you know.

[She bites her bottom lip and watches him carefully. The other Yarrow is still pinned under his foot, so...]

That's not true. You wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose, just to be cruel. And your friends....maybe they are dangerous, but that doesn't mean they're evil.

[Hydra reaches slowly into her pocket and takes out Yarrow's headphones.]

I know that getting back more memories will change things, will change you. But we're a team, you know? We look out for each other. So we're not going to let you change for the worse.

[ The other yarrow shifts from on the floor ]

Would you... accept me no matter what?

She won't. Even if she's being honest, she won't keep her word once she understands what a monster you really are.

A monster? [Her grip tightens on the headphones for an instant. Then she breathes through her teeth and forces herself to calm down.] Hey, I'm the one that can turn into an animal for no apparent reason. If anyone ends up being the monster, it's probably going to be me.

[She holds the headphones up to make sure they're in plain sight, but doesn't offer them just yet.]

But this isn't about me, this is about you. And yeah, Yarrow, we'll accept you. Because whoever you used to be....that's not who you are now. If you did something awful, you have a second chance....and you won't have to face any of those bad memories alone.

[ Yarrow reaches up to grab his Shadow version's leg. ]

S-She says that now, but you still don't know if that'll happen! The future is a scary, uncertain thing.

...Yeah, it is. Even I get scared, sometimes, when I think about the memories I might get back. Will they be good ones? Bad ones? There's no way to know.

[The sight of Yarrow moving, resisting, is heartening.]

But then I remember I'm part of a team. I remember that even though my real family's been destroyed, I still have Dawon. And I know that all of them, including you, will be there for me when I need you.

[ Slowly, he manages to pick up the leg and roll out from under it. Yarrow's going to try to stand, but it seems like he's having a bit of trouble. ]

You can't just leave me here. Even if you get out alive, I'll always be inside you.

[She'll walk over to try and lend him a hand.

As she does, Hydra addresses the shadow.]

It doesn't matter if you stick around. We won't let you poison him like this again; that's all that matters.

[ Yarrow leans on Hydra for support. ]

It's ok, Hydra. I think... I think I get it now.

You're part of me, right? I don't know if you're part of me because of the past, or because of what's happening now. But you... are me. And I have to deal with that, I can't pretend you don't exist.

[She gives it to him, handing over his headphones too.]

But you don't have to deal with it alone.

[ He puts his headphones back around his neck. In the distance, Daisy disappears back into black dust. ]

I kinda made a huge mess with all of this, didn't I? Sorry about that.

[She gently hits his shoulder, her smile one of deep relief.]

Come on, don't talk like that. It wasn't any trouble at all.

[ He rubs the back of Hydra's head in response. ]

I'll try not to let it happen again.

Aoba's Shadow

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