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[bloodandblunder]

"H... hello? Um, this is me-- ah, Noire! I'm Noire, and I'm very sorry for missing you somehow... I promise I'm not avoiding you, unless you're scary or you're Mo-- trying to curse me. U-um, so when I can figure out how to-- ( beeps ensue, followed by a shriek of fright ) O-oh, no! What did I push, how do I-- make it-- oh gods, did I break it?! W-why can't we just talk in person?!"

[ BEEP. ]

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[bloodandblunder]

You've... definitely seen better days, haven't you?

... Can I ask what happened?

[willbreak]

[ He laughs weakly. It's meant to be sheepish, but it just sounds like a choked cough. And even that hurts. ]

Training...

[bloodandblunder]

Tr-- training did this?? Why were you even training out here? And by yourself--

[ EUGEO WE TALKED THIS OVER I KNOW WE DID. ]

[willbreak]

Guess I overdid it...

[ OKAY TRYING TO GET UP NOW, his whole body feels like jelly let's see how this goes— ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ Well, she'll... try to help. Even if he's heavier. ]

S-slowly, all right?

[willbreak]

[ NOOOOOOIRE he doesn't want to crush you!! ]

Mm.

[ But he's grateful for her support all the same, and he does end up leaning on her a little as he gets to his feet.

At least he's not in that much pain anymore; he's just exhausted. ]

Thank you... I'll be okay from here.

[ Now he'll wobble and attempt to stand by himself. He has to manage anyway, they still have to get through half the tunnel! ]

[bloodandblunder]

... From the way things look, it might be days before you're "okay"... are you sure you don't need help?

[willbreak]

Hey. I won't collapse while fighting the monsters, don't worry.

[ Really, he won't. Now that he's had time to shake himself out of that just-want-to-sleep mindset, he can tune out the exhaustion for just a little longer. He'll even give her a small smile! ]

Things probably look worse than they actually are.

[bloodandblunder]

We'll have to make sure of that once we get you out of here.

But you should leave the monsters to me this time... okay?

[ She's been fighting a lot longer than you have, Eugeo. ]

[willbreak]

...

[ Can you tell how reluctant he is, Noire? ]

[bloodandblunder]

... I can fight, too. Can you please rely on me this time?

[willbreak]

[ He knows she can. He knew a long time ago and continued to coddle her anyway, which only upset her, and—

That isn't the point. The point is that he's half dead and Noire's not, and she did get here in one piece... ]

... You're still too kind.

[ And he's still too stubborn to say "yes" outright. But he'll nod. ]

[bloodandblunder]

I'm not. [ But she says it with a smile, reaching for her bow to get it ready. ] Anyway... we'll take it at your pace.

[willbreak]

[ Another nod, then he'll start walking forward, somehow without staggering. Hey, just because he's agreed to let Noire fight, doesn't mean he'll go about this like a weakling! Why does that sound like something Zohra would say? ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ It's fine, he's moving and not arguing, so Noire will keep one eye on him and the other eye trained ahead for when the monsters inevitably start charging. ]

[willbreak]

[ Split-direction eyes, that's creepy.

I mean.

Eugeo will twitch whenever a new group of monsters comes charging, obviously wanting to do something to help; but Noire's right, he really should leave them to her and focus on just getting out of there. If he collapses, it'll just be more work for her.

So yeah, he'll just keep walking on until they reach the end. ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ and the monsters are dead and Noire is fine, so it's all okay? And in this light, she can look him over a little better. ]

... We should probably get you back to the apartments... you look like you still need to rest.

[willbreak]

[ He manages another smile, shaking his head. ]

Soon... I have to clean up first.

[ Seeing as he looks like he's been dragged backward through several hedges at 30 mel per second. ]

Thanks again... for everything.

[ He's so exhausted that he doesn't feel exhausted anymore, which is why he can still talk kind-of normally — if that makes any sense? ]

[bloodandblunder]

... Do you, um... want to talk about anything?

[ She doubts it, knowing Eugeo, but she has so many questions... ]

[willbreak]

[ He does, actually, because he's a sad lost boy with a lot of feelings. Then again, he doesn't because he's Eugeo.

Either way, there's guilt in his eyes as he answers. ]

... If you want to know.

[ That... didn't come out right. What he means is that he'll tell her anything if she asks, but if she wants to know herself and not out of sympathy for him or something like that and wow his thoughts are a mess. ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ She's lived in a crazy enough time - in a painful enough time - to recognize guilt when she sees it. It's why she moves to place her bow over her shoulder, reaching for one of his hands. ]

As a friend... if something's hurting or bothering you, I'll always want to know... but if you don't want to talk about it, then I'll also understand.

[willbreak]

[ Why is she being so nice, this makes everything 1000 times harder. :|

He lets her take his hand anyway, though he doesn't look her in the eye. ]

... Is there anyone you'd never betray, no matter what?

[ He already knows the answer, but for the sake of being roundabout— ]

[bloodandblunder]

Yes... I'd like to think so. [ even if she'd killed her "mother", but let's not think about that. ] W-why?

[willbreak]

I did it.

[ Succinctly vague is totally his thing. ]

... And I was happy at the time.

[ It's true; without his memories, he'd been just as happy as he'd been with Alice back in Rulid, while both she and Kirito had been hurt... and a lot more than expected at that. ]

[bloodandblunder]

You were happy... over betraying--

[ wait. ]

Are you talking about not remembering anything before Haven?