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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]

... 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?

[willbreak]

... Kind of.

[bloodandblunder]

But that wasn't your fault!

[willbreak]

[ He'll just wince because it totally was his fault. ]

[bloodandblunder]

Eugeo... [ fine, she'll just squeeze his hand and stare at him earnestly. ]

[willbreak]

[ If he were sitting down, he'd draw his knees to his chest. But he's not, so he has to make do with trying to look small while standing, which doesn't exactly work when the person you're talking to is a head shorter than you. ]

I'm sorry.

[ He's running away again, isn't he? Knowing Noire, him not answering properly is just going to upset her more... ]

I... didn't think anyone should be special. Not after... everyone was in my head.

[ Oh yay, more excuses. ]

[bloodandblunder]

Oh, when... [ they'd all gotten mad at her and she'd died... he'd really seemed devoted to helping them more than anything. ]

... I can kind of understand that reasoning, but having those bonds is still important... to me, anyway.

[willbreak]

... What's most important to you, right now?

[bloodandblunder]

Those bonds.

[willbreak]

[ WHY IS THIS SO EASY FOR HER. ]

Would you choose to stay here if you could be with them...?

[bloodandblunder]

[ Because Noire has lost enough to know what's important. ]

I can't... stay, not for good. I made a promise, with the others, that we'd defeat Grima and grant peace to a timeline that wasn't ours. But as long as my friends are here, I won't abandon them either. I think... the greatest strength is the one you have when you're together with the people you care about.

[willbreak]

... I see.

[ His voice lowers now to a barely audible level. ]

There's still a lot I need to learn from you.

[bloodandblunder]

Eh? [ and yet she hears him. ] I-I'm not sure if I'm the best example--

[willbreak]

No...

[ Back to normal volume. ]

You are. You're the last person that would ever betray their heart.

[ Forgive the cheesy. ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ A pause, before she lowers her eyes. ]

No... I've done that before.

[willbreak]

...

If you want to talk about it...

[ Bam, role reversal. ]

[bloodandblunder]

This is about you right now.

... I'm fine, Eugeo. It was just a part of growing up in a war.