GRAVEYARD

[foundationmods]

[On the instant of your death, you're suddenly outside of your body - probably staring down at the remains it's become.

Yet, you're not alone. For all of you (except Szayel), a young man appears from behind you, his face set into a firm, yet sad, scowl. His shaggy strawberry blonde hair is pretty eye-catching, along with the black and white Shihakusho he wears and the large sword on his back, even as he gently tries to lead you back into the lobby and away from what was once your body. You can still clearly hear and see the living, if you want to try - but they can't see or hear you.

'Welcome to the world of the dead in this Resort,' he says, quietly. 'Looks like you're stuck here with the rest of us.'

He hands you a tablet, just like the one you had before. "You'll need this if you want to keep talking to them,' he explains, looking sad.

It looks like you've passed on, and yet...You still feel like you have a role to play in all of this.]

Comments

Friday, early morning

[relentlesslyonwards]

[The last living thought he has is: 'I should have listened to him.'

...

When he regains awareness again, it's like waking up from a long, long nightmare. He can only stare blankly at the mess inside the chapel, feeling disconnected and numb as he just stands there, still as a statue. There's no resistance or anything as he's led back to the lobby, where he seats himself in couch -- and that's where it all hits him, everything that's happened in the past few weeks, what happened while he worked for the Foundation --

He hunches over in his seat with his elbows on his knees and balls his fists in his hair, features filled with shame and frustration. He'll be there for a long while.

Sometime after he's pulled himself together and if he hasn't already spoken to them, he'll be seeking out Szayel, Inaba, Atsushi and Minato.]

[justonezero]

[Ssssssso this is awkward. Have a garbage rabbit who does not actually have the bitphone ears anymore.]

...Do you remember anything?

[It. It kind of looks like he does??]

[relentlesslyonwards]

[It's rude and he knows it, but he doesn't look up at Yoshi when he answers, voice quiet and resigned.]

...Yeah. I do.

[justonezero]

[Oh.

Hm!!]

That's totally the opposite of what the jorogumo said.

[relentlesslyonwards]

[Here, he untangles his hands from his hair and looks up, expression tired and full of guilt.]

I thought I was the Jorogumo the whole time. That's... why I remember everything.

[dereban]

. . . Rean?

[ Inaba was definitely on the lookout for him ever since she found out Arisato was dead, but now she's actually here and sees him in the lobby and she's feeling a little awkward about calling out his name like this, but also.

This sure just happened. ]

[relentlesslyonwards]

[Oh. In retrospect, it's only been two weeks or so, but it feels like it's been a long time since he's heard her voice. His shoulders stiffen noticeably before they slump and he straightens up in his seat, arms no longer obscuring his face. He looks tired; that in and of itself is nothing new, but there's a weight to it now, which becomes plenty apparent when he forces himself to meet her eyes.

It's guilt.]

Inaba, I...

[dereban]

You— [ She sees that expression and she immediately tenses up because the meaning behind them shows everything. Her hands grip tightly at the hem of her shirt, fingers trembling slightly. Even her lips are quivering and while it's really tempting to run away right now, she keeps herself still. It's. He- ] You. . . remember everything. . . don't you? How? [ Her voice is shaking and she can't even look at him straight in the eyes as she speaks because she doesn't know what else to say to this. ]

[moonlightbeast]

[Atsushi is here, and he's ready for this. Maybe.

...okay maybe not. His own death is still pretty raw to him. But it isn't Rean's fault, he reminds himself. It was the Jorogumo, not Rean.]

H-hello?

[Okay, the anxiety is still there. But he'll try.

[relentlesslyonwards]

[It's okay, they can be messes together...?! Still, seeing Atsushi's nervousness makes him feel pretty self-conscious too, so he rubs the back of his awkwardly before he meets his eyes.]

H-hey. [He takes a breath and bows his head.] I just wanted to apologize for everything last week. You didn't deserve that, especially since none of it was under your control to begin with.

[moonlightbeast]

N-no, it's alright! Like you said, I wasn't in control. If that's what it took to get me back in control, then so be it.

[messianic]

[Hey Rean... Minato certainly doesn't seem to mind that Rean's there; he just flops onto the couch next to him, and... tries to find words for a moment.

Mmmmm...]

... Sorry, Schwarzer-san.

[relentlesslyonwards]

[He's not sure how ready he is to face everyone at this point, but he also knows it's something he has to do. He's hurt a lot of people these past few weeks, and they deserve something; apologies can't change the past and he doesn't expect forgiveness, but it feels like the least he can do.

So that's why he looks up with clear disbelief when Minato apologizes to him. After a few moments of stunned silence:]

No, that's... that's definitely my line here. Why are you apologizing?

[messianic]

[WELL... he definitely is the reason Rean is here, even if it's nobody's exact fault. He rubs the back of his head awkwardly.]

I don't know that I did as good a job at warning the Jorogumo away as I could have, in the end...

[bladeisme]

[Ichigo lets Rean have his time alone - he gets it, after all. How horrible it can be to come back to yourself, after doing things you had no control over.

But when he's pulled himself back together, Ichigo approaches him.]

...How are you doing?

[relentlesslyonwards]

[There's probably still something fragile about the way he smiles back, but for now, the cracks have been patched up a little and he's functional. Maybe that's all they can really ask for, in this place.]

Haha... I'm a little tired, but I'm actually feeling a lot better here than I was over there. It's pretty nice to be able to just... breathe again.

[bladeisme]

Because of the Jorogumo?

[Ichigo notices that smile, alright - it's one he's worn before himself, honestly. And he knows that Rean has to be in a delicate state right now, even if he's still mostly together.]

....I'm sorry. I tried to stop it back then, but...I wasn't able to.

[perfeccion]

[ Szayel will find Rean in the lobby. In his hands he has a few vials full of.... stuff. Tissue? Hmmm]

What a mess you boys made.

[relentlesslyonwards]

[He's honestly too distracted by Szayel himself to pay any real mind to what he's holding at the moment. If he knew, though... For now, though, he looks appropriately ashamed at the reprimand(?).]

S-sorry about that. [...Wait, that's not what he should be apologizing for.] Um... about that night...

[perfeccion]

[well, it WAS an unholy mess, and nothing was salvageable... Except a tiny bit of webbing from what was left of Rean's lungs, and plenty of macerated tissue for DNA testing. Alas!]

Hm? Oh. I thought we determined that was water under the bridge, young man. What do you remember?

[diesifkilled]

[They haven't talked much, but Shirou likes Rean. So when he approaches, it's with a bit of ambivalence - on one hand, it's good that Rean is himself again. On the other, he had to die to get there which is. Not great.]

...Hey. How're you holding up?

[relentlesslyonwards]

[Ah... he looks up slightly from his position when he hears that voice, staring a little pitifully at Shirou before he forces a smile. It may end up looking more like a grimace instead.]

...Hey. I'm fine. Thanks a lot for asking, I really appreciate it.

[thejusticewagon]

[...oh. Oh... welp, there's Rean. Maybe she should go say hi...]

Oh... heya. Um, how you holding up? I heard things were a little complicated with you, so...

[relentlesslyonwards]

[Oh... He straightens up so he can look up from his position, and stares a little blankly at her. Of course, it's no surprise that she's here, but for a second he flashes back to the sight of Cynthia's tattered body and he has to blink to dispel the image.]

I-I'm fine. Complicated is a pretty good word for it, and I'm still sorting things out in my mind, but I'll be okay. Thanks.

[He makes some effort to smile at her and it probably looks super awkward, but he's trying.]

[thejusticewagon]

Yeah, I'm sure. I really don't know what being possessed by a spider demon would actually be like, but I'd imagine it'd mess your head up pretty badly... do you want something to eat? We can still eat back here.