[scp r2: justonezero]

[purrtagonist]

STUFF WILL GO HERE ONE DAY

Comments

week 1, saturday post-trial

[purrtagonist]

[there's someone Akira meant to speak with after the investigation yesterday. he's a little late now, he thinks, but. . . better late than never]

[wherever Yoshi may be, Akira eventually flags him down sometime late evening]

Yoshi-kun?

[justonezero]

Hm?

[Yoshi looks up - looks like he's been fiddling with those holographic screens from his BitPhone again.]

What's up?

[The same, usual smile on his face and everything.]

[purrtagonist]

[. . . Akira would admire Yoshi's ability to smile even at times like this if he weren't so certain that smile was born from Yoshi's self-hatred :(]

You look like you bounced back pretty quickly.

[justonezero]

Yeah, guess so!

[Bounce bounce bounce.]

...I don't like how the votes turned out. And I don't like that we got the wrong person. But...

Mm. I guess I still just can't feel pain!

[purrtagonist]

. . . . . the number of really concerning things you're saying to me keeps increasing.

[justonezero]

Ahaha! I get that a lot. And weird, and creepy...

[It has been about a week...]

[purrtagonist]

[IT SURE HAS]

No, I wouldn't say weird or creepy.

[that's something he'll stick by steadfastly]

You just give people plenty of reason to worry, that's all.

[justonezero]

[Ah... so it's still okay for now!]

Do I? That's kind of the opposite of what I want, though.

[purrtagonist]

[a small sigh]

It's hard not to worry about someone who has so little self-worth.

[justonezero]

Eh? Is that it?

[A lot of people seem to be worrying for him here. It's... weird.]

[purrtagonist]

Yep.

[JUST. BLUNT]

It's because we all care about you, and want you to be safe.

[justonezero]

[Ah... He just stares at Akira, wide-eyed, a bit confused.]

But... As long as I do what I can to help everyone else...

Shouldn't that be enough?

[He longs for friends, sure. It would be nice to have people around who don't mind him for who he is. But now they're getting upset over him, not because they hate him, but because they worry for him.

It's... strange. And he's not so sure it's a good thing anymore.

Maybe he really should have just stayed away. There's ways he can be useful like that, too. Quietly helping here and there until he couldn't anymore, until there was no longer a need for him.]

[purrtagonist]

Mmm. I'm glad you're willing to help, actually. We all need it, in a place like this.

[there's a heavy but in the air that Akira voices soon after]

But I enjoy your company, too. And if you're gone, I won't be able to have that anymore.

I'm sure there are other people who feel the same way.

[justonezero]

[Huh...]

So you still like being around me?

[He's still smiling, but there's some uncertainty there, too.]

[purrtagonist]

Of course I do.

[searching Yoshi carefully, expression neutral]

You're pretty good at Minecraft. [NO THAT ISN'T THE ONLY REASON] And you're interesting and funny to talk to. How could I not like being around that?

[justonezero]

Usually by now, people decide they don't want to deal with me anymore!

[It's accompanied by a bright smile, not at all strained. It is what it is.]

I think this is probably the first time anyone's tried to stick by me instead.

[And it's... odd? He's never really been unhappy about his circumstances, even if he really did long for friends.

But now that people are here, steadfastedly caring about him and his wellbeing, he's... not sure what to do with those feelings. Not sure what to do with the friendship he's receiving.

It was okay to put everyone before himself when he didn't have friends. But now they're telling him he has to take care of himself over others.

Which is it...?

[purrtagonist]

[there's a nice balance to be struck here, Yoshi. you will learn it!1]

Well, I mean it.

[gives him a thumbs up]

I'd play Minecraft with you any day.

[justonezero]

[That gets another nod. That one's easy enough to react to.]

Yeah! There's still loooooots of room to build more!

[purrtagonist]

What should we add now that we have our very own treasure dungeon?

[there's a gleam of amusement in Akira's expression. this is a much more fun topic of conversation]

[justonezero]

How about...

A giant mountain with a temple on the top!

[purrtagonist]

Oooh, nice. And every temple needs a statue.

[justonezero]

It's gotta be just as grand as the other one! No, even more!

[purrtagonist]

Even more, because of course we need to build something bigger and better than our very first project.

[justonezero]

Yeah! So I guess we need to get even rarer materials this time...