[Soul Campaign][5 + 1 Meme] Enjoyable Silence
Title: Enjoyable Silence
Author: Xavernus
Fandom: soul_campaign RP Setting
Character(s): Souji Seta, Roy Mustang, Nanako Dojima, Ryotaro Dojima, Jules de Ferrier, appearances by Yosuke Hanamura and the rest of the Investigation Team.
Warnings: Language.
Learning that Roy Mustang was his uncle’s partner was the easiest part of coming to Death City. It may have been his second time in the city, but that didn’t mean that he remembered his last time; in fact, the longer Souji was here, and the more that he heard from people, he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to learn about what happened the first time he was here. It was tough, to hear about the “other” Souji and what he went through, and even tougher to get the glances that told him everything no one wanted to tell him in the first place. It was easy, then, to enjoy Mr. Mustang’s company, if only because he was the only one in the room relaxed when Souji met with his uncle and cousin for the first time in Death City.
--
If anything, the Watch was a place that, while busy, was also comfortable. Everyone was around, busy doing work, but there was a quiet and clam order to it all. He had never expected anything different after learning who was in charge, but even with expectations, Souji had learned to expect nothing. If his parents could ruin expectations at a young age for him, then anyone could do the same now that he was older. Especially someone who he really didn’t know, someone who watched him with the same, careful precision that he himself watched everyone else with. Souji stood on the edge, not sure if he wanted to go in or not, hovering near the door, ready to leave at a moment’s notice. He wasn’t completely sure what he was doing here; he could have gotten the same information over the communicator, but there was something to be said for getting certain information in person. With a sigh, he sucked it up, going into the main room, bypassing the desks on his way to the office. Occasionally he would have to say hello, but everyone was so absorbed that he passed by unnoticed. It was almost a relief, in that way; his uncle seemed to be out, too, so when he knocked on the door, Roy motioned for him to come in right away.
Some scribbled notes and an alchemic circle later, both of them were sitting silent with a cup of coffee. It reminded him of the times with his uncle, and Souji was glad he could re-experience them again with someone new.
--
Inhaling second hand cigarette smoke shouldn’t become second nature, but the smell permeated the Dojima household in Death City. It had been prevalent back home in Inaba as well, but with two smokers in the house now, it seemed neither saw a reason to step outside with it. And Souji didn’t really see a reason for them; as long as Nanako was smiling and glad to have her dad around more, he would brave whatever possible cancer might be on the horizon. And considering he was there almost every other night, making dinner for the entire family, Souji was glad to see his uncle more relaxed then he had seen him back home. Nanako’s happy laugh filled the room while Jules tried to teach her another language, and while Souji made dish after dish of food for the family, as well as enough for leftovers for everyone for the next day, he occasionally called out to his cousin suggestions on how to better pronounce the different French words even he had struggled with at first.
Later, when everyone was home and Dojima was putting his daughter to bed, Souji was able to talk quietly with Roy as he helped him wash the dishes. It was small talk that dipped slightly into how Souji’s personal life was going; something that Souji hit right back with, asking how he and his uncle were doing. He considered it a personal best when he could get Uncle Roy to laugh.
--
Sometimes things went wrong. And sometimes, things turned into a direction no one ever expected; he had been fighting Kishin one moment and back home fighting Shadows in the next. Not that he could remember much. He was bloody and battered as much as everyone else on the Investigation Team was. Yukiko was only able to give out low level healing spells, enough to get everyone back and standing on their feet before they could start moving. Two more levels, and Adachi’s voice was a pounding headache in the back of his head; a quick glance let him know Yosuke was feeling the strain as well. He’d always been able to use his best friend as a barometer for how everyone else was feeling; they all could brave it, but if he could read any of them the best, it was Yosuke. The Team made it to the next door, only to discover a door a few steps away.
“Thank god,” Souji heard Kanji mutter behind him as they pulled open the doors, showing the fox sitting there like he’d been waiting for them all this time. He could never figure out if the fox knew what it was doing, or how it got into these seemingly impossible spots, but one glance at the fox’s brown eyes and Souji could care less about that right now. Getting down on one knee in front of her, he pulled out his wallet, something that only seemed absurd if the rest of the group hadn’t seen him do this a hundred times before. With his wallet considerably lighter, the leaves did their work, washing away an array of bruises and cuts with a white light, something the highest healing spell of any Persona Souji could use only ever touched upon.
“Are you guys okay!?” Rise’s voice finally crackled through Adachi’s taunts, and Souji sighed with a smile.
“Yeah. We’re ready to go again,” Souji responded, turning back to his team. “We can do this,” He said, watching Chie wipe the sweat from her brow, and Naoto check her pistol for the umpteenth time. He finally turned to Yosuke, only to have his friend smile at him confidently.
“We’ve got this,” Yosuke said confidently, and they gathered up their weapons and the rest of their equipment. Another floor, and they were facing off against Adachi himself, the terrible mutation of Izanagi staring Souji in a way that he could feel eat into his soul. The fight ended before it got any worse, the horrifying rainbow eyeball yelling out its’ last taunt to them before melting away, the shadows fleeing from them as they brought Adachi back to the real world, out of the TV and into police custody.
That night, Souji dreamed of a world where his cousin could fight on her own and out of a hospital bed and a man with half of his face obscured told him he was proud of what he’d done.
--
“You should have stayed partnered together,” Souji muttered, hands clenched at his sides as he looked down at his uncle lying on the hospital bed with tubes running from his arms and face, connected to machines that beeped every other second.
“I know,” Mustang said, fingers pressed into his leg as he sat in the chair by his bedside.
“You were the one who suggested it. No wonder he was angry before. You guys had problems before, that should have taught you the lesson that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea,” His voice was sharp, a hint of sarcasm at the end, and he couldn’t even look at him.
“I know,” the older man said again, this time a little more tersely.
“I said we’d talk about it later, but I can’t believe how stupid--“
“I know. Not now, Souji.”
“When would be a better time for you? When he’s dead? When he’s not able to come back from an injury, does he have to lose a limb for you to-“
“I said enough, Souji!” Souji turned to look at him, taking in the way he was now standing up, and while he was angry enough to even think about fighting, he didn’t think he could fight him right now. He couldn’t. He had other people to think about, and he backed away.
“I need to go check on Nanako. Don’t think this is over,” Souji said, eyes flashing in anger. Maybe his uncle would wake up if he slammed the door loud enough on his way out.
Author: Xavernus
Fandom: soul_campaign RP Setting
Character(s): Souji Seta, Roy Mustang, Nanako Dojima, Ryotaro Dojima, Jules de Ferrier, appearances by Yosuke Hanamura and the rest of the Investigation Team.
Warnings: Language.
Learning that Roy Mustang was his uncle’s partner was the easiest part of coming to Death City. It may have been his second time in the city, but that didn’t mean that he remembered his last time; in fact, the longer Souji was here, and the more that he heard from people, he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to learn about what happened the first time he was here. It was tough, to hear about the “other” Souji and what he went through, and even tougher to get the glances that told him everything no one wanted to tell him in the first place. It was easy, then, to enjoy Mr. Mustang’s company, if only because he was the only one in the room relaxed when Souji met with his uncle and cousin for the first time in Death City.
--
If anything, the Watch was a place that, while busy, was also comfortable. Everyone was around, busy doing work, but there was a quiet and clam order to it all. He had never expected anything different after learning who was in charge, but even with expectations, Souji had learned to expect nothing. If his parents could ruin expectations at a young age for him, then anyone could do the same now that he was older. Especially someone who he really didn’t know, someone who watched him with the same, careful precision that he himself watched everyone else with. Souji stood on the edge, not sure if he wanted to go in or not, hovering near the door, ready to leave at a moment’s notice. He wasn’t completely sure what he was doing here; he could have gotten the same information over the communicator, but there was something to be said for getting certain information in person. With a sigh, he sucked it up, going into the main room, bypassing the desks on his way to the office. Occasionally he would have to say hello, but everyone was so absorbed that he passed by unnoticed. It was almost a relief, in that way; his uncle seemed to be out, too, so when he knocked on the door, Roy motioned for him to come in right away.
Some scribbled notes and an alchemic circle later, both of them were sitting silent with a cup of coffee. It reminded him of the times with his uncle, and Souji was glad he could re-experience them again with someone new.
--
Inhaling second hand cigarette smoke shouldn’t become second nature, but the smell permeated the Dojima household in Death City. It had been prevalent back home in Inaba as well, but with two smokers in the house now, it seemed neither saw a reason to step outside with it. And Souji didn’t really see a reason for them; as long as Nanako was smiling and glad to have her dad around more, he would brave whatever possible cancer might be on the horizon. And considering he was there almost every other night, making dinner for the entire family, Souji was glad to see his uncle more relaxed then he had seen him back home. Nanako’s happy laugh filled the room while Jules tried to teach her another language, and while Souji made dish after dish of food for the family, as well as enough for leftovers for everyone for the next day, he occasionally called out to his cousin suggestions on how to better pronounce the different French words even he had struggled with at first.
Later, when everyone was home and Dojima was putting his daughter to bed, Souji was able to talk quietly with Roy as he helped him wash the dishes. It was small talk that dipped slightly into how Souji’s personal life was going; something that Souji hit right back with, asking how he and his uncle were doing. He considered it a personal best when he could get Uncle Roy to laugh.
--
Sometimes things went wrong. And sometimes, things turned into a direction no one ever expected; he had been fighting Kishin one moment and back home fighting Shadows in the next. Not that he could remember much. He was bloody and battered as much as everyone else on the Investigation Team was. Yukiko was only able to give out low level healing spells, enough to get everyone back and standing on their feet before they could start moving. Two more levels, and Adachi’s voice was a pounding headache in the back of his head; a quick glance let him know Yosuke was feeling the strain as well. He’d always been able to use his best friend as a barometer for how everyone else was feeling; they all could brave it, but if he could read any of them the best, it was Yosuke. The Team made it to the next door, only to discover a door a few steps away.
“Thank god,” Souji heard Kanji mutter behind him as they pulled open the doors, showing the fox sitting there like he’d been waiting for them all this time. He could never figure out if the fox knew what it was doing, or how it got into these seemingly impossible spots, but one glance at the fox’s brown eyes and Souji could care less about that right now. Getting down on one knee in front of her, he pulled out his wallet, something that only seemed absurd if the rest of the group hadn’t seen him do this a hundred times before. With his wallet considerably lighter, the leaves did their work, washing away an array of bruises and cuts with a white light, something the highest healing spell of any Persona Souji could use only ever touched upon.
“Are you guys okay!?” Rise’s voice finally crackled through Adachi’s taunts, and Souji sighed with a smile.
“Yeah. We’re ready to go again,” Souji responded, turning back to his team. “We can do this,” He said, watching Chie wipe the sweat from her brow, and Naoto check her pistol for the umpteenth time. He finally turned to Yosuke, only to have his friend smile at him confidently.
“We’ve got this,” Yosuke said confidently, and they gathered up their weapons and the rest of their equipment. Another floor, and they were facing off against Adachi himself, the terrible mutation of Izanagi staring Souji in a way that he could feel eat into his soul. The fight ended before it got any worse, the horrifying rainbow eyeball yelling out its’ last taunt to them before melting away, the shadows fleeing from them as they brought Adachi back to the real world, out of the TV and into police custody.
That night, Souji dreamed of a world where his cousin could fight on her own and out of a hospital bed and a man with half of his face obscured told him he was proud of what he’d done.
--
“You should have stayed partnered together,” Souji muttered, hands clenched at his sides as he looked down at his uncle lying on the hospital bed with tubes running from his arms and face, connected to machines that beeped every other second.
“I know,” Mustang said, fingers pressed into his leg as he sat in the chair by his bedside.
“You were the one who suggested it. No wonder he was angry before. You guys had problems before, that should have taught you the lesson that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea,” His voice was sharp, a hint of sarcasm at the end, and he couldn’t even look at him.
“I know,” the older man said again, this time a little more tersely.
“I said we’d talk about it later, but I can’t believe how stupid--“
“I know. Not now, Souji.”
“When would be a better time for you? When he’s dead? When he’s not able to come back from an injury, does he have to lose a limb for you to-“
“I said enough, Souji!” Souji turned to look at him, taking in the way he was now standing up, and while he was angry enough to even think about fighting, he didn’t think he could fight him right now. He couldn’t. He had other people to think about, and he backed away.
“I need to go check on Nanako. Don’t think this is over,” Souji said, eyes flashing in anger. Maybe his uncle would wake up if he slammed the door loud enough on his way out.