3rd Hat Flip [Voice/Action] Backdated to right after the draftees return

[immamartillo]

[Voice]

[ There's a brief pause after Firo turns on the journal. It's more difficult than he thought to make the announcement; when he tried writing it out he found he could barely move the pencil. He decides to keep it brief and just manages to keep most of the emotion out of his voice. ]

Seto's dead. 

[Action]

[ Shortly after his journal post Firo steals off to take a walk. He's avoiding the center of the village for once, staying around the fringes instead. Finding it difficult to deal with this mixture of grief and anger, he'll occasionally pause to punch or kick some poor tree. ]

Comments

[action]

[keepsthelight.livejournal.com]

[Ouka hears the sound of a fist striking bark and she slows down in her walk back to the house in order to see where it came from. ....what did that poor tree do to you Firo 8(]

...Excuse me.

[action]

[immamartillo]

[ Firo's so wrapped up in his own emotions that her sudden arrival doesn't startle him, and it takes him a moment to respond. He lets his arm fall to his side as he turns around, staring warily at Ouka. ]

What?

[action]

[keepsthelight.livejournal.com]

[She pauses. He's obviously bothered about something, and she doesn't know whether or not it's her place to ask...]

...Are your hands alright?

[immamartillo]

[ He blinks and stares at her uncomprehending. With his thoughts elsewhere, he barely notices the stinging in his scraped knuckles. ]

Are my..? What're you talkin' about?

[ After another short moment of thought. ]

Who are you?

[voice]

[magicwarding.livejournal.com]

H-He's what?!

[Roji doesn't know why he even asked that. He heard the boy loud and clear. Maybe he's just in brief denial. That innocent, kind kid...why did it have to be him? Why does it have to happen to anyone?

As always with this situation, he was somewhat prepared for the possibility...but preparedness still doesn't make it any easier.]

Er, I apologize. I'll keep a lookout for his return...

[What else can he say?]

[voice]

[immamartillo]

[ Firo was just about to retort when Roji apologizes. He should be trying to have more sympathy- he was just as stunned- but won't bring himself to. There's a pause and Firo sighs quietly. ]

Thanks. Do you have any idea how long it'll take..?

[voice]

[magicwarding.livejournal.com]

[He swallows hard, trying to keep his cool.]

Well, when it happened to someone else I know, he came back about a week later. So...I'm guessing it'll be the same for Seto.

[Voice]

[kingofwaste]

Wait, Seto?! Y-ya mean that nice kid who came to watch cartoons on Oswald Day, and wanted ta borrow my DVD player?

[Voice]

[immamartillo]

Yeah, that sounds like him. H-he was on the Draft and...

[ He trails off, not wanting to elaborate on the details of the event. ]

[Voice]

[kingofwaste]

But... He's comin' back, right? ...That's how it works, right?

[Voice]

[moezama]

[Did he hear that right? Seto was....Seto was dead?]

He'll...he'll come back, right? The guide said people can't really die here and...

[...Then again, he died while outside the village, would it still count?]

[Voice]

[immamartillo]

[ The only thing that had been making this easier was that Firo had thought Seto's eventual return was set in stone. Kazuma's question makes him wonder if he missed some important piece of information. His voice rises as he starts to panic, completely ignoring Kazuma's second statement. ]

But... he has to come back!

[moezama]

Well--people do, right? After a week? [It's not like Kazuma knows this first hand, he was hoping Firo would know D8]

[Voice]

[knightofratatosk]

Seto is...

[Voice]

[immamartillo]

He's dead.

[ Firo's attempt at keeping his voice from shaking makes the reiteration come out harsher than he meant it to. ]

A Third Party guy killed him on the Draft.

[Voice]

[knightofratatosk]

But... I promised him he could have Christmas dinner with us...

[Action] Hopefully timelines work out all right...!

[lostinmyway]

[Grune had missed Firo's announcement at the time. She had been too busy giving out hot cocoa and cookies to the returning draftees. Instead, it had been Giles who had broken the news to her, right before she had closed up shop for the day.

Now she's returning home, carrying a basket that clinks with empty mugs. Her expression is...tired. It's something so rare for her that even some of her closest friends have never seen that particular look on her face. Seto is....

A sudden sound makes her look up. She doesn't know what it is, but....] Hello?

[Action]

[immamartillo]

[ Firo doesn't notice that Grune's nearby until she speaks up. Hesitantly, he steps away from the trees and walks over.

It's startling to see her looking so unhappy and different from when he met her. His heart sinks a little more as he wonders anxiously if he has to be the one to tell her about Seto. ]

Grune..?

[Action]

[lostinmyway]

[Grune blinks, her reaction times even slower than usual.]

...Oh, hello, Firo. [She does her best to smile for him. After all, she doesn't want him to worry.] Are you back from protecting the village?

[voice]

[frost_jewel]

[There's no mistaking the pain in her voice here.]

...How? That can't be true...

[How could she miss that? Wasn't there anyone to help him?]

[voice]

[immamartillo]

[ Firo's answer comes out more curt and blunt than intended. He's not yet considering others' feelings, and he can't stop his anger from coming out a bit. ]

How? He was on the Draft and some Third Party guy stabbed him.

[voice]

[frost_jewel]

I know he was, I was there too...

[Was she really so busy at the last that she didn't hear...]

[ruinedhiswish.livejournal.com]

What...? You... you can't be serious...!

[immamartillo]

You think I'd make somethin' like this up?

[ruinedhiswish.livejournal.com]

N-no.. of course not! But... how did it... happen?