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[sheepinwolfclothing]

Hey, this is Ruby.
I can't answer right now,
but leave a message and I'll get back to you!

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Voice , backdated to 26th

[totallysane]

[The voice is male, but sounds very young, and very shaky. He's using voice instead of text because his hands are too shaky to type properly, and he doesn't want to try talking to Shizuo of all people, embarrassed to fall apart before the man from home.

So here he is, calling a woman he doesn't even know, who he's only spoken to once, kneeling on a bathroom floor at Shizuo's, the taste of vomit in his mouth and his head aching and his entire body in pain from a combination of old injuries and a tension that's been going on so long he feels like he'll never be free of it.

His throat is scratchy, he coughs before he manages to speak, and overall the beginning of the transmission sounds like someone who can't quite seem to muster up the ability to speak, rustling and making little awkward noises before he manages to get it out.]

Please, I know we only spoke once, but I need to speak to someone and-

[And what? What can he say? What is he supposed to say, in this moment, the images from the video seared into his brain and refusing to leave, his mouth full of bile and his head fuzzy, his small body shuddering as he kneels on the floor? What all is there to say? But he has to say something, doesn't he?

Can he really lock this away with everything else and still move?]

My friend. My friend is- no, was - in the mall.

[sheepinwolfclothing]

[Okay, she didn't recognize the voice on the other end of the device, but he said they had talked before. She shakes her head and answers anyway. Whoever the poor kid was, he sounds like he's not doing well. And that message...his friend's in the mall.

She tries to sound reassuring, even if she has no idea what to do.]

Hey, hey, hey, easy easy. It's okay. I'm here. What happened? Are you okay?

[totallysane]

I'm fine. I'm out here, and I'm fine, and I just got here and I didn't even get to see him and-

[It spills out of him, just like that. It's not what he wants. He'd rather take himself away somewhere and curl up and hide under blankets and pretend nothing is happening. He'd rather act. He'd rather raze what's left of this forsaken city and let everyone burn together. That's what he wants.

But his knees are weak and he can't seem to move. That's not right, that's not him, that's now how things should be. He has to get up and keep moving.

But for what? For whom?]

It was all blurry and I couldn't hear everything, and I didn't know any of those people, and I couldn't understand what was happening, and I-

[He doesn't know, ultimately, doesn't understand anything that's happening. He's tried to keep track of what's going on through the phone, but he just doesn't have the context yet, and he doesn't know.

There's a retching sound, and he holds the phone away, his hand over it, for just a few seconds.]

S-sorry.

[sheepinwolfclothing]

[It doesn't take much for Ruby to put two and two together. The kid had a friend who had died in the mall. And he had watched it happen. He never got a chance to even say hi when he was brought in.

Oh, poor kid...]

Hey, don't worry about apologizing. It's...it really is a lot to take in. But why would you--

[She cuts herself off with a shake of her head. That's not important. Not now.]

Are you alone? Do you need someone to sit with you?

[No one should have to sit alone when something like this happens, but she's not sure if the kid on the other end would be receptive to a stranger showing up on their doorstep. She'll wait for him to answer and decide what to do from there.]

[totallysane]

No.

[His voice is firm for that part. There's a sound in the background, a sort of cloth-rustling noise and then a slight drag, as he slides himself back across the floor. Then he's speaking again, soft and low.]

I can't. I'm at someone's house, and I needed someone to talk to but-

[How does he even explain Shizuo? He knows the man well enough to stay with him, but not well enough to talk to him? Or rather, he doesn't want to lose face in front of him anymore than he already has, really.]

I-uh- can you just talk to me for a little while? I can't ask the person I'm staying with, he's... not really the type.

[sheepinwolfclothing]

He's the strong, silent type, huh? Don't worry about it. I'll stay on the line as long as you need me to, okay?

[She cautious, though. If this kid is anything like Henry, he might try to do something stupid just to prove a point. She would rather be there with this poor guy, but if he doesn't want her there, then she has to be content with sitting and waiting.]

How long have you known the guy you're staying with?

[Trying to get his mind off the death he saw...]

[totallysane]

[Of course, he knows what she's doing. Even upset, Mikado's aware of it, understands what's happening in the conversation. Or at least, he thinks he does.

That's all right though. It's better, right? He can talk about something else, and not imagine it all over again, not have his closest friend's brains swimming before his eyes, the blood on the rock, the the way the body moved and then was still and...

There's silence on the line for a moment, as he swallows down more bile.]

I-uh- I knew of him before I knew him. I mean, I heard about him, and then... over a year now. He doesn't really remember me all that well, but I know him.

[sheepinwolfclothing]

[Take all the time you need, Kid. She's not going anywhere.]

You knew of him before you actually got to know him. Still, a year is a long time. How could he not remember you if you two have known each other for a year?

[totallysane]

[Mikado's warming to the topic a little now. He pauses, then draws in a breath, considering how to state it.]

Um... well, the man I'm staying with. He's something of an urban legend where I'm from. Special. A big deal. And I'm... a very small, very normal. Boy. That's all.

[sheepinwolfclothing]

Urban legend, huh? What is he? World's most eligible bachelor? [Okay, now she's just trying to get the kid to laugh.] He can't be that bad of a guy to take in a little normal boy like you. I bet he doesn't even mind.

[totallysane]

I wouldn't like to say anything about him people here don't already know. But he's a really nice guy. I respect him a lot. He just... didn't really remember me. Because he'd only seen me a couple of times, to actually speak to me.

[He paused.]

Where I'm from, it's kind of like... I'm not someone anyone notices. But as soon as he did, he took really good care of me!

voice;

[mellowyellow]

[Directly following his failed conversation with Kenpachi, Masaomi finds himself sprawled out on the rocky ground, too drained to say anything more to the man who made him so angry and too pathetic to trudge back to Fallingwater. His life has been spiraling out of control since long before his arrival in Adstringendum, but it's these acute reminders that leave him feeling so undeniably helpless and alone.

Mikado is here. He's here in Adstring, and Masaomi is such an overflowing mess that he can't even properly greet his best friend. Mikado saw him die before he even knew he was here. How is he supposed to deal with that?

He can't.

His PCD beeps, some new message on the network that he doesn't care about. He doesn't look. But remembering he still has his PCD reminds him of an offer he received not too long ago. Slowly, carefully, Masaomi dials for Ruby.

-And doesn't say anything.]

Voice

[sheepinwolfclothing]

[The PCD in her pocket goes off, and she pulls it free to answer the call. Not paying attention to who is on the other line, it's almost like she's back in Storybrooke, answering the phones in the police station for Emma.]

Hello, this is Ruby.

[sheepinwolfclothing]

...If you're so unnoticeable...then why did he pick you?

[There's a soft smile in the tone. She's trying to reassure the boy, even if she's not entirely sure she's going about it the right way. Really, the only kid she's had any major contact with was Henry, and he never made it a point to try and hide.]

Besides, being the one in the background isn't such a bad thing. You know? I'm almost kind of jealous.

Voice

[mellowyellow]

...hi.

[Good job, Masaomi. You managed a whole syllable.]

Voice

[sheepinwolfclothing]

...Kida? [Ho boy, he doesn't sound too good. Her tone instantly softens.] Hey, are you--Please tell me you're at least somewhere safe because I can tell you're not doing okay.

Voice

[mellowyellow]

I'm safe.

[He's outside, but not far from where he's been staying.

His curt answers are far from the norm, however, and seem to lack any semblance of his former energetic self. Despite that he's the one who called her, he seems to be doing everything in his minimal power not to engage. Frankly, he just needs to know someone is on the other end of the line. He's in no mood to chat, and his flat tone makes this clear. Above all, he sounds ungodly tired.]

Voice

[sheepinwolfclothing]

[There's a soft sigh on the other end of the line. Whether it's relief or exasperation is hard to tell. She is glad though you're in one piece at least, Kida.]

Where are you? Do you need someone to come out there?

[Because she will. All he has to do is ask...]

[totallysane]

He's just not the kind of person who would abandon someone, and I said something that made it clear where I was from. So he couldn't really not notice, once I'd said it.

[He laughs, though there's an edge to it still, something unstable.]

I don't know. Everyone wants what they don't have. But when they get it, they're never happy either. .

[sheepinwolfclothing]

There is one thing I could probably stand to live without, but since I was born with it, I guess there's no sense is whining over it.

[Those 28 cursed years do not count, not when she had no idea who she was really was during that time. She couldn't exactly enjoy the reprieve.]

[totallysane]

Oh.

[He doesn't really know what to say to that. On the plus side, he's a lot calmer now?]

Was it something you were going to tell me or..?

[sheepinwolfclothing]

[Calm is good. She can talk to him about what he saw once everything has been processed.]

Maybe some day, but not today. I just want to make sure you're okay.

[totallysane]

I-I guess I have to be okay.

[He sighs, and there's a shifting sound as he moves around a bit.

I can't really do anything else.

Voice

[mellowyellow]

[He doesn’t answer at first, and even when he answers, it isn’t a real answer.]

...Got any decent snacks on you?

[sheepinwolfclothing]

...No one is forcing you to be okay. And trust me...I understand that feeling of not being able to do anything. I have people in there, and...I'm out here.

["You're not alone" goes unspoken.]