SEMI-CLOSED ♞ CAR CRASHES AND SLEEP DEPRIVATION

[tarotcards]

WHO: Souji and youuuuuuuuuuu
WHERE: Everywhere
WHEN: 07/21 - 07/23
WHAT: Souji is severely sleep deprived because of Bad Memories and New Powers so comes disaster


OPEN

Since the beginning of the month, Souji has been getting some... unpleasant memories, to say the least. Memories that made him feel uncomfortable and isolated, but it was nothing that he couldn't really handle. A few sleepless nights weren't anything new and he has been good enough at trying to reassure those who've noticed (Ardyn, Tatsuma, Shin, to name just a few...) that everything was just fine. Everyone has a bad night or two where they just can't sleep, right? Souji is just having some of those right now so it's nothing severe or anything to worry about.

But then those regains came and everything went to total hell.

In between having difficulties falling asleep and pushing himself to master his newest Persona (something that drains him of energy every single he uses it), Souji hasn't been well-rested for the past week and a half. To say the least, he's suffering from a severe case of sleep deprivation and it shows through his behaviour and just his overall look (he tries to be well-groomed and dress properly but that doesn't hide the bags under his eyes). Throughout the city, he can be seen doing any of the following:

i) Falling asleep on the bus. Anyone with a keen eye or an attentive mind would notice that he's been sleeping on this bus for multiple stops and he doesn't seem like he's going to get up anytime soon. Plus, if the bus goes out of service or is at its final stop? He still doesn't seem like he's going to wake up. He just slouches in his seat and sleeps away. ii) Walking down the street and occasionally bobbing his head up and down as he tries to stay awake. He accidentally bumps into poles and people as he walks. He immediately apologises without even looking at what or who he walked into so here's a guy just apologising to a pole. Yeah, he's really tired. iii) Recognise him and try to call out to get his attention? Nope. He wouldn't even notice. He'll just keep on walking by. He's going to need to be called out a few more times or physically stopped before he notices anything.

CLOSED

The other problem with being this sleep deprived is that you don't take in your surroundings as well as you used to. Asides from bumping into pedestrians or falling asleep on the public, there is also the chance that you might not even notice that the street you were crossing had their traffic lights change. Add that with some distracted drivers and you have a bad case of everything going wrong at once.

i) He walks into traffic but can get pulled back right in the nick of time. There is some honking and yelling about how he should watch where he's going but there doesn't seem to be a lot of trouble for this one. ii) He walks into traffic and he's too far out to be pulled back so he can only be pushed. For those who are willing to Die For Souji, this is your chance. Hopefully, you aren't expecting the car that hit you to stick around, though, because the moment there's an impact, that driver is speeding off. iii) He walks into traffic and actually gets hit by a car. Luckily, it wasn't going very fast so there isn't a big crash but it is still enough to push Souji down and fall onto the road. Again, this driver doesn't plan on sticking around and drives off, leaving Souji to deal with some really nasty bruises. Hope you aren't expecting to do anything for the next immediate while. iv) He may or may not have been involved in an accident but word travels fast so chances are that you might have heard about it. Heck, you might have even witnessed it because couldn't do anything in all the chaos that was going on. Whichever it is, you just know that whatever happened wasn't good.

closed to akira, ardyn, dante, fuuka, keigo, mako, minako, ragna, ritsu, shin, tatsuma, yosuke, and yu

The closed prompts are for those I've discussed beforehand on plurk to be involved. No plans on opening this prompt to more people so sorry about that. Contact me over at northpaws if you want to do something outside the open options or to discuss anything! Also, will be replying with action bracket tags!

Comments

closed - i

[browbeater]

[this is probably his last week on the dayshift, before he becomes basically a zombie. He should be enjoying it, since at least he's not parked on some highway somewhere, and there's actual energy in the area. It's not as boring as it could be, is what he's getting at. He's got his coffee, he's near the police car, and he just looks Cool As Hell, decked out in police gear.

As he scans the crowd, he recognizes the silver hair. That's either Yu or Souji-- he didn't know of many other silver haired kids that had full heads of gray hair. But recognizing him is enough to push Mako in that direction, if only to say "Hi."

But then he notices something-- namely he notices that the crosswalk is steadily counting down to 0. And, to be honest, whichever twin it was, was walking like a zombie. There's no way he'd make it. And he didn't even appear to be paying attention. Mako approaches a little faster, and sure enough, just as he's about to step out into the already moving traffic, he grabs him by his collar and yanks him back, much to the surprise of everyone around them.]

Hey. What are you doing?

[tarotcards]

[ It takes Souji a second before he even registers what's going on. The honking, the yelling, being dragged by the collar, everything suddenly becomes disorientating, and he doesn't realise how dangerously close he was to being hit by a car. Instinctively, he begins to apologise. ]

Sorry, I--

[ He places a hand on his head and looks around. Was he... about to get run over? ]

Closed - II

[strawberrypunch]

[Spotting Souji isn't so strange - even with as large a city as it is, he's bumped into others plenty of times before. In fact, he even starts to follow with the intent to say hi--

And that's when Souji walks right out into traffic.

The sound that comes from his mouth is loud and harsh and frantic, nothing like the tone he normally uses.]

SOUJI!

[Souji will feel a hand on his back pushing him forward, enough that he might even stumble. As for sounds - the honk of the truck that just narrowly missed him, and a quiet grunt of pain. By the time he looks behind him, he'll find Tatsuma on his knees on the ground, curled up tight as he grasps his shoulder.

An engine's roar sounds as the truck makes a break for it. But at the very least, the other cars have stopped in light of the scene.]

[tarotcards]

[ By the time Souji realises that nothing is wrong, it's far too late for him to do anything. He feels a hard push on his back and by already being disorientated enough, it's enough to make him fall to his hands and knees. The car in the next lane stops just metres before him and it takes him a second to register the sound of a truck speeding away from the scene. He looks behind him and immediately, he feels his stomach drop and his blood run cold. ]

Tatsuma--!!

[ He scrambles to get back onto his feet, nearly tripping over himself as he rushes to Tatsuma's side. His hands are up, wavering, but he doesn't know where to put them. He doesn't know where Tatsuma's hurt (obviously his shoulder but anywhere else?) and how bad it is and he tries to move in close to see. ]

open - ii

[truedetective]

[You know, Souji is pretty recognizable from afar, and Naoto calls out to him. He doesn't seem to hear it, though.

And then he walks into a pole.

Naoto's just close enough by that point, having jogged up to him, that she hears him mumble an apology to the pole.] Souji?

Did you just apologize to the pole?

[tarotcards]

[ Souji rubs his nose where it hit the pole and he just looks at Naoto with a dazed and somewhat confused experience as if he's also unsure what he just did. ]

Huh? [ He looks back at the pole. ] I... guess I did?

[ That must have come instinctively... Since he's so used to apologising whenever he makes a mistake. ]

Closed - III

[yamagishi]

[As Fuuka was walking down the streets, she couldn't help but give a sigh. Living in the big city was sure a lot more difficult than she thought. With the busy lifestyle as well as starting college in the fall, the poor girl had a lot on her plate. Not only that, she needed to get ready to start moving in with her roommates as well! She had to start getting ready to buy funiture as well as figuring out how to manage everything on her own.

Just what was she suppose to do?

When she was looking down at her list of things to do, she noticed a crowd starting to form nearby. Being rather curious, she walked on by wondering what was going on. Although, when she noticed someone familiar on the ground...?]

Y-Yu? Are you okay, what happened?!

[tarotcards]

[ The crash between him and the car was enough to throw Souji down onto the ground, causing some serious pain on his hip (the place of impact) and the back he fell on. By the time Fuuka arrives, the car that hit him was long gone and Souji pushed himself up to a sitting position, grimacing. A few other people have already tried to help him up or ask if they should call for someone and he just silently shakes his head. For Fuuka though, he only replies with this: ]

I'm Souji...

[ As if that's important (well, it kind of is to him; he doesn't want her to worry about her brother) and while that doesn't answer her question, she could hear the mumbling from other people. Mumbling that includes how this boy just walked out into traffic and got hit, that the car just sped away after, asking if it's okay not to call for an ambulance, and how one person is totally tweeting about this later. The usual crowd chatter. ]

closed -- i

[rebellions]

[It's shaping up to be just another boring, uneventful day, and frankly, this is something Ragna can appreciate. With all the recent bingo madness, it'd be kind of nice to have a "normal" day again, so he's actually kind of looking forward to getting busy and distracting himself with work for once.

On his way there, Ragna spots a familiar figure a few steps away from him at the crossing ─ and chooses to ignore it, because damn if he'll go out of his way to say hello to some kid who's tried to murder him with shitty food. Actually, he probably wouldn't bother saying hi to anyone. As such, he pay Souji little attention ─ that is, until he decides to be an idiot and step into the traffic despite the red light.

Before Ragna has a chance to even consider his options, he's already rushing forward, grabbing Souji by the shoulder and pulling him back to the sidewalk with a little more force than necessary. And not a moment too soon, as a car passes in the exact spot where Souji was standing just a moment ago, its driver honking loudly and shaking his fist and yelling something about stupid kids not watching where they're going. Ragna yells back to him to fuck off, but he has to admit the driver was right: the whole thing was totally Souji's fault. What was he even thinking? The man glares down at him with an expression that suggests he's considering murdering him with his bare hands for all the trouble he's caused just now.]

What the hell do you think you're doing?! You've got a death with or something?!

[tarotcards]

[ Ragna's pull is enough to throw Souji onto the sidewalk onto his ass and to cause some road burn onto his hands that he put out behind him to try and soften the blow. He grimaces at the pain but also at all the honking and yelling. It takes him a second or two to register what just happened, that he got pulled away from getting hit by a car, but it doesn't sink in just how bad it would have been if Ragna hadn't saved him. ]

No, I-- I was just trying to cross.

[ He sounds so... confused and tired, almost like a child trying to defend themselves. He just stays seated on the ground where Ragna tossed him, trying to gather his strength before he attempts getting up. ]

open - i

[reticence]

[Faolan is trying to get used to taking the bus around town. He's only been in Recolle about a month now and so the stops aren't as familiar to him as he'd like for them to be, but he knows he'll get there. Half the problem is that if he were traveling with his young charge, Laurent, he wouldn't be taking the bus in the first place and thus the learning process is slow.

Being a bodyguard has its ups and downs. One of the hardest parts is that his schedule mostly relies on when he should have a moment where Laurent should agree to stay in the safety of his well-secured apartment, so that Faolan can step out and have a little down-time himself. The other part is that even when he's not on the job, he's always on the alert. And the young man across the bus from him has definitely caught his eye, sleeping through the last few stops as he has. Either he really is looking to ride the thing to the end of the line, or he's missed his out. Faolan decides to take a gamble and sits forward towards him.]

Hey. Are you alright? [His voice is Irish accented, trying not to startle him but also to speak loud enough to wake him over the noise of the bus and the traffic.]

[tarotcards]

[ The problem with going without proper sleep for nearly a week is that when you accidentally fall asleep, you fall asleep hard. Trying to catch up on what little rest his body can take, Faolan doesn't completely wake up Souji by just speaking to him but it does get a small reaction from him as he shifts in his seat to get into a more comfortable sleeping position. ]

Mm?

open ii → closed iv

[esperimental]

[ Ritsu minds his own business heading home in this late afternoon, stopping when he hears the sound of a collision just behind him before he could turn a corner. Oh, it's one of the odd brothers. The other party is a ticked off lady who claims she was already late as is, so at the least she doesn't waste more time berating Souji as she gathered her papers before storming off in her heels before anyone could even lend a hand. ]

...

[ He doesn't know which one of them this is. Goddammit he's bad enough at names as is. ]

Are you... okay?

[tarotcards]

[ The twins are pretty indistinguishable at this age so asides from their mannerisms or their sense of fashion, it can be very difficult to tell them apart. Souji's not even sure if their parents could separate them so he certainly can't blame anyone for not being able to. ]

[ But Souji stands there a bit dumbfounded while he gets berated before the lady storms off. He would have offered to help her pick up her papers but she was moving too fast for him so he's just left to stand behind and feel guilty. It takes him a second before he even turns to look at Ritsu and register that he's been asked a question. ]

Yeah, I... just wasn't paying attention to where I was going.

[ He looks like he could collapse at any moment with how exhausted he seems. No wonder he wasn't paying attention. ]

As we discussed.

[burningblossoms]

[Yukiko rarely missed things that involved her friends, and Souji was someone she'd considered a friend. Something had been off for weeks, if not months, and it had just really begun hitting home recently, after that conversation over kites. She'd thought about it quite a lot, and she was beginning to realize that there was something of a wall built up between her and Souji, and all things considered?

That smelled wrong.

Yukiko wasn't the kind of person to just confront people though, not without a good reason. She'd let it be for now, until a catalyst came. But it simmered and stung a little, and when she called out to him on the street and he didn't actually bother to answer her despite repeated attempts, it all came to a head. She stalked up, practically fuming and stepped directly into his path. Anger furrowing her brow, she grabbed his hand just in case he didn't notice her.]

Souji. Hey! I'm talking to you!

[tarotcards]

[ Growing up in a household where he was taught to bury all of his thoughts and feelings, to swallow it up, have not done Souji any favours. Being separated from his brother, having a demanded mother, not making any friends, all of these contributed to Souji learning how to put up his walls and to never reveal his true feelings to anyone. He can't even address his own feelings properly so how could he ever properly express them to others? ]

[ So for months now, he's been trying to hide everything and talk as little as possible about his own memories or concerns. It has been going well at first but more and more people have been catching on and in his current exhausted state, it's probably all too easy to now see how much he's been holding in. It really takes Yukiko to stand in front of him and to grab his hand to snap him out of his daze to register that she's been calling for him. ]

Yukiko?

[ It takes him a second before he can focus on her but it doesn't take long before tired eyes can finally make out the person before him. ]

closed - 1

[impulsives]

[ Shin's just heading home from a hobby shop, his left hand carrying a small plastic bag filled with the new paints he just got for his new idea on a diorama. His mood is improving steadily after the trainwreck that was his first ever traumatic memory, though he still just spends his time cooped up in his place, whether it's working on his costume for the upcoming con, or just making more diorama in the first place.

That's when he saw Souji just walking as if in a daze, towards the traffic light. It's obvious on how tired Souji is, considering how long Shin has known him. Souji normally seem more composed than that, even if he's tired, so... it was clear that Souji's at his limit ]

Hey, Sou-

[ He called his friend, but he realized that Souji's not listening, as he kept taking steps forward. As the traffic light turned green.


Suddenly, Shin forgot all about his new set of paint as his body immediately reacted (his left hand unclenches and that plastic bag just fell to the ground with a clatter), and he burst forward towards his friend, and yanked him back before anything else can even happen. ]

Souji! What the fuck!?

[ It's clear from his voice that he's more concerned than angry, but... it's still pretty loud. ]

[tarotcards]

[ It's not the loud sounds of the honking or the yelling that gets Souji to realise that something is wrong but rather, it's the suddenly pull back onto the sidewalks that jump starts his brain into realising that something is terribly wrong. As he stumbles back, nearly tripping over himself, everything suddenly catches up with him on just happened. ]

... Shin?

[ Where did he come from? Was he the one to pull him out of that? ]

closed - i

[daemonized]

[He had seen Souji at a distance, and while they might have been going in different directions to begin with, with differing destinations, there's no way Ardyn Izunia would not diverge from his route just to say hello to his nephew.

He approaches with a smile, his eyes trained on the back of Souji's head for now, weaving through a small crowd to approach him. Ardyn intends to pat the boy on the shoulder, maybe to entertain a short conversation to see how he's doing, then wave him along his way until he sees him again. He has no way of seeing his face, his expression, mired with exhaustion; if he did, perhaps he'd feel an encroaching wave of concern instead.

It arrives soon enough, at any rate.

The traffic lights have changed at busy intersection, and while most have stopped like they should, he notes that his nephew seems to keep walking. This prompts a knitting of his brow and his first inclination is to wonder what he's up to, is he not looking, maybe Souji plans on stopping when he realizes that there are cars heading his way-

But Ardyn does not let something as important as the safety of his nephew hinge on maybes. From his peripheral, a truck approaches quite quickly, on course with Souji if the boy doesn't stop. Ardyn darts forward, practically pushing through the crowd, and grasps onto his nephew's forearm with a ironclad grip, pulling him back onto the sidewalk.]

Souji!

[The truck whizzes by, blaring its horn.]

[tarotcards]

[ Everything around Souji happens in such a flash that he doesn't even realise what's happening until he's pulled back onto the sidewalk and everyone starts to crowd around and mutter. It takes him a few seconds before he can get his head stop spinning and it's only when he looks up that he recognises who pulled him back. ]

Izunia-san?

[ Even as tired and exhausted as Souji is, even he knows that Ardyn is the last person he wants to see while he's in this state. He can't concern him. This is actually worse than disappointing his parents. ]

I-- I'm sorry, I wasn't--

[ He pauses and places a hand on his head, trying to keep it steady. Things are still spinning around him and he needs to finally get his balance. ]

closed ii - IT IS TIME

[youraffection]

[ He's known something's been off. Both of the twins are private people, really, and Yosuke respects that. There are plenty of things he doesn't want to share with the masses either, though he likes to believe after the past, what...6, nearly 7 months that he's earned a certain level of trust. When he'd all but forced his way over when Yu hurt his back (doing something entirely stupid), Yosuke had really started to take notice.

Sure, he'd gotten texts from Souji at random times throughout the night and morning before, but their frequency had definitely increased lately. When he'd been curled up on Yu's part of the bunk that night, he'd seen the screen of Souji's phone and then the other boy leave the room entirely. For hours. Yosuke flitted in and out of sleep, mostly due to his own worry, but he definitely took note that Souji didn't make it back into the bedroom until several hours later. Then their conversation the day after, and...

Well.

He should have seen it coming.

Had he been too preoccupied with Yu to really push the issue? Possibly. Probably. Yosuke cares about them both, albeit it has manifested in different ways, but he hates the idea of playing favorites. No, equality is most important to him. He wants Souji to know he's loved and valued just as much, even if they're not swapping spit. It really made him think that he hasn't spent as much time with the older twin as he probably should have been. He should fix that.

But...not now. No, Yosuke is pulling a few double shifts this week. There's a big sale at Freshens over the weekend and boy does he love that time and a half they offered as incentive. It's on his way to work that Yosuke spots a familiar mop of silver hair near the intersection. For some reason, he's never had trouble distinguishing the twins from one another, so he recognizes Souji instantly.

Yosuke grins and waves. ]

Yo, partner!

[ Except Souji doesn't notice him. Huh. Yosuke checks his phone and--yeah, he's got a few minutes to catch up. Maybe Souji will have some free time during Yosuke's break and he can treat the other boy to lunch? That would be nice.

So Yosuke trots on over. The crosswalk is blinking a red hand, though Souji is still standing there. It's weird, but...he just keeps going forward. And then it stops entirely. Traffic starts to move.

That's when Souji crosses. ]

Wh--SOUJI!

[ Yosuke doesn't even think.

He drops his bag as he dives forward.

A horn blares, one car swerves around him. Another approaches.

He pushes.

Funny how the second horn doesn't feel nearly loud enough. His forearm is out to take the brunt of the impact--somehow he'd braced himself--which sends him tumbling awkwardly into the intersection. He doesn't see where Souji landed, just a mix of sky and asphalt.

>Yosuke can now take a critical hit for you in battle. ]

rip in pieces yosuke

[tarotcards]

[ Rather than time seeming to slow down in the moment, everything seems to speed up. One moment, he's standing at the intersection and he tries to cross, the next, he's suddenly thrown to the ground and everything seems to explode around him. In his exhausted state, nothing makes sense and the sudden pain shooting through the right shoulder he landed harshly on and part of the head that collided with the asphalt. With his mind already as dazed as it is, a minor head injury doesn't help him get back to his senses immediately and it takes him seconds before he finally tries to get up. ]

[ He nearly drops when he places both hands on the ground to push himself up, his right arm buckling. He catches himself at the last moment and continues to sit up with just his left hand. He looks behind him and... ]

... Yosuke?

closed iii

[maskreant]

[ Akira has heard that there have been several accidents today made to pedestrians... At first he thought nothing of it, just people not paying attention to traffic. He's on the way home before witnessing the very act before his very eyes. Even worse, it's a familiar face, toppled over by a car. Residents of Recolle let out a fearful scream as others try to help him—yet nothing is happening. They're dispersing, moving on. Souji is still on the floor.

Without a second thought, Akira closes the distance between them and quickly kneels over. He only needs one glance: ]

I'm going to call an ambulance, all right? Just don't move.

[ He doesn't even know which twin this is, but it doesn't matter. With a fretful hand, he's fishing for his phone in his pocket. ]

[tarotcards]

[ Based on all the movies, TV shows, and books out there, Souji thought that the pain of getting hit by a car would be instant. That he'd immediately know that he got hit and be in an unbearable amount of pain. But it doesn't come right away, not like it does in the movies. He doesn't know if it's because he's so tired and his brain is still trying to catch up with everything, but it's not until he hits the floor and all the screaming and sounds of chaos erupt around him that he even pieces together what happened. And that's when the pain starts to kick in. ]

[ While the car wasn't going as fast as it could be, it still knocked him down terribly onto his side, having him land painfully on his right shoulder and hip. Of course, the car that hit him isn't around anymore. It sped off as soon as its driver realized what just happened and Souji is stuck on the floor, trying to somehow push himself up on a bad arm. He doesn't quite manage to do so, his arm buckling underneath him as he tries and by the time Akira comes by his side, he falls back down. He doesn't try to get back up but instead, with his better arm, he reaches out and places a hand over Akira's, the one that's trying to grab his phone in his pocket. ]

[ Souji just shakes his head. ]

No... No ambulances.

closed III; the latest to be late

[complementing]

[She'd seen the whole thing from across the street, and in the aftermath of a car accident, it's not very wise to not look both ways when she crosses the street, but it doesn't even matter-- Minako tears her way through the bottleneck of cars, through the small crowd gathering near him, and lands hard on her knees, gasping out.]

Souji-- Souji!

[tarotcards]

[ By the time Minako arrives by his side, Souji is already trying to sit upright. With a bad arm and hip though, he doesn't get up very far and just falls back to the floor with a loud hiss. It takes him a second to register who's calling out for his name, who dropping down next to him, but when he finally opens his eyes and sees her, he realizes that this is bad. ]

I-- It's-- It's all right, senpai. I'm... I'm fine.

kicks down the fucking door to WILDCARD THIS SHIT

[covenantal]

[ When a nurse comes in to take Souji for his own examination, Yu is still reeling. He hadn't meant to fly off the handle like he did. Souji more than anyone will know it's not like him to lose his temper. Not ever. In fact, he probably hasn't ever, not once in his entire life, lost his temper until today.

And he ended up surprising himself, unpleasantly, with just how much fury he was capable of holding. Of expressing outward at people he loved. And he knows, deep down, that it was all fueled by terror. He's self-aware enough for that. His rage was born of the fear that comes with nearly losing something too precious to replace, and the detached, analytical part of his mind remarks that maybe it was expected that someone in his position would lash out.

Or maybe it wasn't, from calm, stoic, barely-ever-even-raises-his-voice Yu Narukami. Who knows. Who cares.

Keigo is going to take care of Yosuke, and while it gnaws his soul raw to leave his boyfriend right now - hurt, hit, could have died - there are more important things.

Things like Souji.

He trails behind his brother as they move through the hallways, a tense, unblinking shadow. It's not until they reach Souji's examination room that he decides to finally speak. The nurse tells them that the doctor will be in soon, and shuts the door--

--leaving Yu and Souji alone.

All he'll say, after an intensely uncomfortable moment of silence, is: ]

Why.

[ Why didn't you tell me. Why did you do this. Why did you let this happen. ]

i hope you're ready to Cry

[tarotcards]

[ And just like Souji couldn't dare to look Yu in the eye back in Yosuke's room, he doesn't dare to look at Yu on the way to his room. How could he? After everything he's done? To break their promise, step on Yu's trust, and then to nearly get both himself and Yosuke killed? How could he ever look at his brother again without being swallowed up alive in a pit of guilt? And the feeling that Yu doesn't deserve a brother like this... That Yu deserves a brother who wouldn't put him through this... It's practically eating away at him, corroding at the edges and threatening to overtake him if he even dares to glance at Yu and so, he keeps his head down the entire time. ]

[ As they arrive in the examination room, Souji just finds a spot to stand by the bed. He doesn't sit down and he doesn't lean against it. He just stands there and he looks so tired. The way his shoulders drop, his head down low, and the lack of complete energy that normally surrounds him, he's a drastic change from the Souji Narukami that everyone else knows and he can't even find the power within himself to try and pretend that everything is okay as usual. ]

[ In a small and weak voice, he answers with this: ]

I don't know...