Chapter Text
“We’ve fixed you before!”
Eito was not sure how offended he should be by this remark. He had been the one to bring it up after all, but something about those words coming from monsters as repulsive as these had still irked him. He hadn't truly meant what he'd said regardless. No, as much of a living hell his whole life had been, he knew that this blight had a purpose. He seemed to be the only one in the world capable of seeing people for what they really are, and had he not found reason in the suffering, it would have destroyed him long ago.
He'd not been entirely sure why he had bothered with niceties upon being discovered, but it had admittedly been a bit of a surprise to stumble across a Takumi and Hiruko who seemed to know so much about the other worlds that Eito himself had only just begun to explore, and being amiable had felt like the proper way to test the waters at the time. To be quite honest, he hadn't expected to be graced with a response to his line of questioning. It seemed like an especially foolish move on Takumi's part, but then again, their "leader" had never been the sharpest tool in the shed.
He continued without waiting for a response. "There are plenty of timelines where we've fought for the same cause. It's never been easy, but we know how to help you."
This kind of naive drivel was par for the course for him, but it was not Takumi's outreach that gave him pause; It was the fact that the stern woman beside him had not yet made a move to shut him up. As easy as it was for Eito to believe that Takumi could take his nonsense about friendship seriously, it was very out of character for Hiruko to simply let her dog bark with no prior counsel.
“Whatever you’ve done to my brain in another world, I can guarantee I would not consider myself fixed, and certainly not better off for it.” Eito spat back at the duo in front of him, unable to keep his facade of interest in redemption any longer.
"It wasn't like that!" Takumi sputtered. "I know you're not being serious right now, but we've been real friends before, no... brain-messing required." He seemed strangely desperate to convince Eito of the purity of his actions and intentions. It was a longing for understanding that he knew in his mind must have come from a place of genuine want; a desire to break through to a comrade he had known deeply and intimately; but in his eyes, Eito couldn't possibly imagine a Takumi that could care what he thought. Not after finding this world, where he had been cut down without a second thought for crimes he had yet to commit. Takumi had worked himself up too much to stop his stream of consciousness now though, so regardless of what he thought, Eito wouldn't be able to interject any further for now.
"I can tell you don't believe me, but we have proof. We discovered a program that—" It seemed that this was where Hiruko finally drew the line, moving to smack the skull of her dim-witted sidekick to prevent any further rambling.
"Must you divulge the details of every meager bit of advantage we gain?" She hissed at the smaller boy beside her, who was still dramatically rubbing the back of his head in some sort of mock offense. "We don't have time to wax poetic with this low-life." She sighed and turned to Eito, mustering up one more comment before she would inevitably drag Takumi off to do whatever it was they came to this timeline to do in the first place. "It's true though, what he said about you becoming a valuable ally. If you were to suddenly decide to turn things around... it might not be too late." She paused, perhaps not liking the hint of positivity to her tone, and made a quick addendum. "Not that we'll do anything to help." And with that, Takumi was quickly pulled away, not gracing Eito with time to form a proper retort.
He had to admit, the idea was a bit more convincing coming from someone like Hiruko. She had not been one to mince words, nor humor any wishful thinking as far as he knew in the short time they had known each other. It was hard, nigh impossible to imagine a him that would have given up on everything he was fighting for, all for the sake of a people who caused the very fiber of his being to crawl in disgust. It was tempting though, the idea of confirming with his own eyes that which he knew was an impossibility. Just moments ago, he had been so tantalized by his plan to join this world—one where he was already gone—and enact his revenge on the creatures that had struck him down so mercilessly, but the concept was starting to lose its luster in the wake of the one-sided conversation he had been subjected to.
The thought clawed at his brain. It would be so easy to test. Only a few hours away from his base of operations and he could take a peek for himself at the truth of such a world. And so, against his better judgement, and internally berating himself for letting their words reach him this way, he made his way to the laboratory.
Takumi had not expected his suggestion to be met with support from his comrades. He knew it was a cruel idea, and had no illusion otherwise. He had seen the effects of Cognitive Reconstruction Therapy firsthand in Eva, and it had resulted in a woman who could hardly be described as human. Not that she had been human in the first place of course, but she'd certainly had loved ones, hopes and dreams, aspirations she had been robbed of for their cause. He knew that Eito would not be the same afterwards; that removing the part of his brain that interpreted those around him as foul beasts waiting to tear him limb from limb would not somehow create a version of himself that acted the way Takumi remembered. It would not restore a state of mind in Eito that had not existed in the first place, and he hated the fact that deep down, that was what he still yearned for. There had been a thick hesitation in the room, but in spite of all their qualms, his friends had decided to help shoulder this sin, and that hardened his decision.
"Then you can just leave the rest to trusty ol' Sirei," Their commanding officer barked enthusiastically, with an unspoken promise—no, order —that there would be no need to think further on the moral implications of their collective decision, and with that, he and Nigou fled the scene, and the discussion was over.
That night, Takumi willed himself to sleep, the unity he had felt earlier that day keeping his guilt at bay. He had done the right thing. With this, Eito would no longer be a threat. He would be an asset to the team, the extra firepower they needed to take V'ehxness down once and for all. In fact, he would be much happier this way, Takumi told himself, though it lacked the conviction he had intended. With this thought, he drifted off, satisfied with the pitiful effort he had put into convincing his heart that he was good and just.
As it would turn out, Takumi had not been as content with his decision as he'd thought the night before. He had awoken well before the morning bell, head spinning with thoughts of the responsibility he probably should have taken for his idea in hindsight. Pushing those feelings back down deep into the pit of his subconscious mind, he opted for an early breakfast. He hadn't exactly realized why he had felt the urge to start his day so early before reaching the cafeteria, but it hit him very quickly that perhaps he had been trying to avoid the others when his eyes fell on the only other person in the room. Yugamu looked exhausted, hunched over at the very back of the cafeteria with nothing but a glass of water. Takumi almost considered quietly slipping away to avoid the unnecessary conversation that would certainly take place should he continue to go about his day. It was not that he didn't like Yugamu, though it was often harder to do so than the contrary. It was more that despite all of the time they had spent together, Takumi had no idea how to talk to him.
Yugamu was someone that Takumi had admittedly not put much of an effort into getting to know. He hardly blamed himself though. It wasn't his fault, after all, that Yugamu constantly made himself so insufferable to be around. His topics of conversation were crude and grotesque, not to mention exceedingly embarrassing even during times when he had something valuable to say. It was no surprise then, that Takumi had made up his mind to come back at a later time, when there would be people around to use as a buffer between them. He did not, however, get a chance to enact his plan before the person in question raised his head from the table he sat at, forcing Takumi to acknowledge his existence. Knowing he had missed his chance, Takumi simply sighed and made his way to the corner of the room.
"Hey," he started, already dreading any response he could possibly get in return, but determined to make the most of the interaction if it was going to take place either way. After all, there was plenty on his mind that it couldn't hurt to get a second opinion on.
"Hi there Takumi. To what do I owe the honor of receiving your attention this blessed morning? Perhaps you've come around to your good bro Yugamu and finally decided to help me out with my experiments? Or maybe you're just pent-up from a lack of action and knew I'd be willing to give you a hand." There was a grin in his tone when he spoke, though it was one that oozed insincerity, and begged for Takumi to take the bait and become flustered, sputtering some kind of humiliating denial before deciding he was not worth talking to and moving on. Despite sounding the same as always however, Takumi could tell his heart wasn't in it today, opting to ignore his prompting altogether, moving on instead.
"Do you think I made the right decision? About Eito I mean."
Yugamu blinked slowly, considering his options before speaking again. "That depends. Do you want to be reassured, or do you actually care what I think?"
"I had kind of hoped that reassurance would be the answer either way." Yugamu did not respond. "Fine, be honest. I need to hear it."
"I think you're a coward."
That was not the feedback Takumi had expected. It was harsh in a way he hadn't heard before from his strange friend. Before he could retort or ask for an explanation however, Yugamu continued.
"You've seen what that machine does to someone and still decided to put a comrade through it for your own peace of mind, not that I'm complaining. Having another compliant husk around to play with will be its own fun I'm sure, but you did say you would take responsibility for your choice, and still let Sirei just take him away out of sight to ignore the consequences of your actions. I know we all agreed to share the burden, but if it had been my idea, I wouldn't have let Eito out of my sight. I'd have insisted on scrambling his brain myself."
"You only say that 'cause it would turn you on," Takumi spat, though the accusation in and of itself was reddening. There was another pause, a genuine look of contemplation on Yugamu's face, before he settled into his usual joking manner of speech.
"You got me! I was sort of projecting towards the end there, just ignore me," His short chuckle making way for a silence that lasted just a bit too long for Takumi's liking. "Anywho, I'd better get back to work. You know where to find me if you need my services," and with that, he slunk away, back to the dark confines of the bio lab for—well for who-knows-what.
Takumi, in that moment, was not so dense as to miss the slight bite in his tone as Yugamu had ended the conversation. He had been light-hearted as always, but Takumi could tell that he had been trying to give a serious and thoughtful response to his question, and felt a bit guilty for dismissing him so quickly. He was right to do so though, Takumi told himself. Yugamu was always like this, making nasty suggestions not meant to be taken seriously, but—and this was a big 'but'—Takumi knew deep down that there had been some truth in what he had said, whether he'd actually known it or was just assuming the worst. And so, perhaps without even making the conscious decision to, Takumi made his way to the infirmary.