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[ She opens the door when he gets there, holding it open for him. ]

You weren't busy, right?

[ Not that it really matters.. ]

[It's not very often that he goes to her room, he usually waits for her at HQ or somewhere equally communal, so he hesitates slightly when she holds the door open. Hadn't she said her roommate was out, too?]

No, I wasn't..! Haha... [He's letting his imagination get the best of him, stepping past her into the room.]

[His eyes briefly sweep across the room--someone's possessions can tell you a lot about them, after all--but he tries not to get carried away, turning back to her.]

What do you need, Yurippe?

[ That's because this isn't strictly SSS business, this is Yuri wanting to talk to the one person that she's okay with not being absolute around all the time.

She shuts the door behind him, keeping quiet for a few seconds as she tries to figure out where she wants to start. It's not exactly easy, talking about things, but Hinata is the one person she knows won't change his opinion of her no matter what happens. Whether she beats his face in or she starts breaking down crying... Not that she was planning on doing either of those today. Yuri just wanted someone to talk to.

Hinata had the perfect opportunity to look at her half of the room while she was working up where to start. There wasn't a ton to look at though. Hinata could probably have told that she wasn't much for sentiments from the first day she chucked the natto he gave Ooyama out the window, but it was even more clear from her room. Yuri's half was mostly just a bed with a bag underneath it containing extra ammo. A laptop on the desk. Since she'd been able to get over her problems, it seemed like there were a few things around the room that were a little better than they used to be, namely a rather cute pencil holder... which happens to have two pencils and a pinwheel sticking out of it.

Despite that she's more comfortable talking to Hinata in general, that doesn't mean she's going to let her guard down completely. She goes to pull the chair out at the desk for herself. Hinata can sit on the bed without her, but they're not sitting on the surface. It'd feel more vulnerable for her to sit on the bed too (and she was sure that he wouldn't appreciate her suddenly throwing the pillows at him if she happened to get to a tsun point). ]

We need to figure out a way to protect them a lot better than emergency dumping everyone into Guild. That was barely enough to keep everyone safe this time, then we only ended because the NPC reset the system.

[ Basically, Yuri was admitting that she didn't remotely think that they'd succeeded beyond the bare minimum of not getting turned into an NPC. That wasn't enough for her. ]

[Rather than sitting down as she does--because sitting on a girl's bed, even when she isn't on it, feels a little too intimate to him--he decides to stand, leaning against the side of the bed. He slips his hands into his pockets, listening as she voices her concerns, but he can't help but notice the pinwheel sitting in her pencil holder. Had she been holding onto it all this time..? The very thought made him smile a little]

[However, he was here to discuss future emergency protocol, not reminisce about the days when it was just the two of them. He thought to himself for a moment, trying to come up with something helpful.]

Well... I guess the best thing would be to find where the server is, haha... [But if they could do that, they would have already.] Is there a way to... reinforce the doors and windows? That way we could have a lockdown up here instead of taking everyone down to Guild.

[ Hinata, she'd sit on your bed if she was in your room and the mood was normal.

Yuri did notice his little smile and that confused her. A lot. She'd nearly forgotten that pinwheel that she'd got for Christmas last year, it was just there and she didn't want to get rid of it. So when Hinata started smiling about it, she honestly had no idea why that brief smile had taken place while she was talking about how she didn't feel like they'd really succeeded. ]

Maybe we can start sending out daily search teams for it, but at this point.. if the programmer is still out there, all it's going to take a little time for him to reprogram something. Then if we find him, what exactly are we going to do?

[ But you can't kill someone who's already dead, so.. how were they supposed to deal with him? As much as the idea had crossed before, burying an actual human didn't feel right-- they'd thought Kanade was an angel back then, so she wasn't human and it felt different, but an actual human that just felt... wrong. Yuri didn't know what else to do though. ]

That still just means we're trapped inside and helpless. The only things I can think of to do aren't things I'm willing to.

[~~But girl beds are forbidden territory, don't you know. Jeez Yuri, get your facts straight.~~]

[He pushed off from the bed as she talked, moving to the desk behind her to pinch the handle of the pinwheel between his fingers, taking it out of the pencil cup. He looked it over fondly before saying anything, considering the options.]

Well, we could always tie him up... If Shiina didn't have concealed weapons, it would've worked for her, right? And as long as we keep him away from computers, how much power does he really have?

[He drew a breath, blowing into the pinwheel to make it spin a few turns before talking again.] ...Are Naoi's "reflection rooms" still there? [If they could use one of those, then maybe they could keep him long enough to get some answers...]

[He leaned against the wall behind her, blowing into the pinwheel as she expressed her distaste of feeling trapped and helpless, the constant hum of the spinning pinwheel underlying all her words. Thankfully, he eventually stopped.]

Well... if we can't find the server or the Programmer, then falling back on the defensive is all we can do. [He reached over to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.] We protected a lot of people, Yurippe. The SSS knew exactly what to do and we got most people underground on the first day... Isn't that something to be proud of?

All of those are only temporary solutions. We can't leave this place-- [ No, he probably could. She didn't want to force him to stay. ] I can't leave this place knowing that there's a possibility that everything's just going to go back to the way it is now. The only way that I can think of being a possibility would be taking him out and burying his body and even then, if someone digs him up it'll be the same thing all over again.

[ Even as she spoke, she couldn't keep her eyes off of him blowing that pinwheel. The idiot wasn't even paying complete attention. Yuri was nearly embarrassed by it, but the fact that he hadn't verbally brought up that she had it was just enough to keep her from doing anything more than looking a little uncertainly at him while he blew on it. Hinata stopped blowing before she yelled at him for it, but Yuri kept her eyes on him. ]

The SSS is well-organized and trusts each other. [ Most of them anyway. Yuri trusts all of them. She stands up, brushing his hand off of her shoulder. ] It's not wrong to want more right? I don't know about you or anyone else... but if there was anything threatening the people I care about or the people here, I can understand why I'd end up back here. [ Yuri took that opportunity to lightly blow on the pinwheel herself. Even if it was embarrassing, it was taking the edge off of what she was saying. ]

[That change in pronoun didn't go unnoticed, making him shake his head a little. However, he'd let her finish before interjecting.] We will figure something out, okay? [He fiddled with the pinwheel, aware of her watching him, as if daring him to keep distracting her with it.] I'm not going anywhere as long as you're still here, I mean that.

[He was almost hurt that she'd stopped assuming he was just as compassionate about the SSS and everyone as she was. He knew why... she was probably still sore that he'd been gone, regardless of how unintentional it was. Maybe that's why he felt the need to reiterate his promise.] Do you think I'm not like that too? I want to make sure everyone is safe just as much as you... that's why I kept going up to the surface, no one deserves to be scared and alone in that situation.

[He turned the pinwheel around, holding it up so she could blow on it. Before he could really stop himself, he was talking again, a fond smile on his lips.] ...this is nostalgic.

If it's my fault that you're back here, I'm going to punch you.

[ After all, his words.. the whole nostalgia of the situation, it reminded her an awful lot of how he acted back then-- promising to never leave her alone. It's why she'd volunteered to go before him when they had disappeared, because she knew even if he said it, he'd probably worry and make puppy eyes at her if she didn't go first. ]

I know, though. I know you want to keep everyone safe too, that's why you were helping Otonashi back then.

[ He turned it around, then almost playfully she went and did the same thing she'd done back then. ] Like this right? [ BLLLLLP BLOWS TOO MUCH!!!!! ]

I'd rather be with you than anywhere else. [For a short moment, there was an unwavering seriousness in his voice, reflected by his eyes in the way he looked at her. When he said he'd support her, he meant that. If the boundaries of life and death couldn't keep him away, then maybe he was doomed to stay here.]

[It was hard to say. Either way, he quickly went back to his usual lighthearted grin, watching the pinwheel as she leaned forward to blow on it.]

[And then she was blowing too hard, and the spittle from the pinwheel blades was getting sprayed back at him.] That's too much-! [He protested, lifting one hand to shield his face, even though he couldn't help but laugh.]

[ After Hinata started laughing, Yuri couldn't help but laugh a little bit too. The mirthful sound lasted a few seconds before rather suddenly jutting to a stop. ]

Aren't you supposed to be off reincarnated and getting married?

[The sound of her laugh gave rise to a warm smile of his own, watching her from behind the pinwheel, utter devotion hidden in the depths of his eyes. He went to speak, to tell her how her laugh made him happy, how it made him happy to know that his lack of an attention span could still draw the same reaction as it had so long ago.]

[And then she mentioned Yui, in one form or another.]

[The faintest flicker of shame chased off that warm expression, his gaze going downcast, twirling the handle of the pinwheel nervously between his fingers. It was enough of a change in demeanor to be noticed, his voice coming more hushed and defensive.] ...I'm needed here right now.

[When he tentatively went to meet her eyes, there was a hint of vulnerability in him, betrayed by his next question.] ...aren't I?

[ Sorry, Hinata.. she's not going to say that she needs you. But.. she'll come close. ]

That's-- I don't I need you or anything, but I'm not going to complain about it. I feel better if there's an idiot I don't feel bad about punching in the face from time to time, so it's a good thing you're here. There aren't many good co-founders around you know?

[ Best compliment ever? Nailed it. ]

[He'd be a liar if he said he wasn't hoping for something a little less deflective than that, but beggars can't be choosers. He'd asked and she'd replied in her own emotionally-closed-off kind of way.]

[He sighed, offering the pinwheel out for her to take.] Well... you won't have to worry about me leaving anytime soon, okay? [For better or worse.]

[A hand moved up to his head, running his fingers through his hair before coming to rest at the back of his neck, scratching at it nervously. It's not like he'd asked Otonashi to keep his promise to Yui a secret... but Hinata hadn't told Yuri directly either. Somehow, it twisted his gut to know that she knew.]

A-anyway... [Anything to change the subject, please.] I think we should hold an SSS meeting... get other ideas about how to prevent an outbreak like that, maybe send people out to search for the server...

Keep it. [ Yuri shook her head and pushed on the pin in the pinwheel to nudge it toward him. ]

I don't need it now that the guy I made it for in the first place is here.

[ See? That was much better than admitting she needed him. Just saying she didn't need the pinwheel anymore because he was here. That works. Be comforted.

Of course she knew, she had binoculars and Yusa at the time. Did you think she wouldn't notice, Hinata? How do you think she found out what your group was up to in the first place? It wasn't like you'd cleared anyone other than Yui, so she had to know. ]

I was already planning on it, you know.

[There were a few implications in what she just said, sending that warm feeling wrapping around his heart again. She'd been holding onto this pinwheel... because she missed him?]

[Whether or not she was just saying that to make him feel better, it worked. He was a regular kaleidoscope of emotions today, going back to his default of grinning like a moron.] I'll keep it safe... [...just like back then.]

[There was something nostalgic about being here with her like this, even though everything around them had changed so drastically, he still felt an old familiarity being here with her. This was familiar. Safe.]

Do... you need help with any of the planning? [Probably not, but it was becoming kind of obvious that standing here and talking with her just... made him happy.]

I can do that much on my own.

[ Despite that, she is smiling. One of those smiles that doesn't seem fake or strained or like she's got an ulterior motive. It's just a regular smile. They used to be a lot rarer, but as she's starting to get more things back-- her happiness, her friends, new friends, the SSS.. it's a lot easier than it used to be. ]

It's the other stuff I can't do on my own. Thanks for coming over.

[He'd already said it once, and she'd hit him for it, so he'd keep his thoughts to himself this time... but she was definitely more effeminate than she'd been when they met. More carefree. Cuter.]

[He smiles, brightly, the handle of the pinwheel clasped safely in his hand. He lifts it up, using the toy to salute her.] It's no trouble..! Call me again if you need me, ok?

[He felt... different, somehow. He wasn't sure how exactly, as it was hard to put his finger on. Closer to her? Maybe. He hadn't really been to her room before now, but was that all it was?] You'll be at dinner tonight, right?

Where else would I be at dinner time?

[ That was a good question, since she did sometimes go off to do her own thing, but for the most part she tended to be there so.. Rhetorical. That's what she meant it as. ]

Get out of here already so I can think.

[The rhetorical question was a good enough answer for him! That at least meant she'd be watching from the sidelines if not properly sitting and eating with everyone. He didn't mind it when she'd go off on her own, he was used to it, but that didn't mean he didn't miss spending more time with her.]

[But she was ushering him off, so now was not the time.]

Yeah, yeah... Let me know when you want to call a meeting, alright? I'll take care of it.

[She probably would have told him to do it anyway if that's what she wanted, but it never hurt to remind her that he was at her disposal, moving back toward the door.]

See you tonight..!

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