[Shun has been planing this for a while already; he's asked Mana for Yuto and Ruri's decks at the start of the month with making just a little memorial in mind. After what happened after Valentine's day… after seeing those echos of both of them, hearing the voices of their other comrades from Ruri's mouth…
You can't keep going on like this, they had said. Shun knows they are right.
It takes a couple of days until he has finished the preparation and sets off into the Arcade, making his way into the only place that he can be certain will allow his lost comrades peace. The burial room – the version of it that only Shun himself can enter… it's the best he can do.
It takes a little until he's set up the tamaya best that he can – he's never been particular religious, he knows he's taken some liberties probably… it's not like any shinto priest will ever be able to judge him for it anyway. The tablet lists every single member of Resistance's Spade branch, and that's the most important part.
The small table before it… he takes a deep breath as he considers it, fingers tangling into the cloth of his kerchief… it's been an old companion. An old friend that he has a hard time parting with… but isn't that exactly why this is necessary? He isn't here just to mourn his comrades, not just Ruri and Yuto. The thought of that is what helps him close his fingers at the ends of the cloth and pull it loose.
He uses it as table cloth, as cushion for the three decks that he places down at the altar – Assembly Nightingale in the middle, with Rise Falcon and XYZ Rebellion Dragon flanking her left and right. The three of them together, as they should be. The duelist Kurosaki Shun… Shun won't let him be parted from the last memory of his most important people. He takes a deep breath as he kneels before the display, hands settling on his tights as he takes a deep breath.]
I couldn't protect you. There is no point in blaming anyone for that – it doesn't change what happened and it won't bring you back. I–
[His breath hitches just faintly.]
I don't plan on going back. In a world where the dimensions are fusing… [Where Ruri and Yuto will never have a chance to be their own people again.] …there is no place for me anymore.
That's why I'm leaving this here. [He lets his eyes linger on Rise Falcon, on the deck that has been just as close a companion as his kerchief. The Raid Raptors have served him well through the years of the war, but they are of no use to him here. Dueling… is not how things are solved in Ryslig, after all. Therefore…]
With today, the Duelist Kurosaki Shun is gone.
[It should hurt to say this, to even think it – before the war, he had been on the fast track to going pro, runner-up to the title of Heartland's strongest… it no longer holds much meaning. Heartland is fading, if it isn't gone already. Even though there are still people left – Allen and especially Sayaka come to mind – Kaito will take care of them. Kaito will protect their people.
That's why he can allow himself this clean cut… and maybe make himself soldier to an entirely different conflict. He exhales for a moment, then turns his focus away from the tamaya… and calls to the Fourth.]
So, do you have any plans on what to do against her? I'll commit to whatever needs to be done to get out from under her thumb, you should know that already. But if you plan to let the next four years pass without any discernible progress too, I'll have no choice but to strike out on my own.
[Which… well, it's not ideal, Shun can admit that. It wouldn't be the first time either though.]
Backdated to about February 25th
You can't keep going on like this, they had said. Shun knows they are right.
It takes a couple of days until he has finished the preparation and sets off into the Arcade, making his way into the only place that he can be certain will allow his lost comrades peace. The burial room – the version of it that only Shun himself can enter… it's the best he can do.
It takes a little until he's set up the tamaya best that he can – he's never been particular religious, he knows he's taken some liberties probably… it's not like any shinto priest will ever be able to judge him for it anyway. The tablet lists every single member of Resistance's Spade branch, and that's the most important part.
The small table before it… he takes a deep breath as he considers it, fingers tangling into the cloth of his kerchief… it's been an old companion. An old friend that he has a hard time parting with… but isn't that exactly why this is necessary? He isn't here just to mourn his comrades, not just Ruri and Yuto. The thought of that is what helps him close his fingers at the ends of the cloth and pull it loose.
He uses it as table cloth, as cushion for the three decks that he places down at the altar – Assembly Nightingale in the middle, with Rise Falcon and XYZ Rebellion Dragon flanking her left and right. The three of them together, as they should be. The duelist Kurosaki Shun… Shun won't let him be parted from the last memory of his most important people. He takes a deep breath as he kneels before the display, hands settling on his tights as he takes a deep breath.]
I couldn't protect you. There is no point in blaming anyone for that – it doesn't change what happened and it won't bring you back. I–
[His breath hitches just faintly.]
I don't plan on going back. In a world where the dimensions are fusing… [Where Ruri and Yuto will never have a chance to be their own people again.] …there is no place for me anymore.
That's why I'm leaving this here. [He lets his eyes linger on Rise Falcon, on the deck that has been just as close a companion as his kerchief. The Raid Raptors have served him well through the years of the war, but they are of no use to him here. Dueling… is not how things are solved in Ryslig, after all. Therefore…]
With today, the Duelist Kurosaki Shun is gone.
[It should hurt to say this, to even think it – before the war, he had been on the fast track to going pro, runner-up to the title of Heartland's strongest… it no longer holds much meaning. Heartland is fading, if it isn't gone already. Even though there are still people left – Allen and especially Sayaka come to mind – Kaito will take care of them. Kaito will protect their people.
That's why he can allow himself this clean cut… and maybe make himself soldier to an entirely different conflict. He exhales for a moment, then turns his focus away from the tamaya… and calls to the Fourth.]
So, do you have any plans on what to do against her? I'll commit to whatever needs to be done to get out from under her thumb, you should know that already. But if you plan to let the next four years pass without any discernible progress too, I'll have no choice but to strike out on my own.
[Which… well, it's not ideal, Shun can admit that. It wouldn't be the first time either though.]
So, what is the plan… right now?