IC Inbox

[onerous]

"You have reached the automated voice mailbox of--"

"Um. Kozukata Yuri."

"At the tone, please record your message. when you are finished recording, you may hang up, or press 1 for more options. To leave a call back number, press 9."

Comments

[tuishou]

[No-]

I'm sorry.

[The bridge of his nose is stinging and his throat is feeling sour and falling back on his bed to rest the tension in his back and shoulders is all he can do to keep the world from spinning.

And well- damn, he already sent that message and isn't sure he can get it back.

So Neji's glad this exchange is through text and all its irritating, infuriating quirks. He doesn't feel so ashamed to suck in a deep breath and close his eyes for a second. Just a second.

Had he already asked if she was fine? What if he pressed Send again, while scrolling through older messages? --he hates this.] You're braver than I'd ever be. [He sends it anyway.] Do you need anything?

[onerous]

[She feels oddly embarrassed by both the apology and the praise. It's nothing to apologize for--] It's not your fault.

[And it's not, it's really not. She looks away and sighs. Brave? Everyone keeps telling her that but...] Just a friend. You're doing a good job.

[It feels strange still to consciously refer to people as friends. But, well, they call each other by their first names so they must be some sort of close even if they're prickly at each other]

But really, don't be sorry. I used to hate this power, but lately I've found ways to make it useful. I can't complain about that.