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[Kyrie's upset. There's no denying that; it's as plain as Minato's ever seen on his face, and... he didn't realize that there was something truly tragic to this. Though perhaps he should've--a personality like Kyrie's tends to come out of a lot of hardship, doesn't it...?

So quietly, Minato shakes his head, eyes fixed on Kyrie's face.]

He only told me about your gifts. You and him and...the tin man, too.

[But that's all he's heard.]

"Axel, yes." It's less of a correction and more of a way to gain his bearings on the story. He's not sure what this book told Minato, but it's clearly told him enough. "You know then, that the three of us went on our journey to obtain something we lacked. I needed a brain--Caramia, courage--and Axel a heart. But there was a fourth, just as you said. Dorothy was the first to seek something from the Great Oz, and the one to bring us together."

Surprisingly, once he gets going... he's fairly talkative.

"I couldn't have possibly come up with the idea on my own--I was much too stupid." He doesn't sound upset about it, really. It's just a stated fact, the same as if he were saying he was a scarecrow. "...She was the one who helped me down from that pole and told me about the Wizard. If I had set off on my own, I would have surely gotten lost long before I had found the others."

He supposes there's no need to tell Minato about the journey itself, since he can at least assume the book told him that much. Instead, he skips right to the end:

"...In the end, we got our gifts, but Dorothy was unable to return home." This is where the story shifts from what Minato knows, not that Kyrie himself is aware of it. "She chose to become a good witch, so that she might make us happy; when we wished to become human, as she was, she granted it." A pause. Then, quieter, "But a witch cannot live among others. If she were to use her magic for herself, she would turn wicked--and so she made us a wonderful town to live in. And she herself lived at the top of the tower at the very center." He laughs, looking over briefly to Minato with a small, sad smile. "Everyone loved her, of course. We held a festival in her honor at the end of every year."

Another pause, this time accompanied by a breath that catches in his throat. If Minato happens to be looking closely enough he might even catch the shine of the beginnings of tears before Kyrie ducks his head once more, because his reputation with this kid is already probably shot, he's not going to let himself cry now, too.

"And then, one day," his voice sounds subtly strained, like he's trying to sound positive and failing miserably, "everyone... forgot all about her." This part, arguably, sounds the worst. There are about a dozen emotions behind the words--amusement, disbelief, anger, grief--until they crack against one another and sound about as broken as he feels, instead. "Every single fucking one..."

'Except for me.'

[It...really is a surprise. Kyrie confiding in him....he wasn't expecting it. He thought it'd be like prying secrets out of Kyrie bit by bit--

But instead?

Kyrie's telling him...all of it, and Minato's engrossed, hanging on each and every word he's willing to share. Dorothy...was unable to return home? That's definitely not like the story, but if Minato had to decide what's true between what Kyrie is telling him here and now and what's written in a fairy tale, Minato knows what he'll choose to believe.

Kyrie's the one who experienced this.

... And when he sounds so strained, so upset, Minato's brow furrows a bit, especially when Kyrie looks like he's about to cry--]

... Everyone but... you?

[That's where this is going, isn't it? Kyrie...somehow, was the only one who remembered. All this time--]

You're the only one who remembered?

He's had centuries to keep this secret. It's one that he holds so close to his chest that even talking about it now feels too vulnerable, but when you've kept a secret that hurts you for so terribly long? It might still hurt to share it, but... the relief is too tempting to not.

"That's right." Kyrie nods with a soft, bitter laugh. He'd thought... rather, he'd hoped it was just an awful joke at first. He recalls the shock from that first moment of confusion. How things escalated into first anger, and then desperation, as he begged them to stop, to drop the act that wasn't an act at all, how could they forget when she was so important--!

But they wouldn't listen. They had forgotten her, and suddenly, in that town full of the closest friends he'd ever known, Kyrie felt completely alone. Even more than he had, perched up on that pole in the middle of a field of nothing but stalks of wheat and crows that did nothing but make fun of him.

"My gift." 'Gift,' he says, though his mouth twists the word until it sounds like it ought to be 'curse'. "The brain I received from the Wizard... I couldn't forget her even if I tried." He might be opening up, but he's still steering away from any implications that he's even considered trying. There are some things that are easier dealt with alone. "The same can't be said for Caramia and the others."

[He'll be relieved, later, that Kyrie is sharing this--that he's at least not bearing it on his own anymore.

Right now, though, he's just too floored by everything he's hearing. The brain... of course. He couldn't forget anything, even though everyone else did.

Which meant...]

You... were all alone. All that time, even though everyone was still there, since you were the only one who remembered...

[What a lonely, lonely existence.

Minato's brow furrows as he thinks about it--and then he pauses in their walk, squaring his shoulders to look at Kyrie dead on, drawing in a slow breath.]

I know I'm already asking a lot of you, Kyrie-san. But... I have one more request.

[More important than the training, more important than anything, is--]

Will you please tell me about her?

[Minato's not from the same world as Kyrie--if Kyrie goes back, Minato won't be able to be there to alleviate that loneliness.

But at least right now... Minato can be someone else who knows she exists--who won't forget her.]

He stops as Minato does, looking for all he's worth as if he's bewildered by the very idea of someone stepping in front of him. Or maybe he's just being pulled from his thoughts? Either one is likely, considering the long silence from him that stretches even longer. Perhaps it's that confusion that keeps him silent still, simply awaiting whatever request is made of him... but it's something else that holds his breath for him after, the part of him that desperately clutches the cards in his hand back to his chest, as if someone had been caught peeking over his shoulder.

Ah... he'd let his hold slip too loose, hadn't he?

"...What a bold request," he teases after a beat, or maybe two. There's a sort of distance in his smile, like he knows all too well how temporary the relief offered may be. "Coming from someone who would sooner fall from a tree than argue for his safety--I'm surprised you could even find the words for it."

Hm... Sounds sort of half-hearted. Like he's trying to hastily put back those walls he's grown so reliant on, but doesn't quite want to, either. He's already been so selfish... surely just a bit ought to be fine...?

And after all, it's hard to gamble without making a few bets on chance.

...Fuck it.

"I suppose I ought to allow it, this once." A reward of sorts, for Minato speaking up. And to a lesser extent, himself--not that he thinks he deserves it. "But where to begin..."

How about, just...

"...She was a very kind girl." Hey Minato, ever wanted to hear Kyrie sound genuinely fond of someone? No hints of sarcasm or insults to be found. Just the soft, wistful tone one might take when describing their beloved family to someone who was far too late to meet them. "Bright... and terribly brave, too. She would rush right into danger if it meant she was standing up for someone." Funny how when it's her it's brave and admirable, but with anyone else it's reckless and stupid. "She cared more for us than we would have ever expected, back then; we wouldn't be where we are now, if not for her."

Well, sans the creepy town and kidnapping, anyway. That's probably not her fault.

[Part of him wasn't expecting Kyrie to accept. Kyrie's prickly, after all (and Minato knows why, now, knows that living a lonely existence like that would surely make just about anyone feel that bitter), but even so...

He agrees. He agrees and Minato blinks slowly, and then he lifts his chin to keep his eyes on Kyrie. He won't look away while he's telling him these things, because if there's anything Minato wants to do, it's to make sure that Kyrie isn't taking all of this onto his shoulders alone. There's so little he can do for him, but even so... even so, burdens are a little lighter when split amongst friends, aren't they?

Because it's very obvious immediately just how much Kyrie really did care for Dorothy. "Kind". "Bright". "Brave"... those are words that he didn't think he'd ever hear Kyrie use to describe someone. The depths of love to those sorts of words...]

She sounds like a wonderful person.

[Minato murmurs that softly when Kyrie pauses--but he won't say more. He doesn't want to derail Kyrie's story, after all; that's what's most important right now.]

Maybe it's easier because it's someone who never knew her? If it were Caramia, or Axel, or anyone from home... He's certain it would be more difficult to speak of her so freely. He would want to hold his memory of her to himself--did they deserve to know her at all, if they'd so quickly forgotten?

But Minato, just in asking to know what she was like... it's wholly different, isn't it? Not giving back what's undeserved, but rather sharing a glimpse of something treasured.

...And the present tense, as well. Maybe it isn't intentional, but the small detail doesn't go unnoticed, and it reminds him of that tiny glimmer of hope he's clung so stubbornly onto all these years. It's almost enough to earn a laugh.

"You two would get along, I'm sure." She's even got prior experience with a guy who practically never cracked a smile!! "Although I would never wish for her to come to a place like this."

But for now, that's all he gets!! Because after a brief moment, Kyrie continues walking, brushing past Minato if he doesn't decide to keep pace immediately. He's not moving quickly, but he's definitely walking away again, as if to signal that the topic is moving on with him. When he speaks again, his tone is as casual as if they'd been talking about the weather this whole time. Definitely no traumatic, emotional memories to be found here!

"You haven't mentioned this to Caramia, have you?"

[He's definitely sharing in a glimpse of something treasured--something Kyrie treasures so much as to still be thinking of her this way after all of this time. It's something Minato's still thinking about, still thinking about the look on Kyrie's face and the fondness in which he refers to her--

Enough so that the subject change really takes him off-guard.

Oh.

Um.]

I... nothing about Dorothy-san, but...

[Sorry, Kyrie.]

He does know about the book.

"Ah."

Hm... HMMM......

Well, that's certainly inconvenient. Caramia's quite the bookworm already, and to hand him a story so assuredly about his own adventure... Kyrie's sure his excitement's already led him to read it cover to cover, and he's just as likely to show it off to anyone who might be willing to listen. What a moron...

"Minato." He's smiling, so chipper after such a sudden and shocking conversation, and his voice comes pleasantly without any sign of strain--but somehow, weirdly enough, there's a weird sort of menace coming from him? Haha it's probably nothing. "Do you think you might find it difficult to read anymore stories after you've lost your eyes?"

Or maybe not. And so conversational, too!

[Kyrie...........

Minato blinks slowly... and then is entirely unsurprised by the threat. Still, the smile combined with those words...]

... That probably would be difficult.

[He'll say that much peacefully enough, eyeing Kyrie warily. Still, it's with sincerity that he offers up a quiet:]

Sorry, Kyrie-san... I didn't realize it was connected to something that really happened like that. It seemed so different when I was reading it. I didn't mean to give away a secret you were keeping.

Edited 2018-06-06 19:06 (UTC)

Kyrie takes a breath... and then sighs, all the fight going out of him at once.

"Honestly..." How is he going to explain this...? The chances of Caramia brushing over such a glaringly obvious detail are slim, and he knows that no amount of bracing can prepare himself for if he brings her up. Even just hearing her name in his voice... It's practically taboo, at this point. He can't guarantee he won't flinch.

So... hm.

"It seems like the cat's out of the bag--or rather, I suppose the cat's found the bag, hasn't he?" A pause. Then, quietly, "I had hoped..."

He trails off a second time. He'd hoped... that, should Caramia remember, he might do so on his own? But that doesn't matter now. He only shakes his head with a soft chuckle.

"Well, nevermind. I suppose it was only a matter of time, after all... Perhaps he's too stupid to figure it out?"

[It does seem as though he messed that one up; he feels bad about it, seeing how Kyrie is clearly upset over it.

Minato's quiet, brow furrowed a little, before he finally offers up a quiet:]

... You don't want him to find out because of the book, is that right?

[About Dorothy just because of a book, and not because he remembered for himself. Minato can relate to that a little, he thinks, with his own experience of being forgotten.]

Kyrie shrugs it off easily enough, offering a small smile as if to wave away any concerns.

"I hadn't even known of its existence before now. I'm certain such a story doesn't exist, where we come from." He would have known about it, otherwise. A story such as this is far too telling, even with its minor discrepancies.

But... Is that so wrong? To wish that he might have remembered her without any outside influence? That he might wake up one day to realize exactly what he had lost--isn't that why Kyrie's stayed silent all this time?

"There's no reason to dwell on the past, regardless." What a hypocrite, am I right? "You can't change what you've done, just as much as I can't change my silence on the topic."

It'll just, y'know. Work itself out...! Think positive!

[Minato doesn't think it's wrong at all to wish for something like that...though he thinks it might have been a disservice both to Caramia and Kyrie himself. It's something that probably couldn't have been done without any outside influences, right? So...

... Maybe this was for the better, even if Kyrie doesn't think so.

Minato just nods quietly.]

There are a lot of strange things like that here. Things that probably shouldn't exist, but somehow do...

But I think it exists for a reason.

[...there's a reason their story was written down like that, right?]

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It's been 84 years.......

i still love you anyway

Do you though?

i always do

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