pitythefool | IC CONTACT | TEXT / VOICE / VIDEO / ACTION

[When Ichigo calls, it's in a voice that's deeply upset. Someone who's unsure, barely keeping water above all his doubt and hurt.]

Adachi-san? I...I need to talk to you.

Huh?

[Oh geez...]

S-Sure thing, Kurosaki-kun. What's up?

[Ichigo takes a deep breath, tries to gather his thoughts.]

...I talked to Yosuke.

[He hesitates, not really wanting to continue, but...

He has to know.

He just hopes it won't end as badly.]

He told me...you killed that girl you told me about before. ...and another woman, too.

You -

[You did what?! He can't even get the rest of that question out there - ]

[ - Ichigo's just dropped another bombshell on him.]

W-Wait a second. He actually said that...? Why would he - ?

[Adachi may have come dangerously close to breaking his part of the bargain, but Yosuke? Oooh, he just steamrolled right through it, didn't he? That little shit. What the hell was he thinking?!

More importantly, why did Ichigo have to go sniffing around? Adachi may have thrown him a couple of crumbs, but he wasn't expecting results this quickly. Certainly not results this disastrous, either.]

That's... That's just messed up...

I know.

[He's not in person, so he can't see the huge spike of emotion that would have been in adachi's soul, capable of breaking through the thick fog blanketing it.

But Ichigo can't-so instead, he's reaching out like this, desperate to hear that it wasn't true, that Yosuke was lying, that Adachi couldn't really murder anyone...and it comes through loud and clear when he next speaks.]

I...It's not true, is it? You couldn't...You couldn't kill those women, could you?

[And yet....even hearing this...

He still wants to trust Adachi over Yosuke.]

No...

[His voice is soft at first. Still absolutely stunned, still trying to process this and - ]

No way! [And then it gradually gets louder, his voice shaking with disbelief and vehement denial.] That's insane! Why would I - ?!

[He cuts himself off, voice dropping a few decibels as he asks one last question. Almost hurt.]

Why would he say something like that...?

[Yeah, Hanamura. Why, indeed?]

Edited 2014-09-03 19:53 (UTC)

[If Adachi was trying to make Ichigo believe that he had nothing to do with the deaths of those women, well...he's succeeded. Ichigo sighs, loud and conflicted.]

I don't....I don't know. I know he hates, you, but...

[Why would Yosuke lie? And about murders, at that. Did he really blame Adachi that much for not solving the case? And why-

Wait.]

-Adachi-san. Did something happen between you two here?

[Not in Inaba. No, here. That guilt in Yosuke's soul...what did he do that ate away at him like that?]

[There's an odd sort of crunching sound on the other end. Like Adachi's grip on the phone is getting that much tighter.]

...Yeah, actually. Truth be told, I've... kind of been hanging onto it for a while now. I just -

[He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.]

I couldn't say anything about it. I mean... You two always seemed so close, y'know? You really made each other happy. I could tell. ...Last thing I wanted to do was ruin that for either of you.

[There it was again. That dancing around something Yosuke had done, from both of them. Ichigo's grip on his own phone tightens, his knuckles turning white.

The dread returned, and even if Yosuke wasn't his favorite person right now...he almost didn't want to hear what Adachi was going to tell him.]

I...I need to know, Adachi-san. Please.

What did he do?

...You remember that one time you found me hanging around the graveyard? Back in May, I mean - just after the flood died down. I woke up there, and you were the first person I bumped into right after. You made some comment about my bad luck, but -

[He hesitates here, for effect.]

Well. There was a lot more to it than that. What happened to me back then was just the end result of putting my trust in the wrong person.

...That person was Yosuke. He, er...

[There's another odd noise on his end. Stifled... Is it a sob or a laugh? It's hard to tell.]

He left me to drown.

[For a long, long moment...Ichigo can't believe it. There's silence on the other end, except for a deep inhale of shock.

Yosuke...Yosuke left Adachi to drown? Knowingly? That's...

That's murder, isn't it?

Yosuke...murdered Adachi?

He doesn't say anything. He can't. It's like the shock's frozen him in place-at least, for a little while.

There's suddenly a loud noise, like someone just sank to their knees hard. Which is exactly what's happened, his legs unable to keep him upright any longer from the sheer mental weight of what he's just heard.

Yosuke hated him, but...enough to kill him? And even then, he couldn't even admit what he'd done, and hid it? And probably made Adachi hide it, too...

Did the people who came from his world even know what he'd done? Or did he too lie and keep it under wraps, too much of a coward to confess to it?

If this were a video game, there would be a sudden dimming of his surroundings-and then a card would appear, and reverse itself. But this isn't a video game, and all this has done is snap an already frayed bond.

When he finally does speak, Ichigo sounds...so small. Shocked. hurt.]

He....killed you....

...Yeah. That's right. I'm...

[There's another stifled, choked-up noise from Adachi's end. From the sound of it, he's had to bite down hard on his lip to keep any more of them from escaping.]

I'm sorry, Ichigo. I should've - gah, I should've told you sooner, dammit. I just...

[He trails off at the end, seemingly unable to think of anything more to say...]

[But now the truth's finally out there. Or at least, Adachi's twisted, corrupted version of it is.

So for the time being, he's content to just sit back and listen as it all sinks in. To watch as the dominoes fall.

Payback's a real bitch, ain't it, Hanamura?]

Edited 2014-09-04 05:20 (UTC)

[Through the haze of shock, Ichigo vaguely hears Adachi...apologizing.

And of course, he jumps to try to soothe the hurt Adachi must have over this, over having to keep something so horrible a secret for so long.]

No! No, it's...It's okay, don't-

[He feels like he's babbling, still reeling from it all. But in his eyes, there's nothing adachi should apologize for. How long did he have to watch, even knowing that Yosuke-

That Yosuke-

He shakes his head, vehemence loud in his voice as he continues talking.]

You don't have to apologize, I'm-I'm sorry, Adachi. I didn't even notice, I....I can't imagine how it must have felt....

[At seeing him and Yosuke hanging out and having fun together, Ichigo so unaware at what the teenager next to him had really done...

A blossom of anger roils in his gut, aimed at himself...and at Yosuke.

That lying coward.]

...I'm so sorry.

Hey, hey, it's -

[A swallow as he regains his composure.]

It's not your fault, all right? You didn't know. ...I'm just sorry it had to come out like this is all.

But-

[There's so much more he's feeling, but just doesn't have the words for. Shock, anger, guilt...all swirling around in a potent mix.]

-I...Thank you for telling me.

[For being honest, for not dodging the question over and over. For being there when Ichigo needs him.]

....I never would've thought he was capable of doing something that. I-

[He cuts himself off again, running a hand through his hair as he hangs onto the phone.]

...it's just hard to take in.

I hear you. I mean, a place like this is just full of surprises but sometimes...

[How best to put this? How best to twist the knife some more?]

It's the people you know that wind up surprising you the most. At least... the people you thought you knew.

[A bitter chuckle.]

Kinda ironic. Isn't it?

...I guess.

[Irony didn't seem like the right word.

What was ironic about a situation like this? Nothing. There was only the knowledge that Yosuke had kept things from him-from everyone he knew.

More anger grew inside of him, and he knew that later he'd have something to tell Yosuke over the phone.]

Maybe that's how it's always going to be around here.

[If Adachi wanted to hear a bitter note in Ichigo's voice, it comes through loud and clear now. His world just got shaken up-if yosuke of all people was a murderer and a coward, then...what about the rest of the people he knew here? Ishida and Kon we fine, he knew them from back home-and Adachi was obviously trustworthy-but....

Would everyone else keep important things away from him too?]

Edited 2014-09-06 08:52 (UTC)

Yeah... Maybe.

[Who says, strictly speaking, it's just this place that's like that? From Adachi's perspective, it's just the same back home. People float into each others' lives all the time and are so quick to discard one another when best it suits them. Really, there's no reason to get too attached to anyone, but...

Well. That's a talk for another day, isn't it?

Silence hangs over them for a moment before Adachi speaks back up.]

Hey. Kuro - [No. He cuts himself off, corrects himself.] Ichigo. [Better.]

...Thanks. For having my back.

Edited 2014-09-06 23:38 (UTC)

...Don't mention it.

[There's a soft smile in his voice as he says that, the anger and bitterness in his voice fading away at hearing Adachi thanking him for being there.

But really, Ichigo should be the one thanking him.]

You're...my friend, Adachi. [No san. If Adachi is calling him by his first name, then he'll drop the San.] And I'll always have your back, no matter what.

[And nothing could change that.

...Right?]

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