voice;

[ahappylie]

Who: Okita and you!
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Goldstone
When: October 6th and subsequent days


[Action: Oct. 6th]
[It hadn't been a particularly "heroic" way to go. Certainly, he'd done things as the final ships fled the surface that would warrant being called that, but a dying man could not ask for a seat to safety that could be used by the living. It was simply logical. By the time the last ship failed, he'd already run himself ragged and the demon in his chest was beating against its cage. He couldn't trap those people, already about to lose their home, with a man about to cough blood. So he'd given away his seat to a child and told them he'd find another way home.

Then he'd spent his last moments alive watching the comet come and the last ship flee. The shuttles disappearing through the clouds as the planet hummed in his ears, giving him a sense of peace even as the coughing and the blood racked him. The sight of the massive rock breaking the atmosphere, a blazing streak against the sky, pieces breaking off and slamming into the planet, had been so bright it was almost impossible to watch, but knowing that all of the shuttles had made it away was enough for him. This was a good death.

He only wished he'd been able to say goodbye to people first.

The impact then darkness, a flash of pain and panic, then? Nightmares. It wasn't what he expected from death. Faces he couldn't recognize floating in inky, icy blackness sitting on the edge of familiarity before slipping away again. Paralyzing isolation, screaming, fire that froze instead of burned and then--

Okita shot up in his bed on the Marsiva, hands clutching at his chest as his breath fogged against a medical ventilator. He barely had enough time to guess where he was before he felt reality bend and he was dumped into a hallway on the SS Goldstone, ventilator still strapped to his face, the tube detached from the machine and now trailing uselessly at his side. The jingle and the shower of confetti marked his arrival and then he collapsed in a heap as the fever overtook him.

Welcome...back..?]

[Voice: Later on the 6th]
[He's still so tired by moving around with a fever isn't unfamiliar to him at this point in his life. He bundles himself up the best he can and turns on the communicators, his voice rough and strained, but still managing to sound cheerful despite it all.]

I heard all of the natives made it safely off the planet? Thank you, everyone, for working so hard... I know it wasn't easy, but you saved them. Thank you.

[He takes a moment to catch his breath.]

I also have a confession to make that some of you may already know. It seems silly in comparison to everything that has happened...but I haven't been honest and I apologize. [What good is dying for these people if he can't even trust them with such basic information, right?]

For those who know me as Soujirou, you can continue calling me that if you wish, but my true name is Okita Souji.

[He pauses again because he's already reaching his physical limits, but he doesn't want to end on a downer note.]

So! Does anyone else have a confession to make? It can be silly or serious. It seemed like a good time to start anew.

Comments

Action

[onlyanapple]

[Crowley was just chilling in his usual place (not caring or being sad, mind you, NEVER that, he didn't miss you) when suddenly there was the sound of a newcomer and confetti everywhere. He peers into the hallway and oh, hey, Okita's back. ]

You're slightly less dead than we were led to believe.

[He'll amble over, trying to decide if Okita needs actual healing or not. (Still doesn't care). ]

Action

[ahappylie]

[He is truly touched by how little Crowley obviously cares. Or he would be if he wasn't singularly focused on just trying to stand up. He manages to push himself into a sitting position when he hears Crowley speak and forces a smile onto his face. After everything that happened, he has no idea how much time has passed so it's better to be smiling when people see him again, right?

The ventilator makes it hard to speak, so he fumbles with it for a second before pulling it off his face to hang around his neck.]

Surprise~?

[Oof, his voice is a lot more rough than he likes, but he has a feeling that clearing his throat will only make it worse.]

I'm slightly less dead than I expected to be, to be honest.

[onlyanapple]

[The demon lets out a dismissive 'tch', crouching down to peer at him. ]

You look like you smashed by a meteor, which is ironic, because from what I understand that's exactly what you let happen to your idiot ass.

[He should so be feeling the love right now. ]

You need healing or something?

action;

[noprophecies]

[all aboard the we don't care train, choo choo.

Tempest doesn't come across him after he first returns, oh no. Instead, she was preoccupied with another dumb jerkface who had to go and die that she didn't care about. She's back in her room and idly checking the network that she sees his broadcast.

She could just lock herself in her room and answer, but she's having one of Those Days, where it just feels more satisfying to not care at someone's face. So she gets up, stomps out of her room, and shoves the door to Okita's room open]

I do not know what to be mad about first.

[no hello, no "how are you feeling", nope]

action;

[ahappylie]

[When she bursts her way in, he's lying in bed with the covers up to his chin. The fever is taking its toll on him and his face is pale, brow slick with sweat. He was sleeping, but the moment she enters, he wakes up and pushes himself up onto his elbows in an attempt to look more "alive."

He gives her a wan smile by way of apology.]

Me missing our shopping trip?

[noprophecies]

You know that isn't what I'm talking about.

[she stays in the doorway for now, but her eyes narrow on his condition. Of course it couldn't be an easy revival, it never is. Everyone seemed to be in the same way, too.

Of course]

video

[bythewaves]

Which name do you prefer? [ Maglor asks softly - names are important, to his people, and he feels it only fair ]

video

[ahappylie]

[Which one? That's a complicated answer.]

I suppose... [He lets out a quiet huff of a laugh. What a thing to ask. They were both his name - one his given name, the other his chosen nickname after Hijikata... No, he can't think of him right now. It's hard enough just dealing with what he's already been through. At the very least, he can take comfort in knowing that Hijikata will never know he died.] Okita. It's the name I am most used to being called at home by adults.

video

[bythewaves]

Okita, then. [ Maglor nods ]

I will remember - although I might slip a bit at first!

action. shortly upon arriving yo

[throwsdown]

[Sorry, but the moment he catches wind that Okita is 'back', he is rushing through the ship like a speed demon, moving at potentially unnatural speeds for a child his age; and when he finally finds Okita, sitting sickly but most definitely alive, his eyes well up with relieved tears and he leaps to hug him before the poor dude even knows what's going on. Biting his lip doesn't really stop the drip of tears as he rubs his face in Okita's clothes to try and mask it.]

I'm -- I'm so glad to see you --

I thought you were...! I'm so sorry...!

[Relief makes way for the old familiar guilt he'd been feeling the last two weeks.

He was supposed to protect his crew. And he'd failed.]

action. he's so sorry takeshi

[ahappylie]

[He barely has time to recover from being dumped onto the ship before he's barreled into by his small captain. The force rocks him back, but he doesn't move away. He can already feel Takeshi's tears coming and the rock in his own stomach as he realizes what he's put his captain through. It's never easy being responsible for people, but the burden becomes all the more difficult when one of them dies. He knows this from experience.

And so he very gently puts a hand on Takeshi's head and his arm around the boy. He needs comfort right now - just as Tetsu had one day.]

...I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to make you worry, Takeshi-kun.

action. ;~;

[throwsdown]

[A hefty SNIIFFFFF as he tries to compose himself, face still hidden. He doesn't want anyone to see him crumble in his maturity or leadership or whatever the adults want to call it. He wants to be a good captain, but more important than that, a good friend. He feels like the worst -- but Okita at least sounds like he forgives him, so he... he can at least breathe relief there. He even apologies, too -- and to that, Takeshi finally leans back.]

You don't have to apologize! I'm the one who lost track of you!

[therewerefifty]

...it's good to see you return, Okita-san.

[She doesn't mention the change in name. She already knew the reasoning, though full context isn't something she can really grasp.]

[ahappylie]

Thank you. ...How long was my absence?

[He notes how easily she changes and he appreciates it. It's not an easy thing to admit.]

[therewerefifty]

Two weeks, I believe. [Give or take a day or two. She's listening to the strain apparent in his voice, and her next question is measured.]

Are you well?

Action

[spacebro]

[Mon-El misses the collapsing which is a shame since he could easily carry Okita to his room. But he doesn't notice he's alive and returned until he hears the surprising voice message and goes looking for him.]

Souji...uh, Okita? Are you here? [Softer.] Are you a ghost?

Action

[ahappylie]

[He had his own thing to worry about, what with being in a coma for over a month.

The voice from the other side of the door makes him laugh a little and he smiles faintly as he calls back.]

Yes. I've come back to haunt my favorite places.

voice

[lord_wizard]

[He hadn't realized he's really been holding onto hope until he hears the message and knows for sure that his crewmate isn't gone forever. The confession comes as a slight surprise, and it comes with a strange tinge of disappointment that he can't confront Okita with the question of his true name, and suddenly the leverage of that secret has slipped from his fingers.

Which is a horrendous emotion on it's own, but he can't quite help himself.]

Why the change of heart?

[Look, he'll get around to the pleasantries and concern once he deals with the things that are really bothering him]

voice

[ahappylie]

[Ah...Felix. The only one to have caught him in the act of popping the letters off his door on the Marsiva. A truly great secret, now gone.]

Mmm....I just felt like it.

[He says like it wasn't some huge decision on his part involving deciding to learn how to trust his crew members and the people of the Fleet which was almost a year in the making.]

It was starting to feel strange being called by my childhood name when all of you are adults.

voice; now that she's not a wailing mess

[willynilly]

[that's... familiar... kind of?? she paid less attention to national history than Quirk history but certain events and names stick well enough. Especially when modern media just eats the stuff up.]

Like... the Shinsengumi?

voice;

[ahappylie]

[MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM he thought all the people would have known him were gone, but apparently he was wrong. Well, this is the point of the confession, right? To see if anyone was going to shank him while he was weak.]

Oh, do you know of them?

video

[ginger_firebird]

My boss is a twin, and both he and his brother are actually clones of their father. I don't think he ever got angry at the right people for that, but it always looked funny on him.

video

[ahappylie]

[Clones...?]

What is a clone?

Video

[pain_train]

Okita Souji is a really pretty name, though! Did you not like it or something?

I feel like I should have a confession. Um. My feet are super cold and I lie to people and tell them they're not so I can put my feet on them. Does that count?

Video

[ahappylie]

[Oh my goodness, it's Wrath? He hasn't seen her since his first months on the Fleet and hadn't realized she had returned.]

Mm, I liked it just fine, it just came with consequences I wasn't certain would happen here.

[And he laughs at her confession. Cold feet is certainly one thing to confess about.]

And I'll say that counts. It must be a shock to those you trick. [a beat] Welcome back, Wrath-san.