[There it is. And honestly, Yu didn't know how badly he had wanted to hear those words until this exact moment...maybe too late. Before the tower, that might have been the end of it. This might have been a reunion, a soft embrace, a kiss on the forehead. I understand, he might have said. Right now, though...

Now, he can't bring himself to move closer. The thought of a touch makes him feel like the air's gone out of his lungs all over again.

Part of him, the part that's not reliving those moments, is devastated.

Mikey looks like he's ready to leave, this time really for someone else's sake instead of his own ego. The change is notable, palpable; all the same, Yu retains his own cool neutrality, as if it's a wall that can keep all of the pain at bay. For a moment, he considers responding with just a nod and letting the other boy go on his way. But in spite of, perhaps, his better judgment, he can't just let it go like that.]

You know... [a thoughtful pause; carefully, he gathers his words] When someone went into the TV world, their worst traits would manifest into a Shadow. Every negative thought, every terrible impulse... [He gives Mikey a pointed look, here, because he's always felt that connection.]

After a while, those Shadow selves would go into a frenzy and kill people. Even the person that manifested them in the first place. The only way to stop them was if the person they belonged to accepted them fully. The people who dealt with them on their own...they were the ones who died. The ones who had help were the ones who made it out.

[And that's what makes all of this so terrible. So infuriating. How much of this could have been avoided?]

... You should have trusted us more, Mikey.