[His shoulder, bony and angular and sharp against Gau's cheek, is warm.
It was lost in the flurry of hyperventilation, tachycardia and shaky memories, but the room, his body and limbs, were cold- very cold, cold enough that shivers ran down his spine between stuttered breaths.
He rattles off the names of other cold, dead bodies who had great injustice committed against them, and Gau could only feel warmth.
He knew it was clouding his vision. As the last of the bitter names was spat out, Gau moved his cheek from Badou's shoulder, took a deep breath, and stared into the other boy's eye, bloodied and pale and living.]
...Badou-san, you can't kill him.
[Completely assured, and rebellious on two counts. It was clear it was not dropping the honorific any time soon, or doubting his statement.]
I believe in equal justice. I believe that my killer should be punished for what he did to me and what he did to the other victims. Trying to kill him and putting yourself in danger isn't justice! It's not worth it!
[His voice cracks like a twig and he bites it back. Experience fuels his words and he sees a boy about to sprint down the same path that Raikou took him by the hand away from.]
Even if he is killed here, he'll only come back. He'll come back, and if he was so willing to murder that many people, he won't find punishment for his actions.
...
Raikou-san will want to kill this man as well. [He knows that much for certain.] I can't let it happen this way.
[He narrows his eyes, pleading in the face of his own racing thoughts-]
Until there is a true justice system in this place that actually will serve as punishment... You can't sacrifice yourself!
[Offline]
It was lost in the flurry of hyperventilation, tachycardia and shaky memories, but the room, his body and limbs, were cold- very cold, cold enough that shivers ran down his spine between stuttered breaths.
He rattles off the names of other cold, dead bodies who had great injustice committed against them, and Gau could only feel warmth.
He knew it was clouding his vision. As the last of the bitter names was spat out, Gau moved his cheek from Badou's shoulder, took a deep breath, and stared into the other boy's eye, bloodied and pale and living.]
...Badou-san, you can't kill him.
[Completely assured, and rebellious on two counts. It was clear it was not dropping the honorific any time soon, or doubting his statement.]
I believe in equal justice. I believe that my killer should be punished for what he did to me and what he did to the other victims. Trying to kill him and putting yourself in danger isn't justice! It's not worth it!
[His voice cracks like a twig and he bites it back. Experience fuels his words and he sees a boy about to sprint down the same path that Raikou took him by the hand away from.]
Even if he is killed here, he'll only come back. He'll come back, and if he was so willing to murder that many people, he won't find punishment for his actions.
...
Raikou-san will want to kill this man as well. [He knows that much for certain.] I can't let it happen this way.
[He narrows his eyes, pleading in the face of his own racing thoughts-]
Until there is a true justice system in this place that actually will serve as punishment... You can't sacrifice yourself!