[color=silver][center][h2][color=0099aa]𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭[/color][/h2] __________________________________________________[/center] It felt good to get the words off his chest, to roll the weight of guilt on someone else for a change. Felt good to raise his voice and feel his chest expand with air, to breathe, to find an outlet for at least some of his frustrations. It felt good to see Shun [i]mad [/i]instead of dismissive - and hey, if she got angry enough to punch him, well, he was sure that'd feel good too. It didn't feel good to watch her face fall. Before Duncan could so much as open his mouth in retort, she threw a torn sleeve at him, revealing... scars? Duncan stared at them as if he trying to decipher a foreign script, unable to make sense of what he saw. How did... how did she have scars? He had [i]none[/i], and he'd seen his insides, had to [i]hold [/i]them when he ran! It occurred to him, then and there, that had he been there for last night's fight, even if he'd done nothing but[i] stand there[/i] and weather blows in her stead, she might've not had those scars, either. And if... if she couldn't heal up like he could, then Yuki definitely wouldn't, either. Maybe rest wouldn't save him. Maybe he'd never wake up again. He wasn't even-- wasn't like [i]them.[/i] Yuki was... going to die. Whatever weight Duncan had managed to push off his chest returned tenfold right there, in the silence that [i]rung [/i]after all the shouting had died down. Shun backed away from him as if in slow motion. Everything felt still and dead. Then shun ran off. [i]Fast[/i]. Faster than he'd expected, so fast Duncan wasn't sure if he could follow. He hadn't tested his speed. He'd yet to test anything, because he'd[i] done nothing.[/i] But he would now. As much as Shun hated him, she shouldn't be out there alone! She'd just mentioned a monster. If she went alone and got attacked, there was no telling what-- A scream tore through the air, shattering what remained of the silence and startling Duncan out of his wits. He whirled his head towards Asahi. He'd heard the guy mumble something earlier on, and had half-assumed Sasuke was up, or at least coherent enough to hear if not talk. Apparently, he really wasn't, and Asahi really wasn't taking it well. Masato brushed past him without a word on his way over to help them, earning a brief glare. Really, dude? Not even a thanks? ... Whatever. Duncan turned his gaze away. Whatever CPR-adjacent shit the two were going to do, he'd just get in the way. [color=0099aa][i]"Ow!"[/i][/color] The word came out more from reflex than any actual pain. He turned to find Maki glaring up at him. [color=0099aa]"She did? I don't-- I mean, how was [i]I[/i] supposed to know? I look like someone in the loop about everyone's crushes? Bet [i]you [/i]only know cause of girl talk. And, wait, did you kick me with [i]that?![/i] God you're an idiot."[/color] Duncan tapped Maki on the head with his fist, more a pat than anything else, then turned to look over to Haruko. His brows furrowed defensively, even though she'd yet to even say anything. [color=0099aa]"I didn't know. And I-- yeah, maybe I worded things bad there. But I wasn't exactly wrong. I was just--"[/color] Asahi's cries returned, and Duncan realized that issue still hadn't been resolved. He was pleading, for [i]someone like him[/i]. Was Masato not enough? How many did he need? Duncan looked around, only to see the now-distant backs of Tsubasa and Ayana. They must've gone after Shun, and he didn't dare stop them. He had no idea where Kogen was, [i]if[/i] he was still alive. There was no one else around, except... him. [i]"What about Yuki,"[/i] he heard someone shout. [i]Yuki[/i]. If Sasuke could be saved, then so could Yuki. With a sharp inhale, Duncan strode over and knelt next to Asahi. Their differences aside, the guy had helped him, in the fight on their first night. He owed him one. He owed him... this, whatever this was. They'd save Sasuke. They'd save Yuki. [color=0099aa]"I don't know [i]what [/i]you're on about,"[/color] Duncan offered his arms forward, expecting Asahi to know what to do with them, because he sure as hell didn't. He glanced over to Masato, who seemed just as clueless. [color=0099aa]"But I'm here. To share and... connect, or whatever. As long as it's nothing weird."[/color] He was going to do this. He was, at very-fucking-last, going to do [i]something[/i].[/color]