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[The thing for Abbacchio is that his own shadow isn't saying anything that's new. It's all shit he's said out loud before to others, to himself, and frankly he's done his fair share of replaying his own traumas to himself. So he's done a decent job mostly ignoring it, the wisps of shadows trying to cling to him as he heads to the door and opens it.

He considers a moment as he looks at Yuri, then glances at the other man's shadow.

Yep. Okay. Understandable.]

C'mon in. You want tea or something harder, bello?

Something harder, but just — not straight away. I was hoping we could try something first.

( The shadow follows him inside without hesitation, thin streams of smoke rising from its body to disappear into nothing as it follows its owner's footsteps. )

You don't deserve to spend time with him, Yuri. He was like a knight back in his world, wasn't he? Just like those men you killed — sent to their graves early by a delusional Enbarr whore playing at being a student.

( Yuri's lips press into a thin line as he jerks a thumb back in the direction of the shadow: )

I know this is gonna sound a little strange, but ... could you try getting rid of this thing for me? Permanently, I mean.

( He's asking you to kill his shadow, Leone. Yuri would try to do it himself, but it's surprisingly difficult to attack something that feels like such a deep part of yourself. )

[The most Leone does is arch a brow at the shadow, but otherwise he doesn't concern himself with it. Well, that is until Yuri explicitly asks him to try to kill it.]

Yeah, that seems like a bad idea. Generally, trying to kill something that's part of you is just going to get you killed yourself in a best case scenario.

[He folds his arms. His own shadow is limp and wispy, barely physical, clinging onto Leone's shoulders, muttering, Worthless. Just rot. Leone doesn't even seem to react to it.]

But we can try something.

[Leone reaches out to Yuri's shadow, just to pinch it's arm. Curiously, he looks at Yuri himself to see if there's any reaction.]

( Neither the shadow nor Yuri responds to the pinch. Yuri isn't sure what it means that he can't feel him — maybe it doesn't mean anything at all — but he does seem a little irritated that Leone is refusing to help him out with his request. Sure, it might be for the best in the long run, but ... )

I mean, it's nothing more than you deserve. You're here dancing for strangers and running cons while your mom's back home going hungry, Abyss is unmanaged, and kids are starving in back alleys. Some 'Underground Lord' you are, huh?

( Yuri steps away from his shadow, closes his eyes for a moment, and takes a calming breath. When he opens them again there's a gleam of something a little sharper in his eyes: )

Yeah? Like what?

Don't act like you've never thought about it. Maybe getting yourself killed is the only way for your sins to be forgiven.

That's a load of shit.

[Comparatively, Abbacchio's voice is calm as he addresses Yuri's shadow.]

Of course, it could just be you don't know. But time doesn't progress without our presence back home. Don't ask me how the fuck that works, but it's something I discovered almost immediately after I ended up on this planet. So those people you're worried about are where you left them, Yuri.

[He looks at Yuri himself now, then reaches for his hand.]

They'll be there when you get back home, as if you were never gone.

( Yuri's attention snaps towards Leone at that little revelation: )

Really?

( The shadow scoffs behind him, apparently unbothered by the fact that its line of verbal abuse has been cut short. Yuri, on the other hand, lets his fingers lace through Leone's and offers a quick little squeeze: )

But how can—

( Wait, he'd specifically said he didn't know how it worked, hadn't he. Yuri falls quiet for a moment, his expression briefly pensive as he takes a step towards his boyfriend. )

How did you find that out?

Because I used Moody Blues.

[There's a pause, then he leans in a bit to brush his forehead against Yuri's. It's tender, something he hasn't allowed himself to be for awhile. Sex is great and everything, but he does value the softer moments with Yuri too.]

Kirigiri and I were trying to determine what happened to us, how we ended up here. I thought I could just replay myself to figure that out, but time didn't progress. I couldn't replay what happened after my last memory.

Moody Blues adheres to what happens, not based off of my memory. So if it didn't happen yet, that means time is stuck somehow until we go back.

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