"No," Ren says, almost in unison. "No, no, no, no—"
He doesn't know he's saying it. He can't feel his mouth moving; the only thing he can hear at all is a rushing sound in his ears. He stumbles away from the food stall, nearly tripping on a stool at the counter and then again as he crashes into a cognition, before he hits the wall behind him. The world has narrowed to the sight of his face, earnest and friendly, just the same as it was when they sat in his office, and later, that night in Leblanc. Why the hell did Ren think he'd found a place where he could escape? He should have known, he should have known. Maruki is everywhere. He's in the air, he's in Ren's mind. There's no escaping him ever again.
His legs give out. He crumples to the ground and scuttles back like a clumsy crab. His mouth still shapes the word no over and over, but his breathing is too fast and shallow for him to speak—which is also the reason he collapsed, though his panic has taken him so strongly that he doesn't realize it.
no subject
He doesn't know he's saying it. He can't feel his mouth moving; the only thing he can hear at all is a rushing sound in his ears. He stumbles away from the food stall, nearly tripping on a stool at the counter and then again as he crashes into a cognition, before he hits the wall behind him. The world has narrowed to the sight of his face, earnest and friendly, just the same as it was when they sat in his office, and later, that night in Leblanc. Why the hell did Ren think he'd found a place where he could escape? He should have known, he should have known. Maruki is everywhere. He's in the air, he's in Ren's mind. There's no escaping him ever again.
His legs give out. He crumples to the ground and scuttles back like a clumsy crab. His mouth still shapes the word no over and over, but his breathing is too fast and shallow for him to speak—which is also the reason he collapsed, though his panic has taken him so strongly that he doesn't realize it.