[slaps roof of barn]

[endsjustified]

WHO: lilies
WHERE: lily
WHEN: day 76 postgame

[you can fit SO many crises in here]

Comments

[endsjustified]

[he doesn't confirm or deny, but yeah the clues add up that way if you know the guy

slightly rueful:]

You talk about these things like you had a mishap doing chores...you think dying before you got here reset the problems?

[mykidisthebest]

They're basically the worst chores one could possibly have, so I don't think that's inaccurate.

[takes a breath]

I...I'm starting to think dying was to reset the problems. Kevin said I had way more time left than three months.

[endsjustified]

[a slow breath of his own, in and out]

Did someone else arrange your death?

[mykidisthebest]

[frowns at the ceiling]

Arrange? I don't think so. But it was a surprise to me too. It's possible that it was somehow planned.

[endsjustified]

[mmmmmmm well it fixed the problem but mmmmmmmmmmm he hates this]

And is the cycle going to repeat itself...? You're not less prone to entering high-stakes situations.

[mykidisthebest]

[it's not an ideal solution to the problem,,]

It should be fine for now. At least until I work out a long term solution.

[endsjustified]

Will you not let us help?

[mykidisthebest]

[steals a glance at him]

I wouldn't mind help. I'm open to suggestions if you have them.

[endsjustified]

Not I; not yet. But we should ask Kevin how far his sense for death goes when it applies to a human soul.

If we can see where the points of strain and weakness are, and their nature...

[mykidisthebest]

--There aren't any weaknesses! I'm just not as robust as an S-Class. You don't have to get the kids involved.

[endsjustified]

[rolls his head to stare at him]

If you don't let them help you, they're less likely to let you help them.

[mykidisthebest]

There's nothing for them to help with. I just need to exercise and eat right.

[endsjustified]

Not a wrong statement, but I...don't think that's what's going to fix it. Do you, really?

[mykidisthebest]

It won't be enough to let me live to a hundred. And I'd still like to try and make it to two hundred if I can. But none of that matters if the world ends, either. Even if I have to push myself, it's better than letting the world end and dying anyways.

[endsjustified]

[hey

frowns a little and then rolls onto his side to face him, reaching out towards his face with the hand not holding his]

[mykidisthebest]

[tips his head to look at him, a little tense under his hand]

[endsjustified]

How long does an S-class live? You said about a hundred fifty, I think, but can it be longer?

[mykidisthebest]

[exhales; this is a safe question he can answer]

A hundred and fifty is the lowest. If you never train or level up your skills, that's about what you expect. From what I've heard, the average is around two hundred or more. But it can be much longer. Hundreds or thousands of years if you keep pushing yourself to get stronger. I figured you wouldn't be interested in that.

[endsjustified]

[thoughtfully, fingertips gentle on Lethe’s cheek]

Not so. If I trained to the level of one who could live four hundred years, and found a way to transfer half of that to you, that would do nicely.

[mykidisthebest]

[--chuckles, surprised by the thought]

It's not easy to become that strong. Even if you did, there isn't a way to transfer someone's life that easily either. The only way I know of to extend one's life is by becoming a transcendent's subordinate.

When we first met, Young Chaos told me he'd help if I was still alive in ten years. I plan to hold him to that.

[endsjustified]

It’s always good to have a backup plan. I’ll look into it when we’re not under this place’s constraints.

[mykidisthebest]

...I'm fine with it as a backup plan, but I don't really want you giving your life away so easily.

[endsjustified]

[soft and rueful]

Is it really giving it away, if I’m deliberately giving you what I don’t need…? Four hundred years is a long time, if other people aren’t there to ground you. It’s a long time even then.

[mykidisthebest]

You say that now, but you might feel differently at two hundred. You might feel like you want more time. I don't want to take that away, if I can help it.

[endsjustified]

Hmm.

Well, we can keep it as the backup. But that elder Young of yours had better keep his word.