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Ryuji had been having trouble sleeping ever since Shido’s palace. While he would hate to abuse the kindness of one of his friends, he had finally reached the point that he was sleep-deprived enough to actually dial Yusuke’s number. Ryuji was shocked when the call was almost immediately answered.
“Hello?”
“Yo, Yusuke. Didn’t expect you to be up this late.”
“Ah, Ryuji. A pleasure to hear from you. Yes, I would usually be asleep by now, but it seems a fit of inspiration has gotten the best of me.”
Ryuji laughed a bit; that’s so typical of the artist.
“I hate to interrupt. I was just having trouble sleeping, but I can leave you alone.”
“Hmm? Did I not say I would be happy to lend an ear at any time for this?”
“Yea, but I still feel kinda dumb for reaching out just cause I can’t get myself to sleep like a normal person.”
“Nonsense. I would be happy to be of assistance. People have trouble sleeping all the time. Do you have an idea of what is causing your restlessness?"
“Uh….I don’t know. I mean I have kinda been scared to fall asleep recently,” Ryuji seemed to mumble the last part.
“Why is that?”
“I keep having this bad dream since the Shido’s palace stuff.”
“Would you like to elaborate? Maybe, talking about it will help assuage these concerns.”
“Y’know, how everyone found me knocked out after the explosion?”
Yusuke hummed in response.
“Well, when I lost consciousness, I imagined I had just walked over, and no one was happy to see me.”
“How could you tell?”
“Well, the girls started yelling at me and beating me, and you, Akira, and Morgana didn’t even react. I couldn’t move and everyone just left me there.”
“Hmm, I suppose everyone has irrational fears…not to give this nightmare any credence, but is there a reason you would think we would react like this?”
“I don’t know,” Ryuji took a deep breath, “I’m just…so used to there being people who were supposed to care about me, then they beat me and throw me away… Kamoshida…the track team…my dad.”
“It is awful that you have been exposed to so many people who did not care about you in the way you deserve. You understand that we care about you though, right?”
There was a extended pause.
“Do you want to hear about my dreams?” Yusuke asked.
“Yeah.” Hopefully, listening to Yusuke would balance out his feelings of deep selfishness for airing this all out in the first place.
“Before you all entered the picture, I would dream of my mother…of receiving the parental affection I deeply desired. Someone who would care for me even when my paintings were not gallery worthy. Once I entered Madarame’s palace, I dreamed that I was trapped inside a painting to be manipulated by others without truly making my own mark on the world, but eventually, I escaped with someone’s help. Do you know who pulled me out of that space?”
“Akira?”
Yusuke chuckled briefly, “No, it was you. While everyone helped, my liberation from that space was mainly because of you and your albeit pushy generosity.”
“I don’t think you can thank me for my dream version helping you out.”
“Do you know what I dream about now?”
“No.”
“I dream about the affections I have received from all of our group, but mostly you. I cannot overemphasize how many times I have seen you buying me a beef bowl or putting your arm around me. These moments mean the world to me and I am sure the others have similar moments that prove you are important to them.”
“I…,” Ryuji’s voice trembled, “Thanks Yusuke.”
“Anytime. Do you think this will help you sleep? I can stay on the line.”
“No. Thank you so much. Goodnight.”
“Sweet dreams, Ryuji.”
After the call ended, Ryuji finally reached a peaceful sleep filled with dreams of a certain artist.