Midousuji has some relish in watching the defeated realization play out so blatantly on Ishigaki's face, and he stifles another little laugh, eyes narrowing with impish glee.
"That's right," Midousuji confirms, rolling his eyes away as he sticks out his tongue through a playful smile, mask now clung beneath his chin. "I'm neeeeever gonna care about that stuff. Never! Besides," Midousuji adds, widening his eyes as he looks back to Ishigaki, expression suddenly stonier. "I was thinking about it... Relying on someone...whatever. The strength that can be pulled from it. It's seriously super gross, the nastiest thing ever, but you were right."
Midousuji looks away again, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth as he rubs his ear, quelling some itch--but it's mostly just a fidget.
"I thought about it for a long time, trying to figure it out. And when I finally understood, I took the InterHigh. The way you rely on your team... I'm sure you work hard, because you like them, but I still think that kind of thing can slow people down. Distract them. Keeping things symbiotic takes a careful balance, I think..."
Midousuji's teeth clack once his tongue furls back in, sort of puckering his lips as he stares hard off at anything but Ishigaki.
"But anyway, it's because of the strength from... that..." Midousuji's expression flattens in a wince. "...that I won. So if you want me to push you, I'll push you. That's a fair transaction, so your stupid guilty martyr nonsense is both silly and misplaced."
Midousuji's incredibly long winded way of expressing his thanks. Acknowledging he was wrong in (most of) his old ways, that Ishigaki was onto something, and extending a favor—probably many favors, Midousuji isn't sure when he'll stop being formally indebted—it's because he's grateful. Even if the process of letting himself be a human being is the worst sensation he's yet had the displeasure of incurring, aside from the hollowing grief impact of death.
no subject
"That's right," Midousuji confirms, rolling his eyes away as he sticks out his tongue through a playful smile, mask now clung beneath his chin. "I'm neeeeever gonna care about that stuff. Never! Besides," Midousuji adds, widening his eyes as he looks back to Ishigaki, expression suddenly stonier. "I was thinking about it... Relying on someone...whatever. The strength that can be pulled from it. It's seriously super gross, the nastiest thing ever, but you were right."
Midousuji looks away again, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth as he rubs his ear, quelling some itch--but it's mostly just a fidget.
"I thought about it for a long time, trying to figure it out. And when I finally understood, I took the InterHigh. The way you rely on your team... I'm sure you work hard, because you like them, but I still think that kind of thing can slow people down. Distract them. Keeping things symbiotic takes a careful balance, I think..."
Midousuji's teeth clack once his tongue furls back in, sort of puckering his lips as he stares hard off at anything but Ishigaki.
"But anyway, it's because of the strength from... that..." Midousuji's expression flattens in a wince. "...that I won. So if you want me to push you, I'll push you. That's a fair transaction, so your stupid guilty martyr nonsense is both silly and misplaced."
Midousuji's incredibly long winded way of expressing his thanks. Acknowledging he was wrong in (most of) his old ways, that Ishigaki was onto something, and extending a favor—probably many favors, Midousuji isn't sure when he'll stop being formally indebted—it's because he's grateful. Even if the process of letting himself be a human being is the worst sensation he's yet had the displeasure of incurring, aside from the hollowing grief impact of death.