[voice]

[childrenoflilim]

[shinji breathes into the microphone, static erupting through the speakers in short bursts.  he sounds as if he's been pushed past the verge of tears and onto the brink of absolute panic, but he has to do this.  he has to.]

Kaworu-kun...he's gone.  It was strange that he was gone so early this morning, but I didn't think about it.  Now it's been hours and he's not back.  I called his job and his phone.  They haven't seen him and he won't answer.  All his things are here.  Even his violin is here.  He'd never leave without it.  I can't find him.  He disappeared.  Kaworu left.

[an audible gulp, a shaky sigh.] And I can't find him at all.  Tell me you've heard from him.

Please.

Comments

voice;

[jailbirds]

[ there is a long pause. the crackle of breath over the audio. the sound of shifting, and a chair scraping across cement. a tense, buzzing silence. ]

... What did you say?

voice;

[childrenoflilim]

Minatsuki, has he called you? [shinji is desperate for good news.] Or visited you or--anything?

[jailbirds]

No, I— [ something starts creeping into her voice, sharp and angry. ] What do you mean, he's gone? How the hell could he just disappear?

[video]

[croibhristeoir]

What do you-...what? I How can he just be gone?

[voice always]

[childrenoflilim]

I don't know. Yesterday, he was here and nothing was different, but now he's not and--what if something happened to him? What if he's....

[permavideo because he's an idiot]

[croibhristeoir]

D...don't panic. I'm sure there must be a reasonable explanation behind all this.

[What that could have been, Lancer couldn't begin to guess.]

We should just stay calm and try to think rationally.

[ voice ]

[stillneedawish]

[ the way Shinji sounds, Madoka doubts he's up to reading text replies right now. and. and hearing someone else's voice might be good for him even while he's so worried, right? ]

Gone missing...!? [ possibilities fly through her mind, but she can't voice them aloud - that'd be too cruel. ] I - Shinji-kun, I'm sorry, I. I've never really talked to him before, but I don't think I've seen him since that night on the ski trip when everyone was in the big cabin.

[ voice; sorry it took a million years to get back to you ]

[childrenoflilim]

That would be the last time anyone from the community saw him. [bitterly,] And it was dumb of me to ask, I was just hoping.... It was stupid.

Sorry, Kaname-san.

[ voice; don't even worry about it! ]

[stillneedawish]

Oh no, it's not stupid at all! You're worried, Shinji-kun. It's just natural...

... do you want someone to be with you? I'm. I'm not really very good at finding people, but maybe we could wait together?

[voice]

[dekillerqueen]

... I'm afraid I don't really know him. What does he look like?

[ voice ]

[childrenoflilim]

[giving concrete facts is less stressful than contemplating all the wrong answers to 'where has he gone?' he lists without much inflection,] Kaworu's tall and has white hair and red eyes. He's really pale, too. You'd never forget him if you saw him.

[ voice ]

[timey_wimey]

What? Kaworu, gone? [ WELL THAT'S. MILDLY PERTURBING. there's the sound of someone sucking in a thoughtful breath. ] That can't be right. I can have a poke about if you like, see if he left a trail of some kind?

[ voice ]

[childrenoflilim]

[slowly, cautiously, hopefully,] Y-you could do that? You can find Kaworu?

[ voice ]

[regalbearing]

[ oh, god. ]

Are there no other clues to his whereabouts?

[ voice ]

[childrenoflilim]

No. No notes, no calls, no...anything.

[brokethecamera]

Ah...Shinji-kun? I don't think I know who you're talking about, but I'm sure they're alright. Try to stay calm, okay?

[childrenoflilim]

[thank god, an order. he can do that. directions can be followed without much thought. shinji takes deep breaths in a vain attempt to calm his racing heart, but he won't tell mai it's not working. better to let her assume than tell the truth.]

Okay. Okay, I'll try. Don't worry.

video

[heavenlyhome]

He's--? Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't heard from him in a long time. But, I will let you know if I see him, Shinji-kun.

Is there anything that you need in the meantime?

[voice]

[childrenoflilim]

Need? Uh...no, no. I'm okay. [spoiler: he doesn't sound okay.] Don't worry. Thank you for looking for Kaworu.

[Video]

[material_guy]

Community dropped him, eh? Least it left his stuff.

[voice]

[childrenoflilim]

[hear that? that is an oncoming panic attack. kaworu simply disappearing was the most logical answer, but was far the most desired.]

You think he's gone?

[zuipperpips]

nooo :(
sry kiddo havent ehard from him
*not time 4 jokes
maybe hes just liek
chillin somewhere?

[childrenoflilim]

It's been too long for that, plus they said he never showed up for work this morning. That isn't like him.

sorry i'm so stupidly late [text]

[structuraldefect]

I haven't, no.

it's fine [voice]

[childrenoflilim]

Seems that no one has. [shinji expected that answer, but he can't help but be disappointed. it's hard enough dealing with kaworu's disappearance. hearing person after person affirm his unspoken fear that his best friend was had simply vanished without a trace.] Thank you for answering, anyway.