Bird and a Nest | Vinzent + Haruka | Desert Island Car

Vinzent Mayer

After his chat with Abel, Vinzent was now left with time to pass again. He has seen his own tape that thankfully has been destroyed.

…

There was someone he hasn’t talked to for a while. Their interaction ended on a nice note, Vinzent would like to keep that.

How was Haruka doing on this not-so-nice island? A lot has been going on, on Vinzent’s side. So, while actively seeking her out, he found her and approached her with a wave.

“Haruka..! It’s been a while. I hope you’re well?”

It’s been really nice to have his hair off his shoulders, he found.

Yes, I, the narrator think for now Vinzent can keep his braid crown Abel made him while Vinzent talks to Haruka- It might have now come a little loose by now however, due to his earlier nap. Oops! But it’s still pinned there. Mostly!

Haruka Yukimura

In the midst of all the chaos, Haruka reminded herself that she needed to keep herself going, too. It wasn’t just Atsuko’s advice, though she did think of it while she was searching for a coconut on the ground and figuring out the best way to crack it open. It did take a few tries, but eventually she was able to sip some milk from it.

So it was quite a peaceful scene that Vinzent came across. She returned his wave with a little smile.

“Hello Vinzent! It has. I’m well enough, which is more I can say for some poor folks around here…”

She didn’t want to say who, clinging to a vague idea of patient confidentiality, but on an island of this size Haruka was sure that Vinzent had seen some of the injuries going around. She wasn’t aware that he’d actually seen a few be inflicted.

“How are you? I like what you’ve done with your hair. I always liked braiding hair, though mine’s a little short for it now!”

Vinzent Mayer

Haruka Yukimura

Vinzent was relieved that Haruka was fine despite everything else going on.

He wasn’t necessarily interested in who else has gotten injuries, save for a few that he definitely witnessed. But he made a slight face after Haruka spoke.

“I’m… It could have been worse. At least my tape has been destroyed, despite that two people saw it with me earlier. If I could, I’d wipe the images off their minds of my tape I watched but whatever, it’s too late. I’m just glad it won’t be passed around at all.”

But at the mention of his hairstyle, he couldn’t help but blush a bit. Damn it. Act Normal. Act Normal!!! You saw Nothing Haruka- (:

“Thank you…! Abel did it for me. I braided his hair too earlier for fun!”

“There could still be some neat hairstyles for your haircut! Maybe not a braid but we could try something..!”

Haruka Yukimura

“Your tape was destroyed…? Hm. I didn’t know that was possible. Maybe I should look into doing that… I wouldn’t want anyone else to see mine. For their sakes, and for… well, privacy issues, I suppose.”

Hers, or others? Or perhaps both… Either way, Haruka felt quite firmly that no more people should have to see the same traumatising thing as she did. It was bad enough that Dexter already had…

She raised her eyebrows slightly, but it seemed to be out of conversational interest rather than catching onto Vinzent’s blush. Don’t worry, Vinzent, you’re safe… from Haruka, at least.

“How sweet! It’s been a while since I’ve been able to do that for a friend…”

She looked a little wistful, and it wasn’t clear how long back she was thinking to. “There probably are, though! I’ve really only focused on practicality ever since I started medical school, so I stopped thinking about more than just ’what’s quick to wash and easy to cover?', haha.”

Vinzent Mayer

Haruka Yukimura

“Yeah, you can break it. Want to break yours now? If you’ve seen it, I presume?”

He’s more than ready to help her destroy it. It’s none of his business to go and see others’ traumas. Except for that one time he stumbled on Arty’s tape, which was unintentional on his part.

OH SWEET. Haruka saw nothing (not really.). Vinzent doesn’t show it, but he is relieved that she didn’t catch on.

“Yes, it is fun!”

He looked at Haruka who was thinking. What was going on in her head, Vinzent doesn’t know but it’s okay. She’s kind. And at least Vinzent doesn’t need to tell her the fight details that his tape has caused. Man.

Either way, he listened to her talk again, nodding. That makes plenty of sense! Yuudai had kept his hair short for praticality too, Vinzent recalls.

“That’s fair! So as long as it doesn’t hinder you!”

Haruka Yukimura

“Oh, I suppose… we could do that now, yes.”

The actual process of destroying the tape hadn’t really occurred to Haruka. It wasn’t as if it was a bad thing to do, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt anyone - as she’d mentioned, it would only help - but… There was a part of her that felt hesitant. She realised it was the first time she’d seen her father and heard him speak in… years. Yes, it was just a recording, but… it had felt real… even if it had been of the very worst moment.

She realised that she’d been staring into space. Thankfully she’d managed not to tear up, at least. She shook herself and tried to smile at Vinzent.

“I… I’m sorry, the idea of doing it is… difficult, for some reason. I know I just said I should, but…”

The hair conversation petered out as she drifted off in thought again.

Vinzent Mayer

Haruka Yukimura

Vinzent was almost ready to ask Haruka to hand over the tape if she wasn’t willing to do so herself, but he still waited. While he wasn’t as impulsive as Viper, he still had his moments.

The only reason he stopped from going ahead was Haruka’s reaction. His gaze softened, as to show he understood she was hesitating.

“It’s alright. I just don’t want you to suffer any longer. So whatever you choose… I’ll take note of it. Just know if you do change your mind, the offer’s still here, okay? But it is your tape we’re talking about, so you decide what to do with it after all.”

It has, as Vinzent stopped thinking about it as well, it is Tape Talking time now.

Haruka Yukimura

Haruka sighed, and twisted her hands together as a distraction while she thought. Vinzent’s words had actually touched her quite deeply, and she needed a moment to process and react to them.

“…Thank you. That’s really considerate of you… I really appreciate it.”

“It’s just… on this tape is someone I haven’t seen in years. He’s dead now, so I can’t… even if it was a bad memory, seeing him again was nice…” Until it wasn’t. It didn’t make sense at all - why would she want to relive that moment once more?

“I… don’t know if I want to see it again, it’s more of an attachment to… the tape itself, I suppose? I’m sorry, haha, this isn’t logical at all. I don’t mean to unload my feelings on you.”

Vinzent Mayer

Haruka Yukimura

Vinzent nodded at Haruka to show that he listened. Then…

Ah… That makes more sense for her hesitation. She thought it was just a good memory until it wasn’t… And that someone is dead since how long? That sounded like a long, long time… At her apology, Vinzent shook his head.

“No, no, don’t apologize… I can see now why you wouldn’t want to destroy it immediately. I just didn’t know the real reason. And that’s okay. It makes sense. And it’s quite alright, it happens and I don’t mind listening to you talking.”

Then, he fell quiet.

“…”

Naturally, he was glad his tape was broken because it was just overall miserable. Not something to be kept as a souvenir. Very different. But as if he’d tell Haruka about his own. She doesn’t need to know. It’s best not to.