Catch-all: Ms. Shinobu

[swordflash]

Comments

[wisterin]

Yes. If he does something you don't like, say so. If he says something you think is stupid, say so. Little by little, you stand up.

[ Not all fights have to be found, but being walked all over by someone with little consideration helps no one. ]

[swordflash]

[ But what if it's all true? He can't complain when the other party is right. Idiot, coward, hindrance—the things people say aren't wrong.

He absolutely can't make Shinobu any angrier, though. ]

Is that really gonna be okay?

[wisterin]

[ The problem is that he really can't make her angrier because she's angry all the time. ]

Yes, of course. What is it that you want, Zenitsu-kun? You can't possibly want everyone to treat you horribly. Please don't accept that because you are more than that.

[ She can't deny he gets too whiny at times, but she can see his kind heart. ]

[swordflash]

[ Don't tell him that. ]

It's not that I want to be treated that way . . .

[ Shinobu sees more in him than he sees in himself, just as he sees things in most people that he finds respectable. It's hard to snap back at someone he respects.

That's an excuse, though. He knows that all he does is perpetuate the problem in his relationships. His ensuing silence is as good as an admission that Shinobu is right, and the look of discomfort he wears is visible evidence of this. ]

[wisterin]

Then, what is it?

[ She wants him to say it. She wants him to put it out there so they both can hear it. ]

[swordflash]

[ She's putting him on the spot again! He can't take this. His answer is just as pathetic as it sounds, coming from his mouth. ]

I can't help it.

[wisterin]

You can. I know it's hard to believe, but you can.

[ She's not so unkind or unsympathetic that she can't tell it's his life experiences that shaped him this way, and that's hard to undo and hard to unlearn, but he needs to know that he can.

Even if he doesn't believe it, he can. ]

I only hope that someday, you can find it in yourself to believe.