The Expendable:

An Eri-Centric Drabble

We're alike in so many ways, Eri. Want to know my favorite similarity between us? The fact that we're both utterly useless.

a.n: why hello thar. this is the first of a drabble series I'm working on. The main thing is simple: the future-selves of the TWEWY cast are writing letters to their past selves. The idea of letter writing was based off a Pokemon drabble collection I read. That is all.

enjoy.

...um, hmm. What should my nickname for this account be? Until then;

-RV


Dear Princess Eri;

I think that I saw you when I was drifting away. I know that sounds frightening and completely stalker-esque. But, trust me, I didn't choose who I would see before fading into space dust. But, since I'm already talking, I guess I should inform you of something, Eri. You and I are more alike than you think. Actually, you wouldn't be able to think. Not in the literal 'logical' sense, I'm talking about the fact that you don't know who the hell I am and why I'm writing this. We're alike in the fact that we're both gauntlets. We were thrown before a great war occurred, before we were dragged into situations we didn't want to get into.

Oh wait. I guess you haven't been any danger. The only thing you've lost is your best friend, and that was only for a couple of weeks. I lost my life. That's a big difference. That's something that divides us. …that is besides your ridiculous hair. That was one of your…much more stupid mistakes. I know it was a statement, that you were Eri and you didn't care what others thought about it, but why pink? Why not blue? You know that in the average game someone needs blue hair. Oh. Anyways, where was I? Yeah. So, Eri. You're a fantastic person, really. Who else would manage to believe their best friend in a matter of seconds after she explains the fact that she had been playing a game which involved turning into Shibuya space dust? Pssh. I wouldn't have believed a word she said.

Hmm. Well, I think I found our second difference, my dear not-friend Eri. I told you that we were the gauntlets thrown. I lied about that. I was a gauntlet. My erasure ensured that my partner would go on without me and win the Game. You on the other hand…well; you haven't been exposed to death or the life after death. Do you still get this? Maybe not, after all, you have the attention span of a goldfish.

Look, something shiny!

…Didn't fall for it, huh?

You know better than to fall for the glitz and glitter, Eri. You're a big girl. You're strong and loyal. Those are the redeeming qualities you own that overshadow your shortcomings. You grew up in a world filled with the glamour and beauty that you didn't want. You wanted simplicity. You wanted normality. You wanted…something that wasn't yours.

That's where all of us go wrong, Eri. I went wrong there, too. Isn't that exciting? (Not really, you probably saw this coming. Okay, well, Maybe not…after all, you did cheat off of Beat Bito of all people for your English finals…) I went wrong by wanting the same thing you did. I wanted to be loved, Eri.

Love is a powerful emotion. Many write it off as the stupidest power a person could have. What kind of lame power is heart, anyways?

That's where they're wrong. The heart is the most powerful of superpowers, even surpassing Neku's psychomancy (okay, maybe not. He had the power of friendship…). Whatever, forget about my Neku analogy. Eri, you have something that others could only dream of having. You have a best friend. Isn't that nice?

…you're probably glaring daggers at me. Wait, that wouldn't work out very well…I'm kind of dead. So, yeah…never mind about that. Um, wow. I feel like the worst guardian angel on the planet earth. I know, I suck at my job but someone has to do it.

Eri, you have a long way ahead of you. Just…keep moving forward, you know? Forget the past and leave it behind. Thinking about the past only brings hurt. Enjoy the moment, because you never know when it'll be snatched away from you.

At least, you don't know. I, on the other hand, do; and there's something that I learned from all of this crap I went through. I've learned that we have one more similarity. The most similar of all!

I've learned that we're utterly useless. We're expendable. No one would care if we died. Which has its perks, after all; I mean, how else would I be writing to my past self?

I wish you all the best, Eri. I already know what happens.

-Love, your future.