[When Sou returns, Sara and Kanna are quietly talking in low tones. Sara is kneeling down, staring at Kanna in the eyes with an unexpected seriousness while Kanna clasps her hands, gazing back with equal intensity.
A small fragment can be heard, before they turn to look at him.]
"-so you promised?"
Yes. [ Sara's teeth clench, but she stops short, looking up and over at Sou. ]
M...missing? Are you sure? There's lots of secret passages on this floor. [ Though only Gin should know about them, this early. ]
[ Kanna also looks over. Despite the situation, she looks a bit better, between talking to Sou and a little time alone with Sara. A blanket has been placed over the body near the bed. ]
Kanna knows Q-taro was acting a little weird, maybe he found something that made them want to end the game?
[He briefly wonders what they were talking about, but the thought travels from one side of his head to the other and out without hitting anything. The blanket over himself... good idea. Kanna shouldn't have to look at that.]
I'm sure... I even checked the room above the monitor room. [The computers were useless without the chip but the memorandum was... unsettling. He'd moved on quickly before the portrait could stare at him any further.] There's only so far anyone could have gone... I couldn't get in the attractions alone to check... but Q-Taro wouldn't have been able to either.
[Most of the group seemed be where or near where they were when the collars went off but Gin... he'd clearly been trying to head towards the lobby. Shin had spent a while stuck staring down at the small form. He'd stolen a blanket from one of the other bedrooms and unwittingly likewise covered it.
Kanna... he fully enters the room a bit more cautiously, torn between wanting to be next to her and not trusting himself after that and sort of awkwardly hovering as a result.]
Acting weird... [Found something... A horrible train of thought starts to move, very slowly, but picking up speed, and the blood runs out of his face as he recalls a certain bribe and the world narrows into a pinpoint of horror.] Kanna, didn't we... don't tell me the escape ticket...!
[Kanna had found out Q-Taro was trying to gather a lot of tokens. Sou knew how to buy the escape ticket. It had seemed like the perfect thing to offer for the laptop... especially since it was probably a lie or a trap or just a toying string. He didn't think that amount would be actually achievable! Surely everyone wasn't that stupid!]
Edited (some italics) Date: 2021-09-21 08:06 am (UTC)
[ Sara only has time to say that before the lights flicker, plunging them both into darkness. A low rumble echos through the faculity, and when the lights brigthen again, she's on her feet, eyes wide. faint trickle of dust falls from the ceiling between Kanna, Shin and Sara. ]
[His head shoots up to the ceiling, wincing as dust gets in his eyes before looking back down, the impending manic stress replaced by a different flavor of manic stress. Is- is that...?]
They're collapsing the building! Kanna-!
[He reaches out for her, grabbing her wrist as tightly as he's able. He made his choice in his thoughts several posts back; even if it's meaningless, even though it's not real, even though it's just playing into the hands of this and it's going to hurt, he's still going to try. He hates it and he's still going to try.]
R-right. Let's go. Don't look, Kanna.
[You don't need to tell him twice, he's running.]
Edited (minor tweak) Date: 2021-10-02 07:52 am (UTC)
[ Eeep, she's pulled along before, she can even think, a frantic dash as the building creaks and groans above them. The rumbling grows, low and frantic, almost like the low roar of the ocean, coming down upon them.
Kanna keeps up, her hand tightly bound up within Sou's. She squeezes, hard, as they run. ]
[ It's only a few short hallways back to the elevator, and Sara easily outpaces Kanna and Sou too it. Her own dead body lays at the stairs, and from this angle Sara can suddenly note that on one its hands is outstretched towards the place where the escape should be. But of course, the lights flicker again and she has more important things on her mind.
The elevators lights don't dim, no matter what the building outside is doing. Sara takes the stairs three at a time. and suddenly she's standing within it, staring back down at Sou and Kanna. ]
[But his frantically spinning thoughts catch on it because... she's right, why now? Did the floormasters finally notice they were here, is this just clean-up or... is... whatever this is... just finally reaching it's limit?]
If we can just... get...
[He's panting already as they hit the lobby, turn the corner and race on, breath coming in puffs as he fumbles for his lighter in the other hand while he moves, holding it aloft and sparking through the dark of the corridor, following after the flash of orange that's racing ahead. He's trying to be mindful of Kanna's shorter legs as they go up the stairs but there's no time-time-time... he shoves the lighter back in his pocket and stretches his arm forward, and there's another massive rumble as the building shakes and shudders, his hand catching the side of the doors for balance as he stumbles and then makes one final push through.]
Edited (orphan word) Date: 2021-10-02 08:24 am (UTC)
[ Shin's hand catches on the door to the elevator, but as it does, he feels another hand pulling him back, standing still on the landing.
Please, look back. Don't go just yet.
Kanna holds Shin's hand gently, staring up at him. ]
Kanna...can see the light now Shin. The door, its open... Just like Kanna thought... [ She looks out past him, face reflecting a light that does not resemble the gleam of the elevator. It's softer, warmer. It makes the blood coating her uniform look faded, like rust. She smiles. ]
So...Kanna needs to be strong now. She saw Sou and Sara again, and they helped her, but they need to go away...right. She can't depend on them forever, or she can't move forward.
Kanna...d-doesn't want to say goodbye. Not without ever...saying it, out loud!! She doesn't want you to go! Please!
[ Her hand squeezes harder, white knuckled, and with suprising strength, she pulls Shin, just for an instant back out of the elevator. Up on her tiptoes, she wraps her arms around his neck, fingers buried in the scarf for one final desperate hug. ]
[ Her voice is muffled, buried in the scarf and his chest, but he can hear it. They both can. ]
All this time...Kanna just wanted to say. She was so happy to meet her big brother...and to learn he was a kind person. She was so...unbelievably...happy.
[Of course he turns. He can't not, at that tug. Not at that kind of plea from her.]
Kanna... you... the building...
[It's a small, plaintive protest, trying to inject a little futile reality. The light... on her, it's different, his heart already sinking. Where is he leading her? Can it be anywhere good?
He wants to yell at her. He wants to just pull her into the elevator. There's no time for this, to think he's some kind of vision when he thinks vice versa. But there's a finality to this, creeping in. A sense of a last chance. He can't let it end like that. The last words they exchanged was him shouting at her that she was a stupid kid, worthless.
She pulls him into a hug, and he doesn't resist, holding onto her like if he doesn't, she'll vanish right then and there.]
Ahah..ha... I don't want to say it, either.
[His voice, like his heart, breaks on the words. He knew it would hurt. He did, but.]
I'm... You're way too trusting, you k-know? Happy, with me... when I... it's kind of sad that makes me happy too, isn't it? K-kind... ahaha. You... deserve real kindness, Kanna. You deserve to live happily... Even if it's on your own...
Edited (added a bit) Date: 2021-10-02 10:31 am (UTC)
[And then his brain rewinds the sentence and smacks him on the back of the head with a two by four, pulling back just to be able to look at her with the dazedness of revelation.]
...Brother?
[He knows she'd slip and call Sara big sister sometimes, something that always got his hackles up a bit... is it like that? But now that he's actually looking for it, now that the possibility has been placed there, there is a resemblance. How did he not... he'd given up on the chance of finding them, just like the chance of finding someone else, a nice dream he'd had once upon a time but he wasn't the sort of person he'd wanted to be anyway... and now, here? The whole time...? It's almost funny.]
Ahaha... you're... [There's another rumble, lights flickering and a violent shaking, tipping him backwards, once more grabbing at the edge, half in, half out.] W-wait... Kanna! Little sister!
[Time is running out, he can feel it. There's so much he'd thought about saying but... he didn't know anything about her then. This was true beforehand.]
[ He pulls Kanna through the door, but instead of his sister, instead there is a metallic clatter as Kai's laptop slips out of his hands and skids onto the floor beside them.
Sara stands behind Shin quietly. For the second, there is only the sound of her breathing. Because of course, she'd seen the whole thing. Little sister. Big...brother. The sibling in that memory with Midori. That wish, that was promised.
Its abundantly clear in hindsight. Sara wonders...if the Sou she knew, had known...and just hadn't told her. How...surprisingly kind of him. That's the only thought she allows herself. ]
[The sudden shift in weight has him hurriedly stumbling to keep his balance and wincing as the laptop drops and skids and everything comes to it's halt. Kanna is... nowhere to be seen.
He stands staring out through the doors for a second and then seems to come back to himself and fumbles for the first floor button, shakily pressing it as Sara breathes behind him.]
The whole time...
[His hand grips his beanie tight enough it's distorted down, before letting go with a breath that might be a laugh. He turns as Sara speaks, as the doors slide smoothly closed behind him, and his face is back to that placeholder smile, gleam of eyes as the elevator jolts and starts to move.]
S-shouldn't I be the one asking you that, Sara? This was yours, wasn't it?
[It's less clear than that, because while cathartic in it's way it definitely wasn't what you could call a pleasant experience for him. If it is hers, what does it exactly mean that this is a bad scenario for her? Her death alone? That look of distress, earlier...]
Edited (minor tweak bc suspicious shin and concerned shin are asking the exact same question while pushing at each other's faces) Date: 2021-10-04 05:06 am (UTC)
[ Her eyes move up, resting on his for a second before she gives a soft smile. Her eyes crinkle, but they don't shine with any of her usual energy. ]
Stupid...you're the one who was crying. Isn't it natural I'd ask? [ His long lost sister was before his eyes, wasn't she? Sara leans back against the elevator wall, cocking her head as the smile drops. There's distress behind thoughtfulness. Nothing about her behavior is innately suspicious but it is...wooden, like someone going through the motions. Shock, perhaps. ]
I suppose it was... I'm glad...really. It was nice to see Kanna after so long, even if I was dead. I hope she does well, whereever she is.
[ The lights above them are blinding, but Sara would personally prepare to stare at them for the duration of the trip rather then think anything. This doesn't...change anything. ]
If this is the worst that I can imagine, maybe I am really too stupidly optimistic for my own good?
[He is not crying ok it's just raining indoors shut up.]
You know, I kept thinking about it back then. Over and over... how people could just listen to you. I think I'm starting to get an idea.
[They were falling for quite a while, the elevator's slow grind up is going to take even longer. He moves from the door, putting a splayed hand up as he passes her and leans over to pick up the laptop from the floor, returning to his position, swiping the dust off it, and tilting it back and forth with the wince-look of someone who knows the fans are probably fucked now. Looks like Kai's... he had taken good care of it, it seemed. Kanna... her idea wouldn't have worked if it wasn't already meticulously clean. He cracks it open for a quick look, the front edge pressed against his middle.]
[Her eyes do hurt, but they're dry. They're so dry its painful, and if they water a little from the light, thats nobody's business. It's raining. But Sou's answers aren't what she expects. What she hoped for? A tad to...sharp. Her eyes flick down to him, and for a second, its there. A pure, unguarded moment of panic. ]
I didn't...do anything? [ She's picking every word so carefully. He can't know about Ranmaru, or Midori, but somehow she feels like he does. It feels like an accusation. She can still see it, the way Sou looked at her with that loathing behind a smile. It's the same face, the same eyes. Is that why she's feeling confused? ]
Everyone else contributed so much. Kai...Keiji...you. I'm just a high schooler. Wanting people to work together isn't special.
[He looks back up over the laptop at her as he thumbs the on button. He'd brought that up, partly as a reflexive flare of warning coloration - don't try that on me, not in this moment - and also as... what? He didn't have to tell her, he could have just gone straight to the change of subject.
Panic...? It was there and gone so fast, maybe he imagined it. It's almost funny. It can't be that she's afraid of him no it's... probably that nobody likes being seen through, he sure doesn't. Although... when did he become someone who scares people? They're doing this, it looks like.]
That's the thing... You said everything right. It's a little impressive, actually.
[A little scary as well really, but... knowing that he can pick up on it makes things easier, gives him some (slightly false) reassurance. She's still doing it...]
You don't have to worry, Sara. I'm hardly one to talk, aren't I?
[His tone is reassuring... from his perspective he's giving her an exit ramp out, just like the comment of the eyes. He's not going to pry apart the shell in search of vulnerable flesh... just saying he knows it's there. Unbeknownst to him, he already kind of has. Attack and defense can get muddy and confusing.]
[ It's hard to keep the defensive bite out of her words, and instead she stutters on them. But he's wrong. She says the wrong things, all the time. And if she says anything right its not like Midori said, with her grasping peoples hearts for her own gain. What she's doing right now isn't like that. It's just safer, to say things like this.]
I don't...that's not the kind of person I am. I mean it. I meant all of it. [ She had to. She had to mean every word of it. She was going to escape with everyone, she was going to help everyone, she was going to get Sou out alive, one day, and nobody was going to die yet. And Kanna...Kanna...
Just leave her alone. Stop talking to her. Forgive her. ]
You're not a bad person either, Sou. So just...please. I'm not. Like that. You aren't either.
[Oh hell, what is happening right now. It feels darkly ironic, once again. He'd wanted her dead and he'd wanted this, he'd wanted her to rip off the sheep's clothing and admit everything, have the third act breakdown he ended up doing.]
N-nobody said anything about that...
[Well, he'd implied in his own way that they were both liars with facades. The other thing is... new.]
Ahaha... don't tell me you believed me, in the end.
[It's kind of... starting to hit home, just a tad, that maybe seeing and treating someone as your own personal nemesis... might have one or two consequences.]
Let's... just get back to the dorms, okay?
[Really frantically pressing the conversational exit button right now, like the big red one you have to lift the little glass cap for.]
Edited (not actually pressing any elevator buttons) Date: 2021-10-04 09:01 pm (UTC)
[ He's right, she's not making sense. She's talking to someone who isn't here...
Just...get it together.
It takes a second, and a deep breath and...its gone. Like keeping her head above water. Like letting something go. Something red and crushing shoving it all away, because this isn't the first time Sara's had to deal with this all consuming guilt. The trick is to just never think about it. ]
Right. Right..
[ She's shaken, but she doesn't look scared anymore when she looks at him. Just a normal look of confusion. Her face is still damp, but body is still and calm.]
Believed you? Er...I don't think I'm working with Asunaro, don't worry. [ Of that, she could still be certain. ] The dorms sound nice. I should make dinner when we get back...
[Once again, it all just disappears back into the depths, like water going down a sink... he understands her a little more, he thinks. His mind flicks back to the memorandum, still fresh in memory, and the flash of involuntary comparison makes his skin crawl. Asunaro... that all keeps coming back to her. Obsession with her.
His gaze is away. He doesn't like being seen to cry himself and he can extend her that same courtesy. He looks back down at the laptop to dislodge the thoughts, running a finger over the trackpad to make the mouse go in circles. Looks like it's still working, at least.]
...
[Wait for it...]
...wouldn't say no, if you happened to make too much.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2021-09-21 05:53 am (UTC)A small fragment can be heard, before they turn to look at him.]
"-so you promised?"
Yes. [ Sara's teeth clench, but she stops short, looking up and over at Sou. ]
M...missing? Are you sure? There's lots of secret passages on this floor. [ Though only Gin should know about them, this early. ]
no subject
Date: 2021-09-21 06:06 am (UTC)Kanna knows Q-taro was acting a little weird, maybe he found something that made them want to end the game?
no subject
Date: 2021-09-21 07:42 am (UTC)I'm sure... I even checked the room above the monitor room. [The computers were useless without the chip but the memorandum was... unsettling. He'd moved on quickly before the portrait could stare at him any further.] There's only so far anyone could have gone... I couldn't get in the attractions alone to check... but Q-Taro wouldn't have been able to either.
[Most of the group seemed be where or near where they were when the collars went off but Gin... he'd clearly been trying to head towards the lobby. Shin had spent a while stuck staring down at the small form. He'd stolen a blanket from one of the other bedrooms and unwittingly likewise covered it.
Kanna... he fully enters the room a bit more cautiously, torn between wanting to be next to her and not trusting himself after that and sort of awkwardly hovering as a result.]
Acting weird... [Found something... A horrible train of thought starts to move, very slowly, but picking up speed, and the blood runs out of his face as he recalls a certain bribe and the world narrows into a pinpoint of horror.] Kanna, didn't we... don't tell me the escape ticket...!
[Kanna had found out Q-Taro was trying to gather a lot of tokens. Sou knew how to buy the escape ticket. It had seemed like the perfect thing to offer for the laptop... especially since it was probably a lie or a trap or just a toying string. He didn't think that amount would be actually achievable! Surely everyone wasn't that stupid!]
no subject
Date: 2021-10-02 07:38 am (UTC)[ Sara only has time to say that before the lights flicker, plunging them both into darkness. A low rumble echos through the faculity, and when the lights brigthen again, she's on her feet, eyes wide. faint trickle of dust falls from the ceiling between Kanna, Shin and Sara. ]
Sou. We need to go.
no subject
Date: 2021-10-02 07:51 am (UTC)They're collapsing the building! Kanna-!
[He reaches out for her, grabbing her wrist as tightly as he's able. He made his choice in his thoughts several posts back; even if it's meaningless, even though it's not real, even though it's just playing into the hands of this and it's going to hurt, he's still going to try. He hates it and he's still going to try.]
R-right. Let's go. Don't look, Kanna.
[You don't need to tell him twice, he's running.]
no subject
Date: 2021-10-02 08:01 am (UTC)[ Eeep, she's pulled along before, she can even think, a frantic dash as the building creaks and groans above them. The rumbling grows, low and frantic, almost like the low roar of the ocean, coming down upon them.
Kanna keeps up, her hand tightly bound up within Sou's. She squeezes, hard, as they run. ]
W-wait, why would they do something like this?
no subject
Date: 2021-10-02 08:06 am (UTC)The elevators lights don't dim, no matter what the building outside is doing. Sara takes the stairs three at a time. and suddenly she's standing within it, staring back down at Sou and Kanna. ]
Come on! Hurry!!
no subject
Date: 2021-10-02 08:22 am (UTC)[But his frantically spinning thoughts catch on it because... she's right, why now? Did the floormasters finally notice they were here, is this just clean-up or... is... whatever this is... just finally reaching it's limit?]
If we can just... get...
[He's panting already as they hit the lobby, turn the corner and race on, breath coming in puffs as he fumbles for his lighter in the other hand while he moves, holding it aloft and sparking through the dark of the corridor, following after the flash of orange that's racing ahead. He's trying to be mindful of Kanna's shorter legs as they go up the stairs but there's no time-time-time... he shoves the lighter back in his pocket and stretches his arm forward, and there's another massive rumble as the building shakes and shudders, his hand catching the side of the doors for balance as he stumbles and then makes one final push through.]
1/?
Date: 2021-10-02 08:30 am (UTC)Please, look back. Don't go just yet.
Kanna holds Shin's hand gently, staring up at him. ]
Kanna...can see the light now Shin. The door, its open... Just like Kanna thought... [ She looks out past him, face reflecting a light that does not resemble the gleam of the elevator. It's softer, warmer. It makes the blood coating her uniform look faded, like rust. She smiles. ]
So...Kanna needs to be strong now. She saw Sou and Sara again, and they helped her, but they need to go away...right. She can't depend on them forever, or she can't move forward.
2/?
Date: 2021-10-02 08:33 am (UTC)[ But... ]
Kanna...d-doesn't want to say goodbye. Not without ever...saying it, out loud!! She doesn't want you to go! Please!
[ Her hand squeezes harder, white knuckled, and with suprising strength, she pulls Shin, just for an instant back out of the elevator. Up on her tiptoes, she wraps her arms around his neck, fingers buried in the scarf for one final desperate hug. ]
no subject
Date: 2021-10-02 08:35 am (UTC)[ Her voice is muffled, buried in the scarf and his chest, but he can hear it. They both can. ]
All this time...Kanna just wanted to say. She was so happy to meet her big brother...and to learn he was a kind person. She was so...unbelievably...happy.
1/?
Date: 2021-10-02 10:20 am (UTC)Kanna... you... the building...
[It's a small, plaintive protest, trying to inject a little futile reality. The light... on her, it's different, his heart already sinking. Where is he leading her? Can it be anywhere good?
He wants to yell at her. He wants to just pull her into the elevator. There's no time for this, to think he's some kind of vision when he thinks vice versa. But there's a finality to this, creeping in. A sense of a last chance. He can't let it end like that. The last words they exchanged was him shouting at her that she was a stupid kid, worthless.
She pulls him into a hug, and he doesn't resist, holding onto her like if he doesn't, she'll vanish right then and there.]
Ahah..ha... I don't want to say it, either.
[His voice, like his heart, breaks on the words. He knew it would hurt. He did, but.]
I'm... You're way too trusting, you k-know? Happy, with me... when I... it's kind of sad that makes me happy too, isn't it? K-kind... ahaha. You... deserve real kindness, Kanna. You deserve to live happily... Even if it's on your own...
2/?
Date: 2021-10-02 10:30 am (UTC)...Brother?
[He knows she'd slip and call Sara big sister sometimes, something that always got his hackles up a bit... is it like that? But now that he's actually looking for it, now that the possibility has been placed there, there is a resemblance. How did he not... he'd given up on the chance of finding them, just like the chance of finding someone else, a nice dream he'd had once upon a time but he wasn't the sort of person he'd wanted to be anyway... and now, here? The whole time...? It's almost funny.]
Ahaha... you're... [There's another rumble, lights flickering and a violent shaking, tipping him backwards, once more grabbing at the edge, half in, half out.] W-wait... Kanna! Little sister!
[Time is running out, he can feel it. There's so much he'd thought about saying but... he didn't know anything about her then. This was true beforehand.]
3/?
Date: 2021-10-02 10:34 am (UTC)[The words are the kind of quiet you say into the dark.]
You're already strong, Kanna. [Stronger than people, including him, thought.] So... go ahead and live... please.
[And he tugs her a final time towards the elevator as he finally falls back inside himself.]
no subject
Date: 2021-10-03 05:09 am (UTC)Sara stands behind Shin quietly. For the second, there is only the sound of her breathing. Because of course, she'd seen the whole thing. Little sister. Big...brother. The sibling in that memory with Midori. That wish, that was promised.
Its abundantly clear in hindsight. Sara wonders...if the Sou she knew, had known...and just hadn't told her. How...surprisingly kind of him. That's the only thought she allows herself. ]
Are you all right, Sou?
no subject
Date: 2021-10-03 11:42 pm (UTC)He stands staring out through the doors for a second and then seems to come back to himself and fumbles for the first floor button, shakily pressing it as Sara breathes behind him.]
The whole time...
[His hand grips his beanie tight enough it's distorted down, before letting go with a breath that might be a laugh. He turns as Sara speaks, as the doors slide smoothly closed behind him, and his face is back to that placeholder smile, gleam of eyes as the elevator jolts and starts to move.]
S-shouldn't I be the one asking you that, Sara? This was yours, wasn't it?
[It's less clear than that, because while cathartic in it's way it definitely wasn't what you could call a pleasant experience for him. If it is hers, what does it exactly mean that this is a bad scenario for her? Her death alone? That look of distress, earlier...]
no subject
Date: 2021-10-04 08:24 am (UTC)Stupid...you're the one who was crying. Isn't it natural I'd ask? [ His long lost sister was before his eyes, wasn't she? Sara leans back against the elevator wall, cocking her head as the smile drops. There's distress behind thoughtfulness. Nothing about her behavior is innately suspicious but it is...wooden, like someone going through the motions. Shock, perhaps. ]
I suppose it was... I'm glad...really. It was nice to see Kanna after so long, even if I was dead. I hope she does well, whereever she is.
[ The lights above them are blinding, but Sara would personally prepare to stare at them for the duration of the trip rather then think anything. This doesn't...change anything. ]
If this is the worst that I can imagine, maybe I am really too stupidly optimistic for my own good?
no subject
Date: 2021-10-04 08:55 am (UTC)[He is not crying ok it's just raining indoors shut up.]
You know, I kept thinking about it back then. Over and over... how people could just listen to you. I think I'm starting to get an idea.
[They were falling for quite a while, the elevator's slow grind up is going to take even longer. He moves from the door, putting a splayed hand up as he passes her and leans over to pick up the laptop from the floor, returning to his position, swiping the dust off it, and tilting it back and forth with the wince-look of someone who knows the fans are probably fucked now. Looks like Kai's... he had taken good care of it, it seemed. Kanna... her idea wouldn't have worked if it wasn't already meticulously clean. He cracks it open for a quick look, the front edge pressed against his middle.]
You're going to hurt your eyes, doing that.
no subject
Date: 2021-10-04 09:07 am (UTC)I didn't...do anything? [ She's picking every word so carefully. He can't know about Ranmaru, or Midori, but somehow she feels like he does. It feels like an accusation. She can still see it, the way Sou looked at her with that loathing behind a smile. It's the same face, the same eyes. Is that why she's feeling confused? ]
Everyone else contributed so much. Kai...Keiji...you. I'm just a high schooler. Wanting people to work together isn't special.
no subject
Date: 2021-10-04 09:30 am (UTC)Panic...? It was there and gone so fast, maybe he imagined it. It's almost funny. It can't be that she's afraid of him no it's... probably that nobody likes being seen through, he sure doesn't. Although... when did he become someone who scares people? They're doing this, it looks like.]
That's the thing... You said everything right. It's a little impressive, actually.
[A little scary as well really, but... knowing that he can pick up on it makes things easier, gives him some (slightly false) reassurance. She's still doing it...]
You don't have to worry, Sara. I'm hardly one to talk, aren't I?
[His tone is reassuring... from his perspective he's giving her an exit ramp out, just like the comment of the eyes. He's not going to pry apart the shell in search of vulnerable flesh... just saying he knows it's there. Unbeknownst to him, he already kind of has. Attack and defense can get muddy and confusing.]
no subject
Date: 2021-10-04 09:44 am (UTC)[ It's hard to keep the defensive bite out of her words, and instead she stutters on them. But he's wrong. She says the wrong things, all the time. And if she says anything right its not like Midori said, with her grasping peoples hearts for her own gain. What she's doing right now isn't like that. It's just safer, to say things like this.]
I don't...that's not the kind of person I am. I mean it. I meant all of it. [ She had to. She had to mean every word of it. She was going to escape with everyone, she was going to help everyone, she was going to get Sou out alive, one day, and nobody was going to die yet. And Kanna...Kanna...
Just leave her alone. Stop talking to her. Forgive her. ]
You're not a bad person either, Sou. So just...please. I'm not. Like that. You aren't either.
ma'am this is a wendys
Date: 2021-10-04 10:06 am (UTC)N-nobody said anything about that...
[Well, he'd implied in his own way that they were both liars with facades. The other thing is... new.]
Ahaha... don't tell me you believed me, in the end.
[It's kind of... starting to hit home, just a tad, that maybe seeing and treating someone as your own personal nemesis... might have one or two consequences.]
Let's... just get back to the dorms, okay?
[Really frantically pressing the conversational exit button right now, like the big red one you have to lift the little glass cap for.]
YEAH?? SHE CAN CRY IN A WENDYS IF SHE WANTS WHAT ARE YOU A COP?
Date: 2021-10-05 04:07 am (UTC)Just...get it together.
It takes a second, and a deep breath and...its gone. Like keeping her head above water. Like letting something go. Something red and crushing shoving it all away, because this isn't the first time Sara's had to deal with this all consuming guilt. The trick is to just never think about it. ]
Right. Right..
[ She's shaken, but she doesn't look scared anymore when she looks at him. Just a normal look of confusion. Her face is still damp, but body is still and calm.]
Believed you? Er...I don't think I'm working with Asunaro, don't worry. [ Of that, she could still be certain. ] The dorms sound nice. I should make dinner when we get back...
understandable have a nice day
Date: 2021-10-07 12:31 am (UTC)His gaze is away. He doesn't like being seen to cry himself and he can extend her that same courtesy. He looks back down at the laptop to dislodge the thoughts, running a finger over the trackpad to make the mouse go in circles. Looks like it's still working, at least.]
...
[Wait for it...]
...wouldn't say no, if you happened to make too much.
[There it is.]