catch-all: itsuki.

[pura]

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week zero, monday.

[pura]

[Well.

Here's Nogiku, awkwardly holding a stack of menus while the ghosts try to explain the Sadako's vision for her beautiful lesbian wedding. Some of this is flying over Nogiku's head? Maybe most of it. She is gripping the menus just a tad bit too hard, looking slightly frazzled...





And then she proceeds to crush the menus in her hands the moment she spots Itsuki in her vicinity. Goodbye, appetizer section. Offering ten different options was probably overkill, anyway.]

[nightchild]

[Itsuki turns around, having sensed a Chill in the air... To his credit (?), he immediately looks regretful? Perhaps,,,, intimidated? It takes a lot of hand strength to crush a pile of menus? think of the card stock?

Look, he feels bad about how their last meeting went, especially when she wasn't lying at all about his behavior. The only way to prove that he learned from his mistakes is to perhaps... not bother her at all...

a stack of papers, invitations, seating charts, menus land in his arms. help]

I can take those off your hands, if you like.

[he gestures for her to stick the RUINED MENUS on top of his pile]

week 1 friday

[nightchild]

[here in the medbay where nu destroyed us,

Itsuki looks tense as he enters -- he's not surprised to see another person here, but it takes him a moment to wave, if Nogiku looks his way.]

Nogiku-san, [god this is] ...did you find anything?

[his tone is pretty dim,]

[pura]

[You know the vibes are rancid when all she really does is just. Glare at him a little, and turn away to stare at the pods.

Slowly:]

... No. Nothing. I can't even get the pods to open.

week 1 sunday

[nightchild]

[they are at the spins wheel back alley, Itsuki looks at the colors on the walls, and the symbols]

So what, is this entire wall going to get painted over?

[is this a mural? a grave? a list? this is like... rage inducing, and yet, Itsuki speaks in the same neutral tone as always]

[pura]

[Itsuki why are you still cursed!!! Nogiku looks at him, lips pressed into a fine line, and scoffs.]

So, you're still like this... How aggravating.

week 2 friday

[nightchild]

[Itsuki's at the carnival, staring at the rides like it will give him all the answers. He glances Nogiku's way, then gives her a wave with (1) bandaged hand.]

I was just about to get in. Wanna come?

[he's smiling, but there's a sheen in his eyes that looks almost like panic, before it vanishes.]

[pura]

[...?]

Only for the sake of the dead. [Hmm... She approaches, but.] Were you cursed again?

week two, saturday.

[pura]

[Well.

Nogiku wasn't exactly looking for him. But he is here. And she is here. So now she is staring at him... Hello. What is he up to?]

[nightchild]

[they're the spider man meme pointing at each other,

Itsuki stands still for a moment, before he approaches.]

...Nogiku-san.

[at a closer view his eyes are red, but his expression is calm]

Thank you.

week 3 tuesday

[nightchild]

[Itsuki just immediately looking apologetic as soon as the bubble vores them...]

Um, I'll go first, Nogiku-san... [he taps the bubble, and hopes that nothing too stupid will appear]

Itsuki, Itsuki...

[a pair of women huddle against a hallway, one of them on her knees -- head bowed and unresponsive, the other with her arms around her, whispering. they're dressed in bright clothing, their make-up pristine -- except for the bruises blooming across their faces.

your stomach drops, and you turn to the woman gripping your sleeve, fear bright in her eyes]

...He's back?

[she nods, and there's a sheen of desperation there that you cannot ignore, you've seen it there every day. you're already striding down the hall -- voices and laughter echoing from the rooms around you -- all the way to the end, where you push the door open.

a man is sitting on a futon, but he rises immediately when he sees you. he grins, says something along the lines of 'i thought you said you'd never see me again']

I changed my mind. [your smile is slow and seductive, you know exactly how to play] How about it? Would you like a nice dream?

[he opens his arms in affirmative, and you move close, holding him back. then you feel it. something pulling at you, draining at you -- like someone's put a fist in your heart and is trying to scrape it out. it's unpleasant, but not painful, and you hold on...

the man starts shaking in your arms, you hold on, face expressionless. you don't move even as he starts hacking, coughing -- blood is spilling from his lips and from his eyes -- his ears, nose, he starts writhing but you keep holding him. it's hard for you too -- he's a grown man, and you're still a scrawny teenager, but you grab him like you've done this before.

finally, finally, he slumps over, motionless. a small orb of light flies out from his chest and enters yours, and your chest that felt so empty feels whole again.

your kimono and face and arms are covered in blood, but disgust is the only emotion you register. you grab the man's face and check his breathing, then slip a hand in his blood soaked clothes for a purse, a bag, anything worth keeping. purse in hand, you slip out the door, leaving the blood-splattered room behind you.]

[pura]

[...

Cannot believe Itsuki is valid, just this once? For a moment, after the memory ends, Nogiku stares at him like she's torn between approval and confusion. And in the end, what she says is:]

What... What was that? That orb?

week three, sunday.

[pura]

[Everything just happened so fucking much.

When Itsuki runs into Nogiku in the grocery store, he will find her sitting on the floor in one of the refrigerator aisles, drinking something straight from the bottle. There are a couple of cans next to her with cigarettes shoved inside. This is fine.]

[nightchild]

[everything truly happened, and wow this is the most valid he's ever seen Nogiku,

even if a part of him is already concerned, still. he's just gonna open one of the fridge doors and glance at what Nogiku's drinking... is it perhaps, orange juice

or is it beer]

week 4 saturday

[nightchild]

[WE'LL VOID IT FOR NOW]

Nogiku-san... [how's her vibe check,

itsuki's vibes are depressed, threaded with guilt, and also exhausted aka like everyone else 2nite]

[pura]

[The vibes are rancid, Goofy. A muddled mess of anxiety, uncertainty, sorrow and anger.

As usual, she's smoking. And before offering any kind of acknowledgement, she turns her head slightly so she isn't exhaling smoke right into his face.]

... Kagami-san.

week five, thursday.

[pura]

[AT SOME POINT AFTER THE THURSDAY CHAOS...]

Kagami-san, it's Nogiku.
Did you speak to the residents after our conversation the other day?

[nightchild]

Not yet. I was going to bring it up with Steel-san tonight at the dojo.
What about you?

week 5 friday

[nightchild]

[as soon as Itsuki sees Nogiku he'll head straight to her,]

...Nogiku-san, hey. Can we talk?

[he's clearly restless and his expression is strained, and his arms are crossed in front of him, but his voice is level]

[pura]

[Nogiku is on fire.

Not literal fire. But transformation week fire. Something like molten lava drips down her skin. This is fine? She sounds terse when she responds.]

... Yes, of course. What is it?

week 5 satuday

[nightchild]

[if Nogiku's in the lobby, then she'll catch Itsuki coming down with a pile of women's dresses in his arms.]

-- Nogiku-san.

[pura]

[She is! She looks like she's on her way outside, actually, a pack of cigarettes in hand. Though she stops when she sees him.]

...

Are those for Roxana?

week 6 thursday

[nightchild]

[they're gonna curfew together but let's have this too,]

Nogiku-san...

[his face and shoulder are bandaged, but more importantly he's alert again,]

Your arm...? [ARE YOU OKAY QUEEN]

[pura]

[She is, thankfully, also awake and looking much better. Her arm is still attached, and all her injuries are neatly bandaged.]

It's okay. [She wiggles her fingers as if to demonstrate.] I will need to go back to the pods later, but I'm not in danger of losing it anymore.

Are you okay? You took a nasty hit to the head...

week 6 saturday @usernotfound

[nightchild]

[after trial, a text will pop up dated to just a few minutes after curfew on thursday. characters will not be able to reply.]

nogiku-san, i'm sorry.
i'm awake so it looks like it's my turn tonight.
i'm leaving my hairpin with you.
please look after it until i get back
thank you
and i'm sorry again

[pura]

[yaywon i will kill you








our shitpost is also very unfortunate now in light of how he died huh]

week 7 wednesday

[nightchild]

[nogiku is now in the fursona house with itsuki,]

Want something to drink? I've got a couple of beers in the fridge.

[pura]

[The furry is in the fursona house...]

Huh? Oh, sure. [She glances at the fridge.] ... Wait, are there only beers in your fridge?

[Did they remember to give all these houses basic amenities? Help.]

week 7 friday

[nightchild]

[they're just both traveling by node and enter the graveyard location at the same time wow,]

-- This is... [he turns on his heel as he looks around the neon landscape, with a familiar mansion looming in the distance,] So it's still connected here.

[very informative itsuki]

[pura]

[She wrinkles her nose in disgust upon seeing it.]

... Is this where you all went? Quarantine?

week 7 saturday

[nightchild]

[he's looking out at the mostly gray landscape,]

This feels pretty familiar, huh?

[pura]

... It's as grayed out as it was when we first arrived.

[She sounds just a little nostalgic and weary.]

But it's not so cold and upsetting anymore.