[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.]
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:]
[Itsuki watches the memory. He's always been good at observing, and even if it occurs to him to look away from the sheer vulnerability of this moment -- well, neither of them can. the bubble doesn't seem to work that way,
the memory feels so very private. so many of the ones he's seen have been, but this one... he wonders if Nogiku's upset that he's seeing this, or if she doesn't care.
being used and discarded, huh.
there's a familiarity there, even if their situations are ultimately different.]
[For the briefest of moments, there's a flicker of an expression on her face. Fondness, sadness... and maybe a bit of regret. But then her expression smoothens out, and she glances around.]
Well... It seems that the bubble is gone, so...
[Maybe it's time to run away from the terrible ordeal of being know.]
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week 3 tuesday
Um, I'll go first, Nogiku-san... [he taps the bubble, and hopes that nothing too stupid will appear]
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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?
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...It's my power kind of. Like a manifestation. ...I was trying to give it to him, since I knew normal humans couldn't handle it without dying.
Messier than a knife, but I didn't want to take any chances.
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[She closes her eyes, just for a moment. But the expression on her face is more sardonic than anything.]
Then, it seems to me like he got exactly what he deserved.
[Itsuki can have rights, actually.
But the bubble is still here, so... Hm.]
no subject
I'm not proud of what I did... But I don't regret it.
[maybe he regrets that he let it go on for as long as it did, he glances at the bubble and then at Nogiku,]
...It's just the kind of life I'm used to.
cw: non-explicit sex, references to past incest/sexual abuse
[Sometimes... scummy men deserve to die and Nogiku ain't gonna shed any tears over that.
She stares at the bubble for a moment longer.]
... It won't let us go until I give it something, too, huh?
[A sigh, and with a look of resignation, she lifts her hand. Very funny that you picked the longest memory.]
no subject
the memory feels so very private. so many of the ones he's seen have been, but this one... he wonders if Nogiku's upset that he's seeing this, or if she doesn't care.
being used and discarded, huh.
there's a familiarity there, even if their situations are ultimately different.]
...Did he accept you?
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Yes, he did.
[For the briefest of moments, there's a flicker of an expression on her face. Fondness, sadness... and maybe a bit of regret. But then her expression smoothens out, and she glances around.]
Well... It seems that the bubble is gone, so...
[Maybe it's time to run away from the terrible ordeal of being know.]
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...We should probably go before it comes back, huh?
[he'll start to leave, but also]
I won't bring it up again, but... I'm glad.
[he's glad to know that someone had heard nogiku out and accepted her,
it'd be too sad if he hadn't.]
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[Nogiku doesn't say anything to that.
She looks at him, a complicated expression on her face — and then she turns away and leaves.]