lolijesus | 95 flames

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I guess there's no avoiding it, really, is there, Satori-niisama? It's best not to run, right?

...Umi, I wish you'd listen to me. I don't want anything more to happen to you. Please. I have to try and talk to you about all this again.

How's everyone doing after the blackout? I hope the damage was minimal from the earthquake.

Did anyone get a glimpse of that thing during the outage? It was too fast for me to see.

Umi, I guess our outing has to wait a little longer. I should clean up the mess we made during this whole thing.

[ooc; Break her. 8)

eta; going to bed, but I'll pick up tags when I get home from work tomorrow o/ ]

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But I won't push it. Not through a stupid curse. You tell me about it when you're ready, I'm not taking advantage of this.

~~Afraid to ask because you know I'd tell you, or because you don't want to know how bad the City can really be?~~

[And Hikaru's coming to stand in your doorway, Umi. She's smiling, and it's not fake, but there's something else tinging at the edges of it. Umi was trying really hard to resist asking. Hikaru could tell. But she also knew she couldn't hide this from her friend forever.]

...Thank you, Umi.

[Umi had been prepared to arrive home in a much better mood. She loathed this tension between them. It was obvious that Hikaru needed to get this off her chest, the sooner the better. But Umi had seen what being driven to relive the situation could do to her friend.

She smiled back a bit sheepishly from over two huge grocery store bags.]

Hey. Now what are you saying that for? It's only fair.

A-ah, let me help! [Hikaru instinctively reached to get one of the bags, not looking at Umi for a minute or two before looking again. She idly wondered how long she should wait before telling her. At least after they had everything put away, that much she knew.]

It's not fair to you.

[No, it's not. It'd been the first automatic impulse Umi felt to reply this. The curse? Or just the frustration Umi had been bearing for a while now? Not that it mattered. That wasn't the end of it anyway.

Umi hugged the remaining bag tighter and casually headed for the kitchen.]

Still... it's your own decision. You already know I'm here to listen.

Edited 2009-05-01 02:34 (UTC)

[Hikaru stood there, holding the bag. Umi would find out eventually. And she'd rather Umi find out from her than from Doumeki or Megumi or someone else who'd been at the hospital.]

I know. And it's my decision to tell you. You... have a right to know.

[She stopped at that. Her heart itself skipped a beat. Umi hugged the bag to her chest and turned around to look into Hikaru's eyes, hoping her glance would let her friend know she indeed appreciated this, but that there would be no pressure from her part.]

If that's what you want, then alright. Just... I don't want you to feel upset about it if you're not ready.

[Hikaru had to force herself not to say anything to that. She made her way into the kitchen with a smile.]

Let's worry about putting everything away first. You arms are probably tired from carrying all this here.

I don't mind... Uhm. But okay. [Was this for gaining time? Umi wondered how this was working inside Hikaru's head. Was her friend seeing this as an opportunity to relieve herself of this trauma or did she see it as an obligation of sorts? Something she'd rather not share if she could help it? Umi feared it was the latter.

Regardless, she plunked the bag down on the kitchen counter and started sorting through the groceries.] Lots of ice cream, like I promised.

Like.... you promised? [Hikaru'd forgotten, of course. She slapped her palm to her forehead.] I'm sorry, I forgot I promised you ice cream when you came back from the Underground.

Ehh?? [Umi's eyes went huge and blinked several times in a row at that. After what they'd been through after that trip was over it wasn't as if that could have stayed in either of their minds, anyway.]

Uh, never mind that! With all that happened... I forgot about it too!

...At least it's here now. [Try to play it off, it's okay. It's just ice cream. She sighed, though more from relief than anything and started putting things away.]

We should decide what kind of tea you and Road-san are going to serve.

Uh. I got Earl Grey in mind! Or Darjeeling. Maybe I'll ask for Mister Sebastian's advise on that one again...

[Making time, most definitely. But let it come when it would: pace was all for Hikaru to decide if she had indeed made up her mind to address this issue. Umi started arranging the goods around the kitchen, inside the fridge... She gestured toward the ice cream.] Hey, we could use some right now.

He sounds like he really knows a lot about that kind of stuff.

[Just a bit longer. She wanted to enjoy this time together like this before she told Umi what really happened. But that smile faltered only a little] I'm not really hungry for any, but you can help yourself.

But this... Eh. Then I'll just fix us some tea, now we're talking about that. [But this used to be your favorite dessert, she'd been about to say. Hikaru would jump at any chance to have ice cream. Umi sighed soundlessly and wondered how many other things had changed within that year.]

Mister Sebastian? He's Brittish, you know? And seems like his boss is pretty uptight with tea time...

I didn't know that, but ...I've heard of British being like that with tea. I guess it's true.

[She knew what she was doing. Hikaru felt a little guilty for it, but she didn't want to have anything extra she didn't need when they got down to business.]

...Umi, we should... sit down so we can talk.

[So this was it. Umi's deep breath came out inaudibly as she put the kettle on the stove and sat slowly at the kitchen table, her eyes always with Hikaru.]

Okay. Let's...

...M-mm.

[Hikaru felt suddenly nervous, like she was about to tell Umi something that would change their friendship for good. Did she really want to do this?

...Umi did deserve to know. She had a right to know why her friend was acting so strangely around her. Hikaru stood in front of her, not quite ready to sit down. This was probably futile, but, she still had to try.]

Umi, before I tell you... Please, promise me you won't try to do anything to the City or the deities afterward.

[...THAT terrible, huh. Umi bit her lip. Hikaru knew of Umi's temper more than anyone else, except possibly Fuu. Her friend also understood how hard it was to restrain herself when it came to anyone who'd wronged her friends in any manner. If Hikaru was asking her this... Umi sucked in a breath and frowned.

Very well. She'd know beforehand that she should brace herself for the worst.]

...I'll try. That's all I can say. But if this is all some person's deed...

{If it'd been a person that'd done this, Hikaru wouldn't have thought anything about it. But she didn't want Umi doing anything she'd regret later.

With an accepting nod, Hikaru sat at the table next to her and took a breath. She didn't like the idea of talking about this, or telling Umi but...]

...You remember I told you about a woman that hurt Wolfwood-niisan and a lot of other people?

Yeah. I couldn't forget if I tried. [Her reply came at once. Umi clearly remembered Hikaru had talked about HER during their time outside during the blackout, when the memory of this had almost broken the smaller girl. The water Knight had the feeling this would end up with her wanting to drown someone painstakingly slowly...]

Some freak who liked to teach people "lessons" or "punish" them? Hikaru, if this woman's still around...

[Hikaru instantly shook her head.] She was gone from the City not long after the police force caught her. I haven't seen or heard of her being back.

But that's right, she'd do things like that. It was... a really weird way to try and get someone to appreciate their life.

Trust that to come from a PSYCHO... [Umi crossed and uncrossed her legs from under the table, shifting in her seat as her anger started building up.] Good riddance. At least she's off our backs for the time being.

[She wanted to press on but got a grip and waited for Hikaru to continue.]

[She watched Umi, watched her reactions. Hikaru was trying to gauge how she needed to word all this.]

...Yeah. But... before I got here and before she came, there'd been a curse that was exactly like it. I'd only heard stories about it, but everyone who'd been here when it happened all seemed like they were really wary of it happening again.

2/2

1/2 <3333

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