applenet | Backdated to 9/23

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Backdated to 9/23

Kurama ☸ Eligor keligor@applenet.net
Shared the following message below:

After discussing the possibility with Luci, it seems that it may be possible to trigger an early Awakening. However, the process is extremely dangerous and will require a few of those known as "Awakened" to be present. I presume their function is to act as damage control or, should things go awry, to act as messengers and relay the unfortunate results of this experiment.

I am not looking to be talked out of this, so do not waste your breath. Instead, I ask for volunteers to meet me tonight at the gardening club room. The chances of success will be greater with your assistance.

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[can you hear the eyeroll in her lack of a reply, Kit? can you? because it's physically audible. she really needed to stop getting attached to such impulsive drama queens.

all the same, Reimi manages to arrive a whole five minutes early to the designated meeting place despite the greater amount of distance she had been forced to travel under the cover of darkness. in many ways this feels like the evening of her own Awakening; she was carrying with her bottles of water, snacks...a baseball bat.

whether it was for any miscreants she ran into on the street or Kit even she didn't know.

the door to the gardening club slides open noiselessly, her head peeking in to see if she'd be the first to arrive or (hopefully) not. there were bad memories of the school when it was this dark.]

Are you here..?

[For someone with Kit's specific talents, moving around after hours from the dorm to the Gardening Club's club room wasn't very difficult. He'd taken his time so as not to arouse suspicion, but even in doing so he'd wound up arriving early.

That extra time was spent procuring a rose and finding someplace comfortable to sit, but mostly it was spent thinking. He had no regrets. He knew what it was he meant to do...the way it might hurt people, and the risks that came with such a decision. If things went wrong, it was possible he would die.

But at least if he died here it would be on his own terms, it will have been something he chose as opposed to something dangled before him just out of reach. He wasn't afraid. Although, if he was honest, he wasn't sure that he felt much of anything in that moment. Perhaps it was the fault of his subconscious, already preparing him for what was to come and attempting to minimize the shock it would have on his body.

When he heard the door slide open, Kit looked up. Of course Reimi was the first to arrive...]

It looks as though you made it with time to spare.

[of course she was. did he really think that someone who'd so vehemently fought against this very eventuality would more slower than those who were completely unrelated? she's surprised that her feet hadn't grown wings with how fast she'd been moving in spite of the danger.

when Kit speaks up she smiles, although even in the faint expression there's a large measure of exasperation mingled with the relief. it really was going to be a feat and a half to keep from smacking him around with the bat at any point during the night.

she enters all the same, not speaking again until she's softly closed the door behind her. no need to ruin everyone's hard work due to avoidable carelessness.]

Did you think I wouldn't? For all I know you could've been starting early anyway.

[her words are meant as a gentle joke, just something light to smooth out the mood a little. Reimi can't claim to be entirely feeling playfulness right now, but she knows it's important to focus on something other than what's looming over the both of them. it would drive her insane if she didn't.]

[I would have if you weren't the first to arrive, Kit thought to himself, but it would remain an opinion left unshared. Much as he disagreed with Reimi's overprotective behavior, he nevertheless understood the sincere place it came from. She was trying her best to help in the only way that she knew how, and she was concerned because she cared. That was more than could be said for most of the people in his life and, while Kit didn't really know how to parse such a thing, he did appreciate the sentiment.

After all, she knew what it was like to die. But then...he had cheated his own mortality in the past. If there was one thing he and 'Kurama' were both good at, it was surviving.

He'd be fine.]

It seems there might be a small wait.

[He didn't bother to mask the sound of his disappointment but, recognizing an effort to distract him when he saw one, Kit decided he would play along. He couldn't hurry the others. For now he had to be patient.

Holding out the rose to her, he cautioned...]

Be mindful of its thorns.

[she lets out a little huff of amusement despite herself at the obvious dissatisfaction her companion was feeling over the tardiness of other people. he certainly seemed to have a problem with waiting, didn't he? in a moment like this, where the line had been irrevocably crossed, she could almost find that an endearing trait.

gently placing her bat and backpack on one of the nearby tables, Reimi closes the small distance between them to gingerly take the proffered flower. before she take a deep inhale of its lovely scent, she couldn't help quirking an eyebrow playfully at Kit.]

But that's where all the personality is.

[it seems she was aware that the flower was also doubly as something of a personal metaphor in this instance. who could resist teasing him about it a bit?]

[Kit was pleased to note Reimi's perceptiveness hadn't suffered for their time apart or their disagreement over what it was he intended to do there tonight. He rewarded that with a smile, though it was a little more wry in nature than it was warm.]

Not all of it.

[With a nod in the direction of the items Reimi had set on the table he said teasingly...]

The bat isn't for me, I hope.

[although most of Reimi's face is hidden by the blossom as she takes a deep breath of its heady scent, the mischievous sparkle in her eyes more than accurately conveys her mood.]

I haven't decided yet. Better stay on your best behavior until then.

[That was fair, and Kit nodded again with a chuckle.]

I can promise to try, but no more.

[While he was equally teasing with his reply, there was also a truth to Kit's words. He was limited in his capacity to restrain himself, driven to a fault to get what he wanted regardless of the risk. It was a trait he shared with his other half, but he possessed none of the same bottomless patience as Kurama. They were the same, and yet inexplicably different. But he desired all of that...and the chance to finally feel 'right' with himself. Or as right as he would ever feel, at least.]

I truly am glad you decided to come, Reimi.

I guess that's the best I can ask for.

[she lowers the rose with a small smile, proceeding to take the seat opposite Kit at the table. no reason to stand around like a complete weirdo while waiting for the others.]

...did you really think I wouldn't?

[Reimi seems a little surprised at that, eyebrow rising slightly.]

That's what friends do, you know. If you can't get them to quit doing something stupid then you might as well be there to keep them safe.

I knew you would. I think in part I even hoped you would. But mostly I hoped you wouldn't.

[That was, if he was being honest.

And his confession wasn't laced with maliciousness, merely a sort of subdued sadness. He was well aware of the fact that he had disappointed her. And he was just as aware of someone else whom he would be letting down by going through with this decision. But he couldn't stop now. Not when he was so close to having what he'd wanted since the veil had first begun slipping away.]

I'm letting you down. I can't really say I understand why you'd consider us friends after that.

[with the marks on her back, there was nothing that could really hurt her anymore, not even a friend's poor decision. she wants to say that, but knows that it's selfish. this wasn't about her own suffering.

instead Reimi sighs a little, canting her head to the side as she watches Kit. he really was a strange boy.]

If that's all it takes to lose a friend, then they weren't really a friend in the first place.

[...]

I said that I wanted to get to know you better, remember? That includes the bad things. So even if it's your own fault, I want to be around to watch out for you.

[Her words gave him pause not because he didn't believe them, but because he didn't want to. He expected Vincent would want nothing to do with him after this, and rightfully so, but that didn't mean that the other boy had never been his friend, did it? After they had gotten so close, closer than he knew was even wise...that wasn't meaningless.

It couldn't be.

Turning his attention away from Reimi, Kit inspected a nearby pot of violets, his fingers tracing the small and delicate petals before checking the soil. They seemed healthy, but only because people sacrificed their time to look after them. Nature couldn't work its magic here. And it was the same for Vincent and him.

He was meant to be Hiei's partner eventually, but he couldn't do that if he didn't know what to expect. Was the other boy's soul going to be wrenched out of his body upon Awakening? Did he recover back where they came from? What other dangers might have befallen them before or even after that turn of events? If Kit was going to be useful...then he had to be someone better than he was now. It was the only way.

Nature couldn't help him now. He had to help himself.]

I'll be fine. It's everyone else I'm worried about.

[the false friend in that case wasn't the other boy, Kit. it was you.

but without any glimpse into her companion's mind, that wasn't something Reimi could say. all of his fears remained trapped in that thick head of his, careening about as they slowly beat him into madness and fed white hot impulses.

she can see their weight upon him in his actions, the way that he can't remain still once the conversation becomes more solemn. it was frustrating to be back in this position of watching without being able to reach out; of her past, that was the only thing she'd ever wanted to put behind her for good.]

...the two are connected, you know.

Even if they are, it makes no difference.

[Fingers growing still in their inspection of the flowers, Kit raised his head and looked at Reimi. Of all people, she knew what it meant to endure the unendurable. Her life had been stolen away from her, but she had fought to remain among the living to do what must be done. It was the same now for Kit. He had known hardship his whole life, his body was intimately familiar with pain and like her, he had the scars to prove it. But he could not give in to that history or the fear it tried to feed into his veins. He had to endure...and do what needed to be done, regardless of the cost.

His own life was a small price to pay for making certain everyone else was safe. And it wasn't as if he was ever meant to be the person he was now, anyway. He wasn't really losing anything. Not really. Even if the people he cared for cut ties with him, it would be alright so long as they were alive and well.

It was fine...]

I'm fine.

I really hope that I can believe you someday.

[because she certainly doesn't now, although from the way Reimi's eyes shine as she meets her companion's gaze it's clear that she desperately wants to. it would be so much easier to blind herself to what was being done here if she could accept a falsehood like that.]

It's hard to keep crying over the people you care about.

[Of course she didn't believe him, but would it have mattered if she did? It changed nothing, not as far as Kit could see. His mind was made up and he was going to see this decision through to its end...bitter or not.

He couldn't lie to himself, though. The idea that anyone might care so much as to shed a tear for him over anything was difficult to wrap his head around. And it made him feel almost heavy. Like a weight had been tied to his feet and he was struggling now to stay afloat.]

Don't cry, then. Save your tears for those who deserve them.

I already do.

[there were very few things that Kit didn't have control over when it came to their relationship, by virtue of its origin, but the way that she viewed him wasn't one of them. no matter how unbelievable it seemed to him, she would always hold him close to her heart as a valued friend. he was as worth of tears as Rohan or any of her fellow victims.

her fingers curl around the rose again, idly pulling it close to her chest like some strange security blanket. her gaze floats through the room, seeing but processing very little.]

...should we start?

[the waiting was beginning to weigh heavily even on Reimi now. and it's not like any of these other threads are going to go anywhere.]

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Backdated to 9/23

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