[closed]

[exaomori]

Who: Shura & Shiemi, later Yukio
When: Day 59
Where: Carnival
What: Shura takes Shiemi to the med tent, debates whether or not a picture of Yukio in his magical girl outfit is good blackmail material
Warnings: None



[Yeah, Moriyama showing up right in the middle of all of this is exactly what Shura needed. This might have been just fine on a normal day, but with Rin and Shim stuck in that Elysium whatever, the last thing Shura wanted was one of the other exwires just randomly showing up. At least this one wasn't too much trouble for the most part. There was the added bonus that Moriyama could probably keep Yukio on the carnival grounds with everything else going on.

Shura makes her way to the spot she guess Moriyama's sticking to--it isn't hard to find her and Nee near the trailers. The carnival's emptier than usual with everything going on. And even with her glowing eyes, Shura's hard to miss when she approaches.]

Moriyama. When'd you get here?

[Whose bad timing was this??]

Comments

[blushfully]

( when shura approaches, shiemi is standing at ease with nee resting atop her shoulder-- the small greenman peeking out from behind strands of blonde hair. she's clearly dressed for colder weather, winter even but perks up once she spies shura approaching. )

Oh... it most have been an hour or two ago now. Not long though!

[exaomori]

[A couple hours. Cripes, what a time to get thrown into all of this. ]

You sure have some luck. Whatever’s going on, Rin and Shima are stuck in it. You need to stay put with Yukio once I get you to the med tent. C’mon and we’ll talk on the way.

[ Don’t be stupid and run off to be a hero, she means. She motions for Shiemi to follow her, and she turns to start out towards the med tent. Winter clothing could mean a few things. Hopefully there wasn’t too much of a discrepancy in their timelines. ]

‘Fore I forget, tell me the last thing you remember from home. What day is it?

[blushfully]

Rin and Shima-kun are stuck? ( stuck in what she wants to ask but ultimately falls silent, hurrying along behind shura at the motion to follow and looking upwards with a frown. )

After the birthday and Christmas party we had and, um... everyone's been so busy with all the fighting in Ikebukuro.

[exaomori]

Yeah. Yukio will explain more when I get you where you need to be.

[Confident that Shiemi will stick close to her, Shura doesn't glance behind her as she walks. Still in Ikebukuro? Well, if she didn't mention the press conference, then it probably wasn't morning yet. Some time late that night or early in the morning?]

We're all comin' from different points in our timeline. You an' Yukio sound like you're from about the same point. Rin's from earlier, and I'm ahead.

[She casually forgets to mention Shima, partially because he hasn't said specifically when he was from, though Shura strongly suspects he's from further along than her. She takes a moment to glance over her shoulder, trying to gauge Shiemi's reaction.]

When you see Rin and Yukio, don't get too startled. This place changes things about ya, and they seem to be magnets for that kind of thing.

[Possibly because of Satan, but who knew.]

[blushfully]

( she makes an agreeable sound in the back of her throat, listening and nodding but not speaking. shiemi is trying to make sense of everything but she's barely making sense of everything back home right now. even now, she can only think about her last conversation with yukio and how... how badly she failed him. )

M-mm... we had talked, Yuki-chan and I before I woke up here. He had been upset but I wasn't able to help him. I hope he'll actually wish to see me. I want to tell him I'm sorry...

( still she can't help looking up, brows furrowed. ) Change? How?

[exaomori]

You talked?

[They talked about what? Shura pauses mid-stride, her brow furrowing. Damn, why did she have to show up right now in the midst of everything that was happening? Shura at least had the luck of showing up when things were quiet at the carnival. Damn it--]

Well, he can't turn away someone like you for long. [He's got it bad for her, a few months in a faerie carnival wouldn't make that go away. She'll wait to see if Shiemi says anything else about what happened between her and Yukio before she answers her question.]

[blushfully]

He wasn't feeling good. I tried to help but—

( but a lot of things happened and then yuki was gone and she was left alone, crying. even if he didn't want to talk with her then she at least wished to apologize and go from there. )

I couldn't say the right thing... it would just be hard to lose him. He was my first friend. ( a sigh. it's not often that she's upset for long but its clear this was weighing down on her. )

[exaomori]

[She shouldn't be surprised that Yukio rejected Shiemi's attempt at helping. Her shoulders drop with a sigh, and she reaches out to ruffle Shiemi's hair. It wasn't as if Shura really knew the girl, but she was the sincere sort.]

You can't help someone who doesn't wanna be helped. ['Don't be so hard on yourself,' she almost says, but doesn't. Those were the kind of words that were easier to swallow when it wasn't about something so important, and Shura knows more than she should let on. After all, she highly doubts Yukio wants her to tell his crush about his eye.]

You'll probably have time to settle it out here. It ain't gonna get better any time soon back home, so take advantage of it.

[Provided, of course, that things got better at the carnival.]

[blushfully]

( she can't help looking up curious as shura ruffles her hair. it's true, they didn't really know one another well but she did look up to shura and all that she had done for the twins. she appreciates the gesture now too and gives a small, yet warm smile in response. )

O-okay, I'll do my best here too! It'll be better if we can all work together here.

[exaomori]

Atta girl, that's the spirit.

[At least one of the kids who wasn't Shima seemed to still have some spirit left in them. Maybe having her here would be what they needed.

That settled, Shura drops her hand to her side and picks her pace back up. If they took too long, Yukio would get Concerned and she didn't want him fussing at her.]

'Bout those changes--stick around Fae magic long enough, and it'll do weird things to you. I think most everyone here started off mostly human or humanoid lookin', but you could hardly guess that anymore with some of 'em.

[blushfully]

( and shiemi is all too happy to pick up the pace as well. renewed, she's rather looking forward to reuniting with yukio now if only to make sure he was okay. she could figure out where to go from there and, hopefully, be able to help in some way. )

Fae magic... like fairies? Is that what the Ringmaster is? ( because she certainly did seem to be... so much more than appearance suggested. ) And I'll change at some point to then.

( she doesn't seem worried or scared more curious, honestly. )

[exaomori]

Yeah, and they ain't the cute little ones you see on movies. [Had they covered anything about Sidhe in their classes? Well, Yukio could fill her in on that if he wanted.]

You're takin' the idea pretty well. [But then again, this one had always been a little odd.]

[blushfully]

Well... freaking out wouldn't help me though it is a little scary! ( also she signed up for this on her own, and with knowledge what was going to happen. best to avoid mentioning that for now. )

I'm sure everyone already has a lot to worry about. I don't want all of you having to worry about me too...

[exaomori]

[She's growing up. Maybe she really would be a good influence on Yukio while she was here. Outside of being his crush. That was a separate matter.]

That's good an' all, but don't take everythin' on yourself.

[The med tent isn't really that far, and Shura points at it once it's in sight.]

See that? That's where you'll be workin'. Make sure Yukio shows your your trailer if you haven't already figured out where that is. For now, until everyone's back, don't go out on your own.

[Hopefully whatever was going on would be resolved soon...]

[blushfully]

I already did that once before and it wasn't all that fun. ( possession usually is never all that fun even if her case was rather... mild. ) I've got all of you here too so I'll be okay.

( of course there is a bout of stillness as she faces the tent, realizing yukio was somewhere inside and feeling her heart drumming a frantic rhythm in her chest. so much had happened and even more had happened to him here... )

O-okay! I'll do what I can to help from here. ( now she just had to walk inside. )

[exaomori]

[Girls had more common sense than boys did at her age, right? Well, Shura was just going to have to trust that.

But really, Shiemi. Hesitate for too long and Shura will give her a friendly push, pressing her palm flat on Shiemi's shoulder as she nudges her.]

Go on, I gotta get goin' on patrol. He ain't gonna bite.

[well maybe in his dreams??]

[blushfully]

R-right, of course. Thank you again for your help. If you need anything... Nee-chan and I will do everything we can to help, okay?

( because, really, the friendly push is going to get the point across. right, okay! she could do this! )

[exaomori]

Will do. Now c'mon, go in. That Four-eyes is going to fuss at me if he thinks I'm keepin' you.

[He probably already suspects that Shura's up to no good, let's be honest...]

[blushfully]

( shiemi just glances back over her shoulder, offering shura a warm smile before nodding her head and continuing the small steps forward toward the medical tent. right, of course-- there was nothing to worry about about. carefully, she pulls the flap open and peeks inside. )

U... um, Yuki-chan?

[reflash]

[What does he say to her?

He's been working on that question since he heard Shiemi's voice over the radio, and he's come up with nothing. Maybe it won't matter, maybe (hopefully) she's realized exactly who she's dealing with, exactly what kind of person he is, and she (and Rin, and everyone) will just give up on him.

But that isn't going to happen, and he can't just try and run away.

What he can do is sit, and wait, and listen for the sounds of Shura and Shiemi approaching the tent. They're not exactly quiet, and that gives Yukio time to prepare.

So when Shiemi pulls the tentflap open, Yukio stands up from his desk with a (polite, distant) smile and steps towards her.]

Shiemi-san. I hope you didn't have too much trouble finding the tent.

[Yukio's changes are still fairly subtle. Claws on his hands, a flash of fangs when he speaks, a faint blue iridescence across his eyes and the bridge of his nose. A tail like Rin's that curls out from under the bottom of his black coat.]

[exaomori]

[Wow, Yukio, that's not the way to talk to your crush.

But w/e, this is as good of a time as any for Shura to bail, no reason to stick around. She motions at Yukio from Behind Shiemi, jerking her thumb behind her.]

Call me if somethin' happens. I gotta get back out there.

[blushfully]

Thank you again. ( she says, turning fully and giving shura another warm smile. she feels as though she should say more but she doesn't want to keep her instructor lingering when so much is happening.

now, though-- now she's faced with a different battle. one she's already failed back home. )

M-mm... it wasn't too bad since I had help. I really fell into all this at the worst time, huh?

[reflash]

[Yukio nods at Shura, but she isn't really important right now.

The most important thing is trying to figure out what to do with Shiemi. For now, just talking seems to be the best option. Talking like everything's normal (or at least as normal as things have been recently).]

It isn't the worst time. [Smile, be nice, be polite.

It hurts.]

In fact, with Doctor West... out there, I could use your help here.

[blushfully]

( it does hurt. in fact-- her gaze falters and shiemi stares at her feet with a complicated look. shura had made it sound like they were from around the same point of time but just how much did he know compared to her? )

Th-that's good... ( she says, quietly. ) Are you okay?

[reflash]

[No, he's not. But he can keep pretending he is, with a smile and a nod.]

I managed to avoid getting caught up in everything out there, at least at this stop.

How are you doing so far, Shiemi-san?

[blushfully]

I'm worried, Yuki-chan. ( she says, barely above a whisper and shifting slightly where she stands barefoot. that wasn't an answer, shiemi wants to say but she remains silent. )

When we last spoke back home things were... they weren't good.

[reflash]

[She's upset. Yukio hates that, and there's nothing he can do to fix it.]

Come sit down. [He pulls a chair for her, adjusts the chair by his desk to face it, tries to stall this conversation just a little bit.]

Everyone from our world seems to be coming from slightly different times. What's the last thing that you remember?

[blushfully]

( she sits in the offered chair, hands balling at the fabric of her kimono as she stares at her lap and tries to find the words to explain everything in the moment. )

You had come to my house... and told me that you didn't want to go home. ( a breath, clearly tired both mentally and physically. ) We talked but-- I messed up and you left. I had been trying to find you. I wanted to apologize but then I ended up here before I could even find out where you had gone.

[reflash]

[The worst possible answer. It's like a heavy weight slamming into his chest and knocking the breath out of him in a rush of air.]

You didn't mess up. I did.

[It's the last thing he remembers too, wandering exhausted and somehow ending up in front of Shiemi, snow seeping through his jacket. A conversation and the blinding heat of his temper and Shiemi wide-eyed and-- Yukio doesn't even know how she must have felt. He barely knows how he felt, other than sickening hatred and shame and a burning awareness of the heavy weight of his guns at his back as he ran. If he hadn't turned a corner directly into the Carnival gates, he doesn't want to think about what he might have done.]

I'm sorry. [He should drop to the ground and beg for forgiveness, but he doesn't move.]

I... I should never have [he hurt her] treated you like I did.

[blushfully]

( for a long moment, she is quiet with her thoughts and her worries. everything is still so fresh and raw and sitting here now? shiemi feels as though she is grinding salt into the wound. once more, she has to clutch at the fabric of her kimono is some vain attempt at holding everything back but she blinks rapidly and feels the tears in her eyes. )

For a moment, I was scared. Scared because I came to the realization of how little I actually knew. ( it's said in such a small voice, a voice she hasn't spoken in since perhaps when they first met years ago. ) But when you left, I could only think about how I just wanted to find you. I could never forgive myself if I left you alone.

( she wanted so much, wanted so badly to be the friend that he needed-- )

I... I'm not a great friend, I know but I am your friend. I'll always be here to help you-- that hasn't changed, okay?

[reflash]

[Yukio takes a seat in the chair across from her, and folds his hands in front of him (he's trying to relearn how to hold himself so he doesn't drive his claws through his palms).

Shiemi sounds so small, so shy and cautious. It's nostalgic, the shy little girl hiding in the garden as a demon whispered lies and tied her down. Yukio hadn't been able to do much for her, it was Rin who pulled her out of herself and into the world (it's always Rin).

She says she was scared of how little she knew, but that can't be right. She was scared of him. She should be.]

I'm sorry that I can't be a person that you can rely on. [If he could be that person, if he could be stronger, if he could be better... she wouldn't have to be scared, she would never have to feel like she had to find him or that she had to be there to help him.]

You've always been a good friend to me. [Shiemi's the only person he would (hesitantly, cautiously) call his friend. He's just been a terrible friend to her.]