ACCIDENTAL VIDEO
[It's hard to see with the camera on a wrist piece, particularly when the owner's arm is in a running position. It's impossible to tell but the blur of a person can be seen as the wristlet swings back and forth like a broken pendulum. There are breaths of air from hard running and it's safe to say this is a new arrival rather than anyone that's
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It was only the gentle descent of the ash that moved in those moments. Silence pulled and pulled like taffy, even its threads resilient to snapping.
He stood within it, that silence. Something bitter at the back of his throat where his heart had lodged itself, each beat heard both between his ears and the pit of his stomach.
There was something horribly off about it all, yet all at once, he wasn't sure what he should have expected her to do in response. He only knew it wasn't this. This wasn't her- he had seen her worst, hadn't he? In spite of so much time apart, there once had been four solid years; months upon months of seeing her not only during the carefree times, but the tears and anger and frustration and her own personal struggles. He'd seen more of her that perhaps he even wanted to remember, even if only for the sake of his own selfish, carefully shielded heart.
What happened to you?
This wasn't her, and even in his own state of distress, the recognition stunned him.
Another few seconds slowly bled into one another. He took a small step closer, then, and lowered upon one knee this time. It angered him how being within such proximity to her, particularly when combined with everything else, seemed to send needles through his veins. Even the worried beat of her heart was luring, the way she smelled so tempting only instilling him with a thick bout of self-disgust.
...But, he couldn't leave, now. He wouldn't dare. So much of Nuadoria currently unknown... ]
Please, Yuuki...
[A touch gentler than before, although he still wasn't sure of what to say, only that getting her out of the streets was his focus. A hand reached to find one of hers, fingers setting upon the pale skin before softly covering it. He tried searching her face, but didn't quite know what he was looking to find.]
I know it's disorienting when you find yourself here again, and... I don't know what happened for you, but- [would this even work? Would the kindness even help as it once did, or was it not worth the attempt?] ...but the city has been growing continuously unstable. More than usual. So, please... at least let me help you inside, Yuuki.
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Her words were distant at first, directed at no one but herself and the ash falling around them.)]
I don't understand... [Her hand underneath his grew into a small balled fist, fingers raking again the dirty water.] This is all wrong. [It wasn't supposed to be like this and her emotions seemed to have suddenly come back to her, projecting mostly through the tone of her voice. But, most of all it was anger to herself.]
This is all wrong!
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Zero-
[Her voice changed again, this time saying his name (and for the first time) as if she was shocked to find him here in front of her. Yuuki's expression distorted itself slightly then, perhaps a little calmer or perhaps not. It was still hard to tell (but she saw what was in Zero's eyes now, and she should have thought better than to make him wait out here. Something more important than her wallowing in a puddle over her failure to keep up with Kaname and somehow make right whatever had gone wrong).
Kaname had promised her they'd start over, after all, and yet... somehow being lied to or having Kaname use those words double-edged (they were certainly starting over now after what he'd done, weren't they?) were cruel in her mind. She needed to know, she needed--
--to focus on Zero. Zero was the one here, the one trying to get her to go inside, the one not asking questions about who or what and just trying to get her to move. The fact that she was back in Nuadoria seemed to hit her, as well, remembering the zones, the odd effects of the atmosphere that could poison individuals with madness amongst other things.
She couldn't do anything back home from here, but for now, she could at least stop thinking about herself and take Zero's offer. She wasn't hungry, but her emotions were garbled as is in this zone and Zero still looked-]
...I left you behind.
[(-It didn't matter what she saw in those eyes, just that it was him.) Again, words surprised in an apologetic fashion and it was an almost laughable and stupid time to say such a thing, particularly since it was so vague. It seemed she left him quite a bit more than she would have thought now thinking on it (wasn't once enough, Yuuki?).
But, here, those words were made as a realization, that Zero hadn't gone back home with her. She had never had a chance to confirm it, but looking at him now she realized her instincts were right.
She unballed her fist in the muddy water to unclench, moving her hand to take his in it instead of continue leaning on it for support against the ground.
She wasn't going to lose both of them.]
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The emotion that bubbled forth in those brief moments still had him wondering. What are you trying to say? What happened that's so "wrong," Yuuki? This isn't like you. He bit his tongue, however. Would it be one of those cases where ignorance was the better route? Or, if it truly was something regarding Kuran, as he instinctively felt it was, would hearing Yuuki explain really be all that helpful? The thought alone left a sour aftertaste.
Yet at the same time, what was the use in contemplating the possibilities, when even the mention of Kuran's name was a source of irritation.
His head ached.]
You didn't.
[So the decision, at least for right this moment, was made. He let her speak as she needed to, only replying once he could feel that she was focused upon him.
He then rose to his feet again, giving her hand a light squeeze. Her skin cold and wet from the watery ash that also soaked through his lower pant leg. He stood with her hand securely within his, offering only support for her to follow suit and rise to her feet as well.]
It'll... be okay, Yuuki.
[Reassurance, despite the wince amidst the words, free hand lifting to his temple, as if it'd quell the spike of pain. His jaw clenched for the moment, though he refused to let it affect his speech. 'tch]
It's not too far from here.
[Glancing down to her as he spoke, he then began leading the way.]
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Then again, some things remained ever the same, as well.
In her silence, Yuuki tried to work her emotions down, swallow her vulnerable (pitiful) side because she was better than this, she would accept responsibility (and that meant responsibility towards herself, as well. She couldn't fall apart like that, not when there was so much to be done-both back home and here, too). She'd been useless since her return here, but somehow walking with Zero helped calm herself a little, even if all she saw as he lead the way was his back. She clutched at his hand, afraid to let go (Don't leave) while she started to look around while they walked. She remembered quite a few things about this city, but the ash was new and so was the amount of pressure in the atmosphere she felt, making her unsettled. Where were they, exactly?
In what zone, she corrected her own mental question.
The fog was also new, making the trip all the more eerie with such loud silence. There was nothing, no matter which way she looked, that was comforting. No buildings with lit windows, no people walking the streets, no animals, no...anything.
Except Zero.
So maybe there wasn't something, but there was at least someone]
Zero... where are we? [She asked finally, much calmer although a bit on edge (she thought she saw something crawling its way into the protection of the fog from the corner of her eye). Although she was still in slight internal hysteria (when would it go away, she wondered?), some of the other things about this place could easily distract her by becoming an "immediate" problem to deal with.
It was about that time that she felt something land in her hair, almost causing her to scream (because she saw that crawling thing out of the corner of her eye again) and she suddenly flattened herself up against Zero's arm, as if he'd look down and get whatever it was out of her hair. That is until she felt little paws edging forward to the front of her head. The little cat peered down then, upside down but that didn't stop it from trying to lick Yuuki's nose.]
Ah, you're still here, too... [To see Kaien again was also comforting, and she felt a bit embarrassed by her actions, slowly stepping away from Zero to maintain the previous distance as he lead the way.
At least, until Yuuki again saw whatever was crawling around this time again. Clutching Zero's hand tighter suddenly, inching herself to move a little faster to get closer to him again. It was strange that she couldn't sense something lurking about them, somehow as if it were a ghost of some sorts. Or, perhaps it might have simply been her hallucinating?
Regardless, she looked up at him, trying to read his face from a back profile view, but she wasn't very successful in seeing.
So she asked.]
...You don't see anything in the fog, do you...?
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Even that startling moment with her pressing closer, still, at the presence of the tiny winged kitten, kept him grounded. His only response aside from glancing down upon her at that second was to give her hand a squeeze. A silent indication, perhaps, that if it had not been her gestalt, that he would have kept her from harm. Shadows and childs be damned.
And yet...]
Shadows. ...I can't fully tell which are real.
[An easy reply. He was relying more on his sense of smell, now, than attempting to see through the fog. He only could hope that any number of the shapeless figures were hallucinations, in spite of how troublesome it was for his mind to feel so weighted and clogged. It was lucky, perhaps, that Lily didn't seem quite so disoriented. She continued to follow alongside him with an equally swift gait, tail flickering. If she knew of Kaien's presence, it wasn't made obvious.]
The zones have been shifting. The green areas have been turning yellow, and I can only assume the yellow parts to red.
[He didn't want to think about what may possibly happen after that, even if the chances were high.
Thankfully, at the very least, it seemed he led them in the correct direction. He recognized the building that came into view as the one he'd settled into not long after he'd found himself in the city again.
Lily bounded ahead up the stairs to the second floor.]
There haven't been any solid explanations why it's happening, either. The ash isn't something I've experienced before.
[He'd looked upon her as he spoke, then began leading the way after Lily. As casual as the remark may have been, tension ran thick in his bones. He wasn't liking any of this, or any of the impending circumstances.]
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