003 ✝ third step [action/video]

[manmade_angel]

Filtered from Haine

[The video feed starts up and there's a brief picture of a blue eye, then an excited smile once she realizes it's recording. Nill stands up with her journal and passes the camera over what appears to be a rather... colorful array of clothing. Oranges, greens, a purple shirt, a yellow scarf with blue fringe... And most of it

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[rain_of_bullets]

[It's a while before Haine returns, a pair of familiar pistols securely fastened at his hip and carrying all the extra guns and ammo the store would let him leave with. Best to stock up anyway.]

[It's relatively quiet for a few minutes after he shuts his door behind him and starts putting the weapons away for later use. A clatter can be heard a moment later as some of the ammunition falls to the floor.]

What the fuck...

[He picks up one of the nauseatingly bright colored tops, bows all down the front and holds it as though just touching it might give him a disease. What the hell is going on? Where are his clothes?]

Badou you little bit-...

[He curses a few more times under his breath. Who else could be to blame for this after all? Did he raid the used clothing store? More importantly, where the hell were his normal clothes?]

[There's a sudden flurry of movement as Haine begins his search. Badou wouldn't be so obvious as to put them under the bed like Nill might but they had to be somewhere. And if they weren't? He was

[manmade_angel]

[Once Haine comes back, Nill tears herself away from Mihai to wait outside of Haine's door and listen to his reaction. Once he came out and was in front of everyone in the house, he would look nonplussed and maybe a little grumpy. But the reaction he had when he was by himself would be how he really felt--]

[...why did it sound like Haine dropped something?]

[And now it sounded like he was looking for something. Had he just not seen? After a moment, Nill swallows her hesitation and knocks softly on the door.]

[rain_of_bullets]

[He bristles a little at the sound of the door, but sighs and walks over. No one else knocks that softly anyway, so he's not surprised to see Nill when he opens it. He pulls it open a little further before he steps away and goes back to pawing through what's left in the room. Given how little he owns, it's pretty obvious his old clothes are gone.]

You don't have to knock.

[He's a bit too oblivious to realize just where the clothes that are now in his closet came from or recognize the pained little stitches that tacked the bows on. Too busy thinking of ways to punish Badou for this mess later.]

The old man told us where the weapon shop is, so I picked up some stuff.

[His way of trying to assure her that they'll be safe. With Giovanni running around loose here, it's hard to feel much at ease.]

...did someone do laundry or something?

[manmade_angel]

[Nill comes into the room and watches him looking around, worried. He's agitated, she can tell that much, but by what? That man Giovanni? Is that why he carried a lot of ammunition into the house? Since the beach incident, she hasn't heard of anything happening--nor has she seen evidence on Haine of any fights.]

[When he asks if she's done laundry this week, Nill clasps her hands in front of her and shakes her head. Then she looks from Haine to the closet, then back at the floor. Has he noticed...?]

[rain_of_bullets]

[He might not understand much when it comes to women, but Nill is pretty obviously acting strangely. So it's not the laundry... but she's looking from the closet to the floor in a painful sort of way. Meaning the pile of atrocities in his closet have something to do with her.]

You know where my clothes went then?

[He runs a hand through his hair. Badou's name is at the top of his list and his room is next in line to be checked. He's not about to let the bastard get away with taking his shit and replacing it with a fluorescent nightmare.]

[manmade_angel]

[...somewhat? She knows where the new ones are! The ones that Badou took... not so much.]

[Naoto told her to tell Haine right away that she was the one who made all of the clothes. Maybe he didn't realize yet that she made them for him. They were, after all, very different from what he usually wears. Haine could be thinking that his room had been taken over for storage.]

[So Nill goes over to the closet, smiling brightly, and pulls out an orange shirt with lace sewn delicately to the front. She holds it out to him--this is for you!]

[rain_of_bullets]

[He could think of several reasons for the clothing to be there. One, Badou lived in the same house. All bets were off. Two, there were plenty of people who didn't like him. Three...]

[But when Nill picked out a shirt and held it up to him, this time with none of the humor she'd had at the clothing store, it finally clicked.]

You-...

[Miscommunications seemed to be running rampant through the house. First that idiotic poetry, now this? Somehow she'd gotten it in her head that he was going to wear these? No. HELL NO.]

You know I was kidding before... at the clothing store, right? I don't do pink fuzzy vests and...

[He sighs and takes the shirt from her.]

It's not really my thing...

Don't worry about it. I'll return them so you don't have to take an extra trip.

[manmade_angel]

[...oh.]

[Was Haine just embarrassed that she knew? Or had he changed his mind? Either way, he didn't understand that she's made these things for him. He wants to take them back, but she's already sewn so much to it... will they even take it back now?]

[Of course this wasn't Haine's style. Nill should have seen that from the start and said something. She nods, clasping her hands tightly in front of her--but despite all her best efforts, it still hurts. She starts to tear up, her wings vibrating slightly.]

[rain_of_bullets]

[Shit. What did he do now? She's obviously upset, almost going to cry and he has no idea what the fuck brought it on. He almost wants to reach out and touch her shoulder or her cheek; it would always calm Lily, but... somehow this is different.]

H-hey, it's nothing to get upset over. The clothes are free here anyway. I'll just wear these til I can go grab some new ones.

[manmade_angel]

[Oh God, he really does hate them.]

[Nill starts crying in earnest now, covering her face so Haine won't see her all scrunched up and dripping. It's the sewing, isn't it? She just didn't sew them well enough, so Haine can't wear them. Everything's crooked and a mess, no wonder he hates them. Why did Badou think she could do this? Clearly she can't make anything Haine likes.]

[whichwayagain]

[Mihai is unhappy even before he leads Badou into Haine's room, the younger man being led by a firm hold on his ear. Seeing the strewn-about clothes and Nill's small shoulders shaking in silent tears does little to improve upon his mood. What might help, however, is resolving this situation. That's why Mihai steps forward, Badou still captive, and extends a hand to put Haine in the same position.]

You two are unbelievable. [The lecture he'll do regardless of whether or not he gets hold of Haine's ear.] Would it have killed you to pretend to be a little gracious to Miss Nill at the least? Or did saying "thank you" not cross your mind while you were busy obsessing how to get your revenge?

[strayfag]

Ok ok! [He dumps Haine's clothes on the floor of the room and trys to pry Mihai's hand away from his ear. He looks more guilty than anything now.

Oh, that stain on the floor is really interesting.] Listen, Nill... There's something I - we should explain.

[rain_of_bullets]

[Normally Haine would've laughed his ass off seeing Badou get dragged around by the old man. If Nill hadn't started crying even harder just before, that is. Anything he said only seemed to make it worse, and now these idiots were marching in and-]

Wh- Let go, what the fuck are you doing?!

[The old geezer is a lot faster than he lets on and he doesn't escape the humiliation without ripping the skin around a couple of his earrings. He glares angrily, though averts his gaze as soon as Mihai starts his lecture. Really, tearing Badou a new one would've been a lot easier from the start. He was the one who brought Nill into it in the first place with his stupid poetry! And what does that have to do with why she's upset now?!]

[He shoves his hands in his pockets and looks pointedly in the other direction, avoiding eye-contact with the majority of the room. The clothes on the floor, the tacky bows and colorful stuff in his closet... Fuck. That couldn't be- There was no way she'd-]

[Another glare is sent in Badou's direction, even

[manmade_angel]

[Nill looks up from her crying when Mihai and Badou, somewhat ungracefully, enter the room. Why Mihai is dragging Badou carrying a basket of Haine's clothes, Nill doesn't quite get. And, on top of that, she's a little too upset to realize why--at least, not immediately.]

[But Badou's looking at the floor, Haine's glaring at Badou, Mr. Mihai's upset with both of them, and there's something about an explanation. She looks between the three of them, confused, eyes still swimming in tears as she waits for someone to explain.]

[whichwayagain]

[After he's sure he's got the attention of both the children in the room, Mihai will let go of both of them. If either tries to bolt, however, they can be sure their ears will be held hostage yet again.]

[Now, however, he's left with two supposedly grown men looking anywhere they could to avoid the situation at hand. He lets out a frustrated sigh, particularly when he notices Nill's teary-eyed expression.]

If you two want to play these sort of childish pranks on each other, then that's your business. But dragging Miss Nill into your games is inexcusable. Now apologize to her, both of you.

[strayfag]

I lied about Haine's clothes because he talked you into thinking I'm trying to quit smoking and I was pissed. [This all comes out in one breath. Badou raises his eye guiltily, but he should at least look her in the face.] Sorry I dragged you into it. That was bullshit.