We watched the plumes paint the sky gray...

[deals_death]

WHO: Omi Tsukiyono (truthandfressia) and Selene (deals_death)
WHAT: Omi wants to speak with Selene.
WHERE: The park, and onto the Weiss residence.
WHEN: Thursday night.

Comments

[truthandfreesia]

As the distance between them grew shorter, Omi's guard raised, and he performed a mental check-list of the items he had on hand. He ha learned enough of Selene to know she posed little threat unless provoked, but he was hard-pressed to allow his guard to fall. After all, while she might have the most amiable of intentions, there were those who would see her killed.

She, he assumed, was more than capable of defending herself.

Old habits die hard.

"Did he really?" Omi replied with a nervous laugh, raising a hand to scratch at the back of his head. He used his free hand to gesture briefly as he started toward his home. "The youngest, but I'm not so young anymore. We've both been here quite some time. ...I thought, given your connection to Youji, you might be interested in a few of his belongings." He paused momentarily and shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts, allowing himself to muse on his thoughts. When he spoke again, it was with a cocked head and a gentle smile. "I had never seen him so interested in a woman before. You were very special to him."

[deals_death]

Selene started to follow, but then stopped short at the suggestion that she take Youji's things. Omi's words made her brow furrow, and she silently bit at her lip. The ache in her chest ebbed gradually, allowing her to breathe again after some length. Maybe she wouldn't be as lucky as she'd hoped. Maybe, in the end, it really would hurt forever.

As she started to walk again, she was staring at the ground. She couldn't work out what to say. The temptation to ask Omi if he knew how Youji died -- if he begrudged her that final act -- was almost crushing. But she would know soon enough, if he led her to some dark alley and tried to end her. She would deserve it.

...but perhaps instead of dragging up the worst of it, she could find some catharsis in her happiness; the happiness that, for a short time, Youji had brought her.

"It didn't start out that way," she explained with a bit of a smirk. "He was just... going to be for fun, really."