[ action post to Hojo ]

[tracedmemories]

[ Shelke realizes something is wrong the moment Hojo's brainwaves begin to fluctuate erratically, but the change is so sudden and so drastic that she isn't able to react fast enough. Even as she hits the emergency shutoff switch to begin the shut down sequence, she sees Hojo crumple to his knees, and another moment later she sees the trails of

Comments

Sorry. Tense problems. >.>

[moralmisconduct]

[He is only vaguely aware of his surroundings through the fading haze of pain still gripping his head. Hojo's senses are skewed, body shivering uncontrollably as his consciousness returns.

A hand reaches out and latches on to something immediately within reach - Shelke's collar - drawing it closer to himself.]

They mock me still! I-

[He spits out a mouthful of blood, and the claw on the girl's clothes loosens.]

I...can do this without them...

[tracedmemories]

[ Half exhausted already, Shelke stumbles forward upon Hojo taking grasp of her collar. She watches him, troubled, noting the first signs of delirium. She does not yet know its depth, however, does not know if it can be recovered from. ]

Professor.

[ Her voice is steadier than she expected it to be, and she is thankful for it as she places her hand over his own, trying to free herself from his clutch when his hand loosens. The moment he stops holding fast to her, she too stops trying to escape. Had this been any other time, she might have wondered the broader implications of that, but this was not any other time. So she simply stands there, hand over his, conflicted gaze cast on his stricken form. ]

Professor, can you hear me?

[moralmisconduct]

[Her voice... he is reminded of their first contact after his re-awakening, her tone cold with an undercurrent of emotion detectable perhaps only by himself. Unable to see her, the touch of her flesh on his is...

Familiar.]

Shelke.

[He chokes on the blood still running into his throat, but the pain in his head has all but subsided. The trembling dies down. His hand remains in contact with hers.]

Don't just- Stand there...

[tracedmemories]

[ At the sound of her name spoken on his lips, Shelke loathes to admit it but she does nearly go boneless with relief, breath leaving her in an unsteady sigh before she is able to bite it back. She swallows hard, grip briefly tightening over where his hand is on her and then--

She forces it away from her, stepping back. ]

Understood.

[ She says nothing more, retreating to the bathroom to fetch a damp washcloth. When she returns, she wordlessly kneels next to Hojo, expression unreadable as she begins to wipe away the blood. ]

[moralmisconduct]

[As the blood leaves his skin, Hojo slowly regains control of himself. Sitting up and taking the washcloth from Shelke, he gives his face one last wipe before coughing up a clump of blood and spitting it into the fabric.

His eyes sting painfully, but the migraine is over. He looks at the girl beside him as if seeing her for the first time.]

...

[Words left unsaid. It is better this way.]

I've made contact with JENOVA.

[tracedmemories]

I see.

[ Shelke's answer is neutral, betraying little of her thoughts on the matter. A feat, perhaps, made easier by the fact she doesn't quite know what to think of this development, of this entire situation. ]

And what has come of it?

[moralmisconduct]

[At her question, he throws the bloodied washcloth to the floor. With the absence of physical pain, a frustration hardly ever felt before washes over him, verging on the point of despair. Reaching for goals seemingly unattainable, he had come close to success so many times, and in each case had fallen harder than ever

[tracedmemories]

You will die.

[ Shelke's words are abrupt as she picks up the washcloth, holding it in her hand as she stares down at it rather than Hojo himself. She almost sounds angry, if an emotion could be attached to her primarily neutral tone at all. But there's an edge to her voice, a harsh one, and the deep knit of her brow imply anger. ]

Have you learned nothing of the failures of your past? Time and time again, your ambitions lead you down this path. You are given chance after chance, and every time you choose to play the lab rat over the scientist, pressing the same useless button until it kills you and destroys everything and everyone around you--

And then you do it over again.

What is it you possibly hope to accomplish this time?

[moralmisconduct]

[The shock bestowed by her first words carries through until she finishes speaking, preventing him from interrupting. Hojo stares, stunned into silence, before a searing wave of anger pushes logic further away from the surface of his mind.]

What did you say to me?

[A hasty step off the bed, he grips her shoulder and spins it around so she is facing him, seeing her rising emotion reflecting his own and hating it. Bound by habit, it is easy in the sting left by her words to forget just who they have become since their last meeting - he, no longer with the might of Shinra behind him, and her, no longer a child cringing in the shadow of a fate she could not escape.]

How dare you speak to me like that, you insignificant failure! Who are you to preach to me about science, when I have been at the forefront of my field since before you were born? I have defied death twice over, mastered the very life blood of this godforsaken planet! But each time... true success prevented through no fault of my own, by shortsighted fools who can't see

[tracedmemories]

[ Shelke is silent for a long moment, at first shocked into silence as though physically struck by his words. But as he devolves into a tirade of his ideals and the same ambitions that have sabotaged him for the entirety of his existence thus far, her shock fades back to smoldering anger, then into cold fury. There was a time in her life when she would have trembled at his words, where she would have accepted them at face value for their logic and reasoning. But that time has passed, and Shelke does not see in such stark black and white as she once did

[moralmisconduct]

[The moment passes. Agitation is an ugly emotion, and he should have known better than to have let Shelke see that part of himself.

Instead, Hojo sneers, his hand returned to his side. This girl, indoctrinated in the ways of Deepground, questioning him on the value of human lives? She has been away from her roots for too long indeed!]

The average life is nothing. The ignorant masses are sheep, deserving no fate better than to be brought to the slaughter when their time is due. They follow blindly and do not question. I couldn't care less what their impression of me is. And...I don't have to justify my actions to you.

You have become more of a fool than I had previously feared, if you sympathise with them.

[tracedmemories]

[ Shelke turns her gaze slightly to glance at the place where his hand previously rested on her shoulder and she frowns at the fact that she feels the absence of it far more than him seizing her to begin with. Slowly, she returns her gaze to him again, letting out her breath in something very close to a scoff

[moralmisconduct]

I don't need a lecture, Shelke. And I hardly expect you to comprehend my reasons and ways.

[She has changed...she has changed beyond all measure. He finds himself wondering for just how long he can handle this new Shelke, this girl who is slowly becoming aware of her own personality, painting her own colours on the white canvass he had made her into.]

...You want your mother and sister back? Then stop with this arguing and do as you're told. You know very well I am trying to manipulate the Lifestream... Is it so fruitless still when applied to your own needs?

And...

I never had a family.

[Brushing past her, he starts toward the door.]