Night 45: F21-F30 Hallway

[petalwitch]

Dinner had been pretty quiet. In fact, upon coming to temporary terms with the fact that she was alive, Aerith had wondered if things didn't seem a little too quiet. Traveling across the Planet with AVALANCHE had rendered her used to the constant voice of Gaia in the back of her mind at all times. It hadn't been like Midgar where the only whispers

Comments

F22

[himetsuru]

When the intercom went off and there was that difference in the Head Doctor's voice, Rose sat up quickly in her bed, eyes wide. She didn't like that tone, it reminded her too much of...

The blonde crawled out of her bed and tip toed to the door after she heard a click that sounded very much like the door unlocking. No, it couldn't be. It was her imagination. This was a mental institute with violent patients, herself a prime example. Why would the doors unlock?

Turning the knob, Rose found it was indeed unlocked and peered outside. Blackness. Nothing. No staff, no... wait. There was movement and bobbing lights. This was just like her--

Rose slammed the door shut and shoved her desk chair under the knob. If she could unlock it from the inside, anyone could get in. She didn't like this, not sure if she was starting to lose it again or not. She wasn't feeling the pressure in her head, so she was pretty sure she wasn't going to have an episode. Her eyes flickered over to Sarah. She was really glad she didn't feel an

Re: F22

[himetsuru]

"Then why are you here?" Rose started running her hands through her hair. "Go away! You don't have any power over me. I can't... no... go."

She whimpered a little. "I'm suppose to be dreaming of the Strip District and Pramani Bothers' sandwiches and seeing my brother. I'm not supposed to be fighting demons in my head again. I was me for once. Me."

Re: F22

[akarusa]

...Strip District?

"I can't make you do anything," Hokuto agreed. "So, I'm not here to try. Come on--you really think I could be a demon?" She smiled. "I'm just here to keep you company for a while."

Re: F22

[himetsuru]

"That's exactly what a phantom would say," Rose pointed out, mainly because it was what this girlfriend-not girlfriend phantom just said. "Let my guard down. Let you get close until I start thinking you're real..."

Rose quickly got to her feet and walked away from the phantom, worrying her hair into knots.

Re: F22

[akarusa]

Hokuto watched her for a moment, then walked right over and grabbed Falis by the wrist, forcefully turned her around--and kissed her right on the lips.

"I'm no phantom."

Re: F22

[himetsuru]

The whole thing caught Rose very off-guard. She wasn't expecting a phantom to actually grab her. Pulling the blonde around by the wrist elicited a small sound of pain as her nails snagged on one of the many knots she'd placed in her hair. That cry turned to one of surprise as she was kissed.

Rose blinked, for the moment more bewildered than she was scared. Then she got confused and tried to pull her wrist free. "No... no... I've had dreams like this. Dreams where I did things I wouldn't normally do." A pause and color blossomed on Rose's cheeks. "Things I didn't know I knew how to do. I'm just... again... can't be... how would you be..."

Her protests were not nearly as certain as before.

Re: F22

[akarusa]

Hokuto kept hold of her wrist; no way she was letting Falis run away now. "They weren't dreams, princess. They happened. Everything with Alita Forland, with monsters, the kingdom you swore to protect--that was real. And everything you remember with me--that was real too."

Re: F22

[himetsuru]

"It can't be. I'm not a princess. That's just what my parents called me when I was little, before... before..."

When Rose couldn't pull her wrist free, she started backing away from Hokuto, still not sure if she was real or not. She didn't even notice that the other girl was moving with her.

"Of course, you think they're real. I told you that's who I was, but I know they aren't. You believed me when you shouldn't have. I'm a bad person. I'm a danger to everyone. Everyone."

And then Rose's back hit the door and she jumped, letting out an 'eep!' Her breathing sped up and her eyes widened. The door. That thing was on the other side. Now she really tried to yank her wrist free, something her other self could have done easily. Rose... was not strong.

"Let me go!"

Re: F22

[akarusa]

"Calm down." Hokuto leaned up and kissed her again. "You are not a bad person. And you're not a danger." At least not like this. And never to me.

"I'm staying right here with you. We don't have to go anywhere, but I'm not leaving."

Re: F22

[himetsuru]

"Mrmph... S-stop that! I can't think straight when you do that. It makes me--" Rose had to alter what she was going to say. "Feel trapped." Because she wasn't going to admit that it made her consider letting the hunter have her again. If only for a moment.

Her eyes darted around. "Why won't you let me go. I'm a crazy liar! Why do you even care? I'm a criminal. Good girls aren't supposed to get involved with people like me."

Re: F22

[akarusa]

She moved her other hand to Falis' cheek. "Why shouldn't I care? It doesn't matter what you've done. I like you, and I want you to like me." More than like, really, but that was beside the point.

"And I'm not as good as you might think." No, she hadn't forgiven herself for what she did to Subaru, and possibly never would.

Re: F22

[himetsuru]

Rose flinched at the touch and then pain flashed momentarily across her eyes before disappearing as quickly thanks to the nasty growl she could have sworn she'd heard in the back of her mind. Great, now she was hearing things again.

"You don't like me. You like Falis," Rose replied, her voice weak and she looked away. "And no one should be involved with her. She has, like, constant episodes and I believed so many bizarre things when I let myself be her. Crazy things. So much blood..."

Re: F22

[akarusa]

"What makes you think I can't like you, too?" Hokuto asked, eyes on Rose's. If she could get through to Falis, she could get through to her.

"And I know all that. It hasn't chased me away yet." If you want to get rid of me, you'll have to try a lot harder than that. And I'm not letting you win this one even if you do try.

Re: F22

[himetsuru]

Rose continued to avoid Kazuko's gaze. Or was it the phantom? She wasn't sure what was and wasn't real anymore.

"...because I'm not strong like her. I'm not confident like her. I'm not charismatic like her. She's not afraid of herself. I'm afraid of myself," she replied, her voice getting weaker. "The people love her..."

The girl's knees shook and gave out. "She doesn't deserve their love. I don't deserve any either..."

Re: F22

[akarusa]

Hokuto knelt down with her. "Everyone deserves love. It doesn't matter who they are or what they've done--everyone deserves to have people who care about them."

To hammer her point home, she kissed the girl again, and this time it wasn't brief. She found and squeezed Rose's hand as she did; she wanted this to be nearly impossible to dismiss.

Re: F22

[himetsuru]

What was the point in having people care about you when all you did was hurt them? This was the question Rose was planning on asking when she was suddenly incapable of doing so. She was being kissed. She was being kissed quite strongly and...

It felt so real. It felt right. It wasn't something she could deny and, after a bit of hesitation, she responded back. Once the kiss had run its course, Rose buried her face in Kazuko's neck.

"I'm scared," she whispered.