I was up all night // Waiting for some kind of miracle

[weaver_girl]

Characters: Kagerou (weaver_girl), OPEN TO Simon (pompous_today), Gai (spandexisyouth), Bastet (felinemystique), Materia (viva_la_materia), Smoke (inthecenterfold), Rosalind (blindedmewith) and others by agreement?
Date/Time: 10 June to 15 June 2011
Location: All over Kagerou's usual haunts: Section 3, the Bazaar, the Park, the Dojo... and the Babylon 5 Wilderness on 13 June!
Rating: Possibly up to PG-13 for mention of violence
Summary:

Comments

[viva_la_materia]

Materia was tired. She couldn't even remember when she'd been this tired and not been sick or something, even if "remember" was a relative term around here. Maybe she'd been this tired at some point and couldn't remember it anymore. Maybe she'd been this tired after the date with King that was all torn to bits inside her head, or after...

Forget it. Forget it. The weird thing wasn't how tired she was. It was...it was the way she liked being tired. Working almost a double load at the bar to make up for Kagerou being stuck in that crazy-cool costume, on top of her scavenger duties? It just meant that she fell asleep as soon as she got home, then woke up and went right off to work again. And the extra hours...well, she needed the money, right

14 June, afternoon, the Bar

[weaver_girl]

"Ah, no," Kagerou replied, having come to peer in the back at the sound of the door, and then caught up by Materia's question before she could formulate a greeting. "I think at this point I'm really thankful..."

She tugged on her braided hair, shaking off a persistent dust bunny. She'd been wiping the bar cabinets, and the oddest things seemed to accumulate on the top shelves, so dust was nothing, really, but it did get in her face and hair something fierce.

"Is something the matter?" She paused as Materia's tone registered properly. "Or, forget about that, something is definitely wrong. I'm really sorry I've been gone for so long, but..."

[viva_la_materia]

Oh, geez - now she sounded like she thought this was her fault, and that was enough to give Materia a kick in the pants that brought her out of her daze, instantly.

"What? N-no!" she exclaimed, waving down the idea with both hands. "It's...it's not like that! Honestly, the extra hours were a real lifesaver, I didn't know what I was gonna do about the rent and--oh!"

Catching herself, she pressed both hands to her mouth in almost comical dismay. She'd been so careful not to mention that until now. There weren't a lot of people in the Sphere who liked her enough to worry about her, but...Kage was Kage, and had enough to worry about already...

[weaver_girl]

" 'Rent'?" Kagerou echoed. Something did not add up here, and she was beginning to see what it was. She still wasn't sure what to make of the fact that Materia had been incarcerated by the Watch, and apparently more than once. Materia also showed up for work on time, worked hard and hardly ever complained, and thus Kagerou was more than happy to keep on employing her. She'd come to like the other girl a great deal; she certainly brightened the atmosphere with just her presence.

"You know," she said, trying to imagine how Bastet or perhaps Kazahana might approach this situation, "I really think it's best that you take off the apron, sit down with me, and talk to me about what's wrong."

June 15th, morning, section 3

[pompous_today]

Simon hesitated, his arm hovering over Kagerou's place's door, wondering whether he should knock or not. He knew from her entry several days ago that she'd gotten a memory, but it was hard to tell how she felt about it, and he hadn't seen her at the clinic, presumably due to the outfit she was stuck in.

He wanted to check up on her, perhaps lend a shoulder or a listening ear if she needed it, even though he was still feeling out-of-sorts from he and Qi's journey to the Wilderness himself. He shuddered a little, trying to forger THOSE images and the deeply unpleasant feelings that came with them, knowing just as much that he never would be able to.

Finally, he gave a polite knock, waiting.

:D

[weaver_girl]

"Coming, coming!" Given the relatively early hour, Simon was lucky Kagerou was already up and about. She'd been drying her hair after a shower, but now just quickly twisted the mass of damp locks together and up into a makeshift bun, pinning it in place with a clasp. She darted out of the bathroom, in a loose tee-shirt and a long, flower-patterned skirt, still barefoot, and tugged the door open.

"Sorry you had to w--oh." Her mouth turned into a smile, and her eyes followed, lighting up with sincere gladness, shaded with a hint of guilt. She hadn't really told Simon the truth when she'd written him off with an "I'm just fine"--she had not been. She was better now, somewhat.

She stood aside to let him enter. "Good morning. Come on in, sorry, I'm sort of still starting the day. Tea?"

[pompous_today]

"It's alright," said Simon with an easy smile. "...I tend to forget that not everyone is as early a riser as I am."

He stepped into the house, not bothered at all by her appearance- considering Qi's resistance to wearing shoes and general untidiness, he was hardly fazed.

"Tea sounds wonderful. I just wanted to come and check on you... after your entry a few days ago."

[weaver_girl]

Kagerou gestured to the sofa and the chairs around the kitchen table, inviting him to pick a seat. In a moment, she had two mugs on the table and water slowly coming to a boil in the kettle.

"I used to be. Then the Bar happened. It's hard to be up with the sun when you sometimes go to bed when it's about to rise." She smiled.

Maybe that was enough cheery small talk. If Simon admitted up front he was concerned for her, what use was it? She'd tried deflecting worry and it hadn't worked, and somehow, though it was selfish, it did help to allow her dear ones closer.

Kagerou sat down in one of the chairs. "Thank you. I... suppose you could tell I wasn't really honest with you there. I'm sorry."

Your choice of day, training, Captain Planet?

[spandexisyouth]

Gai enjoyed his training times with Kagerou. She was energetic and enthusiastic, a fast learner and good with conversation. Though he would see how able she was to train; her journal entry had implied that maybe she wasn't entirely mobile right now. He'd read the different comments with growing interest and couldn't deny that he was interested.

He stretched as he waited. The day was actually rather good, even though there was so much seemingly going wrong with the Sphere. Gai was starting to get concerned and a little stressed, though he did his best to hide it as much as possible. If the Sphere failed, did he lose everyone?

But it was a nice day. It could be a very good day. He looked forward to seeing Kagerou.

Monday 13 June, training, Captain Planet?

[weaver_girl]

Kagerou had almost skipped the usual Monday lesson. She was back in her own clothes, which was a tremendous relief. It also meant she had no good excuse not to make the late morning run to Captain Planet to meet Gai. They would often meet outside now that the weather had warmed.

In the end, she bound up her hair, gathered her things, and went anyway. Maybe it would help to get her mind off things in the very least.

"Hello!" she called from a distance, trying for her best bright, cheerful tone and admittedly falling short. "Am I late? I hope I'm not late. Mmm, it's a relief to be able to move all my limbs again."

Monday 13 June, training, Captain Planet

[spandexisyouth]

Kagerou didn't sound like her normal self. Gai smiled at her as he considered this. She likely was glad to be out of whatever it was she was in, else she'd not have said that, so something else was bothering her. "You are not late, Kagerou. Come on over! And I am glad you have freedom of movement again."

He sank into one of the opening stretches he liked to run them both through before they began training. "Is it that much of a relief?" While wasn't sure what was bothering her, they could start there. Soon he was sure he would figure out if she didn't want to talk about it.

[weaver_girl]

She tucked her bag onto a nearby bench, then followed suit into the stretch, a bit dismayed to note that her fingers did not reach the ground as limberly as last week. It had to be the robot costume.

"Oh, it is!" That, at least, she was able to say with unstinting sincerity. "I was kind of crouched inside that costume! Well, I could wriggle out it off for a bit, but... it did the thing they always do. Came right back

early afternoon Wednesday the 15th, Bazaar?

[felinemystique]

Bastet drifted in and out of various stalls, doing a little grocery shopping. Bread, a sack of rice, soup stock. Cabbage, green onions and pickles. Kisuke generally did her shopping these days, but he was nose deep in exploring and research lately, so she was on her own.

Her basket wasn't quite full yet; she'd have just enough time to pick up the last of her items before heading home. Meat, milk, fish--all the perishables she didn't want to carry around too long on a warm day like today. Given the merchant a nod and quick grin, she turned towards the dairy stall.

Sounds good!

[weaver_girl]

Kagerou had found herself with a trifle of free time before it was time to open the bar, and had thus let herself stray into the Bazaar. It was close to work and she could always find someone to chat to or something to hold her fascination, whether or not she ended up buying.

When she spotted Bastet a couple of stalls to the side, another possibility tugged at her. She had been, in a roundabout way, hoping to find her other (sometime) mentor in a moment where Bastet might be free to talk. She ducked past the stalls in between and waved a hand hopefully.

"Good afternoon! Um, it's good to see you not being so busy. Though I suppose groceries are a kind of busy. I'm not interrupting, am I?"

Re: Sounds good!

[felinemystique]

Bastet looked up as she heard a familiar voice, breaking into a smile when she saw Kagerou. "Hey, kiddo," she said, shifting her basket so it hung in the crook of an elbow. "You're not interrupting at all; I'm just picking up a few things."

It had been a while since they'd gotten to speak, so even if she had been busy, Bastet would have made some time to chat. "How are things, hm? Both jobs must be keeping you busy."

[weaver_girl]

"Well, comfortably busy right now." Kagerou ducked her head, an abashed tint creeping into her smile. "I think I learned my lesson, trying to run the bar with two or three people.

"Though I suppose I could turn that right around to you, couldn't I? You run the Guard and the clothing shop! But then I couldn't even imagine managing something so important as the Guard."

The bar was trouble enough, she decided. Trouble and joy; she wouldn't have stayed throughout all the changes if she did not also love the place. She clasped her hands behind her back and glanced at the grocery basket. "We can talk while we walk, maybe? I don't want to keep you from your shopping, even if it is just a few things."