ℑ ninth contract

[onlythesong]

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[onlythesong]

[Mashiro lifts her face from where it's buried in Mikoto's warm fur and looks up at Nina. Her eyes are still dry, but red and puffy now, contrasting the petulance in her voice when she answers.]

I am cold.

sob likewise :(

[onlythesong]

I don't want to go back to that place.

[Not now, at least. Not the place where she died.]

[onlythesong]

[She looks up at him.]

Oh... It's you.

[onlythesong]

I was running an errand.

[No, that's not right. That's just an excuse.]

The house is too stuffy.

[That's closer.]

B

[flameyedhunter]

[Shana eyes the pinkhaired girl in the park silently. Peering up from her seemingly once an evening visit to her snowman]

[onlythesong]

[Mashiro takes no notice; her faces is buried in her cat's fur.]

[flameyedhunter]

"You'll get cold. You should get indoors." [Shana crosses to her, a grumpy expression on her doll-like face]

[onlythesong]

[She doesn't even bother to lift her head. She doesn't know this person, and Mikoto is warm.]

I'll go inside when I want to go inside.

[grannysaid]

[Nearly bolting from her bed, Arika finds herself stumbling out of her room and to the source of all the noise.

She quickly scrambles to unlock the door and swings it open. It hasn't clicked yet -- the pain that they both went through.]

Mashiro... [That is, until she sees the other girl. It's suffocating. Like a tidal wave of despair. How... Why?]

Mashiro-chan!

[onlythesong]

[Mashiro is not a physically affectionate person. She's sworn not to cry while her people in her country still suffer, and she's broken that promise twice.

When Arika opens the door, Mashiro just stares, eyes wide. She's okay. Arika is okay. Mashiro has no idea what happened to her, if anything, but what matters is Arika is still here and safe and whole.

She reaches out and grips Arika's hands, her eyes burning.]

Arika...

[grannysaid]

[On Arika's end, the tears fall freely. She's equally relieved, more than glad that her friend is back and safe.]

Mashiro-chan... You're all right! [Forget grabbing hands. Arika reaches to embrace her, wanting to know that this truly isn't a dream.

Dead. They had all died in the end, hadn't they?]

[onlythesong]

[She's sworn not to cry, but... There's no way she can't after what happened. She's alive. How is she alive? Death has no meaning here, but... Ugh, her head hurts and between getting sick and running all the way here, suddenly she can barely hold herself up. Which is alright, because Arika is supporting he. Mashiro clings to her and before she can stop herself, she's sobbing. She presses her face against Arika's shoulder and lets it all come out: the grief, the terror, the disgust with herself, the distress at what happened.]

[Phone]

[crystalrazing]

I'm here.

[She's trying to sound professional, and trying to keep her emotions in check... but it's still a bit obvious that Natsuki had been freaking out moments before, judging by how her voice shakes just a bit.]

[onlythesong]

Are you uninjured?