genessia | 011 | my star has left me (to take the bitter pill)

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Current Location: Shinjiro and Akihiko's apartment

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011 | my star has left me (to take the bitter pill)

[ AUDIO ] | [ Backdated to Monday afternoon ]

Uh, there -

[ There's some shuffling sound, like he's setting the phone up somewhere, still. ]

Right. So.

... I ain't good at this, either the talkin or the - well.

But just writin it seemed ... not enough, and. All of you are probably sick of seein my face, so.

[ There's a brief pause, before he goes on. He sounds very, very tired, but his voice is nonetheless serious, and firm. ]

I frightened the hell outta a lot of you.

I said a lot of stuff, some of it to some people I don't even know.

And, it's complicated, but I can say that - while it wasn't all me, it was a part of me. So, yeah, I ain't gonna pretend it isn't my fault.

I'm sorry.

[ He swallows. ]

I am sorry.

I'm not gonna. Just sit around feelin guilty, though. Not -

[ Coughs. ]

- Yeah. So.

Up to you if you take this seriously.

But let me know if I can make it up to you.

[ And then the audio is turned off. ]

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Don't be sorry!

[She makes the response as a knee-jerk reaction, blurting out the words before silently kicking herself. He's exhausted, he needs to rest. But...but she doesn't want him to go to sleep feeling guilty either.]

I admit I don't know what happened, or why. But you weren't in control, I understood that much. So just...

[Her fingers clutch at her skirt, knotting the fabric as she maintains her smile.]

Just get some rest. I'm happy you're okay.

[She doesn't mention the part about him wanting to make it up to people, since she can't really believe he was including her in that blanket statement. Most likely it was for those who went inside the Midnight Channel to pull him out.]

It's alright Shinjiro.

[A soft smile rests across her lips as she addresses the screen. She hasn't been able to see him since their last talk and she's been worried about him.]

I am happy to see that you are well.

[Belle pauses, chewing on her lower lip.]

Perhaps you'd be interesting in meeting soon? I'd like to see you if that's alright.

[ After messing with the controls for a few minutes, Shinjiro sets up a private feed - and makes sure it's a private actually private.

Sighs ]

Don't think I don't owe you an apology, too.

... You waited outside the arch for me.

[ Sounds pretty gruff, quiet - ] ... Didn't mean t'make you worry.

... I'm sorry for worryin you.

[ Because she had been pretty worried, hadn't she? And, if he remembered right - not completely sure about that, but - it sounded like she was halfway to storming down to the subarchway herself.

Shurgs, unheard by the mic. ] Yeah. Uh.

... Don't think I'm up for it today, but.

[ He owed her that much. ] We can meet up.

Oh, well...that was pretty much my own choice, ne?

[She rubs the back of her neck. Honestly, he doesn't need to say he's sorry. He doesn't know her. Why would he owe her anything?]

...How are you feeling? You didn't seem injured, so I didn't offer, but if you got hurt...

[He'd tell her, wouldn't he? Or maybe he wouldn't. It isn't as if she knows him all that well either!]

A-anyway, you'd do the same for me or anybody else if the positions were reversed. It's fine!

It's fine. [Her voice gathers strength and ease as she continues.] It's what friends do.

[Being close to someone means that you're going to worry about them. It's just a way to show that you care about them. She might have traveled half way to the archway before returning home but she doesn't want to bother him with that knowledge. Everything Belle does, she does because she wants too.]

Later.

[She agrees in an affection tone.]

How are you feeling? You don't have to share what happened if you don't want too but... well, I'm happy that you're feeling better.

Yeah.

[ There's a pause, as he sorts through what he can remember of their - well, her and his Shadow's - conversation. Sighs, again. ]

You're a good friend, Inoue.

[ Coughs. Really, the coughing was improving since he had to taper off ihs pills - yeah, laugh it up, Akihiko, "I told you sos" were never really nice - but he was just so tired, it was hard to hold it back. ]

I got knocked 'round a bit. Pretty tame. Got worse just walkin through Iowatodai at night, really.

[ Haha just joking, honest. ]

Really, I'm just tired. Nothin about a week of napping won't fix.

[ It's kind of weird, knowing he'll actually recover from his ill health, this time. Nice, yes, but he wasn't sure he was used to the idea. ]

... Yeah.

[ He feels another twinge of guilt at that. It didn't occur to him, until he tried to remember what happened with his Shadow during the broadcast, that he had managed to make friends here. Good friends, too. Which just meant, more people he had ended up hurting.

Well. No more of that, now. He'd decided. ]

I'm f- [ last minute word swap ] -reaking exhausted, honstly. Could probably be in bed 'till October and still feel tired.

Least, that's how it feels.

[There's a moment of silence, and since it's audio, he doesn't see the surprise on her face. Did he say that because it came from the heart, or because he knows that other part of himself managed to get to her? But slowly, little by little, that surprise melts to warmth, and she holds her legs tighter to her chest as she smiles.]

You're a good friend too, Shinjiro-san.

[And he just made her day. She furrows her brow at the sound of his wet cough. That's not usually something that comes along with weariness! Maybe he did get hurt, or bruised...getting stabbed and bleeding all over isn't the only way a person can get injured!]

Anou...I can't remember if I told you or not, but I'm pretty good at healing people. If you have any lingering afflictions, I could erase them for you.

[Because she's already really worried about his employment status. She'd called in for him to let them know about his condition, even offered to take his place since that kind of job didn't seem like it needed a lot of training. But no dice. She tried, Shinjiro. T_T]

Do you have roommates that can bring you food?

[Demyx leans forward a little, he's been worried about Shinjiro.]

Is everything okay now? Are you okay?

[Worried as he can be, at any rate.]

A pair of glowing green eyes filled the screen before Koishi pulled back a little, blinking and tilting her head.

"Oh... OH! It's working!" And a smile. "Don't be upset, Mister. You're back now and that's what matters. So you don't have to apologize like that. No one got hurt."

She looked nothing like how she looked in the TV world.

"You should be more careful with yourself though. If you're always so hard on yourself then you'll never find a way to become a better person."

[ He just thought he'd shown, both through his own actions and what his Shadow had done, that he really wasn't that good a friend. But he didn't have the energy to argue. Besides, with a personality like hers, she'd only insist on it more stubbornly.

Shakes his head, unseen, but says; ] 'M fine. Well. Gonna be fine, now.

[ It was just going to take some time.

Her question, though, sparks a genuine laugh. ]

Yeah, if I wanted nothin but protein shakes and instant noodles, sure. A cook, Aki really ain't.

[Hearing him laugh eases some of the awkwardness, and she finds herself smiling more widely. She's always wanted to hear him laugh, and it's a crying shame she can't see his face! She'll just have to imagine it, then.]

I'd offer to cook for you, but my friends think my tastes are weird. You might prefer the instant noodles!

[And he didn't seem to think much of sugar, which isn't that great for a person who's sick and recovering anyway, so she doesn't offer baked goods. Then again...]

...Do you like bread?

[ He remembered how well Demyx had gotten on with his Shadow, and in a way, it didn't surprise him. Did the guy really offer to go to bat for him, with the Guardians? It was fuzzy, but he thought he remembered something like that. ]

Yeah.

... Things are gonna be better than they've been for a while, really.

[ That was hard to admit, but. He felt like he owed Demyx, for worrying him, and for his friend's support. ]

I'm just really damn exhausted.

[He really did, and did tell them to back off with no success.]

I'm glad it's going to end well, at least! I'm not sure what was going on, but I didn't want you to get hurt.

[He doesn't know why that's weird, because it seemed like Cassian thought it was too.]

The kind that doesn't get better with sleep right? I've been there.

Shinjiro toggled it onto audio feed, and private, out of habit. Then, he looked at the screen. For some reason, out of all of the conversations his Shadow had had - hers is one of the ones he remembered the clearest. It was pretty strange.

Even stranger, talking with her now, after all that had happened. He wondered who she really was, and why she could do what she'd did. Was it just being a youkai? Or was there something more?

He said, sounding a bit wry, "Yeah. Kinda figured that out, with the whole acceptin my Shadow bit, and gainin new resolve, or whatever."

But he didn't sound unkind about it. He definitely knew she was right, considering. "So. Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Shinjiro Aragaki."

"And I'm Koishi Komeiji! It's nice to meet you." She was absolutely beaming, her third eye drifting up and bobbing from side to side.

"You don't seem scared anymore. That's good. And you don't seem grumpy anymore. That's also good. I can't tell from way over here though."

Her tone softened. "But I'm glad you remember me. Not everyone does. So It's nice when people do."

What d'you mean, 'weird'?

[ It's not that he didn't like sugar - he just didn't think having a ton of it was really very good for you. And he'd stand by that statement. Her not-an-offer sparked his curiosity, despite his better judgement. ]

Sure.

... You offerin to bake?

[ Well, her shopping made some amount more sense, now. ]

... Considerin everythin you've told me. Uh.

[ Shrugs, unseen by the microphone, but goes on to say: ] I think you've got questions.

[ Sighs ]

Sleep seems to help, a little. But it's like, I'll need to nap for a week, or somethin.

[ He had felt better after crashing Sunday afternoon, though. ]

Oh, well...I just like trying different flavor and texture combinations. My best friend said it was definitely weird, so her mom would send me dinner sometimes. It was fun, eating together!

[Tatsuki's mom was a great cook. She's emboldened by his answer. Most people like bread, she shouldn't be all that surprised.]

I'll drop some off with your roommates to bring to you, then. What's your favorite kind of juice?

So far, the people he'd gotten to know in this new world were pretty ordinary. Well, relative to what he and his friends could do, anyway. Even the demon-hunter wasn't that strange, honestly.

This seemed like another matter altogether.

At least she seemed very kind-hearted, though, considering how much he helped him and his friends.

"... How do you tell?" he asked. "And why can't people remember you, normally?"

Well, uh...I just thought that's what friends do, right?

[He doesn't actually know.]

Yeah, but not if you're not up to it. If you're too tired, I can wait. I'm patient.

[He's grinning, Shinjiro can probably hear it.]

[ He recalled the shopping from just a few days ago. It was pretty memorable, considering that she made faces with them. ] Like radishes and cheese?

[ And the question surprises him. He's beginning to feel a bit embarrassed by all of this helping. But he figures he owes her, and some people - he thinks of a couple in particular - seemed to need to aggressively caretake to show their concern. Besides, he really didn't want any more cheap, salty noodles. (There were tastier things which also saved money, Aki! ) ]

Uh. I dunno.

Orange?

"I'm the youkai of the subconscious mind. Your feelings and self are things I can sense and touch if I so choose. I can't really 'read' it since the subconscious is not rational but I can experience it to a degree. Not like sis. She can actually read the conscious thoughts of people."

Koishi seemed to shift a little, drifting one way in the air. It was strange watching the background turn like that...

"Oh. Well that's my power too. I'm not invisible. Not really. Your eyes can see me and your ears can hear me but your brain can't understand the signals that its getting. So it decides that I'm not there. And even the people who do remember me will gradually forget me if I'm not around for awhile. Kids have an easier time remembering me though."

A laugh. "I'm like a little figment of imagination. Or an imaginary friend, rather."

Hee...!

[Like radishes and cheese. They don't cost much, the flavor combination is one she's never had before, and it's an experience to help her live her life to the fullest. She's got a lot of reasons why she chooses to cook the way she does, but it's tough to explain to someone else.]

Good choice! The vitamin C will give you lots of pep so you can recover your energy even faster!

[She nods sagely to herself.]

Where are you staying? I'll come by after I finish my errands.

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011 | my star has left me (to take the bitter pill)

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