|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed May 09, 2012 11:49 am
She felt her shoulders relax when he let her go with that. Had she been asked to transform, then she probably would have had no other choice but the do so and that...would have been awkward, to say the least. She knew that he should find out someday--and it wasn't as if she had intended on it being a secret--but until a more appropriate chance presented itself, she would keep it under wraps.
Besides, she didn't have much time to dwell on such things anyways. At the mention of a bomb, the ghoul stiffened, whirling around and curling her fingers around Roch's wrist. "Hold it. Hold it. Roch, why are you making a bomb?" She didn't even bother hiding the concern in her voice, her pink eyes round with alarm.
"W-why would you even need one anyways?!"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 09, 2012 1:13 pm
"Because they're gonna come for me sooner or later," Roch said, looking at the hand on his arm with a raised, studded eyebrow.
"Boogies, hunters, maybe even horsemen, there's a lot of people that would like to catch me off guard. Hell, even some students, I bet. Especially after--" He went silent, his jaw tightening as he remembered something extremely bad. "Especially after Riley," he said quietly. "Hell, I want to get ahold of me after that one."
Then he pulled free of her hold, heading for the kitchen to dig through the cabinets.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 10:03 am
Riley.
Xiu stiffened at the name, her hold on Roch's wrist loosening. When he pulled free, she simply let her hand fall, closing her eyes. Riley. Where was she now? The last time she had seen her, the statue--their friend--had been ordered to be taken away by the bogeymen. Was she still in their care, she wondered?
She trailed after Roch quietly now, hands clasped over her chest. The baku said nothing for a moment, simply watching him root through the kitchen, before she cleared her throat. "What...happened exactly? Aniki told me that she turned to stone, and that he had to attack her, but..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 6:26 pm
"She was huge," Roch said, only to bring up his hands and cover his ears. "SHUT UP ALREADY, I GET IT!" he bellowed, breathing hard for a second before looking at her again. "We'd just finished fightin in this underground room--it got destroyed and I headed for Famine, figuring there was more to deal with--but when I stepped out the portal, she was blocking the way."
He started pacing. The expression on his face was serious, and tormented. "I didn't want to hit her. Even if I knew Shun was right, I--she wasn't Riley anymore, Xiu. She was this massive monster tryin' to kill us all, and she accomplished it with a lot of us--over and over again. But Sammy didn't want to attack--and I liked Riley, I really, seriously did," he said, his pacing speeding up and slowing down erratically.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 12:24 am
Xiu flinched backwards, her ears drooping as she stumbled back in shock at the yell. She felt her heart racing beneath the palm of her hand as she gaped up at the boil. Where had that come from? She hesitantly opened her mouth to ask what that had been about, only to clamp her mouth shut again when she realized that he was telling her about Riley. She supposed that her question would just have to wait.
She watched him pace as he spoke, taking in the look on his face with a frown. Poor Roch--she knew that he had been friends with Riley, and so she had expected that he would probably feel some regret for what he did, but this was...
"I don't blame you," The baku told him, laying a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to stop his pacing, "Not you, or aniki, or...anyone. If...if she really wasn't herself, and if she was hurting everyone around her, then..." Then what other choice did they have? That was what she wanted to say, but Xiu felt her stomach clench at the thought. Surely they could find some way to prevent this from happening again in the future.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 6:55 am
"She killed Sammy," he said quietly. "I like Sammy, I'm teachin' her to play bass, and she's a seriously good fighter--better than I am. But she was tryin' so hard to get through to Riley, she even gave her all her FEAR, only to have Riley reach through her with this massive hand--That's when I started attacking," he said.
"Riley wouldn't do that. Riley was nice--she was dangerous, sure, terrifying, absolutely, but she was nicer than anyone should be with that much power. She gave me my karaoke booth so I could practice my FEAR," he told Xiu, looking frustrated. "But that's my job," he went on quietly. "I'm one of the ones willing to finish it off when things have gone too far. I promised."
The tone of the voices in his head seemed mocking now, and he looked away from her, touching his temples.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 11:34 pm
Xiu didn't look too surprised to hear that Riley--no, not Riley, but rather what had taken over her--had killed someone. No, she wasn't surprised, but that wasn't to say that it didn't break her heart to hear. The mindflayer she knew would never have done such a thing, and Sammy...Sammy had even gone so far as to give Riley all her FEAR? Riley had been a very well-loved and respected student to be certain.
"It's not your job," Her voice was quiet but firm, lips curved in a frown. "You don't have to...I mean, it's not something that you have to take on alone. You're not the only one who...who attacked her, you know?" Though that being said, it was hard to imagine what she herself would have done if she had been there. Would she have been willing to hurt--or take part in killing--Riley if it had meant protecting others? Shun, Mitsu, and Roch?
Her gaze was fixated on the ground, but when she looked up, so noted how the reaper was touching his temples. Brows knitting in concern, she jerked her head at his hand. "Headache?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 7:15 am
"I said I was one of them. Shun's another. Hel's another, but Hel wasn't there. Danny attacked, but I'm pretty sure she didn't have a clue. Maybe a few of the guest students did, and some of the first years that had no clue who she was... but you couldn't have done it," he said, looking at her.
The voices in his mind were mocking him now, he thought as he lowered his hands. Probably saying that of course she couldn't have done it, she wasn't a complete b*****d like he was. But that one he could ignore--he'd known it all along.
"Most of the people that knew her couldn't have done it. But they don't understand--maybe they're starting to, now," he went on, turning away from her. "But me, when these jackin' voices are gone, I'll be fine," he told her. "I did what I had to do--what the real Riley would have wanted me to do." He honestly believed that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 19, 2012 2:01 pm
She opened her mouth to protest, but immediately clamped it back shut, her expression conflicted. Could she have done it? It was easy to say yes right now, after everything was already done and she was trying to comfort a friend, but if she had actually been there? After a few seconds ticked by in silence, she murmured a quiet, "What's...what's done is done. If there's any way to prevent it next time, or...or any way to reverse what has happened..."
She perked up at the mention of voices, pink eyes growing round. Of course, she wasn't sure why she was surprised--hadn't she already learned that Mitsu and Shun, among others, had been hearing the voices in her head as well? "You too, hmm?" Lifting a hand, she tapped a finger to her temple, "I think...everyone came back from that trip haunted with voices. Up until today, they had been bothering me too."
But now they were gone, thank Jack for that. The last four days have been the longest days in her life...and the most sleepless to boot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 19, 2012 2:31 pm
"Yeah," he said. "Yeah." He looked around at his room, finally admitting something he hadn't been wanting to. "It's not good enough," he said quietly. "I'm gonna have to do that." He sounded disgusted with himself, even looked disgusted with himself.
"If I go insane like she did," he said, turning to look at Xiu. "If I get huge and deadly and all that stuff that comes with it, don't bother trying to talk to me. Just kill me off," he said. "If you can." Then he headed for the bag behind his door, shoving the clothes into it to where he could zip it closed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 9:38 pm
The baku looked puzzled, cocking her head to the side. "That?" She repeated, putting the same emphasis on the word that he did, "What is...that?" There might have been a little nervousness underlying her tone as well. He wasn't going to do anything...dangerous, was he?
Xiu visibly twitched as he continued, pink eyes growing round. "Wha--wait a minute. That...that won't happen, okay?" She suddenly sounded nervous, wringing her hands in front of her as she hurried on to say, "I mean, this...what happened to Riley. That won't ever happen again if we find a way to prevent it, right?"
And there must be a way to prevent it. Somehow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 7:28 am
"Do I look like a scientist?" Roch asked bluntly. "We don't know if we can find a cure, but we DO know that it can happen. What's that sayin... hope for the best and prepare for the real world?"
He headed for the bathroom, leaving the door open as he started sliding hair products into another bag. "And 'that'," he said as he came out. "Is leavin'. I'm goin' to my old man's place. I EXPECT him to leave randomly. So I won't be surprised if he suddenly shows up missing." He tossed the bag onto his other bag, then started grabbing his minipets to put in the closet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 12:51 pm
"Yes...yes, I suppose so," She replied, though she still looked uncertain. As much as she wanted to focus on finding a "cure", frankly, Xiu had no idea where she should even start. Perhaps this really was one of those situations where they had to deal with things as they came.
...Perhaps.
She looked up at Roch absently when he walked out of the bathroom, but a look of alertness snapped back into her expression at the word "leaving". "Leaving--to your father's? But...wait, why?" Whether she was going to try stopping him or not was questionable, but she couldn't help but be curious as to why the reaper had made this choice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 9:16 am
"Because they know where I am here, NOBODY knows where my old man is, except for my granddad and Monica," he summed up, grabbing all his things and pulling it over his shoulder. "And here--well, I don't trust the staff of this school one jackin' bit. And I've got the dissipation history to prove why. Hell, that's not even paranoia!" he said with a snort, holding open the door and motioning her out. He would lock the door behind her--then disappear pretty much till the jackin' voices were gone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 6:21 pm
Xiu absently wondered who Monica was--.........a...ghoulfriend of Roch's grandfather...?--as she obediently made her way towards the door. However, she stopped right before she made it out, turning and staring up at the reaper with a look of contemplation. Finally, emitting a little sigh, she reached out to give him a hug.
Just a small one, and one that was probably a little awkward for both involved. Even so, the baku looked rather chipper when she stepped back, lifting a hand to wave. "But even with everything you're saying...you'll be back, right? I'll see you again then, I guess!"
With another step back, she was out the door. She shot one last wave at the reaper before heading down the hall.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
