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 Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:57 pm
With the destruction of Fail-bot and Derp-bot in the Mad Science class, Lizzy decided that maybe Xiu would be up for some robot building together using the handy robot kit they received after class... Who knows? They might be able to build Fail-bot V2 and Derp-bot V2 using the kit, and maybe they wouldn't be as fail or derpy as the originals.
Arriving at Xiu's door, she knocked on it with a smile, the box she had received during class hugged to her stomach, "Xiu?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:31 pm
Kaiyumi The good thing about being alone was that she could go over her feelings and try to sort everything out in silence. It had been two days since the incident at Riley's booth, and Xiu had been spending these days doing exactly that--trying to figure out what to do about this whole situation. At this point, she was no longer thinking of her own feelings, but of Roch and Demi's friendship. Shun had told her that it wasn't her fault, and yet the voice in the back of her head kept whispering that she was the one to blame for this.
...And it was kind of right, wasn't it? If she hadn't come along...but then, Shun had also said that she couldn't have controlled what happened, and this was also true.
Xiu shook her head, attempting to rid her mind of these guilt-ridden thoughts for now. What she needed was to decide what to do. Should she...talk to the two separately? Or get them together, and perhaps ask someone to be there to mediate the situation? Before she could dwell on these ideas for long, she heard a voice calling for her out in the hallway. That's...Lizzy? Immediately replacing her stressed expression with a small smile, the Baku hurried to open the door, giving a little wave as the spider demoness was revealed.
"L-lizzy, hello! Um...how may I help you?" Dragain When Xiu opened the door, she grinned, holding up the box of materials, "Well, I thought you might like to build our robots together, seeing how we were partners for Mad Science class." Well, partners for trying to tear each other's robots up, but partners all the same! In her excitement, she failed to find anything off about the ghoul; unlike with the Christof incident, Xiu didn't seem distressed or anything... Of course, it helped that Xiu was the one who came to her in the first place. "Oh! That is, if you don't mind and have the time, of course!" She quickly added with a nod, realizing how rude she must sound, turning up without warning and asking Xiu to do sort-of-homework together with her, "We could always do this another day if you're busy!"Kaiyumi Though she hadn't expected the offer, the Baku's expression immediately relaxed as she gave a little bob of her head. "I...I'd love that, Lizzy. To be honest, I...I wasn't even sure where to start." Actually, ever since the day at the booth, she had kind of forgotten about this particular assignment. Before then, though, Xiu had been a little panicked at the idea of building another robot. Her first one had turned out...um...
...Special?
She hoped that the task would help her get her mind off of some things, and...well, it was already working. At the very least, she felt a little happier to have her friend visiting her and offering to work on their homework together. However, it was not only that that made her feel a little cheered up, but also the possibility of getting to chat with the demoness. Lizzy had listened to her distressed rant when she had entered Christof's dream before, and for that she was grateful. Her only concern was that it would be...well, a bother to Lizzy if she were to confess her new woes to the ghoul. Lizzy was a sweet and patient ghoul, but the last thing the Baku wanted to do was seem as if she were using this to her advantage.
No. She couldn't be a burden.
Shaking her head, she smiled a little wider and pushed the door open. "Come on in! We...we can use the table. Please, make yourself at home." Dragain "Me too actually," She chcukled lightly, removing one of the arms currently wrapped around the box to quickly pat the ghoul on her head - it was a brief pet, however, as it soon went back to supporting the box, "We could help each other out, hopefully... I'm still amazed that the 'robot' I made in class could even move!" Sure, 'moving' was used loosely here, but she was still proud. In an odd, sad way. With a grin, she nodded, relieved that Xiu was up for building robots with her. Walking past Xiu and into her room, Lizzy headed straight for the table, carefully setting the box down; she didn't want anything to break before they even started on the project! She lifted her arms above her head, stretching them before turning to face Xiu, "That box is heavier than it looks!" Especially since she had to carry it for a while. Kaiyumi Xiu smiled at Lizzy's comment about the robot she made in class. "It was a good robot, Lizzy!" She insisted, perking up a little at the memory of their "battle". However, her smile quickly faded, changing instead to a slightly puzzled expression. "Though, with what happened after..." With the flower catapulting, and Lizzy's robot mourning over the fallen body of the one that Xiu built...
...It really had been strange.
After shutting the door behind Lizzy, Xiu quickly went to retrieve the box of robot parts that she had set on her desk, moving it to the larger table. "It is deceptively heavy!" She agreed, opening up the box so that she could peer in. Hmmm...so many parts! Just how were they going to figure this out and build it? She didn't dwell on this long before, without warning, Xiu's eyes widened and she rushed off to the kitchen. For a while, all that would be heard were sounds of plates on the counter and the fridge opening and closing. When the Baku walked back out, she slid a cupcake and a cup of chilled white tea in the spider demoness' direction.
"Sorry! How forgetful of me!" Yes, the Baku had been brought up by her parents to always serve her guests. Dragain "It was... More than just a little weird, yes," She chuckled lightly at the memory of their robots, shaking her head; it was a match made in robot hell, probably... The fail-bot, as fail as it was, sort of grew on her after a while; it was too bad Christof's robot destroyed both hers and Xiu's creations, turning them into nothing but scrap materials. Well, at least the two robots were destroyed together! Taking a seat, she then looked up at Xiu with a sheepish smile, "I'm not sure where to start... I looked around the box, but there were no instructions to go with the robot parts! I think we might have to do a bit of guesswork..."Blinking, her gaze followed Xiu until the ghoul went out of her line of sight. Curious by the sounds coming from the kitchen, she was about to follow Xiu in when the ghoul reappeared again. "Awww, thank you," She beamed, taking the cupcake and cup of tea, putting them down on the table next to her box of robot parts, "Such a hospitable hostess you are~" She giggled softly before pulling Xiu into a hug, "Ready to build better robots?" Kaiyumi "I'm not sure where to start either," She admitted, eying her box with a small frown. Her derp-bot had been built by just...putting pieces together and blindly hoping that it would work, which it did. Kind of. She certainly hoped that derp-bot 2.0 would turn out better, or at least less...
...Strange. The suddenly flower-flinging move at the end had weirded Xiu out considerably.
Grinning, the Baku returned the hug happily, feeling herself relax. "No problem! I thought that you might like a snack and something to drink." There were quite a few people that she now considered her friends at Amityville, but Lizzy was one of the ones who she always felt comfortable around. She was concerned that would be imposing on the spider demoness' kindness by asking her next question, but if she was willing to listen, then perhaps it would be best for her to get her troubles off her chest. Shun and Riley had both given her valuable advice...and now the situation had changed, it called for more advice. At the very least, she wanted to know if the plan she had come up with was a good idea or not.
"Lizzy, um...if you don't mind..." Xiu suddenly sounded very nervous, and she wrung her hands together anxiously as she looked at her friend, "After...after we build our robots, could I...talk to you about something? It's about...Roch and Demi." Dragain "We'll figure something out..." She nodded, although she sounded a lot less sure than she looked, "And if we get stuck somewhere, we could always ask someone else." Someone not Christof, although he was the instructor for that class; she just did not feel comfortable around the boil, for various reasons. When Xiu turned serious, it prompted a tilt of the head from her as she nodded, wondering why she was being so nervous, "Sure...? I mean, we could talk as we build our robots, yes?" When the names 'Roch' and 'Demi' were brought up, she blinked, raising an eyebrow; she knew them both, but mainly by name... Although she did go through an "adventure" with Roch back during the open house week. "Oh? What about Roch and Demi?" She hadn't seen either of them for a while now, nor did she know of Xiu's relationship with them, "And awww, there's no need to be so formal with me!" She smiled, playfully ruffling the ghoul's hair. Kaiyumi That was true! If they had any trouble, then they could ask one of their other classmates! Like Roc--er, what about Dem--...Riley. They could ask Riley, or Levi! Or Charlie. Xiu was still under the impression that the pink-haired demon had a good head on his shoulders. She had caught a glimpse of his robot in class as well, and was completely stunned by how amazing it looked. The boil definitely had a talent for building robots!
If only she knew.
Talk during the robot building? She supposed that that would work too. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she decided to start out...simple. She would tell Lizzy what was happening without having to say it outright because, honestly? She just still couldn't believe it. "W-well, I mean..." Xiu bit down on her lip, considering whether she should continue--she could just drop the topic now, and she was sure that Lizzy wouldn't persist--but... "What would you do...if two boils might not be getting along anymore, and it's...your fault?" Was she still blaming herself for this? Yes. Yes she was. Dragain She was slightly taken aback by the look Xiu was giving, pausing as she turned her full attention to her friend, abandoning her box of robot parts - what could make the ghoul this nervous? Well, sure, from personal experiences, Lizzy knew that she was easily scared by "scary" looking things, but even during the Christof incident, she didn't look this nervous or hesitant to talk about the issue! "What do you mean by it being 'your fault'?" She asked with a puzzled look, trying her best not to assume anything due to the lack of information. Kaiyumi Xiu squirmed uncomfortably at the question, though she knew that she would have to expand if she wanted Lizzy to get the full picture. It was a little hard talking about this, though, so the Baku tried to seek out a way that made it easier. After a moment of thought, she cleared her throat. "Say that, f-for example, there is a situation where...two boils who were friends are no longer really friendly to one another, because they both like the same ghoul." Well, there. That probably gave the spider demoness a basic idea about what she meant. Now, how to continue?
She considered her words carefully as she pulled robot pieces out from the box, absentmindedly trying to fit things together at random. With how much attention she was paying to the task, it wouldn't be surprising if her next robot came out even worse than the derp-bot. "The ghoul doesn't know what to do. She, um...she doesn't know how she feels about either of them, but she does feel guilty. Like it's her fault that these two friends were suddenly so cold to each other." Xiu suddenly stopped fumbling with the robot pieces, slowly setting them back down on the table. Her eyes flickered up briefly to Lizzy, and then she cast them downwards again, her voice dropping to a tone that almost sounded frightened and desperate.
"...Do you think that it's her fault?" What kind of answer was she looking for? Did she wanted to be comforted, or did she just want someone to tell her that yes, it was her fault, and she needed to take responsibility for it? Dragain As much as she was trying not to give names, Lizzy could easily guess that 'the same ghoul' probably referred to Xiu... So does that make Demi and Roch the two boils then? She paused, trying to take in all the information, resisting the urge to chuckle; at least Xiu didn't try to use the 'a friend of mine' tactic! That would have just made it too obvious. However, since it was a Xiu-problem, it might be good to just... Give her the right questions to help her solve it herself. Probably. "What makes her think that it's her fault? Ah, and... Perhaps it might be good for the ghoul to try to figure out her own feelings?" She decided to play along for the time being, just in case. Pausing momentarily at the question to think, she then shook her head as she frowned lightly, "Personally? I don't think so... I mean, I value my friends enough to not grow cold towards them if we like the same boil." She had to stop herself from saying 'if they don't understand this, they're not ready to be in a relationship anyway'. Kaiyumi She was a little startled at the question, her brows knitting together as she struggled to find the right words. "W-well, I mean...if she never came along and ruined their friendship in the first place..." Xiu trailed off, biting down on her bottom lip. Shun's words came back--how it wasn't her fault, and how she shouldn't feel guilty for any of this. Was she maybe just grasping for reasons to blame herself? Ah, this was just...all so confusing!
Lizzy's words gave her a little bit of hope though, and Xiu turned widened eyes towards the demoness. "R-really? You...wouldn't blame the ghoul in this situation? Though I guess if a friend and I liked the same boil..." No, while she probably would have had internal struggles with her conscience in such a situation, she probably wouldn't be able to bring herself to grow cold towards her friend. Lizzy, Mitsu, Junko...She honestly couldn't see any of her friends doing this either. "...Maybe it's a...a boil thing?" Was that asked with a hint of hope in her voice? Maybe.
Picking up the robot pieces again, she worked at trying to build her derp-bot 2.0 model. "What do you think the ghoul should do if she wants both of these boils to be friends again?" Dragain "She came along to be their friend and nothing more," She pointed out with a nod followed by a small smile; unless the ghoul in question did it on purpose somehow, it was really something not within her control, "This is nobody's fault - not the ghoul, not the boils... However, the ghoul needs to make her feelings known to prevent all further heartache." She paused, frowning a little as she idly moved the pieces of robot together, as if hoping that it would magically come together on its own, "It might be a boil thing... Who knows? But still! If they were good friends before, they shouldn't let this rivalry ruin it." Pausing, her frown deepened slightly, "And don't they have this... Phrase... Uh, bro... Bros before... Hoes...?" She was pretty sure that was the phrase. "Well, what does the ghoul want to do?" She asked, blinking as she stopped fiddling with the robot parts. Kaiyumi Make her feelings known. Looking down, Xiu bit down on her bottom lip as she considered Lizzy's words. "...What if...this ghoul doesn't know how she feels? I-I mean, maybe...well, right now, she's just...confused. She didn't seem them as anything beyond friends before this though, but..." The rational part of her mind was telling her to stop making excuses--she was probably doing this just to avoid in inevitable confrontation. It wasn't as if it was a problem that would go away if she ignored it. It would continuously persist until she fixed it, and until then...
Her main intention had been to fix the friendship between Roch and Demi, but before that could happen, did she had be confront both of them about how she felt?
Lizzy's repeating of a rather well-known phrase startled a small laugh out of the Baku. She wasn't really sure what hoes were, but she did understand the general meaning of the sentence. "Yes, I've heard of that too." It was...kind of nice, she supposed? The fact that these boils had an unwritten law that meant cherishing their friendship over...a relationship? Wait, no, that didn't sound too nice, actually. Why couldn't it be bros and hoes, instead of over? Xiu didn't understand this strange slang.
Sighing at the demoness' question, Xiu absently screwed together two pieces of the robot. Backwards. "She just...doesn't want to hurt anyone." Dragain "I think how the ghoul feels is really important though," She nodded, looking thoughtful as she tapped a finger against her chin, "I mean... If the two boils cared about her that much, it must mean that they care about her feelings. Besides, if she wasn't interested in either of them, it would also be good to let them know so as to not lead them on..." She paused, her tone hesistant and her smile sheepish as she continued, "We're all still young. As much as we like to think we know what love in a relationship is, I don't think we really understand it yet." As much as she was attracted to Mac and wish to always be there for him and want him to be happy, she had never once told him the 'magical three words'... Yet. She would never hesitate to tell her mother that though, or a good friend. "Even despite Love Squad," She chuckled, raising a finger before letting her arms go limp again as she shook her head. At Xiu's last comment, her expression softened, "I'm sure she doesn't... But not making herself clear might just result in more pain in the future... Heartaches fade, Xiu, but friendship often stays." She was speaking from experience, after all. Kaiyumi In the future, when Xiu thought back to this particular situation, she would be surprised by all the advice that her friends had given her. They had all provided her with little bits of pieces and, slowly, the Baku finally began to get an idea about what she had to do. Of course, it wouldn't be easy, but it had to be done. As Lizzy had said, this situation could probably get worse if she didn't address everything early on. She just hoped that it didn't actually change any of their relationships too drastically--she did love Roch and Demi, but right now, the love that she felt for the pair was of the platonic, friendly kind.
She couldn't help but giggle slightly at the mention of the Love Squad, the small smile lighting up her face. The Love Squad was just a silly group formed by a few romantic ghouls, and she knew that it was mostly for fun. Though they did try to help relationships along...well, it was exactly that. They only helped them along. So far, the only couple they were intending to help was one that already seemed to have little sparks flying between them. "Love is complicated, hm?" That was why Xiu was certain that they would never try to pair up completely random people. They could give a little push, but never a shove.
Shaking her head, the smile on her face grew slightly more confident. "I...I understand. I, um...thank you for humouring me, Lizzy! I-I mean, my...theoretical story!" In the back of her mind, the Baku knew that Lizzy was sharp enough to have deduced what was going on (okay, so she had been kind of obvious too), but she was grateful anyways. Turning her attention back to her robot, Xiu immediately frowned.
"...I should have been paying more attention while I was trying to build this thing." Was that arm backwards? Dragain "Very complicated," She agreed with a nod before pulling the Baku into a hug, abandoning her little robot tool-kit for the time being; the robot was coming out terribly anyway... Failbot V2 might actually be even worse than its predecessor, the Failbot... Lizzy just couldn't get into the feel of building it, especially since she was distracted with Xiu's little tale. "Like I said, I always have time for you," She giggled, giving her a little squeeze before letting her go, her attention turning to the robot she had been building. A short pause followed as she examined it, her smile turning sheepish, "I don't think we're very good at... This." She gestured at Failbot V2 and the robot building kit box. Kaiyumi Smiling, Xiu returned the hug and nodded to show that she understood. "Thank you, Lizzy! Always listening to me blabber on about things." Sighing, she gave a little shake of her head before turning back to look at Lizzy's attempt at a Failbot V2.
...
"I-it's not that bad!" The Baku assured her quickly, before shoving Derp-bot 2.0 for inspection. "This on the other hand, is..." Terrible. It was terrible. Somehow, most of the pieces had been put together backwards or upside down, and the poor thing made a strange, clacking-whirring noise whenever Xiu tried to start it up and get it to move. Abandoning this attempt to get it to work, Xiu sighed and grabbed a screwdriver. "...Well, time to start over. It might take us a while, but...we can do it, Lizzy!" Dragain "You're too kind," She giggled softly, her expression turning sheepish as she looked from Derpbot 2.0 to Failbot V2; it was obvious that her robot was not turning out well. It had loose parts, and made a terrible noise - like a wheeze and a hacking sound - whenever she tried to turn it on... It was definitely not an improvement from her last attempt. Grabbing a screwdriver of her own, she nodded, flashing Xiu a thumbs up and a grin before getting to take her robot apart; it was going to be a long, long day.
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