"As for getting out, that's simple. The Understacks listen to your heart." Iwai breathed in and steeled herself. "You, more than anyone, need to understand this, Torioi."
You considered it merely a cryptic warning, as you guided everyone back topside. The stacks were almost alarmingly empty. Row after row of bookshelves passed you by, featureless. The air was quiet, and felt like it was watching you.
And there, at the edge of the Understacks, in the border between the Understacks proper, and Iwai's office, there was a table under a sunbeam, and a sliding door made from a very thin bookshelf.
It was a different table than the one from your memories of high school. It was a low table, painted just like you remembered it in your parents' house. It was the place where you and Ichigo would talk after hard days of study and afternoons of light training that your parents said were better for you than trying to do the training from hell you thought up for yourselves, or stole from manga.
Bone tired, you heaved a breath and sat, heavily, legs splayed, on one of the cushions, thinking yourself safe. Kazue followed you, putting her arms around you, careful of your burns.
For a long moment, that comfort was all that happened.
"... This would make things so much easier on both of us, wouldn't it?" Kazue said, at last. "If this was how I really was. … Sure, my mother would probably be, I don't know. Marrying you to one of my cousins, I guess. But that we could get so much closer, and stand closer together for the tribulations ahead-- I wish we could."
"... I wish I could, too," you said, with a heavy heart.
"I wish you could stay," Kazue said. "... You could, you know. You can live here."
The thought rammed into your heart. You could. You could stay here. The Understacks would bend over backwards, to provide your every need.
You could stay here, with Kazue, having adventures until your inheritance forever slipped out of your grasp, the college descended into fear of youkai, and even your parents' memory was entirely lost to you.
You could have. Sometimes, you wish you had.
It would have been so sweet. So fleeting, but so sweet.
But you balled your hands into fists, and winced as the burns and cuts made themselves known once more. "... I could. And I wish it were all true."
You sniffled, just a little. It was the first time since your parents died that you cried over another person. "But… But it's not."
"Please, just a little longer," Kazue begged you.
[Escape the Depths: 2+3+1+1 vs 10, 1 weak hit. You take 2 Stress as the thought of staying with Kazue in the stacks forever tempts you, shaking you to your core. Why did it tempt you?]
[Endure Stress 5+3 vs 1, 6 strong hit.]
"I can't." Your voice shook, but you said it anyway.
"Why not!?" Kazue asked.
"You know why," you said, slowly standing up. "You saw, right alongside me. Even… Even if I want to-- no, even though I want to, I can't abandon everyone else."
A feeling of isolation choked you. You let it. It would make your goals that much easier to obtain going forward.
[You embrace the darkness. +1 Momentum.]
"I'm sorry. I know," you said, petting her hair.
"No. You don't. You don't, and it hurts, and one day you'll know and it'll hurt you just as bad," Kazue spat.
"Probably. But would you really be happy if I was the kind of person who left everything half-done?" You gingerly walked towards the waiting Iwai, who nodded in gentle understanding.
The specific antidote Iwai had on hand was a powder that hissed and stung as it contacted the poison still on your skin.
You didn't write down anything else about it. But you remembered it well enough. The pain as you tried to keep still for Iwai. The lecture that escaped your mind entirely, turned to smoke and vapor by the time you got back to your apartment. The pain.
The pain was seared into your memory, and so was the humiliation of most of your clothes being ruined. You had to walk home in them; Iwai had none to spare.
Honestly, the entire thing was humiliating after the fact, even if, while in it, you had wanted a little bit of that desperation in your life.
Was this what Ichigo felt, the night he had to face that nekomata?
[Secure an Advantage: aid an ally, 1+2 vs 5,8 MISS. Lose 1 outfit. Take 1 Stress.]
FAILURES [⁑] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[Endure Stress 4+3 vs 5, 1 strong hit.]
But you highlight that entry anyway. It was humiliating to remember, but the fact was it contained a valuable lesson. One you didn't forget. One you won't forget.
Never again would you go in, completely unprepared for a Site. You let the lesson burn in as you entered your apartment and threw the holed tatters of your athletic shirt and spats into the trash.
[You embrace the darkness. +1 Momentum.]
But, even then, your burns reminded you that you had work to do.
[Heal, 5+2 vs 5, 1 STRONG HIT. +2 Body.]
Thankfully, after a moment to clean your burns, you realized they weren't nearly as bad as they first appeared-- or maybe the specific had leached enough of the poison out of your skin that it was already losing its swollen look.
Either way, a moment with some isopropyl, painkillers, and a few meters of gauze bandaging soon had the worst of it under control, though you winced every step of the way.
You had, so far as you were concerned, one major advantage over everyone you were working against so far: no one knew what the fuck you were up to, yet.
But who knew how long that luck would hold? Rumors would surely start circulating the campus at this rate, and anyone who knew about the Understacks might be able to put two and two together. You suspected that, despite Iwai's warnings, that was all too many people.
And there you were again, in the bathroom mirror. 148 cm. Black hair. Black eyes. Unremarkable. A stepping stone to your childhood friend, or for him.
The thoughts made you burn worse than the poison did.
Still Saturday, the 29th. You remembered at the time that this coming week was Golden Week. You mention as much to Ichigo, over the dinner you made.
[Take A Rest: 4+5 vs 8, 8 STRONG HIT, MATCH]
Ichigo nodded. "Oh, hey, yeah. I don't think we can go far, because of our budget, but Dad sent over a few things to take up the time on our days off."
He reached into his desk, and put them on the table-- a veritable pile of shrine visits, a trip to the local aquarium, a famous park, train tickets to one of the national treasures, a visit to an old-fashioned inn. "I don't think we can get to all of them, but at least we can try to get to some of them."
"Mm." You nod. "That will take some thought. Are they just passes, or genuine reservations?"
"Most of them are just coupons, really." The air got thicker, more oppressive, as the both of you looked at the week ahead. Maybe he didn't know it, but it sure felt like neither of you would be having much fun. "And hey, maybe you can tell me how you got those injuries."
You felt your eye twitch. "Only when you tell me why you were attacked. And why you stole my mail."
Ichigo looked nervous for a second. "Listen. I-- I don't know what's going on with that. Really. And maybe you can tell me why you're slacking off on judo? You know it's going to bring down the hammer--"
"Did you even get in the club, Ichigo!?" you found yourself retorting. "They're going to be watching us either way, at least I was there every meeting--"
"And they're starting to call you 'Torioi Mozu' because of it," Ichigo said. You winced. Bird-chasing shrike, huh. "I'm not-- I'm not dumb, I know you. Or at least I like to think I do. You tried to investigate, didn't you?"
"What else can I do? Your parents told me to keep you safe, and in case you forgot, I--"
"-- This goes so much deeper than you think, Mei! I--" Ichigo looks pained, conflicted for a moment. "Look, I just want you to stay safe, all right?"
Suddenly, the picture cleared.
[Test Your Bond, 5+3 vs 6, 2 strong hit]
"You don't know. You didn't read the letter. Your parents haven't told you anything."
"Of course I didn't! Of course they don't! When was the last time they gave us anything but an order?"
You paused, smiled, and slapped the table, pointing at him. "Let's take your dad up on at least one of those offers. I'll explain in transit. But long story short, I think we're both in the same cookpot, and the only way we're getting out is together."
Ichigo looked… Entirely nonplussed. "If I have to… But let's spend some time apart. Make it look like we're fighting."
That's… That's actually such a good idea you wish you had thought of it. It's shit like this that made you still friends. You took his hand in both of yours. "Excellent! Pick-- Pick a friend of yours, and I'll pick a friend of mine, and we'll both go somewhere. Heck, we have enough coupons, make it two places! And then-- And then I guess we make up before the end of the week and do something supposedly romantic?"
"Uh, sure?" Ichigo didn't seem quite sure what to make of your enthusiasm.
"Great! Uh--" You paused. "What would be best for that, do you think? We can look at the rest after that."
"... Probably the inn visit…" Ichigo said, with a disappointed sigh.
You couldn't blame him.
[You gain 3 Spirit and 2 Body from your brief fight with Ichigo, that had threatened to split you permanently with distrust.]
[Body: 4/5]
[Spirit: 5/5]
[Supply: 5/5]
[Momentum: +4]
[You feel your bond with Ichigo, which had was stressed nearly to the breaking point, deepened, just a bit.]
BOND: KANEKO ICHIGO
[X]
VOTE TIME:
Where should we go during Golden Week, aside from the inn?
[] [TRIP] The Aquarium.
[] [TRIP] The mountain shrine.
[] [TRIP] The historical site.
[] [TRIP] the movie studio tour.
[] [TRIP] the famous national park.
We'll be headed into the wilds for a few days for a Judo Club retreat. Who will we tent with? Regardless of what we choose, this has a chance to clear our Complacency.
[] [JUDO] Some pink-haired delinquent with a bunch of kawaii-punk accessories.
[] [JUDO] A brunette medicine major who, for some reason, brought a push-broom to the mountains.
[] [JUDO] A former miko who has hundreds of tales about weird shrine visitors.
[] [JUDO] A blue-haired girl who seems awfully familiar somehow.
[] [JUDO] Attempt to ditch the retreat.
Should we swear a Vow to learn from Iwai Kanna?
[] [VOW] Yes.
-[] It's probably the only way we'll do it consistently enough to get us there in a reasonable amount of time.
-[] It's a good way to figure out what makes Iwai-sensei tick.
-[] We have to figure out what the deal with Kazue is.
[] [VOW] No.
-[] We already had one close call in the Understacks, and that was the place playing softball. We can't afford another fuckup like that.
-[] We can't afford to keep going back to the Understacks. Kazue scares us.
-[] If anything, we should be learning archery or making things right in the Judo Club.
Should we take a Delve this week? If so, where, and what will we look for?
[] [DELVE] This is an all write-in category. You may only suggest Delves to sites we have discovered.
Vote opens at noon and ends 1800 PDT Tuesday.
