Description: Hotaru once offered to take Shurui in, should K' ever need to run again; and now, the occasion has arisen. But in taking Shurui to Hotaru personally, he finds himself leaving behind more than just one person.
An actual call to warn of an arriving guest? That's a far cry from someone breaking the door down hours after she had gone to bed, or sneaking in a window under the cover of darkness, or showing up at her door at midnight wanting to talk about Jiro Kasagi's whereabouts. That someone actually gave advanced notice for once is an unexpected change of pace!
She had made an offer of sanctuary for a mutual friend, and now she's being taken up on her offer. The call had been brief, succinct. It's about how she expected K' to be on the phone. The impersonal contact a phone call allows lets him end the conversation more abruptly than he might be able to in person. But she knows what the underlying implications are. She had told him that if he needed to go away, Shurui Chiang could stay at her place for a while until she got situated somehow. Since that is about to happen, it means he has to go, no longer able to call Southtown home. At least at the moment.
With the sun already sunk beyond the horizon, the entire western hemisphere is a deep, gradually darkening violet. The property is lit up with floodlights situated throughout the yard and near the two buildings themselves. A porch light is on next to the newly installed doors and a second light is on out by the street next to an a gate left open. Beyond the gate is a footpath that eventually circles a running fountain before approaching the front door itself.
A few lingering patches of snow are scattered across the yard - what little snow hasn't melted yet from a passing winter storm earlier in the week. Hotaru is standing outside herself in a knee length skirt, warm jacket, and scarf wrapped around her neck as she waits from the front door porch proper, her expression a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. Behind her the entire house is lit up, every curtain drawn back and indoor lighting turned on, all in an effort to make the mostly empty estate look as welcoming as possible in such short notice.
Of course, whether or not K' thought to tell Hotaru of Shurui's condition would make these next few minutes awkward as hell or... well, extremely awkward as hell. Either way, Shurui is coming. Even in her sleep-deprived and pained state, the girl seems determined to find Hotaru, pressing on to the subway, to the nearest stop, and down the streets like some stubborn zombie.
And she's beginning to look the part. Red-rimmed eyes and slow, ungraceful moments betray a critical lack of sleep. Raw skin from scratching for phantom burns. An overall strangeness to her body and its actions. She could be a zombie, but, in those tired brown eyes, it's clear that it's Shurui behind them and not some spector of the undead. Just a tired girl, when you come down to it.
The rest of the picture is a dreadful spectacle reserved for the very people Shurui is trying to avoid.
"..." Perhaps, if Hotaru had ever noticed the girl's talent for recongizing and sensing people from afar, she may be surprised that Shurui seems oblivious to her own appearance at first, as she comes up the path. "... Hotaru?" She squints, moving more closely. The smell of snow, mud and concrete comes off her as she nears abnormally close, overcompensating for her current inability to see. ".... It's you. Did you wait long." She sits on the porch with a tired slump, shaking the snow from her grey hair. "... Not sure if K' told you everything."
Did K' tell you everything? A viable question. But in the midst of this K'-orchestrated exchange, one might more saliently wonder: where the hell -is- K'?
The young man is normally pretty punctual-- a habit long since ingrained in him by his training in a profession where timing is everything. That he isn't here where he said he would be, when he said he would be, is a bit worrying. Eyes might strain towards the gate, waiting for a familiar lean figure to come down the path, but no one else enters after Shurui. Did he get caught? Has he already been killed?
--or did he just decide to jump clear -over- a wall that would have barred just about 99.9% of the rest of the human population?
Turns out it's the latter... though to be fair, K' needed the help of a nearby tree to get the height necessary to clear those menacing iron points. Why the theatric entrance? Because it's just patently stupid for K', now that he's wanted, to go around using people's front gates. It would only take the watchful eyes of one person to see him going in Hotaru's front door for the connection to be made, and the last thing K' wants is for people to know that the Futaba estate was one of his last stops before he left town.
If K' were stupid enough to be that brazen, -after- Geese had already half-killed him for lack of subtlety, Howard would personally come out and punch him again just on principle.
The only sound that announces his presence is the quiet sound of him stepping up onto the porch after rounding the corner: the result being that he seems to materialize straight out of nowhere. "Know it was kinda short notice," he tells Hotaru shortly, the statement about as close to an apology as K' will ever get, before he shuts up and surveys Shurui with narrowed eyes. Under the light, she just looks even worse.
Hugging herself to keep off a degree of the cold that's content to settle in now that the sun has retreated, Hotaru paces now and then aross her porch. The home has a strangely European architecture to it. A facination of her fathers, the girl came to realize once she got old enough to discern between different cultures and their typical building construction. Azure eyes scan the walkway. She's tempted to walk out to the gate and wait there, but with night setting in, she prefers to stay close to her front door, still suffering levels of paranoia brought on by the night she can barely remember yet will never forget.
Eventually her expected company approaches. She's met Shurui a couple times now, but neither of those encounters prepared her for the sight of the girl approaching her now. Eyes narrowing, wondering if at first the sleep deprived eyes, the red skin scratched raw, the slow stagger are just tricks of the night; perhaps no more than shadows playing across the girl's features from the floodlights. But as Shurui gets closer, Hotaru is forced to accept that it really is her condition. "Oh... Shurui," she blinks, eyes widening as her inspection finishes.
The girl reaches out as Shurui draws abnormally near, resting a hand on her shoulder until she slumps to the porch to take a seat. Still standing, the heiress takes a step back, resting her hand at the door handle. "Come on, you should get inside." 'What happened?' The question is at the tip of her tongue, but she refrains from asking just yet. "It's cold out here." She pushes the heavy door open - carved oak, with a layer of steel beneath the wood to reinforce it - swings easily on well oiled hinges. "Hm? Not much. Enough to know that you need a place to stay."
She slips her scarf from off her neck with a quick unwind and drapes it over the other girl's shoulders as she crouches down next to her. She glances up along the foot path, back out toward the road. Should she even expect K'? If what she thinks has happened is true, he might have already left Southtown all together. A long stare across the fountain toward the street almost leaves her forgetting her immediate goal of getting Shurui inside.
K' steps onto the porch from the side Hotaru. Her attention on the walkway, she hadn't so much as noticed his approach or detected it in the slightest. The noise provokes a startled gasp, "Ah!", as she whirls around to face K', standing back up in the process. "O-oh, sorry," she stammers, right hand lifting to rest just below the base of her neck. "Didn't mean to be so jumpy," she apologizes further, cheeks reddening just slightly. Nightmares of Yamazaki's visit have made it hard to put that harrowing night behind her even now.
Her attention shifts from K' to Shurui then back to the young man, "Can you come inside? She shouldn't be out here any longer..."
It's one thing to feel that you are sick or in pain- but it's an entirely different experience to see someone react to how you look from it. "I look that bad, huh..." Shurui loosely notes upon seeing Hotaru's expression. Sitting on the porch, she doesn't realize Hotaru's movement until the scarf is already around her shoulders, still charged with Hotaru's own warmth. "Nnh. Didn't have to do that.... I'm fine. Got a coat. Just let me sit here..." She closes her eyes then, seeming to enjoy the cooling winter air against her face.
The explanation comes a bit later. "These are all phantom things," Shurui says, as if to answer Hotaru's inner questions. "No one attacked me physically. Need someone to watch me who isn't a psychic, though. Can't sleep, so my judgment and defense's getting bad..." She frowns, closely examining at the pig-tailed girl as K', unbeknownst to her, makes his silent appearance. "Are you really willing to put up with me right now...?" And yet, she has no guarantee that this won't pass onto Hotaru. Going across town to Hotaru's confirmed the fact that, while the psychic haze that plagued Southtown had receeded, the presence has stablized itself, making itself manifest in a new way.
.... Could it be a danger to people like K' and Hotaru now...?
The resulting gasp drawn from K''s sudden manifestation draws a paranoid jerk from Shurui. "... Hotaru?!" The sharp, almost instinctively protection lunging position she begins to take fades after Hotaru notes K''s presence, causing her to settle back into her sitting position. "Just because you're on the run doesn't mean you gotten scare the shit out of us." The flushed cheeks fade, the momentary spike in soberity sinking back into a fuzzy pool of languid motions. Protective? Perhaps. It could easily be the the syndicate right there, bringing K''s fears to life before he even had a chance to do something about it. Unable to think, Shurui simply found herself focusing on charging in instead of, perhaps, running away.
It helps that Hotaru made an impression on her, last time they met.
They should get inside, now that K''s here. Shurui casts a tired eye to K' and Hotaru, then, shakes her head. "... If we should get inside, it should be for K''s sake." She shakily gets up, pressing a hand against a present banister for balance. "No one's after me."
True to his nature, K' just grins a little at the reaction his entrance gets, the expression dismissing Hotaru's apologies. Shurui's scolding actually pulls an amused chuckle out of him; obnoxiously, he pushes a hand into her hair as he steps past her towards the door, a rough but not ungentle ruffle doubtless upsetting her composure. "If neither of you saw me coming," he replies shortly thereafter, his eyes flicking past them to scan the gathering night around them, "it's a good chance nobody else did."
Whatever playful mood might have infected him soon drains away into his usual frowning tenseness. The mood was more manic than it was genuinely congenial, after all... a result of adrenaline from the feeling of being on the run again. A glance towards Shurui, and then towards Hotaru, and he lets himself in without actually waiting for the latter's okay.
"Not gonna stay long anyway," he's already saying, even as he vanishes inside and circles around to a spot where he won't be seen through windows. "Got a couple last errands to run. Then I'm leaving." He doesn't mention Whip, and the tone of his voice seems oddly frosted. There's a distinct hole in his conversation where his sister should be, and a definite sense that attempting to question it might not yield the most desirable results.
"W-well," Hotaru stammers, when Shurui challenges her with regards to how bad she looks. "It's not that bad," she musters, a faint trace of a smile at the corner of her lips. She sounds sincere, but Shurui might have little trouble perceiving the concern she harbors. But she otherwise leaves Shurui alone after draping the scarf over her neck, content to listen quietly. Unfortunately, her explanations don't do much to asuage the Futaba girl's worry. It sounds crazy. Phantom things? Someone's attacked her? Can't sleep? "Yes..." she declares firmly when asked if she's willing to put up with whatever it is that haunts the girl right now.
She grins faintly as Shurui chews K' out for startling them both, but she immediately understands his need to move about so before he even explains it. Shurui's words as Hotaru ushers the two inside confirm what she was worried about. K' is on the run just like he warned her could happen. A slight nod acknowledges that she understands his worry about being seen, and in spite herself, she can't help but glance back toward the street across the estate's yard.
The girl turns to close the door behind them once everyone is inside, turning several dead bolts. A security system panel across the lobby goes untouched for now. She'll turn the newly installed security on once K' has left. The entry lobby has been largely refurbished from the last time K' would have seen it painted with Hotaru's blood. New tapestries, new crystaline tables, figures, plants, paintings, vases, carvings...
That the destroyed decorations could be so quickly replaced is evidence of the money that must exist within her inheretance. An in-wall aquarium occupies the back side of the entryway, and two winding, wooden stairways circle up from the sides to the second floor landing above. Recessed lighting is being installed in the ceiling two floors above them, but the exposed wires and a few unpainted switches suggest that that project hasn't been completed yet.
Compared to the outside, the interior is warm, the lighting comfortable, with small lamps on the tables and a few dimmed lights overhead. Hotaru slips off her coat, reaching up to rest it on the hook of a wooden coat hook stand to the side of the door, before turning to look over K' first, then Shurui. "You're welcome to stay here, Shurui." the girl declares, reaffirming her earlier assertion. "We'll find out what's going on with you." she continues with a soft smile, more certain of that now.
She glances to the left of the entryway toward a set of double doors before gesturing in that direction. "If you would like, I had Miss Tanaka heat up some hot chocolate as soon as I found out you were coming." Her expression warms further, "It should be ready now." She turns to K' then, looking up to the young man, her smile melting some. She doesn't even realize she's holding her breath for a couple of seconds before she finally finds the wherewithall to speak again.
"Are you sure you have to go?" His mind seems decided, it's futile to hope otherwise. "You could hide here for a while? Until things calmed down?" She folds her hands together in front of her, "Do you know where you're going to go yet? Do you need money? I-I- mean," she stammers, realizing that she's pestering him with a lot of questions, "If there's anything I can do to help..."
"If it makes you feel better, I've been worse. I deal." Shurui's explanations are vague, though not intentionally. She doesn't know much about what happened herself, and this, coupled with the constant need and inability to sleep, makes her wording... less than clear. Her wounds are phantom things. Ghosts. Things that are felt and seem to be there, but physically aren't. Looking at her, even in her state, it would be hard to imagine that the girl is recovering from excessive acid burns and blunt tramua.
Her skin is intact, with no bruising. Phantom things.
"Nngh!" protests the Shurui as K' playfully presses his fingers through her hair, a hand shooting up to inspect-feel the damage. As annoying as it can be, it's also reassuring. As serious as the situation is, K' is the same: obnoxious, selfish, stubborn, protective, and, well, mischevious. Shurui can only hope he keeps these qualities, as negative as they are, instead of forgoeing them in a need to streamline his chances of survival. It'd make this all for nothing. "If I had my sight I'd see you in an instant," she grumbles, pressing into Hotaru's not-so-humble abode.
"....." Not that it's something up to Hotaru. The fuzzy vision only enhances the perfection of estate while failing to disclose details; Shurui seems overwhelmed, her mouth hanging slightly open in speechless wonder. ".... y-..... you sure this is okay..." Being among wealth makes Shurui suspucious that she's in a place she doesn't belong, though not because of any notion of a low opinion of herself.
It's just foreign to her. Focusing her mind back to K' and Hotaru, Shurui rubs her eyes. She opens her mouth to say something, but stays silent, hanging her head slightly. It's K's choice to answer, if at all. She understood in a fuzzy sort of way, even if she's sure she'd cry later, but Hotaru? It's easy to not want to let go of someone when you want so badly to help. Perhaps, with Hotaru's wealth, she could, but against someone as powerful as Geese seems to be? For K' to be alive and well, just far away... how bad could that be?
Shurui squints her eyes, rubbing some remnants of tears behind the sleeve.
K' glances over his shoulder, watching intently as several deadbolts are thrown behind them. Though he doesn't react outwardly, the way his eyes linger on each thrown lock indicates well enough that the heavy security reassures him. Unlike Shurui, he doesn't even seem to notice Hotaru's obvious wealth. Were he a different sort of person, he might have been jealous, coveting this kind of life... but on the run as he is, practical as he is, the affluence around him doesn't seem to touch him at all.
He looks at other things. Like the security panel across the way. Remembering the likely reason she's getting all this new security installed, he frowns to himself. "It's fine," he replies Shurui's uncertainties automatically, not quite noticing if he's answering when Hotaru should be speaking. "You should get some rest now you got a safe place to be." Glancing over, he notices the girl still standing awkwardly. "Sit down at least."
The young man then fails to follow his own advice. Pacing about a bit restlessly, wandering a little ways away as he surveys his surroundings and makes sure no one is watching from outside, he seems to stop paying attention to the two girls as Hotaru offers Shurui a little hot chocolate. It's not until he's addressed again that he glances around, the movement sharp: as if he had been startled out of some burdening thoughts.
His gaze catches hers and holds it, searching the hopeful look in her eyes with a distinct intensity. He's quiet a moment, as he usually is before he speaks. "If I stay here," he eventually replies, turning to walk back towards the girl, "my life and the life of everybody I know is in danger." He stops a few steps away, looking down at her. "If it were just me in trouble, I might've run the risk. Since it's not..." A shoulder lifts in a shrug.
His expression darkens visibly as he's asked where he's going to go. The question reminded him of Whip. "Everything's arranged," he answers tersely, the words bitten off. He seems to realize belatedly the sharpness of his voice; when he speaks again, his tone is throttled back to something a little less harsh. A hint of his original amused wryness might almost be audible in his voice when he asks sardonically, "What, you want me to stick around? That's a definite first..."
As Shurui insists that she's been worse off before, Hotaru doesn't seem too comforted by it. She's going to need to find out more of what is ailing the girl once the dust has settled and she's gotten her situated. "Do you have any belongings you need to have brought here?" she asks, her mind considering what needs to be done to help her new guest feel comfortable in this home of hers. "If not, we can get you some clothes," she promises, her tone her best effort at being comforting. All this must be so confusing to the girl. K' about to leave with no idea when he would be seen again... Her world turned upside down so quickly like this...
But Hotaru remembers what she told the hunted man in the alleyway - even if something is going to be taken away eventually, that doesn't diminish what it means while it can be enjoyed. Shurui is better for the time spent under his protection than she would be otherwise, even if he needs to hand her off now. Of that the Futaba girl is certain. "I had a bedroom prepared for you upstairs. It's right next to mine." she continues, a hand coming up to rest at the back of her neck, "I hope you don't mind the furnishings. It's a touch formal." Though comfort shouldn't be an issue. The beds are tall and soft, with expensive, thick rugs over the wooden bedroom floors, and the attached bathroom suggests that it was a guest room all along.
She nods toward the closed dinning room doors, "If you want something to drink before you go to bed, Miss Tanaka's hot chocolate is the best. Otherwise, I can show you where your room is." She waves her hand toward a pair of chairs in the back of the lobby, "Unless you'd just like to sit down for a little while to catch your breath... it's safe here..." Her voice fades out, the thought of Shurui's accommodations fading from her foremost thoughts as K' draws near again.
Turning around to face him, the teenaged martial artist nods her head slightly. Though hopeful, she's also understanding of what he's talking about. The burden on his shoulders - the threat of staying and endangering others - keeps him from lingering like she would like. "I know..." the girl murmurs as he looks down at her from a couple steps away. "You're doing the right thing." she affirms, looking up to meet his gaze, her tone making it clear how reluctant she is to admit that.
She notices the shift in expression, the declaration that things have been arranged, with no further details provided. Perhaps he doesn't want anyone to know for their protection. Perhaps he's just being paranoid. Or maybe there's something about these arrangements that he's uncomfortable expressing out loud. Her uneasy pondering is cut short as he shifts his tone and speaks up again, a hint of amusement working its way back into his tone. "O-oh," the azure eyed girl blinks, "Well, yeah, I mean," she kneads her fingers together, breaking eye contact to glance off to the side, eyes coming to rest on the aquarium. "So you could know Shurui was doing all right and, you know, relax a little before you have to leave - if you wanted to, another room could be made ready. I don't think anyone would know you were here," she continues, moving to the other side now as she draws the drapes over the windows to the lobby closed as she continues to talk quickly.
"We could fix up some food to take with you. You shouldn't go off without a good meal. Are you sure you don't need anything?" she asks, turning away from the now closed curtains, "I mean, I know you know how to take care of yourself..."
If Shurui's world is getting turned upsidedown right now, it wouldn't be the first time. Hotaru provides a soft touch to what's been overall a rocky week for all companies involved in Geese's visit to the apartment, whether directly or indirectly. If anything, Shurui's too scared to think Hotaru will just keep taking her in once the worst of her particular situation comes to light. Better to keep asking if it's alright, than to keep your hopes up, no matter how much you find yourself respectful of the person.
"There are some clothes at the apartment...." Shurui starts, then drifts off. "Probably still there, just'd be hard to find them. Some at my dorm too, just don't wanna go there immediately..." She *could* go ask one of her friends to go get some, but the only female friend she knows is Stasya, and the others.... well, she certainly can't ask Kenji! "... I'll be fine with whatever, really..." A yawn escapes her lips.
All the signs of needing sleep are there. And yet, Shurui seems reluctant to go to sleep, even in such safe conditions. ".... 'fraid it's not that easy. Told you... can't sleep." 'It won't let me' stirs on the edge of Shurui's tongue, but stops there. No, best not to give K' any more reasons to regret his leaving them. "... I'd just wake right back up the second I fall asleep. .... 'll need some medication," she finally says. "... Don't feel rested when I get up, but keeps my mind clear enough."
Sit down, she does, at least, slumping into a nearby chair with little grace but with much relief. Now, her eyes go towards K' and Hotaru, a sly smile coming to her lips. "... What, you think we're that eager to get rid of you...? Heh." She shakes her head, silencing herself as she realizes the sharp tone in his voice just moments earlier. Where's he going? ..... No, she can't ask. Knowing it would risk it leaking out later. Instead, she looks at Hotaru silently, then to K'.
It's his move now. To go or to stay. When and where. How.
K' is silent for a long time as he slowly absorbs just how hopeful Hotaru is that he'll remain. He can't say as he isn't momentarily tempted. The girl had always been accepting of him, even from the start when they met at the YFCC. Where others had avoided him, she had treated him as just another person. The effect she had on him, those long months ago, was like the first bits of kindness extended to a feral animal: it earned his loyalty. And yet-- that is the reason he can't stay.
He starts to walk back towards Hotaru, even as she questions him and his decisions. Though his pace is slow, it makes long strides; within moments he's back in her space, leaning over her to corner her, grasping her shoulder to turn her and force her back-first to the wall beside her window. He pins her there. His motions are rough, his eyes narrowed in a distinct, frowning intensity as he studies her from uncomfortably close with his typical asocial lack of grace. Though he forces her easily, his actions all balanced right on the edge of painful, there is a precise and exact control underlying his actions which ensures that-- for all his roughness-- he never once crosses that line that would lead to leaving so much as a bruise.
His expression retains that same frowning, implacable coldness. K' stares at her the way most normal people glare at unsolveable puzzles. It's impossible to tell from his face if she may have finally tested his patience too far. If she might have finally asked too many questions. If she's finally done what she's always feared, and somehow offended the moody young man. His voice, when he leans down slightly to talk, isn't much more promising. "I -told- you," he tells her lowly, now entirely too close, his heat weighing his words in oppressive emphasis, "everything is arranged."
Being this close to K' is not unlike standing in the shadow of an open furnace. From far away he looks cold enough, icily removed, but those standing close find themselves unable to notice anything but the overwhelming heat of him. It makes it hard to think. "I don't -need- anything," he finishes, his breathing rasping her skin; but something about the phrase seems to touch on a deeply-hidden wellspring of anger within him. His expression darkens visibly, his grasp on Hotaru's shoulder nearing painful in an impulsive twitch.
There's no warning before he leans down, in an oddly-knowing way, and presses a crushing kiss on her: a devouring, hungry thing comprised entirely of unfocused passion. Suddenly, there is nothing to be perceived save searing heat. In its character, the gesture is exactly as one might expect from a creature like K': imprecise, violent, and harsh. It's as surprising and shocking as a wound that goes unfelt until you see the blood. It demands of its recipient, and what it's not given it has no compunctions about taking.
It's also quick. K' breaks away after a mere few moments, still way too close; his exhale afterwards grazes heatedly along the line of her jaw. In one gesture, K' conclusively proved wrong his insistences he doesn't need a thing... and he goes on to prove it wrong even more when he admits to needing one more thing: needing to tell her this. "Thank you."
For what? For taking Shurui for him? For being one of the first people to show him any kindness? For being an example of overcoming temptation and attaining control: an example which he's hung onto when his own power seemed uncontainable? For believing in his humanity and his worth? His ability to stop being the nothing he was told he'd always be? For wanting him to stay, even now? He doesn't specify, and it doesn't seem likely he ever will. He just pulls back abruptly, letting her go with the same force he'd seized her. Once his heat withdraws, the cold suddenly comes flooding back in.
"You've already done enough." He's already walking towards the door.
She lingers by the newly closed curtains for a long moment, right hand gripping the soft, opaque fabric. Reluctant to turn around and face the rejection of her hopeful thoughts and offers; even the optimist's spirit can only take so much. Her fingers close around the drape, reminded of the countless hours she spent at this window as a younger girl, staring out at the walkway with the vain hope that she would spot her brother or father returning home at last.
Of course, it was different then. Then she thought the problem was her - that they had left because she was the problem; too weak, too needy, too dependant, and the very fear of that fact drove her to excel, to push herself so very hard, to advance her career and life as a martial artist anyone could be proud of. It wasn't just about being strong, it was about proving something to the world, to her brother, to her father that she was worthy of their affection once again. It took years of maturing and a harrowing brush with the truth behind her childhood rose-colored memories to see the truth for what it was and accept that their abandonment was not her fault.
This time she has the confidence to feel K' isn't being driven away because of anything she had done. That degree of insecurity had been conquered two summers ago. No... there were simply events in progress that neither of them to stop. She's aware of his approach; the sound of his footsteps and the shape of the shadow his taller figure casts over her as he draws near. She'll have to turn and face him, to hear him declare the inevitable denial in the end. She can't help but to try and stall further, "M-maybe we could-" Again with the 'we'; that inclusive pronoun, that premise of working this out together somehow.
She gets no further before she feels the pressure of his grip at her shoulder and finds herself turned, her back against the wall. She's surprised to realize how close he is, but not nearly so much as she is startled by his decision to force her there. She puts up token resistance as if intending to shrug him off and slip away. But his hold is firm and she doesn't actually seem committed enough to try and force herself free.
The mind can conjure so many ideas during the space between heartbeats when stimulated so, and hers is no exception. She's upset him. He doesn't want to go and she keeps acting like he shouldn't, making it harder to do what he has to do. Maybe she's pushed too far into his business - moving in past that arm's length he has kept most people. The thought that he's going to hurt her is considered fleetingly, the idea too opposed to every other time they had interacted before now. Intense, but not needlessly violent to her.
Still, it troubles her to have upset him so. A perceptive, empathetic girl, she always worked hard to navigate the minefield of the issues with the NESTS experiment. She could understand because she had her own sensitive topics - areas of her life that harbored nothing but pain, regret, or loss whenever they were touched upon. Even Kentou, her apprentice and probably the one person she spends the most time with in all the world, knows only bits and pieces of his teacher's story. But perhaps she mis-stepped somewhere along the line, read a cue wrong, pushed too hard.
The heat of his presence is powerful in close; a constant reminder of the fire that burns within. Even controlled, its power radiates that intensity she had always come to associate with the young man. Nothing was ever mellow or relaxed with him, his attitudes about things that mattered to him never approached with anything less than aggression. That's the side of him she had always seen - looking beyond his cool distance to find the kindred soul beneath. He reiterates his terms; that things have been arranged, plans she doesn't need to know about, and this time she nods just slightly, making it clear that she understands.
He doesn't need anything, he asserts; his tone suggesting anger at the declaration, his grip tightening. Maybe she misread him more than she thought. Maybe she was wrong. A gladiator in the arena, where her martial prowess was irrefutable, Hotaru looks vulnerable now, just shy of shrinking back against the wall. She needs to explain, to make things right again. And to that end she opens her mouth, hoping the right words to say find their way to her lips. She just wants-
His face meets hers. No words need to be said. This is what she wanted. To feel what it is like to connect with another so like her without all those barriers in the way. To feel the touch of one as passionate about life as she is. A fellow survivor in a cruel world. Shocked at the kiss, Hotaru resists for the tick of the second hand before surrendering herself to it. Where his gesture demands and takes without asking, hers offers and gives willingly, the tension he'd feel in her gripped shoulder bleeding out quickly as she responds readily to that harshness of his contact. The acuteness of his heat at this range rests at the edge of being painful, even crossing just over. It feels both dangerous and intoxicating at once. It invites her to taste more while promising untold risk. If only she could make this moment last.
Her right arm lifts without conscious thought, reaching for the cheek of K'. Strong enough to slam many fighters clean off their feet, yet delicate in their touch, finger tips brushing lightly against his warm skin as he breaks away. Still close; close enough to see the shimmer in the girl's eyes, he utters that admission of thanks, and she stares back silently. Her cheeks flush red as the magnitude of what just transpired sinks in. Her first gasp of breath, soft yet heated by that contact with the flame wielder, is easily felt against the sensitive skin of his throat. The right words to say escape her; a slight tremble coursing through her body as if adjusting to the sudden loss of heat.
A loss punctuated further as K' withdraws, already turning for the door, declaring that she's done enough already. Her right hand, still raised, extends as she pushes herself from off the wall, her left hand, closed, resting at the base of her neck. She wants to ask him to stop; to not leave, to not walk out that door and vanish like two others have before him. But she knows she can't ask that of him. It isn't what he needs to do right now. "Don't." she finds her voice at last, almost surprised to hear it again.
"Don't disappear forever."
The atmosphere feels utterly alien to her; for someone seemingly spawned from the soil of Chinatown like Athena springing forth from Zeus's head, to be amongst such luxuary makes that far more tactical side of her mind wonder how much each piece in itself could cost, if pawned at the right shop. It's not as if Shurui would ever steal from Hotaru, but more than such rare objects' value have been translated to such crude numbers by old habits that refuse to die. In the end, she fails to place a price tag on them, making the object seem to be something that could overwhelm her with its importance and riches. ... She'll quickly get used to it, most likely. Far more pervasive than any of this is Hotaru's spirit and giving heart, turning the place into a loving sactuary rather than a random mansion. There's hot cocoa brewing somewhere, the smell and feel of a shawl around her shoulders, and the very idea that she, with all her current burdens and worries, is welcome here.
K''s intense words bring Shurui back from her idle thoughts, causing her to stand up as she notices the black form advancing towards the moving blur that is Hotaru. She does nothing at first, expecting his movement to simply be another product of his usual intense demeanor. And yet, when he lays his hands on her and pushes her against the wall, an alarmed expression is coaxed from Shurui's tired face.
It's not as if Shurui's loyalty is for nothing, or that she distrusts him for who he is. K', for all the times that she's seen him stumbling from his bed, for all the times she's grumbled and poked and prodded him, for all the odd moments of calm and connecting thoughts... K' is a dangerous person. There's no denying it, and Shurui only pushed where she knew she could. If he were to turn on her, there would be no stopping him. Yet despite this, she valued him as a irreplaceable person, a young man who, whether intentionally or not, gave her some key things he never had himself. For that, she's loyal.
Loyal enough to be scared that he'll make the wrong choice. All the girl can think is that K' is determined to make Hotaru hate him, in order to make this transition easier for her. A selfless act, perhaps, as he would lose an ally for no equal gain save less worrying for him, but a stupid one, in Shurui's eyes. ".... K'..." she says, testing the air as she stops towards him...
... just as he goes in for a kiss.
"...!" It's blurry, in Shurui's eyes, but the sheer passionate force says enough for Shurui to draw that could be an unlikely conclusion in any other situation. She stops, dumbfounded, an odd blush coming to her cheeks. Yes, it's her psuedo-brother doing the act, a person Shurui feels a specifically sisterly love for, but the utter rareness of the occasion makes her stand back and and take notice.
If Hotaru were to protest at all, Shurui would have intervened for the sake of both involved, despite the initial danger. But Hotaru takes K''s touch for what it is, even when it was offered for what was in reality a brief few moments in time. And when it's over, Shurui is left there standing. Something urges her to run to him and hug him, just like before, but a few steps in, she stops herself, giving a simple, solemn nod to the leaving young man. "When this is over... I'll join the tournaments. That way, you can see me and know I'm okay." Howard owns the SNF, true, but it wouldn't be a worry unless he knew her connection to K'. And then, his program will ironically relay a message.
Tears begin stirring in her eyes despite her calm to this point, the realization that she may never see him again sinking in. Shaking, she manages to open her mouth for one last message, vague yet staying close to a concept so important to her: "Don't forget."
It soon becomes clear K''s beeline for the door was just a maneuver to gain space. He stops again long before he gets anywhere near turning the handle, his step trailing to a halt as he comes to stand with his back to the other two girls. Unlike most men, he doesn't seem interested in seeing Hotaru's reaction to his attention. But then again, unlike most men, he's also a fugitive wanted by at least three different criminal organizations. Looking for a reaction implies some sort of desire for continuity, and he won't ever have the time or freedom for more than what he just gave.
He can't know how much his departure now is reminding her of the two other times she's been walked away from. But he can understand, from past conversation, how her history has driven her to excel: to want to prove something to the world. Just like him. That was the necessary bridge that got him to even let Hotaru come so close to him at all. The similarity that, even if only for a moment, caused him to wonder what might be different if circumstances were anything but what they were.
But beyond circumstances, there's another reason, a stronger reason, any contemplation of being close to Hotaru is fated to die a quick death. K' doesn't try to explain it, or even to give a hint what it might be.
Instead, he just breathes out a long sigh, shoulders sloping a few moments. Shurui's first words he merely nods mutely to, his last tacit grant of permission. The sentiment is a sound one; he won't argue with her. He then straightens up, curtly moving to leave, aware that he endangers the both of them with every moment he remains. But he stops, just at the door, when both girls pipe up with respective goodbyes.
Don't forget. Don't disappear. For a moment, his unseen expression twists with bitter humor: the young man silently laughing to himself as if at some private, morbid joke. It's a while before he finally glances over his shoulder to respond. "I don't do that anymore," he replies through a smirk, the expression familiar in its sheer infuriating quality, and then he's out the door.
Log created on 22:07:26 01/16/2009 by K', and last modified on 17:15:41 01/19/2009.