View source for 2014-09-10 - Something There After All

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! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Something There After All'''
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|'''Summary''':<br>
''So, one bit of aftermath to deal with is the fact that Mai might have started dating a friend while possessed.  It's not anything she'd planned on doing, but...maybe it's worth giving a try.''
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| '''Who:'''<br>
[[Mai Tokiha]], [[Shiori Takatsuki]]
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| '''Where:'''<br>
Mitakihara General Hospital
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| '''OOC - IC Date:'''<br>
11 March 2014 (Backdated) - 09/10/2014
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[[Category:Logs]]



 <Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The upshot of being in the hospital, it seems, is being easy to find. Fully awake now and steadily recovering her energy, Mai has started sending updates to friends and family. Mostly the basics - that she's not in peril, what her room number is, wishing luck on exams, and so forth.

Shiori didn't get a mass text. She got a personal one - still giving room information, but with a more direct entreaty to stop by. 'I could use the company, and someone to talk to.' The text is sent, and now Mai can only wait.

Wait, and figure out what in the world she's doing.


 <Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Shiori, on the other hand, has not been in the hospital. She has been largely taking her exams, and checking her phone. ...There's been a lot of checking her phone, actually. Morning, afternoon, night. It's been something of a serious distraction for her, enough even for her fellow students to notice. If anyone had actually asked, she'd have laughed awkwardly about it. 

The most she's gotten is some funny looks from her dormmates. 

But finally, she did get a message, and it explained a lot of things. Maybe not enough things, but a hospitalization?? 

'I'll be right there' was Shiori's response. And it's almost true. She spends a few moments looking out a window at her school in mild panic over whether this might be some elaborte prank on her after all. But /then/ she heads over immediately. And has increasing visions of what could have happened on the way. 

Now, dressed in her Infinity uniform, Shiori is stepping through the hospital hallways, knocking unsteadily at the door to Mai's room. "...Mai-chan?" she asks. 

'Worried' is probably the right word.


 <Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

"Come in!" There was only a moment's hesitation before the answer came from within the room, and the door is unlocked. The bed's privacy curtain is open, and Mai is sitting up. Not an entirely flattering hospital gown, but they aren't really meant to be. She's just folded up her phone, and is setting it on the side table - and her expression upon seeing Shiori is all kinds of mixed up.

Gratitude? Guilt? ...happiness and fear? There's a bit of everything in there, but she settles on a smile. "Good to see you, Shiori-chan. I hope I'm not distracting you from studying too much, I just...needed to see you."

Her hands are in her lap, and fidgeting with the blanket there. Worried is probably a good word for her, too.


 <Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Shiori can't entirely puzzle out Mai's expression as she opens up the door, and she certainly can't take breathing normally at the same time. Indeed, her heart kind of catches in her throat as she slips inside as if sneaking around, closing the door behind her by putting folding her hands on it and stepping back. 

When Mai smiles, Shiori settles on one too, and sighs in something like relief when the red-haired girl speaks up. ...What she says, of course, is even more helpful. 

"No, no!" she insists, shakin her head and seeming almost to unfold; she's still slender and doesn't take up a lot of space, but it was as if she was a thread coiled up around something before. Now, she's moving, suddenly crossing over to Mai, though she hesitates, setting her hands on the side of the bed. "You aren't distracting me at all! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were--are you all right, Mai-chan?" 

Her eyes are wide, and perhaps oddly guileless.


 <Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mai looks into those honest eyes, and guilt runs deep - only the fact that Shiori's also aware of the supernatural world makes this something she can explain at all. She glances to the door, and then the window of all things, and reaches one hand out to Shiori's - but hesitates. "I'm...drained. Literally - there was a monster, or curse, or something. I'm recovering - I pretty much just need rest - but..."

Mai glances down, then finding a breath of determination, looks Shiori in the eyes. She's about to be direct, but hesitates - and settles on a question, instead of a confession. "...in the last few days, would you say I've been acting differently from usual?"


 <Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Shiori doesn't look to the window; she stays focused entirely on Mai, even as the other girl looks two other places. The reach her way is enough, and Shiori in turn puts both of her hands out to rest over Mai's. "A... monster?" Here, she feels some guilt of her own, all of a sudden. ...It's not like she could have done anything, but even so, se didn't. "So--" 

She shakes her head, trying to get to the heart of things, and then looks back up only to see Mai looking straight back at her. She blinks, but doesn't turn away. "I..." 

Different? 

"Huh? W-well... Of course. You always work so hard, but you don't leave a lot left for yourself. But then, the past few days... it seems like you finally decided to stand up to the people who were taking advantage of you. You told me about it. I... w-well, I... liked you even before that, but... seeing you so sure of yourself even when changing up what you did... I could never be like that."


 <Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The guilt Mai knows so well is returning in full as Shiori reaches out - this makes things easier and harder all at once, and the comfort is...

...not something she wants to turn away. But...she needs to be honest, right? Unsure of herself, Mai takes a breath, and then lets it out. "...you could. Remember when you helped me, when Takumi had that monster with his face? I...think you're stronger than you give yourself credit. And...that's kind of what happened. The monster that attacked me was...making me more sure of myself. Silencing all my worries, making me focus on enjoying myself and ignoring everyone else's feelings."

A deep breath - there's a bit of a shudder to it, as Mai tries to steel her nerves. "So, I'm not sure it was the normal me, the other night. Because over the last week I did things I've always wanted to do, and things I never dreamed of, and I am incredibly sorry if I hurt you while under the influence."

Mai looks up. Shiori said she liked her before all this, but what does she think now?


 <Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

She... could? Shiori's hesitance has moved really to something more like uncertainty in the moments where Mai seems to steel herself to say something, and then for a few moments after that still, when it's about her. "I'm not..." she starts to insist, but quiets when Mai goes on and explains events in a way that, in retrospect, makes a lot of sense. 

So of course Shiori didn't figure it out. It's not like she's smart enough to notice things like that. This is the little knife that works its way inside her as Mai mentions the rest, and... apologizes...? 

"It made you more confident...? And... I see. So, you just did things you wanted to do because of that, and not..." 

Shiori's hands have started shaking, slightly, though she hasn't really noticed it. Her face has turned more to fear than worry. "You didn't hurt me," Shiori answers, in a small voice. "But I... if you're saying that the other night wasn't the real you, then..." 

"Spending time with me isn't something you'd never do, is it? ...Right?" 

Shiori's feelings might not be hard to read.


 <Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

It's not hard to pick up on the shaking hands - the expression on Shiori's face - the sudden timidity. Mai is a moment before answering - just long enough to put her thoughts in order, and the hand in Shiori's tightens in a slight grip. "Spending time with my friend is something I would do. Something I wish I did more often. Some of the suggestions I made that night, on the other hand, were, um...."

Her face is red. "...not what I'd normally be saying. And I am sorry about that text you received the next day - running out and kissing someone else on a whim is also...not really me." Bright, burning red.

After a minute, it settles down from full blaze to a slight flush. "...and then there's what I don't know about. I'm...really terrible at understanding my own feelings, and..." She starts to continue that sentence a couple of times, but gives up, not able to find the words. Finally she settles on looking at Shiori's face. What is written there?


 <Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

The moment can't make things worse than not thinking before speaking might have--when Shiori realizes Mai isn't taking her hand /back/, she breathes a bit more easily, listening along. Spending time is nice; Shiori even smiles slightly a moment--

Mai goes red. Shiori remembers one suggestion in /particular/. "O-oh," she answers, and inclines her head further about the text, though this much is slightly less embarrassing. In fact, quite the opposite. That text was--

Well, it should really have been the clue. 

She still has the fragile look she always does, but the words Mai chose so far have been calming. It takes her a bit to prepare to speak, too; when the other does again, Shiori looks back at her. Or well, at her; the sentence may have a hard time completing itself, but her face shows a lesser worry and more of a different look that Mai might remember. She is leaned forward without realizing it, her hands closing further around Mai's. 

"I..." She stops. "Believe in miracles," she offers. "...And they'll know your feelings."


 <Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

There's an easy answer here. The one Mai's been falling back on for years rather than admit anything - declare that she's not dating, that it isn't time for her to seek out happiness yet, and just shut down everything. She could do that - it would be cruel in the moment, but simplify things in the long run. But...

''"Love and romance aren't about what you deserve, they're about what you feel."''

''"I want you to be yourself, I want you to be okay."''

''"I don't mind not being your top priority."''

"...I think you were more direct about your feelings than a miracle, Shiori-chan. You deserve an honest answer, one not tainted by some youma, but...I don't know what it is, yet." She grips Shiori's hands with her own, and looks up from blanket to face.

Mai takes a deep breath.

"...if you still want to try a relationship...can we take things slowly? Just - start with dating, and a promise that I won't run off and kiss someone else?" There's a blush, still, and she's more than a little awkward - though her location and garb aren't exactly a recipe for confidence.


 <Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

It would be easy... or, well, it might seem easy. Shiori doesn't take rejection very well, and indeed, she already said once that she's willing to understand Mai's situation, her responsibilities. If anything, that makes things more comfortable; it reasserts a lot about herself. It's natural. But.. 

/She/ was... more direct? Shiori blinks once at Mai, opening her mouth but saying nothing thus far. She would move, but now her hands are held in place by Mai's, and whether the Ohtori student is stronger than her or not, Shiori has a way of seeming like she migt fall over any moment. 

What Mai sees in that moment is surprise added to the rest. 

And then, a widening smile that ends in a sigh of relief as a lot of the tension from a moment ago seems to melt out of her. She dips her head, "I--I do! And I... I'd like that!" Who wouldn't be awkward in a hospital gown with someone standing over them? "I, ah.. I wasn't really sure I was going to be any good for what you were asking before anyway. I mean, not that I wouldn't try, but--w-well--hey are you thirsty? I've been making you talk while you're all resting and everything! I think there's some water right here on the counter..."


 <Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

It would be easy... or, well, it might seem easy. Shiori doesn't take rejection very well, and indeed, she already said once that she's willing to understand Mai's situation, her responsibilities. If anything, that makes things more comfortable; it reasserts a lot about herself. It's natural. But.. 

/She/ was... more direct? Shiori blinks once at Mai, opening her mouth but saying nothing thus far. She would move, but now her hands are held in place by Mai's, and whether the Ohtori student is stronger than her or not, Shiori has a way of seeming like she migt fall over any moment. 

What Mai sees in that moment is surprise added to the rest. 

And then, a widening smile that ends in a sigh of relief as a lot of the tension from a moment ago seems to melt out of her. She dips her head, "I--I do! And I... I'd like that!" Who wouldn't be awkward in a hospital gown with someone standing over them? "I'll do my best for you, Mai-chan. I promise! I--oh! Are you thirsty? I've been making you talk while you're all resting and everything! I think there's some water right here on the counter..."


 <Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

It's easy to be comfortable around Shiori - at least, for Mai. Not as 'normal' a persona s she'd first though, but....someone with relatively little drama that Mai knows about, who knows about the magical world but isn't defined by it... And yet. The frailty does not go unnoticed - part of Mai wants to try to protect Shiori.

But there are aspects where Mai's friend has things together, and they're worth mentioning. Mai releases her hold with a flushed nod. "You don't - you can take it easy. A bit of water would be great, but besides that - I'd like to hear about how things are going for you. Things go both ways, right?"

She smiles. Her posture and her voice betray her exhaustion, but there's a content smile on Mai's face.