User:Boomage

2017-10-08T04:23:06Z

Boomage: kurse all redlinks

i play [[Mikoto Minagi]] when i am not being steamrolled by chronic illness

i used to play [[Duck]] and may pick her up again in the future when my spoons return from the war

i probably think you're rad!!!

Mikoto Minagi

2017-10-08T04:02:46Z

Boomage: updating in progress, please wait...

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 25em; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Mikoto Minagi'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Mikotoprofile.png|300px]]]
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Mikoto Minagi
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Aliases:
| Fire-Mouthed Cat Demon
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age/Birthdate:
| 16 (November 4th, 1999)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 4'11"
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Gold
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Astrological Sign:
| Scorpio, Earth Rabbit
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Blood Type:
| B
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Food:
| Mai-Style Ramen Noodles!!
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Food:
| Curry
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Favorite Subject:
| Battle... that's not real subject? Okay, Japanese History.
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Least Favorite Subject:
| Mathematics
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Dossier'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Group:
| [[HiME Sentai]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Position:
| High School Student
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| [[School: Ohtori Academy]] (10)
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| [[Mai-HiME]] (FC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User: Boomage|Boomage]]
|-
|}
'''Mikoto Minagi''' is a girl looking for her brother. She doesn't talk much - and when she does, her Japanese is youthful and simple. But she seems to be a cheerful, energetic girl, who latches heavily onto her friends and looks to them for guidance and food.

But as SEARRS revealed during their takeover of Ohtori, the Mikoto Minagi who follows her friends like a lost kitten is the same HiME who fights viciously with her obsidian claymore named Miroku. It seems impossible, contrasting the two together. What a strange story this girl must have!

== Quote ==
"I'm looking for my brother. And I'll fight anyone who gets in my way. End of story."

== Profile ==

Mikoto was raised in an isolated mountaintop shrine. Her social skills have suffered for it, and her grasp of even basic interaction is questionable. Her strangeness often raises questions, and occasionally stirs trouble, but teenage disapproval doesn't cramp her style. She spends her days having adventures with her feral cat friends, learning about the world, and searching for her long-lost brother. She's been forced into attending this strange obligation known as "middle school", and of course, she always has time for Mai Tokiha's cuisine. Though her Child has never been seen, she is a highly-trained and deadly opponent, fighting with the gigantic claymore she calls Miroku. Worse than her training, perhaps, is her mindset -- she will cut down anyone in her path, be they Orphan or enemy HiME, and the Mikoto who fights seems entirely different from the Mikoto who begs for dinner to be done just a few minutes sooner.

== Personality ==

Guardian of the sword.

Loyal to her Lord Brother.

A warrior who can defeat any enemy.

That is who the shrine maiden of Minagi is. But that isn't who most people know.

Most people know Mikoto-chan, the naive young girl with a bottomless stomach. Mikoto is transparent in her desires, innocent as a child in all that the world has to offer. More cat than girl in everything she does, Mikoto is almost charmingly foolish; she finds joy in the smallest things, happiness in sunshine and surprise in brightly-coloured bugs.

Mikoto thinks in black and white. She's good at judging people, to a point; but once she has made a decision, it's difficult to shake. Either you are a good person, or a bad person -- either she likes you, or she doesn't. Those who she deems good have an easy pass through her mental defenses; she's easily-led, -gullible- to those who she thinks are kind. Combined with her natural transparency, this makes her an easy mark for those who can make that all-important first step.

Mikoto's entire life has consisted of following a superior, obeying them; she cannot stand a vacuum in that area, though she doesn't consciously realise it. Currently, the person occupying that position is Mai Tokiha, who got the position while it was on sale -- Mikoto was starving and alone, and Mai was a kind person who fed her. Though she does not love Mai (she loves only her brother), she likes Mai's food, and being with Mai is fun! She's very possessive of this kind person, and she will protect her as if Mai's enemies were Mikoto's own.

Which brings us to a salient point -- Mikoto doesn't understand emotions very well. She can express her appreciation for the things people -do- very easily, but she doesn't understand that liking things people do might mean you like those people themselves. While her brother (and then, her grandfather) were always quick to show her love and appreciation, she was taught very little about how to process her emotions. It's not that she's stupid -- she's very savvy as to how people act, and can notice discrepancies in their behavior easily. She just doesn't see how her feelings are important, because they've never -been- important to her. She doesn't understand that she should tell people she likes them, because all she sees is the behavior she likes. She also has very poor emotional boundaries -- when her friends are sad, she gets sad, too. Luckily, it also works the other way around.

Alongside not understanding emotions, Mikoto doesn't understand a lot of other things. She was never taught about stealing, or about public decency, or about personal space. Many Japanese customs are lost to her, from honourifics (or even decent grammar) to when it's all right to say what she's thinking (that's all the time, isn't it?). She is, however, very conflicted about harming noncombatants; she's always been taught that those who attack her are enemies, which means that people who have done nothing wrong must be, by extension, not enemies at all.

And yet, to think of enemies brings us back to the beginning. It's an important point to make: Mikoto destroys enemies. Those who attack her are enemies. Enemies deserve no pity, no quarter. Enemies must be destroyed! It brings us to Mikoto the shrine maiden, Mikoto the keeper of the sword, a Mikoto far more ferocious and terrifying than the hungry child her friends know. Mikoto, in battle, is girl barely able to even control her sword -- and this imagery is not for nothing. There is bloodlust and battle-rage within her, and if it is allowed to grow out of control, her ability to distinguish between enemies and hold herself in check diminishes significantly. Were something awful to happen... this horrible trait might even come to engulf her.

For now, at least, Mikoto may be shaken from her terrible berserkergang.

== History ==

A great shadow stretches over the Minagi shrine -- the shadow of the Obsidian Lord. His grip is felt in the blood of every legitimate heir to the name, and in their isolated mountain home, they serve him in all they do.

Mikoto is a HiME. She has known this for as long as she could remember. But she is different to the other HiMEs, those people with Elements and Childs. Mikoto doesn't think about it. Mikoto wasn't told about it.

Mikoto wasn't told that her claymore was the vessel of the Obsidian Lord. She was simply told to keep it with her always -- to guard it with her life. She didn't know that other HiME's Elements disappeared when not in use. She didn't even question it.

She questioned very little, because she was raised to obey, and to fight.

She came to know her claymore as Miroku, the force of destruction which she felt lurking always at the edges of her mind. Miroku, which was in truth the Obsidian Lord's Child, was simply another weapon to her; they were all her weapons, all things she would use to destroy the enemy. Her Child was Miroku. Her Element was Miroku. That neither could be called hers -- that she was more likely -their- possession -- escaped her.

She sought the approval of her Lord Brother, doting on on his every footstep. To serve and love only her brother was the law of the shrine, and she did not question it.

When he told her to fight without hesitation, she fought without hesitation.

When he praised her, her heart swelled.

When he left, she was crushed.

Because he did. He left without warning, without a word. Her grandfather consoled her, and she continued to learn under him, Miroku never leaving her side.

But...

She never forgot her Lord Brother.

That she was intended to serve him was a promise and a contract and a binding force around her soul.

Her grandfather, ever sly and wise, taught her well. He reinforced the ideals which had been planted in her mind, but left enough of himself open to her that she would come to rely on him and to love him...

... so that he could destroy that, as well.

It cost him his life; he did not even falter. That is the way of the Minagi family. Their lives are nothing but pawns on the board.

She didn't falter, either. Miroku cut her precious grandfather open and exposed his insides to the world. And as the killer's remorse hit her, as she knelt beside him and cried, he taught her the lesson which cost him his life.

She was only to love and serve her brother. No one else.

He was in the land of Fuuka, and she was to go there and find him.

The shrine maiden of Minagi left the mountainside that day. Though she could not even properly recall his face, she would find her brother.

On the way to Fuuka, she encountered an enemy. And she fought -- she fought bravely -- but the enemy was too much for her. She might have died, but instead, she woke in a bed. She had been saved, and it didn't occur to her to think about it overmuch. Instead, she confronted the enemy again.

Miroku thinks little of steel; even the steel which comprises a ship. Even so, Mikoto could not defeat her enemy.

She was saved again. It was fortunate. She left as soon as she woke.

...

But she was really quite hungry. She hadn't eaten for quite a while, after all.

She smelt food, and took it.

No one on the mountain told her that food could be an enemy too.

Water defeated the enemy which burned her mouth and her throat, and then she came upon another -- one who seemed at first to be an enemy, but who was, on closer inspection, the one who helped her. Mikoto didn't get any further time to consider her course of action; she fainted from hunger.

When she woke, she was in a bed again. The girl was there. She gave her food.

Valhalla's gates opened; the angels flooded forth around Saint Peter's stand; ambrosa stood there in her mouth. It was the best thing she'd ever tasted. It was heaven. It was better than heaven. It was delicious!

(It turns out that in a strict shrine, where cuisine isn't valued beyond its ability to keep someone alive, tasty food isn't a great concern.)

The girl was called Mai, and she was too nosy, but she was very kind. Mikoto liked her. Still, she had to go, and find her Lord Brother.

So she left.

Later, during the night, when she could smell nothing which would lead her to her brother, she met that kind girl Mai again. Mai was being attacked. Mikoto, who liked that kind girl, deemed the attacker her enemy. It was good! She discovered that kind Mai was a HiME, and she also met the enemy who had attacked her before. It would have been a wonderful turn of events, had Mai's enemy not been so relentless.

She had to divert her attention to it, and even Miroku's strength was not enough. There, Mikoto met Mai's strength, a strength called Kagutsuchi. It was an overwhelming strength. Mai was not only a kind person, but a strong person. It was amazing!

Mikoto went with Mai to speak to a girl she called the director, who led the school. According to Mai, that girl would pay for her to live there and allow her to study, despite the fact that the closest thing to study in this place was a club where they only studied with practice weapons. Mikoto didn't like her. But she could stay in Fuuka that way, and search for her Lord Brother.

She went back with Mai, and that kind person allowed her to stay. It meant far more than any vague words about being paid for, about some custodian footing her bills. Mai cooked her food!

Mai took care of her, and so she took care of Mai. Because Ohtori was in Tokyo, and Tokyo was a hotbed of spiritual activity. The Orphans which threatened humanity were the HiME's specific problem, but there were more, more and more - monsters and gods and dark things which smelled of ash and rot. Without her Lord Brother to guide her, Mikoto fought for Mai.

There were others. Not only HiME, but Sailors and Knights and Puella Magi. Some of them became her fierce friends, others she knew only on the battlefield. One, in particular, she grew close to - Eri Shimanouchi, who loved plants as she loved cats.

And there were other HiME. Natuski Kuga, who was her enemy, was someone Mai insisted was a friend. Mikoto was reluctant, but Mai eventually succeeded in getting her to like the other girl. There was Nao Yuuki, who told her things Mai never would; later, Kozue Kaoru would take her position of devil's advocate, first known to Mikoto only as Cassandra. Midori Sugiura, of course, was Midori Sugiura.

But Mai was the most important HiME, because Mai made her good food, and Mai slept with her at night, and Mai supported her when she was unsure. Mai made stir-fry, with meat and onions and bell peppers. She made rice balls, and vegetables, and miso soup. She made Italian pasta. She made fish, freshly-caught by Mikoto herself. And, of course, she made ramen, and Mai's ramen was the ''best.''

It was the HiME who SEARRS targetted, a year after Mikoto had arrived at Ohtori. Cassandra's identity was revealed to her, and her identity was revealed to the world. In a tattered ballgown, she went underground with Mai and Natsuki, and found herself summoned by the Headmistress in order to defend the populations of the Sister Schools. Miroku cleaved tanks in half, but it was Mai's power, Kagutsuchi, which truly stole the stage. Upon it, Mai took Alyssa's Child's blast, and Kagustuchi transformed, and took them to space.

But when they fell, Mai was not with them. Mikoto cried out, and in her grief, forgot her most important lesson. 'I love Mai!' The words she couldn't say when Mai was with her, she said as she watched the sky for any sign of Mai's body.

With that admission, it became easier. Mikoto realised she loved so many people. But Mai was gone.

Eri stayed with her, in the days afterwards. She cried on her, often. Eri, who had viewed Mai as such a close friend as well, was the closest thing Mikoto had to guidance in those days. It forged their bond stronger, closer.

And then Mai came back! It was the best day in Mikoto's life, and she cried happy tears instead of sad, and didn't let Mai go for so long because she was terrified of her leaving again.

Mai had come back, and Mai was safe, and Mikoto didn't want her to be in danger any more. It was easy, when Eri started sharing her problems as a Puella Magi with her, to justify keeping Mai out of the loop. Mai wouldn't understand. Mai would be in danger. Mai, who had come back to them safe, who Mikoto loved and didn't want to see hurt...

... Mai couldn't know about Mikoto's hunts with Eri. And when Eri's problems with other Puella Magi came to a head, Mikoto found she couldn't tell Mai that she was fighting for her friend, either. Because a war was brewing, and Mai would be sad, and disappointed, and in danger.

Mikoto had to do it on her own.

So she did. She aligned herself with Eri, followed Eri's example, and beat Eri's enemies. She came home to Mai at night, and said nothing about the battles she had fought. It was a conflict she struggled with, her obligations to Mai and her obligations to Eri tearing at each other. She tried not to think about it, and justified it to herself, and kept fighting.

In time, it changed from being a question of Eri's life to a question of all life on Earth. It became a question of defending Mai, and a question of safeguarding her Lord Brother. These threats meant much more to her than the lives of so many strangers, and it was these threats which spurred her to commit even further to her bloody path.

... and, you know, it hurts, not being able to talk to Mai about it. But she loves Eri, too, and doesn't want her to die. Wholly unequipped to handle conflicting allegiances, Mikoto struggles to justify her actions to herself, while smiling on the outside.

== Powers/Abilities ==

Mikoto has exceedingly good senses. She can track via scent, see things from far away, and detect even small variations in taste. (So please don't feed her spicy food.)

She is suspiciously well trained when it comes to battle. Her sword, called Miroku, is always by her side... and even if she does lose it, she can just summon it back to herself. Could it be her Child?

Unfortunately, to compensate for her warrior's ability, she also has an incredibly fast metabolism. When she crashes from hunger, she crashes hard!

=== Talents ===

Mikoto is a finely-tuned food-destroying machine. So long as it isn't spicy, and the food is otherwise pleasant, she can tear through it as if inhaling. Due to her senses, she's also very good at figuring out whether food has gone bad!

Mikoto grew up in a mountainous shrine, and so she is adapted to outdoor life. She's so good at climbing trees that she often takes naps atop their branches! In the city, she's translated these arboreal skills to roof-hopping, jumping from awning to sign to fire exit with aplomb.

Also due to growing up in one, Mikoto knows her way around shrines. It's one of the few areas where she knows the social rules well enough to not shock anyone.

Mikoto was taught Japanese History as part of her studies growing up, so it's one of the few school subjects where she ''doesn't'' flounder. While she can only hope to get Ds or Cs in most of her subjects, she's consistently a B-student in Japanese History. It's the one thing which saves her from cram school!

Mikoto is good at calligraphy, another thing she learned growing up, and her handwriting is surprisingly pleasant because of it.

=== Weak Areas ===

Mikoto wasn't raised with an eye towards social skills. She knew very few people growing up, all part of her family, and her training was focused heavily on fighting and topics adjacent to the fight. Her speech wasn't corrected, and she wasn't taught about many fundamental topics. It means that she's terribly unbalanced; even though she's a fright on the battlefield, she often seems ignorant outside of it.

Mikoto is an extremely sensory person, and has trouble thinking of words to express her thoughts, a problem compounded by her life growing up. She's grown better at it with time, but she still needs a calm atmosphere to be able to speak precisely. Sensory overload troubles her, as well, a problem most succinctly expressed by her reaction to spicy food.

Mikoto remembers little of her childhood, and nostalgic reminders can often shut her down while her brain struggles with connections it can't quite make. She has traumatic reactions to many things, though she doesn't recognise them as traumatic. Even in the present day, if something happens which is too difficult for her to absorb, she will just dissociate from the knowledge so that she can keep being the cheerful girl she is.

Mikoto is self-centred, though not in any malicious sense. She understands people through her own reactions to them, and usually falls prey to the typical mind fallacy, thinking that other people must feel the same way she does. Though she genuinely cares about her friends, her attempts to fix their problems often amount to telling them to 'just smile!', and she's troubled when the advice which helps her doesn't help others.

Mikoto tends to decide whether someone is good or bad upon meeting them, in an easily-predictable and easily-manipulable way. She shuts herself off from people she considers bad, and doesn't guard herself around people she considers good. There are a few people who have switched categories, so she's capable of changing her mind, but it takes a great effort to do so. People who skirt those categories are extremely frustrating to Mikoto, and she tends to react by even more firmly categorising them as 'good' or 'bad'.

== Relationships ==

Lord Brother: Lord Brother, your face blurs to me. So much I forget. I ''must'' find you, soon.

Grandfather: I made a promise. I will complete. Why does my heart hurt, when I think of you?

[[Mai Tokiha]]: I love Mai! She's best person. I wish I could make Mai happy all the time, but... Mai will understand, right?

[[Natsuki Kuga]]: I was wrong. Natsuki is good person.

[[Midori Sugiura]]: Midori is such fun person! I like Midori.

[[Kozue Kaoru]]: Kozue gives good advice. Respects me. I appreciate Kozue.

[[Shizuru Fujino]]: Shizuru is quiet. But, stands up to loud people. I like Shizuru.

[[Eri Shimanouchi]]: I love Eri! Eri's important. But... life is hard, for Eri. I want to help. Is that okay?

[[Takeo Akamizu]]: Takeo is good person. Good taste in food!

[[Fuu Hououji]]: I am glad Fuu is not my enemy. I like Fuu. I didn't want to...

[[Kasagami Araki]]: Confuses me. Loud, brash. Cares a lot. Kasagami is my ally, I hope. Don't yell at me for skipping class! Mai's disappointment's enough!

[[Setsuna Meioh]]: Mysterious, but kind. Setsuna gave me thoughtful gift, jade cat. It lives on our windowsill. Setsuna's good person.

[[Kyouko Sakura]]: Eri's ally, also mine. Anyone who likes food like Kyouko is good person.

[[Chitose Shiratori]]: Nice person! Chitose's weapon... talks? I wish Miroku talked. Miroku only ''feels.''

[[Yumi Ohzora]]: Seems frail, but has strong heart. Yumi's good person.

[[Steven Universe]]: Steven is good person. Always smiles. I want to protect Steven, just by looking! Also, has good lion.

[[Mami Tomoe]]: My enemy. Insults Mai. Hates us. I will destroy.

[[Sayaka Miki]]: Eri's enemy, also mine. Believes she's right, won't listen. Mai, we tried!

[[Garnet]]: Garnet smells of nothing. Strange. My enemy, now.

== Logs ==

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[[Category:Characters]][[Category:Ohtori]][[Category:HiME Sentai]]

HiME Sentai

2017-10-08T03:44:51Z

Boomage:

HiME Sentai

2017-10-08T03:44:25Z

Boomage:

[[image:notquitehimesentai.png]]

A group which largely exists solely in the confines of [[Midori Sugihara]]'s mind. Without her bold guidance, the HiME are individualistic -- banding together in groups of two or three, or solving problems without the support of their fellow HiME.

This may change, should someone with the proper discipline and drive unite the HiME for a greater good!

[[Category:Organizations]]

File:Notquitehimesentai.png

2017-10-08T03:44:06Z

Boomage: natsuki please you're crushing her hopes and dreams

natsuki please you're crushing her hopes and dreams

HiME Sentai

2017-10-08T03:42:59Z

Boomage: feel free to change this up but i wanted to put something here

[[image:notquitehimesentai.jpg]]

A group which largely exists solely in the confines of [[Midori Sugihara]]'s mind. Without her bold guidance, the HiME are individualistic -- banding together in groups of two or three, or solving problems without the support of their fellow HiME.

This may change, should someone with the proper discipline and drive unite the HiME for a greater good!

[[Category:Organizations]]

Mikoto Minagi

2017-10-08T02:44:46Z

Boomage: updating in progress, please wait...

Mikoto Minagi

2017-10-08T02:06:33Z

Boomage: updating in progress, please wait... (if i've missed you in relationships absolutely ping me, my memory is awful)

File:Mikotoprofile.png

2017-10-08T01:08:37Z

Boomage:

2016-02-09 - Empty Hearths, Empty Hearts

2016-02-12T20:50:37Z

Boomage: Created page with "{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2" |- ! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Empty Hearths, Empty H..."

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Empty Hearths, Empty Hearts'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Eri and Mikoto mourn Mai and find common ground.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Eri Shimanouchi]], [[Mikoto Minagi]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy, Dorms
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Evening of September 29th 2014 - February 09th 2016
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The dormitories look like a hurricane's been through. Students have pilfered whatever they could use to help themselves hold out; at gunpoint, ownership suddenly becomes far less of a salient issue.

Mai and Mikoto's lodgings are especially trashed, because it's not like their home was a secret, and the paramilitary forces /were/ looking for them in particular. Perhaps it survived while Mai was in custody -- but there was no hope after she was broken out. The place you lay your head, after all, necessarily contains your secrets.

(Mikoto's phone is missing, something no one will likely notice for months. Unfortunately, as they surely found out, there was nothing to be learned from the cat demon's electronics aside from her lack of aptitude with text messaging.)

It's a mess which Mikoto hasn't bothered to contain. She's been out all day - searching for Mai with Takeo Akamizu - and even slipping back in, late at night, she feels no urge to putter around putting things in their proper places. Mai would. Mai would make sure the place looked amazing, like the soldiers had never been there, but...

Mikoto has heated up some water, dumped some noodles into it, drained them into a bowl, put some warmed-up frozen vegetables (the only things which had survived so long) on top. They taste like nothing at all, though she eats them anyway, and Mikoto finds herself crying again as she looks at the empty bowl.

"Mai... Mai..."

<Pose Tracker> Kozue Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Eri didn't feel like doing much other than laying in bed. She didn't feel like... much at all.

Nevertheless, she hasn't even been to her room. Hadn't even changed her clothes, or showered. She looked kind of ragged. After she saw the scorch marks on the lawn... well she'd done some searching, alone. Then when it seemed fruitless... she'd left the island until late morning the next day. She didn't tell anyone where she'd gone, not Mikoto, not Takumi.

When she returned though, she had so many cuts on her limbs that some classmates claimed she must have gotten into a fight with a rose bush during the invasion. They didn't even get a look. Instead she went to Mai's dorm, and started cleaning. Putting things back into place as best as she could remember where they went, restoring some semblance of order. The kitchen was wrecked, the rice cooked was on the fritz again. They were missing a lot of sheets and covers, the restroom looked like a disaster area.

She did it without complaint or comment, not asking Mikoto to join in. Even after her cleaning efforts it still looked like a Kirin had stormed in on through the window on thunderclouds and tap danced around the rooms. It was only at dinner time that she stopped. She moves out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, saw Mikoto crying into an empty bowl. For a while she just stands there, looking at her with eyes that have lost all sparkle and lusterin them.

A few moments later, Mikoto felt a hand on her shoulder, as Eri squatted down beside her, the hand slipped down her back, then around her side, and her other gauze-covered arm followed in a hug, as she leaned against her. "I'm sorry." She whispered. Words to fill spaces, to fill a void. They were so small, so meaningless, immediately fleeting. "I'll make you more dinner if you want, but it won't be as good as Mai's..." Her eyes stared forward, not at Mikoto, "...it won't ever be. It just..."

Her eyes blur, her arms slide away. "...damnit Mai. Guess you proved to yourself that you weren't just going through the motions. Didn't you?" She stands up fully, hands balling into fists, nails digging into her palms. Her breathing quickens.

Then out of nowhere, she turns, and with one final seething breath draws back a foot swiftly and kicks a wooden chair across the room so hard that it is sent sailing against the counter. The sharp wooden crack is loud enough to say that she probably shattered part of it. "Good for you! That's- that's great." One hand is unclenched, she puts a hand against her face, underneath her glasses, and sniffles, "Nuh-Now the rest of us have to luh-live with it."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto, when she finally came in from her day and night of searching the scorched island for any trace of Mai, didn't volunteer help with Eri's cleaning quest; she made food, because she knows she needs food. It's the necessities she's thinking of, like searching for Mai, and eating. (Sleeping, eventually? But she's not tired. She just keeps seeing, over and again when she closes her eyes, Mai's rings blazing so brightly she can't even see. That very moment, when she couldn't see her any more...)

But Eri is a comfortable presence, and not one she's protested. And so, when she squats down to pull her into a hug, Mikoto wails, clutching at her shirt. When Eri stands, Mikoto's arms shift to curl around herself, and she leans in as if her core has been terribly injured.

(It has. She's come back with the emptiness of space inside of her, a deep, gnawing vacuum. It's consumed Mai's hearth. It's consumed her blood, her organs. It threatens to spill out and and suck the air and the warmth from the room. It hurts.)

"Mai is gone," she sobs, far less eloquently than Eri's pained words. "Can't find her."

If she were more eloquent, she might say that though Mai's proved she's a good person, she never needed such elaborate proof. She cared for them and shared her life with them and happily smiled when they were around, and that was enough. But Mikoto is not given to words, nor eloquent, and her keening cries are tasked with carrying the meaning of all those feelings.

<Pose Tracker> Kozue Kaoru [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Eri takes a few moments to just breath and let herself grieve. She wants to tell Mikoto that she isn't coming back, that miracles don't happen twice. But...

She doesn't. Not quite yet. And she always believed Mai was a good person too, that Mai never had to prove it to her. She'd asked her to stop risking her life with such grand gestures and sacrificing herself piece by piece, often for people she doesn't even know. That's what she's angry about deep down, that Mai kept feeling the need to do this, over and over and over.

She just lets herself sob and her shoulder shake until she finds herself sinking down to her knees, ashamed and upset and angry and...

Empty.

It takes her some time to convince herself to pretend she's strong again. "At luh-least it was quick. No lingering. No hospital muh-monitors." She whispers to herself, not intending to let Mikoto hear, rubbing the side of her nose as she sniffles again. It's the small comfort and mercy, maybe for herself, maybe a little for Mai too. She rubs an arm covered in dried gauze across her eyes for lack of tissues, letting them take double duty. She blows her nose.

Then she walks on her knees over to Mikoto, "Hey... let's..."

She gropes for something to say, putting an arm around her back again, "...we've got to fill these gaps, or we're just going to keep making ourselves miserable. Would you like for me to help you get cleaned up? Or..." She debates, then finally says, "...I could take you hunting with me. If you're feeling up to a fight." It had been such a good way to vent earlier, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Eri doesn't intend for Mikoto to hear, but Mikoto's hearing is sensitive, and so even if she doesn't catch the meaning in the whisper, she hears enough. Words have always been more than just their meaning to her - their tone, their delivery, the pauses between them. She meets Eri before the other girl has to crawl over to her, wrapping her arms around her midsection.

She doesn't say anything, she just hugs her, as if emptiness meeting emptiness could somehow make someone whole.

Mikoto looks up at Eri as she speaks, nodding. She's right, after all -- the hungry void feelings haven't left since she first ran off to search, and they've only grown louder now she's come home to this place where Mai lived. She decides in that moment that she doesn't want to be here, doesn't want to sleep in a bed without Mai, eat at a table without Mai, get ready for school without Mai.

Instead...

"I can fight," she says, after a moment. Mai never wanted her to fight. Mai didn't understand that part of her. But Mai is gone, and what is she left with? A hollowed chest, and a ruined nest, and tears to flood them both. If Mikoto had fought harder, if she had been sharper, then maybe...

The thoughts lead to regrets and regrets catch in her throat. She squeezes Eri tighter, burying her face against her chest. If, if, if! It torments her, worse than Miyu's blade, sharper and faster!

If she had known!

If she hadn't learned so late!

If...

"I love Eri," Mikoto sobs, quietly, and completely out of the blue.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Mikoto meets her half way. The other girl's arms are thrown around her, and after a moment all she can do is lean against her, hug her, rub her back for support and comfort. Eri doesn't realize how long Mikoto has been fighting, but that doesn't really matter to her.

Eri has only been fighting for a year, it had become such an inextricable part of her life that she could sense kindred feelings in Mikoto. "Alright. We'll do that soon. I'll teach you how to hunt the prey I need to live." She smiles weakly at her, "I have my own territory for it. They're places I protect, so I can live."

It's mostly light conversation, she thinks she's taking Mikoto's mind off of it... thinks that she's... Mikoto squeezes her tighter, and Eri looks down, a hand moves to stroking the back of her head. "We'll make it Mikoto-chan. We're survivors. We have to be... we..."

That's the moment that Mikoto sobs and says she loves her, and Eri's whole nose pinkens, before she turns bright red, and she sputters, "W-What!?" That's just reflex though, the part of her that's a teenager suddenly making contact with those words. For a moment Eri stares down at Mikoto, then...

Alright, well there's something beyond just liking someone. It's called love.

... I love only Lord Brother.

Well of course you love your brother.

Her arms tighten around Mikoto, the flush of her cheeks fading, "I love you too Mikoto. I promise I'll do my very best to be there for you. I'll try not to leave you for as long as I can." Her smile wavers for a moment, "I'm not Mai. I can't be Mai. But..." She doesn't say that she'll try to think of her like a big sister. Like Mai. She can't yet, the pain is too much.

It's too fresh.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Eri startles, and Mikoto looks up at her, concerned she's done something wrong. But Eri doesn't scold her; she hugs her tighter and reassures her instead. She won't leave for as long as she can...? Of course. She's a warrior too. She'll die someday, just like Mikoto will. But she knows she's important, now, so it's okay.

And then...

Mai.

Mikoto's breath hitches, and she sniffles, turning her face back to Eri's chest again. "Mai- Mai too. I didn't know," her words waver as she speaks, "but then Mai died and it hurt lots. My heart was... cold. Mai came back and I was happy, was warm fire again. I..." She doesn't know how to say it. She's trying, but the words are like dry sand in her hands, refusing to take the form she gives them, falling back to the ground.

She takes a breath, tries to ground herself. "If someone-- dies, and, you want to die too, it's love, right?"

What an awful thing to say to a Puella Magi.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Eri stares straight forward, no longer at Mikoto, but at a wall torn up by what she imagined to be combat knives and bayonets, searching the walls for forbidden ramen caches. That was all they were likely to find at least. Mikoto speaks, and keeps talking, about her own concept of love. Eri's paying attention but she's also thinking of things too.

Blood pouring out of a husk where a girl once lived. A film reel counting down.

Silhouettes, implaed and twitching.

"Yes. That's exactly it."

She puts her chin against the side of Mikoto's head, leaning a cheek.

"I've done a lot of bad things. Terrible things. So I could make it easier to hang on longer, for her sake. For the sake of everyone and everything I care about. And now that she's gone..." Her arms spasm, and soon enough there are droplets spattering down the side of Mikoto's neck, down her shoulder. "...they all feel so pointless."

She trembles and shakes and cries for a few more moments, "No... I... I can't say for her sake. It's all on me. That's just the kind of person I am. It's just... I'm not..."

She bites down on her lip so hard that she thinks she feels a blood taste, and then draws back just a little to look at Mikoto again through blurred eyes and finally releases her teeth from the inside of it, putting her hands on Mikoto's shoulders, "Please tell me that I'm worth it! That my life was worth it! That all the things I did were worth it! That t-there's things I can still look forward to... p-please... I need someone to tell me that. Pluh-please...!"

And then she slumps, like a marionette that just had her strings cut, her legs sideways out from under her on the floor, her hands slipping away, and adds one last pathetic. "...please."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto, who was so isolated and raised in such a specific way, has such strange preconceptions about so many things. Hearing Eri confirm her hypothesis about feelings is reassuring, because what if she was wrong?

Eri keeps talking about the bad things she's done. Mikoto hugs her tighter, listening to her words and to her heartbeat, a duet which seems to bring out the truth in what anyone has to say. She doesn't interrupt with questions or objections; she just listens to all of her sins.

She's done such horrible things. She tried to hold on for the sake of everyone, and it just feels pointless. And those things are just who she is as a person...

When Eri's hands come down on her shoulders, Mikoto looks up at her, expression serious. She supports her when she slumps, with the strength Eri must know is there despite her appearance. "Yes," she says, not only a confirmation but a promise that she'll speak as she finds the words in her head and forces them to obey. "Eri held on and saw Mai smile. Eri held on and saw flowers Eri made bloom. Eri held on and saw ginger kittens."

She rubs Eri's back, in a way which might remind her, terribly, of Mai. "If Eri lets go, forest won't come back for years. If Eri lets go, we'll never have ice cream. If Eri lets go, pictures are unfinished." Wait, when did Mikoto ever..? She keeps talking: "If Eri lets go, I'll have more ice in heart."

But that's not all you have to say, is it, Mikoto Minagi? Feelings and memories you can't quite touch, sadness and shock and realisation. And do you deny destroying your enemies for the sake of those you love?
"... I'm 'that kind of person', too," she adds, finally.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

It's Eri's eyes that move first, as Mikoto supports her with the strength that belies her frame. She's not surprised by it. Even without drawing upon power from Miroku she carries around that claymore all the time in a golf bag. Of course she's strong. But verdure depths search for Mikoto's eyes, as Mikoto holds her and tries to comfort her.

It's not that her words are simple, even though there is beauty in their simplicity, it's just that they carry such meaning in even the small things. And as Mikoto speaks, she finds a curve of a smile touch her lips... there's a stillness that takes her off when Mikoto mentions her pictures. Art was very private for her. Sharing it was... but you know, she finds she doesn't mind much.

The forest, so important, with all its flower fairies and tree spirits, and nature guardians. All things that Alyssa thoughtlessly destroyed. Nary a thought to their place in her Golden Age. She does so dearly want to see it again, to look out her dorm while studying and... smile a little.

Most importantly of all, she'd be making Mikoto feel horrible. There'd be someone that'd miss her. Someone who was relying on her, and that she cares about too. And that causes her not to feel so empty. In fact it makes her feel warm. "Thank you." She utters with a softness to it. A sense of relief that no amount of crying could ever bring.

And then Mikoto says that she's that kind of person too, that they're alike. For as many ways as the two might be called unlike each other, that part of them is the same. A hand drifts up to the side of Mikoto's head, right by her short hair, it drifts down one of her braids, and comes to a rest on her cheek. "I'm glad." She whispers, "I'm glad. It may be selfish but... if you weren't. If you hadn't done those things. Then maybe you'd be gone too. You'd have left me too. Then my heart... I don't know what would be left of it."

There's no hardness in her eyes, only a kind of sisterly affection, "Someone told me once that the only standard worth having is living. Maybe they were right."

She murmurs, "So you do whatever it takes to hang on and live Mikoto Minagi. Don't die. Don't let anyone kill you. Never submit, and destroy anyone who tries to make you. Just always hold onto the thought that if you make it through one more fight that we'll get to see each other again, and that's worth it. It's always worth it for the people you care about."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto doesn't know why her mention of Eri's art gives her pause, of course. She went to Eri's room to find Eri, but Eri wasn't there, and she happened to disturb a sketchbook, so she looked inside because she was curious. The concept of privacy is patchy for her, at best.

The important thing is that the things Mikoto mentions make Eri smile, even just a little bit. Eri smiles, and Mikoto smiles, because Mikoto feels what her important people feel. It's a dangerous line to blur, and Mikoto does so without reservation.

She listens to Eri, nodding along to her advice - until it turns to destroying anyone who would make her submit. This, for some reason, makes her hesitate; but it's only for a moment, and then she's back to affirming what Eri is saying in her nonverbal way.

(More than anything, after all, she's devoted to one man...)

"I'll fight," she says, nodding firmly. "I'll live. Because I want to see Eri smile, not make Eri sad." Mikoto looks up at her, completely earnest. "What will make Eri smile?"

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Eri's hands slide over to Mikoto's. She grips them both, still looking in her eyes. She's smiling already, her relief palpable that Mikoto is so willing to say that. To make Eri think it'll be hard for Mikoto to leave her too. She tries not to think about how easy it could be. Mikoto is a strong warrior, a good fighter, utterly fearless and fierce. She won't hesitate, she won't be paralyzed.

There's no reason to keep her out of a fight, she more than anyone will do whatever it takes.

After a moment, Eri gives her answer, "I think I'd like to visit the family of kittens you take care of. Then I'd like to get you ice cream, or a parfait. Watch you eat it. I think that'll keep me smiling."

She squeezes down a little more firmly on both of her hands, "Tomorrow we'll look at the remains of the forest, maybe start planning efforts to replant it. I'll draw you something nice. And between all of that we'll fight. I think having someone on occasion there, backing me up, someone that I can count on, someone that I don't have to worry about much... I think that'd be nice. I'll move over to this room for as long as the RAs let me. Then longer still because I'll start sneaking in. I'll try to start learning how to cook you something better."

She'd never be up to snuff with Mai but... "...we'll make it Mikoto-chan. Because we're survivors. We'll smile too, because we have things to look forward to together."

[[Category:Logs]]

2016-02-12 - Sifting Through The Charcoal

2016-02-12T20:50:29Z

Boomage: Created page with "{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2" |- ! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Sifting Through The Co..."

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Sifting Through The Coals'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''The day after Mai's disappearance, Takeo and Mikoto attempt to find her.''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Takeo Akamizu]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Ohtori Academy
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
Morning of September 29th 2014 - February 12th 2016
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The dormitories are a gigantic mess. From the soldiers tearing through their stuff, and students trying to snatch a few things up to help them survive, everything's tossed aside and all torn up. Who knows whether Eri's arrived yet to try and straighten up Mai and Mikoto's room -- Mikoto, for her part, has no stomach for cleaning.

She got in late last evening, and she slept fitfully, only to rise early. She's shovelling the last of the noodles she's tried to cook into her mouth. They're virtually tasteless and remind her of what she's lost, but she needs the strength. As soon as she's done here, after all, she's going out again.

If Mai's out there, she has to find her. Gnawing in the back of her mind is the fact that she last saw Mai burning herself out, eclipsed by her own light, but...
But she can't give up, right?

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
It felt REALLY odd to have one's arm restrained in a sling Takeo was learning. On top of that, the stitches where Miyu's blade had cut him not once, not twice but three times. He carried a bag, simple and brown, in it, a few tuna-fish sandwiches. He knew, roughly, where Mikoto and Mai's dorms were, so he headed there and eventually found the right door.

With a sigh, Takeo raises his unrestrained arm and knocks on the door carefully. He says to the door as he knocks, "Mi-Mikoto-chan?" There is a pause, before he speaks again. "It's me. Takeo Akamizu? I said I'd try to find Tokiha-san?" He sighs and leans against the door frame, cradling his injured arm as he does so. "I'm sorry I didn't come last night. I just got out of the hospital. I had a concussion on top of this whole mess." He then mutters under his breath, "Whatever that is.." Then he clears his throat. "Anyway. Mikoto-san, I'm here. And I brought fooooood ~"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto finishes the noodles, tosses the bowl in the sink. She hesitates after standing and turning away, and then goes back to rinse the bowl off, because Mai had always emphasised the importance of that after eating a meal. And even though Mai's not here...

Well, the fact remains that Mai's not here, and so Mikoto finds it difficult not to tear up as she shuts the water off.
(You can cry later, Mikoto Minagi. For now, even though you've failed utterly at finding who you must find, you've got to go out there again and track down the person you love.)

The thought sticks to her like a burr, stubbornly latched and difficult to remove. She makes her way to the door and slings Miroku's case over her shoulder, only to stop dead and listen close as she hears footsteps --

But they're not /Mai's/ footsteps, and Mikoto's heart falls a moment after that brief glimmer of hope. She listens despondently as Takeo introduces himself, excuses his injuries, offers food. There's a moment's pause, and then the door clicks as it opens, and Mikoto steps out. She's shedded her shredded ball gown, replacing it with one of her normal school uniforms. She closes the door behind her, offering only a glimpse of the mess within.

"Takeo," she repeats his name, as if testing it in her throat and on her tongue. (She offers no honorific, but it's difficult to remember her ever using them.) She's silent, for a moment, looking more in the direction of his shoulder than his face, before she nods. "Okay."

With that, she turns and begins walking out of the dorms. She's evidently not much for conversation...

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Looking to the bag of food, then to the girl heading out of the dorms, Takeo nods once. "You're right. Tuna is a better lunch food than breakfast." He pushes off the wall to follow the younger girl. Like her, Takeo is in his normal school uniform, made a touch more fancy for his being a Student Council Enforcer.

He moves beside the Mikoto and looks her over carefully. "How are you doing?" He asks cautiously. He knows, more or less, that Mai is ... Well, Mai is probably not coming back. He holds out hope, but he's prepared, even if depressed about it, to face the reality. He takes a deep breath, "Mikoto-chan?"

He stops. He can't do it. He can't say the swords he knows and instead he smiles to the younger girl. "Come on. We'll check the Island. Have you ridden a horse?" He gestures and there, waiting for them is Sparkles. The big Warhorse looks over and dips her head in greeting to the pair.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

It's dire straits indeed when Mikoto doesn't immediately jump on food.

She moves silently until Takeo speaks up again, and the question makes her slow, though she doesn't stop. To most people, it would be a simple question; to Mikoto, it's as if she was just asked a twenty-point question on an exam she was utterly unprepared for.

'How are you doing?' It encodes a mass of social cues Mikoto only mostly understands, and here, now, she's so poorly equipped to process them. How is she doing? She's searching. She has failed so terribly at searching and yet here, now, it is the only thing she can do! All she can hope for is to find some clue, some scrap of information, something to lead her to Mai. She searched all night, but she still hasn't...

She grips Miroku's strap in her hands, her shoulders shaking with poorly-suppressed tears as she steps outside the dorm. At least that strap reminds her there's one thing which will always be clear to her, even if it won't help here. Sniffing to keep the tears controlled introduces another smell to her, hair and sweat and hay, and her mind automatically takes note and catalogues it as part of her environment, even as her mind consciously ruminates on Mai, Mai, Mai.

Takeo asks by name. She hears his footsteps cease. Mikoto stops, then, and turns to look at him. He smiles, and points out a horse, and Mikoto is relieved, because she knows animals, she can understand animals.

In an instant, what goes through her head could perhaps be translated as so:
It's large. Heavy, dangerous. Eyes set wide on the head, no bifocal vision, blind in the front and wise to a wide angle around it; probably a prey animal. Prey means startle reflex. Not kin. It's a horse. Horses live in herds. They follow their leader. Grazers. She's seen the children. They run with their parents.

Mikoto approaches Sparkle from the side, moving towards her front slowly. Hand where Sparkles can see it, she slowly reaches out to touch her neck. Gently. She doesn't bother talking to her; she's communicating her intentions without anything like that. She's not a threat; she won't hunt her.
Hopefully, Sparkles has enough of a normal horse inside of her to understand such a gesture.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
The horse gives Takeo a look that says with out words, "See? This is how you first approach a horse. Dumbass." Then Sparkles nuzzles the hand, recognizing a kindred spirit in the young girl.

Takeo raises an eyebrow. "Huh. First time I met her she bit my hand." He rubs the back of his neck with his good arm. "Anyway. This is Sparkles. She's one of my best friends." He then gestures around him and says, "I figure we can cover more of the Island, and quicker, on horse back. I asked if she'd help, and she was down." He shakes a head. "I asked the Rabbit, but he ..."

He said Mai was likely dead. Despite the Phoenix aspect, he doubts she could do that twice, and if she didn't arrive with everybody else on the island, she burned herself out. Allowing the Fire Magic to consume her like kindling. Despite those words, Merlin had tried to say them gently. Rabbits are only mostly monsters.

Takeo clears his throat. "Well, the rabbit had things to do after the invasion."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto's hand is nuzzled, and she gives Sparkles a wan smile. The look she gave Takeo was puzzling, but it's nice when animals accept her; it's so much easier to understand animal thinking than the complexities of human thought.

(The fact that Takeo has an animal as his best friend, knowing that, earns him a few points.)

"Can't ride," she points out, concisely, after she hears about the opinions of his respective animal friends. But she steps back and looks over to him, expectantly, because even if Mikoto can't ride that doesn't mean she can't ride /with/ someone. It should be the same sort of principle as riding on Natsuki's motorcycle -- or Duran -- right? Hold onto the person steering, don't let go. Hopefully with less of her getting dragged about by the scruff of her neck, this time.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Takeo Akamizu nods and smiles. "That's easy enough. Sparkles does most of the work." Using one hand he hoists himself up into the saddle and then offers a hand to Mikoto to help her up behind him.

He has a moment where he winces from one of those Miyu given wounds stretches, but it passes. "All you need to do is hold on. Sparkles will mostly do the rest. She's what's called a Warhorse. So I control her with my knees. You can use the rein, but, it's not needed right now."

He looks to the sky, where he last scene Mai was before he leapt at Miyu Greer up beyond the blue and in the black. He had asked her if he could fight Miyu. To try and protect her back while she dealt with Artemis. Instead HE had needed the protection. Even fighting the Black Knight he hadn't gotten his rear handed to him that handily. He closes his eyes and sends a silent prayer of hope to ... Whomever is listening. The Knights were Christian, Takeo was unclear what that made him.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto nods and takes Takeo's hand, hopping up onto Sparkles. She'd always suspected that horses made a lot of the decisions on their own, though... considering Takeo had been with them when they fell from space, Mikoto suspects there could be something more to Sparkles than she knows.

It's not a thought she spends much time on.

"Let's search island first," Mikoto suggests, "then caves." In the wake of that fire which had stirred Mikoto's fears for her brother's safety so terribly she had summoned those obsidian spires, there was little forest left. In the charred, blackened ruins, it should be easy to spy Mai, but if she's not there... Mikoto is sure she must be down below. Perhaps she retreated to one of their campsites, for some reason. Perhaps.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Takeo Akamizu nods and pats Sparkle's neck. "You heard her. Let's check the Island, and then go back to the caves."

Sparkles nods and begins to ride off at a light trot. Not tiring, but certainly ground eating. Her own head swiveling as she goes to look for Mai.

Takeo also looks around as they ride. His eyes searching, even as he tries to ignore the pain form any one of his wounds. He says over his shoulder as they trot along, "Your swordsmanship is pretty amazing by the way. I practice Kendo, and do European Longsword." It's really just idle chatter because otherwise he dwells. He doesn't want to dwell. He does whenever he tries to sleep. He sees Mai as she was destroyed by Artemis every time he lays his head down. The only thing beyond Mai being possibly dead that scares him more is his Sister Mika loosing her own battle.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto searches, too, peering over the distance and trying to catch any sign of Mai's characteristic orange hair. But the wind carries no scent of her, only the characteristic powdery-smell of charcoal, and her eyes catch nothing in the dismal expanse.

Meanwhile, Takeo talks about her swordplay. Mikoto, hampered by Recognition Inhibition, frowns as she tries to put the pieces together. "You..." Are male, so there are only a few options, unless he became a girl when he fought. Are talking about swords, which leaves both of the masculine warriors open, but...

Nope, she's still baffled.

"... who were you?" She asks, finally.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Closing his eyes as he hears the question, Takeo sighs. "Nobody." Is what he wants to say, should say. The Rabbit would be so angry at him if he didn't. "Never liked the rabbit much anyway." Takeo mutters then he takes a breath nd lets it out.

"I was - Or am, depending on how you want to look at it, Lancelot. A Knight of the Round Table." He nods with his toward the pack holding Mikoto's blade. "Your blade has a name? I heard it once, but I can't remember now. Mine. Also has a name. Arondight, Evil's Bane."

He shrugs his good shoulder. Not too surprised that even THAT hurts. "I am a Knight of the Round Table reborn. I have memories of that time, they come and go. I can speak French. Sometimes." Like when a pretty girl flirts with him or he's catching magical girls falling from the skies. Never when he wants to. "And I can summon armor and my blade, and my best friend here."

Sparkles looks over her shoulder and winks.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto listens patiently as Takeo mutters and then explains. With all her knowledge of Japanese history, she knows little of the wider world; the meaning of being a Knight of the Round Table escapes her, though she can infer its importance through context. Now he's spelled it out, she can see it; he does have the seeming of that boy all dressed in metal. It's obvious, but only in retrospect.

Magical girls and boys just always seem to have that sort of protection. It's a good thing for Mikoto, who doesn't even bother to hide herself with costumes.

"Miroku," she answers him, finally. "I must protect." It's her most sacred duty as a child of Minagi to guard her sword above all else, though she knows not why.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Nodding, Takeo sighs and continues to look around as they trot along the wastes of Southern Cross Island. He is silent for a long moment as Sparkles clears a hill top. "I think ... I think if Mai were here. We'd have seen her Mikoto-chan." He looks over his shoulder and gestures with a chin. "Maybe we should try the caves?"

There is a long moment as he considers. "What did the Head Mistress call them? The ... Black Caves of Mordor or something?" He really is having a tough time with remembering names today. Sparkles hsi lets out a horsey sigh.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Higher up, there's a better chance of seeing her.
Higher up, there's still no sign.

Mikoto frowns when Takeo says it, and nods against his back. She doesn't want to admit that Mai isn't here, but... she isn't. "Caves," Mikoto answers his question, simply; from the tone, it's easy to tell she still doesn't like Mashiro.

There's just something about her which sets the hairs at the back of Mikoto's neck up, and she never ignores that feeling.

Internally, Mikoto tries to retrace their steps through the caves. They were wet, and dark, and dismal; it was incredibly easy to get lost. She wants to split up, to cover more ground, but she knows it's a poor idea down there, so she just shakes her head and huffs out a sigh.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
The caves are indeed damp and dark and more or less miserable. Takeo, now on foot in the caves, due to height, leads Sparkles with one hand on the rein. He watches carefully and listens as he moves. He catches that Mikoto doesn't like the headmistress. He can's really blame her.

She almost always is the one to hand him his detentions. Who doesn't sleep in class anyway?

His eyes scan the cave, and once it becomes very dark, he moves to Sparkle's saddlebags and produces two small LED flashlights. He hands one to Mikoto and then turns his on. Shining as he walks.

Finally, he speaks again and asks softly, "Tokiha-san is special to you huh?" He asks softly.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto is no stranger to navigating in the night-time, but the darkness in caves is even more pitch, all sources of light removed. Her eyes adjust, but that only goes so far as the light from the entrance fades. The lights are a welcome assistance, and she takes one with a nod.

The light lets her move more confidently, instead of the cautious, exploratory steps she'd adopted when the light was dim. Still, she matches Takeo's pace. He's a good person, and he shouldn't be left alone in here.

She slows for a moment when Takeo asks his next question, though. It's a question which has burned through her mind in a thousand iterations, and yet...

"I love Mai," Mikoto says, out loud for the second time. It's all she can say.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Giving a nod, Takeo shines his light through the inky blackness. He hears the words and he looks over to Mikoto briefly, and then he just smiles over at her. It is a warm, friendly smile that has no hidden meaning. Just a smile that says, "I get it. I understand."

He shines the light down a side tunnel and shakes his head slightly. "I'm fond of her myself." He says almost in a whisper. "You know. Despite the fact that I completely screwed up the first time I talked with her, she still talked to me. Gave me a chance." He hangs his head and has to wipe away a tear. It wouldn't do for Mikoto to see HIM cry right now. "You know. When she found I was Lancelot. She's the first person to NOT take a step backward. All the other girls who learn just assumes I'm some sort of creep or pervert. because I did something in a previous life." He takes a deep breath. "And then. Then she danced with me." He looks over to Mikoto. "She is the first girl I ever wanted to dance with, and I can't even explain why. I was eating, and only there because I had to be, and she just walked by, said there was more to a Dance than the food, and that was it." He smiles, almost guiltily at Mikoto and has to wipe away another tear. "I just.... I wanted to hear her talk more. So I asked her to dance."

Takeo hangs his head. "I'm sorry Mikoto. I'm useless. I couldn't... I couldn't even watch her back. She didn't need my protection, she's stronger than me by far, but I... I couldn't..."

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Takeo pours out his feelings, and Mikoto listens without interruption. He's a relatively unknown person, so perhaps he doesn't understand the impact of her meeting his eyes, watching his face for so long. She's trying to figure out what to do, how to receive all this information in a helpful way.

But she doesn't know him. She doesn't know how to make him smile. She doesn't know what to do.

After a moment's deliberation, she moves closer and puts a hand on his less-injured arm. She could focus on his feelings of uselessness in battle, but words hold more meaning than their definitions to Mikoto, and she sees the way he has to wipe away his tears. And so...

"Takeo is sad," she says, almost as if to confirm it. A moment later: "I'm sad too."

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Takeo blinks a bit and looks to Mikoto. He doesn't really know her. He's seen her, talked to her briefly in battle as Lancelot, but never as Takeo Akamizu. And here he is trying not to blubber like a two year old who didn't get his yum yums.

He takes a deep and steadying breath. "Thanks Mikoto-chan." He says with a nod to the younger girl. He shines the flashlight and looks around. "Come on. I don't know if we'll be able to get across that lake, but we should at least get to it's shores. See what we can see huh?"

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto backs off when he seems to have more composure, though there's still concern on her face. She doesn't know why he has feelings about Mai; there are a million what-ifs there and her brain circumvents them all by focusing on the fact that Mai's absence made him cry. For that reason, she feels kinship with him, because she does the same.

In fact, if she were to lift her hand to her eyes, she'd find they're wet just from listening to someone else's feelings about Mai.

She nods to Takeo as he tries to change the subject, sniffling a little as she gets a hold of her own feelings. She starts walking, using her flashlight to make sure she doesn't trip over any stray rocks. If she were on her own, she'd happily try and swim into the lake and go further down that path, but... Takeo is sad, and it would be wrong to leave a sad person alone, wouldn't it? So she makes her way to the edge and just looks as far out over it as the light will shine.

Unbidden, the tears overwhelm her, and those little sniffs aren't nearly enough to keep her composed. The dark waters only remind her of the fire which has been extinguished, of the path they took to get there, of what they lost in the battle. Quietly, and waveringly, she says: "Mai..."

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Takeo Akamizu shines the light out on that lake beneath the school. He tries to shine it toward the other shore, trying to catch a glimpse of something. Anything. Anything that could show a glimpse of a yellow school vest, or anything else that would hint at Mai.

He tells himself he's not surprised. The Rabbit is a pain, and he was definitely far too blunt, likely BECAUSE of that he had done in Camelot. Maybe because of that he wasn't allowed to BE happy. That's why Mika is so sick, and why Mai is .... Gone.

He almost says that out loud. Mai is .... Gone. God only knows what happened to her as they all fell form orbit. He certainly doesn't. He had been too weak, and had to be rescued, passed out and so didn't SEE what happened.

He pinches the bridge of his nose. He had to hold it together. Maybe it was the pain talking, and not his real thoughts. He takes a deep breath. He's been doing that a lot lately. "Lancelot." He says as he looks out at the lake. "His full name, was Lancelot du Lac. Or, Lancelot of the Lake. He grew up beside a lake, and was there when Excalibur was returned to those same waters to Niniane." He can see it. He HATES looking into the past, into those memories. But, he's compelled for reasons he doesn't know. "They were like this, in England. She stepped from the water and held her arms out as Arthur was floated out. The Sword was placed in her arms, and she turned, guiding Arthur with one hand, and holding Excalibur with the other." He gestures, "The waves ... They never stirred. She just walked and sank beneath them with Arthur to his eternal rest, and Excalibur to return when it was needed the most." He is now silent, as he contemplates all of this.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mai isn't here. Mikoto doesn't immediately think as far forward as 'Mai is dead', not yet; she's preoccupied with the fact that Mai isn't with them, that she can't see her, can't run to her and hug her. She doesn't want to jump to the inevitable conclusion--
And yet, as soon as the thought enters her mind, she can't shake it. Mai is dead. Mai is dead, Mai is dead, Mai is dead. Mikoto sinks down at the edge of the lake, hugging her legs to her chest as she cries.

If Takeo had told her it would be all right, it wouldn't have helped. But Takeo doesn't say anything of the sort; instead, he tells her the story of Excalibur's return. Mikoto sniffs and rubs at her face and listens as he speaks about something which isn't about Mai at all. It's a little respite from what's plaguing them both, and it helps her to regain what composure she has.

Perhaps, after such a story, they'll be able to finish their time in the caves without sobbing again, even though there's no sign of Mai.

[[Category:Logs]]

Duck

2014-11-23T00:33:27Z

Boomage: THIS HAS BEEN A PSA ABOUT DUCKS

2014-11-20 - The Feeling of Bitter Disappointment, Shattered And Forgotten

2014-11-22T02:57:56Z

Boomage: WE FINALLY DID IT

{|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: The Feeling of Bitter Disappointment, Shattered And Forgotten'''
|-
|'''Summary''': 
''Anteaterina has just had the worst day in her entire life. Mytho let her down, and she was embarrassed in front of the one person she swore to defeat. When Princess Tutu finds her and the shard of Mytho's heart which has come to rest with her poor, broken heart, will she be able to help Anteaterina let go of her grief?''
|-
| '''Who:''' 
Anteaterina, [[Duck]], [[Mytho]]
|-
| '''Where:''' 
Gold Crown Town
|-
| '''OOC - IC Date:''' 
probably december 2013 if we're going by where the [[03-17-2014_-_Beginner_Ballet!!_The_Advanced_Class_Demonstrates%3F!|last scene]] left off but time is a mutable concept so who knows - 20th November 2014
|-
|}
[[Category:Logs]]

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

The lawn is beautiful in the morning.

The sun rises, luminosity incarnate, golden glory that turns every dewdrop upon the grass into scintillating rainbow-hued diamond.

The fountain burbles, its surface as bright as glass, yet beneath, as dark and rich a blue as the endless dawnlit sky.

The hedges sing softly, leaf-harps played lightly by fingers of warm spring wind. Every note promises a perfect day.

Mytho sits on the edge of the slope, one leg stretched languidly in front of him, the other bent as sharply as a mis-hammered nail. Even so, the curve is lovely, though not quite as lovely as his eyes.

Matched in hue by that wonderful sun, this morning they almost seem to shine, as they look out over the world.

Almost.

<Pose Tracker> Duck [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"I'm late! I'm late, I'm late, I'm laaate!", Duck had cried, falling out of her bed and hurriedly tossing birdseed at her fellow feathered friends and pulling on the last of her clothes even as she stumbled out through the hall.

It was only after she had scrambled out of the dormitary and halfway through the school grounds that she realised today was, in fact, not the day she thought it was, and that she did, in fact, have the morning free.
Feeling incredibly foolish, Duck stops, and looks down at herself. Her skirt is crooked and her hair is a mess. 'I guess I'm just not very good at looking nice in a hurry... well, I am only a duck.'

Duck sighs, shakes her head, and it's only then that she notices the boy sitting down who probably saw all of that. Her face reddens, and she goes stiff. 'Senior Mytho must think I'm so weird! Oh, no, is it even weirder that I'm looking at him?!' Duck looks away, sharply. 'But wait -- no -- that's even weirder than that! No, no, I have to act like I meant to do that and it's normal! Okay, Duck! You can do it!'

Duck turns back to the tragic prince, and approaches him c a s u a l l y, waving and smiling. "Senior Mytho! Hi! Isn't it a nice day?"
'Of course it's a nice day!', Duck groans, inwardly, her smile stiffening a little as she realises just how much she's already bungling her perfect plan.

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

Mytho doesn't seem to notice Duck while she goes through her morning rituals; he seems transfixed by the splendor on the whole, but incapable of appreciating the individuality of the details. Or maybe he's just looking at the middle distance, the 'nothing' in 'everything and nothing'. Is it possible he isn't enjoying this beautiful morning at all?

He does turn when addressed, his feathery white hair stoked to heavenly brightness by the dawn. It makes a soft ruffling sound as it moves along his cheeks.

Looking up at Duck through his impossibly (and possibly illegally) long eyelashes guilelessly, he replies with his typical levels of enthusiasm, "Okay." He doesn't seem off-put by her weird smile or disheveled appearance, so there's that!

Then the silence hangs, pregnant in the air, pursuing the labor of awkwardness that is found along the way to the miracle of birth.

<Pose Tracker> Duck [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

'Senior Mytho is so serene! He really is a prince from a fairy tale... even someone as weird as me can't bother him!' And a beat passes, and Duck realises that she's ~staring~, and she claps a hand across her mouth and holds her breath rather than release it as a 'quack' to ruin her illusion of girlhood right here and now.
And then she realises how strange /that/ must look, too.

"T-that's great!", Duck laughs, waving off her previous gesture and grinning just a little too wide. "Yeah! It really is a nice day, isn't it? Do you not have classes right now either, Senior Mytho?"
'Of course he doesn't! Do you think that the kind and considerate Mytho would skip class?! Ohhhh, Duck you're /hopeless/!'

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

The line of Mytho's neck pulls as he shifts his stare upwards. At first it seems like he's gauging the time from the position of the sun -- but no, there's the belltower, and clocktower, both in one. It may not be putting on its mechanical play right at the moment, but it has humbler uses.

"No," he agrees with a soft sort of amicability -- it's too early for class. Classes don't start for another half an hour. His eyes flicker back downwards, and for the briefest of moments, they look /directly/ at Duck, right into her eyes. It is easy to think that his expression is gentle, that there's just the hint of a serene smile tucked beyond the horizon of his lips.

That is a dawn that will never come, however, as the story currently stands.

---

Offscreen, someone cackles, then leans forward intently.

He sips his tea.

---

Yesterday was the worst day of Anteaterina's life, or so she believes. Having lost that legendary pas de deux to Rue, she feels she has lost everything. She ran out of the classroom, and hasn't been seen since.

But now she's here, her presence like a thundercloud. Tongue slashing in and out like a red whip, the tip of her tail twitching back and forth, her claws bursting straight through her slippers to rend holes in the ground with every step, she stalks towards Mytho, straight past Duck.

"Out of my way!!" she shrieks at the latter. "You -- this is all your fault, you stupid, limp... doll! You knew that if you danced poorly, Rue would humiliate me! You set me up!"

"...not really," murmurs Mytho absently, glancing at the howling maiden only sidelong.

<Pose Tracker> Duck [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"No, of course! I don't either. I mean, if I did, I wouldn't be out here! I'd be in class! Ehehehe..." Duck curls her hands together in front of her, and her dismay at her inability to talk to the Prince is overtaken in a moment as she looks back into Mytho's eyes.
They're perfectly still, like a quiet pond. But... somehow, they look so sad.
'How can I help you, my Prince?', Duck thinks, as her expression quiets and her inner monologue turns to that one thought.

Unfortunately, it's a peace which is soon shattered. So lost in his eyes, Duck doesn't even hear Anteaterina until she's upon them, shoving past her to get to the boy. "Ah--!" Duck cries, stumbling back a step, one hand coming up to her chest. Her words come immediately -- she's not the sort of girl who can stop to consider them, not right now. "Miss Anteaterina! Senior Mytho would never do that to you!"

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

Duck, as Rue's partner in the crime of ruining Anteaterina's life forever, may have made a tactical error in engaging this.

"And YOU! Are you here to laugh at me? You're the worst of all! You slack off in class, shaming the school, and you only do your best in order to hurt other people! To hurt me!"

Tears leak from the corners of her eyes. Though her words are spoken in anger, the last of them ring with truth. She is hurt. Terribly hurt.

The bells ring to herald the start of class, and Mytho quietly gets to his feet and starts heading that direction. His head is bowed -- in sadness? However, Anteaterina does the opposite, and pelts all-out towards the forest. There's no way she can face the class like this. Face Rue. Least of all face herself.

Though she disappears into the treeline, she hasn't gone far. It's easy to hear her as she tears up the ground looking for ants, gorging herself in the depths of her misery.

"It's not fair! Not fair! Not fair not fair not fair!"

She screams her fury and her anguish... more of both than a girl her age should hold.

Could contain.

But then, this is more than just her feelings.

If Duck gets close, her pendant starts to shimmer...

<Pose Tracker> Duck [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"No! N-no, that's not true at all!" Duck shakes her head, her face stricken with distress. Anteaterina is so upset...! "Miss Anteaterina--!"

The bells sound, interrupting Duck before she can even finish her sentence. She takes in a breath, looking to Mytho as he stands to go to class, despite the strong emotions Anteaterina is screaming to the world. In that moment, Anteaterina, too, leaves -- but she doesn't run to class.
She runs away, and Duck runs after her, because she's upset and in pain and Duck can't just leave her alone.

All she has to do is follow the sounds of sobbing and torn earth, and even a clumsy duck can move quietly given /that/ much cover. Unheard, she approaches Anteaterina... but before she can reach out and speak to her, her pendant glimmers red, and something red glimmers by Anteaterina...
Duck gasps, and pauses, her hand curling back to the necklace which makes her into a girl, and the girl, into Princess Tutu. Because it's not just red light, it's --

'Senior Mytho...?'

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

For a brief moment, all of Anteaterina shines with the light of heart's blood. Then He is there beside her, a ghost in a truly princely tunic, leaning beside her, comforting her.

"I know how you feel. Go on and cry," 'Mytho' urges. But that can't be Mytho -- he just went inside. This Mytho gently clasps Anteaterina's weeping head to his brest, his cheek nuzzling her nose. "It IS unfair."

"It's so unfair, it hurts!" weeps Anteaterina softly. "Please, stay with me forever."

There's something about the apparition's eyes that are utterly unlike the golden lamps of the 'true' Mytho. It's because there's something living there, behind those windows to the soul. There's pain in them, but also... hunger.

"Of course. I need you. I need your broken heart."

His smile is terribly, terribly wrong, like a dagger's slash across his noble face. The expression remains even as their nestling is interrupted by the arrival of Princess Tutu.

Anteaterina senses her more than she sees her, buried in Mytho's breast as she was. Still, she's quick to leap to her feet and turn around. "Who are you," she asks, without even wanting an answer. It's not a question -- it's a rejection. "Have you come to laugh at me as well?!"

Behind her, directly in her shadow, Mytho inclines his head encouragingly... aggressively.

<Pose Tracker> Duck [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Duck watches, transfixed, from behind the tree. "But," she murmurs to herself, her inner monologue spilling out over her lips, "but how could that...?"
'I need your broken heart,' Mytho says, a Mytho whose smile is too sharp and whose eyes are not a mirror. Duck gasps, her eyes widening as her upper body shifts back, shoulders back, head back. "That's--!!"

Her pendant shines, and from a golden egg hatches the ineffable Princess Tutu, who rises to relevé and steps out, revealing herself. "No, Anteaterina." Her voice is calm, gentle, and kind: entirely unlike the flailing, hapless Duck. "But the one next to you is not truly your partner." Still smiling, her hands rise above her, circling around each other in the mime for 'dance', before reaching out to the hurt girl before her -- she says it with her body before the words ever leave her mouth, but leave her mouth they do. "Please, Anteaterina... won't you dance with me?"

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

Anteaterina, trailing more of that red light, glares daggers at Princess Tutu. "I refuse! You couldn't possibly understand how I feel!" The forest around them is fading to outlines, the light that beats down reducing all things to the essence of itself. As the girl's arms lift, her uniform sheds like a snake's skin, revealing her own leotard and slippers beneath.

She dances, but not with Tutu.

Mytho looking on, she dances alone, whirling around and around in the saddest and most lonely Trente-deux Fouettés en Tournant that has ever been performed. She spins and spins, attempting that most dangerous and legendary of prima ballerina feats.

One...

The mossy ground thickens to harsh rock and desert sand.

Two...

A windstorm whips up, the pain in the girl's heart, as fanned into full flame by the heart shard, howling its rage. It batters and blasts, trying to keep everyone away, no matter what.

Three...

Anteaterina, each time her face returns to the fore, is still glaring at Tutu, defying her, daring her to argue, to object, to declaim.

<Pose Tracker> Duck [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It is an impressing display, each movement skilled, sharp, expert. And it is so full of hurt and pain and suffering that Princess Tutu's heart aches. She reaches out, against the wind and the buffeting sand, crying out over the din of the gale.
"Anteaterina!"
The sand catches in her throat, and as Anteaterina makes another turn and summons another gust, Princess Tutu has to bring up a hand to try and protect her eyes. But she does not turn away, does not scurry into the desert, does not run from Anteaterina and her pain.

She can't. She won't. It reads in her eyes, the way she raises her voice over the sandstorm. "Is this violence... really your way of dancing?!"

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

Four...

Pillars of jagged rock are rising out of the desert in a ghastly ring. To be blown against one would be death by obsidian incision. "Yes!" screams Anteaterina, but quickly, too quickly. She clings to this idea like life itself, because it has been her bulwark for so long.

Five...

"To make the audience surrender!"

Surrender, as she did, her heart in her throat, the first time she saw the class idol leap into the air and return to Earth as though an angel descended from Heaven, blessing the ground with the tip of her toes. She'll never forget that feeling.

She must /force/ everyone else to experience it, when they see her.

"THAT is art!"

Six...

The sandstorm leaps up another notch of intensity. "THIS is my way of dancing!" the girl at the eye shouts proudly, but also painfully. It is not dissimilar to a toddler who decides that handstands are /the/ correct way to walk, and that they will do it, /no matter what/. /Because/.

Seven...

Because she has to. She has to prove that one wrong. By any means necessary. She'll work harder, train harder, dream harder. "There's no such thing as destiny!" she adds. "No talent that cannot be overcome with my hard work! I /WILL/ win!"

Win at what, really?

Mytho looks on impassionately.

Eight...

<Pose Tracker> Duck [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The rocks rise, threatening to pin Princess Tutu into the deadly arena. But she's already accepted it. "Why do you feel that dancing is such a competition?!"

She leaps -- forward, not back, into the whirlwind before her. But the storm is too strong, now, too strong even for Princess Tutu to pierce through with her love and her devotion and her heart which aches for Anteaterina's heart. The wind plucks her from the air and dashes her to the ground with all the ferocity of the girl's pain.

She should be still, now. She should be broken. She should have seen the strength of Anteaterina's conviction and been smashed upon it.
But Tutu pushes herself up, cries out to her again: "Why must you win so badly?!"

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

Anteaterina's eyes tell the story. They tell the story of now, where Tutu's words strike her straight to the heart, darts of clarity, and they tell the story of then, the day that an innocent girl lost her heart first to the art of ballet, and then to darker forces.

Weakened, tainted by jealousy, wounded in pride, she was easy prey for Mytho's shard.

"BECAUSE SHE SAID IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE!" The truth rips out of her like a lanced boil, which is not all that far from the truth. Princess Tutu, even now, is moving through her storm with such determination, and it rings with conviction... as she, herself, does not.

Nine, ten, twelve... fifteen...

She spins like a top, desperate to hold onto the lie that has driven her for so long, but it is an unstable spin, precessing. The right words would knock her off balance completely.

"Because I want to dance like Rue-sama, and no matter what she says, I'll do anything it takes to win!"

...twenty...

Tears pour down her cheeks. Even with the magic, her legs feel like they're about to break.

<Pose Tracker> Duck [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Princess Tutu pushes herself to her feet, even though the sand catches at her namesake clothes and threatens to send her sailing away like so many feathers. She rises back to her toes, and she dances forward, toes on the sand as if the rest of her were weightless.

She can almost see it, the pain weighing down her heart, the pain which stings and tears at her throat as she spits words like slings and arrows. A horrible pain, a damning pain, and yet...

"Those feelings are not truly your own, Anteaterina," Princess Tutu says, coming to a stop before her and reaching out. The storm does not sway her again, does not cause her to turn away.

She looks up to Anteaterina, and her eyes are compassionate, and understanding, and kind.

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

Princess Tutu's eyes are also blue.

Blue, like the lake of water that springs into existence beneath Anteaterina's toes, mirror-flat and all-consuming. The fresh scent of a winter lake pours upwards, banishing the dry air and the tension carried within it.

It isn't a pool of tears, but they come as well, beading at the girl's eyes as she gazes into that of the Princess. But no longer are they expressions of agony. Now they are simply release.

Her shaggy arms coming up for a beautiful twirl, Anteaterina -- finally -- leans forward, and ceases to dance all alone. But her steps are tentative, confused, perhaps a little overwhelmed.

It is up to Princess Tutu to lead this pas de deux.

<Pose Tracker> Duck [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The desert gives way to endless blue, the parched sand becoming water, cool, calm water. No longer hostile to all life, but instead cradling it, fostering it, sheltering it in its oldest forms.
Anteaterina never wanted to cut everyone so deep, did she? Water is a much better backdrop for her performance.

"Please, show me how you truly dance, Anteaterina." Princess Tutu encourages her as she takes her hand, leading her into the dance slowly but surely. "Without that bitterness and hatred... I'm sure it will be much more beautiful!"

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

And so it is.

Anteaterina bends more gracefully than a willow in the wind. She swirls, and is as lovely as wildflowers in the field. Her leotard is gloriously rich against the paler blue of the lake, and her eyes shining like the endless sky.

"I feel so light... so free... so happy!"

She follows Tutu's steps, and tentatively, gloriously, tries a few of her own. The thought explodes from her heart and out her mouth without her even realizing it.

"I /love/ to dance!" For its own sake, for her own sake, not for anyone or anything else. She quivers with catharsis, her tears flicking off into the air around her until there is nothing left but a watery, long-tongued smile.

<Pose Tracker> Duck [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

And so it happens that they are dancing together -- when Anteaterina finds the courage to make her own steps, Princess Tutu moves with them, emphasising and supporting the other girl's grace and relief. She is there to complete Anteaterina's dance, but it is Anteaterina's, first and foremost.

"Dancing with freedom and joy... yes, this is truly your way of dancing!" Princess Tutu is so, so glad that Anteaterina has found that truth, has realised her precious feelings. And she will dance with Anteaterina until her heart is content, because she is blessed to be part of this dance.

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

They dance forever and a day, but eventually, enraptured in her dance, in the bliss that Princess Tutu has fanned within her, Anteaterina pirouettes away.

Another remains, a dark red glow in this pristine blue space. Mytho, or the one who looks like him, floats downwards towards the Princess, his expression as bereft as Anteaterina's had been, as though all of her suffering has been returned to him.

He clasps her hands lightly, intangibly.

"I am the feeling of bitter disappointment, shattered and forgotten," he explains, and though his voice is hollow and strange and desperately sad, it contains more emotion in those few words than Duck has ever seen Mytho express.

There is no warmth in his ghostly palms as they hover over Tutu's, but a great deal of coldness in his voice. Not the icy gale of cruelty or rejection -- but the freeze of someone who is alone, out in the winter storm, desperate to find even the slightest pile of rags near a brightly-lit window so that they will be warmer, and even slightly less alone.

"Must I wander again?"

<Pose Tracker> Duck [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The heart-red glow becomes Mytho's image, and Princess Tutu smiles as he takes her hands. He is a piece of Mytho's heart -- she knows this, even as she sees the sadness and suffering in his eyes.
Despite his sadness, he is a part of Mytho. Even sad feelings, when true to your heart, are precious and important.

It must be so. The Prince needs his heart back.

"This is not the place where you belong," Princess Tutu explains, gentle and calm and kind. "You need to return to Mytho... you are a precious part of Mytho's heart."

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

"I can go back?"

It is morning all over again, a beautiful morning, simply from the staggered look in Bitter Disappointment's eyes. They are luminescent, enkindled with the greatest emotion of all, one which dare not speak its name. His eyes crinkle just a little, his lips begin to smile, and Tutu gets just the slightest glimpse of what her Prince might be like once he's restored. "I'm so glad..."

Then the apparition dissolves into a cloud of red sparkles, which congeal in Tutu's palm, a literal shard rather than a figurative one.

And the true Mytho, the Mytho who has emptied himself, steps out from behind a tree. Apparently he didn't go to class after all. In actuality, he walked out in the middle (leaving an infuriated Mr. Cat cleaning himself on the floor), drawn like a magnet for reasons he doesn't understand.

Cannot understand.

He stares at Tutu -- gapes, really, which is about as much as he can express right now. He remembers her from the other times. Falling, always falling. And like a force of nature, she's there to catch him.

The shard twinkles in her palm.

<Pose Tracker> Duck [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Princess Tutu nods, and smiles. When the feelings of Bitter Disappointment collect into a shard of a heart in her palm, even the maiden of the dance must look on in wonder, her amazed smile crinkling at the corners of her eyes.

She's found a piece of the Prince's heart. She's really, truly going to help him get his heart back...

Footsteps announce another guest, and Princess Tutu turns to find Mytho, the real and tragically heartless Mytho, stepping into the clearing. She stretches her hands out, tilting her cupped palms towards him, to offer the shard to the Prince with which it belongs. And she smiles as it goes to him, happiness in her eyes...
But when she hears others coming, she realises that she should go. She turns, and in a few, graceful steps and leaps, she disappears into the forest.

Princess Tutu...? The Prince's dutiful savior has gone.