tenth.

[getawaywith]

[ phone ]

[For a while, nothing can be heard from the phone except rough, ragged breathing which teeters on the edge of sobs. It's not until after quite a bit of this that Shizuru speaks.]

I can't...ask for forgiveness...

Natsuki...how could I?

Natsuki!

[There's a dull clatter as she drops the phone. It'll be a little while before she gets

Comments

[Phone]

[heartstar_blues]

No, you can't.

What the ☠☠☠☠ was that?

[Phone]

[getawaywith]

[She sounds a bit calmer when she finally gets back to the phone. A bit less sincere, too.]

I lost control.

I'm sorry.

[Phone]

[heartstar_blues]

Yeah, I don't ☠☠☠☠ care.

I've died enough times here that one crazy ☠☠☠☠ isn't going to make much a difference.

You got control of it now or should we be worried about putting your ☠☠☠☠ in a hole?

[Phone]

[getawaywith]

I'm perfectly fine now.

[hungry_monster]

[Oh hey, house next door to him. He'll go outside to see his neighbour running.]

Shizuru?

[getawaywith]

[She almost doesn't register that someone called, because the voice isn't Natsuki's. After a moment, though, she slows and turns to stare at Johan.]

I...

[hungry_monster]

[If she remembers anything about the people she killed, she might realize that the young man in front of her looks almost identical to one of the young women she'd killed. He however seems the same as he always is.]

Are you feeling any better?

[getawaywith]

[She remembers, foggily. But right now she's having trouble processing what it means.]

I don't know. I need...I need to know if Natsuki is all right.

[crystalrazing]

[Thankfully, Natsuki is the one who answers the door once Shizuru reaches 502 Ricardo. It's hard to tell just what she's thinking, since she's doing a good job of keeping her face completely blank, but her eyes do narrow a tiny bit.]

... Shizuru.

[getawaywith]

[Shizuru just stands there, tears rolling down her face, starting to shake in the cold.]

[crystalrazing]

[... Geez, how can anyone say anything bad to a sight as sad as that? Natsuki steps back.] Come in.

[getawaywith]

[Stifling a pathetic hiccup, Shizuru stumbles inside, leaving little wet footprints on the floor.]

Natsuki. You're well.

phone;

[grannysaid]

[Arika wants to yell, wants to shout and cry at the other woman for the horrible things she did. Yet how... can she be mad at someone obviously suffering so much?]

You... [Why?]

phone;

[getawaywith]

...Arika Yumemiya.

I don't know you.

phone;

[grannysaid]

[She nearly chokes on her next words.]

I would like to change that. If it's all right. [--because arika tries to like EVERYONE]

[backseat_dragon]

...

I'll forgive you, even if you don't ask for it. I guess that's just the kind of guy I am. Pretty pathetic, huh?

[getawaywith]

Oh, I'm sure I could find a use for a "pathetic" guy like that.

[backseat_dragon]

Erm, probably...

You don't have to tell me why you did it or what happened if you don't want to. I can't even pretend to understand what lead to all of that. But if you're here now, well... you can't be that bad of a person.