Sweet dreams are made of ...

[infernal_rival]

Nisei is unconscious. He took four steps into a room he's never seen before, and sank to the ground, for no apparent reason. He's sleeping, but in his mind, he's re-living something in great detail.

Comments

SO EPIC I COULD NOT RESIST. <3

[pinnd_buttrfly]

Soubi had caught a glimpse of the well-lit room, with a kotatsu facing bright windows, but only for a fraction of a second. Before he could even put up his defenses, his strength had flooded out of him and he had ended up on the floor, fast asleep.

Oh god. The difference that might have made...

[infernal_rival]

[Nisei is sitting bolt-upright, with his hands on the ground to keep from losing his balance. His breathing is disturbed, and it's several long moments before he so much as sees you. He draws his legs up into a more protected position, but he's not sure when he'll be able to stand. When he closes his eyes, there are flames; spreading, dancing, vivid and ephemeral. Seimei was of the opinion that fire purified. Nisei ... had little use for symbolism. But there was something mesmerizing about watching a life end that way. Something dangerous and yearning, that almost made him want to let the fire reach him. The significance of the rest of what he saw is almost too much for his mind to touch.

Crosscurrents of it rustle other memories, in free association, in no particular order. Sensei telling him to stop looking for information, because there were things he had no right to know. Ritsuka, asking him the other day what breaking meant. (Was there really anyone alive who didn't know that?) Himself, aged six, holding a huge, industrial

It would be a really good difference, but then we wouldn't have the effed-up creature that is Soubi!

[pinnd_buttrfly]

[Soubi too wakes up with a start. For a moment he doesn't move, eyes glassy and unfocused. He had barely remembered that day until now; fourteen years of systematic brainwashing has left him with very few full memories of more mundane times in his life. Remembering the scene so vividly is a shock like being plunged into an icy sea. He now knows what his mother had said that time, what she had truly meant... Had she honestly cared? Had she not wanted to leave him to Ritsu-sensei, had she not simply been a careless and stupid woman? It's too much for him to bear. He sits up shakily. In a moment he catches sight of Nisei, also on the ground and vulnerable. But he doesn't have the energy to fight him or run from him. Not now. He can only rest his head against the wall and, detached, watch Nisei regain full awareness.]

Mm. Conflicting values of 'good' ftw.

[infernal_rival]

[Somewhere, in the back of his mind, Nisei is feeling watched. Unless something triggers his threat response, though, it isn't commanding his attention. Processing what he's seen is like being ripped in two. A part of him is reacting the way he did at the time, with a razor-alertness and a sense of power, exultance, and fulfillment. He'd done something on Seimei's orders, on his sacrifice's behalf, that could not be undone, and he'd done well. The newness of it was sharp and present. But the death made him tingle and ache inside. How was it possible that his sacrifice was like him, in so many, many ways? How had he known that when it came to killing, all Nisei really needed was permission? He felt so close to Seimei, like a reflection that finally caught a glimpse of the person casting it. He made sense in relation to his sacrifice, in a way that he never had before. The experience was overpowering; as if by killing for him, Nisei's soul had knelt at Seimei's feet. It almost made him wish that his sacrifice would touch him, so that he

LATE!!!!!!!!!!!

[beloved_by_all]

She was crying again

Nonsense. Seimei is never late. //Teasing you.

[infernal_rival]

[Nisei becomes aware of your presence the moment you start waking up. It ... appears that you just materialized on the floor. You're face-up, at least, and in a single, fluid movement he's pulled you upright and set you down again you with your back to a wall. There are blankets and pillows of various shapes piled up against the sides of the room, so you aren't directly on the ground. He was feeling very queasy, a few moments ago, but ... seeing to it that you're safe and well is non-negotiable. You may notice that he's still quite pale.]

Seimei?

[It's focused, quiet. He doesn't want to pry, but he *doesn't trust this room* so - there's a strong vibe of Are you alright? Do you need anything? Tell me what to do underlying the name.]

Oh totally true :P

[beloved_by_all]

[Seimei snuggles into the blankets without even meaning to, his ears had been pressed back now come forward. His eyes flutter opened]

Nisei?

n_n

[infernal_rival]

[Nisei swallows, still trying to get over a lingering sense of violence and unease. You look fine, untouched by the nightmares that he woke from so recently ... and impossibly perfect. There's a space, between when you open your eyes and consciousness comes into sharp focus behind them that Nisei is very partial to. The effect, the way your face changes as you settle into it is sublime, like mist coiling up towards the moon. And it's something that almost no one is allowed to look at.]

Yes.

[Since you aren't in any immediate danger, the rest of what he might say can wait.]