✿ 4th Bud [Action]

[seiriald]

[It's been several days since the incident that confined her to the clinic, and frankly Kaori has become very tired of that place. Not only was she bored out of her mind, but merely the smell of it brought up fragmented memories of pain and fear from long ago. On top of that, it was lonely when no one visited. Sorry Vash, but she really can't take

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[imatreenow]

[Mithos would hold no objections to holing himself up in house 52 and shunning the outside world and its people (especially its people) for as long as deemed fit (a very, very long time), but unfortunately food is a necessity. So here he is, on his way back from the grocery store...

...When he notices a certain girl in the road ahead. He stops short, his footsteps crunching to a halt in the snow.]

[imatreenow]

[He is slowly becoming aware of just how much of his heart he's pouring out. Does that mean...he has already let her in? And does that subsequently mean that he trusts her? He isn't sure; the tangled and frayed emotions are difficult to sort out. He is certain of one thing, though: she understands. That...makes it okay, right? It's okay to bear his heart to her if she already knows what's inside, right?]

They called me a coward for not giving the world another chance. Am I at fault for running away? Is it wrong to want to avoid being hurt again? [Questions, so many questions. He had been looking slightly downward this whole time, but now he looks more directly at her.]

...You feel the same way, don't you?

[seiriald]

It's not wrong... to not want to be hurt. [This much she knows for sure, and she's not about to let Mithos think that it was okay for even a moment. Little by little she is also letting him inside, far faster than anyone else since Masude's death.

Thus, she confirms his question with a soft nod, wishing she could see who he was... No matter what, she had to protect him.]

[imatreenow]

[This is the second time she's spoken those words to him: it's not wrong. The second time she's accepted the weakness in his heart. His loneliness, always hidden by anger and hatred, now bubbles even closer to the surface, yearning to reach out to her.]

.....You're the only one who hasn't blamed me for feeling that way.

[seiriald]

[The only one...? That... wasn't okay. That wasn't okay at all. Even if they disagreed with it, her siblings never blamed her once for her hatred of Humans. Yet Mithos was alone? For how long has he been suffering like this...?

Once again she raises her hand to reach out for him, wanting nothing more than to protect him from those wretched people. She had to stay by him, had to.]

[imatreenow]

[If it was anyone else here, he would hit that hand away.

Somehow it's okay if it's her. It's...okay to let his defenses down. Even if he's still adjusting to the idea of there being someone who isn't against him.]

Kaori?

[seiriald]

[She really would like to see him right now, to get a better sense of how he's feeling. For now, she just offers him a smile, a genuine one that she's rarely shown to anyone else because she has so much trouble trusting others.

You're not alone...]

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[imatreenow]

[That's something new, too. No one has smiled at him like that since Genis, and before that...Martel, long ago. He quickly pushes the association with Genis away; it's still a wound he doesn't like to touch, or even acknowledge that it's there. Kaori is different.]

[imatreenow]

[...And when is the last time he smiled? He tries a small upturn of the corners of his mouth, but it feels foreign. He'll settle for averting his gaze and turning slightly red.]

[seiriald]

[While she can't see it, she is still able to sense the emotions within him. Was he... trying to smile back, or forcing himself not to? It makes her expression a little wistful, glad that he was at least trying. Though what to say next, or if she's even capable of it she doesn't know.]

[imatreenow]

[What is he even supposed to say? Everything happened so quickly and all at once; he can hardly keep up with himself. It's all unfamiliar territory. Not new, but buried and long forgotten. How to have a friend. Because...isn't that what it's called when someone is there for you? A friend...]

.....Thank you. [He stumbles over the phrase, just as foreign as the smile had been. His voice is barely audible, unsure if this is what he should even be saying.]

[seiriald]

[The way he said it, it was almost cute. She knew how difficult it was to admit to someone such secrets, and then have them accept you. She was going through it right now, so Kaori accepts it.]

Can I... see you more? [It might be too soon for that, but she's willing to wait until he's ready for that level of trust.]

[imatreenow]

[Mithos hesitates. He had never planned on letting her in, but already she's walked right through to him. Is turning back an option? And it's what he had always hoped for, a secret wish buried beneath the darkness inside his heart: someone who accepts him.

Finally, he nods.] ...Yes.