[ cell phone call to Hojo ]

[tracedmemories]

[ Shelke stares at the contact she has her cursor hovered over in silence, staring at it until the word the binary numbers form barely triggers any recognition at all anymore. And even after that, still she stares on, hands still as though frozen in place.

Hojo.Finally, she mechanically presses down on 'send' and brings the phone to her ear, her

Comments

[moralmisconduct]

[Hojo is not in the best of moods. His phone, still warm from the numerous attempts he has made at trying to reach Kira, is conveniently in his hand as it rings. The username surprises him a little, but his voice betrays no emotion as he answers.]

Little miss?

[tracedmemories]

Professor--

[ Shelke's voice is hoarse, almost raspy when she speaks. There's a faint crackle of static and the low hum of electrical interference over the line, though it does little to mask her distress. ]

Have you heard any news on Genesis Rhapsodos?

[moralmisconduct]

[She sounds...uncharacteristic. Again, he has to wonder just how much the years above ground have changed Shelke the Transparent, and how long it will take him to correct these undesirable alterations.

A light scoff into the phone at her question. The traitors, it seems, all choose to leave at once.]

No, I have not.

...You are upset. I hope you haven't come to depend on him.

[tracedmemories]

It is not a matter of dependence--

[ Shelke's answer is so immediate that it comes off exactly as it is: defensive. Hojo's words brush so close to the truth that it makes her bristle and want to back away. ]

...his departure was abrupt. I do not now what has become of him.

I--

...I dislike uncertainty. That is all.

[moralmisconduct]

[He opens the door and steps back, spreading his palms as if spreading out a whole world before her. Behind him, the years they've spent together and apart, in different forms and circumstances, shadows the reality of the small apartment, his own vulnerable nature.]

Little miss Shelke.

[He smiles.]

We have work to do.

[tracedmemories]

Professor Hojo.

[ The name, affixed to the title which has always defined Hojo in Shelke's eyes, is whispered out in deference as Shelke plays herself right into the Professor's hands, blind as ever to her own failings and weaknesses. She falls for his grandiose gestures, for his smile and his facade and his words. She lets him play the cards of the past, because it's where she still lives and she knows not how to escape. She lets him blind her with everything that was until even the future is blotted out, and all she can do is follow the lead he gives her. He was not mistaken, after all. Servitude is all she has ever known, and it's on a near instinctive level that she seeks it. ]

How can I be of assistance?