locked away.

[repeatingfate]

[ Not real. Oh, god, it's funny at this point. So funny. Because every time things fell into place, things were ruined-- A perfect world demolished by Takano's machinations, and one last chance, one last time, and when everything reset, she was--

Here. A mental institute that said none of that was real. Oh, god, it was so funny. So funny that she screamed in their face outright, and despite being "such a little girl," she was sedated off the bat.

Yeah. So funny. ]

Comments

[atrabilis]

[It's been quiet as of late, in ways he does not like. There has been silence in ways others cannot hear, and Nigredo wonders if his mind is slipping off its axis. It clouds with possibility, paranoia murmuring beneath a well-placed lid, but denial would not allow him past that edge.

That final point.

They bring him to the Sun Room, and without protest, he sits in the indicated seat. His mind already moves in recognition, even if the nearby soul is no blood of his. Despite spats and differences, however, the two could be similar. They have the same drugged and wretched look.

Nigredo blinks.]

Rika?

[repeatingfate]

[ There's a voice not to be recognized. And wouldn't she know--after years and years and a century more? There's a voice she doesn't recognize, and it's calling her name.

Her eyes drag up to meet his, violet touching green. No. She doesn't know him. ]

...That's one of my names.

[ There's a slur in the words, and she pretends not to hear it. Furude Rika, and Frederica Bernkastel, and here, apparently, Jeanne Isabelle.

None of them, she thinks; none of them are really hers. ]

[atrabilis]

[The female doesn't know him. He can tell by the bemusement passing beneath her weary eyes, and by now, there is little in terms of guesswork. By now, Nigredo has seen enough to know.

A cough escapes his lips before he can stifle it long enough to speak the words.]

...You were here before. You probably don't remember me.

[Very few ever do.]

I'm Nigredo. We...talked a couple times.

[repeatingfate]

[ This child is pressing details like pieces ill-fit, and she can't herself to come close to caring. What he's speaking of... It has to do with him, and nothing to do with her.

He met a different self. One that was not herself, not this Furude Rika. It's simple to process at least at the moment, and she waves a hand lethargically to brush it off. ]

You spoke with a different self. A different Furude Rika. Don't assume anything from those conversations, child of man.

[ Oh, she thinks idly. Her mouth degenerates into Hanyuu like this. ]

[atrabilis]

[It's a switch and a step, and Nigredo finds himself drowning not in confusion, not in shock, but apathy. For even as this one claims no hold on the one before, as the one before had gone about dealings with a more desperate and human bearing, Nigredo has lived this moment time and again since the Miltian Conflict.

It does one well, he assumes, to have the brother he has now. He continues without pause.]

My mistake, then. [A pause.] Still, I met a Furude Rika, and I owe her an apology.

[repeatingfate]

[ He owes that self an apology and sought it out from her. How faulty. How wrong. ]

Find a shrine--

[ She says. ]

And speak your words to the air. For, by now, that child is long dead. I'm the last to remain.

[ Nothing as simple as that, but let the dramatics ensue. Humans had no mind for anything beyond natural understanding, so let it be said: She is all that remains, and it's a truth in turn. One last chance was allotted to her life, and that was all.

That is all. ]

[atrabilis]

[There is a reference he barely grasps, a girl speaking of a shrine and a child long dead. Wonderful. Let him ignore it; he has patience enough to do so. His mind threatens to break into a headache, and the murmurs within him only grow to swell, but provocation is the last thing he needs.

Nigredo only sighs, like a tired parent.]

It's an explanation. For knowing one of your names.

[That is all.]

I know I don't owe anything to you.

[repeatingfate]

[ Ah, he's smarter than he seems. Enough so that Rika calms, quiets. Looks at him through blurred eyes to take in more details than a claim of knowledge.

He's as small as she is. She thinks of Satoko, and shudders once. ]

...Then it's simple. I'm Rika. Thank you for the acquaintance, Nigredo.

[ A mutter: ] Disregarding the location.

[atrabilis]

[She calms down, at least. The detail counts, enough for Nigredo to toss aside the past minutes in their entirety. It is simple, as she says.

He nods in acceptance.]

I'm guessing this is your first day?

[repeatingfate]

[ That gets a smile, cocked to the side and slightly skewed. ]

My first day.

[ An affirmation. Instead of being dead. Instead of being within the sea of worlds, being ready to move on to her final one.

Was this it? Her last chance. ]

[atrabilis]

[First day constitutes a thorough introduction to one's space and time. Nigredo, however, will spare the unnecessary and get straight to the point.]

The chemicals should wear off in about an hour.

[repeatingfate]

[ What a helpful child. But Rika could recall this now. ]

I know.

[ No. Perhaps that wasn't an appropriate response. ]

Thank you.

[atrabilis]

[A thanks could be an invitation to continue. Nigredo does not.]

It's...nothing.

[repeatingfate]

[ She wonders if this child meant anything. If his existence was as torn away as hers was. If he represented what was lost in her and what would fade away. She wonders... but perhaps it doesn't matter.

The girl drops her chin to her chest; her eyes sag close. ]

...Does anyone leave here other than death?