week 0, post-trial

[okitactless]

[TIME FOR PARTNER HUGS.

Or, well. Whatever Rapunzel needs, at the moment. This whole thing has left Yasusada in an incredibly strange state--he's certainly no stranger to death and murder, and he doesn't doubt Sharpay believes in her own reasoning, whether it makes sense to anyone else or not. In other circumstances, maybe he'd even respect her for it.

...But he also knows what Jae-ha's going through. He's lost his partner, his master, almost everyone--and at the time, he'd been utterly helpless. And while he's most certainly a weapon, he also takes a great deal of pride in being a sword. Something used to kill with honor and respect, as far as he's concerned. The way Gi-gan's body was treated... he's not happy about it.

But right now, he's more concerned with taking care of his partner. It's obvious Rapunzel isn't used to any of this, and after she'd been so vehement about protection... it's got to be disheartening.

He seeks her out as soon as they're back in their dormitory, though he's openly cautious about it.]

Rapunzel-kun?

Comments

[hairbrain]

[ rapunzel curls up on the bed, clutching her own hair like a safety blanket. it's like not she hasn't seen death before --- both mother gothel and eugene died right in front of her on the same day, even though her tears were able to bring eugene back to life. if only that would work on gi-gan!! ]

[ she knows it's moot, though. she's been trying not to be miserable in front of other people, since she doesn't want to add to their problems, but in the safety of "her" room -- their room, she's not making as much of an effort to cover it up just yet. ]

Hi, Yasusada.....

[ pascal's squeaking encouragingly and rubbing against her cheek, too. ] Sorry. I'm still a little upset.

[ a little!! ]

[okitactless]

[Her efforts are not unnoticed, but Yasusada doesn't comment on them--neither her attempts to keep it together around the others, nor her open misery in here. He's far too used to spending time with someone who can't stand being seen in vulnerable moments, and it's reflex at this point to overlook it.

Still, he sits down on the bed as well, carefully moving some of her hair aside so he doesn't accidentally sit on it. He doesn't reach out to her just yet--he's the type to respond to the physicality of others, and he's certainly not going to touch her if she doesn't want him to.]

Don't be sorry. It's natural. [Even he knows that much.] ...Did you know her well?

[Sharpay, Gi-gan... either one, honestly.]

[hairbrain]

[ well, she definitely scooches closer to him once he's in the room. she doesn't know him well, either, but she their lives are tied together --- she trusts him already, she can't help it. ]

No, not really... but she was so kind. She reminded me of my mother. [ except cooler. ]

And Sharpay.. I wanted to believe in her. I feel so stupid. She didn't care at all. She just --- she took advantage of a woman who wouldn't hurt her.

[okitactless]

[He certainly won't protest the proximity, at least. If she wants to be close, or even to lean on him completely, he won't move away.

He doesn't respond right away, and with his head bowed, his hair is long enough to obscure his eyes. But eventually, he speaks up.]

...I don't think she didn't care. [His voice is quiet and steady--not unkind, but not overly gentle, either.] If she felt nothing, then she wouldn't have said she couldn't tell us why she did it. I didn't talk to her much, but... I think she must have believed in her own reasons.

[hairbrain]

[ rapunzel goes quiet --- she wants to argue instinctively, that what sharpay did was heartless, but it's not that simple, is it? who's really to blame here, the girl, or her captors who manipulated her with.... what were probably her dreams. ]

You're right.

[ and she settles down a little. ] She wouldn't tell me her reason -- but it was something really important to her.

[okitactless]

It always is.

[His words are still soft, but for once, he actually sounds like the centuries-old spirit he is. While still young and naive in many ways, Yasusada has seen his fair share of death, and a wide variety of it too--everything from watching his master be overtaken by illness right in front of him, to the lives he's personally taken in battle.

Human morality is something he's struggled with since he found himself in a physical body. But loss? Grief? Desperation? Devotion? All of those are things he's always understood.]

...everyone probably wants to go home without any more deaths, right? [Now he sounds unsure again, unwilling to make assumptions about such a wide variety of people. He's mostly going off of what he saw today.] I know that's important, but I think... maybe we should make sure Jae-ha-kun is okay, first.

[hairbrain]

[ now she's gonna scooch closer, until her shoulder bumps up against his. proximity??? proximity. she misses eugene --- who was really her emotional rock in times like this, but she's getting to be really comfortable with ]

I think so. I don't think anyone wants unnecessary bloodshed. [ at least, she'd hope not. ] And we have to save Jae-ha..... I wish I knew how.

[okitactless]

[One of his hands comes up--out of reflex, or instinct, or some mix of the two. He blinks at it, as if surprised by his own actions, but after a moment's hesitation, he rests it gently on her head. He's not sure why, but it made him feel better when Okita did it to him, so he's hoping it'll work for her too.]

They must know something. Tora-kun and Ryuu-kun. [Tiger and Dragon, that is.] There has to be some way they can help us.

[hairbrain]

[ gothel used to do that to condescend to her --- from coming from yasusada, it doesn't feel that way at all. it's just nice to feel that she can trust someone here who also won't sugarcoat things or keep secrets from her. she leans a little closer, she's touchy feely. ]

Do you honestly think they want to help? Because from where I'm standing, they're the ones who did this to us.

[okitactless]

[She's not shoving him off, so clearly he's done something right. He leaves his hand where it is for the time being, sitting still and letting her lean on him as much as she needs. He doesn't shrug, reluctant to dislodge her, but there's some hesitance in his tone when he speaks.]

...It could be that someone else is doing something to them, though, couldn't it? [He winces; that sounds vague and clunky, even to him.] That is, there's no way of telling how much power they really have, or if someone else is controlling them, or... [He sighs.] We don't really have any information, do we?

[hairbrain]

[ he sure is! they're gonna be cuddling in no time. ]

You really think someone is putting them up to it? Like, the tiger and dragon people?

[ it would make sense but rapunzel is still naive and still believes that ultimately, they have a choice. and she knows what choice she would have made. ]

We really don't. And I don't even know where to start with that.