fourteen | oo30 [ voice // action ]

( Sokka | Locked 100% )

... I need your help. And you can't tell anyone, okay?

( Aqua | Locked 100% )

Aqua... I know we haven't spoken that much, but I need to ask you a really, really big favor.

( Sanji | Locked 100% )

[ a long silence goes here. ] ... could I stay at your house tonight?

( Luke | Locked 100% )

I'd -- [ ... ] Can I see you?

[ Xion is out of the house today. Mostly because it's become almost impossible to stay there. She hasn't slept for more than a handful of hours since Vanitas attacked -- three days ago. She's so exhausted she can barely stay on her feet, but better awake and moving than a sitting target.

Who could sleep, knowing that at any minute someone stronger than you and your friends could break into your home and kill you whenever he wanted?

It's this question that drives her to address Luceti at large, once she's got herself settled on the railing of That One Bridge. Hey, it's like right next to her house and she wanted to sit on a bridge, so sue her. ]

( filtered AWAY from Vanitas and Saix | Locked 100% )

What would you do if you didn't feel safe in your own home anymore?

[ and this is to say nothing -- not a damn thing -- of how she feels about Roxas right now. He had no excuse -- what defense could you give? -- and Axel almost died -- for what? Why? Why had any of this happened? Does she blame Roxas, for extending the invitation, or Vanitas, for taking it? Even if she had something to say to him, she couldn't -- he hasn't been home in days.

It's a very numb Poppet that's sitting on that there railing, swinging her legs and staring at the water below. Please interrupt her thoughts -- for they are very grim ones. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Naoki sees her where she's sitting from a distance and makes his way nearer, slowing as he approaches. His footfalls are loud in the crunching snow--so much for stealth. Not like he'd been trying to be stealthy anyway. He breathes out a misty breath when he finally takes a step on to the bridge, hands buried in his pockets.]

[ that's someone she's grateful to see. she can't help but smile at him as he approaches -- he's one of the few who'll get such a thing out of her. ]

Naoki... hey.

Hey.

[He smiles in return, steps closer and at last pauses, leaning against the railing and resting his arms over them, hands dangling.] What's on your mind?

... a lot of things. [ her smile fades, and she looks out over the water. ]

I'm not sure if you heard... a few days ago, over the journals... [ a pained, humorless laugh ] I was screaming. A lot of people heard me... [ a pause. ] ... one of my best friends was attacked and almost killed.

[Naoki goes tense and his eyes narrow slightly where they're focused on the water, then he looks over at her. He hadn't. By some chance or another--he grits his teeth slightly but forces his jaw to relax.]

...how? [Who? When? Where can I find them? is carried in that one word.]

[ that look -- that tone -- makes her pause. she knows it ... she's seen it on Sanji, before, when she's talked about Saix.

... Naoki's one of the very, very few people she wouldn't feel the need to stop. If anyone would be strong enough to take Vanitas down... it'd be him. Even so .... even so-- ]

... a boy broke into our house. He must have caught Axel unawares... I mean, no one expects to have someone attack them in their house. [ the hand she's got on the railing clenches, so tight it starts to shake. ]

His name ... the boy's name ... is Vanitas.

[Naoki looks at her, steady and level, and then his eyes widen slightly. Their...house? He reaches out as he sees her hand shaking to gently cover it with his own.

Houses are supposed to be safe. Your one safe place. He can only imagine how that feels.]

Vanitas. [He notes that quietly.] How is he? Axel.

[ her grip reflexively loosens when Naoki's hand covers her own... and she looks down at their hands, realizing what she'd been doing in the first place. eesh. her eyebrows draw together, and she focuses her gaze on the water instead. ]

... he's better now. He didn't want to go to the clinic, so we've been taking care of him at home... he'll be alright. It was just... [ a pause. ] ... it was scary. [ for a number of reasons. also including the fact that Axel is a dead man back home, and the thought of him dying here, possibly never to return, is terrifying. ]

[Naoki gives her hand a slight squeeze before drawing his away and resting it back on the rail of the bridge, eyes on her as opposed to the water now.]

I know... I'd be surprised if something like that didn't scare you. [Was it the kind of feeling the manikins and Futomimi must have had? When they were attacked in their sanctuary? He recalls some of that feeling.] It's probably difficult now, isn't it, being there. [To feel safe again.]

[ it figures it'd be Naoki to actually make that numb exterior of hers crack a little -- she trusts him enough to let some of it tumble down. when he says that last part -- she makes a tiny, unhappy noise and rubs at one of her eyes. her voice is small and a little quavery when she speaks. ]

I haven't slept almost at all in three days... I'm so tired, but I can't sleep. I keep thinking he'll come back...

[That noise and seeing her rub her eye like that is all it takes for Naoki to shift closer, bringing an arm around her gently. A gesture of support, and an attempt at comfort.]

If you need anything. Anything at all, just name it. I'll do everything in my power. [If it means sitting out on their front lawn and guarding the place so she can have some peace of mind? So be it.]

... Vanitas ... he always wears this black mask over his head, and this black bodysuit. ... keep an eye out for him, okay? [ smiles a little at him, weakly. ] And kick his butt for me if you see him.

Black mask and bodysuit...'kay. [He smiles slightly himself.] I will. I promise you that. [Though if Naoki actually runs into him, well. He won't hold back.]

Edited 2011-01-12 04:28 (UTC)

[ her smile vanishes, and she nods. really, there isn't anything funny about it. but she trusts Naoki ... both not to die, and to actually be able to hurt Vanitas. ]

... thank you. ... I'm staying with Sanji tonight, so I can get some rest... and tomorrow we're going to try and fix everything.

[Naoki nods himself, watching the river and pushing himself upright, leaving his hands on the rail of the bridge. He has little doubt in his abilities. If he wanted to hurt him? He thinks he will.]

With Sanji...? Mm, I see. [He nods. That house has always felt safe to him, if because of the people rather than the building itself.] Our door is open, as well--there's a spare room, if you ever need it.

[ that makes her pause, and she looks down at him -- before a shaky, kinda sad smile crosses her face ]

You know, I've lost track of how many people have offered to help me, or let me stay with them, or ... or do anything they could to help. [ rubs at one of her eyes, idly. ] ... I almost don't know what to say.

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[action] ... that icon is the slightest bit creepy.

[action] ... Naoki is secretly a creeper? |D

[action] I would believe this. :| /nevar forgets the full demon icons