estoria | [OPEN] I'm in here

Entry tags:

[OPEN] I'm in here

Who: Mary Kozakura (

immobileyes) and YOU
When: IC 2/27-3/01
Where: Residential District, right by the not-so-standing apartments
What: Mary tries to dig up things from her fallen apartment over the course of a few days, success is varied
Rating/Warning: None!

[ It was hard enough, waiting for the water level to go down enough so that Mary could return to where her apartment was (had been) without risk of drowning. Seto's hoodie, the jacket Hiro had given her... they were the only things she'd been able to find at the time, but now she can search for anything remaining from their apartment.

So feel free to come across a tiny teenager over the afore-mentioned days, getting drizzled on and trying to pry up pieces of the smaller rubble - and HNNNNNGHing at the bigger pieces of debris that she can't budge at all - as she hunts about. The stuffed animal she'd received from Lily is gone, the headband from Kaoru and Shiho has been twisted and bent beyond repair when she miraculously finds that... the dried flowers, from the bouquet Elza had given her... no sign of them. All of her tea...

Mary almost wants to cry, but not yet. She just keeps looking.

And don't be alarmed if she seems worn-out when you see her. It's not some weird elemental effect, she's just terrible at stamina. ]

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[ It's for the best that Leon is spouting helpful suggestions and concerns, and not frightening things like "GRAAAWR" or whatever Mary might have expected a guy with wild red hair and a goatee to sound like. All the same, she still looks up with more than a little trepidation, as though she's most certainly expecting dinosaur noises next. ]

W-who are you?

[ Meant to be said steadily, actually comes out with a fair bit of vibrato, oops. ]

[Don't forget the seven visible piercings.

But for all that he looks like that--and it's definitely the intended effect--he's all smiles, especially at such an adorable girl. She's soooo cute! And a little freaked out, maybe; it's probably not the best idea to make a grab for the thing she's trying to lift before explaining himself.

So he attempts both at once: he waves a hand in what's trying to be a non-threatening gesture, then reaches out for the rubble as he answers.]

Just a guy who doesn't wanna see a cute girl break her arms! Or, like, anythin' else . . . heh. It's Kuwata Leon! What's your name? Here, I got that!

[ The uncertainty will linger for a fair few moments, but Mary's shoulders loosen up a bit (by approximately 9%, but that's good enough). ]

It's Mary. [ She rarely uses her last name, and she watches him now, just sort of soaking in the fact that a total stranger wants to help her. ... And that she's letting him, because his stamina and strength are already better than hers. People here are surprisingly nice, she thinks, not for the first time, and carefully clears her throat. ]

... Thank you.

Hey, no problem! It's the least I can do!

[His strength and stamina are, in fact, about all he has going for him; there's nothing superhuman about them, but hey, he's an athlete. He at least has a leg up on a tiny girl! And he can't resist showing that off just a little in hauling the debris aside and out of the way of--well, whatever Mary was looking for under it. He doesn't see anything when he turns back to look, but it's not hard to figure out what's going on here.]

. . . This was your place, huh? Man, that sucks. I walk past this stuff every day, and it's hard to even picture what it used to look like. You lookin' for something?

Everything, [ she blurts out-- but even Mary knows how unreasonable that sounds, and quickly waves her hands in front of her. Her gaze lowers to the spot he just cleared up, fingers finding a few stray pink petals when she lowers a hand down. ]

T-that is, the things my friends gave me-- they're all really important to me, but I couldn't take everything out in time...

Ah . . . yeah. That really does suck . . . I didn't even think about stuff like that.

[After all, he'd been lucky, and he's also new enough here that he didn't have much in the way of material goods to worry about. The most he'd have had to fret over is entertainment goods, nothing with any sentimental value.

He frowns down at the ground, watching her pick at the petals. It's been a depressing situation since it all started, this flood bullshit, but this is the first time it's been illustrated to him on this kind of level, and he feels the twinge of pity and sadness in his heart.

Briefly.

It's weird, though; he's been having trouble hanging onto those feelings lately. He's not complaining about it, especially after what feels like months of constant upset, and it makes sense in a way, too. It's like the worst has happened here, and it can't go downhill, so it's hard to be upset about it. That's probably it.

And he hates cleaning! He hates it so much, but he can't even hold onto that right now. Wouldn't it be better to actually do something about it? Maybe he could make her smile! That'd be awesome! So his expression lifts, and he crouches next to her:]

Hey, c'mon, don't look like that. I'll help you out! You and me, we've gotta find at least something!

[ One of these days, Mary is going to get accustomed to people volunteering to help her (in some way, shape, or form). One day, this won't surprise her.

But after years of being left alone, her only interaction with people having resulted in her mother being taken away from her for good, it still takes a few minutes for her to accept it. This world had kind people, like Seto and Kido and the others. Not everyone was scary-- even if there were some who were. This thought keeps her from asking, flat out, "Why?"

It's still a good few seconds before she speaks, though. ]

... If you want to...

Heh . . . come on, like I can let a cute girl like you be sad by herself.

[It's just hovering on the edge of flirting. The only reasons it hasn't tipped fully over into flirting territory are, first of all, he can't quite tell how old she is, and second, he does have some sense of time and place. Flirting with a girl while she's mourning the loss of her home and possessions might be a little inappropriate, especially if she's like fourteen.

(She is cute, though, and he's not shy about that part.)

He stoops again to grab another chunk of rubble, though he doesn't lift it yet, looking back up to her first.]

You don't mind, right? I'm not gonna bite!

[ Fourteen, or one hundred and forty, take your pick- flirting would probably bounce right off of her anyway, even if Mary knows what it is. She's read manga, after all!

... Manga, which is also buried underneath all of this rubble, probably too far soaked and dirtied to be salvageable. ]

You look a little dangerous, [ and yes, she'll tell him this. ] But if you're going to help me, I don't mind.

[He laughs as he lifts the chunk of drywall he'd gotten his hands on and flips it carefully to the side to see if anything's underneath it. No one's ever really said that to him before in so many words, but if he minded the possibility that much, he wouldn't look the way he does.

Still:]

I prooomise I'm not! It's just my style! Y'know, my aesthetic! Just 'cuz I'm punk doesn't mean I'm gonna give a girl any trouble.

[ He'll find a shattered tea saucer with bits of its blue floral design, if he looks closely enough. And Mary... blinks. ]

... You styled yourself to look scary?

Hey, it's cool, not scary! Maybe it's cool in a way that's a little scary . . . that's what punk's all about! I mean, I think. That makes sense, anyway.

[Probably. Who knows what punk's really all about?

His mind isn't on that right now, anyway, not that it ever really is; he stoops to pick up a fragment of saucer and hold it in his palm. That's the moment it occurs to him the sheer enormity of what's been lost here: it's one fragment of one saucer. How many saucers are in the set? How many cups go with them? How many other dishes does she own? Silverware? The table they go on? The chairs you sit in to drink tea? How many pieces is every one of those things smashed into, and that's just the kitchen?

He holds it out to her, rubbing the back of his neck. Shit, that's depressing to think about. He can't think on this too long . . . ]

This one probably ain't gonna do you much good, huh . . .

Ah...

[ It's easy enough to recognize what he's offering to her; Mary had spent a great deal of time carefully cleaning that set after each and every use, justifiably cautious with her track record of stumbling. Seeing that little bit of porcelain, she reaches out to cup it in her palms. ]

I didn't think they'd... be okay, anyway. I already knew...

[ But she says it in a morose little murmur. ]

Aw, man . . .

[There's nothing Leon hates quite like seeing girls sad. It's not like he can blame her; who wouldn't get like this, and worse, over their place getting trashed? But it's still the worst. He lifts his hand--the cleaner one, not the one he'd picked up the saucer with--to pet her on the top of the head. Gently, and carefully, since she's already come to the conclusion he's a little scary, and he's not aiming to make that any worse.]

You can get a new one, right? Hey, there's gotta be some stuff in here that didn't get totally wrecked.

[ To be fair, Mary gets frightened of adorable girl idols too. It's the world, really. But she only flinches slightly, and then she just... tolerates it. She's used to hair ruffles and patting. ]

Yeah... it won't be that hard. And there's still a lot to look for.

[ She acknowledges your efforts, Leon. ]

Yeah--yeah, c'mon, we got this!

[He should really be the one reassuring her . . . but he feels pretty reassured anyway. He does pull his hand back after giving her adorable head a good ruffle, and then down he goes again to drag aside another few planks of wood and see what there is to see underneath. It's exactly the kind of work he hates, but for a sad girl--and especially right now, when he's feeling full of positive energy--he's all about making the sacrifice.

Now, away with these planks.]

You've got a lot of stuff, huh? So you've been here for a while, probably! Am I right?

A few months.

[ Which is both a long time and not all that long in comparison to how long she'd lived in the forest by herself. Mary sucks in a quiet breath now, moving to help dislodge some planks. ]

But a lot's happened since then.

Yeah . . . tell me about it.

[Actually, he hasn't thought about it in those terms until just now, but he can't deny the truth of it--for himself, too. A lot sure has happened, and he hasn't even been here for two months yet.

He drags a board aside and then wipes some mud off on his knee, which is totally pointless when he just goes to grab another board again two seconds later, but it's an automatic reaction. Gross.]

I guess if I think about it, seven weeks or however long it's been for me is a long time to get stuck in a totally crazy-ass place like this . . . but with everything that's happened, it feels more like a year's gone by! This is like a lifetime of messed up all compacted into barely any time at all!

[ ... You tried, Leon. You tried most admirably. ]

I know... I wish it would slow down sometimes. But then this happened, and there were people who were falling asleep standing up, and before that, there was the place where most of my friends disappeared to, and--

[ IT'S VAGUELY UPSETTING. ]

Whoa, wait, all that happened?!

[It just so happens she went and described things Leon never experienced himself. Well, he'd been there in the Nexus Code, but he hadn't recognized a single person in it, and still hasn't picked up on the fact that they were previous residents . . . so all of this is new to him, and more than a little disturbing.]

What place your friends disappeared to? You mean here, right?

Yeah. A lot of the people who lived here were there. I thought... when they disappeared, maybe they'd found a safer place to be. But to find them, all strung up and not even moving...

[ She's just unintentionally bound and determined to rain on his parade, oops. ]

Shit, that's who those people were?!

[Whoops, swearing in front of the cute little girl. But when he places what she's talking about, there it is, out of his mouth without a second thought. Of course he knows where she means, with people strung up and not moving . . . he hadn't known what the hell that entire experience had been about, but he'd hated it, and now he feels even worse about it.]

People you knew?! I didn't recognize anyone . . . I didn't even know!

If you weren't here long enough, you wouldn't... but if any of your friends disappear, then maybe that's where they'll go, too.

[ Which is entirely not a comforting thought, she knows, but she'd rather be honest here. ]

That's . . .

[Mary you are really putting this "unable to hold onto negative emotions" thing to the test giirrrrrlll

He doesn't dwell on it for long, for that reason, and also because why would he want to? It's a terrible thought. But he thinks about it for a few moments and that's enough for anyone. Shudder.

But on the bright side, because he can't help that right now, anyway:]

Hhhhey, but like, at least that means you know where they are, right? Heh . . . so, we can totally help 'em! Maybe CERES has 'em captive or whatever that was, but that just means we can definitely get 'em all back!

... Do you know how? [ Do you have some secret answer that will make it easy to release all of the people dangling lifelessly in... the Nexus whatsit? Because Mary could probably storm in on CERES but it would end horribly. ]

[OPEN] I'm in here

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