nowyouseeit | [WEEK 3: Thursday morning, room 112; Jay, Yukina]

[WEEK 3: Thursday morning, room 112; Jay, Yukina]

[NEEDLESS TO SAY, Kaito still looks like crap come Thurday morning. at least he's not longer covered in monster goo? but his right arm is wrapped in a sling and bandages, and he looks pretty pale. he's just exhausted, really]

[it's what happens when you get impaled in the shoulder by a giant monster and don't have any painkillers]

[either way, he flags Jay and Yukina down as soon as he can Thursday morning, asking them to meet him in his (now empty) room]

Well. . . first things are first, I think.

How're you guys feeling?

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[On the one hand, she knows it's going to sound odd. On the other, there's no other way to explain it, so. Here goes.]

My people call them hiruiseki. They're... what our tears become, when we cry.

[Which doesn't happen often.]

...I don't want to lie any more than I already have to. As long as he cooperates, then I won't have any reason to break my promise to him.

[suddenly, it clicks]

Is that why you didn't-- when you. . .

[his gaze flickers to her hand, to the finger she sacrificed the other day. his own twitches, as though to reach out for hers. but he aborts the movement pretty quickly]

. . . sometimes you've gotta lie to people to get results. [he shrugs] I wouldn't particularly feel sorry about lying to someone about payin' them a lot of money.

[his index card did say "deceiving others," didn't it]

It's up to her. if she doesn't actually mind giving him one, then she might as well.

[ he shrugs. that's not the most interesting part of this conversation. ]

What are you, exactly, if you don't mind me asking?

[She nods slowly.]

...I've already shed enough tears, long before coming here. I don't want... to cry in this place.

[There have been a couple of times when she's come close, but - not over anything that's been done to her. Now, seeing others suffer, on the other hand...

Yukina looks down.]

My people are called the Koorime. We're... ice demons, I suppose is the simplest way to describe it.

[. . . again, he's reminded of how little they know about each other, despite their alliance]

Shed enough tears. . .?

[he feels like he might be prying into something very private, but. he can't help but ask]

[ it's an interesting choice of words.. jay's also curious, but kaito beats him to the question before he can ask it himself, so he just stays quiet and waits to see if yukina answers. ]

...it isn't a pleasant story. Are you sure you want to hear it?

[They have enough unpleasantness in this place, she thinks... but she doesn't mind telling it, if it's them. They're her allies, after all.]

[he shifts on his feet and nods, quietly]

Only if you're willing to share, Yukina.

Whatever you're willing to share with us.

[ it's nice to know, where they came from before here. it'll make understanding their actions easier. ]

[She nods, and falls silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts as she tries to figure out where to start.]

Hiruiseki are... rare. Usually, a Koorime only sheds a single tear once every hundred years, when she has a child... and there aren't very many of us to start with. So to own a jewel like that... even just one or two could make someone very, very rich.

[To put it mildly.]

Especially because... my people tend not to be very warm to outsiders. We are forbidden from interacting with them in any meaningful way, and as a result there are only a small handful of jewels that have ever left our island.

My mother broke that rule. And... everyone knew it, because she gave birth to twins. Me, and my brother. Male Koorime are unheard of... to give birth to a son is proof that you have been with a man.

[Her expression becomes a little harder as she speaks - less fragile, and more quietly furious.]

My mother took her own life, and our elders... they threw him from our island when he was an infant, but... I have no doubt that he survived. And I wanted to meet him, so I... left, on my own, to search for him. And that was when I was captured by someone who knew what I was, and who knew what he had to do to make me produce those gems for him.

[Yukina takes a breath. Her voice is a little shaky, now - it's difficult to talk about, even this long after it's all over.]

He grew rich off my tears at first. But I learned to stop crying... that's why my profile mentioned that I have a high tolerance for pain. And that's why I've been able to bear the sacrifices we've had to make each week.

[holy]

[shit]

Yukina. . .

[that's awful?? THAT'S AWFUL?? just thinking about it makes him sick, offends his sense of justice, and reminds him that the world is full of shitty people. and Yukina. . .]

[he didn't know her well, but she definitely didn't deserve that]

[ he's quiet, mulling over what she told them. the world truly is a horrible place, and he's not surprised that that's a constant no matter where you are. ]

I'm sorry you had to go through that, Yukina.

It's in the past. And what happened... it's my burden to bear.

[She tries to smile, but it's not quite as bright as she would like.]

Besides... because of it, I learned that my people were wrong about outsiders. It's true that there are many greedy people in the world, but... a pair of human boys came to my rescue, and they didn't want anything for it at all. They just wanted to make sure I was safe. Humans can be so very kind... I like them very much.

. . . [he nods]

Yeah.

[and then offers her a little smile of his own. it's genuine]

Humans can be pretty terrible, but there are always good ones out there.

[ he's looking between the two of them, still quiet. there's something heavy sitting on his chest but he can't quite find the words to explain how he feels after listening to her story. ]

I'm glad you found a way out of that situation. You're very brave.

...the brave ones were the ones who came to save me. They could have been killed... but I knew that if I was patient, it would end.

[She sighs lightly.]

Demons live longer than humans, after all. No amount of money would have changed that for him.

But you kept your head up and faced that sort of cruelty every day. That makes you brave, too. And very strong.

[shifts a bit on his feet, lifting a hand to brush it against his injured shoulder]

[ he nods his head. ]

There are different kinds of bravery. It's not always about charging into a dangerous situation to stop it. Something being brave is just surviving through one.

In that case, everyone here is very brave.

[She smiles.]

...and now it's our turn to do what we can to save them.

[his smile widens]

Yeah. Definitely.

[a pause, because now that Yukina has shared a little bit of her past, he feels like he should return the favor]

Everyone who assumes I'm a thief based on my index card is right.

[congrats on being like the first people he's actually been up front about that with]

[ he blinks. while the confession isn't really that surprising, since his card implies it, he didn't expect kaito to actually admit to it. ]

You really don't seem the type to break the law.

[She blinks, too. ...well then.]

Jay-san is right, you don't... so you must have a really good reason for it, right?

[. . . what the heck!!]

Do I really give off the vibe of a goody two shoes?

[HE IS BAD TO THE BONE GUYS??]

Yes.

[ he's half joking because kaito seems annoyed by it and that's funny, but he's also like.... not joking. ]

Maybe just a little...? But that's not a bad thing.

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