[so her condolences are going to stay. she gets the feeling she might be pushing a little too much by asking what happened to the woman in the memory to make nogiku's choice necessary, but...]
The monster who did that to her... Did you find them?
she looks surprised for a split second before her expression shifts, more concerned than it was a moment ago. she battles with herself for a moment on what to say, what to ask, but...]
You may be blunt again if it is - difficult. [if she doesn't want to answer.] But, why did your sister...?
My sister... Like her mother, can borrow the face of anyone she kisses. With that disgusting ability, she stole Neena's face, her name, her career... Everything. She cannibalized her very existence. [Her voice is quiet, matter-of-factly. But even then, the anger remains.] In the end, Neena tried to take matters into her own hands. But... she failed horrifically. My sister took complete control of her life at that point.
She's a parasite. A coward who is too afraid to show the world her own face. And I will be the one to destroy her.
[You walk back into your crew’s hideout, and for whatever reason, the place you just came from has you feeling exceptionally wary. The leader of your crew, Camon, doesn’t seem to share your apprehension - you watch him as he sits with the money you’ve just collected, carelessly dropping coin after coin into a chest on his desk. You reflect a little on how foolish that is, given the other crew members in the room - that man might be your leader, but you know that most people here would be willing to kill for the three thousand boxings he holds.
Still, your mind isn’t too focused on the money. Rather… You’re thinking of a way to get out of here. Something about this situation seems wrong, dangerous, and you want to escape before things take a turn for the worse. The thought terrifies you; even though you don’t care for most of the people in this room, the idea of leaving and only having yourself to depend on is almost more frightening. But only almost. Even so… There are a few people in this room you do care for, or at least enough to warn them that something might happen before you leave. One of these people stands out - a boy named Ulef. You make your way towards him carefully. He’s drinking with some of the other crew members, and he looks slightly inebriated. You start to whisper to him.
“Ulef, we need to go.”
“Go? Go where?”
“Away. Out of here.”
“Now?”
You give a nod in response. The boys he was drinking with a moment ago are laughing quietly, giving him a look. He’s blushing when he looks back at you.
“You want to go somewhere, just you and I?”
“Not like that,” You answer, a little annoyed. “Just… I need to leave the lair. And I don’t want to be alone.”
He leans forward, breath smelling slightly like ale. “What is this about, Vin?”
There’s a moment where you hesitate before answering him. “I… think something might happen, Ulef. Something with the Obligators. I just don’t want to be in the lair right now.”
“All right,” He says, after a pause. “How long will this take?”
“I don’t know. Until evening, at least. But we have to go. Now.” After he nods, you continue on. “Wait here for a moment.”
You glance towards Camon to make sure he isn’t watching you before moving to your sleeping chambers. You head towards a small lockbox, opening it to see your small amount of personal effects - a pebble from each city you’ve been through, a small earring, and a piece of obsidian that your brother left after abandoning both the city and you. You put all these things in your pockets and head back into the main room, thinking about what you’ll do and where you’ll go next - but you stop in your tracks when you look into the room you’ve just entered.
Ulef stands next to Camon, who already looks furious, especially as he catches sight of you. You realize in an instant that you’ve made a very serious mistake here.
“What is this!” You can tell from the tone of his voice and the way he moves towards you, pushing a stool out of the way haphazardly, that he’s drunk. “Running away? Off to betray me to the Ministry, are you?”
You don’t think about it before you’re running for the door. You feel something slam into your back, and when you hit the ground, you see it was the wooden stool Camon was moving aside a moment ago. You hear a few of the crew members gasp. For a few seconds, you’re dazed, but then something shifts - you draw upon some kind of strength inside yourself and the pain lessens. You stand up, but by this point, Camon is close enough that he backhands you easily. You fall to the floor again, the pain in your neck and your face disorienting.
He reaches down and grabs you by the front of your shirt, pulling back his free arm to prepare for a punch. You reach inside yourself again to access another power, and you see it the moment it hits him - his eyes soften and expression calms. But it only lasts a moment, and when it fades, the anger is even harsher.
“Damn wench. That backstabbing brother of yours never respected me, and you;re the same. I was too easy on you. Should have…”
Though you know it’s going to be futile, you look to the other crew members for help. As you predicted, they all look away, unwilling to get involved and risk being hurt themselves. Fool, you hear a voice that sounds like your brother’s say to you. Ruthlessness - it’s the most logical of emotions. You don’t have any friends in the underworld. You’ll never have any friends in the underworld!
Camon punches you again, and you tell yourself to endure it, but as you see the look in his eyes, you realize this is different than a normal beating. He thinks you were trying to betray him to the Ministry, and he’s drunk. You realize that he might really kill you, but as his fist raises again - the door to the lair is thrown open unexpectedly. As everyone in the room turns to the sudden noise in alarm, the memory ends.]
Edited (why do i always forget at first i'm crying) 2022-03-14 01:44 (UTC)
[she's still for a moment after the memory ends - it's been a while since she's felt that vulnerable, afraid in that particular way. she takes a breath, though, and nods.]
Yes. The person who opened the door at the very end... He helped me.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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That does not necessarily make it easier.
[so her condolences are going to stay. she gets the feeling she might be pushing a little too much by asking what happened to the woman in the memory to make nogiku's choice necessary, but...]
The monster who did that to her... Did you find them?
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Just like that, her hands curl into fists. And when she speaks, although her voice is quiet, it's filled with venom.]
... Yes, you could say I did. After all, she's my older sister.
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she looks surprised for a split second before her expression shifts, more concerned than it was a moment ago. she battles with herself for a moment on what to say, what to ask, but...]
You may be blunt again if it is - difficult. [if she doesn't want to answer.] But, why did your sister...?
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I do not see why you would lie about this.
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My sister... Like her mother, can borrow the face of anyone she kisses. With that disgusting ability, she stole Neena's face, her name, her career... Everything. She cannibalized her very existence. [Her voice is quiet, matter-of-factly. But even then, the anger remains.] In the end, Neena tried to take matters into her own hands. But... she failed horrifically. My sister took complete control of her life at that point.
She's a parasite. A coward who is too afraid to show the world her own face. And I will be the one to destroy her.
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...I am sorry there was no way to reverse it.
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She lost her access to Neena Tanzawa's face shortly after her death, so... Neena got what she wanted. That's all that matters.
1/2
[whatever she's about to say is lost as she brushes against the bubble accidentally, and a memory begins.]
cw: abuse
Still, your mind isn’t too focused on the money. Rather… You’re thinking of a way to get out of here. Something about this situation seems wrong, dangerous, and you want to escape before things take a turn for the worse. The thought terrifies you; even though you don’t care for most of the people in this room, the idea of leaving and only having yourself to depend on is almost more frightening. But only almost. Even so… There are a few people in this room you do care for, or at least enough to warn them that something might happen before you leave. One of these people stands out - a boy named Ulef. You make your way towards him carefully. He’s drinking with some of the other crew members, and he looks slightly inebriated. You start to whisper to him.
“Ulef, we need to go.”
“Go? Go where?”
“Away. Out of here.”
“Now?”
You give a nod in response. The boys he was drinking with a moment ago are laughing quietly, giving him a look. He’s blushing when he looks back at you.
“You want to go somewhere, just you and I?”
“Not like that,” You answer, a little annoyed. “Just… I need to leave the lair. And I don’t want to be alone.”
He leans forward, breath smelling slightly like ale. “What is this about, Vin?”
There’s a moment where you hesitate before answering him. “I… think something might happen, Ulef. Something with the Obligators. I just don’t want to be in the lair right now.”
“All right,” He says, after a pause. “How long will this take?”
“I don’t know. Until evening, at least. But we have to go. Now.” After he nods, you continue on. “Wait here for a moment.”
You glance towards Camon to make sure he isn’t watching you before moving to your sleeping chambers. You head towards a small lockbox, opening it to see your small amount of personal effects - a pebble from each city you’ve been through, a small earring, and a piece of obsidian that your brother left after abandoning both the city and you. You put all these things in your pockets and head back into the main room, thinking about what you’ll do and where you’ll go next - but you stop in your tracks when you look into the room you’ve just entered.
Ulef stands next to Camon, who already looks furious, especially as he catches sight of you. You realize in an instant that you’ve made a very serious mistake here.
“What is this!” You can tell from the tone of his voice and the way he moves towards you, pushing a stool out of the way haphazardly, that he’s drunk. “Running away? Off to betray me to the Ministry, are you?”
You don’t think about it before you’re running for the door. You feel something slam into your back, and when you hit the ground, you see it was the wooden stool Camon was moving aside a moment ago. You hear a few of the crew members gasp. For a few seconds, you’re dazed, but then something shifts - you draw upon some kind of strength inside yourself and the pain lessens. You stand up, but by this point, Camon is close enough that he backhands you easily. You fall to the floor again, the pain in your neck and your face disorienting.
He reaches down and grabs you by the front of your shirt, pulling back his free arm to prepare for a punch. You reach inside yourself again to access another power, and you see it the moment it hits him - his eyes soften and expression calms. But it only lasts a moment, and when it fades, the anger is even harsher.
“Damn wench. That backstabbing brother of yours never respected me, and you;re the same. I was too easy on you. Should have…”
Though you know it’s going to be futile, you look to the other crew members for help. As you predicted, they all look away, unwilling to get involved and risk being hurt themselves. Fool, you hear a voice that sounds like your brother’s say to you. Ruthlessness - it’s the most logical of emotions. You don’t have any friends in the underworld. You’ll never have any friends in the underworld!
Camon punches you again, and you tell yourself to endure it, but as you see the look in his eyes, you realize this is different than a normal beating. He thinks you were trying to betray him to the Ministry, and he’s drunk. You realize that he might really kill you, but as his fist raises again - the door to the lair is thrown open unexpectedly. As everyone in the room turns to the sudden noise in alarm, the memory ends.]
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If Nogiku looked angry before, she looks downright murderous now.]
That damn bastard... [She will fucking kill this son of a bitch.] Vin... Were you able to get away?
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Yes. The person who opened the door at the very end... He helped me.
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...Worse than he deserved.
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... I see. I won't press any further, but are you alright now?
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As much as any of us are.
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I am luckier than most.
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I think we could all use some.
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Was there something wrong with what I said?
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[how the turn tables]
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