DAY 45: Sun Room (Second Shift)

[violent-varmint.livejournal.com]

There was something fishy going on in the Institute today. All over the bulletin board, people were talking about having "woken up", having been "cured"... and it seemed as though ZEX was one of them. Tanaka wouldn't have recognized the note at all if it hadn't been signed - his wording, his handwriting, even his name had changed - and a part of him still wondered if it had been an imposter, trying to pull the wool over the Captain's allies.

But it'd be easy enough to find out the truth. Whoever it was had agreed to meet him, and Tanaka was waiting for him just outside the cafeteria doors, ready to catch him as he came from breakfast. If "Max" was an imposter, then he'd discover the identity of a hidden enemy. And if he was really ZEX...

...well, he'd have a whole new set of things to worry about.

[for a spoiled rich brat brainwashed Admiral]

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[mizuhomaiden.livejournal.com]

And then there it was - that trace Sheena had been unknowingly searching for. It was there in that kiss, the moment before the youkai pushed her away almost in fear. Somewhere, the ninja's subconscious had believed finding that bit would make things easier to handle; how wrong she was. The knowledge only served to shred her insides more.

Her right hand trailed down Yukari's cheek to her neck, finally coming to rest on the remnants of the mark Sheena had left on the youkai, far more visible now that the blonde's hair was pulled back. Leaning forward, she spoke into Yukari's ear.

"It doesn't matter what I want; it never has," she said in a quiet voice that trembled. "It's not going to change anything - you'll just be you," her words echoing the other night. "You're just going to be whatever you want to be."

Her voice then dropped so much her next words were barely audible. "In your grand scheme, I am insignificant. Aren't I?"

Fingertips ghosted across the youkai's neck as the ninja removed herself from the couch, instantly feeling the absence of Yukari's body heat. She couldn't stay any longer. She couldn't handle it anymore, so she did what she did best. Sheena ran away from her problem. At least, she thought she did.

How does someone run away from their own heart, anyways?

[to here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/750343.html?thread=61275143#t61275143)

[Moved to F5]

[mind-the-sukima.livejournal.com]

There was nothing Violet could say.

That was a lie. But there was nothing that Violet could say and still maintain what little shred of composure she had left. So instead she just sat stock still, unable to look at Sara even as the girl came close and whispered in her ear. She wasn't even hearing the words said, not really, she was concentrating too hard just on not breaking down, not bursting into tears and grabbing the girl, because there was no reason for her to break down over something like this. But somehow, the words Sara said the softest were the one she heard best and after a moment of shock, she turned her gaze back to the girl but already she was getting up, she was leaving and Violet couldn't find her voice to tell her not to go.

Instead the hand reaching for the girl - when had she even raised it? - slowly fell back down to her side. She felt hollow inside. Why? This was someone she barely knew. Yukari would just laugh and accept it as life. Or fix it. But she wasn't the youkai, was she? No, she was just Violet Cloud, ordinary human. And right now? One that was hurting a lot.

Getting up, she quietly asked one of the nurses if she could go back to her room. After securing a promise that Violet would be up again for lunch, the woman agreed and led her out.

Once she was back in her room, Violet flopped down on her bed, burying her face in the pillow. It was only now that Sara's words came to her, that she actually heard them. The accusation that she would just be whatever she wanted to be, regardless of others. It wasn't something she hadn't heard before, and it almost perfectly described her situation. She had pretended to be whatever she wanted to be, regardless of others and that was how she had wound up here. And now she'd hurt someone else as well.

But this was different. This was on the road to recovery, to make up for her past mistakes. This was best for everyone in her life, even Sara. This was for their sakes. For her daughter's sake. Especially for her daughter's sake. If she could hold on to that thought, she could be strong and make it through this. Then she could see Saffron again. She could stay strong for her. She had to stay strong for her.

But right now, just for this moment, she would let herself be weak.

Violet began to cry.