REDACTABLE - Shiro

[heartablaze]

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WEEK TWO - WEDNESDAY

[heartablaze]

[Shiro will find this young, tiny thing who doesn't look any older than ten or eleven slipping into the train station when she's sure no one else is around... and is surprised to find that it's Shiro there and not someone else.]

Oh... um, is Hansa-san not here? I can come back.

[lionson]

[Shiro is a little surprised to see Hikaru, of all people, but he won't turn her away. Anyone who needs help gets help.]

Nah, we agreed to take turns. But if you want to talk, I'm here for now. Hansa's day isn't until tomorrow.

[heartablaze]

Mmn. No, it's okay. I can come talk to Hansa-san another time.

[She'll approach the chair, though she's hesitant, as though she's not sure what she's supposed to be doing.]

You're... Shiro-san, right?

Are you a holy man, too?

[lionson]

That's me! And I am, yeah.

If you'd rather wait for him I understand, but I can help too. Anything you say here would be confidential.

[heartablaze]

[She thinks for a long moment, letting her hand take the top of the chair to steady herself.]

...

How do confessions work, Shiro-san? I've never had to do one before.

[Still hovering near the chair and not sitting down.]

[lionson]

Depends on if you want the religious context or not. A religious confession is about asking God to forgive you for your transgressions. But if you want to go non-religious, it's about easing the burden on your mind by sharing it with a confidant. Either way, it's meant to help you with any guilt you feel, without worrying about the act of sharing it coming back to haunt you later. I can't promise that whatever is bothering you will be completely solved by talking about it, but I won't tell another soul about what you tell me.

So why not start off with what you want to confess to?

[heartablaze]

...

[She sits herself down, biting at her lip.]

I... um...

...

I'm... part of the reason Shuuya-kun was acting weird during the trial. Weirder than usual, I mean. I did something to him. And I... I think that it might be why he couldn't... um...

[Her words drift, hands tightening against her knees.]

[lionson]

[He did not expect to get a real confession out of any of this. But now that Hikaru is here, he will focus and give her his attention. Regardless of how he's affected by this, he's got to stay neutral.

When he speaks, it's with a gentle voice.]

It's normal to feel responsible when someone dies. "I could have done something different" is what many people think. But what is it you did, exactly?

[heartablaze]

[Her heart twists in her chest, guilt rolling off her in almost palatable waves, but her voice stays a little steadier than one might expect.]

I had an item from the Realm. Like the gem Shigeo-kun used at the execution... One that could change how someone thought for a little while, and make them want to be kinder.

I... was scared, when I saw some of the evidence and... and how he was talking to some people. I really like Shuuya-kun, but... I know he's really cruel and selfish sometimes, and that he has to keep everyone away from him... that he thinks he needs to do stuff on his own, or something horrible will happen.

I... didn't know all that at the time, and I thought... I thought using it would help, but...

I... think it just made everything a lot harder for him...

Week 3, Monday

[lionson]

[Hey Hikaru, fun fact: your new roommate has nightmares sometimes.

Which is to say, Monday morning, he's gasping awake at about 6 am. He's not particularly loud besides that initial gasp, but it still might be loud enough to wake up Hikaru.

Right after that, Shiro is sitting up in his bed and rubbing at his face too. He also goes from 'asleep' to 'awake' really quickly, interestingly enough.]

[heartablaze]

[

She just rolls over. Why are they on leaves? Who knows. But he'll have a moment before she stirs, because she unfortunately sleeps like a rock.]

...Mmn. Izumo...chan??

[She squints up from where she's laid out, still groggy, but...



huh, izumo looks funny.]

[lionson]

[He can't actually see her without his glasses, but he can hear her voice, so he knows who's there.]

...

Hikaru?

[heartablaze]

[...]

E-eh?

[THAT'S.... NOT IZUMO...

congrats she is now bubbling awake and backing up through the leaves with her blanket clenched in her hands.]

E-ehh??? S-shiro-san?!

Why are we outside???

[lionson]

[I fucking forgot to check the inn changes, I'm crying.

But now Shiro is suddenly aware of his bed of leaves, and he's cursing as he goes looking for his glasses.]

These rooms keep getting worse every week!

[heartablaze]

[She now has leaves in her hair. ):]

Wait... wait, this is a bedroom???

Where's the beds? Where's our stuff???

[WHERE'S THE DOOR????? HELLO????]

[lionson]

Where's the lights, more like.

[It's early, the sun's not up. But he does manage to get his glasses on at least.]

[heartablaze]

[Oh wait, there's the door...

This room is weird. :(

She rubs at her eyes as she curls up further under her blanket.]

Hey... maybe it'll turn on by itself? They can't have put us in a room without a light... [That's called the sun, Hikaru.] Besides, it's still really early, isn't it...?

...

Um... Shiro-san, why are you awake? I thought I heard something before...

WEEK THREE - THURSDAY

[heartablaze]

[Hikaru slips into the bedroom extremely late, flopping onto the leaves but never truly falling asleep. So whenever Shiro wakes up, no matter how early, she is already awake, her back against one of of the trees as she types on her PHS, expression exhausted and somber.

Immediately noticeable is that her braid is completely missing, leaving her with only a short mop of hair in its absence.]

[lionson]

[Shiro is absolutely noticing that, because as he did on Monday, he's waking up with a gasp and a sudden start. The nightmares are strong this week.

But once he has his glasses on and is sitting up, he notices Hikaru over there.]

Hikaru? When did you get up?

[heartablaze]

[There's a start this time, on hearing him jerk up. She scrambles from her seat, opening her mouth to ask him what's wrong

And nothing comes out.

A beat, as her brows furrow, hand reaching up to rest against her throat, before her face settles into something tired and frustrated.

She mouths out "Are you okay?", even as she tries to fiddle with her PHS to open up a clean note.]

[lionson]

[Oh. Well that's strange. Did she lose her sense of talking? Shiro's brow also furrows, considering this as he answers.]

Yeah, just a bad dream. But what about you?

[heartablaze]

[She considers it for a moment, longer than she probably should, before typing something out and showing it to him.

i couldnt sleep]

[lionson]

[Reading this early is suffering.]

Nightmares for you too?

[heartablaze]

[holy shit thats so tiny in the brackets let's not do that again....ANYWAY

She hesitates once more, shaking her head.]

no

i have nightmares sometimes but tonight i just had a lot to think about so i couldnt sleep

do you have nightmares a lot shiro san

[lionson]

[What is this, RPing for ants???

He reads her response, and he frowns a little.]

What's weighing your mind down, huh? Was it the mess with the dinosaurs yesterday?

[Yup, he's dodging the question about his nightmares for now. He'll answer later.]