[ hikaru. you look terrible! you look worse than him.
xie lian had been worried about her since she left earlier, so. freshly clean and in comfortable, not blood soaked clothes, xie lian comes to pay hikaru a visit, and he finds her just as tired as she'd looked then.
his brows knit, concern on his face, in his raspy voice. ] ...Did I wake you, Miss Hikaru? I'm sorry....
[ actually, it would probably be good to see raven, considering. but, xie lian checked in with him earlier today, so he doesn't seem all that worried about it! he comes into the room as invited, taking careful steps so he doesn't aggravate his wounds any. ]
I did come to check on you - and I promised I would tell you what happened.
[It sure is a room! Hikaru weakly walks over to her own pod and plops back down into blankets that have just been shoved up into a pile at this point with her dog pillow, a plushie of some random dude and a goldfish stuffed animal from the emporium, broken cyan plastic pieces haphazardly pinned onto its back to make it look like some sort of winged bug. Raven's side isn't much better in regards to the mess, but they seem to be keeping it properly separate?
She leans against the side of her pod, wearily untying the ribbon for her braid and letting her hair unravel, if only to give her hands something to do to try not to drift off.]
...Haku-san said there was, um... some sort of trial, right? What happened?
Edited (I SWEAR TO FUCK I AM AWAKE) 2020-10-09 13:56 (UTC)
[She shakes her head, watching how careful he is. Boo, u ho. He was hurt.
Hmph...]
I heard him say something about it to one of the others when I came over, but I didn't hear him be specific... he was, um... he was doing what you were doing, saying he was ok and getting people to look at others first...
[She could barely keep herself upright and this was all very frustrating.]
[ haha! well, he wasn't lying! he's not actively bleeding anywhere.
he nods as hikaru finishes, mentally recalling back to earlier in the afternoon. ]
...I was not with any of the three of them, when we first started. I was leaving my room to get something to eat, and I suddenly stepped into a hallway I had never seen before with the others. It was a strange place - parts of it reminded me of the strange new areas over the bridge - but it was not one any of us had been to before.
Our group was separated almost immediately; myself with Won, and then Miss Ochako and Archer. Won and I found ourselves in a separate hallway entirely, and walking to the end of it, found a room with nothing but two chairs. When we sat in them, a screen popped up, and told us we had the choice to defend against monsters - yes, or no.
Obviously, we both picked yes, but... [ here, he pauses for a moment, brow furrowing. ] Neither of us fought anything physical, at all. We were both knocked unconscious immediately.
[She does her best to follow along, her posture wavering as she catches herself and jolts back up to attention. A couple words are lost, here and there, but her expressiom tightens in confusion when he states there was no fighting.]
Huh? Wait, if you didn't fight anything, then how... how come you guys got hurt??
Did you wake up somewhere different than the chair room?
[ don't think he doesn't notice that, hikaru. he's reaching out to catch her if she starts to fall, injuries or otherwise... ]
I can't tell you exactly what happened to Won, but when I fell unconscious, I fell into something of a nightmare, and experienced it in real time.
While he and I were in the chairs, Miss Ochako and Archer were fighting actual monsters, and... the monsters they were fighting were directly tied to us. They acted based on what Won and I were doing, in our dreams; Miss Ochako and Archer were ultimately able to defeat them.
[it's like watching a toddler trying to stay awake, lbr, you are not sure whether to laugh or be heavily concerned until they finally pass out]
Was... that how you and Haku-san got hurt, Chijin? If the monsters were doing what you did, then... does that mean that, if Ochako-chan or Chiron-sensei attacked the monsters, that... you got hurt?
Mn...yes, and no. We did take all of the injuries that they did, but...
[ he's quiet for a moment, his voice softening. gentle, as if there's any way to deliver this statement gently. ] Miss Ochako and Archer killed the monsters, Hikaru.
[ xie lian's smile is small and a little helpless, because. well. she got it in one. ]
...we were. According to Miss Ochako and Archer, there was a medicine they could use to revive us, but it came with drastic side effects. We were revived, and the injuries we had were healed, but at a price.
[ ... he doesn't know how much he wants to tell hikaru. the details are gory, at best, horrifying at worst. xie lian shifts, a little, as he thinks of a way to explain. ]
The two of us came back, but not as ourselves. It was akin to being possessed by a ghost or a demon.
Why didn't you say that instead of saying you were fine, Chijin? That's not fine. Dying, whatever happened after... that's really hard.
[She huffs, leaning her head against the side of her pod.]
I know when people worry.. the last thing I ever wanna see is... is them looking at me with hurt in their eyes. But... that doesn't change that you should just tell them the truth first, you know?
...Hikaru. [ there's a somber seriousness to his voice, as he looks down at her. ] ...I didn't lie to you and say that I was fine, because this is not the first time this has happened to me.
I have "died" like this in many ways, over the years.
That doesn't matter. [An almost immediate retort, the surprise of his answer barely registering.]
Whether it's your first life or your thousandth, or whether you're a person or a god... shouldn't the people who love you still be able to help you honestly, no matter what?
xie lian blinks at the immediateness of it - well, at least her worry is keeping her upright...? -- and then ducks his head, reaching up to scratch his cheek, quietly humbled.
how does he tell this sweet girl he hasn't had someone who loved him in hundreds of years? ]
...Of course; in that you're correct. [ he will acquiesce! but. ] Nevertheless, it is a pain that is bearable - if anything, I am glad it was myself in this situation. [ and not someone else. someone like mob, or usagi.
...someone like ochako, who he worries for every moment that passes. ]
for a brief, imperceptible moment, his expression shifts, and xie lian looks away as he delivers the information. perhaps something of this bothered him far, far more than he ever could have said. ]
...I lost all control of my consciousness, as did Won. We immediately began to attack the other two, with the intent to kill them, and all of us were instructed to "defeat the monsters".
[ and the monsters, in this case, were xie lian and soo-won. ]
[ there's a weight to his words when he says them, a seriousness, unflinching from the truth of it all. ] We attacked them.
[ xie lian is inherently an extremely kind person - despite being a fighter, and even a martial god, he's always tried not to harm someone whenever possible. he is not, and never has been, violent... and at the worst moment in his life, when he did act in ways unbecoming of his normal character, xie lian was at least aware of it.
but this. there was barely anything he could do. no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make it stop.
i told you, did i not? you cannot protect anything. you never will.
he's quiet for a moment. ] ...I was able to regain my consciousness for a brief few seconds during, and commanded Ruoye to help Miss Ochako. She and Archer were able to successfully incapacitate us.
[ that's the simplest way to summarize it, without getting too into the gory detail of it all. ]
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xie lian had been worried about her since she left earlier, so. freshly clean and in comfortable, not blood soaked clothes, xie lian comes to pay hikaru a visit, and he finds her just as tired as she'd looked then.
his brows knit, concern on his face, in his raspy voice. ] ...Did I wake you, Miss Hikaru? I'm sorry....
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[It's a surprisingly sharp snap back, almost childish, as though she could stomp her foot on the ground for her demand.
...
A beat, before that anger quickly deflates into shame, like a viciously swinging pendulum.]
Please.
I don't care if you woke me... I'm worried about you.
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xie lian softens afterwards, and makes a quiet, acquiescing noise. ] ...I have had far worse, Miss Hikaru. I'm alright. I promise.
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But he said he promised. And... she trusts Xie Lian. She wants to trust him.
She nods, shallow at first, then repeated again as she steps away from the doorway a little.]
...Just "Hikaru" is okay, Chijin.
You can come in, if you want... Raven-san's not here right now, so, um... just leave his stuff alone, okay...?
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[ actually, it would probably be good to see raven, considering. but, xie lian checked in with him earlier today, so he doesn't seem all that worried about it! he comes into the room as invited, taking careful steps so he doesn't aggravate his wounds any. ]
I did come to check on you - and I promised I would tell you what happened.
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She leans against the side of her pod, wearily untying the ribbon for her braid and letting her hair unravel, if only to give her hands something to do to try not to drift off.]
...Haku-san said there was, um... some sort of trial, right? What happened?
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i mean. xie lian comes over, and eases himself down to sit on the floor by her bed pod thing. ]
What did Won tell you already? I won't repeat unnecessarily.
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Hmph...]
I heard him say something about it to one of the others when I came over, but I didn't hear him be specific... he was, um... he was doing what you were doing, saying he was ok and getting people to look at others first...
[She could barely keep herself upright and this was all very frustrating.]
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he nods as hikaru finishes, mentally recalling back to earlier in the afternoon. ]
...I was not with any of the three of them, when we first started. I was leaving my room to get something to eat, and I suddenly stepped into a hallway I had never seen before with the others. It was a strange place - parts of it reminded me of the strange new areas over the bridge - but it was not one any of us had been to before.
Our group was separated almost immediately; myself with Won, and then Miss Ochako and Archer. Won and I found ourselves in a separate hallway entirely, and walking to the end of it, found a room with nothing but two chairs. When we sat in them, a screen popped up, and told us we had the choice to defend against monsters - yes, or no.
Obviously, we both picked yes, but... [ here, he pauses for a moment, brow furrowing. ] Neither of us fought anything physical, at all. We were both knocked unconscious immediately.
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Huh? Wait, if you didn't fight anything, then how... how come you guys got hurt??
Did you wake up somewhere different than the chair room?
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I can't tell you exactly what happened to Won, but when I fell unconscious, I fell into something of a nightmare, and experienced it in real time.
While he and I were in the chairs, Miss Ochako and Archer were fighting actual monsters, and... the monsters they were fighting were directly tied to us. They acted based on what Won and I were doing, in our dreams; Miss Ochako and Archer were ultimately able to defeat them.
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Was... that how you and Haku-san got hurt, Chijin? If the monsters were doing what you did, then... does that mean that, if Ochako-chan or Chiron-sensei attacked the monsters, that... you got hurt?
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Mn...yes, and no. We did take all of the injuries that they did, but...
[ he's quiet for a moment, his voice softening. gentle, as if there's any way to deliver this statement gently. ] Miss Ochako and Archer killed the monsters, Hikaru.
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Then...
W-what... what happened to both of you?? You didn't...
[YOU DON'T LOOK DEAD????]
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...we were. According to Miss Ochako and Archer, there was a medicine they could use to revive us, but it came with drastic side effects. We were revived, and the injuries we had were healed, but at a price.
[ ... he doesn't know how much he wants to tell hikaru. the details are gory, at best, horrifying at worst. xie lian shifts, a little, as he thinks of a way to explain. ]
The two of us came back, but not as ourselves. It was akin to being possessed by a ghost or a demon.
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She picks up her little person plushie and weakly smacks Xie Lian on the head with it.]
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Ah -- [ ??? ???? ] What...?
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[She huffs, leaning her head against the side of her pod.]
I know when people worry.. the last thing I ever wanna see is... is them looking at me with hurt in their eyes. But... that doesn't change that you should just tell them the truth first, you know?
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the truth, huh... ]
...Hikaru. [ there's a somber seriousness to his voice, as he looks down at her. ] ...I didn't lie to you and say that I was fine, because this is not the first time this has happened to me.
I have "died" like this in many ways, over the years.
[ "i've had worse", he said.
he has. ]
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Whether it's your first life or your thousandth, or whether you're a person or a god... shouldn't the people who love you still be able to help you honestly, no matter what?
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xie lian blinks at the immediateness of it - well, at least her worry is keeping her upright...? -- and then ducks his head, reaching up to scratch his cheek, quietly humbled.
how does he tell this sweet girl he hasn't had someone who loved him in hundreds of years? ]
...Of course; in that you're correct. [ he will acquiesce! but. ] Nevertheless, it is a pain that is bearable - if anything, I am glad it was myself in this situation. [ and not someone else. someone like mob, or usagi.
...someone like ochako, who he worries for every moment that passes. ]
I really will be alright.
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[She folds her arms across her chest, dragging her knees close.]
Okay...
...What kind of side effects? Just... being possessed by a ghost...? [That doesn't sound very drastic.]
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haha.
for a brief, imperceptible moment, his expression shifts, and xie lian looks away as he delivers the information. perhaps something of this bothered him far, far more than he ever could have said. ]
...I lost all control of my consciousness, as did Won. We immediately began to attack the other two, with the intent to kill them, and all of us were instructed to "defeat the monsters".
[ and the monsters, in this case, were xie lian and soo-won. ]
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You were the monsters, weren't you...? Ochako-chan and Sensei, they already defeated them by then, right? Did... it not count?
[This sounds horrible, but she doesn't sound horribly panicked by any of this... only concerned and, understandably, confused.]
If you didn't have any control, then... What happened? What did you do?
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[ xie lian is inherently an extremely kind person - despite being a fighter, and even a martial god, he's always tried not to harm someone whenever possible. he is not, and never has been, violent... and at the worst moment in his life, when he did act in ways unbecoming of his normal character, xie lian was at least aware of it.
but this. there was barely anything he could do. no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make it stop.
i told you, did i not? you cannot protect anything. you never will.
he's quiet for a moment. ] ...I was able to regain my consciousness for a brief few seconds during, and commanded Ruoye to help Miss Ochako. She and Archer were able to successfully incapacitate us.
[ that's the simplest way to summarize it, without getting too into the gory detail of it all. ]
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