The Fifteen Strangers Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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15strangers2023-06-17 01:13 pm
strangerpeople) wrote in 15strangers2023-06-17 01:13 pm
Week 2
[
and it's clear that Zero
is a big dickzzzzzsht
A week has passed. However, there is no denying anymore that the power Zero possesses is very real. One person is already dead because of this, regardless of what, exactly, the Gimme's role in it was.
There is also no denying that the ship is somehow powered by blood, if not made of blood entirely. Why? How? And what do the clues uncovered in the previous week have to do with it?
The watches, meanwhile have not changed in any way. Everyone is still in their color groups. The doors to the next floor are still locked as well. Perhaps those are also murder dependent. Which is...also not good. But at least there's food and laundry down here, so...maybe it'll get boring eventually, but for now, infinite confinement on the bottom decks of the ship may not be so bad. right?
...Right?
There are currently 18 strangers on this ship.]
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Is something wrong?
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Is it too blunt to ask who you lied to? And about what?
I'm--I'm used to people who lie. One of my classmates back home thought of himself as the whole master of lies, he took pride in that kinda thing, but...y'know. I'm way more honest. What ya see is usually what ya get.
[So he says.]
...I'm rambling. But yeah, that question. Questions.
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What did she say?
[Akane steps over to the doll and gently picks it up, which feels very odd, and it whispers its secret again: I even told him a lie.]
Oh.
[She regards the doll solemnly for a moment, then carefully puts it in her pocket, though she doesn't hug it. She does seem to fold in on herself, curling a little closer.]
I guess that's... a fair question.
I lied... to my brother. He.... he always tried so hard, I didn't want.... want him to....
[She sounds like she might be about to cry, but bites it back.]
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[This is clearly painful. And it's about her brother - that Aoi guy. He almost feels like it's not his place to say anything. So he bites his lip, but he gently looks down at Akane.]
Y'don't have to tell me anything, if y'don't want. I know there's a lot of complicated stuff goin' on, and the last thing I'd want at a time for this is for you to experience more pain thinking on bad memories--more pain ya probably don't need at a time like this. But I'm here for you.
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No, it's... it's fine. I'm fine too. I....
I got sick, when I was 12. Aoi was... he'd....
[She shakes her head a little.]
Our parents died when we were little. They... [... she doesn't remember. She doesn't...? For a moment her eyes turn a little alarmed, searching, until she squeezes them tight again.]
Sorry, I can't... remember that right now.
[Her mind is whirling, but she forces it still, away, back to this conversation, and finally looks up into his eyes.]
He took care of me, after that. We didn't... We didn't want to go into the system. We didn't want to be separated. And he took care of me. But he got sick. I think that's why I got sick, too, when I was trying to take care of him, but I didn't want him to... push himself. So I told him I was all right, and I pushed myself instead, until... until I was too sick to hide it.
I had to go to the hospital. And... and because of that, we were kidnapped. And even if we escaped, it...
[She bites her lip.]
Sorry. I haven't told you everything about me either.
[But she's already crying.]
(cw: terminal illness mention)
It's a minute before he says--]
I'm sorry.
[Then, another, before he continues]
...I didn't really have much family, myself. Just me and my grandparents. Grampa and Gramma. My parents...they weren't around, neither, but I was lucky. I made it through all my life being kind of a golden boy. And then...
I got sick later, too. Didn't go to no hospital. I was already kidnapped by then, in a game just like this. I remember a bunch of nights just...lying awake. Hiding how bad it hurt. Coughing up copper. Hated that coppery taste after a bit. Made me even sicker tasting it.
That, um...
I didn't escape, in my case. Now we're here. And now we've both shared today.
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Your arms are so warm, Kaito.
[He reminds her so much of that other him, and something inside her shudders slightly and then seems to settle even closer under that knowledge. After his story she pulls back just enough to blink up at him, her eyes wet and wide with surprise, biting her lip a little. She's sick too: different yet the same. She, too, could die, and it would herald that end even if it wouldn't cause it. But more than that-]
But you're here. You're here, and you're holding me.
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...I've got a second chance, yeah. And I don't intend to waste it. I want us to make it through this, Akane. Together. You and me. I want...to beat this dumb game. Kick this dumb mastermind's ass. [A small smile, even if his own eyes are bit wet now, too] You can do most of the punching, you're probably more of a force than me, heh.
And then I, um...
[He heaves out a sigh.]
I think if we make it out of this, we'll be okay. I mean, if you haven't gotten checked up again, you should, but, I mean--a--and if we are, I want us-- [wait, no, don't] ALL of us [saved it] to go do something nice that lets us just be...happy, for once. We all deserve it. Together.
[...it probably doesn't mean anything, and he knows it. He's most familiar with kind lies.
It still counts for what it conveys, though. The message behind it. Believe in me, like I believe in you, like I believe in us.]
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I'll be okay. I don't need a doctor. But... but you're right. We'll get through this, and then... and then we can find out what happens next.
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[It's defying his own nature to point that out, but...maybe he's become a bit more of a realist here and there.
But still. His grip on her tightens just the slightest.]
It'll be something good. I'll make sure of it. You deserve to smile more often.
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Sorry. I should have remembered what you told me. You're right. But I'll be okay.
[A lie of her own, unless it wasn't. The same lie she'd told for years, unless she hadn't.
But the assertion did make her smile, even if it was still a little watery, as she lets him pull her a little closer, hold her a little tighter.]
You do too.
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But he dismisses that notion pretty quickly. So what? Even if she was gone in a few seconds--life was unpredictable, and even if the thought scared him a bit-- he'd been to the grave before, himself. Even that didn't seem to stop him from existing in this moment. This here, this now.
So, he had to promise himself - even if he lost this, he'd keep it alive in his spirit. In his heart. If he died, he'd fight to come back again. Not just for Akane's smile, but for everyone's smiles. His own included. If even death didn't stop him once, he could bust through it again.
Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, the Legendary Star-Lord...would save everyone this time, somehow. Just like Shuichi did before him.]
Heh.
Y'don't gotta worry about me. I enjoy every second as is.
[The smile on his face is sincere, even if she can't see it. It's audible in his tone.]
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She wished life could be this easy, still. But maybe, when all was done....
She felt the fever begin to flare again, bright and hot, and wanted to scream, though she swallowed that. He was still holding her, but she was suddenly leaning on him just a little more heavily.]
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[She was leaning on him pretty heavily, so--
He scrunched his eyes shut, then opened them.]
C'mon. Let's go rest. Somewhere comfy--maybe...
[He considered the rec room, but with the game going on, there might be...a lot of people.]
I can take you back to your room.
[That'd be the safest place to let her rest. Not that he could go inside, probably, but maybe Makima would be there to help if she was done looking around...]
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[Her voice was low and soft, and heat was radiating off her slim form. He might feel it.]
Maybe in a minute.
[She probably wouldn't be able to get there, not right now, she feels too weak. Her legs can barely support her.]
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Y'need to rest, obviously. So forgive me for what I'm about to do.
[And gently, he picks her up into a princess carry.]
Here. Now y'don't gotta use any excess strength!
[He's not thinking. He's just gonna get her to her room, then let her go. It'll be okay then. Probably.]
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She is, for the moment, content to relax in his arms, but when he takes her to her room and lays her carefully down she smiles up, just a little.]
Would you stay with me? For a little while?
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Uh.
Well, he doesn't hesitate. He leans back.]
Of course.
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