justonetruth | (no subject)

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K-Kaito? [ Softly, at first, and shaken. She touched the still-wet blood staining her front, touched the ragged tear in her shirt that marked the entry point of the bullet—pressed her hand over her ribs, over her heart, feeling the rise and fall and the steady, rhythmic beating…

And then she threw herself out of the bedroom she'd found herself in. The hallway was deserted; she broke into a run. ]

KAITO! ANSWER ME!

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[Aoko yelps, tumbling back. It's a hard landing, and for a moment, she's dazed. ]

Ouch… [ Nothing compared to being shot, yes. But in her experience, knowing what greater pain feels like doesn't really make smaller pains hurt any less. After taking a second to breathe, to get her bearings back, Aoko looks up, and… ]

… A-Aoko?

You—

[she stops and takes a deep, shuddering breath, only to lose it again in a series of chest-rattling coughs. She presses a hand to her mouth to help them die down, her gaze flicking wildly over the electrically-lit halls]

This— this is—

[—not the River. But she's not sure she can relax yet]

[ Scrambling to her feet doesn't work. She tries; of course she tries, but with her momentum lost the shakes are back in full-force. Part of Aoko wants to move on as quickly as she can, to find Kaito, to make sure he's alright—but most of her zeroes in on the disorientingly familiar girl in front of her.

She stumbles closer, half walking and half crawling. ] I'm sorry, I don't know where we are… Are you— [ 'Okay' seems like such a stupid question. ] —hurt? Is there anything I can do?

The Mansion— this is—

[there's a whine, followed by more coughs, sounding more and more strained as she tries not to retch; the venom has done a number on her. Despite all that, Miss Nakamori manages to struggle to her knees, fumbling with the chatelaine around her waist until her fingers close on a small blue bottle.

She twists it open and downs the contents in one go with practiced ease. It hits her like a punch to the gut, and her breath comes out in a wheeze as she doubles over, but she feels a little more coherent as it burns through her body (or at least a little less likely to die at any moment).

Coherent enough to notice the state of her companion, in any case. Panting for breath, Miss Nakamori eyes the blood-wet front of Aoko's shirt and fumbles for a second blue bottle]

I should be— asking you that— What— what happened?

[ … It's like Sabra all over again…

That's the first thought that strikes her, and it sticks. She hovers, half-crouching, unsure but hopeful that something can be done to help. Her concern spikes when the doppelganger doubles over—she makes a noise, reflexively reaching out to settle a steadying hand on her shoulder. ]

I'm alright. It doesn't hurt anymore.

[she gets a bottle thrust at her anyway]

Here. Drink it— regardless—

[at the very least, it should help with those shakes she can feel. At the very best... there's still the barest chance that this alternate of herself isn't quite dead, and she would be amiss if she didn't do everything in her power to make that bare chance a little better. The thought is chilling enough as it is]

You need it more than I do!

[ The injuries have healed, after all. Now it's just bloodloss and a bone-deep, disquieting exhaustion. ]

[continues to hold the bottle out, using the back of her free hand to wipe roughly at a trail of blood dribbling down over her mouth. Both hands are covered in fanged bite marks]

This place... gives us more. [slowly catching her breath, though it's still rough-edged and ragged] Please, take it.

[pauses, then adds with a hint of wryness]

Though you... might not want to drink it as... quickly as I did.

… Okay. Thank you.

[ Reluctantly, she takes the bottle. If this other Aoko is lying, and the Mansion doesn't really give medicinal hand-outs… She's gonna feel pretty terrible about it. On the other hand, she knows herself; knows better than to think that she'd back down.

And she really doesn't have time to waste.

Deep breath, and then down the hatch it goes. ]

[nearly as bitter as laudanum but with all the kick of a rough alcohol, the tincture burns its way down Aoko's throat — and that's at a slower pace. It's not a wonder her alternate was wheezing after downing an entire bottle.

Disconcerting as the initial effect is, the mixture is quick to take effect, easing her tremors and restoring some of the strength robbed by blood loss. Miss Nakamori is barely waiting to see if it works; she's already using the support of the wall to climb shakily to her feet, offering Aoko a hand up after her]

Better?

[ Grimaces, coughing. Still, she's glad for the boost it gives her; feeling a little like death warmed over is a vast improvement over feeling a whole lot like death warmed over.

Takes Miss Nakamori's hand and climbs to her feet, somewhat unsteadily. ] Much. [ She hesitates. ] We should find an infirmary for you, or somewhere you can get cleaned up.

[her grip is surprisingly strong given the circumstances; she helps her up with ease]

I've— [—well, no, she hasn't actually had worse than this before. That's a little unsettling] —perhaps. [a bath would be marvellous, she can't deny that] And... you?

... I have to find Kaito.

...Was he with you when...?

[ All she can do is nod. ]

[that doesn't bode well]

This place seems inclined to... take us to where we need to be. Or perhaps... take where we need to be... to us.

[she moves across the hallway as she speaks, heading towards a wooden club that lies discarded on the carpet. A large, vicious-looking beast's tooth is hammered deeply into one end, and the whole thing seems to be snarling at her, vibrating as if ready to leap up and attack. Miss Nakamori gives it a disdainful kick into the wall, which temporarily quells the snarling, and then takes it up in a firm grip before turning back to Aoko]

We'll find him. [finally catches her breath and lets it out in a shaky sigh. Everything hurts, despite her dose of tincture, and the ill feeling likely isn't going away for some time] I doubt there are few places where he would be safer than here. He'll be all right.

[yes, possibly all right like her and her counterpart are 'all right'. Don't think about that, Nakamori]

[ She might have commented on the club, if she hadn't spent those handfuls of weeks in Sabra la Tau… And if she didn't have priorities. ]

Aoko-san, you should rest. I can come back to find you as soon as I've found Kaito.

[ From somebody else, that could've been parsed as 'you'll only slow me down'. But, no; there's nothing but pure concern lacing Aoko's voice, and it's written plainly all over her face. ]

I can rest once we've found him. [already heading down the hallway, her pace brisk if somewhat unsteady] Knowing that idiot, he'll manage to get himself in some sort of trouble without one of us around.

… Some things never change.

[ She catches up quickly and trots alongside her double. As hard as it is to walk, it's even harder to resist the urge to break into a run. ]

It would be reassuring... if it weren't so frustrating.

[keeps to this pace for now, reaching up with her free hand to claw some webs out of her hair with a shudder]

Damned spiders...

[ The quip about Kaitos earns something that might've been a laugh, under normal circumstances. It comes out too much like a hysterical giggle for Aoko's liking. ]

...

What happened?

There was...

[trails off and shudders again, clearly not eager to recount whatever happened.

She keeps raking at her hair the whole time, until a spiny, chitinous, overly large spider's leg falls out of the tangled locks and bounces off her arm to the floor. Miss Nakamori stops dead and yelps, taking a hurried step back from it and combing her hair even more furiously]

[ ldfjk Aoko can't supress a surprised and disgusted eek when the spider's leg tumbles out of her double's hair. All the same, she moves closer. ] Let me help!

I-it should be fine, I'm sure that was the only one...

[really hoping that was the only one]

Are you sure?

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azurebeneath - 2011-12-31 10:05 (UTC) - Expand

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