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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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?

[humourless laugh]

As sure as I can be.

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