Appointments Post ( II )

[generalflirt]

This post here is for personal conversations which should happen but one or both of us doesn't want to put up a new post/log and thus we will just thread it out here. This can be used to thread with Masaomi anytime and anywhere. This can either be in person (with action), or via the journal's call feature (voice and/or written).

When replying to this post please mark in the subject line when and how it is taking place EX:
[Action, March 11th]
[Voice, September 8th]
Written, June 10th]

(Link to old one here)

Comments

[markofthebrave]

[Katara becomes aware of the way and how long his hand has been covering hers, pressing it against his shoulder, and she slides it out from underneath his grip.]

You keep doing that.

[A small smile, a reference to their time in Tokyo.]

Saying the same thing over and over again doesn't make it any clearer, you know. I don't know what that means.

[generalflirt]

[Fine, fine. He lets it go, spreading his hand wide to bring it back to his side. He groans and leans forward now, still smiling]

"Heroes" are people who go out and die for a cause. Shikamaru and I've every intention to survive our charges.

[markofthebrave]

That doesn't seem very fair to the heroes. You don't think they want to survive?

[generalflirt]

I'm pretty sure that's not their priority. [...] If you were to ask me, I'm never willing to die. I just want to do it right and get out.

[And as he says that, he genuinely believes that the truth. He genuinely believes that coming back alive for Katara and Shikamaru and Gold and Silver and yes, even Anri-chan is more important. That he would do it right and not mess it up. He genuinely believes he's got no causes to die for.

He fails to recognize what a silly lie that is, coming from him]

[markofthebrave]

[Katara frowns a little.]

I don't know anyone who goes into a fight who wants to die...

[Trailing off, she shakes her head, deciding to leave this for another day.]

Anyway. You were saying?

[generalflirt]

I hope not, that would be pretty depressing.

[Willing, want. It's pretty similar. He grins a bit more from the thought and then looks down at his hands]

There were three other enclosures of drafted people there. Apart from the one we were in, Vaskoth, I mean. This place called Zompania, this other one called Excenn, and... Kin'cora was represented, too.

[markofthebrave]

[Oh.]

Was Willa there? Or Jake?

[generalflirt]

Willa's the one who's a tree or something, right? I feel like she'd be impossible to miss, so I'm going to say no...

[Jake, Jake... Jake, oh right he was that sort of jumpy older guy who was nibbling on chips or pretzels or bread or whatever the whole time. He saw him a handful of times and he swears the guy was checking out people. ...Maybe he was just being paranoid, but Masaomi doesn't give him the benefit of the doubt. He closes his eyes, running through the people he'd seen and...]

Jake. Jake, Jake... Jake...

[The first day, fighting, getting a unit, talking with Davis, seeing Jewel, fighting the Third Party. Going back to base, resting. Units. Second day, Aang, Silver, Temari---

There he is]

From a distance. Yes. He was nibbling pretzels at a rest stop I was at. I didn't connect it at the time.

[markofthebrave]

[Katara nods - no chance to check in with him, then. But... alive and still here. That was more news than she'd known before.]

Okay.

[And she nods at him - go on.]

[generalflirt]

Later in the second day, going in to the third day out there, they broke rank and took to the woods - the people from Kin'cora, that is. I dunno if you heard about it from those guys, but Mashiro Hyuuga spelled it out pretty explicitly last time: Kin'cora experienced an infection like what we encountered there. So... Look, reports were just starting to come in then. We didn't know how bad it would get.

[Inhale, exhale]

So I rounded up a team, and we were gonna go into the woods to see if we could find them - particularly to see if I could find anyone I remembered from Korras Blake-san's inner circle.

[markofthebrave]

[There wasn't really anything to say to that. But Katara quietly put her hand on his arm again, because she had a feeling from Masaomi's manner that... he was going to need that sort of grounding.]

1/2

[generalflirt]

To our credit, we made it. Two fellows from Excenn, one man from Zompania, Ven-kun and I. We had to search around some, but we found Mashiro Hyuuga, irony of ironies. [He smiles. It's forced, yes, but he likes Mashiro.]

Kin'cora's last experiment was a light one. And... he and his girlfriend actually managed to stop a kidnapping, can you believe it? Either way, he didn't know much more than that he expected all of us to die from the infection. He and his were going to ground and living off the land. No idea were Blake-san or even his inner circle were, but he also thought he was all of our best shot at surviving.

So... after be bid farewell to him, we decided to keep looking for the inner circle. [...Exhale]

[generalflirt]

...But that didn't work out. It was ... maaah, I don't know what time it was. There was no sun there, but it must've been "early morning" - Runners swarmed my group. The three non-Luceti people I was with all fight with guns, most of them didn't even have time to draw before one was on them. We fought, of course, all five if us but in the end--

...I don't know what became of Ven-kun. I hope he's not dead. [The other three are.]

[markofthebrave]

[Oh. Oh, that was terrible.]

Oh, Masaomi.

[Her face contorted with compassion.]

[generalflirt]

A...haha. [There's sort of a mirthless laugh here. It's not funny. But... yeah]

[markofthebrave]

When do you think we'll know?

[generalflirt]

Who knows. I figure anyone who's infected'll through by the end of the night, anyone who's dead will trickle through in the next six days.

[markofthebrave]

[She doesn't have anything to say to that. Katara just slides a little closer to him, her eyes concerned.]

[generalflirt]

Who knows, I should try calling him, later.

[He's a bit afraid to though. He crouches further, frowning]

[markofthebrave]

That would probably be a good idea. At least you'd know that way.

[She kept her hand on his arm.]

[generalflirt]

Mmm... probably. Riku-san too, maybe a few others.


[...] Regardless, I guess that's my whole story.

[In disjointed order, Aside from Korras Blake]

[markofthebrave]

[She sits there and absorbs that for a moment. And then quietly slides her arm around his shoulders and tugs him towards her so she can put her other hand on his waist and give him an awkward half-hug.]

[generalflirt]

I'm glad you all were spared that, honestly.

[He leans into her, just a little. Not... onto her, just in her direction]

[markofthebrave]

And I'm sorry I wasn't there.

[She doesn't pull back. Not just yet. She hesitates for a long time and then whispers by his ear:]

Zoro died.

[generalflirt]

[It actually takes him a while to play who Zoro is. But then, a memory within a dream hits him and he frowns deeply.]

...I am so sorry, Katara.