| Another Way; [Kyo, Aleksandria - Closed] | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 11 2014, 09:43 PM (506 Views) | |
| The One True Nobody | Mar 14 2014, 12:53 PM Post #21 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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The self-depreciation, the guilt, the proclamations that she didn't deserve to survive. Kyo wanted to contradict them, but it would just be more assurances that Aleksandria denied. It wasn't something that could be told in words. But it was clear from her actions, both before and now, that Kyo believed otherwise, wasn't it? Let those speak for her, she decided, and so she remained silent and just held Aleksandria without speaking. But Kyo's eyebrows rose, getting dangerously close to her part of her forehead the hairband covered, as Aleksandria insisted she and Kira and Kinzaki would all forget about her eventually. "Um, no. No I won't and they won't forget ya, neither. Movin' on ain't the same thing as forgetting. If anything, forgettin' is just another thing that holds us back from movin' on." The green-haired girl looked away, away from the fire, and away from Aleksandria. Out into the dark expanse of the warehouse. She closed her right eye, and kept her left open. "I wish I could prove what I see's real," she said quietly. "When I say I wish I could show ya proof, what I mean if I wish I could show ya what I see. What my Persona gives me the power t' see. It's our connections, Aleksandria. All of our connections, yours, mine, everyone's. Distance doesn't break them. Neither does death." She paused. Bit her lip. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a mass of hovering things that could only be linked to Aleksandria, but that was important, personal, secret, and she would not look. She'd looked without permission a few times before, around others, but no, not now. She would keep her Eye to herself from this point forward. After a few moments she said: "Before you leave this city, ours'll be unbreakable gold. Then not even time'll be able t' weaken it. That's a promise." She opened her right eye, and turned back to Aleksandria. Grinned. "And don't apologize! I don't care what happens from this point on, I wouldn't change a second o' the time we've had for the world. You're one o' my most treasured friends, y'know? Of course I won't forget about ya." |
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| Dante | Mar 14 2014, 03:06 PM Post #22 |
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
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Aleksandria would have said something more, how she couldn't be right. How it was just a lie. Something she was saying to calm her down. But instead she laughed. It seemed like the bottled up anger of 10 years of her life had simply ran out of steam. Back to Aleksandria the Stoic. But that wasn't what she wanted to be. So she let down her guard. More so to the point, she put her guard down completely. "...If it was anyone else. I would think you were insane. Seeing literal connections in the air. But... its you. Kyo-san.. I believe you. I wish I could see them for myself. The threads that connect us.. what... what color are they?" When she mentioned a gold connection the Russian smiled. "Today you learned a lot. You learned what I really am. I am done moping. I am done being self depreciating." More of her fire returned to her eyes. Judgement, death overturned. How many times had Aleksandria outlasted death? Wasn't she truly living with her life under the sword of damacles? She laughed again. "I am Aleksandria Fyodor! My father may have disowned me, but his company will be mine when he passes. Not even Genesis can keep him alive forever." Another laugh. "That's how we'll win. We'll simply outlast him. I understand. I was... acting so stupid! Of course those connections are still there! I saw them with the Archangels. With Iemoto-san and with you! You all accepted me. Anael had her issues, but she was abandoned before, it must have stung to be abandoned again." She paused. "...I understand... this... connections.. We are all truly connected." She loosened herself from Kyo, a smile on her face. "Let us celebrate. There is no time to be moping. Ah! What did you think of that Vodka? It is a family favorite. I brought it because you would understand why. You and I, we bonded over our mutual love." The Russian chuckled again. There was no anger, no sorrow. Only smiles. "So I brought you my best. Because you are my best friend." A laugh. "A rather shitty joke, don't you think?" |
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| The One True Nobody | Mar 14 2014, 04:31 PM Post #23 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Kyo smiled as it seemed Aleksandria was starting to come out of it. She gave Aleksandria one tight squeeze, and then let go when her friend asked about the Vodka. "Hey, we all need someone t' let this stuff out to, right? I know one or two people who could stand t' mope a bit more," she quipped, reaching back to grab her bottle. "Outlastin' the shitty old generation, huh? Ain't that the way it is for everyone. Still--" She held up the bottle, and then took a sip. "--It'll all turn out right in the end if we stick together and work at it. I--" Kyo wanted to tell Aleksandria that she was also her best friend. It felt odd not being able to reciprocate that particular label, since Isoroku already held it. Best friend for Isoroku. Big sister for Ayane. And of course boyfriend for Hiroko. What was Aleksandria? Guardian Angel? No, that wasn't quite appropriate anymore, and it felt like something that really ought to have been Kinzaki's title for the woman. But titles and labels were meaningless. Aleksandria was Aleksandria. There wasn't any point sugarcoating it when Kyo was one of the few people who knew her for who and what she was; maybe that was the best way to think of her, as herself. "--I don't think it's a joke at all," Kyo said instead, and her cheeks warmed up a bit as she said it. She brought the bottle to her lips and sipped at it. "And this is really good stuff. I see why y'like it." She held the bottle close, and threw an arm over Aleksandria's shoulder. Aleksandria had asked about the color of their thread. She wanted to check, but she didn't want to see that personal thing her eyes revealed so readily. So she looked down, and closed her eyes. Opened the left eye just a crack. "The thread's colors tell me what sort of relationship the bond represents," she said. "They come in the primary colors o' light. Red's a romance, blue's a friendship, green is respect--familiar respect, rivalry, mutual admiration like, like a teacher-student relationship. Ours is blue, and it's also really solid. Bonds grow and strengthen over time. The golden weaving in some threads means... it's reached the apex. There's a point where a bond can't ever break, no matter what strife or barriers get in the way. I only have one o' those... it's the one I have with Isoroku. But you, Ayane, Hiroko, you're all close t' my heart. The same way. We--" Kyo's eye settled on the blue strand connecting her heart to Aleksandria's, and opened a little. "--we're every bit as close as me and Hiroko, actually. That's interestin'. Well, minus the red." And her right eye popped open; she switched the power off. "I'm not sure whether t' tell the other Persona-users about it, t'be honest. I'm not sure if it'd be a good thing for 'em t' know." Kyo traced a finger through the air between her and Aleksandria, at just about the place the thread had hovered. "It's a representation of our bonds, but it's also like... a live power feed from one heart t' the next," she said quietly, in a vaguely academic-sounding voice that wasn't quite like her. "Persona-users thrive on that power. I dunno exactly how much. I know Fusion Spells draw on it and I know Wild Cards can use it t' make new Personas. But alla that's just like everything else Persona-related; it's just an aspect of people, represented symbolically through our power. The real lesson is that people can't live without other people in their lives. Those connections strengthen us, and through us, they strengthen the other lives we touch..." She traced a finger through the air, following a line she'd seen trailing off into the distance, to one of her other connections. The blue-green mix in that line meant it was probably either Nana or... Eri, her own mother. Considering the dimness of it, and the higher concentration of green, probably her mom... "...And the people who forget and neglect those connections are starving a part of themselves," Kyo finished. "People can't live alone. They only decay that way." |
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| Dante | Mar 14 2014, 04:52 PM Post #24 |
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
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Aleksandria sighed slightly. "Before you I had no-one else. What you experienced was the last 10 years of my life piling on top of me. That was it. There was nowhere let to go. I couldn't go further. I had to... explode. I'm sorry you had to see me like that." Was that a hint of the armor going back up? To become comfortable in her own skin once again? She put the armor down. "No. I am not sorry. You needed to see that. As petty as it was. What I am is a woman of strength. My father may claim he made me in his image, but I am my own woman. I learned to day trade at fifteen and had my own stock portfolio by sixteen. I have made money that my mother and father have no claim to. Perhaps... Perhaps I do not need to worry about being a Fyodor. I am my own woman." She smiled. "It goes down smooth. Despite what you think, I was not drunk... alcohol just makes me more honest. I like to drink. Its an easy way to bring down my armor. Perhaps that was why it needed to happen. It needed to happen so I could change. Not overnight. If I am to stay in the shadows, I cannot be the same woman." Blue, a bond of friendship. She was worried it would have green in it. There was no doubt in her mind that there was a bond of green. Would it hurt to be honest? "You can probably see a thread completely green. That is my strongest comrade. She is not as close as you, but she is the last person from the old country that I know." A lie, but there were things about her past she wasn't about to divulge to Kyo. The bond that never broke never meant that she had to be completely open. Her relationship with the bear of the old country, that was her personal secret. Medved understood her past and Kyo understood her future. "People cannot live alone. That is why I created the Archangels. That is why my army was comprised of former veterans, of children who's homes had been destroyed by war." She sat proudly a smile on her face. "So they would never truly be alone." |
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| The One True Nobody | Mar 14 2014, 05:27 PM Post #25 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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"Well, it's good thatcher not sorry, 'cause y'ain't gotta be," Kyo said easily, looking at Aleksandria with a small, simple smile. "Whenever you needta let stuff out, I'm here, Kira's here, and I know Kinzaki's there, too. Don't worry too much about worryin' us, either. We all know it's hard for ya, y'know? So just let us be there when ya need someone." Kyo chucked a bit at the claim that Aleksandria wasn't drunk. "Man, y'know, if I thought ya were out and out plastered I wouldn't letcha say anything. I don't wanna hear anything you don't actually trust me with when you're in your right mind, y'know? It'd make me feel like an... emotional voyeur or somethin'." Her smile flickered a bit, and she looked into the fire. "...Not a bad description o' the way I've been since awakenin', actually," she muttered to herself, and then she shook her head. "But that's all behind me now. You're right, by the way, there was a green one in there. Maybe a few others. I didn't count 'em all up. It's sort of personal stuff, y'know? It's why I'm a little uncomfortable telling just anyone about this." Aleksandria's army. Her soldiers. They were either dead or in Russia now. The dead ones... probably accounted for most if not all of the ghosts Kyo could see out of the corner of her Left Eye when she'd used it just now. "That's really neat o' ya, Aleks. I mean it. Tryin' t' give 'em all somethin' t' connect with, I mean," she murmured. There must have been genuine connection there for so many of them to appear behind Aleksandria as ghosts or "echoes of the heart" or whatever it was those images could be called. It was funny. Kyo felt so much angst over the two ghosts following her around, but so many of the people she knew had just as many, or more. Kakeru, Ayane, Aleksandria, Nana, Isoroku, Treo... Kyo took a gulp of her Vodka. Sighed contentedly. And then, simply, matter-of-factly, she said, "I'm glad we're able t' do this again." Just a basic statement of how she felt. She fell into silence then. She wasn't sure if talking about her own concerns was appropriate now. Maybe it was better to let Aleksandria set the pace--decide whether she needed to mull things over or if she just wanted to transition into idle talk. So, Kyo decided that was what she would do. And in the meantime, this vanilla Vodka was damn good. |
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| Dante | Mar 15 2014, 12:21 PM Post #26 |
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
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Aleksandria smiled slightly. "Its been a long path to understand that. You are all here for me. I do not have to keep to the shadows alone. I have those I have connected with to share it." The Russian wasn't sure what to say. She merely gave a laugh at the implication and shook her head. "I am a Russian, it takes a lot more than a simple bottle of vodka to put me away." Her tone was honestly caring. "Of course. You wouldn't want to prey on me like... I preyed on you." The unpleasant memory came back. It was a painful thought and to dig it up now, it almost felt like she was testing the girl. Was she testing her? In a way. Perhaps that was something she was being selfish about. Testing the bond. A disgusting thing to do. But Aleksandria was a disgusting woman. "You probably shouldn't count them. If my hypothesis of your power is correct, it would be hard to focus. My men didn't all die in the raids on my bases and most of them still work for my father. Very little of them do not still have loyalty to me. I suppose in a way, that would make them strong bonds." She smiled slightly. "...Thank you for sharing that with me. If it makes you feel a little less uneasy, I do not mind what you see." What was there left to hide? "I'd assume if I followed my threads, they would mostly lead to Russia." A laugh, but then a sigh. The doors of the motherland were closed to her now. "One day Kyo. I'll take you with me. We'll see my homeland together." She smiled, with determination. Those doors were not closed and if they were, she would simply knock them down. The fencer gave another smile. "I treated them as my equals. They were not tools. I fought for their own place. I wanted to give them a Heaven they could be happy with. It turns out... all they wanted was my happiness. To have the young daughter of their leader step in and respect them, that was all they wanted." A few tears rolled down her cheeks. It hurt to remember them, only because they were gone now. At least for now. Then... she was done. "...I'm glad too. We... we should hang out more." She paused for a moment. "...Is that what you say? Hang out? I mean.. I still haven't really experienced being a teenager." A blush of sorts. "I guess I was waiting for you again. I don't feel right trying to do it on my own." Then finally, there was nothing left to say. One deep breath and a hand reaching to a fresh bottle of Vodka. "Now. It would not be fair to simply explode at you and not help you bear your own weight. Tell me Kyo, what is it you wanted to discuss?" |
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| The One True Nobody | Mar 15 2014, 04:35 PM Post #27 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Kyo smiled a bit sadly when she remembered the time before the mask had come off, when Alexis Kriemgund had simply been Alexis Kriemgund and nothing else. "...Not too long ago, I might've," she murmured. "Even if my reasons were a bit easier t' justify in my own head. 'For their own good,' and all that..." The green-haired teen leaned back on one arm, and swung the bottle up to her lips to take a hearty gulp. And then a second. And then a third. She set the bottle down by her side, and smiled a bit, looking up at the ceiling. She paused when Aleksandria mentioned her "hypothesis" and it being hard to focus. She decided not to respond. If Aleksandria wanted to know, she could ask. Before that, Kyo didn't want to talk about it. It was hard to say. Saying it to Isoroku had been uncomfortable enough, even if saying it to someone was a necessary thing, a prerequisite to dealing with it. "I'm glad thatcha don't mind," she said. "I'm more uncomfortable just havin' the power in the first place. It's almost like... havin' X-ray vision and bein' able t' peek at people's undies and things, y'know? I feel like I shouldn't use it. But sometimes I know using it'd make people easier t' figure out." She shrugged. And then smiled. "I'd like t' see Russia someday," she said, tilting her head to one side. "When I think about tourism I usually only think about like, the Americas and Britain, where all my favorite movies and stuff come from, yeah? But when I think about it, Russia'd be more interestin' in a way. More different, I guess, besides just different in the way people act and talk... and have two-day weekends instead o' one. Fucking Americans don't know how good they got it." Kyo pushed herself back up, propping her head up in her hand and grinning. "We should hang out more," she agreed. "And we got our Christmas break comin' up, so I'm sure we can find time then, yeah?" She scratched at her cheek, and let the grin just slide away, a more serious look taking its place. "What I wanted t' talk about ain't anything personal, more just... what I think we should be doin'. For the city, that is. My little project, you know." |
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| Dante | Mar 17 2014, 01:24 PM Post #28 |
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
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Aleksandria chuckled slightly. "That might have sounded like a test, but I do believe you. I am sometimes a little quick to believe something unless I test it myself. It is why I feel so... hands on with everything I do. I cannot simply take a commanding position unless everyone underneath me feels comfortable with it." She said nothing but Aleksandria knew better not to push. "At least it is only those around me who are still alive. I would not want to imagine what its like to see the dead. Their bonds shatter as easily as their soul." The Russian was not aware of conversational landmines, nor the fact that she had just stepped on one and blown her torso apart. The Russian nodded. "Mmm. I understand. Having so much power. The power to see people's hearts, but the temptation to use it is honestly too much to bear. I respect that. There are times when you could justify its use, but the heart is a tricky thing Kyo-san. You cannot simply imagine you understand someone so well because you understand their heart." She sipped her new bottle thoughtfully. "...Otherwise I and my Roza would understand each other a bit better. But I can read her heart. But not her mind." When she continued about Russia the girl's eyes began to sparkle a little. "Oh it is beautiful. I would show you my family's mansion, as well as St Petersburg. Not to mention the nightlife... the nightlife is beautiful. It is... a comfortable place to me. Perhaps when my father passes, I'll begin rebuilding what I have destroyed. In that time, I'll invite you to come with me. It won't be for a while, but... I want to show you. Where I came from." The fact she had been disowned didn't even seem to register to Aleksandria anymore. Her pain suffered, she was free, but even she knew she was still a Fyodor. It was in the blood. Not even her father could change that. Changing her path had always been her own goal. She was just given her own time to do it in. "Whenever you like. I am... a lot less busy these days. If you need someone to speak to, or just to hang out with, I am there." When the serious look came it was met by one of Aleksandria's own. Almost like this was a business meeting. "...What should we be doing Kyo-san? It is no question that the Archangels will have to stop their activities." She was not sad. She smiled. "...That only means our mission is complete. Nagashima has a new way to stand on its feet. It no longer needs us working from the shadows. Your project is very interesting though. Please, tell me more." Then she turned to face her friend fully, her face a mixture of understanding and curiosity. "I want to know what your plan is." |
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| The One True Nobody | Mar 17 2014, 02:05 PM Post #29 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Kyo flinched pretty hard when Aleksandria mentioned being able to see the dead, and that tension took a half-minute to will away. It was as good as a confirmation, but Kyo didn't want to talk about it. Whenever she so much as thought about it, she could... feel them there. The same way a paranoid pop star might feel the eyes of stalkers on their backs. Forbidden vision. Forbidden knowledge. It came with a burden she wished she could be rid of, if only because the temptation to turn her eye on and look back at her past was so omnipresent. But she had figured out that this, too, was a part of her Persona's test. Remembrance without being bound to the past. The difference between one chained to the Devil and the freedom of the Lovers. It was a hard resolution to keep when the past was being dangled in front of her face like a carrot on a stick. "I'd liketa see all that," Kyo managed when Aleksandria spoke of her homeland, but it was distracted. Her current train of thought was difficult to de-rail. It was impossible to picture the things Aleksandria spoke of with her head so off-center. She pulled herself out of it and set her shoulders back as well as she could. It wouldn't do to be distracted by all of these personal issues. So she closed her eyes a second to collect herself, and then opened them--both of them. "The Archangels ceasin' their activities ain't exactly what I had in mind," Kyo said tentatively. "But I think it's a bad idea t' keep... doin' what we do. Patrols. Costume armor. It's too showy. From a certain point o' view it's... too egotistical. Like we're settin' ourselves up as more'n men and women." Kyo looked to Aleksandria, frowning a bit. "...The first thing I'm gonna say is I don't need any help from you settin' up the organization," she said. "Although that brain o' yours would be helpful, 'cause I dunno if I got the chops t' plan all this out by myself. I wanna do so many things and I dunno how t' get 'em done efficiently. Get police support, set up civilian patrols and crime watches, try t' get some sorta influence goin' in city politics, school policies, the police themselves... basically, I wanna make everything better. Not just fightin' crime or thwartin' bad guys, but tryin' t' set it up so the bad things aren't so prone t' happen in the first place, see?" The green-haired girl took a gulp of vodka. The taste of it helped keep her head from getting all distracted by minor fears and uncertainties, so she could keep going. "One arm o' this--the Persona-centric part--is gonna be focused on tryin' t' get us all more organized. I don't mean stuff like mountin' expeditions inta the ruins, that's a thing, but I mean above ground. As a community. So we ain't all runnin' around tryin' t' fix things in six hundred different ways. Some way o' really enforcin' things for all of us, and a more reliable... emergency contact system than just puttin' stuff up on the Blotter and hoping someone who can help is available." Kyo tapped her forearm. Her armor had been discarded in favor of casual clothing, but she imagined she was tapping the script-decoration on the armplate even so. "I think that's a niche the Archangels can help with," she murmured. "Not as masked saviors but as fellow Persona-users. Takin' down the Black Hoods is still a priority, but I think setting up a round-the-clock support line is more important." She took a breath, and let it out. "Unfortunately that means gettin' more than just the Archangels. It's a big city. We'd need more'n one person on-call for any given time o' day and we'd need people with quick access t' different parts o' town... and even takin' inta account how many users there are, only a small chunk of 'em actually have any real motivation t' do this, or what they need t' be any help." The green-haired girl grinned a bit, scratched her head, and added: "And well I'm kinda fantasizin' here but I'm sorta hopin' that... the Persona-usin' arm o' this hypothetical group workin' together with ordinary civilians might... eventually wear down the fear and stuff. So there can actually be peace. Just, fuck if I know how t' really get it started. And it's hard t' focus when I got stuff like my Shadow still wanderin' the ruins t' worry about, too." |
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| Dante | Mar 17 2014, 02:36 PM Post #30 |
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
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Aleksandria simply stared back. "I understand. Don't look. Never look." That was all she said. As soon as it was addressed, it was pushed aside. If Kyo could truly see the bonds she had formed with the dead, then there was no mistaking it. The bonds made in life continued through death. Only that had been the positive information. Once she had put that out of her mind, she simply nodded. "Then we shall. Someday." The plan was made and would be dealt with another time. A part of her felt dirty for having to stumble around on landmines to get the answer. Didn't Kyo trust her? Were they not close? Why wouldn't she speak of it then? Were they not trusted? The girl mentally chuckled. Hypocritical thoughts. This woman was the closest thing Aleksandria had to a best friend, but there was still secrets. Always secrets. Aleksandria Fyodor never truly trusted anyone, there were simply people she was less inclined to throw under a bus. Once she rerailed her thoughts the girl chuckled. "That was what I meant. Our activities in darkness, in armor, on the city rooftops. When the problems of this city were larger, we were the night's army. But now another had taken claim to the night." When she mentioned she didn't need any help though... that... offended? Was that the right word? It didn't sit right with her. "The way you say that sounded like a child complaining to its mother. Regardless if you want help or not, this was my cross to bear long before it was yours. I will not budge on that." She was helping, even if she had to help from the shadows. "I can offer you my skills as a planner. If you give me that, I will respectfully step away." She bit her lip slightly. "...You understand. More than anyone else. This isn't something I can let you do on your own. I don't care if its a way to prove yourself, this cross has been mine to bear ever since Ruwashi." Her tone was sharp, but still subdued. "Making everything better is easily said, but it not easily done." When she continued Aleksandria nodded slowly. "Anael and the others would be pleased to work in that respect. To work with the community. I do not require our brothers and sisters to wear masks to place us above everyone else. I did it to ensure their safety. In your plan Kyo-san, that safety is provided. I will talk with them, I can see Iemoto-san taking to this role pretty well as well." The Russian gave a smile. "I myself would not be against helping. Whoever else you find wanting to help, please let me know. Your plan is a complex vast thing and if you truly think that this will help fix the town, I'm inclined to believe you. I believe if we can unify the help, we can easily provide service to cover the city." A final sigh. "...I want to help but the line between help and hurt is too fine in my case. If one person finds out who I am, I have to leave Nagashima forever. If the truth ever gets out, I will disappear." A sorrowful tone. "I only have myself to blame." |
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1:27 PM Jul 11