View source for 2588/Because A Real Princess Likes Me

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/03/22
|Location=Kimura Estate
|Synopsis=Kukai and Lacrima visit Sachiko ... and her mask.
|Cast of Characters=141,129,160
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>It's a comfortably warm evening in Tokyo tonight, and the stars are shining overhead. It's been a relatively peaceful and enjoyable day for most people. Unfortunately, most people haven't been zipping back and forth above the city looking for magical creatures. <br /><br /> Sky Jack sighs and looks around, staring at the skyline without seeing. He hasn't seen a thing anywhere and it's been a long, miserable day. The ache in his head has progressed to a steady throb, and even the joy of being bound to his Guardian Character, Daichi, is beginning to wear thin. <br /><br /> Fortunately as he looks around, he sees a familiar place he could set down for a little while. He hadn't been to see Sachiko in a long time, and the large mansion she lives in is within sight. He shifts the point of his flying board that direction, and leans in, sailing through the air to see if she's doing any better since he saw her last. Which was, admittedly, while Kukai-N was trying to consume part of Sayaka's energy...

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>That third floor balcony where Sachiko once had her room bears light--not on the balcony itself, but through the open doorway into the bedroom. Inside, there's music playing: a slow melodic piece by some famous composer or another. <br /><br />As Sky Jack comes down to land, there's a clear vision of something perhaps heartwarming inside: Sachiko--on the ''third floor!''--away from her walker, making her way deliberately across the room.<br /><br />The cinnamon haired little girl has her locks pulled up in a trio of tails bound by little blue bows, and she's dressed in a white dressing gown and cream coloured tights. On her face is a sharp-featured golden masquerade mask, with a ruby gem at the forehead. And although she's not quite dancing, there's a clear sense that Sachiko's feet are lighter than they've been since she awoke from her coma. Some hint, perhaps, that she is finally recovered from that trauma?<br /><br />Except every time he looks at that mask, there's a distinct feeling of ''wrongness'' in the pit of Sky Jack's stomach; like looking at an X-egg. Or worse.

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sky Jack alights on the balcony, hearing the music from inside. He steps off the board, leaving it in position, then leans, peering inside to see that excellent vision of Sachiko, walking without her walker. That's great! She looks like she's happy and doing well. <br /><br /> ....Uh. Wait. Oh, wow. Something inside both Daichi and Kukai's brains is setting off a dozen alarm bells as he stares at the mask on Sachiko's face. And here he is, practically obvious if she looks out towards the balcony. Well... Butts. Nothing to do for it but be as brazen as possible. <br /><br /> "Sachi-chan! I see you're up and walking again! That's wonderful!" Sky Jack reaches up, dropping the goggles on his forehead down over his eyes as if he were racing pell-mell at a thunderstorm, and greets the girl with a big grin and a thumbs-up. "So how've you been since I saw you last?"

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima sort of cloaks out of darkness onto the balcony. She has no visited Sachiko since she's come back into her own body. She peeks at the light inside the room and can hear voices. Kukai? She walks in and looks between Kukai and Sachiko. Kukai who is Sky Jack it seems currently, and Sachiko who... is walking. Without a Walker. On the Third Floor.<br /><br />She blinks at this and the edges of her lips /almost/ upturn, you can see the twitch. But it doesn't happen. No smile happens. She takes a deep breath and she tries /really hard/. Nrg. No dice. Also it's given her a headache and she shakes her head with a sigh.<br /><br />"Hello Kukai-kun. Hello Sachi-chan. Sachi-chan, I see you're walking." she says.<br /><br />She head tilts though at the mask. Something about that mask makes her feel right and normal, and great. This causes her to blink a moment. She doesn't say anything about it yet. It looks awfully pretty though. Is it part of a new dance costume Sachiko has, she thinks.

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sachiko shrieks at the sudden noise--not a loud terrified shriek, but the noise of someone who was concentrating having that concentration broken. She throws her arms out wide for balance, and a broken little teddy bear (complete with bandages and an eye patch) goes flying from her arms.<br /><br />Moments later, the girl goes flying too: down, not away. She twists and lands on her bottom, then looks up at Kukai and Norie both. For a moment, the eight-year-old looks confident in herself. That confidence starts to break almost immediately, and gigantic oversized alligator tears start to fall from behind the golden mask. In a moment there will be wailing cries! It'll be great!

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sky Jack hears a voice he's quite familiar with behind him and starts to turn away from Sachiko and her new awful mask to say hello, but Sachiko shrieks and flails, turning and falling onto her rear, her teddy bear going halfway across the room and tumbling end over end. <br /><br /> Sky Jack makes a strangled awking noise and scurries over, scooping up the bear and then making his way over to Sachiko, handing her the bear and then holding her in his arms, supporting her with one arm and hand and reaching up to take that mask off her as if it's the most normal thing he could be doing. "Oh, Sachi-chan! It's ok, it's ok, hang onto me.. you did so good! Come on, don't cry..." <br /><br /> He looks over at Lacrima and then grins the grin of someone exhausted and partially incapable of handling the situation they find themselves in. "Hey, want to give me a hand here?"

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima blinks as Sachiko collapses and she thinks, did she fall because she's recovering? There's a shriek and then there is... big alligator tears. She's fine. Lacrima is practically an aficionado of tears. It's literarily her name. 'The Tears'. She walks over and shushes Sachiko. "It's okay. You're fine." she says deadpan. "You just fell on your butt. That's okay. I fell on my butt a lot dancing too." she says quietly.<br /><br />"You were doing well." she says.<br /><br />"That's a pretty mask." she says. She doesn't ask about it any further for now. She comments on it however.

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The attention only gives her more reason to cry. It's like a reward for her tears, and so she cries all the ahrder, clutching her bear and leaning into Kukai like she's the most helpless little lamb.<br /><br />The tears become sniffles quick enough, though, at Lacrima's compliments. She looks up to the vampire, then back to Kukai, then sniffles and wipes at her eeyes behind the mask. "y..you think so?" she asks.

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sky Jack holds Sachiko up between him and Lacrima, still trying to get the mask off of her as he hugs her close to him, patting her cheek and looking at her. "Yeah, you're ok. You were doing good, yeah! And it's... yes, pretty. Good word." He turns towards Lacrima and winces for a moment, before turning back to Sachiko. <br /><br /> Awww, and now she's crying harder. Oh, lord. He hugs Sachiko against him and keeps going at the mask. It is not wanting to come off and it's making him nervous. "Ah.... sure?"

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima nods. "MMmhmmm. Where did you get it?" she asks. She gently watches Kukai try to take it off. She raises a brow at this. Why is Kukai so intent to remove the mask? She looks back at Sachiko. "You are doing better." she says. "I'm glad. I'm back in my own body. I don't know if I mentioned that yet. And Kukai is back in his." she says.<br /><br />Yeah she can smell the Cinnamon. She's resisting it, like always. She always only visits Sachiko on a 'full stomach' so to speak nowadays.<br /><br />"Kukai, why are you intent to remove it?" she asks curiously. Something about that mask still...

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sachiko yelps in a little bit of pain as Kukai tears at the mask so desperately. It snaps back against her face, held in place by the elastic, and she reaches up to cover it. "Hey, leave my mask alone!" she yells at him, then pummels the sports star with her tiny fists. And she's crying again, as she squirms and tries to get out of Kukai's arms and back to the ground.

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sky Jack glares at the mask for a minute, pulling back his hands and looking back at Lacrima. "Yeah.. Me too. Uh. Wait. I hadn't. And the mask feels... wrong. Really wrong. Something's wrong about it, like an X-egg, but worse." <br /><br /> He winces as he reaches for the mask and it snaps back into place, and Sachiko starts flailing at his chest. "Ow, ow, ok, ok, look, Sachiko, you should take the mask off, please? There's something wrong with~" <br /><br /> One flailing fist pops him in the mouth and it's all he can do to not drop Sachiko, turning his head and sucking in a hissing breath of not-quite-pain-but-certainly-not-comfortable. He leans down, setting her onto the ground and stepping back, rubbing his lips.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima blinks and taps her bottom lip and leans down and taps the mask. She doesn't attempt to remove it. "Something about it feels right. Like it's absolutely beautiful and perfect..." she says quietly. "Which...is probably a bad thing. Now that I think of it. If it's ringing that way to you." she says quietly.<br /><br />She leans down and sits down on the floor next to Sachiko and head tilts softly at Sachiko.<br /><br />"Sachi-chan. Where did the mask come from...?" she asks softly.

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sachikoo stumbles back a step, then flops back onto the ground. This time she doesn't cry, but that might be because Lacrima is sitting down next to her. The girl looks out from her mask towards the vampire, then towards Kukai, then towards Lacrima again. She reaches up to wipe at her eyes, sniffling the tears away once more.<br /><br />"Twilight-oujo gave it to me," she says, using the honorific for a princess. "She gave it to me! She promised that if I learned to walk again, she'd take me to another place; to the Hope Kingdom, where I can meet her momma, and be the guest of a real Queen! She's a ''real'' princess, Norie-chan! She said! She said I can come if I learn to walk again. And she said I have to keep the mask safe because she'll come back for it when she takes me there."

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sky Jack stares at the hateful mask for a moment, then looks past it to Sachiko's big, watery eyes. "Damn. Sorry Sachiko. And... yes. Probably a bad thing." He listens to the two of them talk, knowing Lacrima can probably get more out of Sachiko than he can right now. <br /><br /> "Twilight-oujo? Hope Kingdom?" He shivers. "If... oh, boy. If that's her mask, that's not a good sign about her. I dunno how you feel, Lacrima, but..." He rubs his chin, thinking. "I could probably say something about it and see what comes up." He kneels, looking at Sachiko. "What does Twilight look like, Sachi-chan?"

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima head tilts. Hope Kingdom? The name seems familiar to her, but it was too long ago, and too hectic a moment for her to really recall much. She feels pain when she thinks about it though. Like. Purification is associated with it. Yeah.<br /><br />"Why isn't that a good sign?" she asks. "The name sounds familiar, but the sense of purification comes with it. I doubt it's a 'bad thing'." she says.<br /><br />Also, it's called. /The Hope Kingdom/. She imagines it would be called 'The Nope Kingdom' if it was bad. And in fact. "Also. The place is called The Hope Kingdom." she says with pursed lips. "I'm doubting it's exactly a bad place." she says pointedly.

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sachiko sticks out her tongue at Kukai, when Norie backs her up. "It's called the ''Hope'' kingdom," she tells Kukai. "And ''she'' actually cares about me! She's the only one who understands. She didn't tell me I should try to dance again, she said I should give up on dancing because it makes me so unhappy! ''She'' made me ''want'' to walk again! That's why I can. Because ''she'' was so beautiful and pretty and nice. She has long silver hair that's always beautiful, and pretty ruby-colored eyes, and her ears are pointy like an elf, and she's got a pretty smile, and she plays the violin! How can anyone who plays the violin be ''bad''? <br /><br />"You're just jealous," Sachiko accuses Kukai, glaring at him and putting hands on both her hips. Which, from the ground, looks more than a little ridiculous. "You're jalous of my pretty mask and because a ''real'' princess likes me and wants to take me to see a ''real'' queen!"

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Jack shrugs. "Because I know just about everybody, Lacrima, I make it a point to know just about everybody, and I don't know this Twilight person. And that mask is giving off the sort of evil vibes that I would expect from someone or something that wanted to do my head in." <br /><br /> Jack rubs his head, gritting his teeth. "I know, I know. The name is... weird. The place is .. I dunno. And I do care about you, Sachiko! And ... what? No! I mean, you should do what makes you happy, but you were such a lovely dancer. You still could be if you wanted it. Your dreams are precious..." <br /><br /> He hmms, listening to the description and matching it up against a bunch of other not-nice descriptions. "I am not jealous, Sachiko. I've got Nadeshiko - she's the prettiest girl in Tokyo. And I don't want your mask, I just don't think you should keep it, because I think it might be bad. As for a real princess, eh. As for a real queen..." He frowns, thinking back. "The last real queen I saw was... bad. Really, unquestionably bad. I hope this one's better. But... look, Sachi-chan. I'm just trying to keep you safe, ok?"

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima frowns at Sky Jack. "Not every Queen is an evil woman who wants to steal a hot guy or something you know." she says sourly. "I get enough of that from that Unmei girl. Calling me a 'scary demon lady'." she says. "If this person wanted to hurt Sachiko, I'm sure she'd had done so already."<br /><br />"Besides, every Princess I can think of is a good one." she says. "Princesses aren't villains if we're going by that logic." she says.<br /><br />She sighs and shakes her head. "Ask around if you want. Twilight sounds like a pretty name though..." she says as she taps her bottom lip.

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sachiko points at Lacrima meaningfully, then sticks her tongue out at Kukai a second time. "Yeah! Princesses are good people! Well, real princesses are. Fake princesses are just stupid. But she's a ''real princess'' because she's got a ''real queen'' for her mom, and they rule over the Hope Kingdom and she's gonna ''take'' me there and you can just go and be with your stupid Nadeshiko if you're going to be jealous! I'm keeping the mask. Don't try to take it or I'll cry ''really really'' loud and get the nanny to come and throw you off the balcony."

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sky Jack frowns back at Lacrima. "I know that. I'm just batting one for one for bad queens so far. And you should know as well as I do that Unmei's kinda crazy. I'm staying clear right now." <br /><br /> His eyes flick back at that mask, but he shakes his head. "Ugh. This is a crappy argument. Fine, fine, both of you, keep the mask, for Pete's sake. I'm not going to try to take it from you anymore." He stands up, then rubs his head. "Sorry. I might just be really, really tired. Just as a question, nobody's seen a pair of magical twin clowns running around, right? No? Yeah, me neither."

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima purses her lips... and then... she does something she doesn't normally do preemptively. She confers with the darkness.<br /><br /><span class="fg_59">'What do you feel about the mask?'</span>.<br /><br /><span style="color:purple">'Mhmmm? Oh. You're. Talking to me first. That's new.'</span><br /><br /><span class="fg_59">'Yes. What do you feel about the mask?'</span><br /><br /><span style="color:purple">'Mmmmm. It's pretty. I like it. But that's not what you're asking. Is it. Yes, it was a feeling about it, doesn't it?'</span><br /><br />Lacrima finally talks. "How often do you wear that Sachi-chan? Do you feel as if you 'have to'?" she asks.

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>As soon as Kukai relents, Sachiko smiles--as if she's won some major victory. She turns to look at Lacrima, watching as she makes a weird face. "Have to?" sh e asks, then shakes her head. "Nuh uh," she says. Reaching up, the cinnamon-haired girl removes the mask from her face, then holds it out towards Lacrima almost as an offering. Almost. "See? It's not bad. It's just pretty, and it makes me feel pretty. I like to wear it, because it makes me think about why I have to walk again. There was a mean ''fake'' princess who came to the playground and told me the mask was bad and I had to give it to her, but I didn't give it to her. She was mean, and a liar."

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sky Jack looks back to Sachiko. Of course she won, that's what happens when little girls cry. He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding when she removes the mask, then puts it back on. At least it wasn't actually attached. <br /><br /> He frowns, rubbing his chin and then shaking his head. "Huh. Somebody else who thinks the mask is bad? I wonder." He notes that 'liar' bit and remembers plenty of times that Sachiko had thought he was a liar, too. Familiar, perhaps. <br /><br /> "Well... I guess if you're ok and it's not hurting you, it's ok. I..." He grits his teeth. "You can keep it for now." He just... doesn't have the brain to work with this right now, not when the Twins are beating at his psyche. "I'm really glad you're walking on your own again, Sachi-chan."

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima reaches out and takes the mask for a moment. She holds it and she narrows her eyes on it. It isn't imposing anything on her. It doesn't try to attach itself to her. She can feel it though now. That darkness in the mask. She takes a deep breath. It's darkness, yes, but is isn't imposing any will. It obviously isn't making Sachiko /sick/--- she's actually gotten /better/. The darkness doesn't warn her of anything. It isn't a cursed object. She nods to herself.<br /><br />She offers the mask back after a moment. It isn't dangerous in and of itself, she determines. It reeks of darkness, but that doesn't mean anything. /She/ reeks of darkness afterall, and she doesn't have an effect on being around people for a prolonged period. It isn't a good enough reason to withhold it from Sachiko.<br /><br />As she's handing it back, she will tell Sachiko as much as she knows. "That mask is made of darkness." she says. "Made of stuff like I am." she says. "I don't think it's dangerous though. I don't feel as if it's exerting a will. It... just is." she says.

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sachiko takes the mask back from Lacrima and turns it over, looking at the object with a renewed sense of wonder. Apparently saying it's 'made of darkness' doesn't trigger any kind of instinctive fear from ''this'' little girl! "Ohhhh," she says quietly, as she puts it back on her face. "Well, darkness isn't bad. Darkness is when I see all of you. You never come to see me during the day, except when you were him, and he was you. Otherwise I only ever see you at night, in the darkness. So ''I'' think the darkness is just fine."<br /><br />Eight year old logic.<br /><br />"So why are there twin clowns?" Sachiko asks Kukai curiously, apparently happy to move away from the topic of the mask. "Are they evil clowns? Can I meet them?"

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sky Jack watches Lacrima take the mask and examine it. Hearing it's made of darkness makes his stomach wrench, but the rest is... enough to make him calm, for the moment. Another one, like Lacrima? Dark but.. not entirely evil? Hopefully. <br /><br /> Jack makes a little face to himself when she mentions that she only sees them at night. And apparently she knows about the whole switched bodies thing. Dammit. "Well.. I guess so. And.. the clowns aren't bad, but they're magical, and they're doing magical stuff, and I need to find them to help Sakura. She needs to make friends with them. It's a long, long story. I just.. gotta do it fast."

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima gently nods. "I'm also made of darkness." she says. "And I'm you friend. If you have another friend like that, as long as they're not hurting you. They're not... feeding from you? Right? Don't. don't let anyone do that anymore, okay?" she asks. "Not even me." she says.<br /><br />She looks to Kukai and squints and looks back down to Sachiko. "Clowns? I haven't seen any, no." she says. "At least not twin clowns." she says. "Are those the ones that...." she places her hands together, then unjoins them, as not to say it out loud. "That?" she asks.

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sachiko looks between Lacrima and Kukai, confusedly. The hand gesture is lost on her. The name Sakura is lost on her. Clowns that do magical things are lost on her. "So they're ... bad guys?" she asks curiously. "I bet they're not really bad guys," she says. Pulling her knees up to her chest, Sachiko hugs them gently, rubbing her hands along her tights thoughtfully. "Howcome you're looking for them? Why can't this Sakura girl do it?"

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sky Jack nods. "What she said. Don't ever let anybody feed on you ever again." He sighs and then watches Lacrima's hands, and nods. "Yup. And if I don't find them there's a tiny tiny tiny chance that one of the two will pop and vanish and wreck both lives." <br /><br /> Jack rolls his eyes. "Not... bad. Just... they're magical creatures who do magical things at random, and that can cause good things and bad things. They did something bad to somebody that needs to be fixed, or people I care about a lot may be hurt permanently. And Sakura's doing it too, but I can't make myself just... sit at home and wait for the phone to ring, you know? I gotta do part of it myself."

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima nods between the two as she sighs a bit and rubs a hand up across her face. "I wish you luck, Kukai-kun." she says softly. "But I can't help you with that. I have a desire to do unpleasant things to those cards." she says plainly. "-and I don't honestly know if I can resist. They hurt me. They hurt someone important to me." she says.<br /><br />"And I'd rather my actions not doom your friends because I'm irrationally angry at these things and can barely control myself around them."

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Squinting a little behind the mask, Sachiko turns to regard Lacrima with judging green eyes. "You hurt me," she points out. "And I don't want to do unpleasant things to you. And Momo-chan didn't hurt you. You should be nicer to whatever these cards are. You shouldn't be a hippogriff."<br /><br />Big words for a small girl. Too bad it's the wrong word.<br /><br />But then she widens her eyes at a sudden thought, and curiously asks, "Hey, if you're not draining me anymore, how are you alive? I thought you had to drain people to survive. Was that a lie you told me so you could eat me?"

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sky Jack hmphs. "I'm not much better than you, Lacrima. I just want all of them found and locked down as fast as possible. If that means I've got to search the city every night, all night, then that's what I have to do. I... will say I'm looking forward to a long, long sleep. It's cutting into my sports time!" Jack looks extra perturbed at this. <br /><br /> Sky Jack coughs. "Momo-chan was actually a couple steps short of trying to clobber me at one point. But we worked things out, I think. Have you seen her recently, Sachiko? And... Woof." He looks over at Lacrima, a faint grin on his face. "Yeah. Don't be a hippogriff." <br /><br /> And then more intense questions from the eight year old to the vampire! Sky Jack backs away a bit, grinning, enjoying watching Lacrima getting grilled. He's certainly had to put up with it before.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima frowns at Sachiko-chan. "I have a friend who feeds me on occasion. Amu-chan." she says. "Like you used to. And I still need to hunt. I've always needed to hunt. I don't like hunting. You know that." she says. "Either I feed or I become a horrible monster." she says quietly.<br /><br />She frowns at Sachiko and Kukai. "It's hard for me to control my emotions still. It's hard for me to be rational when something has hurt someone... I... I...."<br /><br />She has to say it through gritted teeth. "Love." she says.<br /><br />"I can't feel love. But. I know I love him now. Thanks to the time I spent in your body." she says quietly at Kukai.

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sachiko peers from behind the mask at Lacrima. She peers at her, listening to her explanations. And she frowns. Those green, judging eyes pierce all too keenly for an eight-year-old. "That's stupid," she declares, brazenly. <br /><br />"You shouldn't just eat Amu 'on occasion' and oh also you hunt," Sachiko continues gloomily. "You used to hunt when you ate me, and then you wound up eating me almost all up! Except you didn't finish the job like I wanted you to, ''and'' now you don't do it anymore. That means you're going to eat this Amu almost all up, like you did me. Only mabye this time you will finish the job, and she probably doesn't want you to like I did.<br /><br />"And it's also stupid for you to try to love if you can't," Sachiko says to Lacrima, still apparently not done with the judging thing. "I mean, if you can't feel it, what's the point? You should just eat who you want, when you want, and only as much as you want. And if they don't like it, well, it's better than you killing them, right? I mean, unless they want to be killed."

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Jack tries to keep his face impassive when Lacrima talks about feeding off Amu. It's not easy, but he manages it. He knows about the monster. "Because that's the negative emotion, Lacrima. That's the... hate and anger, rising to the top. And... yeah. I'm glad at least you were able to feel it." <br /><br /> Sky Jack looks over at Sachiko, then grits his teeth again because it would be rude to laugh at Lacrima because Sachi-chan just lit her entire argument on fire. 'And probably doesn't want you to like I did.' That's not fire, that's napalm. Jack turns to one side, facing the balcony, trying not to grin hugely. <br /><br /> The second part, though... Kukai turns back towards Sachiko, a little aghast. "Wait, wait, wait. It is not stupid for her to try to love! It's what's helping her stay human in all this! And I appreciate her not just randomly eating people and certainly I appreciate her not killing people! What the hell has gotten into you, Sachi? That's horrible to say!"

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima frowns. Not in the mad, angry way she often does, but it's a very sad frown. "Amu-chan cares about me. She doesn't want me to hurt a lot of people. One time, she practically force-fed me for a few weeks straight and she made herself very sick, but I wasn't in a position to deny her either. Her friends made her stop. I'm glad they did. I wasn't strong enough to do so myself." she says quietly.<br /><br />"....I don't think it's stupid to try to love." she says quietly. "I may not feel it. Like happiness or joy or true comfort..." she says quietly. "But I know when I should feel it now." she looks down.<br /><br />"I"m not human. But that doesn't mean I might not be able to feel these things ever again. Before. That happened. With the switch?" she says toward's Kukai. "I tried, veru, very hard to ask Eilam-kun something. Because I was hurting wondering. But what I am wasn't letting me ask. So I kept. Trying. And trying. While I stood there vocalizing for an idiot. but I finally asked him... 'Do I make you happy?'." she says quietly.<br /><br />"--and it /hurt/ me to. Not. Emotionally. But it felt like I'd hit myself with a purification attack." she says quietly.<br /><br />"But. When I was switched with you I got to thinking more clearly about that moment." she says.<br /><br />"I wondered if there was a way I might be able to force things like that in the future. I haven't been able to since." she says softly.

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sachiko rolls her eyes so hard it rolls her whole head. She flips her gaze towards Kukai, sending all three ponytails whipping around. "Now ''you're'' being a hippogriff!" she accuses him. "If this Amu person can feed her because she cares, howcome I can't do it? It's not like one feeding is gonna make me into a coma again right away! And ''I'' know what could happen better than ''anyone''.<br /><br />"And anyways," she says, looking back to Norie, "you just said exactly why you shouldn't only feed from Amu and sometimes hunt others! You made her sick! You made ''me'' so sick I was in a coma for like forever!" That's nine months, in eight-year-old terms.<br /><br />"So you should feed on me," Sachiko explains to Norie, "and on Amu, and on Kukai-onee-san, and on this Eilam person, too. And you should stop trying to hurt yourself like purification attacks. That's stupid. It'll just make you have to feed more on people."

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sky Jack shakes his head and then reaches over, putting an arm around Lacrima's midsection and hugging her gently. "It is not stupid to try to love. And... yeah, not being able to say these things is awful. It was a bad time but a good time. But a bad time. All around." <br /><br /> Sky Jack looks down at Sachiko. "Yeah but you can't stop somebody from eating all they want once they get going, Sachi-chan. It's about not putting yourself in a position for somebody to be able to hurt you like that. Just... Ugh." He shakes his head. "I don't have the brain right now to argue this with you. We'll talk about it later. Right now I need to get back out and keep looking for the twins." <br /><br /> Sky Jack leans down and hugs Sachiko. "You be good, ok? I'll be back soon."

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima takes a deep breath. "No." she says quietly. "I've chosen not to be a monster, Sachi-chan." she says quietly. "I'm not a human. But I refuse to be a monster for monster's sake." she says. She frowns and stands up.<br /><br />"Goodbye, Sachi-chan. I'll be back later when you're not going to lecture me on being a 'monster'." she says frankly, as she lets darkness cloak over her, and take her back into her closet in home. She'll just kinda. Lay there tonight. In the closet.

:'''{{#var:129|Sachiko Hayakawa| (129)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Hugs, Sachiko likes. Hugs are a thing she will always like. But what she doesn't like is that both of her friends are leaving, and telling her she's wrong. "I didn't say you're a monster," Sachiko says to the empty room. "But it's stupid to try to be a human when you're not." She sighs, frustratedly, then reaches up to rub at her forehead.<br /><br />"And besides," Sachiko tells her teddy bear. "If you keep feeding on just one person, you ''will'' be a monster again. Stupid," she mumbles. A yawn escapes the little girl, and she screws up her face in frustration.<br /><br />"Uh uh!" she tells herself. Or maybe the bear. "You can't be tired. You gotta walk across the whole room two more times. Then you can go to sleep. Twilight-oujo could come by ''any day''. Gotta be ready to walk in the Hope Kingdom and meet Queen Dyspear. It's important." And so, with a bit of a wobble, she gets back to her feet to resume her exercise. Because even the minions of Dys Dark cannot help but spread a little of the Hope Kingdom.
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