[It's the morning, and Taki stirs, what new horror shall she discover?! Are Satoshi, Haruko, and Kaede already dead? Was that her fault? Has she lost Katie to a shirtless Saki? All this and more will be answered in this Arcana mini] [Taki, incidentally is stirring as presumably Katie wants her awake and out of the house. Is she speaking loudly? Poking with a stick? With a knife? Will Taki survive to see this terrible new day?!] [Start] (You always wanted to do that, didn't you? >.>) (/me grins.) (If soap opera promos aren't justified in Arcana starts, I don't know where they are. :P) * Katie shakes Taki by the shoulder. Gently. Shake shake shake. And in a very Chrono-Trigger-esque moment, speaks, "Taaaaki. Wake up." ( Yes! I finally woke up in bed with Katie. Oh, that's not what happened. And gah! I'm saying all this aloud!) * Taki is shaken, but not stirred...much, she mumbles something that might be or might not. * Katie gives up and puts a piece of ice on Taki's neck, then steps back and waits for her reaction. [Incidentally, most everyone else has headed out either to stop by home and get clothes or to get to school a little early. Haruko, incidentally, having retrieved Kyon's bike last night, seemed to think that it was a thirty minute or so drive to school and could not be convinced otherwise.] * Taki stays still for a few seconds, and then bolts upright, past upright and right off the couch, "Gaaaa~ck!" [Several characters presumably made token efforts to accompany Katie there, but I'm guessing she told them to head on and that she's got Taki to wake up and accompany her.] * Taki lands on the floor and stays there for a bit, with one of her hands covering the spot on her neck that's now ice cold, with wide eyes, and panting. * Katie grins. "Good morning." She's decked out in her school uniform, sans jacket. "Are you going to school today, or do you want to sleep in instead?" ( I love you. Uh, I guess that means sleep in?) Wha...where? Hah? (Heheheh.) (If she could just out and say it... it wouldn't have COME to this. ^^;) My house. You left me here. I didn't leave. Want breakfast? * Taki pushes herself upright, "Y-yes? Wh...where is everybody? Did I get them?" Everyone's alive. * Katie heads to the kitchen. "So, yeah, you got them. Cereal okay?" (Like hell she did. We got her. :P) Y-yes. (Like *I* know.) (Well we drove to your place. :P) (... So?) (Let Taki think she got you. I'm not retconning in face of your logic! :P) (Okay. :P * Katie returns. With milk. And cereal! And a bowl in which it was placed, and a spoon with which to eat. They're Frosted Flakes; her family's very healthy. * Katie hands it over. * Taki rubs at her eyes and then takes a bowl (ha! No e this time!), "Thanks...I ... I'm sorry about last night, I..." * Katie shrugs. "There was a lot to worry about." * Katie stifles a yawn and flops gracelessly into another chair while Taki eats. * Taki takes a spoonful of cereal, and watches Katie for a bit, "I... shouldn't have, but I had to try and keep you sa.... but you're acting like..." * Taki shakes her head and takes another spoonful. * Katie eyes Taki. "Acting like what?" Acting like yourself again. Oh. And if I'm not acting like myself, who am I acting like? ( Margret Thatcher. You kept talking about how Japan's excessive social safety net was prolonging the recession.) ( Damn, now you know my secret identity. I'll have to make sure I kill you this time.) * Taki shakes her head, "I didn't mean it like that... well I did, but... you... you arn't acting like a little kid you or a scared you or the you that ... You're you you.... and I'm not making any sense." * Katie stifles another yawn. "You're making enough." * Taki says quitly to herself, "the you I wanted to protect." * Katie lets out a faint mmm and doesn't say anything to that. Instead, she curls into a more comfortable position on her chair and waits for Taki to finish eating. * Taki eats cereal before it gets comleatly soggy and puts the bowl down on the floor, "thankyou ... I ... I need to talk to you... not a two people walking to school talk, a a." * Taki looks down before she can finish," ...it's... what I wanted to talk to you about before all this." * Katie studies Taki for a moment before uncurling herself and getting to her feet. "Okay." She picks up the bowl. "I'll take care of this, then we talk." * Katie heads over to the kitchen to do just that. * Taki nods, and when Katie's out of the room stuggles back up onto the couch." * Katie returns after a bit, because taking care of one bowl of cereal doesn't take that much work. She setttles back into her seat and looks at Taki. * Taki brushes her hair out of her face and looks at Katie with both eyes, "I don't know where the best place to start is... So I'll start from the very begining... When I first saw you... you seemed like everything I wanted to be. You were outgoing, you had friends... you could talk to people... You... you and Shingo ... didn't fit in, but you made it work." * Katie blinks. "Well, it... wasn't that easy, you know. And I didn't have any friends besides Chikako." * Taki giggles nerviously, "That's still one more than I had, but I'm not done yet. Then we learned about who we were, and you ... where having ... small little problems with it, so I tried to help, maybe I did a bit... I don't know anymore... but things got worse and worse, and then I got snowed in and when I came back... I was only gone a week but everything was different." * Katie nods. And suddenly I was going out with Satoshi, I like the time I spend with him, but... Well while I'm with him I'm warm, and safe, and everything else seems so far away... * Taki looks distant when she says that, but then shakes her head, "And then reality hits me harder evertime we part, some thing horrible happened to somebody I know while I wasn't..." (And if Katie doesn't want to hear the details of Taki's love life at this point, just wait!) (Oh man.) (ha!) Every time... * Katie interjects, rather gently, "That doesn't mean what you have with Satoshi is a bad thing, Taki." * Taki nods, "I wanted ... No, I didn't know what I wanted, and then that asshole Ten...Tenjirou.... I don't care what you do to him, but I want to break his face first, and a few other things." He might not last long enough for you to get your chance. But I'll keep it in mind. * Taki blinks and looks like she's going to ask, but shakes her head instead and continues, "At least after that I knew what I wanted... and then ... and then the fake you gave me what I thought was a chance to make both you and Satoshi happy... I wanted to belive... that she was just you suffering... and I wanted to help you." * Katie looks puzzled. "Taki, that..." She seems confused for a moment, then just switches languages. * Taki sighs, Is that the right word? * Katie shakes her head. "" And so she switches. "It doesn't, because you wouldn't help anybody by giving Satoshi to me." (Aww, but now Taki can't say is what she wants. ;_;) (*smacks Greg*) (/me rubs his jaw.) * Taki shakes her head, "I thought it would help you, that if you were to feel the way he makes me feel... even a little bit... it would help." But it didn't help anybody. He's not property, Taki! He can make his own choices. * Katie lets out a breath. "And even if I did like him, what- she- tried to do to you isn't right." * Taki looks down, "I know, I know that... why do you think I spent so much time thinking she was just a nightmare?" * Katie runs her hand through her bangs. "I wish you'd just told me earlier. Maybe then- but you didn't know, and nobody else did, so. It's gone." I... I thought about it, and I couldn't do it... if that was just a dream, I'd... I'd have to admit why I did it... and if it was you... it wouldn't have helped. People do crazy things for their friends. This wouldn't be the worst. * Taki nods, "After words... I tried to help even harder, because... because it felt like it was all my fault... but... Kaede was the one who got through to you, and... I..." I couldn't do anything. * Katie closes her eyes for a moment, then opens them. "It's okay." Nobody could really do anything. Nobody but me. And I'm still not all better now... but I'm trying. You were there, and that's what matters. * Katie shifts. "You don't need to worry about Satoshi. He cares about you; we all know he does, and I'll never try to take him away from you like that." ( I'll be killing him because he wasn't there for me, but no stealing as a romantic rival, I promise.) (Well, he WASN'T.) * Taki rubs her eyes, "That's, that's not the problem... If it was you wouldn't even be here talking to me, he'd be here." * Katie lets that sink in, then says slowly, "Okay..." If it's not, then what is? * Taki doesn't look up at Katie, "Remember what I said about the way Satoshi makes me feel? I... want...I want...I want you to have that same feeling. I want...ed to be the the one who let you, but you... you..." * Taki nearly shouts, "WHY CAN'T SOMEBODY NORMAL FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU?" * Katie winces and covers her ears, just a little too late. * Taki covers her face with her hands. * Katie lets one hand drop and rubs at her ear with the other. "What does *that* have to do with anything?" * Taki wipes her eyes on her sleave, "Taro... Tenjirou, but maybe just because you're female, maybe Kaede a little bit... Ken who acts like you're both in gradeschool spreading cooties around, and me... find the normal on that list." Taro- Tenjirou doesn't- wait, *what*? * Katie stares at Taki. * Taki doesn't look up and speaks in a frightend monotone, "I have been trying to and trying not to tell you that... for weeks now. I lost it yesterday because I thought I never would be able to, I lost control of myself... I nearly attacked Saori because she couldn't tell me where you were... I'm sorry Katie... I am... I... couldn't." * Katie is just sort of frozen. She stares at Taki, and her mouth moves, and finally she says, "You... love me?" She repeats this to herself a couple times in English, then falls back into her chair, putting her hand to her face and laughing. * Taki does her best to curl up into a ball on the couch, "I'm sorry." * Katie gulps for air. "There's... nothing to be sorry... about," she manages between giggles, "but it's just- " * Taki raises her head a bit to glance at the laughing Katie, "I...should go.... Thank you for not being angry." She, however, makes no effort to move farther. No, it's- * Katie calms herself down. "It's fine. I'm just... I don't love you back, Taki. So you know." But it's not like people pick who they fall for. Does Satoshi know? * Taki nods and sniffles, "I...knew and hoped... I told him again yesterday... I ... wish I hadn't." * Katie bites her lip, but she doesn't move closer to the other girl. "He took it badly?" * Taki shakes her head, "I... I... all I could think about last night was saving you... he's..." Maybe you should talk to him. * Taki shivers slightly, "...I don't remember... just that I told him... everything yesterday... it's like one of my nightmares." * Katie gets to her feet. "Just talk to him. Do it when you're ready, but make sure it's soon." She pauses a moment. "We're friends, right?" * Taki lookes up quickly at Katie, "Yes! Yes, thankyou." * Katie smiles faintly. "Okay. I'm not going to kiss you or anything, but-" She steps over lowers herself, wrapping Taki in a hug. Things will be okay. One way or another, they'll work out. * Taki hugs Katie back, "thankyouthankyouthankyou." * Katie laughs. "Okay, okay." Are you going to school today? What time is it? Well, if I leave now, I'm going to be a little late. * Taki giggles, "I have a shortcut." * Katie grins. "Yeah. Which is great, 'cause you need to change uniforms." * Katie picks at Taki's rather bloody clothes. "So, let me check on Saki." She stands. "And then we can get going." * Taki nods, "I'll go change and then come right back for you." All right. * Taki waits for Katie to go back up the hall before she gingerly stands back up, leaning on the arm of the couch as she does so. Then, she vanishes. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Taki (2d6-3) and gets 6. [That's a wrap!]