[Saturday, June 13th, Time: Early as heck in the morning. Or late at evening. Whichever way you think of it!] [We scene-in on Keiko's room! Which is serene and filled with Keiko and Pavla sleeping. For about five seconds... before something happens, anyway. Let's get right into that.] [Mini start!] * Keiko was sleeping, but not peacefully, as she started to roll from side to side in bed, crushing Kiyoshi to her chest... and after a bit more of that, and quite mumbling, her eyes snap open wide, she takes a sharp gasp, and then squeezes those eyes shut. * Keiko waits only a short moment before she thinks quietly, over at Luana in the next room, asleep or not, ~Luana? Luana, it's Keiko...~ * Luana snaps awake in the next room - her hand goes for a gun at her side that isn't there at the moment. She frowns in the dark. ~Keiko? What's wrong?~ * Keiko winces, then thinks, ~No--nothing gun-needing, I--nightmare. Stupid. Sorry.~ * Luana yawns and fumbles out of bed. ~Be there in a sec.~ Quietly so that she doesn't wake up Jamie, she exits the room, blinks at the light in the hallway, then carefully opens the door to Keiko's room and sits on her bed. ~You okay?~ * Keiko starts to think, ~You do--~ and then stops herself, waiting for Luana to arrive before she reaches down to her and graps her hand, thinking, ~I--hurt. Was very... new. Emily.~ * Luana hmms. ~She's really young for that line of work. Hell, -we're- young for this line of work.~ * Keiko grips her tighter and thinks back, ~No, I--it wasn't just seeing her. I--~ she lets out a quiet sob-like noise. ~I... I dreamed I... felt like Eileen at her.~ * Luana leans against her, thinking comforting, albeit tired, thoughts. ~You... hurt her? In your dream?~ * Keiko nods and wraps her duck-holding arm around her, thinking back, ~Yes. It was--so much easier--I just wanted to hurt her so much and--~ she lets out a shaky breath. * Luana yawns again. ~No wonder you woke up. Have you talked to Heinrick about getting Eileen out of you? If they can brainwash people, I'm sure they can, I dunno, maybe cut out an Eileen-mental-tumor...~ Her mental voice drifts off a bit. * Keiko is silent a moment, then thinks back, ~I... don't trust them to, Lu. I can't watch.~ She smiles a little at the yawn, and then thinks in addition, ~I'm sorry, you... I keep waking you up just because I'm weak.~ * Luana straightens up suddenly. ~I'm awake! And you're not weak! We'll work past the Eileen stuff.~ * Keiko manages a weak smile, then shakes and says, ~I--I hope so. It's... it's gotten so much harder. I--I--~ She takes a deep breath, then murmurs, ~Luana, could you touch my shoulder?~ * Luana nods and does so. * Keiko hisses in pain, shrinking back slightly, before thinking, ~Awake more now. Ow.~ * Luana jerks her hand back. ~What? What did I do?~ * Keiko shakes her head and looks to Luana's eyes, thinking back at her, ~I've got... two thin cuts. Along my shoulders.~ ~I don't know if they're helping or hurting.~ * Luana frowns. ~Don't trick me like that!~ She definitely seems more awake. ~Don't ask me to hurt you!~ * Keiko shivers a bit and closes her eyes. After a moment, she thinks back, ~I'm sorry. I just--when I get dull, when there's nobody around, I... it's not almost empty anymore.~ ~Because of the pain?~ * Keiko reopens her eyes. ~Because I can still feel that... urge. To hurt. Eileen's mind as she cut into me...~ She shakes a bit and adds, before she can stop, ~I almost killed Emily. Gun in my hand. Nothing to stop me. Was... was that me? Was it Eileen?~ * Keiko shuts her eyes. ~The pain makes me sharper.~ * Keiko then adds, ~Does this... make any sense?~ * Luana sighs. ~Only sort of. But if there was nothing to stop you, then what did?~ * Keiko is silent a moment, then murmurs, ~I... hope.~ She reopens her eyes and smiles a little. ~Hope she'd... find someone like my mom. Like you. Someone that... would make her life matter, no matter how much it hurt.~ * Luana smiles back. ~Then you were the one that didn't pull the trigger. Isn't that the part that matters?~ * Keiko smiles weakly, but then suddenly shakes and starts to cry out of nowhere, not thinking anything at Luana. * Luana hugs her and shushes her gently. ~Come on, let's go somewhere else so we don't wake up Pavla.~ * Keiko doesn't reply a few, then just reopens her teary eyes and thinks, ~W-where?~ * Luana wraps Keiko up in her blanket and tries to lead her out. ~Um, the lounge. Come on.~ * Keiko gets up off the bed slowly, floating her cloak off her chair over onto Luana's shoulders before they leave the room and head that short distance down the hall. * Luana sighs as she sits down on a couch and wraps the cloak tighter around herself. "This is nice," she murmurs. * Keiko looks over at her as she joins her on he couch, then manages a slight smile and murmurs, "It's a nice cloak." She runs her finger along her collar for a moment, then thinks at Luana, ~You don't have to ruin your night for me, really, I--I just had a really bad memory come to me, is all.~ * Keiko closes her eyes. ~I--I'm glad you really care this much...~ ~Of course I do. And we're going to stay here until you feel better or until it's time for breakfast.~ * Keiko is silent a long moment, before she leans over on Luana's shoulder with her head. After a bit of that, she thinks, ~I... if we're going to stay here, I want... I have a story to tell you.~ ~Go ahead.~ * Keiko waits another few moments, before saying, ~When... the Russians had me the first time. Before I ever met you. It was... awful.~ She shudders. ~Terrible. My mom was... I didn't know where. I lost track of time, and...~ she trails off, silent before continuing, ~I... I felt this person show up. She was... really young, too. Like... like Emily.~ * Luana nods, leaning her head on Keiko's shoulder. * Keiko bites her lip at that, then just thinks back at her, ~I... she couldn't do anything. She didn't know what was coming, what... what they'd do to her. I... knew they'd be back. In a day or two, they'd take her too and...~ * Keiko shakes against Luana as she continues, looking off towards the not-on TV. ~So at night, I... I felt her out, and I... I asked her what I should call her. And it took her a long time, all night, before she... before I could feel her name... 'Suki'.~ * Luana hugs her friend tightly. ~Keep going.~ * Keiko is silent a long moment, before thinking, ~And... and then I couldn't feel anything more from her. And I... I knew. I knew it'd be awful. I knew she'd... feel things she never should feel. I... I had no hope for myself, I--I couldn't... find any for her.~ * Keiko shakes, and then lets out a quiet sob before saying and thinking, ~"So I... killed her.~ * Luana tightens her hold briefly, then tries to relax it. ~You... Keiko...~ * Keiko starts to sob, keeping her communication in thought, ~I--I swear, Lu... I swear I could feel her after she died... innocent and... not hurt by them...~ ~I--I can do that, you know... feel people after they're dead...~ * Luana whispers out loud, "H-how?" * Keiko shakes her head, ~I--I don't know. It's... I have two senses.~ She brings up her free hand, shakily. ~My... touch. I can feel emotions even without minds. It... helps me with animals.~ ~People must... leave emotions with their death. Their souls, spirits, I--don't know.~ ~It's... why the Abomination room was so horrifying... nothing but anger, hatred, frustration... ~ * Luana doesn't seem to know what to say, so she just keeps hugging Keiko. * Keiko is good with that, still sobbing a bit. ~This... this is why I don't know. If... if it weren't for that hope, that... little bit of better that I have with you, I--I would have killed Emily too. I'm sure of it. Rather than let Blitzkreig make her into another me...~ ~Blitzkrieg wasn't the one who hurt Suki. And... and look at me, and at Jamie. We're doing better because of our guardians and because of -you-. Blitzkrieg gave us that. You can hope for, for Emily's hope, for someone like me for her, if you want, but Keiko... she'll be fine as long as she can find someone like -you-.~ ~You're the best of us.~ * Keiko looks up to her slowly, eyes still wet, before she thinks back, ~You really believe that. How? How can I... I want to hurt, I'm awful, I'm... barely human. I'm not even a real girl. I've lied to you since I met you, and I... and you believe that.~ ~You didn't lie because you -are- a girl if you think you are. And I believe it because it's true.~ ~Do you remember when we first came here? I could use my fire, but I half-thought, somewhere in my mind, that I'd end up killing people with it. Accidentally, like my parents. And now... the others day I was using it to draw -pictures-! To see you smile! How is that not an improvement?~ * Keiko is silent in thought, staring up at Luana. She then smiles a little and thinks at her, ~It... it is. You... you came so far, you... you have a beautiful garden inside of you and...~ ~It's because of you. Well, and Togo, I'm sure, but if he had anything to do with a garden in me, then the colors are probably horrible or non-existant. Unless... um, was this a metaphorical garden? I'm no good with metaphors when I'm tired.~ * Keiko smiles a little and brings a hand up to touch Luana's hair. ~In your dreams. You... once sat in a room of fire, with screams on the wind. You now... water a beautiful garden, all your own...~ ~Okay. Well, that's because of you.~ ~You -are- a girl, and you're definitely human, and you're just doing your best.~ * Keiko shakes her head a little before she strokes Luana's hair more. After a few more moments of her upward-looking silence, she thinks, ~I... only created the space for you to flower in, Lu.~ ~You never take enough credit for how hard you work and the things you do.~ * Keiko is silent a moment, then, ~Sometimes, maybe. At night, I... I think through every way I am nothing. I... feel how I am nothing. I can put on my face, believe most of the day, but...~ * Keiko then laughs weakly and sighs, smiling weakly, ~And I'm being dumb.~ ~You should do the opposite, maybe? Remember that you're something.~ * Keiko thinks back, ~You say it so simply. But all Blitzkreig does is tell me that I don't really matter. I'm just a tool.~ She tangles her hand in Luana's hair a little and adds, ~You're the one that makes me think... right.~ * Luana hmms. She seems to be looking sleepy again. * Keiko stops for a moent, and then strokes her hair again. After a bit more she just thinks, ~It'll be okay, Lu. I'll figure things out. After we sleep.~ * Luana murmurs, "Sleep is nice." * Keiko smiles a bit and says, "You... can fall asleep here. I'll put you back." Least I can do, right? * Luana yawns and adjusts her head on Keiko's shoulder. "Mmkay." * Keiko sucks in a slight breath, then hugs Luana against her. * Keiko starts to think a song quietly into Luana's head as she drifts off. * Luana sighs contently and sleeps. * Keiko lets Luana fall asleep, and then just... sits there a bit longer, letting her sleep against her, and staring towards the off TV. [Mini end!]