4th Course - Salt [Video]

[starofpleiades]

[In the late evening, the video suddenly turns on as there's a loud thump and a splatter, like something wet just hit the ground next to the vine. At the first, the picture is dark and its hard to make out the shape there. A trembling silhouette, hunched over as it rises unsteadily off the ground - the form seems small and thin, but draped in lengthy darkness - hair? - but also the limbs seems somehow... too long. Claws?

What little light there is reflects off the eyes of the cats coming to greet the new arrival, but as they draw closer, they hiss and their hair stands on end before they turn and run. The figure in the dark collapses back onto the ground again, curling up, shrinking in on itself.

For a moment, all is still. Then there's a soft, muffled noise as that huddled figure trembles. Sobbing. The vine finally sheds some light on the situation, illuminating the curled, dripping wet form of Kazumi, curled up in a glen on the grassy floor, clutching herself and sobbing quietly. It's a few moments before she opens her eyes, looking around, noticing the vine for the first time. She looks helpless, lost, but her first question isn't "Where am I?"]

Who am I? What am I?

Comments

[starofpleiades]

[Luckily, the vine's still keeping a light on Kazumi and in her pink outfit as she huddles in the glen, it's not hard to spot from above]

[tookupthesword]

[That's convenient. She will now be running on over.]

Hey... hey!

[starofpleiades]

Sayaka...?

[Kazumi peeks up, still sniffling a little and still soaked, now shivering a bit more.]

[tookupthesword]

[And what does she do when she finally reaches the goal?

Start part two of why she transformed, use her long cape to cover the wet girl. Not that she knows how to take it off, so it's like a weird hug.]

[starofpleiades]

[The hug is appreciated, intentional or not. Giving a sob, Kazumi immediately clings to the other girl and starts crying]

[tookupthesword]

[For once, Sayaka knows what to do. She'll just keep still, holding the hug, and wait. She shouldn't try pushing for something during this.]

[starofpleiades]

[Good thing magical outfits magically clean between uses because oh boy is she getting tears on this thing. And sniffling more than a little.

It's a little bit before she calms down, still shivering but at least not crying her eyes out.]

[tookupthesword]

[After hearing that end, she waits a few moments before speaking up.]

... Do you feel like talking?

[starofpleiades]

I... everything... [As the overwhelming sense of sadness and hopelessness fades, the actual thoughts and memories come flooding back.] I... killed Satomi! I killed her... and now I don't have anyone at all...

[tookupthesword]

[... Huh... wasn't expecting to hear that.]

... Why did you? [She really does not know what to say.]

[starofpleiades]

She was... she was trying to kill me... she made me kill the other Kazumis... and then her soul gem... even though it was still shining, she turned into...

[She's kind of starting to hyperventilate as she relives the past few hours. On top of which, there's a strange, vine-like black design crawling across her cheek, coming up her neck]

[tookupthesword]

[... Other... Kazu- what. And turned into... wait no, that's the only thing here that makes sense. And too bad Sayaka doesn't really notice that something ELSE is wrong...

But she is going to focus on one thing she can really grasp.]

And then you had to... listen to me. Even after... what may have happened, not letting her live like that is the best thing you could have done.

[starofpleiades]

I, it wasn't like that though... I killed her... with my own two hands. I was just... so scared... so angry... I wasn't doing it for her sake at all...

[tookupthesword]

You... said she was trying to kill you, right? It's really only natural you'd want to live, right?

[starofpleiades]

Mm... but even so, I didn't want to... not like that... [Holding her hands out, she stares down at them; luckily, the blood was long since washed from them by the rain back there. For a moment though, her fingers seem longer, sharper... but then they're normal again, trembling from the cold.] I didn't... why did this have to happen...

[tookupthesword]

[... Must be bad lighting, yeah.]

Why? Because I'm damn sure SOMETHING is out to get us all! All of us who made a contract! The moment one is made, BAM, everything goes to hell! I wasn't sure of it before, but now? We're just being picked on like some play things!

[Of course, she is unaware of just HOW bad things really are. But essentially she just hit mass paranoia and is oddly correct in a meta way.]

Kazumi! Look at me. I... can't say I've been through what you have just been through. [SHE HOPES.] But you can't let all of this get to you. You have to be better than that.

... I don't want to see you turn out like me, okay?

[starofpleiades]

No... the contracts... I mean, I knew! They, my friends- [Her friends, oh god, she can't hold back a sob and it takes her a moment to continue] they told me but this... why did Satomi have to... is it all my fault?

[Sorry if she's not being the most coherent. She takes a moment she cry and tremble against Sayaka for a second again]

Like... like you?

[tookupthesword]

[... It's a long shot, but... maybe it's a good idea to draw her away from her own crisis.]

... Yeah. I've done some... really, really bad things. And... I'm worried you might do some of the things I did.

[starofpleiades]

[Do? Do what? Kazumi doesn't even know what she'd do... should she even do anything?]

I... I don't know what to do anymore... I don't know who I am anymore...

[tookupthesword]

... Kazumi, the girl who wanted to have a pillow fight with me? [... Sayaka is cursing herself already.]

[starofpleiades]

I... yeah. That was me. [Surprisingly, reminding her of her time in the Garden helps her calm down a little] That... was me, wasn't it?

But I thought I was someone else...?

[tookupthesword]

Well, things that you did should still be things YOU did, right?

[starofpleiades]

I... yeah... Kazumi did all those things. I did. My time here was... real, wasn't it? [She looks up at Sayaka with teary eyes, desperate for some kind of confirmation]

[tookupthesword]

Well, I sure remember it! I mean, not that I pried into what you did, but I'm sure you could ask around.

... Or I could pinch you, if you want?

[starofpleiades]

Eheh... that's okay. [She sniffles a bit and wipes at her face a little.]

Yeah... I guess this place... was just for me. Not Michiru or any of the rest of them at all...