Moved to Heart-Ruled

    “You won’t die, not while I’m around.”

    She assured him, lightly squeezing his hand. She quickly glanced around - She couldn’t see anyone else in the area, neither Future Foundation members nor the other ‘Warriors of Hope’. It seemed they were alone for the time being… She began to lead him across the rubble, heading towards where she and some of the other Despair Remnants had been hiding out. 

     “You’re one of Junko’s followers, aren’t you? I’m one of hers, too.”

     She spoke after a moment of silence, hoping that would make it clear to him that she was on his side. She wouldn’t want him to get scared off some way or another and end up running away.

     “… How did you get separated from your group, anyways? There were a few of you, weren’t there?”

📚 - He knew she meant well by that reassurance, but there was a voice in the back of his mind telling him there was no way anyone could make a promise like that. How would she know if they could stay safe? She’s not one of Junko’s warriors....not even a Hero like Masaru or a fighter like Kotoko. But he couldn’t do anything but trust her, pray that she had the best intentions in mind when it came to him. 

“Yes....on both parts” he replied, taking the time to gather his courage and stabilize his voice into something much more presentable. “My companions and I  serve under big sis Junko as her prized possesions.” - he had no illusions to calling himself or the others anything other than that. It didn’t exactly bother him, either. 

“There was an angry mob after us....I wanted to make sure Jataro was safe, while the others looked after Monoca. I may not be the leader, but I felt as though it was my responsibility to protect all the members...even the ones that no one else would.” Poor Jataro would have been left to die, otherwise. He couldn’t allow that.

“ I can handle myself, Nagisa.” Though it was sweet of him to be concerned; Hikaru was certain that he would be able to handle this on his own, though he did have at least Futaba here with him, as well as Morgana and Nagisa–Everything should be set to go.

Hikaru moves to ruffle his hair before opening his door, “You got Mona to talk to, but I’d say go ahead and look through the loot in the back–I want you to find something you think you can defend yourself with. “

📚 - “I...I know.” He gave a sigh, feeling like confessing his fear of abandonment would be far too selfish and unreasonable. The gentle touch of the hand running through his hair ( though the movement does make him flinch at first ) did calm him somewhat. Reminded him that these teenagers cared for more for him than his own parents ever had.

“Sorry… I was wondering why you were looking at me like that,” Tsubasa admitted, frowning. “Your gaze… it was noticeably intense.”

She’d just come here to look for a nice book to read and possibly to study a little bit. A hostile child wasn’t something she was expecting. It caught her off-guard.

“I assure you I’m not going to do anything to you. Do you like that book you’re reading?” The sudden subject change was more or less an awkward attempt to lighten the mood.

📚 - He brought his eyes back down to his book, unsure what to think of the comment. He knew fully well how judgmental he was of teenagers - all the ones he had encountered in his classes at hope’s peak were too loud, too much on their way to becoming adults...

It scared him. Their emotions were something he could not analyze correctly, even now. But...perhaps he was being too harsh. If she was made uncomfortable by the stare of a child, could it be she was concerned about his feelings? Ah....he’s probably being too hopeful...

Best to answer her question, though. 

Kayla’s eyes flashed slightly with remorse for being so stoic with him. HE WAS A CHILD and no matter the atrocity a child was impressionable, new to the world. Nagisa barely had a life to live before the tragedy yet according to information she had been given by Future Foundation in the interest of rehabilitation, he had committed so much.

YET QUICKLY, she found herself giving the unamused expression she found so comforting when it came for performing her work. ❝ Well, I have to run basic tests in order for you to receive the best treatments. ❞

HER FINGERS TAPPED GENTLY against the finger, trying to figure out where to even start. From reviewing his files it was clear that there was a LOT to cover to get into the inner psyche of the child who sat before her–who had jerked his arm up to defend himself when all she had done was walk past. Clearly there was some sort of underlying past trauma–but she doubted it would come up on the first session.

❝ Let’s start with why you’re here. Can you tell me why you’re here, Shingetsu…-san? ❞

📚 - Though he thought the psychiatrist had initially been rather generous with her offer, the tension in his shoulders quickly rose again at the unamused expression he was given. Right....this was part of her job, wasn’t it? His gaze diverts back to a hard stare at the ground, trying not to let the negativity overflow him too much as he began to wonder if she would be here at all if truly given the choice. Probably not, more than likely. 

“I...” He took a deep breath to hold back emotions he felt he didn’t have the right to anymore. “I see.”

He leaned back against the chair, guilt overcoming him once again as she asked the question. Would the answer that he was here to seek help the wrong one in this case, with her attitude? He was afraid this was the case, more than likely. He forced himself to at least bring his gaze back to the neutral ground of her neckline as he spoke.

He’d lost control again, a fit of pure fear had overwhelmed him enough that his powers caused the entire building to collapse down on him, and even though he may have seen the destruction happen, he physically could not avoid it in time. Trapped beneath a pile of rubble, Jun’ichi had slowly been remotely moving debris away, digging himself out, but the more he moved, the more rubble shifted and fell on top of the wreckage. It didn’t help that Jun’ichi was doing this in a frantic state, unthinking. 

The approach of another was also sensed before they spoke, which panicked him further. No, no, no. Not an adult, another child? He hadn’t seen another child in so long. Only scary adults. But are other children scary too? Unknown things are scary. So very, very scary. A whine emitted from the back of his throat as his clutched his head. It hurt; his head felt like it was ready to explode with pressure. There was way too much going on at once, he just wanted to escape and end all the chaos. 

Defensively, a rock was remotely lifted and hurled towards the unknown kid, but the aim was off; Jun’ichi couldn’t concentrate on his actions. 

There was also the fact that Jun’ichi couldn’t speak; he’d been mute for three years now, ever since his parents last lashed out, telling him to shut up. He couldn’t call out, he didn’t know how. However, inside of Nagisa’s very own mind, a foreign voice would speak to him, sputtering. 

❝ Don’t c-come near me! You’re g-gonna hurt m-me too! ❞

📚 - He had expected something like this - the rock thrown his way was no surprise if he went under the hypothesis that everything else had been caused by this child stuck underneath the rubble. It was an almost impossible thought, one he’d never read about in any of his books - but the evidence for it now seemed as clear as day. He flinched, covered his face with his arms....only to let out a sigh of relief moments later that whoever it was had missed. 

Getting hit was nothing new to him, so he could recover from that thought quickly, but what happened next was much harder for him to ignore, and even more evidence that he was dealing with a force unknown to humanity. He knew he needed to keep his composure to resolve the situation...but it’s so...odd...

mother and father…?

his parents must have some kind of pull with the school, then. normally, nobody outside the main course and the main course staff was allowed on school grounds. no mere child could sneak in, so he was likely telling the truth… which was almost as odd as if he’d broken in by himself.

chiaki didn’t spend a lot of time dwelling on those thoughts. she noticed how pale and worn out he seemed, despite having been doing nothing but sitting in this room.

“you don’t seem alright,” she said quietly, staring him down. she didn’t even know him, but concern was already showing on her normally placid face. “if you push yourself… you’re not gonna be able to do… whatever it is you’re doing.”

some kind of test, maybe? chiaki didn’t think of herself as being particularly smart, but she still managed to pick up on that through context clues. that, and the IV in his arm led her to think something was seriously wrong.

📚 - Alright? He wasn’t sure if that was meant to be taken as an insult. He’s exhausted, certainly, but there was little that could be done about that which hadn’t already. He was already on as many stimulants as he could be, and there was no way he was deprived of nutrients with the IV running through his arm. Did she mean to insult his capability to work? He wasn’t certain.

“Just because I am tired, does not mean I cannot continue studying” he tried to insist, though his voice wavered in self doubt, and he was disappointed by how badly he wanted to be told otherwise “That is what father always told me.”

His hand shook as he tried to continue taking notes, making his handwriting far messier than he’d like it to be. What kind of worthless child couldn’t write properly at his age...?

“I promise”

Children being afraid of needles wasn’t anything new to Fawkes. Though this child’s reaction was an extreme one, his time working with children’s ward (and staying there with his sister) he’d seen his fair share of refusals and crying over injections and vaccines and whatnot. This was fairly normal. So he knew what to do. 

He kept his voice down, kneeling to move the parcel out the way of them both. The paper hadn’t split, but the crack of the broken glass inside made him wince. Thank goodness it was just a set of empty test tubes and not the samples he’d ordered. These could at least be replaced without needing to call bio-disposal (again). Fawkes didn’t touch, and wouldn’t without permission he knew that from other students prone to panic that touch would often worsen things. 

“Hey.. no harm done alright? So long as the glass didn’t cut you or anything.. and we can get that patched up. You’re not in trouble…”

Not that Fawkes ever really told anyone off much. 

“We’ll get you cleaned up and make hot chocolate alright? I think I’ve some leftover pancake mix in my cupboard too if you’d like.”

📚 - Maybe that promise should ring hollow to him. There’s no reason for Nagisa to trust the words of an adult, no solid proof that he’d follow up on any of what he had just said. An adult didn’t owe anything to a child, after all...especially not a worthless boy like him. Still - its better than nothing to hear that; and the child found himself relaxing a small bit at the words. Still shaking, still letting the occasional tear spill from his eyes. He attempted to wipe some of them away, attempted not to look so utterly pitiful. 

“Cut me? No...I am fine...” he replied, surprised that a professor would be concerned about such things. It wasn’t as though another mark on his body was going to hurt him all that much- especially when he would deserve it for being such a clumsy oaf. He doesn’t move, though. The last thing he wanted to do was soil the chemist’s lab with blood.

“Uh...really?” he looked to the other with a hopeful smile, having faint, vague memories of his mother making such a thing when he was much, much younger- once. Back when his father hypothesized positive motivations would work better. He...really wished they hadn’t stopped. 

「 ★ 」   ⋮    Ｃ Ｕ Ｒ Ｓ Ｅ Ｄ．   ⋮  ━━     Azure   eyes   stared   directly   into   his;   UNNERVING   as   they   seemed   to   pierce   directly   into   his   own.   This   was   another   child   …   and   yet,   there   was   just   a   STRANGE   feeling   that   this   boy   already   had   an   inkling   of   the   truth.   Maybe   not   about   all   the   awful   mafia   stuff   …   but   maybe   he   knew   that   things   weren’t   okay.   

                 Far   from   it.

                 ’   Well   …   no   ?   I’m   just   outside   looking   at   the   stars   !   Were   you   doing   that   too   ?   ’

                 It’s   a   casual   enough   remark,   but   the   fact   that   he   was   HESITANT   to   take   the   other’s   hand   spoke   volumes;   more   than   his   small   voice   could   ever   hope   to   achieve.  

📚 - Nagisa could quickly see that his offer to help was being denied- the hesitation to touch is obvious to him. It’s unsurprising, as he’d seen it many times before. Both Masaru and Kyoko had a tendency to flinch when an adult came too close , for example. He didn’t take it personally as he slowly withdrew his hand. Time for another approach, that was all.

“The stars?” He pretended to be distracted by question, gaze wandering towards the sky to look at the constellations he had once hated memorizing under his parent’s orders. A shame he couldn’t appreciate them as they were.

“Not quite. In fact, I came here looking for...” a brief pause, as Nagisa chose his words carefully here “Other children. Scared children in need of help and a safe place.”

Carefully, the boy decided to sit a foot or so away from him, trying to create intimacy without forcing himself into his space.

Oh goodness… What had happened to this child? He could clearly see how much he was shaking and how slowly he had been moving before only made him more concerned. Especially as the other seemed confused by how worried he was over him. Though… That was something he could understand as most didn’t worry over someone like himself either.

That was why he nodded slowly and then carefully moved closer as the other requested help to class, holding out a shaking hand for him so that he could help him to stand. The fact that the other was a student did surprise him but with how many different people attended he supposed it was not too much out of the ordinary.

“I-I… I-I certainly am… I-I worry for all my c-classmates… E-eh… W-where is your class? I-I imagine we s-should be able to make it if we m-move carefully…”

📚 - Even if he had asked for help, the other student’s approach made Nagisa’s body tense. Logically, he knew the only way he could be helped is if someone helped him stand up at the moment....but touch wasn’t appreciated. It was always something that had been negative and terrifying. Touch meant another IV put into his arm, more medication he’d be forced to take, and more sources of ‘motivation’ from his father. More cuts on his arm, more electric burns on his back - he never liked to imagine what was coming next.

He almost gave into the temptation of closing his eyes for a moment, holding out a shaking arm as he reached out for help. It would okay - right? To accept it? Just this once...? 

 　　　SHE WOKE WITH A SLIGHT JOLT, GASPING SHARPLY.    another bad dream  …  but they had become such a norm, it would be better described as just a dream.  what was unusual, however, was that someone was with her upon her awakening.   she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

　　　　　❝ i am  …  rather drowsy  … ❞   had she been sleeping  ?    she felt lucid either way, so it was difficult to tell.  before going on, she warily eyed the glass.  it was generally   DISCOURAGED   to take food or drink offered by strangers, and she found that it was for good reason, but he didn’t look dangerous.  and she still felt her pocket watch on her, so at the very least, he was not a thief.

　　　　　❝ aah  …  i do recall i was enjoying a   STROLL,   accompanied by a friend.  i must’ve fallen over, and  …  i am not quite sure how i ended up here. ❞   there was an odd sort of feeling in her chest, it almost felt itchy.  that must’ve been because  …  well, that part of the story, she usually leaves out of her explanations.  instead, she gave a kind smile.

　　　　　❝ were you, perhaps, the one who allowed me to rest here  ?    thank you very much~ ❞

📚 - It seemed this child was even more clueless than he thought about the whole situation. He assumed at first for the startled awakening to be from fragments of the horrors she must have recently witnessed - but unfortunately, he realized he had more explaining to do than he thought. 

He would be lying if he said he was looking forward to that. At least the demons had the advantage of being able to play the victims in this revolution, and the other children would not remember the atrocities they had seen or committed. This girl, however....she wouldn’t have that chance.