[02] [open] nemesis identified

[usarinpa]

Who: Mizuki and YOU [open]
Where: The wilderness, a ways from Aldrip in an out-of-the-way little cave (Not Lorentia)
What: In which Mizuki finds out she's been alone all along.
Warnings: Spoilers for AI, IDK—will add if any become relevant.

[ There are thin tire tracks starting at the inn that head out and away from Aldrip today. Curious, isn't it? Were they there before? Have you even seen a motorbike here in Aldrip since you woke up here?

If you're keen to find out, you will follow a trail that is just long enough to make you wonder whether you should turn back. Keep with it, however, and you will find yourself at a small cave nestled in the mountains, the opening of which is surrounded by trees. ]


👁️ i. He was the Universe

[ Perhaps you'll see the bike first. It sticks out like a sore thumb. But walk a little further and inside the cave, there's Mizuki, asleep on the cave's dirt floor.

Her hair is messy with sleep. There is a hair piece that sticks out against her cyan locks, standing out almost as much as her bike does in the wilderness. In her hand is an empty, decorated box with a note attached that wouldn't look out of place in a trash can, as it is. Meager remnants of the few good things that have happened to her here, now that she can't go back.

A subtle, unpleasant odor lingers in the air, reminiscent of a wet dog or wild animal that's no longer there. Somewhere beside her sits her pipe, and at her waist, there is her holstered Evolver. ]

👁️ ii. Ought to Know

[ Alternatively, the trail is still going. Eventually, footprints start to appear in the dirt next to the tire track, suggesting that Mizuki has started walking. Catch up to her, you'll find that her back is to you and she is dragging her bike alongside her.

Why? ...Well, technology continues to be fickle, apparently.

Watch her for long enough and you'll see her stop and try to start it again. Instead, there's that all too familiar, insufferable buzz that makes her cover her ears. Her mouth opens, like she's groaning, but the noise that escapes, if there had been any, is easily swallowed up by the rustling of leaves and the buzzing of insects.

Once that passes, she can be seen pulling out a piece of parchment from her pocket—a map. ]

▶ ooc/wildcard

[ Due to trauma, Mizuki will be aphonic/unable to speak temporarily! Sorry about that. She will still be writing things in the dirt or on the back of her map, probably, and if I feel it's appropriate, I may give her back her voice midthread.

Enjoy the introduction of her shiny new bike, and please feel free to reach out via PM, on the Discord, or yammdere for plotting/ideas! Thank you! ]

Comments

[aintyourdad]

Are you gonna start talkin' to me, or are you waiting for me to ask about it?

[ Seriously, what is going on here? Why is she being so weird? They had a whole conversation a couple of weeks ago, whether he liked it or not! ]

[usarinpa]

[ Mizuki recoils, pulling her hand back as she flinches. The idea is forgotten. She's weird, she's a freak, she's not normal. All she has to do is speak. How could she give this guy that kind of power to silence her, yet again?

She covers her ears. Her head pounds with effort, but all she can hear in place of her own voice is TV static. ]

I cﾎｱ'n—

[ Outwardly, the voice is probably a whisper at best, and she probably doesn't quite finish the can't. ]

[aintyourdad]

[ For the first time since he arrived here, a flash of something other than annoyance crosses Joel's features. It may, in fact, be concern. ]

What the hell happened? Did someone do something to you?

[ His mind immediately goes to "she said something she shouldn't have and whoever brought them here is punishing her somehow". ]

1/2

[usarinpa]

[ It sure does feel like she's being punished for something. Joel will probably be disappointed though that it has nothing to do with their captors. She isn't sure that he would understand, but he gives the air of having Seen Some Shit and she can guess that he probably knows what it feels like to be betrayed.

The static quiets for the moment, and her hands shake as they lower. ]

. . .

[ She misses Hitomi. Ms Sagan would know what to do... She would've known from the beginning. ]

[usarinpa]

[ She'd be disappointed in her. Date would be disappointed. They all would be.

Yet she has to push through the urge to shut herself down. She has to tell someone, doesn't she? She stares at her pipe, now laid on the ground, which she doesn't even remember letting go. ]

Can't...

You can't trus̸t̷ ̵h̷i̸m̶—

[aintyourdad]

[ Yeah, something's very wrong here. Joel crouches down slightly, puts himself more at her level, his brow furrowed now - fully concerned parent mode. ]

Who? Who can't you trust?

[ If he can get a name, then he can find whoever this is and smash his head like a melon. ]

[usarinpa]

[ Mizuki can feel herself losing her grip on her sanity again, and she has to shake her head to regain some clarity. Even then, it takes some time. It feels like her vocal chords are actively working against her, but she pushes through it— ]

A bastard who died. Should have stayed dead. He's dead. Ryuki's dead...

Dead d̴e̸a̵d̸ d̷̞́e̸̊ͅḁ̸̉d̶̹͌ d̸̻̕e̸̟̖̔̀a̴͗͛ͅd̷͈͇̾

[ Her throat seizes, and suddenly it feels like someone has their hands around her neck. Anxiety?

Is Joel a particularly patient man? Probably not. Neither is Mizuki on the best of days. Wow, she hates this. ]

[aintyourdad]

[ Joel isn't running out of patience. What he is, is worried. Something is very, very wrong with this girl and he's not sure what it is, or how to fix it.

He does file away the name Ryuki, though. If it's someone who should be dead, well, he can make that happen. But first thing's first. ]

C'mon. We gotta get you medical help. Can you walk?

[usarinpa]

Yes. [ Hasn't she been walking the whole time? ] I'm fine, I'm—

[ Mizuki speaks dismissively. She can keep going, but where to? She came out here to get away from him, but wasn't she also looking for something?

What was it...

But before she can remember, she feels her legs give out from under her. There is a loud thwump as she collapses against her bike, and takes it down with her. Everything goes dark. ]

[aintyourdad]

[ Whether she's been walking thus far is kind of beside the point - she's clearly struggling now.

And then she passes out, so that's great. The motorbike forgotten, Joel scoops her up in his arms and marches her to the little med clinic in Aldrip, posthaste. He tells them the simple truth - that she had been acting funny, seemingly unable to speak, and then collapsed.

And then he waits, unwilling to be ushered out until he sees her awake. Don't ask why he's got this hangup. You don't want to know. ]

[usarinpa]

[ Joel will learn, whether he likes it or not, that this is not Mizuki's first time at this particular clinic. She woke near Aldrip in rough shape with a gunshot and other injuries that had to be dealt with immediately. They'll allow him to stay, but that is only because they don't find anything physically wrong at a glance. At best, she's dehydrated, probably hungry, and probably exhausted, but they can't say whether there's something mental at play.

They leave Joel to stay with her while they tend to other patients, but note that he is free to leave and that they'll take it from here.

Mizuki, meanwhile, takes a couple hours to wake, and when she does, the lights in the room feel blinding. She lifts her arm to shield her face, making a noise of protest. ]

Ugh...

[aintyourdad]

[ Joel stays.

He stays, because he has nowhere else to be. Because Mizuki is young, and as far as he knows, alone here, and she doesn't deserve whatever this is that's happened to her. Because he might be the only one who gives enough of a damn to do this for her.

So when she wakes up, he's there, waiting for her to wake up. Where else would he be? ]

Hey. You passed out, back there.

[usarinpa]

[ Literally anywhere else. Didn't he say that he wasn't planning to stick around long? She can't say she's really noticed him around at the inn, and if he was, the strong "fuck off" vibes from him make her inclined to stay in her own lane. She's not really getting that at the moment, but she did just wake up.

There's a prickly sensation, like she slept on her arm weird, as her brain fog lifts. ]

My bad.

[ The disorientation really starts to set in when she sits up. Her eyes have started to adjust, though she certainly doesn't remember being here before she woke. ]

You didn't have to— [ It occurs to her that she really doesn't know how to finish that thought. 'Stay'? Does she even realize that he carried her here? It's unclear. She simply cuts herself off there, for now. ]

[aintyourdad]

Uh-huh.

[ He knows he didn't have to do anything. And yet, he did. And no, he will not be commenting on that further. ]

You're talkin' again. You couldn't, before. You remember that?

[usarinpa]

[ Probably easier to just nod than get into how she didn't want to talk, or think talking was worth it, or dump on him about what happened the last time she lost her voice. She's quiet for a while, bending her knees as she rests her arms atop them in an attempt to appear casual. ]

Yeah. It's happened before.

[ She glances out of a window, back straightening a bit like she's just remembered something.

No bike. It's fine, she'll go back for it later. ]

[aintyourdad]

Does it happen a lot? Are you sick with somethin'?

[ The clinic people won't say anything except that she seems physically fine. ]

[usarinpa]

No. 'Least, I hope not, but—

[ They weren't too late. She's not infected, she's not infected. She's not infected... If she tells herself this enough times, eventually she'll believe it. ]

It was just once. When— When my mom died.

[aintyourdad]

[ Trauma. Something horrible happened. Joel scowls faintly.

He has no condolences to give, on the loss of her mother. No "I'm sorry to hear that", no "what happened", nothing like that. He's not going to insult her by offering up something he doesn't feel, or by prying into something that's none of his business.

Instead, he focuses on the now. ]

What happened to cause it this time?

[usarinpa]

[ She's probably thankful he left it alone. It feels less like pity this way, like she's lesser, and it's an entirely fair question to boot. Mizuki hesitates as she tries to decide exactly how much he needs to know, and her stomach starts to churn, like she's getting a little nauseous. ]

There's... a guy from home that I've been staying with ever since we met up.

[ She pushes through the unpleasantness. ]

He isn't who he says he is, and he really knew how to push my buttons and put me back in a bad place.

[aintyourdad]

[ Joel frowns at that. ]

Sounds like an asshole. Sounds like you shouldn't be stayin' with him anymore.

1/2

[usarinpa]

[ She nods all too readily in agreement. ]

Yeah, I'm... [ working on that, she wants to say. But she doesn't wanna sound like some victim who can't get herself out of a bad situation. Besides, she's already made the decision. ] I'm not.

[usarinpa]

[ Come to think of it... ]

You said you weren't planning to stick around last time... right? So, where did you go?

[aintyourdad]

Clearly I haven't gone anywhere yet, otherwise I wouldn't still be here.

[ He huffs a little. ]

Is anyone planning to stick around here?

[usarinpa]

[ Tch. Okay, Mr. Grinch.

Mizuki just shrugs though, rather than saying anything she might regret. Somewhere deep inside, she still appreciates he went out of his way for her. ]

You wouldn't think so. Guess we're all just doing what we gotta to make it by.

[aintyourdad]

That's usually true, yeah.

[ That's always what everyone is doing, in Joel's experience. ]

At least you're talking again. That's a start. [ There's a pause, while he considers her. ]

You need any help, getting that guy to leave you alone - let me know.