Aftergathering 6

[clearasmud]

Rule 17 hits like a gutpunch. The plan she'd talked about, as improbable as it already was, had just become much harder.

But something - someone - digs its heels in inside her, the same way it did prior to their most recent trial. The presence of their latest, insurmountable hurdle, has the odd effect of only making Youko more determined.

They're going to win.

There's hot soup, rice, and tea in the kitchen. We're holding a meeting tomorrow morning in the conference room. I want you to be there.

- Youko

Comments

[announcemyvictory]

R-right. Of course. We'll need everyone, after all. Have you found anything new?

[clearasmud]

Some things! But it's more about what we can do when we put our heads together, offer each other new perspectives on what we've col... lected...

[ Youko trails off like she's just thought of something.

Then, she brightens. ]

Hey, remind me to cook you something really nice during the week, alright?

[announcemyvictory]

Really? Of course! If you've decided on that, then it must be a good idea. [For some reason.]

[clearasmud]

Oh, it is! Thank you for giving me the idea!

How are you doing, aside from that? This past week... it's possibly been our most difficult yet.

[announcemyvictory]

I don't know. It's always the ones who don't deserve it who die.

[clearasmud]

[ quickly mentally runs through the list of victims... ]

...You're right. It's strange; I would have thought two jerks would have gotten into a deadly fight or gone after each other by now.

[ instead, they have a whole bunch of dead children who were defenseless in life.

it makes sense, when she puts it like that, but... ]

[announcemyvictory]

I used to think everyone in here was like that. That they'd all betray one another easily. Even now, I wish I hadn't thought that.

[clearasmud]

What? But... you come from such a nice place. [ SHE'S HEARD SO MANY STRANGE TIDBITS ABOUT IT... ] Why did you think that?

[ Youko's in complete disbelief. ]

[announcemyvictory]

Because of that first murder. Nothing made sense anymore. I'd thought before then that I could just do whatever was easiest to last until someone came to rescue me, but no one did, and then someone actually died. After that, I thought that this place was too different from home and that I couldn't believe in anything.

[clearasmud]

...Oh.

[ That... Seriously, oh.

Quietly: ]

I'm sorry, Elise. I had no idea.

[ And it's true - she may have been perfectly neutral towards the other woman, but it doesn't change that Youko let something completely slip her by. Ignorance was always a sin, even when it was bliss. ]

But... if things have changed - might I ask what caused that? That's quite the view to back down from.

[announcemyvictory]

[sigh] It's silly, honestly. Why should I change that? But Ashley said she trusted me. Hibiki believed in me. For some reason, they gave more than I was willing to.

[clearasmud]

I don't think it's silly. People change. It'd be much stranger if you stayed exactly the same.

[ ... ]

And those are pretty good reasons to feel differently.

[ Those girls... she wished they could have gotten better. ]

[announcemyvictory]

I suppose. With my memories, I feel differently about my farm, too. I want to learn to put more work into it myself, instead of having the servants tend the grounds and take care of the crops and watch the chickens and cows and sheep all the time. Oh, I've got sheep now! Premium livestock, of course, the festivals are in the bag. They're sort of cute when you get to know them.

[clearasmud]

Ah... That's nice, you know. Hard work feels good, no matter where you've come from or where you're going. Because it doesn't have to be about anything other than what you're doing in that moment.

[ Working hard. Not thinking too much about things. ]

I'd call it one of my favorite things, actually.

[ She knows very little about sheep, but the way Elise talks about it all - it sounds pleasant. ]

Whatever happens here, if that's the place you're headed home to - your future's a good one.

[announcemyvictory]

I hope so. I miss it... I miss living in a normal world. Not just because I was special there. Because no one had to be afraid.