come out of hiding, i'm right here beside you

[barehands]

[A while after the execution has ended, everyone will find a simple note slipped under their door.]

If you don't want to be alone after everything that's happening, some of us will be in the dining room. Even if you decide not to come, please remember that you aren't alone here.

[The note isn't signed, but the handwriting is feminine and neat.

For anyone who decides to come, there's a good array of food laid out on the table. There are some small and simple cakes, cookies, and pastries, a healthy amount of okonomiyaki, okayu, and other Japanese dishes (with a focus on rice and eggs), along with curry. In addition, there are pancakes, and a large pot of soup. It looks like a few people collaborated to make enough food for everyone here.

Just like the meal they shared together earlier in the week, the candles from the storage room lend a more peaceful light than the fluorescent lights above.]

Comments

[nachetanya]

In the name of continuing to be "assertive," I feel I should tell you that your stoking of my ego and compliments matter to me far more than Rin's. After all, I value you, Tsubasa.

[ she says this lightly, a little bit playfully - as she leans her head on the other girl's shoulder. ]

[halleberry]

And you don't value Rin-san? That's not very nice, you know, Nachetanya. She seems like a spirited young woman, with a strong ambition.

[ Unlike at the party, they're not in public, so she doesn't particularly mind her head there. ]

[nachetanya]

[ This was (is?) a serious discussion, but you know what, Nachetanya, leaned in here, is going to blow a whisper for the next thing here: ]

Rin is spirited, but she doesn't make my heart flutter like you have, Tsubasa.

[ She says this with that same husky voiced seriousness, but really...

they both probably know it's her game. ]

[halleberry]

[ It is a game, but with the somber mood of the evening, it's one Tsubasa is more than content to play along with.

Even if she does make it sound awfully convincing. ]

Your heart flutter? Please, Nachetanya, you really are trying quite hard to butter me up for one reason or another...

[nachetanya]

[ She had discovered the line back in the dining hall back at Asgore's dinner.. but it's possible, now, that she either blew her chance there or that she has misinterpreted what that was. That the deciding factor was the fact that it was public.

So she, of course, slightly shifts gears. ]

I'm a little offended that you think os little of my intentions, Tsubasa. You're the first one that I had in my room, even.

[halleberry]

It wasn't my intention to offend you, but are you truly that broken up over it? I wonder if you're not simply being impulsive...ah, but recklessness and impulsiveness are to be our enemies, are they not?

[ She's just being coy, now, using her own words against her-- ]

You only hardly know me, after all.

[nachetanya]

[ Nachetanya laughs at this. A real, genuine laugh at that clever retort. But then untangles her hand from Tsubasa's to instead use that arm to try to pin her down on the bed, getting atop her with a grin.

She wonders how the other will react ]

Shall we get to know each other more, then?

[halleberry]

E-eh?

[ It's surprising to her how dexterous Nachetanya can be; one moment she's sitting up on the bed, and the next, Nachetanya is on top of her, holding her down on top of the mattress.

Cool and collected as she normally is, this is just far too much for her. From this angle, starting up at Nachetanya...

Her eyes go wide, her composure utterly shattered. ]

N-Nachetanya! Slow down, slow down!

[ That could very well be the first time she's raised her voice all week-- ]

[nachetanya]

[ Oh.

Oh, she got her?! The princess's red eyes seem to sparkle, and she ... laughs. The laugh grows and grows as the mirth spreads down her body and out from there. She remains atop Tsubasa, but her hand reaches around to grab the other by the chin, thus sort of resting her forearm on the other's collarbone and chest. ]

Couldn't I have been intending this the whole time?

[ But then, just as quick-- she sits up. That said, she keeps herself straddling Tsubasa, but no longer is her arm right there or their chests and body hear at too much risk of being shared.

... That said, she is still straddling her while mostly naked. ]

[halleberry]

Nachetanya, if you're going to do something like that, at least give me the decency of a warning, please!

[ She's glad that Nachetanya can get a laugh at her expense (and goodness, is it a laugh), but she has to catch her heart before it flies out of her mouth, from how startled she is! All she can do when Nachetanya grabs at her chin is offer a chiding glare in return, as she pulls her upper body up on the bed with her arms propped behind her.

She doesn't say "get off me", though. Not once do those words even occur to her. ]

Honestly, I was thinking in more of a conversational sense, but to think you jumped right into that...you're truly something!

[nachetanya]

You recovered quickly, Tsubasa.

[ The laugh trails off into a little pout, but even that can't last, so great is her mirth. The two are very well entangled now, aren't they? Nachetanya straddling the other's waist, her naked and scarred thighs surrounding her, and Tsubasa sitting up a little closer to her.

That said... ]

I had thought that it should be more conventional too, though. Should he exchange questions? Stories?

[halleberry]

Should I take that as a compliment?

[ Tsubasa's expression oeters out quickly, going from a scolding face to something a little more akin to resignation. It doesn't even occur to her to adjust her positioning here; it's as if she just said, "This might as well happen," and decided to stay put.

That's kind of just how Tsubasa Hanekawa is. Though her angle doesn't leave much to the imagination... ]

Whatever you'd like to know is fine by me. Consider no holds barred.

[ Within reason. ]

[nachetanya]

[ Putting a hand to heer chest, Nachetanya's first question might be seem as odd. ]

What do you want to know about me?

[halleberry]

[ Tsubasa just adjusts her glasses on her face as she mulls the question over a bit... ]

Does it have to be just one thing?

[nachetanya]

If we are doing a question exchange, one for one, then perhaps it should be. But no, it doesn't need to be.

[halleberry]

... Alright. One for one, then. That seems perfectly reasonable. I'll start simple, and work my way up.

[ Though, now that she thinks about it, she doesn't know where to begin... ]

Favorite...pasttime. Surely even with your busy life as a princess and a saint, you must have had some interesting hobbies.

[nachetanya]

Honestly, I don't! Or well, nothing you could really call a hobby. So much of my life's been devoted or this or what training, most of where I've shown my proclivities has been in sneaking out of the palace to go to the merchants row, or in owning many pets.

If you can call being a little rebellious a pastime, that could count.

[ She hums, and... ]

I'll ask the same for you.

[halleberry]

I guess if you're in a situation without much wiggle room, it's natural to take the small liberties you can get. I'll consider it close enough.

As for me, I've spent a lot of time studying, ever since I was small. As a little girl, I would study the dictionary, and try to learn at least 50 new words a day. Soon enough, it became a hundred. It was just a way for me to pass the time, that and reading novels. I've basically gone to the library almost every day since grade school, and I've read nearly every novel in there, cover to cover. But my second favorite hobby is going on walks through town; I tend to stroll for quite some time after school before heading home at night.

Next question for you is: pets? I'm a bit jealous. I've never actually owned one. Though I do sometimes make sure the occasional stray cat I find is being fed properly.

[nachetanya]

Three cats, four dogs, and two squirrels. I actually tended to take them with me between going to various temples and the palace. My maids would often end up needing to do most of the care for them, but I did love having them around.

[ Still, she laughs a bit ]

I should have seen that sort of hobby coming from you, Tsubasa. I wonder how you're dealing with so little to read here...

Ah, but ask for my question: Do you have an ambition?

[halleberry]

Goodness, I can't even imagine...it seems like it must have been a busy environment, between your attendants and your animal companions.

I'm managing, though. I wish we had a library, but, I've been keeping myself amused, with no thanks to a certain someone.

My dream is to travel the world one day. It's a bit of a secret from my classmates and teachers, because I'm certain that deciding not to go to university is something that will break their hearts. Even still, I've been mapping out the route for quite some time, and I recently finalized it. I hope to start traveling when I graduate, and I intend to circle the globe.

[ She thinks for a bit, shifting her weight under Nachetanya's legs.. before pointing at the scars. ]

Is there a story behind these?

[nachetanya]

My maids did often find the detail to be a little bit of a hassle, I'm told. They also needed to work with the guards. [ She shakes her head, laughing a little as she tugs down on collar, to show the crest around her collarbone ] Though this does prove it's a little silly.

[ Still a dream... but she had an active plan for it. She nods a little, smiling... until she doesn't/

She gestures at some other scarring around her neck and shoulders ]

If there is, I don't know it. My missing arm stood out more, but those scars were on my body when I awoke here as well, but not not before.

[halleberry]

Hm. I had a conversation with Transmitter-san where she told me that you'd more or less remember what happened in time. Presumably.

[ She was as non-committal to that response as she was about most everything else. ]

I had wondered​ if they were some kind of battle scars... something you picked up in your travels.

[ She runs her fingers along them, trying to determine if they're all a consistent size and depth... ]

Anyway, it's your turn.

[nachetanya]

I do have some scars from battle or my training. But most of these more visible ones are new. ... Yes though, I had heard something similar, and Wesker confirmed that sort of memory damage is possible, at least in his world.

[ The scars are not fully uniform. Most of them aren't terribly deep though - more like they appear to be the result of lacerations which got a little infected and couldn't heal properly. Of course, some are deeper, but.

... She's go Tsubasa feeling up her thighs. Weird. ]

Honestly, my "travels" have barely started.

What sort of position is "Class President?"

[halleberry]

It's possible in mine as well, though it's hardly something common. It gets dramatized a fair bit, but amnesia is a real, and serious problem, with many potential causes. Unfortunately, treatments tend to match the cause, but if Transmitter-san says time will clarify things, we don't have much of a choice but to take her word at face value.

[ She looks back up at her. ]

Consider a classroom made up of around thirty or so students. Each of those students has their own problems and concerns, and as class president, my role is to act as a sounding board and a mediator for them, as well as to know who to talk to in the case of an issue that requires serious attention. I work very closely with the student council, a larger administrative body, in order to make sure that my class and their ideas are being conveyed and recognized by the faculty and the rest of the school. I'm also in charge of organizing the class events, in cases where we would run one, and in making sure the other members of the student body are taking their studies seriously. It's a multi-faceted role, one that requires me to be aware of my class and their circumstances, but it's one I take pride in.

...Biggest turn-off, in a person. What sort of qualities do you dislike?

[nachetanya]

[ Notably, Nachetanya's lips press together a little tighter at the idea of needing to wait. Of time. But that passes quickly, instead taking in the response. She... looks interested, frankly, and is grinning a little by the end. ]

So that's yet another role where you are collecting and analyszing information. And why you think you can connect the ideas that all the people here have. That's interesting, Tsubasa!

[ As for the question... Hmmm. ]

I think... [ She taps a finger on her cheek ] Unless you meant physical... I think that the greatest one for me would be to find someone to be myopic.