And it's the stars, the stars that lie to you.

[neverheardofhim]

[This week, Varric opted to take a page from Vanille’s book. Gathering everyone together after the roller-coaster that the first trial had been proved to be somewhat cathartic for himself. He hoped that it would prove to do the same for the others.]

[He wasn’t alone, of course, having found himself blessed with the most ragtag team of chefs and party-planners. He might have had words for and thoughts on Elda and Kimbley, Mikazuki was welcome company, and he wasn’t about to turn away potential allies, even in a fight as simple as cooking dinner.]

[Once everyone’s set to a task, baking a cake, brewing tea, or stirring stew (the only task Varric could think to assign Elda to), Varric excused himself to his room. His first task was writing up cards, each personally titled and signed by Varric.]

Food in the Library. 5 p.m. Don’t spend the night alone.

[Each note was slid under a door and accompanied by a single rap on the wood.]

[With his tasks completed, Varric returned to the kitchen to put out any potential fires and, with luck, set the food out. A table in the library would be adorned with plenty of tea, cake, pancakes courtesy of Viktor, and stew thanks mostly to Varric (sorry, Elda).]

Comments

[foundfate]

[Yeah, that body language there, he sees right through it. Because it's exactly what he does when he is hiding something too. But he's not going to reveal that quite yet.]

Oh? Are you done with it now? Or could you use some help finishing it?

[introspects]

Oh, I'm finished with it--thank you for offering, though...!

[ Lies.

She is far from finished. Far. But she's not going to make him worry with such troubling thoughts when she already has during the trial.

Is that why he's come here...? ]

[foundfate]

[That's exactly why he's there.]

Oh, good.

[There's an awkward pause there for a moment.]

So...do you want some company?

[He did intend on staying for a bit, but he won't if it bothers her.]

[introspects]

[ She has a feeling about it. ]

Your company's always welcome, Watanuki-kun.

[ She can at least give him a smile--a sad, sad smile--but it's there. She's trying. ]

[foundfate]

[He nods.]

Can I come sit down?

[Sitting on a girl's bed, how scandalous~]

[introspects]

Yes, please make yourself at home.

[ u dirty boy ]

...Um...did you want to talk to me about something in particular?

[foundfate]

[So dirty.

He does go over and sit down, though.]

If you're up for it, I was going to ask about what you said at the trial.

[introspects]

[ And there it is. ]

That's...

[ a long, long story. ] I...I don't know where to start.

[foundfate]

At the beginning, maybe? We've got time.

[introspects]

Alright. I'll do my best.

[ Here we go into the depths of Bleach lore: ]

My brother, Sora, and I lived on our own since we were really young. He raised me after we ran from our parents, and we got along really well. He... [ She takes a long breath. ] He came home one day with a set of hairpins, and at the time, I thought they were really childish...but that same day, my brother--he died in an accident. That's...partly why I really want my hairpins back...because they're in memory of my brother.

...A-Anyway, this has kind of has to do with spirits, I think. When I was in high school, I...I saw my brother. But he wasn't...himself.

What happens to spirits who can't move on, is their souls become corrupted and...and turn into Hollows. They're...monsters, and...and need to be purified by a shinigami in order to move on. And...Sora was a Hollow. It was the first time I'd ever seen something like that, ever.

But--Kurosaki-kun, he...he helped Sora move on, and...that's when I started seeing spirits.

[ ... ] Ah, this doesn't really answer what I said at the trial, does it? Ahaha...

[foundfate]

It sounds like the start of getting to what you said at the trial.

[Which is what he suggested to do anyway, so he's not going to be impatient about it or anything.]

I'm guessing neither your brother nor this Kurosaki-guy are responsible for upsetting you, though.

[introspects]

No...neither of them are.

[ This is literally the beginning of everything, but she'll go ahead and get to the person who'd upset her the most: ]

His name is Aizen Sosuke. He was a shinigami who betrayed everyone, turned on the Soul Society, and wanted to get a hold of something very important to become the ruler of our world. As part of his plan...

[ This is when things turn sour: ] He...he took me hostage.

In the end, everyone fought against him and his army, and Kurosaki-kun was able to defeat him and...rescue me.

[foundfate]

[Okay, that? Yeah that's pretty horrible. Anyone who would kidnap Orihime is automatically a terrible person.]

But everything turned out alright, right?

[introspects]

Yes. They put Aizen in prison.

[ For a very, very long time. ]

But...I've accepted responsibility for a lot of things that happened to everyone. They...they went through so much to save me...but I had to go with Ulquiorra-san when he came to take me away.

[ ... ] He said he would have killed everyone if I didn't.

[foundfate]

Inoue-san...

[It's too bad they're not having this conversation on Sunday, Watanuki would have remembered some stuff about kidnapping that might have helped here. But for now, he still is going to try to help her.]

It's not your fault you got kidnapped. If someone stronger than you threatens your friends, then anyone would go with them, if only to protect those they care about. And you shouldn't feel bad about the fact that your friends care enough about you to rescue you, either. That means they love you.

[introspects]

[ That means they love you.

She knew that her friends, her nakama, were precious to her in ways that she couldn't quite put into words. Ichigo, Chad, Uryuu, Rukia, Renji...they all had sacrificed so, so much to help her back then. Orihime thought she'd been done shedding tears over something that happened years ago, but being here, being locked up and placed in the same situation again?

She hadn't wanted to trouble them again, but here she is. ]

What if they're coming right now, Watanuki-kun? What if they're looking for me and trying to save me again? I told myself that I'd get stronger so I wouldn't have to burden them anymore, but I'm--I'm just back to where I started, right?

[foundfate]

If they're coming here right now, then it's because they want to see you again. There's no shame in that. Being strong isn't about being a good fighter or being self-reliant. It's about having the courage and willpower to keep going when everyone around you is telling you to quit.

You're really strong, Inoue-san. Don't mistake needing help for weakness.

[introspects]

[ Willpower and courage; two words that remind her so much of the people she loves at home. So much that Orihime begins to shed tears.

She feels the same longing she did back in Hueco Mundo, but Aizen kept her alive for a reason. Here...here, the Wordsmith doesn't care. He'll take anyone through any means. That's what frightens her the most.

Yet, she's moved by Watanuki's words, finding comfort in the fact that someone here believes in her. ]

Ah...

[foundfate]

[He doesn't quite see the wheels turning in Orihime's mind, as he is mostly distracted by the fact that Orihime has started to cry. Was it something he said? It has to be something he said.]

Ah- don't cry! It'll be okay, I promise!

[He's looking around frantically for a tissue or something he can hand to her, but there doesn't seem to be anything available.]

[introspects]

[ Ah. She realizes she's crying, now. It's sudden, and not even Orihime herself could have prepared for this, but her tears are mostly a mix of the love she feels for her friends, a sense of gratitude, and a release from the stressors from this past weekend. It's...mostly happy tears, to say the least. Grateful, rather. ]

Thank you, Watanuki-kun...!

[foundfate]

It's- It's alright.

[Maybe he can just. Give her a hug? Yeah, she looks like she needs a hug right about now.]

Everything will be alright.

[introspects]

[ Orihime will just. Hug him back and cry a little into his shoulder. ]

T-Thank you, for believing in me...!

[foundfate]

[Even though she's still crying, something about this makes Watanuki feel...happy? It must be because he's helping her, and making her feel better is a good thing. Yeah. That's got to be it.]

Anytime. If you have trouble believing in yourself sometimes, then I'll believe in you instead.

[introspects]

[ Those sorts of words give her warmth--the same sort of warmth that Rangiku gave her when something just like this had happened. Orihime keeps a lot of things to herself, and does feel sort of terrible for just...throwing all of this onto Watanuki, but he's taking it very well, and she's grateful.

She sniffles a little before she pulls back, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. ]

I'm sorry, I--I don't know why I'm being so silly...

[foundfate]

[He will go ahead and let go of her when she pulls away, but he stays nearby to talk to her a bit more.]

It's not silly if it's something that's worrying you. But you can always talk to me about that kind of thing, okay? It's not going to bore me or chase me away or anything.