[Day: Friday, April 22nd. Time: 9:50, or thereabouts.] [It's snowing outside. In April. Suck, seriously.] [Taki is walking down the hall for whatever reason she's walking. Katie's just leaving Saki and Company's room, saying goodbye to Eriko as she closes the door.] [What will happen? Who knows! Stay tuned and find out!] [Mini Start.] * Taki walks down the hall, she's still in the same clothes she was wearing earlier, except now there's an unopened can of tea in her hand, and she has a blank, shell-shocked expression on her face. * Katie turns to head the opposite direction down the hall, but she doesn't actually go anywhere when she catches Taki's expression. "Taki?" * Taki looks blankly at Katie for a moment and then her expression focuses she speaks softly. "Katie, I didn't see you there." No. I was wondering if you were seeing anything. Are you okay? * Taki shakes her head. "No, no I'm not. I haven't been okay for a while, but it doesn't matter anymore." * Katie blinks. Why do you keep saying that? Because of what Sho said. He stopped me like I was less than nothing. And he's frightened. What am I supposed to do against something like that? Think of a way to kill him. Hit him when he doesn't know it's coming. It's clear someone can make it so he doesn't know. And just because he's afraid doesn't mean he's right. Sho isn't *that* smart, or he would have won already. I went above him Katie, unless he reads minds or has eyes on top of his head, he couldn't have seen me coming. He still threw me into the ceiling, and we don't have a clue what hid us before he came. He knew you were there. The idea that you could teleport and hit him? Not a big stretch. He shouldn't have been able to see me or stop me. It's part of his power, Taki. He can see things, if he only decides to look. He was watching for you. Relax and let it go. There's more than one way to kill someone, and there's a way to kill him. That just isn't the way. * Taki looks down at her tea. "I can't see that now." * Katie walks over to Taki. She puts a hand on her shoulder. "Step one, let the old way go. It doesn't work." Step two, find a new way. It works in that order. If you don't do the first, you're stupid. If you don't do the second, you're giving up. * Taki looks up into Katie's face for a moment and there's a ghost of a smile there. "The first one isn't going to be a problem anymore." * Katie nods and smiles back, idly checking Taki's eye color. "Good. Then you need to figure out the second, but you're not alone in it. We're all working on that one." Except maybe Haruko. She might be getting drunk by now. * Taki still has violet eyes. "Think it'd help?" * Katie chuckles. "Getting drunk?" Either. I don't know. Some people like getting drunk. I don't. I like thinking. So, I'd do the first. * Taki nods absently. "I've been doing too much of the first and never getting anywhere." * Taki, for the record, has been speaking softly the entire time and with little to no inflection on her words. * Katie puts an arm around Taki's shoulders, squeezes, and starts leading the girl back to her room. "Yeah, you have." * Katie opens her mouth, frowns, and just switches to English. * Taki doesn't blush or shy away, just lets herself get lead. * Taki gives that same nod again. "I should stop that." * Katie pauses a second, then says, "" I won't stop thinking, and it'd be bad if everybody died. * Katie nods, then stops. * Taki stops too because she's being lead. She gets that ghost of a smile again. * Katie sighs. "" * Taki shrugs. "I don't know how. I've been trying since before we met. I feel empty and naked right now, and I can't care." * Katie takes the tea from Taki's hands and gives her a big hug. * Taki is hugged and blinks. "I should be enjoying this more." It's like everything is far away. * Katie keeps hugging her. "" I don't that that'd be a good thing right now. * Katie chuckles. "" I don't know what I'm going to do, but thank you Katie. * Katie lets go. "" I will. * Taki looks at Katie for a moment. "Can I have my tea back?" * Katie looks at the tea. "Mmm. " * Katie hands it back, and as Taki takes it, says, "" * Taki takes her tea. "It just seems that way to me. I think I'm frightened. Somewhere. I'll be back when I find it." * Taki takes a step away from Katie, and then another, and by the third she's walking listlessly down the hall towards her goal. * Katie watches Taki go for a bit, then turns and heads in the opposite direction. [End!]