WEEK 3 - NIGHTSHADE

[foundationmods]

Finally, the whole truth of this affair had come out.

The Witch they had known as Yuuko was actually Nirrti, the Witch of Misfortune.
And Watanuki was actually the real Witch of Dimensions, as the two of them fought over the power that title brought, as well as the name and identity of a long dead woman...🗈

Though things had finally changed, perhaps it wouldn't be for the better. Nirrti herself seemed much different than how she was before, and Watanuki was the one who had brought all of them here...with that in mind, it was hard to tell how their future would shake out...

However, it wasn't all bad. A few more places were open to them, the second floor becoming a much more inviting place to be, and there was still everything they had gotten used to before. And now, they all knew that Nirrti's promises were nothing but empty air...

...or, perhaps, now they would merely change.

MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

CALENDAR | LOCATIONS | PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS | NIRRTI PC POST | WATANUKI PC POST

Comments

sitting room;

[rikuchi]

Anyone bother you after that?

[ It's...a question before any other potential ones. A legitimate one as well, because of the circumstances surrounding Watanuki and Syaoran in the wake of the formrer's true part to play in all of this. ]

[excavated]

... Not particularly. But if someone did, it's fine.

[rikuchi]

[ He'll fold his arms, considering the brunet's answer. ]

...Why's that?

[excavated]

I'm used to being hated. And I expect it, anyway, given my connection with Kimihiro. Even if it was a choice that he made willingly and I should accept that... I still can't help but feel guilty.

[rikuchi]

I don't see how any of that is your fault.

[ Riku doesn't expect to be something easy to accept, so maybe someone saying as much could make it so, which is also the reason he says a little more. ]

More importantly, it isn't like you were in league with him or what the other witch was doing in the first place. That's why I believe anyone who'd hate you just because you two are familiar with each other would be the one in the wrong.

[excavated]

Takumi-san said I shouldn't be blaming myself for it either, [ he smiles a little bitterly ] even though we're the same existence. Even if I was the one who created his existence. [ A pause, and then: ] And I had guessed a while back that he might have been the witch, too. But I wasn't sure. Or maybe I just didn't want to believe it, in spite of how close we are.

[rikuchi]

I believe that no one's really the same, that we're all fundamentally different, even if our - or anyone's - origins might make them seem hardly anything other than identical.

[ This is where Riku places a hand on his chest.

Even if he's wrong on some level, when Riku looks at Syaoran and Watanuki, he sees two different people. Maybe at the heart of it all, they're built up from the "same" existence, but at some point, their paths have diverged. That's how he understands it, and what he's chosen to believe. ]

You really had no way of knowing either way until it was too late.

[excavated]

You're right.

[ His smile is a little wistful as he says those words, but there's definitely a fondness in his eyes.

And it's true - they were both built up from the same existence, even to the point where the world was trying to erase Kimihiro because two of the same existence was meant to be an impossibility. But Syaoran never wanted him to disappear.

That's why it hurt so much when he 'died'. ]

Kimihiro left me so many clues. I might not have known either way, but... He told me so many things in the letters he wrote to me that told me exactly who he was. The bird signature, that he actually knew Yuuko-san, that he was from Tokyo, and. Even his cooking. There was only one person who could cook like that. Even the words that he said in his letters were the same as the ones that he told to me, personally.

Either way, I shouldn't be beating myself up for it. Kimihiro is still himself, like he always was. And that's why I trust him. And why I want to help him. Even if I have the rest of the world against me.

[rikuchi]

[ When he spots an uplift in the other's expression, Riku is glad that he did say what he had. They'd been going through a rough situation, and seeing Syaoran take it so hard, was...well, expected. But, though he was no Sora, even he realized they needed to support each other - now, more than ever. ]

Personally and honestly speaking, I can't say I'm too happy about being deceived, and the part that he's playing in having brought us here in the first place. I can't say I'm expecting much from him either.

[ He's not going to mince words, here. ]

But, I'm hoping that somehow there's more to him that meets the eye, and for the better. For all of our sakes.

[excavated]

I know. And I understand. [ He really, truly does, and it shows in how he says those words rather firmly. ] Kimihiro... he's a nice person. The one that we saw before... and the one that we know now, they're still the same person. He's still the person I remember, even before I arrived in this world.

[rikuchi]

...Because of everything you've seen from him so far?

[ Then again, Syaoran would be able to tell if he were a fake or not, he assumed. For the most part, barring some kind of ridiculous deux ex witch machina shenanigary. ]

[excavated]

Yeah. He made me a cupcake for my birthday, so... there's no way he's different. I can tell.

[rikuchi]

Just by him making a cupcake on that day, huh?

[ He can't help but quirk a smile in amusement there. Yeah, he's teasing a little. ]

[excavated]

Well, there's a lot of other things, but... when I ate it, I could feel his emotions. And how it reminded me of my father's cooking.

[rikuchi]

...I think I can understand.

[ It's given him enough to think about at least. ]

It's just too bad he had any part to play in this at all.

[excavated]

... Yeah.

[rikuchi]

Speaking of all of this...we should have a meeting soon, shouldn't we?

[excavated]

Yeah, we probably should. We need to talk. About a lot of things.

[rikuchi]

...Yeah. We've learned a lot over the past weeks, haven't we?

[ So much that Riku's pretty sure he's missed stuff... ]

[excavated]

Yeah, we have. We've learned a lot.