Bloom

[counterresonance]

Character: Inori Yuzuriha
Player: kelpipi
Fandom: Guilty Crown

[One moment she'd been pinned as the crystals traveled up the length of her body, penetrating the core of her being while Mana infiltrated her consciousness; and, the next... Cold. Wet. There's a sensation of water on her skin. There are no voices, her arms don't ache from being tied above her head and the sounds of battle can't reach her anymore. It's this silence that rouses her. She makes a soft sound while she comes to. Had she been being drawn into a deep sleep?

Her eyes flutter open -- she feels like she's in a hazy dream with a fog creeping in at the corners of her vision. It makes the scenery a little blurry (and how surreal and far away from home it feels.) And just like waking up from a nightmare it takes a moment to register that the events she'd been drawn out of were indeed reality. It hits her like the sound of tires screeching on pavement, like the sound of twisted metal and steel colliding that she'd been fighting for her very existence. Shu was coming to save her, wasn't he? Her heart nearly stops in her throat.

She pushes herself up seeming panicked, looking around anxiously -- she's trembling from the cold. (Maybe even a little fear?) She needs to find him! She needs to find Shu! She needs to stop Mana and Gai! But... where is she? And why? Immediately drawing herself up quickly onto her feet, she nearly loses her footing and winds her feet in a full circle. This isn't where she was being held. This isn't Japan. It can't be. In fact, looking at what she thought was sky ... it just reminds her of an aquarium. Is she under water? Is there someone that can tell her anything?

She looks both ways, lips pursed into a small determined frown, she will find answers and find Shu. With that she takes off running.]

Comments

[counterresonance]

[She can hear footsteps as well, suddenly realizing that they're nearing her and she stops running long enough to look to where the sound is coming from. Her breath is caught in her lungs, trapped, eyes wide as she waits to see who rounds the corner.

It wasn't who she expected.

She'd been looking for an exit or a way to stand and fight. That's not necessary anymore. Instead of bolting the opposite direction or preparing for an assault... she runs to him. Shu! It's him! He really did come!]



Shu! [His name is almost a cry, flooded with both relief and excitement. Excitement? She's excited to see him? Or was it just the anxiety of not knowing if he was alright or not being washed away? It doesn't matter.]

[guiltyking]

[That voice shifts the equivalent a train track switch in his head and his attention turns completely to its source. She...she's here. He can't believe it. Thankfully he snaps out of it fast enough to start running towards her, stopping only to take her in his arms and spinning her once has he lifts her off the ground.]

Inori!

[Oh god how he wants to keep crying out her name but for now... holding her is enough. He sets her back down and gazes into those beautiful red orbs. This is really Inori. Not his sister. He can tell and that's why he feels as if his heart is going to burst free with how fast it's hammering.]

How-I mean when did...

[Easy there Shu. Pick one and stick with it.]

[counterresonance]

[She smiles, featherlight in his arms, gripping onto his shoulders and then promptly burying her face into his chest. She'd been reunited with the man she loved. That's what the feeling that ached inside her chest was called (at times it was like thorns piercing her heart and other times it made it feel like she could conquer anything if she believed in it enough.) She'd realized it long before the moment she'd left his side and also understood what it meant.

Love, for her, was making the ultimate sacrifice. She would give her life for his in the end if that's what was necessary. A world without Shu is a world she doesn't want to imagine.

But he's here now and she's eager to tell him everything. She wants him to know the depths of her feelings. She wants to say the words she never managed to except in song. Everything was for Shu, her voice, her heart and her very existence.]



I don't know. I woke up here. [Her cheeks are dusted pink when she finally pulls back a little to peer up at him. He... looks different. Is he stronger...? Maybe -- but something seems amiss.] Shu... doesn't know where we are either?

[guiltyking]

[Even though they had been separated for merely a few days -- to Shu it feels like it has been a lifetime since he held her. A lifetime deprived of that smile and warmth. His old self would be reduced to a blushing blubbering mess if he could see the thoughts racing through his head now.]

Yes... he loves her. He thinks it a cruel joke that it took him losing her to make him realize such a simple truth. Well it doesn't matter now. She's here now. Safe and free.]

So you too then.

[Well it might be due to the crystalized arm or the virus creeping up the side of his neck and jaw. He doesn't think of covering those up -- not that he could even if he tried. Inori will notice. Not just because of her affinity with the virus but with Shu himself will give it away.]

I don't. But I can safely say this isn't Tokyo...

[Not that he believes it to be a bad thing at the moment but there is the small matter of getting whisked away while still in possession of the lives of his friends.]

[counterresonance]

[She want to say that none of that matters... where they are, what they need to do, the people waiting for them and praying for their survival. But it does. For now she needs to focus on returning-- but then it's what she notices that makes her heartrate increase.



A quick intake of breath, a hand moves in front of her chest as it balls into a fist... Shu's arm, the crystals on his face... after she's only just found him again he's going to be taken away from her? No, she can't let that happen! She...

Her eyes are wide and she trembles a little. A sinking feeling settles in her stomach, pulling its weight down through her insides and making her feel nauseous. ]

Why... Why does Shu have the virus?

[Where they are can wait. This is too important to ignore.]

[guiltyking]

[The arm isn't that bad honestly. Beats having to walk around without it. As for the virus well...]

Umm that's kind of a long story.

[It's not like the virus is advancing. The only time it did was when he healed others of the virus. Still he doesn't like seeing Inori this distressed so her puts his hand over hers giving it a light reassuring squeeze.]

I needed power to fight. To take you back to everyone where you belong. This is a small price to pay. And it isn't really as bad as it looks.