CATCH-ALL: Otome

[godcards]

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Week 6, Sunday

[momming]

[ Well.

She's actually meaning to find him, so good thing he isn't far. ]

... Hello, Malik.

[godcards]

[ the tension is the air is palpable, but he can't run because of his leg. so. ]

Hello, Otome.

[momming]

[ Wow. ]

Are you feeling any better?

[godcards]

...I suppose it depends on what you mean by that.

[ a beat ]

Because my leg hurts pretty bad.

[momming]

[ Mm. ]

Will you let me heal it?

[godcards]

...Do you really want to?

[momming]

Of course I do!

[ Why would I want to see you in pain? ]

[godcards]

[ he flinches at the thought. ]

I just think your vouchers would be better used elsewhere. I can still walk. Sakyou gave me painkillers before he left... The adult ones, not the baby ones.

[ "left" since he's already back from the dead lol ]

[momming]

It won't take vouchers. I have two powerful healing spells that I can use-- they'll be back in time for next week.

[ So. Fight her. ]

[godcards]

[ Why do you try so hard to help someone like me? ]

...If you're certain, then. And there's no one else to use them on.

[momming]

Absolutely.

[ Because I care about you. ]

One second, okay?

[godcards]

Okay...

[ aaaaaaaaaa this feels weird to accept this MOM WHY!! ]

[momming]

[ BECAUSE SHE CAN. And yes, healing is a go. ]

... Tsuyukusa told me he used a coupon to make you hate me.

[godcards]

[ CLOSES EYES AND SIGHS. it's not what he expected but it's what he wanted to talk about. ]

I didn't know what it was, but when I woke up on that Friday, I really-- I really hated you.

Guess his plan nearly worked, though.

[momming]

... I'm sorry. I only found out about it yesterday.

[ She shakes her head. ]

I'm very glad his plan failed.

[godcards]

You don't need to apologize for him. I had already accepted that I might die.

[ he awkwardly fumbles over this next part: ] I'm sorry for...

[ he trails off because he's not even sure what he's apologizing for. ]

[momming]

... You also don't need to apologize. There's nothing you've done that I've been offended by.

[godcards]

You're not mad?

[ legitimately shocked by this. AFTER EVERYTHING. HE IS STILL SURPRISED. ]

[momming]

[ MALIK PLS ]

Why would I be?

[ also genuinely surprised. ]

[godcards]

I just thought... because everyone else was... and with everything that happened...

[ he can't articulate his thoughts anymore and his brain radio isn't any more helpful. ]

[momming]

[ She hums, a little softly. ]

I'm not everyone else, you know. I know that you were forced to feel that way.

... I also know that your feelings were probably also confused with everything that happened the week before. I did kill people, Malik. I kept it a secret.

You had every right to be upset with me.

[godcards]

[ he considers his next words carefully: ]

I didn't know to feel. I knew you weren't a malicious killer, and I thought... I had healed you during the field trip only to send you back to killing people. Death seemed like a more merciful option if you were killing against your will. Nobody was going to vote for your expulsion, but... I don't know. Maybe without the curse, I would have felt the same way as Tsuyukusa and thought that there was only one way to end things.

[ it's harder still, when he has complicated feelings regarding authority and parental figures. otome made him feel safe, which is something he had been sorely lacking with his actual parent. he didn't have a healthy parent-child relationship in general, so latching onto otome felt like wrong. it was a risk he wasn't sure was going to pay off. but deep, deep down, he really did need - and want - someone to care about him. he just didn't know what to do with positive relationships. ]

[momming]

[ She listens to him, her thoughts thankfully kept to herself for once. ]

I see, so that's why you offered...

[ She closes her eyes, briefly. ]

I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt anyone, let alone kill them. But the risk of three of them losing themselves and their souls without having a say in it was... something I couldn't stand. So I also didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, I was acting to prevent that. On the other hand, I was willfully taking them away from the people who cared about them and I couldn't even let them have proper closure about it. I hated myself but I knew if I did nothing, I'd hate myself even more.

[ Otome releases a quiet sigh. ]

I didn't want to die, because I didn't think I'd be able to even start trying to make things right if I was dead. But when Tsuyukusa came to kill me, I just felt... at least a little relieved. That if someone was going to die tonight, at least it would be someone who'd harmed others. It was selfish of me, but still.

... I wish I could have supported you better, Malik. I wish I could be so much more for you, that I could have been everything that you might have thought I was.

But I never once stopped caring about you. I never would have wanted you to be framed for my death and I was less than thrilled when I learned about it.

[godcards]

[ he just

stares for a minute











then he hugs her. ]

[momming]

Oh--

[ It's a quiet gasp of surprise because she honestly didn't expect that.

But then she's hugging him back, warmly. ]