03-28-2010, 06:25 AM
“…or maybe I’m just too ‘detached’ to see it.”
“…what?” Juno asked the courier, sweat forming in increasingly heavy beads on his forehead. The blonde looked up, seemingly having removed himself from the world. It was at this very moment that the ex-fortune teller longed to say something along the lines of, ‘I told you so’ - but he bit his tongue.
“Nothing, really. Just thinking out loud,” Kaden smiled awkwardly, fiddling with the straw of his cola. Thinking about something completely unrelated from what we were talking about, the hybrid thought to himself, but to be honest, he couldn’t really remember what he had been rambling on about. He’d mostly been using it as a defense mechanism, the continued railing of words helping to ease the growing pains in his abdomen. As if that first out loud thought had spurred an army of more, Kaden suddenly glanced out the window, eyes filled with purpose. “You’re right, Juno. I’ve got to get my priorities straight.”
“Right now?” the seer responded instinctively, though his inner self was telling him not to fight Kaden’s sudden conclusion of this conversation. Some inner force - some putrid, evil incarnate inner force - tugged at him, however, urging him to continue this conversation, telling him that Kaden wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought he was. But how could someone so good truly be so good?
“If someone says something that keeps bugging you, you should probably talk to them about it, right?”
“I…” the hybrid stuttered, knowing full well that the courier was talking about Sophia. Did he really care about this? He could probably have talked Kaden into a different approach. The hybrid was quite sure, after all, that he had… been with more women than the blonde, but something told him that this wasn’t his battle anymore. That whatever Kaden and Sophia had, they deserved it, and he shouldn’t sit there trying to stop it. “…yeah. That makes sense.”
He leaned back in his seat, the physical pain subsided for just a moment by the emotional wound he’d just inflicted upon himself. This was so… out of character for him. Why was he letting it happen? Why was he letting Kaden get the girl?
He could only suppose that he somehow let his feelings for Sophia guide him. It was the lesson that tragic romantic heroes always learned: if you truly care for her, let her have what she wants, don’t try to force yourself on her. You’ll come out better in the end for it. And if Kaden was what she wanted, she deserved every last inch of him, by that logic.
“Unfortunately, that girl’s about as easy to track down as a dragon ball.”
Juno’s attention was captured. “Wait, what?” he looked to the courier, confused as to what in God’s name a dragon ball could be.
Kaden stumbled a bit for an explanation before he finally found one: “They’re these… artifacts, I guess. Apparently getting seven of them grants you a wish.” With no more than a quick wave and a thank-you to Juno for paying for their burgers, the man left, shutting the door abruptly as he did so. The hybrid frowned as he watched Kaden leave, a vague sense of purpose leaving him now that he had effectively given up the pursuit of Sophia for good. Sure, he’d convinced himself it had ended before, but this was the moment, this was the moment when he became fully committed to her truly, with no ulterior motives, nothing to hope for but to be the best friend he could be to the priestess. He hoped that she’d accept that much from him. If he hadn’t done anything else, something he’d said had spurred the courier to go find her.
He imagined, for a moment that would prove to be the last torturous thought of this escapade, what this conversation would be like; the one that would, undoubtedly, take place soon enough between Kaden and Sophia. He imagined that unless Kaden said something utterly stupid - which the hybrid had full confidence was possible - he would, indeed, attain victory once again. He would not just gain his friend back, but Sophia would gain hers.
And like he’d known beforehand, that was all he wanted, for the priestess to be happy. He took this moment, this thought, as the first true affirmation that he truly cared for Sophia. Before, he’d thought of it maybe as an infatuation. He’d thought he’d loved the idea of her. He had thought that just perhaps, he had tagged along behind the blonde-headed spitfire simply because he needed something to tag along to. Well, if any of those reasons had first initiated contact with the girl, they didn’t matter now, but all the same, he was thankful for them. Because they had gained him a friend - perhaps the only person Juno could count as a true friend.
While Sophia sat there wondering about his motivations, the hybrid knew that he cared for her more than he cared for anyone else, but now, no matter how deeply he searched, he could find no ulterior motives - romantic or otherwise. His friendship with her, at least on his end, was true, and now he just had to prove himself to her. She had thought, he knew, that he meant to court her when he’d first showed up at the water park. Now he hoped she realized that wasn’t what he intended at all. He just wanted someone to be there for him, like he felt he could be there for her. Maybe, just maybe, she’d understand that someday. For now, though, it was time for her to be with Kaden. She could save him for later.
“Go get her, tiger,” Juno muttered to himself, feeling completely stupid when he did it but feeling that the cheesiness of the phrase was the perfect period to the end of this chapter of his life.
As one book closes, another one opens, and so too did another problem, as the hybrid was once again stung with pain in his abdomen. Sliding a bit of zeni onto the diner’s table, he slid out of the booth and made his way shakily out the door, struggling to keep himself standing. It didn’t work for long - he got out of the diner and tripped over himself, falling face first into the dirt.
“Damn it,” he sputtered, spitting out a bit of dirt that had slid between his lips. He pushed into a sitting position, clutching his ribs with one hand and holding his torso aloft with another. He closed his eyes and bit his lip - this pain was burning into him. It was as if, all of a sudden, Gamer had decided to push every torture device ever created straight into his ribcage.
Slowly but surely, the burning sensation finally subsided. The hybrid pulled himself to his feet, with his chest and stomach feeling a bit heated. He limped loosely across the clearing to another solid building that stood next to the diner, the rest room. Entering the men’s room, he quickly leaned over the sink and stared at his pale reflection. He unbuttoned his coat and tossed it to the floor, then lifted up his shirt and pulled it off, tossing it onto the coat, forming a small pile of clothing just feet away. He looked at his bare chest, observing the redness that slowly crept about. What the hell was happening to him?
His stomach churned, and he vomited violently into the sink, stumbling away from the mirror and grasping the long-sleeve shirt but leaving the heavy coat behind; he didn’t have need for any more heat. He pulled on the shirt and walked as quickly as he was able out of the restroom, looking around the clearing and hoping to find somewhere that he could get help, maybe, hopefully - the pain was subsiding now, he wasn’t hurting, but there was something making him grow tired, lethargic, and weak. He felt himself slowly falling to the ground.
“Whoa, kid,” a voice spoke, catching him mid-fall.
Juno looked up at the cycloptic man and caught sight of him briefly, seeing the man’s concerned expression and shoulder-length brown hair, studying him briefly, getting in a couple of first impressions before he began to black out.
“Kid, come on,” the man said, “Listen, I’m Orion. What’s your name, kid?”
He bit his lip. “J-Juno,” he mumbled, slowly slipping into darkness.
“…what?” Juno asked the courier, sweat forming in increasingly heavy beads on his forehead. The blonde looked up, seemingly having removed himself from the world. It was at this very moment that the ex-fortune teller longed to say something along the lines of, ‘I told you so’ - but he bit his tongue.
“Nothing, really. Just thinking out loud,” Kaden smiled awkwardly, fiddling with the straw of his cola. Thinking about something completely unrelated from what we were talking about, the hybrid thought to himself, but to be honest, he couldn’t really remember what he had been rambling on about. He’d mostly been using it as a defense mechanism, the continued railing of words helping to ease the growing pains in his abdomen. As if that first out loud thought had spurred an army of more, Kaden suddenly glanced out the window, eyes filled with purpose. “You’re right, Juno. I’ve got to get my priorities straight.”
“Right now?” the seer responded instinctively, though his inner self was telling him not to fight Kaden’s sudden conclusion of this conversation. Some inner force - some putrid, evil incarnate inner force - tugged at him, however, urging him to continue this conversation, telling him that Kaden wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought he was. But how could someone so good truly be so good?
“If someone says something that keeps bugging you, you should probably talk to them about it, right?”
“I…” the hybrid stuttered, knowing full well that the courier was talking about Sophia. Did he really care about this? He could probably have talked Kaden into a different approach. The hybrid was quite sure, after all, that he had… been with more women than the blonde, but something told him that this wasn’t his battle anymore. That whatever Kaden and Sophia had, they deserved it, and he shouldn’t sit there trying to stop it. “…yeah. That makes sense.”
He leaned back in his seat, the physical pain subsided for just a moment by the emotional wound he’d just inflicted upon himself. This was so… out of character for him. Why was he letting it happen? Why was he letting Kaden get the girl?
He could only suppose that he somehow let his feelings for Sophia guide him. It was the lesson that tragic romantic heroes always learned: if you truly care for her, let her have what she wants, don’t try to force yourself on her. You’ll come out better in the end for it. And if Kaden was what she wanted, she deserved every last inch of him, by that logic.
“Unfortunately, that girl’s about as easy to track down as a dragon ball.”
Juno’s attention was captured. “Wait, what?” he looked to the courier, confused as to what in God’s name a dragon ball could be.
Kaden stumbled a bit for an explanation before he finally found one: “They’re these… artifacts, I guess. Apparently getting seven of them grants you a wish.” With no more than a quick wave and a thank-you to Juno for paying for their burgers, the man left, shutting the door abruptly as he did so. The hybrid frowned as he watched Kaden leave, a vague sense of purpose leaving him now that he had effectively given up the pursuit of Sophia for good. Sure, he’d convinced himself it had ended before, but this was the moment, this was the moment when he became fully committed to her truly, with no ulterior motives, nothing to hope for but to be the best friend he could be to the priestess. He hoped that she’d accept that much from him. If he hadn’t done anything else, something he’d said had spurred the courier to go find her.
He imagined, for a moment that would prove to be the last torturous thought of this escapade, what this conversation would be like; the one that would, undoubtedly, take place soon enough between Kaden and Sophia. He imagined that unless Kaden said something utterly stupid - which the hybrid had full confidence was possible - he would, indeed, attain victory once again. He would not just gain his friend back, but Sophia would gain hers.
And like he’d known beforehand, that was all he wanted, for the priestess to be happy. He took this moment, this thought, as the first true affirmation that he truly cared for Sophia. Before, he’d thought of it maybe as an infatuation. He’d thought he’d loved the idea of her. He had thought that just perhaps, he had tagged along behind the blonde-headed spitfire simply because he needed something to tag along to. Well, if any of those reasons had first initiated contact with the girl, they didn’t matter now, but all the same, he was thankful for them. Because they had gained him a friend - perhaps the only person Juno could count as a true friend.
While Sophia sat there wondering about his motivations, the hybrid knew that he cared for her more than he cared for anyone else, but now, no matter how deeply he searched, he could find no ulterior motives - romantic or otherwise. His friendship with her, at least on his end, was true, and now he just had to prove himself to her. She had thought, he knew, that he meant to court her when he’d first showed up at the water park. Now he hoped she realized that wasn’t what he intended at all. He just wanted someone to be there for him, like he felt he could be there for her. Maybe, just maybe, she’d understand that someday. For now, though, it was time for her to be with Kaden. She could save him for later.
“Go get her, tiger,” Juno muttered to himself, feeling completely stupid when he did it but feeling that the cheesiness of the phrase was the perfect period to the end of this chapter of his life.
As one book closes, another one opens, and so too did another problem, as the hybrid was once again stung with pain in his abdomen. Sliding a bit of zeni onto the diner’s table, he slid out of the booth and made his way shakily out the door, struggling to keep himself standing. It didn’t work for long - he got out of the diner and tripped over himself, falling face first into the dirt.
“Damn it,” he sputtered, spitting out a bit of dirt that had slid between his lips. He pushed into a sitting position, clutching his ribs with one hand and holding his torso aloft with another. He closed his eyes and bit his lip - this pain was burning into him. It was as if, all of a sudden, Gamer had decided to push every torture device ever created straight into his ribcage.
Slowly but surely, the burning sensation finally subsided. The hybrid pulled himself to his feet, with his chest and stomach feeling a bit heated. He limped loosely across the clearing to another solid building that stood next to the diner, the rest room. Entering the men’s room, he quickly leaned over the sink and stared at his pale reflection. He unbuttoned his coat and tossed it to the floor, then lifted up his shirt and pulled it off, tossing it onto the coat, forming a small pile of clothing just feet away. He looked at his bare chest, observing the redness that slowly crept about. What the hell was happening to him?
His stomach churned, and he vomited violently into the sink, stumbling away from the mirror and grasping the long-sleeve shirt but leaving the heavy coat behind; he didn’t have need for any more heat. He pulled on the shirt and walked as quickly as he was able out of the restroom, looking around the clearing and hoping to find somewhere that he could get help, maybe, hopefully - the pain was subsiding now, he wasn’t hurting, but there was something making him grow tired, lethargic, and weak. He felt himself slowly falling to the ground.
“Whoa, kid,” a voice spoke, catching him mid-fall.
Juno looked up at the cycloptic man and caught sight of him briefly, seeing the man’s concerned expression and shoulder-length brown hair, studying him briefly, getting in a couple of first impressions before he began to black out.
“Kid, come on,” the man said, “Listen, I’m Orion. What’s your name, kid?”
He bit his lip. “J-Juno,” he mumbled, slowly slipping into darkness.