InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "But... I'm an alligator."

Akuba Maeko (giantfruitbyday) wrote in disappear_rpg,
@ 2010-02-01 23:42:00

Entry tags:

maeko, tom

Who: Maeko, Tom, Max
What: SO I HERD YOU DIED concern. Because he really needs more of it.
Where: Butterfly room
When: Before beach trip
Why: Needs more Max.

Somewhere, since hating them for the place and the parts of her they represented and for putting blankets onto her and not letting her open doors, Maeko had found herself feeling responsible for the hands. Whatever they were, they were hers.

And so it kind of bothered her that they would be left on thier own for however long it was. She had to at least explain it to them.

Which was why she was sat on the couch, signing to them that nobody would be visiting them for a while and that they shouldn't worry too much and apparently amassing an impressive number of dolls (the hands were clearly not listenning too carefully the whole time. Because they kept bringing dolls.) when Tom and Max entered the Butterfly Room.

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ofmanydevices
2010-02-02 04:04 am UTC (link)

Tom had been contemplating new places he could go with Max were he wouldn't be noticed. It certainly seemed like the Butterfly room would be such a place. Certainly by this point, everyone on the team knew about the dog, so it wouldn't be a problem. And Tom thought Max might like to run around int he gardens.

When Tom opened the door, Max ran into the room first, and as soon as he saw Maeko he bounded over, his tail wagging so furiously that it sent his entire lower half with it. There was no doubt that he'd been growing, as Max was now big enough to manage the jump up onto the couch where Maeko sat. He quickly dropped his head into her lap, and rolled over for the requisite belly rubs.

Tom moved slightly slower, but smiled just a bit at Maeko when they entered.

"Oh... hello Akuba-san. How are you?"

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giantfruitbyday
2010-02-02 06:22 am UTC (link)

Suddenly, puppy! The hands scrambled to catch dislocated hugdolls before they hit the ground. Maeko's expression quickly changed from confusion to a grin that communicated 'puppy!' quite well.

She patted Max's head before initiating bellyrubs, wishing she'd remembered to bring treats or something. It was a while before she even acknowledged Tom's presence.

"I'm fine. And you? Are you feeling okay after that incident?"

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ofmanydevices
2010-02-02 04:42 pm UTC (link)

Max enjoyed the belly rubs, and then rolled over, looking at the hands. He gave two quick barks. However Tom stepped close, and rubbed Max's head. This seemed to pacify the dog.

"I feel about the same as I did before it happened." Physically Tom felt the same. Emotionally he didn't know what he felt. At least Tom knew that he felt uncomfortable over the number of people who expressed concern for him. Wasn't Keiichi they should be worried about? Besides, it's not like this was the first time it happened. Tom could have sworn Kanaye had been taken down and healed the same way at least once. "But you've used the same power to heal Satou when it happened to him didn't you? Wasn't that the same?"

Max, during the discussion had hopped down from the couch and was digging through the pile of hug dolls. He'd grabbed the Tom hug doll by it's leg and was pulling on it.

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giantfruitbyday
2010-02-02 05:52 pm UTC (link)

The hands, curious about this new loud thing in thier home, approached Max cautiously.

"That's a relief." Maeko said, carefully returning the Kanaye doll to an upright position after the hands had dropped it upside-down. she nodded. "And I was worried then, too. Healing is one thing, it's natural eventually. Returning people from the dead is...not really natural? It worries me more."

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ofmanydevices
2010-02-03 01:12 am UTC (link)

Once Max had pulled Tom loose, he quickly dove back into the pile and began sniffing around. After a moment he began tugging the Kozue doll along by the back of her clothes.

Tom lowered hia head, and dropped onto the couch.

"I never used to worry about dying... I mean... I always knew it was a possibility, in fact, I thought it would happen sooner or later.. But you know.. I figured when it would happen it wouldn't be an issue for me after that. Now... I don't know what to think."

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giantfruitbyday
2010-02-03 01:29 am UTC (link)

"Of course it's going to happen sooner or later. It's kind of the point." Maeko said, shrugging. "But I get what you mean, I guess."

She paused, shaking her head.

"Maybe what happens over there just...I don't know. It's different somehow. That's why Kore and the witch can heal it. So it's not really dying, just something really, really-" horrifyingly "-similar."

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ofmanydevices
2010-02-03 04:34 pm UTC (link)

"I guess... I still feel like..." Tom put his hands in his lap and lowered his head.

"... I don't think I want to die again. But... by the same token, I'd rather it happen to me then anyone else, since I've had it happen already, and I know what it feels like."

Max, having dragged the Kozue doll over to place it next to the Tom doll, had moved back to the other hug dolls and began sniffing them. Eventually Maeko felt a small tug on her clothes, as Max began pulling her hug doll along..

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giantfruitbyday
2010-02-04 12:58 am UTC (link)

"It's pretty normal to not want to die. I don't think anyone really does." Maeko wished she had brought paper to fold or something to occupy her hands. She kept catching herself spelling out what she was saying and stopping. "And I wouldn't really know but I guess that other part's kind of normal too, as far as it applies. I could ask senpai about it or something."

She thought again, smiling at being dragged along the floor by a puppy, it was kind of cute.

"I'll do my best. And I'm sure Kondo-san'll do her best. To make sure people don't die anymore. I'm sure it'll be okay."

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ofmanydevices
2010-02-04 09:12 pm UTC (link)

Max, having pulled together Tom, Kozue, and Maeko, began to pull them together into a pile on the floor. A pile seperate from the other hugdolls.

Tom intertwined his fingers, and his hands gripped each other. He looked at Maeko, about to say more death but noticed her hands. Curious, and eager to change the subject he commented.

"So... Wh... How did you learn to sign?"

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giantfruitbyday
2010-02-04 11:15 pm UTC (link)

Maeko fidgetted, watching the pile. She had become briefly more willing to discuss her father's weakness after her dungeon, if people wanted context for all that it wasn't like they hadn't earned it. But Misaki's mother's words had reminded her that there was a reason that she was better off not letting the subject come up in conversation.

But, she thought, it wasn't like there was any shame in it. Certainly no more shame at least than there was in - she didn't want to still think of him this way after what she'd seen in that place and what she'd heard from Kanaye and it wasn't like she let it affect the way she treated him too much conciously (thought it did apparently cause her to think in run-on sentences) and she felt bad about it but she was no Misaki (and she felt bad about this too, sometimes) and breaking through years of being taught how to think was difficult - being an outsider.

"It's my first language. My father's deaf so." She turned her attention back to Tom now that was out of the way. "I didn't know people talked normally at all until people started school, let alone how to do it."

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ofmanydevices
2010-02-04 11:53 pm UTC (link)

Max, having now pulled all his humans into one spot, he climbed onto the pile and curled up, leaving only his nose and eyes visible. His gaze was directed at Maeko, and thetip of his tail wagged quickly.

Tom looked at Maeko's hands them up to her face.

"It's really impressive that you picked up a second language. I think if not for the fact that English and Japanese was spoken in my house for aslong as I can remember I wouldn't know how to speak either that well."

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giantfruitbyday
2010-02-05 12:02 am UTC (link)

The feeling of having a giant puppy in top of her was strange, to say the least. She waved to Max with one hand.

"I didn't really have much of a choice." She said, shrugging. "It's not like they've ever spoken anything else at school. I was lucky, sign's not too different from spoken Japanese. I just had to learn what sound connected to what sign. Learning English from american sign would be a lot more difficult, they're completely different languages."

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	ofmanydevices 2010-02-05 12:48 am UTC (link)
	When Maeko waved, Max's tail wagged quicker beating out a steady thump thump thump on the ground. Tom watched Maeko carefully for a moment, the wheels turning in his head. Finally he met her gaze again. "Could you teach me?" (Reply to this) (Thread)

giantfruitbyday
2010-02-05 12:55 am UTC (link)

Maeko thought, motionning to the hands which were still watching Max cautiously.

"If you want to ask them what they know, you don't get results. The only paradise-related things they're aware of are from my..." She trailed off, ending the sentence by nodding. "I've already asked them."

"I guess I could try, though. I'm not sure I'd be a very tood teacher and it might take a while. And it's not really recognised widely so it's not much use to have."

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ofmanydevices
2010-02-05 02:14 am UTC (link)

Tom shrugged.

"I've got time... I hope. And you don't see any use to having a method of communication that isn't limited by the distance sound travels, can be engaged in unnoticed by our enemies? Ontop of that,... I could talk to you. And you're my friend. Seems like plenty of use to me."

Max had shifted his attention to the hands and looked at them with a tail wag and a mischieneus glint in his eye.

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giantfruitbyday
2010-02-05 02:21 am UTC (link)

The hands edged closer to max cautiously, the one with the badly repaired mask moving showly behind its twin.

Maeko was caught off guard by that last part. The rest was standard Tom but the last part had her reacting essentially the same way that Tom's own shadow had to being referred to as a comrade. Only with far less bossfights, thankfully. She was too shocked to notice or appreciate the irony.

She nodded. "I'll try, then. I think Satou-senpai and Aoi-chan were interested in learning as well. I'm no teacher but I'll try my best, especially if you think it can be put to use over there."

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ofmanydevices
2010-02-05 10:36 pm UTC (link)

Tom nodded. He let his hands slip free from their grip, and leaned back on the couch.

"Over there, and over here. We can teach each other. I'll show you hiding weapons and combat training, and you can teach me to sign. Together we will be a formidable opponent to any who would cross... the... anti bullying club..."

Max's tail wag didn't decrease, but he stood as the hands moved closer. He walked up to the lead one and began to move around it, sniffing as he went.

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	giantfruitbyday 2010-02-05 10:50 pm UTC (link)
	"It's really not such an imposing name, is it?" She laughed quietly. "But yeah, it's a deal." The hands squeezed against each other, masks following Max as he circled them. Eventually the braver of the two, with the complete mask, attempted to pat his head with a single finger. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ofmanydevices 2010-02-06 11:20 pm UTC (link)
	Tom nodded. "I look forward to it." Max had decided that the hands were no threat. It turned out he was easily pacified by petting. He rolled over onto his belly for belly rubs. (Reply to this) (Parent)