jigoku_logs | Carnivale!

[ ...

Well.. there's someone to protect her, who promises her she'll be safe, so.. it should be safe then..

Kotomi takes a deep breath, facing the stall, and she meekly asks to play before being given one of the hooks. She actually stands there for quite some time as if deciding which ducky to pick is the hardest thing ever, but she does manage to hook one up from the water. As a prize in return a baloon is shoved into her hands. Not like she knows what it's about to do yet, she's just staring at it and then back to Once-ler. ]

U.. um.. this is.. my prize, right..? It's the very first prize I've ever gotten..

Hey, congrats! [He sticks his thumbs up at her.] Balloons are great fun. It'll brighten up the apartment.

I guess it's good if it'll cheer everyone up..

[ She'd rather see happy people than sad people, after all. But as Kotomi's mouth opens to say something else, the balloon suddenly pops. And it's not air that comes out of it, but blood - so much that it completely soaks Kotomi, turning her entirely red.

... She doesn't even react. She stands there, frozen, looking horrified at the red on her hands. Like she's too far gone to even react anymore, it's that frightening. ]

[He stares in shock for a while, and then he shakes his head frantically. Oh God, was anything fair here? He picks up his own hook and swipes up a duck -

- or rather, he hooks up some entrails. This makes him yell and drop the hook, but at the same time, he's handed a box with little holes on the side by the ghost behind the stall.

Shaking, he holds the box until it gently mewls at him.]

... Uhhhh?

[ Maybe she doesn't even see him anymore. Kotomi just slowly starts shaking, putting her hands in front of her face, but they're so covered in blood that it only freaks her out more. It doesn't take long for the tears to come right after, it doesn't even take a moment anymore. Compared to her blank and slightly airy attitude she usually has, or even the usual shyness, these sounds are way different - it's just her kind of raw sobbing at just how frightening this place is.

How it's like nothing or nobody can save her. Like everything just gets worse. And people keep disappearing, and things keep getting more and more frightening.. ]

[Oh, jeez... He tucks the box under his arm and kneels down until he's on her level. The box mewls at him again, but he's searching in his shirt for something until -] Aha! Here we go.

[A hankie. He begins to dab at her face.] C'mon, no need to start crying, right? That was a mean trick they played, sure... but you're a big strong girl, huh? [He wipes the worst of the blood off of her face - assuming she'll let him.

The box meows again, and this time he does open it and look inside at the kitten. ]

I - uh -

[What the heck is he going to do with a kitten?]

[ Both a frightened kitten and a frightened girl.. you've sure got yourself a great day here, haven't you, Oncie. Kotomi does let him wipe the blood away, but it's mostly since she's still pretty frozen in shock even though she's crying right now, the bloody remains he takes from her face mixed with tears by now. ]

W.. why is this h-h-happening to us..? [ She doesn't even notice the meowing. Yet. ]

[He asks himself that every day, kid. Somewhere he knows he's guilty of doing some pretty terrible things and this place likes to remind him of that whenever it gets a chance... but what could she have done? She's so... well, young. And kind of helpless...

Sort of like the kitten is. He scoops it out of the basket and holds it up so she can see it. It mewls in his hand but just sits there.]

Think maybe this little guy can tell us how to get home...?

[ ...

Huh..? A cat..? No, it's way too tiny to be a normal cat, it's got to still be a kitten.. although she's still shaken and obviously scared, she can't help but stare at the animal - almost like she's naturally drawn to it. ]

N-no way... is he.. all alone..?

I think I just won him at the game... [He scritches the kitty's head between the ears with his middle finger. It shrinks back a bit at first, but then lets the petting happen.]

I'm not that good with kittens though... maybe you could help me look after him?

I... I've never had a c.. cat before..

[ Or anything at all, really. Seriously, this is the kind of girl who can space out and sit somewhere for hours and absolutely do nothing, she's not good at taking care of herself in the first place.. ]

What if I h.. hurt him..? Or what i-if something else hurts him..?

You won't hurt him! [The Once-ler grins his scarred grin, and holds the basket out for her to pet the kitten.] I'll bring him food and toys and kitty litter and drop in every so often to see how he's doing... does that sound okay?

[Fobbing a kitten off onto someone so he doesn't have to deal with it and also because he thinks it would be a good idea: The Once-ler's brain.]

[ .. Well, it does sound like he'll take care of most things.. and all she has to do then is.. keep it company? Something like that? That doesn't sound too difficult, besides, even Kotomi gets a little lonely sometimes, so that means she'll have company too. It's a question whether she or the kitten needs more care, honestly.

It's why she gives him a tiny and hesitant nod. With some of the blood still on her, it still makes her look pretty miserable, but this is probably the best she'll get for now.. ]

Want to try to leave and get this little guy some stuff at the store? Then you can go back home and get washed up... [Except they can't leave right now. Oops!!!]

[ Lying to little kids is a sin, Once-ler!! .. Granted, Kotomi is 17 but she might as well mentally be 7, let's face it.. ]

.. H.. hmm. [ A small nod. ] Let's.. h-hurry, please.. [ She definitely doesn't want to stay in this creepy place for a moment longer than needed. ]

[Giving her the basket, he stands up and offers her his hand. Whether she takes it or not, he begins to lead her through the carnival. If anyone told him she was 17, he'd think they were lying to him - she seems so young and helpless... sort of like the kitten.]

Hey, what's your name?

[ She does take it, at least! In fact, she's clutching it pretty tightly and close to herself as if she's afraid something will hurt the kitten otherwise.. ]

....

[ She pauses at his question, blinking at him. She's not really in the mood for a formal introduction like she usually does, but she doesn't have much choice here, huh.. ]

Nice to meet you. My name is Kotomi Ichinose, a senior from class A. My hobby is reading books. When referring to me, please call me "Kotomi-chan". [ It almost sounds mechanized from just how many times she's practiced it. ]

[He lets her hold onto him tight, even giving her hand a little squeeze back in response, trying to be soothing. The kitten seems okay in the basket for now... maybe this was a good thing. And she seemed so stunned and scared... it wasn't the first time he'd felt a protective sort of affection for a kid here, but she was the first one who hadn't turned out to be some demented hell-child, made of meat or otherwise. It was almost comforting to be needed.

Her mechanical response does startle him a little, but he supposes everyone has their coping mechanisms.]

Well, um, hi, Kotomi-chan. Reading books, huh? We should go to the library some time, maybe get some books for people in the community? [ Not that he means himself and her, but, well...] You can call me Mr. Once-ler. Or - heck, just 'Once-ler'. No need for the 'the' or the 'mr' in a place like this, huh?

.. You're sure..? [ About the "mr" thing. Kotomi's honestly more comfortable with honorifics and suffixes - it makes her a little more comfortable in classifying people so she won't have to worry about it constantly. But she'll do whatever he wants the most, really.

His other point makes her go a little quiet again though before she says-- ]

I.. want to get books. Books for Battler-kun.. he likes them a lot too.

Er, well, you can call me 'Mr Once-ler' if you're more comfortable... [Weird kid. Maybe she was taking comfort in being totally proper? Scared people reacted in different ways.]

Who's Battler-kun? I might have met him or seen him around, but my mind's been everywhere, you know?

Battler-kun is someone very, very, very important to me.. [ You don't have to say "very" three times, Kotomi, I'm sure the message arrived loud and clear the first time.. ] He really likes reading too. He's pretty tall and he has really bright red hair, like a fire. He promised he'd protect me and be my knight..

[ Saying that without a single hint of embarassment. She thinks it's totally normal. ]

He sounds like a really good guy, Kotomi. - chan. [He gives her hand a little squeeze.] Do you know what books he likes best?

.. Mysteries. I think..

[ She's discussed it with him before - of course she has, it meant she had at least one thing for sure to talk about with him that she actually was into too, since most other things just go over her head. ]

Does Mr. Once-ler think we could find those..?

[He almost says something a little mean at her talking about him like he's another person, but her kicked puppy expression even penetrates his thick head. He just huffs a little sigh and shrugs.]

Sure, mysteries usually have their own section in a library.

I.. want to get a lot of them. I want to get Battler-kun a whole lot of books, so he'll be happy..

[ The kitten gives a tiny mew following it, and she stares down at it as she keeps walking. ]

Carnivale!

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