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Well, Rena's the only one with a separate extra room--we usually just share a room, the three of us.

[The room's decoration and interior design were all her and Kei-chan, but the contents...? Are definitely all Rena's. But she shakes her head and smiles, something fond.]

Of course. You're an important friend of mine, just like the rest of the club--

[And then she pauses the moment Satoko mentions the outfit and uses that specific term and it makes her cheeks burn a bright scarlet, rubbing at the nape of her neck sheepishly.]

Ahaha. Thanks, but - no. Not this time. I just bought a lot of accesories and threw something together; it's nothing special.

[ she thinks, for a moment, of how rena reacts to her space being invaded. she thinks of the worlds that rena nearly brought to ruin; she thinks of injecting rena, and how she single-handedly brought ruin onto another broken fragment. ]

...perhaps that's for the best. She needs her space every now and then, doesn't she? More than the rest of us, at least. [ when mion reassures her, she smiles wholeheartedly once more. and when mion answers her question in the most modest fashion possible, she huffs audibly. it's not quite in line with the genuine compliment she just gave, but it's certainly very her to do so. ] Well, as long as they buy you something. But if I ever catch wind that either of them has been taking you for granted, I'll never forgive them! Though you may be our geriatric club president, you are a lady, and they would do well to keep it in mind!

[ it's a controlled outburst - she doesn't seem like she's speaking in passion so much as allowing herself to be as loud as ever. but when she finishes and looks down to the ground, silent and contemplative, it's like a switch has been flipped. like a different person is sitting before mion.

she doesn't say a word. she just... thinks. ]

Edited 2021-10-18 02:00 (UTC)

Ahaha. I suppose in that aspect, it's true...

[Although she still remembers those first few days, and how lonely she was. How she missed her father, the only family she had in her life, and the fact that she was taken away from someone so important to a world like this... well, Mion knows how terrifying it is, even if she plain outright doesn't show it.

But maybe that's because she's used to being independent.

Even if in some ways, she's also dependant--because she cares too much.]

The two of them got me plenty of things for my birthday, and I'm certain that they'll get me something for Christmas, too. It's not like I ask them for much.

[She smiles, but there's something a touch melancholic behind it this time, strangely enough.]

I'm spoiled enough by the two of them as it is. And that's enough for me.

[In any case, when Satoko finishes, stops, and there's a shift--it's noticeable. And in some ways, something familiar. Not in a way that it's something that she's seen Satoko do before, although she's sure that this is just how she is now, but rather it's something that she's seen in herself.

And that change... well, Mion isn't going to say it's bad, even though a part of her does wish that it didn't have to be this way.]

Anyway, take your time. I'm in no rush — I know words can't possibly come easy.

Edited (wow i lost my train of thought.) 2021-10-18 04:36 (UTC)

[ spoiled enough, hmm? mion mentioned remembering a timeline of her own. and while she can't possibly guess which of the endless repetitions that might have been...

well. she makes a note to ask a favor of keiichi and rena. after all, if this is the world she intends to stay with for now, it'd behoove her to act properly for it. she stays silent as mion responds, only speaking up when mion says that last bit- ]

The words aren't particularly difficult. Perhaps it'd be easier if they were.

[ her voice is calm, even - almost clipped in its diction. ]

You said you remembered one, didn't you? A fragment unlike your own. [ she closes her eyes, breathing at that same measured pace. she never panics; she never falters. ] Who was it that killed you, if you remember? Keiichi-san? Shion-san? Me, perhaps?

[ a quick exhale through her nose - less like a laugh, more like a sigh. ]

Why not start there? One solitary death. Possibly calculated, and possibly not. How should your murderer make amends for that?

I see.

[Mion immediately drops the casual tone, immediately sliding into the more serious tones of what is befitting of the heir of the Sonozaki family. Pressing her lips together, she pours herself a cup of tea - simple green tea, taking a drink of it herself before speaking up.

But then she lists three names.

Kei-chan, Shion and then... Satoko herself.

The implications are there, of course.

And... she already knows that Kei-chan killed her in a world, once. His shadow had spoken as much, and she already forgave him for that and showed him in a way only the two of them could that it was fine, if they stayed together, even if he had grown paranoid to the point where he thought that he had to kill her. Where he thought that she was a genuine threat to him.

Her emotions are cool as she shuts her own eyes and recalls those memories -

It feels like so long ago, now.]

I don't think the 'who' matters in this particular case. Or rather... it's not something that involves you, Satoko, if that's what you're wondering.

[She doesn't plan on outing Shion, even if Satoko may be aware of what happened. Perhaps it's out of respect for her older sister, or maybe it's because in that particular case...

...she pitied her.

"I saved Kei-chan, just like you wanted. And you said I could kill you instead, right?"

"If you kill me......that will avenge Satoshi?"

"If you know that much, then you must be ready for it. Fall down there and apologize to Satoshi."]

There's no need for that person to make amends if I've already forgiven them from the very start, right? I understood why they did what they did and, well... I accepted it.

Edited (oops missed a d, and a word) 2021-10-18 06:14 (UTC)

[ she nods in acknowledgment when mion calls her out. she's right, after all - that is what she wanted to know. she's still curious as to the particulars, of course, but those are less important and less appropriate to ask about. ]

Then that's one taken care of. [ her eyes open. she looks directly into mion's eyes - unflinching, unrelenting. ] Another, then. One you don't remember. Perhaps Takano-san shot you before Rika's perfect miracle. Or perhaps this time, one of those horrid Mountain Dogs caught you before we could all escape.

[ her voice doesn't grow any more passionate; it is neither mocking nor sympathetic. it simply... is. ]

Have you forgiven those people, too? Or is there something left for them to do?

Takano-san, huh...

[There isn't even the barest hints of surprise in her expression, just simply acceptance. Of course, she knew that if Takano had failed in her supposed mission in the world that she does recall, there had to be plenty of other worlds where she succeeded.]

The Takano-san from the world I'm in has done her atonement over the years. That's enough for me. But - in the off chance that she did shoot me, or if any of her goons had caught me... I would need to know the context for that, wouldn't I? Simply knowing that I was killed is one thing, but I'd need to understand the meaning behind it.

And if the context was even more damning? Perhaps you were simply in her way. Or perhaps she was bored. Perhaps she simply wanted to know how the vaunted club president would react in such a situation.

[ perhaps satoko isn't speaking about takano any longer. ]

When one's hands are as dirtied as hers- [ -ours- ] -they cease to be human. Knowing that, would you still want to understand?

...

[Mion's frown deepens at the way Satoko speaks about the situation. Is she really talking about Takano any more?]

I don't agree with that. That... even if someone has done many atrocious things, that they stop being human. They did those things because they were human in the first place, after all.

[She knows Takano is.

She knows Satoko is.

And she knows that Beatrice - no, Sayo - is.

That's why she can say that with full confidence, even if they may refer to themselves as anything less - or more - than human.]

But - yes. Maybe our views don't align... but that doesn't mean I won't stop trying to understand.

Edited 2021-10-18 16:06 (UTC)

[ satoko stays quiet as mion speaks. a part of her disagrees with mion, of course. how could a human do what she'd done? no, this was the domain of witches altogether. humans could kill and hurt one another, but witches were the ones who played games for lives. to do what she'd done, with no remorse or guilt... it was inhuman, pure and simple.

and an equal part of her wants desperately to agree. she only did what she did to try and hold onto rika - in a twisted, sick way, yes, but the intent was the same nonetheless. she lost track of that along the way, but that doesn't make her any less human, does it? even now, thinking of mion's body in the sonozaki halls, of shion's strangled corpse... it sickens her. the wounds are still fresh, even after this long.

the witch named satoko hojo falls silent. the human named satoko hojo stays quiet. and when someone finally speaks, it is just satoko hojo - the girl satoko hojo, all superfluous parts stripped away. or perhaps all those parts have folded back into a whole, just for a moment. ]

I... I hurt so many people, Mion-san. More than you could possibly comprehend. [ her voice wavers as she speaks. ] I don't think I can give you context for all I've done. There simply isn't enough time in the world.

[For many moments, Mion is quiet. There's a contemplative hum as she presses her lips together, clearly thinking all of this through.]

I wonder...

[Could she truly understand it? The idea of Satoko hurting many people... yeah, she sees that. But how many was it? How many worlds? How many times did 'Mion Sonozaki' get hurt by the girl in front of her? How many times did her beloved friends, the ones she cared about the most get hurt?

And then there's Shion -

Someone who loves Satoshi as much as she did.

...What is she going to think of this? It pains her to even dare to think of it. But that isn't the point of it all, is it? Mion takes a deep breath out, straightening herself a bit.

When she speaks up again, it isn't as the cold Sonozaki leader. While there may be traces of her putting distance between her emotions and the words that she speaks for a moment, there's still something there that is much more friendly than strict.]

But that's why you want to make up for it, right? Maybe there isn't enough time in the world to tell me everything, Satoko. I think that time is better best placed in improving yourself as a person and working your way up to become better.

However - if there are things that you do want to say, I'll listen. Just know that you don't have to.

Of course I do! Of course I do. Despite all those things I did, I never...

[ "i didn't want to hurt any of you." can she even say that anymore? she's not sure. a part of her never wanted that, but a part of her did, didn't it? and so she doesn't try to say it, choosing instead to focus on the way forward. ]

My choice? If it was truly my choice, then I wouldn't say anything. [ for a number of reasons. for convenience. to avoid further pain. and, perhaps most importantly- ] To live in loops... It's the worst kind of poison. A sickness that never stops growing. A power no human should be allowed to keep.

[ a power that she would never let go of, even knowing all of that. ]

You've seen one fragment already, haven't you? And I can't imagine it was one you enjoyed seeing. [ she sighs. ] No, I think the kindest thing I can do is just... Work towards making things right. Assuming that's even possible, at this point.

...

[Mion is quiet for a good few moments, because that pause? The way she doesn't finish that sentence? It definitely has some implications that Mion doesn't like, but she decides not to linger, even if it's something that she certainly isn't going to forget if she can help it.

When she speaks up again, it's with another shift in her voice; serious, cold-cut, distanced.]

And yet, people who are human were given that. I suppose in a way, for those who suffer in loops, that's the real curse.

[Then... there's that question.]

I have. But - [There's that pause, not out of hesitance, but rather of something a little more thoughtful.] Just because I didn't like or enjoy seeing it, it's the same as anything else in life. After all, life's not perfect or will always be enjoyable. Sure, we work to make things fun, but that doesn't mean that it'll always be that way.

And more than that, I don't have any regrets in seeing it.

[In experiencing what she did.]

Even if it was painful...

[Because it was. Being hurt by Kei-chan like that, and knowing that even though she was upset that he hadn't given her the doll—what she was more upset about was herself.

For being the way she was.

Someone who acted like a tomboy to the point where it became a part of her, but also had a side of her that was a complete contrast to that. She couldn't help that desire to start over, to be someone who wasn't 'Sonozaki Mion' the club leader, or 'Sonozaki Mion' the heir.]

There were still many things about those memories that were very precious -

[She stops, this time shaking her head.]

That are very precious to me.

[She still remembers it.

Having her younger self from that Fragment meet the current Kei-chan.

"I'm sorry if younger Maebara Keiichi ever made you feel like you weren't a girl, Mion."

Yeah, she doesn't regret it at all.]

I don't think it's impossible. It's only when you start to believe that it is that you've already given up. [She shuts her eyes, determination filtering into her voice.] And I didn't think that you were the type to so easily give up because it seemed impossible, Satoko.

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umineko spoilers here too, just a little

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