paradisalogs | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who; Ino & you
What; Nightmares.
Where; In ur dreams ;)
When; Anytime between October 5-8
Rating; Generally PG-13, may progress to R depending on which route you take

[Nightmares are never fun, no matter where you go. But things take a bit of a turn for the worse when you've jumped into the mind of a ninja. A ninja that can look into other people's heads, to be exact.

So which path will you pick?]

HIDAN | KAKUZU | BAD END | ALONE | SOMETHING ELSE?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Damn it. Maybe this ridiculously oppressing loneliness is making him delusional. But then he hears that laugh and his heart skips another beat, and he looks at the door.

There's a door, and it's labeled, and it's not his name. He blinks once, twice, to make sure that is the name he thinks he sees. Immediately, conflicting feelings boil up; Ino was one of the people who had been in Paradisa far too long, and she didn't deserve coming back, and especially not to a castle that was empty, save for one boy. At the same time, he feels his hopes rising-- It's Ino, possibly his closest friend in Para, his... big sister figure-- and she could be behind that door. He wouldn't be alone anymore. And there's guilt, too-- what right does he have to wish this terrible, lonely, empty place on a friend, especially one who'd helped him so much?

He jumps at the coldness in his hand, and realizes he's already got a hand on the doorknob. He takes a gulp, braces himself, and opens the door. The name slips out from his mouth, unbidden:]

Ino?

[When he opens the door, what he'll find is not a pretty scene. The room is messy, like it hasn't been cleaned in a long time. Cobwebs dust the corners, and there are broken pieces of furniture and glass strewn about on the floor.

But the bed is perfectly preserved, and Ino is laying on her back, head leaning off the edge of the bed, holding her journal above her face. She looks unkempt, hair messy and clothes wrinkled, which is a sure sign something is wrong, here.

She completely ignores Tsuna's intrusion into her room in favor of giggling at something in the journal]

Stop! You're horrible, you know that? [The reply from the journal, something from a pre-recorded conversation, makes little sense, but she doesn't seem to care, she just laughs again]

[The state of the room startles him. The state of Ino startles him. (It really is Ino, though, isn't it?) Maybe for one second, his heart leaped for joy that it was actually Ino; probably less, maybe for only a millisecond. But it had been replaced by confusion, nervousness, worry.

Regardless, he closes the door behind him, and walks closer, heart rife with emotion.]

Ino, hey..

[When he addresses her again, her temper seems to flare, and she'll sit up, journal in her lap. She glares at him, fists clenched at her sides]

How many times do I have to tell you! Go away! I know you're not real! [She's grabbing a knife from somewhere next to her and flinging it at him -- you'd better duck, Tsuna :(]

HEE!

[Duck he does-- and the knife slices off a few strands of hair.

He's definitely a bit alarmed at the reaction, and throws his hands up placatingly, waving them.]

A-ah, wait a second!

[She just throws him a seething glare and then turns to lay back down on the bed, facing away from him this time. If she can't see him maybe he'll go away!]

Now, where were we ... ?

[He knows it's not his fault. Ino was clearly out of it.

Regardless, the rejection cuts deeper than that knife could have.

He comes over, hesitating a moment, before reaching to touch her on the shoulder.]

Ino... I'm real.

[Now THAT gets her attention. As many times as she'd seen apparitions and illusions of people she cared about, none of them could ever reach out and touch her. It startles her enough that she screams, scrambling away from him in surprise]

[The scream is piercing, and Tsuna jumps.]

Sorry! Sorry.

[She just stares at him, wide-eyed, now that she's gotten a little distance between them. It takes her a few moments, but she finally reaches out with a shaking hand to touch him back, to make sure she wasn't imagining it]

[Was it possible for someone else's suffering to cause you physical pain? The uncertainty, the hope in Ino's eyes make his insides twist up something horrible.

But he offers a smile, reaching out with his own hand, fingers brushing against her palm.]

I'm here.

[She takes in a big breath when he lets his fingers touch her hand, moving like she wants to flinch away again, but -- with tremendous effort, she doesn't.

Instead, tears well up in her eyes as she looks at him, and she wraps her fingers around his hand tightly, like maybe she can keep him here if she has a firm grip on him]

[His smile widens a little, and he closes the rest of the gap between them, sitting on the bed next to her.]

Ino...

[It comes out softer than he intended; he can feel tears pricking at his own eyes. Seeing her like this was so painful, but... they were tears of joy, too. He wasn't alone, anymore. Neither of them were.]

[She takes in a few shaky breaths, before she can't hold it in anymore, and the tears roll down her cheeks. She keeps her grip on his hand tight, though she seems to have some aversion to moving the rest of her body any closer. Instead, she just buries her face in her knees as she starts to cry]

You're real ...

Yeah...

[Well, that's alright, because Tsuna has absolutely no problems with shifting his body so he can wrap an arm around Ino's back. One of his own tears escapes, but he's still smiling.]

[The touch is uncomfortable, after such a long time without any human contact. But she doesn't push him away -- she's a little too busy sobbing now]

Tsuna ...

It's... gonna be alright.

[It's not just reassurance for Ino; it's for himself, too. He lowers his forehead onto her shoulder, and letting a few tears drop. He's so happy she's here, but-- how long has it been, for her to fall into such a state? There were cobwebs littering the room, dust collecting, she was completely unkempt, and she'd been laughing at the journal. Conversing with it. If there had been any chance that the person on the other end was real, she wouldn't be here. She'd be searching for them.

He can't help it; the guilt settles in. Why hadn't he searched sooner? Why hadn't he known? He gave up too easily-- and Ino suffered as a result. He wants so badly to believe it's a loss, like when Ino's personality had switched. But losses only affected residents, and none lasted more than a month at the most; not nearly enough time for her room to fall into such disrepair.

His hand tightens on hers.]

I'm sorry.

[She just shakes her head. Even in the state she's in, she knows it isn't alright. She never will be. But she's so glad that he's here -- she had honestly thought she would be alone forever.

If he felt guilty before, she's about to (unintentionally) make it worse. In-between the sobs, she chokes out:]

Why did you have to leave ... ?

[He sucks a breath in. The fact the castle whisks people in and out at any time, with the person in question having no control over the matter, does nothing to soothe the sudden spike of guilt Tsuna feels. With the arm around her back, he pulls himself closer.

His voice is weak.]

I didn't mean to...

[She doesn't respond; she knows it couldn't have really been his choice. It's more of a rhetorical question than anything, really.

Either way, she finally pulls herself together enough to let out a shuddery breath, and wrap her arms around him in a hug, hoping that maybe if she keeps him close to her he won't leave again]

[And he returns the hug, breathing a quiet sigh of relief into Ino.]

I missed you.

[it takes her a moment to even out her breathing and to calm down, but when she does, she'll pull away to smile at him, holding him by the shoulders]

It's okay, Tsuna. Because everyone is still here. [she pats the journal] We just can't go to see them, anymore.

[He blinks at her, then frowns. He reaches out, touching the hand on the journal.]

Ino... The castle's empty. The conversations on there-- they're all recorded from long ago. [Months? Years? It was hard to tell.]

[She just laughs when he says that]

I was just talking to someone! See? [she'll open the journal. It's some conversation from years ago, but when the other person greets her, she'll smile and respond] Hey, hey, guess what? Someone is here with me now! I'm not alone anymore.

[...yeah, he can tell by the response that it's very unlikely it's not recorded. His hand grabs her wrist, tightens around it.

He is truly afraid for the answer to the question he's going to ask.]

Ino? How long has it been... since you last saw someone?