A skipped beat of Awakining

[chicklet]

 Kyoko had Woken a few days before, but she had hardly met anyone and still had very little clue what was going on. The person she had met first had been more interested in teaching her this Bending stuff than explaining how she could get home, and before she knew it she was alone in a room in something called a Welcome House. With nothing better to do, she might have spent the night making curse dolls....

But when she woke up to find someone had left something in her room the sight was a mix of relief and dread. Relief because she Woke in Setsu's clothing, and that... was not ideal. The clothing that arrived for her... her gift... she had worn it before. It was comfortable in some ways. In other ways, it was armor. 

But...

She reached out and picked up the bright bright pink jumpsuit, so pink that once you see it the colour is forever burned into your retinas. What was the point of being a Love Me member if she was here alone and there was no auditions or studios or work or anything?

She winced, just imagining the president's reaction to that question. Dramatic tears, a long monologue about how she should want to work as a Love Me member to get people to love her, not just to move up in the business. She sighed and looked between the black leather of the pants she was wearing and the toxic pink material she was holding. 

Setsu or Kyoko?

Well... Setsu's soul had kind of fled her the moment she had arrived here so... Kyoko. She started to stand and realized there were things in the pockets of the jump suit. As well as undergarments and a shirt and shorts to wear under, thankfully. She reached into the pocket, holding the suit with one hand and...


Pink material so bright that once you see it you nearly go blind fell to the floor as she looked at what had been in the large pockets. Her heart shaped stamp book and stamp set, of course. Corn. CORN! And.... PRINCESS ROSA!

She sat back down, in perfect hostess style and set everything in her lap. Corn first. She opened the small change pouch and pulled out the blue-ish purple stone and held it to the light. "Corn... I think I'm trapped somewhere weird," she told the stone. Then blinked. And blinked again, starting to grin. Corn, the original owner of this stone... he wasn't from Earth. Maybe this was his world! MAYBE!!!!! MAYBE THIS WAS THE WORLD OF FARIES!!!!! 

Joy sang through her at that thought and she held the stone to her heart, feeling its warmth. Maybe Corn would be here! She put the stone into the pouch, eager to change now, when the small baggie with Princess Rosa touched her hand. She lifted it. The stone had been from Corn, but the jewel set inside the hand made setting on the necklace in the bag was Princess Rosa, born from the Queen Rose that Mr. Tsuruga had given her for her birthday. Natsu's necklace. 

So... she was in the world of Faries, with a powerful talisman from Corn, a necklace that could transform her into Natsu and outfit that could summon Setsu's soul. Her face was going to break if she didn't stop smiling, and she didn't care. She quickly changed into that shockingly pink uniform, with the logo elegantly displayed on the back and to one side of the chest. She put everything but Corn back in her pockets, and grabbed her cellphone from beside the bed, tossing that in too. She wouldn't wear Princess Rosa, not with the Love Me uniform. But Corn... she wanted his stone in hand so he'd recognize her now that she changed. 

She stood and looked in the mirror, then winced and took off Setsu's wig and jewelry. She looked like Kyoko again. But it had been a long time since Corn had seen her, and she'd dyed her hair. So the stone might be how he'd recognize her.

Thrilled with the world and all that was in it, she bounded outside, and headed for the woods, singing, dancing, and making a general spectacle of her self. Once she got to the woods, she threw her arms wide, and yelled to the tree tops. "FARIES! I AM HERE! I'M CORN'S FRIEND! AND I AM HERE TO BECOME A FAIRY AND STAY WITH YOU ALWAYS!!!!!" She looked about 16, she was acting about 6. 

Comments

[younghero]

"Oh. Yeah, that was Bending."

He was still a little concerned about that bleeding thing.

"Mm-hm. Nautilus is an Aeon."

[chicklet]

"Bending..." she repeated. The name was a little... unglamorous. She could almost hear Moko complaining about it being a plain and simple word for plain and simple girl like Kyoko. Despite the insult, she smiled. She did so very much love Moko. Her first best friend!

"So... like Corn's father holds the whole of our world in his giant hands, this Nautilus holds this world?"

[younghero]

"I suppose?"

Link wasn't too clear on how other worlds worked.

[chicklet]

He wasn't going to get any clearer an idea from talking to Kyoko, sadly. "Woooooow.
I wonder if Nautilus has any kids...."

[younghero]

Now, there was a thought Link had never even considered.

"Oh, wow, I hope not. How awful would that be, to be a whole city and never get to see your own family."

[chicklet]

"Why wouldn't he get to see them? You think Corn's father wanted to see him and never could?" Her eyes started to water as she thought about that. How sad for them! Corn! No wonder he was hurting so much! How had she never noticed?!

[younghero]

"Cities can't exactly hug their kids, and Nautilus isn't real chatty."

The Great Deku Tree could at least talk to the Kokiri.

Link wasn't sure what to do, seeing the girl puddle-up again. He'd already given her a handkerchief, after all. The boy rummaged in his pouch and finally produced a piece of ancient Halloween candy that he offered out. It's wrapped, but, it's exactly as one would expect it to be, coming from a twelve-year-old hero who has carried it around for almost a year.

[chicklet]

"I never thought of that.... poor Cooooooooorn........"

But she blinked at the candy, confused a moment before she realized what was being offered. "Thank you. But I'm not crying to get sympathy or be protected or anything, you know." She shook her head a bit. "You don't have to take care of me."

What would Maria think if she saw such a thing?

[younghero]

"Are you sure?"

Link wasn't actually sure what to do. Since, he didn't know her well enough to hug her, and had already given her a handkerchief, stale Halloween candy was about all he had on him to offer.

"Do...people actually cry just to get sympathy?" This was news to him, even having met Ruto.

[chicklet]

"I'm sure. And they do. All the time. And sometimes they cry because they're sad but just expect everyone to drop everything to fix things for them," she sounded and looked disgusted and there was a heaviness to the air around her. "But just crying isn't going to make things happen. For that you need your GUTS! Go out and MAKE it happen!"

[younghero]

"I don't know...sometimes people just get overwhelmed. And there's nothing wrong with needing help, I mean, no one can do everything on their own."

And having moved on from skip Beat to S.A. Hikaru is now trying to take over >.<

[chicklet]

"then you EARN that help! you don't get it just because you're crying!"

[younghero]

"Well...I mean...no, no one should have to earn help. Help is just given because people need it and it's the right thing to do."

[chicklet]

A small sad smile. "Yeah, I used to think that too, kid. Then I had to grow up."

[younghero]

"No, I mean, that's what I do. I help people. And if I do that, then, there has to be other people who do that too! Besides, no one can be strong and stoic all the time. It's okay to be weak sometimes."

Link smiled.

[chicklet]

"You help people?" she asked studying him, then her shoulders slumped. "Why?" she asked, her voice a small whisper.

[younghero]

"Because...I want to? It doesn't hurt me in any way, and people wouldn't ask for help if they didn't need it, right? Of course, my friend Navi, and my adoptive brother both tell me I'm a huge sap, so, maybe there's something to that as well." Link grinned ruefully, rubbing his neck.

[chicklet]

She had been about to reply to his wanting to, but he kept going, and when he said that people wouldn't ask for help if they didn't need it....

for some people instinctive Bending came more easily than intentional. Kyoko was one of those. A dark...something... rose from behind her, like waves of hot air tainted in dark blues and laced with malice.Her hunched shoulders began to shake, and it was hard to tell from them if it was with silent laughter or silent sobs. Her face did not make this any clearer, because her eyes were filled with pain and rage, but there was a dark sharp smile on her face.

In all other ways she was still a girl in her late teens in a bright pink uniform that said "Love Me!" on it. But her face, her pose, that dark aura....

Her head shot up and the darkness behind her flared.

"WRONG!" she shouted, voice full of rage. "This world is full of IDIOTS and SELF OBSESSED MORONS who ask for help they don't need to keep saps like us under their thrall under their thumbs! You need to cast off your horrible foolish oppressors and then...." dark glee filled her face as she threw her head back, the darkness flaring more strongly. "AND THEN DESTROY THEM!" Her hands curled into fists and came up to the level of her chest, drawing together.

[younghero]

What in the world--

Link took an automatic step backwards, both utterly confused and alarmed. But, he wasn't about to put up with that sort of talk, not for a second.

"That's not true. Most people are good, and just because their problems might seem small to someone else, well, to that person they're big. They're important. Sure, there are bad people, but, they're not the majority, and they aren't asking for help, because they only value Power. And to ask for help would be weak."

The manifestation of darkness didn't scare him. Ganondorf had thrown enough of that at him, Link could face that and not bat an eye. But, the threats against the weak bothered him deeply.

"Destroy the weak? Destroy those who seek out help?" His tone was incredulous. "Why? What's wrong with serving others? If it bothers you, just say no and let someone else do it."

[chicklet]

"JUST SAY NO?!" she roared. "AFTER TREATING ME AS A SERVANT FOR ALL THAT TIME? I'M GOING TO DO MORE THAN SAY NO! I'M GOING TO STAMP IT ALL OVER HIS FACE WITH MY BOOTHEEL!"

from within the waves of darkness behind her, what looked like small spirits started to rise out of her back, attached by tenuous tails where feet should be to her back, each with a face like hers with the word GRUDGE written on them. They were laughing and started swirling around her.

"You want to know what he did to me?" she asked, her eyes ablaze, very nearly literally. The grudge Kyokos moved to start circling him. If he didn't dodge away, or attack them, they would circle closer and closer to try and keep him pinned in one spot to listen. They were all cackling madly.

[younghero]

"There's nothing wrong with being a servant."

For a second the marking on the back of his left hand seemed to flicker with a brief brilliance. "And one bad person does not give anyone the right to take out that anger on others."

Spirits, he typically dealt with using his bow and arrow, which he automatically took out. The arrow he had at the ready was a Light Arrow, it's tip a flare of brilliant light that was almost painful to behold. Zelda had told him once, long ago when they had first met, he'd been represented in her dreams as a light cutting through the darkness. He looked every inch that role right now.

[chicklet]

"One bad person? ONE?! I could lose count counting how many people take advantage of the nice! Selfish self absorbed ignoramuses who make you do everything to keep an expensive apartment they almost never visit! Or horrid vain girls who make you carry them until you break your ankle and then refuse to do the job they are there for! Gentlemanly lying smiling jerks who offer to help you only because they know it'll get you in trouble, and change your marks so you don't get what you earned! Mothers who hate their own children.... Fathers who..." she stopped mid rant, blinking.

All the darkness and spirits had been undulating as she raged. But at this last, they froze. Something seemed to enter her, small and ephemeral.

"Okay, fine. he made me cook all that food, and then shoved in in a bag and called it trash, but he did eat it after," her voice and stance shifted, voice sounded younger and closer to male. Hrr stance was now a little unsure, rather than full of rage. "And he did make me act out the Kuon boy, but...." she stood a little taller as she spoke. "That was to teach me a lesson, even if he did keep flicking my forehead, and I guess I kind of did have fun." the darkness and grudges faded as she spoke, then vanished. "And he was really cool when he visited the Dark Moon studio. And he... he said I could still call him father, even after..." her eyes were shinning a bit. then she grinned, an expression at odds with her previous rage or her la la fantasy world from before. "Really, my father is the coolest, isn't he?" she ashed, eyes shining.

Then she blinked. Blinked. blinked a few more times. Then smacked herself upside the head, and the small whipsy thing floated out of her mouth and she deflated, looking more her base normal self, though a little tired and drained.

"Sorry..." she muttered. Sadly, she meant about the excitement and happiness, and not the rage.

[younghero]

Link slowly lowered the bow and arrow, but, the tip still shone brightly. His expression was very guarded. "Are you...okay?"

[chicklet]

"Yeah, not sure why Kuon has been so close to the surface in this weird place...." Really she would have expected Mio or Natsu. Mio because this was a place free of her family, or Natsu because it was new and interesting. She suspected that either of those would have gone badly for her, however....

[younghero]

"You have other people in your brain?"

Link kind of knew what that was like, with the masks from Termina. But, he'd never actually fully became another person. Although, the Oni mask had come close, and he had a sinking suspicion if he left that one on for too long, it might not have ended well. (At least in Termina.)