A Rude Awakening [Chidori + ?]

[Ayakura Alisa]

It's been a while since that incident, and I was idly curious about Chidori, who I hadn't managed to keep in touch with for a while. I found myself somewhat worried about the mute, since she seemed to have some of her own issues amidst the whole 'being unable to talk thing.' At once, I figured maybe I should send her a message and ask how she's doing. I decided to send her a good old text message. I had almost considered phoning until I remembered it would be pointless because she couldn't actually answer. Literally. Anyway, I grabbed my phone; I was lounging about in a cafe drinking some Earl Grey tea. I started to write out my message.

Hey, Chidori. It's me, Alisa, but you probably figured that out already. I'm phoning in to check on how you're doing. I hope things are alright for you over there. Let me know where you are, I'd like to stop by and see how you are. Ever since that night I've been kind of wondering how you were doing, especially considering how crazy things have started to become.

It was short, but I felt it made the point I wanted it to make. I hit "Send" on my phone and looked out the window of the cafe which was across the Super Hiroshige Terminal. It led to the Shadowlands, which was convenient access in case Chidori was in any sort of trouble or was in strange territory. Maybe I could help. I had saved up a lot of cash and decided to invest in a Mongol bow, a recurved composite bow I found at an antique store. It was expensive as hell and the retailer insisted it was old and not suited for combat, but I knew better, as stringing it at home led to some... Rather pleasant surprises.

I got some strange looks as I actually had it with me at the time, but I lied and said I had purchased it for my mantlepiece display (which I never had) from an antique store (which was actually true) whenever I would be questioned about it. I sighed and continued to drink my tea.

I seriously hope Chidori is alright.

[Chidori Tsukino]

Panting and shaking heavily, the brunette struggled to keep walking beneath the purple haze of a sky, surrounded by the ruins near the border of the outer circle/inner circle crossing. Actually, she wasn't even that far from the Terminal, really. Still, it felt like miles as she frantically tried to keep herself moving. Her battle with the samurai-like shadow had left her wounded but healing physically, yet her mental state was in shambles; her eyes jumped at the slightest movements, and in fact, sometimes even when there was no movement. Her breath was laboured, her limbs shaking and barely managing to get a footing.

Tears flooded her gaze, both dried and the occasional fresh ones. Her clothes were still stained with her own blood, and there was a deep gash across the side of her dress, though thankfully revealing little but the side of her waist and a bit of her stomach. Nevertheless, she was utterly dishevelled, and very much on edge - the sudden ringing of her phone made her jump, literally, and lose her balance, tumbling to the ground with a heavy thud. Sprawling forwards, Chidori managed to cut her forearms and graze her elbows badly, letting out a mangled cry of pain in the process. Slowly, she crawled to the nearest remnants of a building, propping her side against it and half-curling towards the fetal position as she stared at the little screen of her phone.

Alisa...

Her hands were too shaky, and she couldn't think straight - heck, she was fighting just to keep breathing. Semi-propped against the ruins, the mute failed to respond to her friend's text as she attempted to recover herself - in vain.

[Ayakura Alisa]

I finished my tea and looked out the window wistfully, wondering why I hadn't received an answer from Chidori. I assumed that if she were okay, she would respond. That... ...That probably meant something happened to her! Making sure my tea cup was empty; I said my goodbyes - as I was a regular patron of this cafe - and I went out of the establishment, making my way through the Terminal, I had a strange feeling, but it wasn't a positive nor a good feeling, that Chidori was in some form of danger. Continuing my run through the Terminal, I eventually emerged out on the other side, the Shadowlands, where the blasted purple haze overlooked the area once again, almost bleak and depressing, as I scanned the area. Nothing unusual yet. I took my steps forward, surveying the environs. There was a ruin nearby the terminal, where I looked forward and realized that I thought I saw something there.

I ran towards the ruins and eventually my vision cleared a little and I realized that Chidori was there, huddled in some sort of fetal position, looking like a veritable wreck. Looking down I realized there was a trail of blood on the ground, a small ways away from her, and then I realized she must have gotten into an encounter with something truly horrifying, to make her shiver in this pathetic state. Once I got close, I kneeled down to her level and put down my bow. I silently fidgeted through my pockets and got out a handkerchief, passing it to Chidori. "Oh my God... Chidori..." I couldn't even articulate what to say as I suddenly found myself softly putting an arm around her...

Almost as if, I wanted to protect her...? "What... what the heck happened...? What did this to you...?" I didn't even bother to ask her if she was alright. I knew she was in great pain. I wasn't even sure if she could answer me. I felt so horrible. I didn't know that the Shadows could be this dangerous. To be able to damage someone's psyche this badly.

[Chidori Tsukino]

At first, she didn't really notice anything else around her; the paranoia had given way to a partially-shutdown mental state that was the only thing allowing her to function currently. In fact, she didn't even stir at all until she felt an arm wrap around her, kicking the survival instinct into high-gear and returning full sensory awareness as she tensed at the contact almost instantly. Looking up, Chidori's chocolate brown gaze locked onto Alisa's face with an expression of utter wildness - she was in a catatonic state for all intents and purposes.

Slowly, her mind managed to process things, sorting out the very base instinct of fight-or-flight; this was not an enemy, she didn't need to force her body to flee - a good thing too, since doing so would probably cause more deterioration given her current exhaustion. The tension didn't fully recede, but the mute managed to shift her weight just a little bit so that she was leaning into the warm touch of the other woman's comforting gesture.

Unfortunately, the questions stirred up the corresponding memories, bringing to the forefront of her mind the experience of facing down the Musha and its giant sword slashing at her. To Alisa, it might seem as if she was staring off into the vacant air beside her, but when the memory reached the point of the Musha's attacks, the mute jumped backwards, crawling away from a non-existent foe as she tensed again, the fear that had been starting to lessen coming back with possibly even greater force. Even if her brain's initial assessment of Alisa had been 'not-enemy', the memory threw her into a defensive state of mind, and she meekly (or perhaps more appropriately - pathetically) crawled away as far as she could, half-limping due to the closed-but-still-recent wound running up her side and torso.

[Ayakura Alisa]

Before I could do anything, Chidori reacted in abject fear to my inquiry, seemingly jumping back into nothingness and attempting to flee from something that was in fact not there at all. I couldn't possibly imagine what she was thinking. I winced as I noticed her clothing was stained in blood as she limped away into a corner. Of course, I followed her, though I did so slowly, keeping an eye out for any enemies that might try to intrude. I had never been faced with this situation before, but it was terrible. I didn't know what to do. I had never been trained to deal with psychologically broken people - male or female... Did I say something wrong? I tensed myself as I approached Chidori again as she tried to hide.

"W-wait, there's nothing there right now! You're safe right now. I'm here for you!" I called out for her. I guess the real thing I needed to do was to assure Chidori that she was safe. Something had either traumatized her or brought up a past trauma, but inquiring about it would be impossible. Suddenly, I recalled my first meeting with Chidori...

I told her that I was good with a knife, and she looked at me with a strange look of fear as I mentioned it. I had to reassure her at the time that I wasn't going to hurt her. Oh. Oh, fuck me. Something with a bladed object must have attacked her. And judging by her wound, it was probably something with a sword. Holy shit.

"Chidori-san...! I don't think anything's going to attack you now, OK?"

[Chidori Tsukino]

Crazed-eyes fell upon Alisa as the mute desperately tried to sort memory from reality, her body still making the instinctual effort to retreat, though she was not getting very far. It was like a piece of faulty wiring that kept making her thoughts stutter over the mental image of the Musha bearing down on her, exacerbating her fear and keeping her in a catatonic state, despite her friend's reassurances. Chidori didn't stop trying to think however, and fought hard against the fear - if only so that she would be capable of doing something useful in the event of being attacked.

Far back in her mind, the faint sparkle of light that represented the thoughts of her Persona (or really, her own thoughts under the guise of a stronger facade) was trying to do much the same as Alisa, calmly stating that it was a memory, that the danger had passed, that the body needed to relax and rest, as did her mind. Behind the scenes, it was slowly working, the panicked thoughts becoming a little less loud, a little less frantic. Her peripheral vision still put her on edge when her friend followed her, the movement towards her eliciting a pitifully weak lash of her hand in an attempted open-hand strike, as if trying to keep Alisa at bay.

Nevertheless, her brain began to revert back to what worked best when she was of two minds and so exhausted - it froze her out, essentially shutting down. No longer crawling/limping away, the mute curled up again, silently whimpering and shaking. It was perhaps a mild improvement however, as she was no longer openly hostile or terrified...just shaken and unstable. Should Alisa press closer again, Chidori wouldn't lash out, and in fact, any contact would come as a small comfort, the warmth slowing the rapidity of her shaking - it would perhaps even cause her to become docile.

[Ayakura Alisa]

I continued to observe Chidori as she seemed to shake and shiver, as if trying to calm herself down, in her mind, she seemed to be battling against something I couldn't see or couldn't hope to find out at this current point. As I approached her she lashed her hand at me, as if weakly trying to keep me away. I knew I wasn't a monster or anything, so that gesture left me undeterred. As she continued to try and cope with her intense emotions, she seemed to settle, but when I looked at her, she seemed visibly rattled and unstable. I sighed and went closer to her, this time she didn't seem to try and strike back at me on paranoid reflex. I swallowed something almost as if something in my brain told me I should weep... But I held back my tears, wondering what the hell was it with this young woman that made me feel so strangely human...

My parents had never taught me the meaning of 'enjoying life,' I had always been exposed to the training and exposed to accomplishing the 'mission'... So I guess this was an eye-opening experience. She needed help. I didn't know what help I could offer, as I wasn't a health professional or anything... but all I could offer was some comfort. My parents were probably already gone... ...Maybe I can make up for my upbringing... by...

...

I sighed before giving the curled up Chidori a hug. I sniffled, trying hard not to cry. "Damnit... Chidori-san, I'm sorry. Let me help you. I'll do whatever I can."

...I...

...Maybe this is what I should do...

[Chidori Tsukino]

Easing slowly at the touch, the mute instinctively nestled closer as she was hugged, as if drawing in Alisa's warmth might make the shaking stop - and to a degree, it did. Her body seemed to unwind carefully, letting her muscles untense and finally go limp, leaning against the older woman as her breathing settled a little. The images flashing in her mind jarred, fizzled and then eventually faded into the darkness at the back of her mind, letting Lucia's presence, coupled with Alisa's efforts, return her to a portion of her sanity. It had been a very long time since anyone had hugged her, now that she thought about it - she hadn't seen her parents in a couple years, and had failed to really make any close friends in the city.

Well, barring the one who was now trying to comfort her despite the awful situation.

The sound of sniffling tugged at something inside of Chidori, something tied to her own drive to help others, and so the mute slowly turned to look up at the other woman, chocolate brown eyes still fresh with her own tears, but lacking the crazed & terrified look she had held before. In its stead was a look of surprise and then concern, and she weakly tried to hug her friend back, nodding as much as her neck would allow. She doubted she could move much yet, but if they rested for a little while, Chidori figured she could probably walk again (although she would definitely need Alisa's help), since the Terminal wasn't too far away.

Nevertheless, it was...almost nice, to curl into the hug for the time being, after what she'd gone through.

[Ayakura Alisa]

I could feel Chidori nestle herself closer into my arms, as it seemed we were sharing in each other's warmth... Even though we weren't related, it almost looked like we were either really close friends, or probably we did end up looking related. Anyway, that was an idle thought. My eyes were watery, but it seems there were no tears as I successfully held them back, sniffling a little. Chidori turned to face me... She had been crying this entire time, but fortunately, she no longer seemed to have the utterly petrified and hysteric expression she had only moments before. I could feel her hug me back, and she nodded in affirmation as I extended my help to her. I'm glad she has calmed down, but I don't think she's in a state to get back right now. I have to get her to safety as soon as I could. For now, we needed to calm down and settle down our nerves for the meanwhile until Chidori could actually get up and walk. I'd probably need to help her. I'll take her to my place for now, unless she lets me know where she lives. I can't leave her alone like this knowing she might spaz out again.

I gently gave Chidori a pat on the back while maintaining the hug, whispering to her that "Everything's going to be okay." I kept her in my arms protectively for a while. "Whenever you're ready, we'll go to my place to rest, unless you want me to take you back to your home."

[Chidori Tsukino]

Chidori was happy to stay like that for a little while, cherishing the little bit of closeness she'd somehow managed. Besides, her body didn't exactly want to move just now anyway. At any rate, her she did manage to get some of her strength back after resting in Alisa's embrace for a short while, turning her face up again so that she could mouth a response to the other woman's suggestion. 'Your place, please.'

Gingerly, and with a lot of help from Alisa and the nearby wall, the mute carefully pulled herself up, getting back on her feet a little shakily and having to lean against her friend for support. They probably seemed a lot like sisters to anyone they passed by, given how close they would be walking alongside one another, in addition to both having similar hair colour and all.

In her mind however, Chidori was mostly blanking out, as she tried to keep herself together until they got to Alisa's place, lest she fall apart again - physically or mentally.

[Ayakura Alisa]

Chidori had requested I took her to my place by mouthing the words. She seemed to enjoy this little embrace, and to be honest, I did too, I felt a warmth that I had only ever felt as an incredibly young child, as my mother took care of me when I was but a wee baby. She seemed to recover a bit of her composure and strength as she used the wall to help herself stand up; of course, I was there by her to support her and making sure she could stand still. She was still a little shaky, and needed to use me as a crutch. I honestly didn't mind. However, even as she stood and I led her slowly along the way, she seemed vacant, almost as if she tried to stop herself from breaking down again. I kept my arms tight around Chidori's shoulders, but not too tight, so I don't accidentally hurt her, and continued to support her through the Terminal. Fortunately, it was a rather uneventful trip, as I had taken a different path through it that was much less dangerous.

As we left the Terminal and found ourselves back in the embrace of civilization, I immediately led Chidori back to the Red Sun Heights, taking her to my apartment which was, to be honest, not so high up, on the third floor, actually. Along the way there I thought I had heard some crude comments, but there were also some rather unusually pleasant side-comments I didn't have the pleasure of hearing. Regardless, once we reached my flat, I led Chidori to my bedroom, rather clean and fairly empty as most of my things were in the living room, and I had her sit down on my bed.

"You can rest here for now. Do you want me to get you anything?" I asked her.

[Chidori Tsukino]

Thanks to her focus on her own mind, Chidori did not really register any of the comments that were whispered around them as they made their way to Alisa's place in Red Sun Heights. It wasn't actually far from her own apartment really, but she felt more comfortable going to Alisa's for now, since she wouldn't have to give directions that way.

Gingerly sitting on the bed as suggested, the brunette finally seemed to snap back to the present, the lines of exhaustion becoming much more apparent in her face as her expression became uneasy again. The little colour that had returned to her cheeks faded again as she tried to regulate her breathing, inadvertently laying back on the bed. Her chocolate brown gaze eventually found its way back up to Alisa's face, contemplating the question posed at her. 'Can you...Could you..' Fidgeting a little, a very faint blush rose to her cheeks, and she looked away briefly before attempting to mouth again. 'Could you stay...with me? Just sitting on the bed next to me or something I mean.'

[Ayakura Alisa]

Some color returned to Chidori's cheeks, which relieved me for a bit, but as she sat there (Not to mention, she must probably be incredibly exhausted... And those wounds... They don't look very pleasant... I have to admit, my first instinct upon getting back home should've been to get the First Aid, but...) I noticed that she went a little pale again and, as she tried to breathe properly again, she ended up laying back on my bed. I sighed and couldn't help but worry about the poor girl again. She turned her head to face me, asking me for something. Could I...? She looked away for a short moment, and then asked me to stay with her. There wasn't any reason for me to leave her either. I nodded, sitting next to Chidori on the bed and gently placing my palm on her shoulder. "I'll stay with you, then. I'll watch over you," I said to her, looking at her straight on. "You're going to be fine."

I tried to assure her that she would be fine; she'd just need some rest. Also, I had to do something about her wounds. But I can worry about her wounds later when she's in a calmer state and she's stabilized properly. "I can dress your wounds when you've stabilized; I have some medicinal and first aid supplies," I continued, sitting close to Chidori. "So for now, just relax and take it easy if you can."

[Chidori Tsukino]

Thankfully it seemed it wasn't as big a deal as she had first thought it might be; the mute managed a small smile and leaned a little closer to Alisa, once again able to calm herself with the contact between them. She wondered briefly if this was what it was like to have an older sister taking care of you, making sure you were okay - close enough that physical contact was natural and not embarrassing or anything.

The reassurances helped a little, though Chidori wasn't that worried anymore; mostly, she was tired. Exhausted, really. Her body had used up what little energy she'd recovered from earlier, and was now truly ready to rest. The mentioning of her wounds made her pause momentarily, as she tried to remember what she'd done after she'd dispatched the Musha in her crazed state. She was pretty sure she'd healed herself, at least enough to seal the wound without fear of infection. 'Don't need to, healed already. Just sore and painful.' Her mouthing was interrupted by a long yawn that shook her body a bit before she sleepily closed her eyes, nestling comfortably as she dozed off almost immediately.

[Ayakura Alisa]

I continued to watch over Chidori, making sure she was alright. I briefly wondered how mother must have felt taking care of me when I was younger, when I was much weaker and more vulnerable. Soon, I ended up musing to myself, is this how I can help people? Was risking my own life for information really the correct thing to do? I saw how shaken up and how hurt Chidori was out there, and she was a Persona user, much stronger than myself... I felt sick, just thinking about how weak I was. Maybe I needed a serious moment of re-evaluation. Chidori coming closer to me made me feel... strange. The same feeling I'd feel when I had a bonding moment with my parents. She's not even related to me... I noticed she seemed pretty sleepy, and before she slumbered, she mouthed to me that her wound was healed. Right, she had healing magic. The wound must be sealed, but she still feels pain.

She dozed off right afterwards. "Rest well." I whispered softly, probably inaudibly, as I looked out the bedroom window, where the curtains had not been closed. I continued to sit next to the sleeping Chidori, making sure she was alright and that she didn't have any bad dreams or anything. Gosh...