sweetdevil | 18th ♫ | it's like I'm carrying the weight of the world

[Of course when you live on an island full of spirits, some of them want to get in on all the various Halloween traditions. Being roommates and coworkers, Yuuri and Natsuru had naturally come together in their costumes and with baskets of treats to appease the mischievous spirits. Somewhere along the way, during a particularly calm part of the night, they'd found themselves separated. Whether Yuuri went to look for Natsuru or bravely continued on her own, it only takes a few minutes before she hears a familiar-sounding little shriek of distress in the near distance.

> Investigate
> Nope, this is definitely a trap
> ?????]

[ Aaaand there it is. Not that she thinks Natsuru is a troublemaker of any kind, not at all, she just... happens to be in the vicinity when trouble happens with startling frequency. A trouble magnet, apparently.

So of course she investigates. All she has is a basket of candy but considering this is Yuuri Wakasa we're talking about maybe that's enough to be cause for concern. ]

Natsuru-san! Where are you?!

[It's not long before Yuuri finds a familiar shock of bright red among the less-bright leaves and grass and stone pathways. It's clearly the hood of Natsuru's costume - she'd dressed up in a Red Riding Hood outfit, since it seemed fitting for the basket and all. But the figure pushes up the hood, revealing also-familiar wide, frightened eyes on a face that's much smaller than Yuuri should be expecting.]

Yuuri-san???

[Natsuru(?) blinks and stares up at the now-much-bigger girl, the fear and concern in her eyes somewhat giving way to surprise. The small girl definitely has the same eyes, the same hair... the same costume, although it's changed to fit her current appearance. The basket is almost too big for her to keep clutched in her arms.]

I-... I saw one! I tried giving it some candy, but...

[Well. They were warned that spirits who didn't like the treats they were presented with would play a trick on the unfortunate mortal. Yuuri was probably right about that trouble magnet thing.]

...what...

[ What the hell is this, she almost says but manages to restrain herself. Because yes, this is Natsuru but Yuuri is basically biologically incapable of not lowkey big sistering all the kids she comes across, even if she knows full well that the person she's looking at is not technically a real kid. ]

Did-- did it just really hate the candy you gave it that much?

[Natsuru manages to get herself back up to her feet, and sets the basket down for a moment so she can brush off the leaves from her clothes. Finally, she looks... back up... at Yuuri. At full height, the younger Natsuru is barely standing up to Yuuri's chest, if even that. That confirms what she already kind of suspected the spirit did.]

W-Well... [Goodness, this is weird. She feels so small. It's making her nervous about being out here with so many spirits.] I don't know. I offered the basket, so they could pick something they wanted!

[In fact, that's what she's done the whole time. And as a result, her basket has been picked clean of all of the most popular treats already.]

It said something about me looking cute in my costume with my basket, and it could make me an even better Little Red Riding Hood if I wanted. I-I said 'no thank you', but when I tried to give it something...

[ Ssssiiiiigghhh. Alright just... let her stoop down so they can actually have this conversation face to face. Halloween in Koriko is already a total disaster and the very last thing either of them need is dealing with a mess like this. ]

Then it sounds like it'd gotten into its head to turn you into this before you even gave it any candy. Maybe with any luck, it'll be a prank and it'll wear off by the end of the night? It is Halloween...

[ And if not... well, they could always talk to the Witch. Maybe she could do something about it, in that worst case scenario. ]

Are you going to be alright?

[Her cheeks turn even more pink when Yuuri stoops down like that. But, embarrassing as it is for anything to highlight her size right now, she appreciates being more or less eye level while they talk.]

'Maybe'?

[She hadn't even considered that!]

I-It'll have to wear off eventually, won't it?!

[What if it doesn't?! If they have to talk to the Witch, what would it cost them to fix it???

She's already fretting a lot before Yuuri even gets around to asking if she's going to be alright. Maybe the answer is obvious, but she still feels the need to at least try and put a brave face on.]

Ah... I think I'll be fine for now, though! Er, for tonight, I mean!

[She smiles weakly, attempting to find a good position to keep her now-slightly-too-big basket in her arms. Clearly the very picture of someone composed and ready to face the rest of the evening.]

It'll have to. I don't imagine a spirit could come here that'd be strong enough to change you permanently like that. And even if they did, I'd imagine the Witch has at least a rule or two in place that keeps them from totally disrupting all her work plans...

[ And Natsuru is Koriko's favourite model. She can't exactly go back to her usual work gig in a state like this. ]

We'll give it a day or so and if it hasn't worn off by then, we'll go and see the Witch together. How does that sound?

[Yes, exactly! She had a bit of an initial panic, after the way Yuuri was talking about it, but she's feeling more confident that this won't be something that lasts forever. Though, she worries about adding to her debt if she has to have the Witch intervene.

She seems more composed now, with just that little bit of reassurance from Yuuri.]

Yeah... okay. A day won't be too bad! Maybe a little longer, if we have to.

[No need to rush into involving the Witch, if they can avoid bothering her!]

Thanks, Yuuri-san! I didn't mean to worry you, or anything...

[Back to the business at hand, she assumes. Though she's nervous about possibly going off on her own like this, and it definitely shows.]

It's nothing you need to apologize for. It's not like this is your fault.

[ ... okay, it's a little bit Natsuru's fault for going off by herself like that but if she's distressed enough then they don't need to start playing the blame game right now. ]

We should probably get going... but are you sure you'll be fine like that? I don't want to make you wander around trick or treating if you don't feel like you're up to it anymore.

[Oh, is she being that transparent? Her lips purse and her nose wrinkles up a little in Intense Thought for a moment. It's... probably adorable.]

It's not that... exactly.

[She fidgets awkwardly, wondering exactly how to put this.]

I don't want to get us in trouble! But... I don't want you to get cursed too.

[Of secondary importance, is it possible Natsuru can get cursed again? If being this small is the first step, she's not sure she wants to see what happens if a spirit decides to make it worse.]

You think they'll catch me out that easily?

[ The smile she gives Natsuru is certainly nice but there's an undercurrent to it like a shadow. This is the woman who put the fear of god into a bunch of living vegetables just by smiling at them and asking them politely to stop fucking around. ]

As long as I'm careful, I think we'll be just fine. And if not... well, like I said. The worst case scenario is that we have to go to the Witch. That's all.

[ actually the worst case scenario is that they get eaten but let's not linger on that for too long. ]

[Ah, that smile is somehow both reassuring and... concerning? Natsuru chuckles, but there's a slight nervous undertone to it. Like she sympathizes with whoever might try to cross Yuuri.]

A-All right...

In that case, um... wh-wherever we go, can we go together? [She clutches a loosely held fist to her chin, blushing while she avoids actually making eye contact with the now-older girl.] I think I'll feel better that way, even if we stay out here.

[They should both be safer that way! Though she's not exactly sure what she can do right now to protect Yuuri if a spirit tries to curse her somehow too.]

Of course. Did you think I'd just let you wander around on your own?

[ Without really thinking, she lifts a hand and gives Natsuru a gentle pat on the head. She can't help it -- she's around the same age as Ruu and it shouldn't be a surprise that that thought triggers something big sisterly in her. ]

We'll just make sure to stick together and then I'm sure we'll be fine.

[ Then she stands up and offers Natsuru a hand. ]

Besides! Maybe we'll have better luck handing out candy if your costume's this good now.

[Ah-? Natsuru feels her cheeks warm up even more when Yuuri pats her on the head like that. It's not exactly unusual for her friend to be a little bit like a big sister, just like Natsuru does for her sometimes. But right now, it highlights just how different things are at the moment. It's not bad, though... if she's going to be like this for a little while, it'll be nice having someone like Yuuri to look after her.

She's actually really glad Yuuri's the one that found her, when she thinks of it that way. With her usual cheerfulness coming back into her smile, she nods in agreement.]

Okay!

[Ah... it's still a little embarrassing how big Yuuri is next to her like this. But that can't be helped. She takes the offered hand, trying not to think about how small hers feels being held.]

Er, you think? [Well, she's not wrong. The costume does seem more fitting for a little girl than a young woman.] I hope so. It's still kinda weird how we have to dress up and hand out candy, isn't it?

[Leave it to Koriko to twist everything to the favor of the spirits...]

Ah, but doing things the other way around would required our esteemed guests to lift a finger and we can't allow that, can we?

[ It's kind of amazing how she's managed to perfect the art of making her biting sarcasm sound passingly sincere, honestly. ]

Do you think you're ready to get going? The faster we get all this candy handed out, the faster we can head back home.

[That... actually makes Natsuru giggle. It's soft, restrained, and even cuter thanks to her current appearance. But she knows Yuuri just well enough to understand the sarcasm behind that sincerity. She knows she can't remotely pull that off herself, though, so she simply nods in agreement and pretends that Yuuri's statement is just Objectively True.]

Yeah! I'm okay...

[She feels much better now that she's relaxed into holding hands with Yuuri, and scooted close by the taller girl's side. It's much better than being on her own like this.]

I don't have much left, anyway. If we hurry, we can go home before it gets any darker.

[That might make her more nervous. The darker the night gets, the more dangerous the spirits that come out. Like she is now, she doubts she'd stand a chance if she tried to defend herself or Yuuri.]

[It's been a week, now. A week since everyone woke up in this school, groggy and confused with strangers they'd never met before. Karamatsu was one of the few to have someone he knew here in the form of his older brother, but it wasn't fortunate. Not when the only way to actually leave was to kill someone.

Of course the outcry had been horrible. Someone even tried to fight back against their captors, earning herself a quick demise as a result. Which meant the rest of them were forced to either figure out how they were going to spend the rest of their lives in captivity, or...become that one who decides to do the unthinkable. Or, perhaps, become a corpse. Whichever came first.

Some sought to work together, while others trusted no one. Karamatsu, on the other hand...the siren song of people actually talking to and acknowledging him was too great to ignore. He couldn't help but talk to people and get to know them, even maybe making friends with a few. Then, there was Yuuri. Right away she seemed to exude a caring, almost motherly aura that made everyone like her. She was strong, to be trusted, and clearly had every intention to make sure everyone stayed safe. She was oddly calm for a situation like this...like she'd been through it already. Out of everyone besides his own brother, she felt like someone Karamatsu could count on no matter what.

It was evening now, near time for lights out. Karamatsu had been in the music room of the school trying to tune one of his guitars while Osomatsu went on to bed before him. He'd been intending to leave and head back as well, but he spots Yuuri in the hallway just before he heads in the other direction.]

Oi! Yuuri-chan!

[ Yuuri doesn't know which one of these people it's going to end up being. Not at first, anyway. But she knows the instant those rules are in effect that she's going to kill one of them.

She has to get out of here. She spends the week smiling and caring and playing along but under all of it, in her heart, she feels like screaming. Because she's here all by herself with nary a whisper of anyone else she knows and if Yuuri is here that means Ruu is all by herself. Yuuri had last seen her under the soles of Ayaka Kamimochi's boots woozy and wounded and the last she remembered before blinking awake in this school had been tearing through the grounds of Saint Isidore University to try and find her. She has to get out. She needs to escape.

She has no plan, no target in mind, but by the time Thursday night rolls around she can't take the wait any longer. She's so desperately anxious that she can feel it clawing at the walls of her ribs with every beat of her heart, Ruu-chan, Ruu-chan, Ruu-chan thumping through her head in time with her pulse. She's never killed anyone before, never wanted to but if it means escaping, if it means saving her sister then there's not one single person here Yuuri would hesitate in targeting. ]

Oh, Karamatsu-kun. You're out late, aren't you?

[ Not even someone she considers a friend.

She stops where she is, turns and gives him a warm, beaming smile. She doesn't think he'd ever guess why she's out this late but she doesn't want to give him any reason to suspect her. Not when Karamatsu's given her the opportunity she needs on a silver platter. ]

[Karamatsu nods, playing with the strap of the guitar he has slung over his shoulder. It doesn't belong to him, but there's no rules about taking things from the rooms. This guitar has become his as far as he's concerned. He can't help but smile back when Yuuri does, his worries about being out this late alleviated when he sees he's not alone.]

A bit, yes. I stayed behind for a while to practice...but I was just heading back to the dorms. What brings you out at this hour?

Nothing much.

[ Just keep smiling, just pretend there's not a single thing wrong. Not that Karamatsu would suspect her anyway, she doesn't think. ]

I was just having some trouble getting to sleep. I thought a walk might clear my head a little bit but it hasn't done me much good so far.

[ She has to get them away from the dorms. She can't risk anyone seeing her with Karamatsu. ]

What song were you playing, then?

I see...that is a good idea, if nothing else.

[He smooths his hand along the body of the guitar, thoughtful.]

Eh? Oh, ah...one of my songs from home that I had been writing. But since I do not have my notes, it may as well be like I am starting over.

You write music?

[ ... oh. Oh, that's just perfect.

She affects a bashful, pigeon-toed stance and leans in a little, head tiled and her hair spilling over her shoulder. Look, look, isn't she just so innocent and harmless? ]

Do you think I could hear you play some?

[She really does...it's enough to make a Matsuno melt, turning to puddy in her hands.

He nods dumbly, then shakes his head to snap himself out of it so he can actually. You know, answer her.]

Of- of course! Any time, I will play anything for you!

Then how about now? If neither of us can sleep, then we might as well.

[ Putting aside that Karamatsu never said that -- because it's a good line, isn't it? It sounds perfectly reasonable. ]

Oh, but... probably not so close to where everyone else is sleeping, though. I don't want to wake everybody up.

18th ♫ | it's like I'm carrying the weight of the world

Jamjar - Setting 3+4, Situation 3+4+11

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you should have seen this coming

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Murdergame - Setting 1, Situation 2 for MOIDAH

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