harmonize_rpg | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who: Chloe and Miyume
Where: Chloe's room
When: Sunday, April 23rd, afternoon
What: Miyume can't stand being alone.

Miyume didn't wake up until almost noon on Sunday, despite getting home before curfew the night before. She'd gone to bed shortly after returning to her dorm, stopping only to brush her teeth and take a shower. Miyume had fallen asleep by ten and even after a long night's slumber, she still felt as if she had barely gotten any sleep at all.

She didn't actually drag herself out of bed until nearly forty-five minutes later when had to go to the bathroom. After Miyume carried out her standard morning grooming routine, she considered going back to bed and staying there all day. It seemed like such a total waste, though, so she forced herself to make her bed and check her messages, breathing a deep sigh of relief when none from Mirai appeared among their number.

There was a voice mail from her mother, however, asking her to call her later that evening which Miyume made a mental note to do. Ayana had left one, too, a rather tearful, frustrated, and desperate plea for her to call her or text or email her or do something to stay in contact with her as soon as she got the message. Miyume numbly moved the message to archive without replying as she'd been doing with all of Ayana's messages during the past couple of weeks.

Thinking and feeling were both a bit beyond her and Miyume couldn't stand being alone in this room any longer. So she did the one thing that was certain to ensure she did neither, Miyume looked for someone else to do it for her instead.

And that was how Miyume found herself outside Chloe's door, knocking rather insistently with a smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The day had gone pretty much like all the others had. Wake up, clean, get dressed, deal with idiots, return here, deal with loneliness. Was it really loneliness if she preferred it to the crap she had to deal with outside these walls? She wasn't sure. Loneliness could be thrust on someone or self imposed... she couldn't remember which category she fell into anymore. Regardless, she had tea brewing and was thinking about what had transpired that day when she heard a knock at her door. The knock ceased all previous thoughts and started new ones. No one knocked on her door, unless....

The German crossed the room and opened the door to reveal exactly what she thought the 'unless' might have been. Miyume stood there looking like she'd rather be in bed than anywhere else right now. Something about her smile perturbed the taller girl, causing her to tilt her head ever so slightly. It took only a few seconds of studying Miyume's face for Chloe to step back and hold the door open for Miyume, motioning her into her room.

Edited 2013-09-16 05:06 (UTC)

Miyume hobbled in noisily. She didn't go anywhere without her cane now, not after embarrassing herself on Friday. But she'd met Saiga-senpai and she was mostly caught up on her studies.

Maybe Chloe and I could start studying together, she pondered. She'd have open evenings again for a while, at least. Miyume had let Mirai monopolize so much her free time that she had yet to properly introduce herself to Tanemoto-san.

The break will be good for both of us, she reminded herself as guilt and worry to take hold.

Miyume blushed, realizing just how lost in her thoughts she'd been. She hadn't even said hello yet! What was wrong with her?

You broke up with your boyfriend last night, a tiny internal voice supplied unhelpfully.

"Oh, hello, Abendrofu-san," she said sounding every bit as distracted as she currently was. Her eyes seemed slightly unfocused as they wandered the room; her shoulders and back were clearly tense.

Chloe watched the frail girl's progress as she made her way into the room. The way she seemed to rely on the cane so much lately did not sit well with the German at all. Usually Miyume would be chipper and full of things to talk about... the distracted and almost glassy-eyed girl before her seemed to be a shadow of what she knew Miyume to usually be; there were no happy smiles and sweet words this time. That all seemed to be covered by an ominous cloud today...

At Miyume's greeting, Chloe nodded her greetings while quickly and smoothly pulling a chair out for Miyume to sit on; if classes had taught her anything, it was that Miyume required a chair. She then began to get the tea utensils set up. Chloe paused before putting the teacup in front of Miyume, the cup hovering a little bit above the table as Chloe looked at Miyume.

"Tea?"

Her gaze was searching. If Miyume looked past the icy stare that she usually wore , she might have been able to spot the flicker of concern behind the tall girl's eyes.

After Miyume sat down, her posture slumped almost immediately. She perked up slightly when Chloe began to set a teacup down in front of her. Even through her daze, Miyume could tell her friend was worried about her. Though she'd made some progress on this front thanks to Mirai, years of habitual deception and putting the feelings of others before her own wasn't so easily erased. Miyume tried to smile for Chloe and was somewhat successful, though the expression looked stiff on her face. False smiles and fake cheer didn't come quite so naturally now, not after displaying the real thing so much lately.

"Yes, please. Tea would be lovely, Abendorofu-san."

The German watched the other girl carefully, noting the changes in not only her face, but the way she smiled. It was a valiant effort, really; she had seen a lot of people try to hide their emotions before, many far less successful than Miyume... but even if she had been at the top of her game today, Chloe was surprisingly perceptive when it came to these kinds of things. Chloe was quiet for a time after Miyume spoke, but when she did speak up, her voice was quieter than it usually was.

"Chloe is fine."

She then got to work on preparing the tea for the both of them. She made sure to leave the cream out for Miyume this time in case she did want to try it, to keep the bitterness of the tea down. This brew was definitely a 5 minute calming brew, that was for sure. The German's icy gaze flickered to Miyume's face as she set everything out on the table.

"Thank you, Kuroe-san."

Miyume did add some cream to her tea this time. She lifted the cup to her lips and sipped. It wasn't as bitter as last time but still good. Not that she had a physical focal point, she relaxed somewhat. It was easier to keep her from getting lost in her head this way.

"What kind of tea is this? It's very good."

"Ceylon black tea."

She responded evenly. It was strange to hear someone say her given name, and not just because it was a Japanese sounding variant of it either. It wasn't a terrible feeling, now that she thought about it. Wait, she was getting distracted. Setting her tea down on the table, she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. her usual icy gaze had softened somewhat.

"You alright?"

It was a reasonable question. Miyume could only guess that she looked as awful as she felt. Her expression looked very pained as she set her tea back on the table.

"I've been better," she replied in a small voice, shifting awkwardly in her chair. "Yesterday started out well but turned out terrible toward the end. I'm still feeling it today."

How horrible Miyume felt seemed disproportionate to her, somehow. For a few moments, she dropped her guard completely. The girl slumped in her chair again, revealing just how depressed, miserable, and vulnerable she truly was.

After a moment, she spoke again.

"Do you ever have days when everything seems to hurt, both inside and out?"

Chloe sat and listened quietly when Miyume spoke. It was like the usually cheery girl was coming apart right in front of her. The way her shoulders slumped, the way the misery really broke through on her face... Chloe felt an uncomfortable pang in her chest as she watched the display in front of her. When she asked the question, the German's face hardened slightly; that grim line to her face had returned. Instead of answering, she stood up and moved to a cupboard. Chloe removed a covered tupperware container that was still warm to the touch. She also had a knife and fork handy. The tall first year returned to the table, placing it in front of Miyume.

"Yes. I do."

Inside the tupperware was a meal-sized portion of schnitzel and potatoes. It appeared to be made recently; Chloe had probably made up some lunch in the home ec room not even an hour earlier. Miyume looked exhausted but with someone so miserable, it was common to skip meals. Miyume's question hit a bit close to home, but her voice was low and quiet, just as it had been before.

It wasn't until food was placed in front of her that Miyume remembered that she had yet to eat anything. She knew next to nothing about German cuisine or what life was like in Germany, especially compared to here. Hesitantly, she picked up the fork with a trembling hand. She stabbed at a piece of potato, put it in her mouth, and chewed slowly.

It was very different from Miyume's standard diet of endless tofu dishes but not in a bad way. She could taste the spices but they weren't overpowering like with curry. After she finished the potato, she tried a bite of the schnitzel. Once she finished that, she looked up at Chloe.

"This is really good! Thank you, Kuroe-san!"

Not her usual cheer but it was a positive start. Her appetite was quickly returning so Miyume continued to eat.

Chloe nodded as Miyume thanked her. It wasn't anything special, a quick dish... but she supposed Miyume wasn't used to this kind of food given their different backgrounds. She seemed to like it, so Chloe wasn't complaining. Her appetite was still in tact it seemed, but it did little to ease her worry. That's what this was, right? Worry?

"There's more if you're still hungry."

She offered, gesturing to the cupboards. She usually made quite a bit of food when she went to the home ec room to last her a few days. While Miyume was eating, Chloe sipped at her tea, watching the other girl's expression carefully. She wouldn't pry; if Miyume wanted to tell her what was wrong, she would do that of her own volition.

As tasty as this was, Miyume's stomach rebelled at the idea of too much food. Pushing herself too hard and throwing up all over poor Chloe's room was less than desirable. While she ate, she thought it made sense for Chloe to make meals from her home country here.

It must be hard living so far away from home, she mused. It was certainly proving to be a great struggle for Miyume and she'd lived in Japan all her life. As spacey as Miyume seemed, society's response to foreigners and really anyone who didn't make conformity their primary objective in life wasn't lost on her. If anything, she felt the scrutiny a little more keenly than most.

"How long have you lived in Japan, Kuroe-san?" she asked suddenly, between bites, her expression suddenly very serious.

Chloe watched as the much frailer girl's appetite slowed slightly. The lost expression on her face brought another painful wave of what she assumed was concern. She didn't like the feeling, and she wasn't even sure why she was feeling it exactly.

At the question, Chloe sat back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest in thought. Her immediate instinct was to respond with 'too long', but that seemed like it was too tactless, even for her. The German's eyes closed as she thought back to Germany, back to when she at least had a home she could call home. It wasn't sunshine and roses back home, but at least she didn't have to deal with the whole 'gaijin' thing. She was an outsider even back home, but it hadn't been to such a degree. Her parents... she at least had her parents back home. Her mother was in Japan even, but she never had time to see her what with her mother's line of work. And her father...? She had no idea where he was, and it terrified her. She would never admit how scared she really was for him.

It took her a good few minutes to realize she was lost in thought. She looked up at Miyume, her gaze the same icy one, but softer than it had been when out and about or in class. Calmer, even.

"A few years."

Chloe spoke little usually, but less now that Miyume was eating; she didn't want to disturb her. It was impolite to make someone speak while they were eating.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only