(no subject)

[fassade]

WHO: Kisa and Chloe
WHAT: Let the awkwardness continue!
WHERE: Gym
WHEN: Directly after Judo, Tuesday, May 9th.


Since Miyume's death, the burning in the German's chest had grown worse. It had now become a constant physical reminder of the hopelessness of the situation she found herself in. The last time someone heard Chloe speak a full complete sentence, rare already, was the day they lost Miyume. Now? Now she was totally silent unless spoken to, and even then she would either grunt, or give very clipped yes or no like answers. It was almost like she was tired of caring...

And just plain tired. Her shoulders were not as squared as they once were, the steely glint in her eyes all but replaced by a strange and unsettling void quality. It was almost like she was running on a very low-fueled auto pilot. Though she could still perform physical activities, like Judo, the same care was not taken while doing so. It was probably pure stubbornness that kept her going now.

The German had changed back into her school clothes, her Judo attire stored not-so-neatly in a bag she held in her left hand. Her right hand was bandaged as it had been at the meeting, and she seemed to be taking some care not to use it unless she absolutely had to. Without a word, Chloe had changed, packed up her things, and began to make her way, perhaps a bit slower than was normal, back to the dorms. Physical exertion usually made the pain in her chest flare up, which probably explained the slowed gait of the usually faster German. It had been like this since the day no one liked to talk about; wake up, go to class in silence, go to clubs in silence, return to the dorms. Rinse and repeat. She spoke to no one, and interacted with no one. The terrible part of this was that the foreigner really didn't show any signs of wanting to change that pattern. The auto pilot might as well just stay engaged forever...

Comments

[suiseimushi]

The other members of the judo club either didn't pay Chloe enough heed to notice the difference, gave her an even wider berth, or looked at her oddly and said nothing. Then again, the atmosphere overall was strange, the death still recent enough to cast a pall over everything.

Kisa did her best to run the meeting as smoothly as possible, though she was a little more forgiving of errors and general laxness than usual. As she had yesterday with a rather smaller group, she dismissed the club at the end of practice without her usual short speech.

Once she'd changed back into her uniform, she beelined after Chloe. She broached the topic in a very indirect, almost stereotypically Japanese way: "Abendroth-san, is your hand all right?"

Unspoken, but there to be read, was the real question: are you all right?

[fassade]

Kisa's voice from behind her was not all-together unexpected, but it had yet to be seen if it was unwanted. Slowly, the German turned back to look at the shorter team captain. At least, for a moment, her usual defiant stance shone through and she squared her shoulders a little bit.

"It's fine."

She said, her voice its usual growl yet just a bit quieter this time. The hand in question flexed a little bit, but otherwise, hung limply and normally at her side. Her hand was the least of her worries and, unless she was doing something like Judo or carrying things, she seemed to pay it no heed. The bandages at least looked fresh, so she was at least taking care of it.

....And so she stood there silently, either unsure of what to say to Kisa, or not caring. Perhaps it was this reason, or maybe another, that she couldn't make direct eye contact with her. She hadn't really said so much as a sentence since leaving Miyume's room that day.

[suiseimushi]

It was about as much of a reaction as Kisa had been expected. Honestly, she considered it a minor victory to get a response at all. There was a part of her mind that quailed at the idea of pressing the issue, for so many reasons -- but after what she'd seen that day in Miyume's room, she knew she didn't really have a choice.

"You should at least have it looked at," she replied with a small, worried frown. "Can I ask what happened?" she added, not really expecting an answer but trying anyway.

[fassade]

The German was quiet for a few moments while Kisa looked at her. She noticed the typical worried look that Kisa had given her. That seemed to be Kisa's thing, wasn't it? Straight-faced and kind upperclassman. With her knowledge of Japanese culture, she wondered how much of it was Kisa actually being concerned, and how much of it was just the culture she grew up in. Perhaps that was the thought at the back of her mind that gave her such trouble when speaking with Kisa. In many ways, she and Kisa were alike; independent, determined, but guarded... and it was that guarded nature, that oh-so-careful disposition that made it so hard to tell what the girl was thinking.

At the question, her gaze wandered even farther. The injured hand clenched, almost uncomfortably, as she thought how best to answer the question. She couldn't just come out and say, "Yes, in a sudden rage I smashed a teapot with my bare hands.". Instead, she looked at the floor.

"I...lost my temper."

The phrase was so simple and so common, but if Kisa was looking closely enough, she might have noticed the quick flash of fear in the German's eyes that accompanied her words.