Make No Apology [Social, Closed]

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

After not entirely too long, Shizuka's eyes met Hebika's as she entered the kitchen, loving the smell that overwhelmed the room. A small smile on her face mimicked the one given to her by the Mod Soul, and Shizuka gently seated herself across the table. She was definitely feeling rather hungry and accepted Hebika's invitation, giving in to her ever-vocal stomach as she started to eat the food in front of her. After just a couple of bites, the Fullbringer squeaked with excitement at the deliciousness and quickly got up to hug Hebika and kiss her cheek before returning to her seat and finishing the meal.

"I hope it tasted alright. Admittedly I've not really made anything for someone other than myself, so there may be some taste discrepancies. I never actually did take the time to see if this Gigai's tastebud configuration is abnormal or not."

Shizuka finished up the last bit before speaking. "It tasted freaking awesome and I'm so thankful that you did this for me! For someone who doesn't believe in her cooking skills, you sure did a wonderful job."

She couldn't remember the last time she had a home-cooked meal, actually. It had been quite a long time. She'd grown accustomed to getting takeout or eating at restaurants because, as a general thing, Shizuka actually hated cooking. She wasn't bad at it, but it bored her so much to think about having to do all of that work on her own. Growing up, her mom made most of the meals and she took it for granted. Whenever she visited her parents, she always welcomed the familiar scents of biscuits, bacon, steak, or whatever else it was that they happened to be making. It made her sad thinking about how she would not only outlive her parents like what should normally happen, but her aging would be so slowed at this point that she'd outlive her sister and other friends who were not spiritual beings. Shizuka shook herself mentally to try to get that thought out. She didn't want to imagine that part of her life.

Luckily, Hebika was able to grab Shizuka's attention once again, though what she said made Shizuka raise an eyebrow. What did she mean by having trouble interacting with humans? She was doing great now and Shizuka didn't remember a time when Hebika had any particular problems. Although, obviously that meant nothing since they didn't spend every waking moment together, but it mattered either way. The Fullbringer put down the glass she was taking a sip from and listened to her friend as she spoke, trying to understand her side.

"I would very much like to believe that providing something I had once neglected would fix things. I suppose even I'm inclined to behave a bit rashly from time to time."

"But there was never anything--" Hebika continued on, breaking Shizuka's sentence.

"As lovely as that was. There's still quite a lot I think we need to discuss. Not necessarily right now. But at some point. What this is that we have going on. Just what the deal is with that boyfriend of yours. What exactly it is you want. What you need."

That made her cringe. Boyfriend. Right. The topic she had wanted to avoid. She hadn't spoken with Luke in... Had it been months? Almost a year? And all she had was a voicemail he'd left not too long ago, all things considered, that simply stated he never wanted to see her again. They had gone months before that without talking for whatever reason, then he leaves that voicemail, and then they just continue not speaking anyway. She felt a pit grow in her stomach. Guilt? No, not really. She didn't feel guilty about anything that happened. Maybe disappointment? Was she disappointed in Luke? Or herself?

"The thing is that I'm still not quite sure what's best for you, Shizuka."

"That makes two of us, I guess." Shizuka took a sip of her juice.

"And unlike most things I take a fancy to. I don't think killing you and reanimating your corpse with a piece of my soul would quite solve my conundrum. I've grown quite attached to your personality."

The Fullbringer spat her juice very quickly at Hebika's mention of killing her and reanimating her corpse, half shocked at the mention of the deed and half scared that it was a possibility. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and gently manipulated the soul of the juice that made a mess of the table, willing it to collect itself on Shizuka's now-empty plate. Ugh, how embarrassing. Shizuka laughed awkwardly at Hebika's statement and chose to not react otherwise to it, though she knew deep in her heart that it probably wouldn't happen anyway. Probably.

"How are you feeling by the way, dear? You seem to be walking well enough"

The blonde's ears perked up. "You and I both know that I've developed skills over the years that help make it easier to hide when I'm feeling any pain. And you and I both know that the kind of pain I'd feel in this circumstance is the kind I'm actually rather fond of, so I'd say I'm handling it decently."

It was just like Hebika to call her out, though. Shizuka smiled at it. She couldn't hide anything from the Mod Soul and that much was obvious, so she adjusted herself in her chair to make it more comfortable. Sitting directly on anything was, admittedly, a little painful because of some soreness, but that wasn't a big deal. It would go away soon enough and she'd be back to normal. But before any of that, and before they got busy with anything again, she was curious about a couple of things.

"I don't think Luke wants to have much to do with me anymore. I don't know what I did wrong and he won't talk to me, so I'm leaving it up to me just probably doing something toxic that I wasn't aware of. I should have known better, anyways. I was just blinded by the possibility of someone caring the way he pretended to. I mean, at this point, it seems like he was pretending."

Hebika was pretty much the only person who was ever straight with Shizuka down to an unapologetic degree. It was a quality Shizuka both adored and feared, especially since Hebika was able to tear apart any confidence Shizuka had in herself with a simple sentence. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it kept the Fullbringer humbled. It was also why Shizuka always sought after Hebika's approval. She appreciated their relationship, however strange it may be to outsiders, but she always went back to Hebika. And she felt guilty for it.

"Do you feel trapped by me? Like you can't go do what you want to do because you're worried about me or concerned for whatever reason? I know you care and you push me to do better, which is amazing, but the last thing I'd want to do is make you feel like you're less than who you really are. And who you are is an extraordinary person with extraordinary talents. Talents I wish I had. When you mentioned Luke's name, I was overwhelmed with disappointment and anger. I don't know what I did to ruin things, but you treat me no differently than before. How did I ever manage to not ruin things with you?"

[Hebika Nara]

Hebika watched calmly as Shizuka ate. Pleased that she took so well to the food she had offered the woman. She knew they would enjoy it, or well, she had a good hunch. Cooking was, oddly enough, a bit of a hit or miss thing. The main factor being that most humans had varying palettes. So you couldn't exactly please everyone unless you knew them a little, and even then. But Shizuka seemed to enjoy the food she'd prepared. But well, what was happening next was.... a bit more complicated than food. She watched Shizuka closley enough and lightly drummed her fingers as she listened. The little tease was moved past. And well, the important conversation ....had it's own path to take.

She kept a neiutral, curious expression as Shizuka continued to speak, but well, unfortunately, she was already seeing patterns. She closed her eyes for several long moments as she allowed herself to gather her thoughts. "You seem hesitant to blame him. You assume that you may have been the cause. And of course, your second possibility, is that whatever sort of interaction you may have had, was fake." She noted with slow, methodical reiteration. As if her voice were gently running fingertips over each and every fact she picked out. As though lining them all up. Before those blood red hues shifted back up to Shizuka.

"Which is to say. You very much valued what you had. That you can only imagine that either you did something wrong, or you were tricked." She noted quietly. And Hebika furrowed her brows. Remembering....unpleasant memories. "Notions I'm all too familiar with. What was his name.....Jake." The name was spoken with the faintest tones of distaste. "Do you remember when you first found me. What I was? A toy. Perhaps not the most expected toy you might expect a young girl to have growing up. But that's what I was. I had a very close look at what humans are like growing up. Puberty. Boys. The ups and downs. Hook ups and heartbreaks." She noted softly, slowly running her finger along the circular rim of her own glass.

"And then there's a special boy. Not necessarily always good. Where things go a bit nasty. They always do. But there's not a real break." She noted softly, closing her eyes for a moment, before she glanced back up at Shizuka. "We have a precarious profession do we not? It's fairly often that we might vanish for some time. A job is a job, as it's said." She noted calmly at that, and watched the woman across from her so very calmly. "I was gone..... a few months? Maybe half a year. But, you still seem attached to this young man of yours." She noted calmly enough. And soon, her line of thinking would be come....abundantly clear as those bloody eyes watched Shiuka closely enough.

"Ah.... If only it were so easy..." The Mod soul murmured, for just a faint, tiny little moment. The air around them felt...... sharp. As if the space around them were filled with tiny glass needles too thin to spot, before the sensation faded. Hebika closed her eyes for just a moment and sighed. "When I first found you Shizuka. I thought you were special. Or perhaps... more specifically. I had hoped you were. But you weren't. You aren't. You're simply injured. Not....broken. Just healed sort of funny. Like a sprained wrist that never got quite back the way it was supposed to be." She closed her eyes. "I don't plan on being abandoned a third time, Shizuka. Which is why I want you to hunt down that little boyfriend of yours." She noted, resting her cheek in the palm of her hand. "Resolve your feelings. Find out what is going on. and we can go from there. Well.....if you want that is." She suddenly chuckled.

"Afer all. You're my ...Boss~" That word boss was not spoken pleasantly. "I can't exactly tell you to do anything. But well. If you don't go and find the young man. I will. And I am willing to bet I'm not......attached to his personality."[/color[] That smile widened just a little as she watched Shizuka. With what was probably the closest thing to a threatening look Hebika had ever given them. "One way or another. I'd very much like to figure this out. wether you decide to leave that to me or not is up to you." She gently plucked the glass from the table and took a sip before she stood up, and gently made her way around the table, reaching out, and lightly letting her fingers rest on Shizuka's shoulder. "Any questions?"