Shattered Stars in the Rain


Date: 2019-02-04
Pose Count: 16
Natsumi Matsumoto 2019-02-04 18:44:11 103386
Pitter patter, said the rain as it fell down on the rubber of a crab-themed red raincoat. The face of the person wearing it was obscured by the shadows the cloud cover cast off, but they surely seemed to be looking towards the manor with an unwavering gaze. "Maybe I should talk to her anyway...", mumbled Natsumi as she looked on, lost in the past and awkward stumblings through ideas of the future. "I'm due for an interesting conversation today, but am I ready for it?". She kicked a red rainboot against a puddle, sending tinkling droplets of water through the air while she fought with herself inwardly.
Lacrima 2019-02-04 18:50:08 103387
It's probably a good thing Natsumi didn't go up and try to knock on the manor door. Mainly-- because-- she isn't home right now. She left early in the morning to get the 'freshest' donuts from the artisan shop she likes and then she had other chores.

She's arriving back home with a purple parasol protecting her from the rain and is otherwise in a fancy-ish dress. Not the extravagent expensive period dress. Not in the rain. But it's still fancier than it should be for any normal person's regular manner of dress.

She blinks at the red raincoat suited person ahead of her on the sidewalk in front of the manor. She gets closer to realize that it's a crab-like one? She blinks. That's strange--- the only person she knows that'd wear that would be....

But could it be her? She blinks a little and stops a few feet short in the rain and asks...

"N..Natsumi-chan...?" she asks softly.
Natsumi Matsumoto 2019-02-04 18:58:15 103388
A moment of hesitation passes, silent hesitation as a fight or flight decision plays out through Natsumi's mind. Not instinct, but a concious one that she needs to make. In the end, fight rises up burning in her heart and sears away any thought of flight.

Now turning to Lacrima, Natsumi raises her head from a point at her feet and what looks like raindrops trickle down her cheeks. "Norie.". Her voice is shattered, like a thousand pieces of happiness shattered into shards of anger and sadness, all thrown into an itchy bag of anxious. "Hi.".
Lacrima 2019-02-04 19:02:49 103389
Lacrima blinks and frowns. Wh--what is Natsumi doing here!? She's kind of sensing for dark energy immediatly, wondering if something got into her.. something causing her to seek out someone she doesn't like and do bad things but she isn't sensing anything like that. At least not in traces that bad feelings generally produce. Nothing to worry about on that particular front she thinks.

But if it's not that then... then?....

"Natsumi-chan..." still a -chan from her. Lacrima does notice the lack of a honorific on Natsumi's end. "W--what are you doing here?... I don't understand... you.. you said you wanted nothing to do with me. D--" she says.

"Did you forget something?... I um.. I might still have it.. I mean... I don't.. think I.. do...?" she asks with a nervous stutter.

"If you're here to hurt me I don't think that's a good idea..." she trails off quietly.
Natsumi Matsumoto 2019-02-04 19:08:08 103390
Natsumi Matsumoto boils through so many emotions as Lacrima asks her a series of questions, and makes several statements. Pieces finding one another, and things clicking into place. Her green eyes reveal none of this, but it may be apparent as she sinks to her knees and mumbles for a moment or so.

"I... I never said anything like that to you. My mom said you called while I was out one day and she answered my phone, and you said you never wanted to speak to me again. That you wanted nothing to do with me any more. It broke me for so long...". She looks up at Lacrima and shakes her head. "We've been played. My mom must have...". A sound of anger comes from her delicate throat, completely at odds with everything else about her.
Lacrima 2019-02-04 19:12:13 103391
Lacrima blinks blankly. "N--no?" she says when Natsumi says she called while she was out.

"You left me a bunch of nasty text messages Natsumi-chan!? I broke you!? Natsumi-- I literally almost tore apart and then the Prince of Nightmares also finished the dumb job and I almost let him!." she says angrily. She shoves her hand into her pocket and fishes out her phone and seems to angrily start tracing her finger across the surface.

She hands Natsumi the phone to show the long string of indeed, nasty text messages ending with a 'Natsumi-- please!?' before a 'Natsumi Masumoto has blocked your number' at the end in a red system message box. While she can or can't prove she called- she can prove she got texts easily enough. She's saved them.

She frowns and shakes her head. "Your mom what?" she asks.
Natsumi Matsumoto 2019-02-04 19:17:57 103392
With a flash of bright light in the rain, Natsumi's phone in a tacky crab case is in her hand, her fingers moving just as swiftly to a noticeable lack of those messages on her phone. "See, I never sent those. My mom... I think she spoofed me to you. She misled us both, not ready for her little bird to fly. I think... I think I get my dad now.". She rolls her eyes, rubbing the tears from them afterwards.

"I'd never say those things... If... If I hadn't so readily believed her, maybe neither of us would have broken... I'm so sorry. For what she did. For what I did by not trying again. I just stayed out in the country, and let her home school me for awhile. So I didn't have to face the lights of the city again and think about it alll...".
Lacrima 2019-02-04 19:30:57 103393
Lacrima shifts. "I couldn't even leave the manor after that for a while." she says awkwardly. "I'm not kidding when I say I was literarly falling apart. I was leaking dark energy. I was toxic to people around me." she says quietly. "...Then the Prince of Nightmares sent a weird freaky clone of himself to rip into me and tear the barrier that protects my soul from my dark energy apart and I almost ate myself." she says.

"...Not like I was in any place to stop him..." she trails off.

She looks back up and shakes her head. "I'm sorry Natsumi-chan." she says quietly. "I'm a lot better now overall... Ari-chan...." a trail off there at that name.

"...fixed the barrier around my soul. I can feel positive feelings now because of it." she says quietly. "....It's... muted. Stronger around her. She isn't here right now though..." perhaps an odd moment where she's thankful for that. It'd make it awkward.

"W--what brought you here today?..." she asks. "Did you just...think about it or...?" she shifts. "Did someone telling you something.....?"
Natsumi Matsumoto 2019-02-04 19:33:22 103394
Natsumi absent-mindedly rubs the back of her head through her hood as the rain continues to fall. "I ran into someone when I came back to town, and they talked about you, and I just... I wanted to try and catch a glance of you at least.". She gives a nervous laugh. "I guess I'm kind of a stalker.".
Lacrima 2019-02-04 19:39:50 103395
Lacrima head tilts. "Who?" she asks. "What did they say...?" she asks quietly. She shakes her head. "...You're not a stalker for wanting to confront someone you think wronged you Natsumi-chan..." she says quietly. "But that didn't happen either... I mean... wronging you." she says gently.
Natsumi Matsumoto 2019-02-04 19:43:30 103396
Another nervous laugh. "I was actually hoping to avoid being scene. From the way my mom talked, you didn't want to see me ever again. Visually or otherwise. So I was trying to be like the stars on a rainy night, hiding. There name was Kobana Kotomi. They said they knew you. I didn't pry too much, just asked if you were okay. I'll alwaays worry after you.".
Lacrima 2019-02-04 19:49:55 103397
Lacrima blinks. "Oh! Kotomi-san is one of Unmei's friends who visited recently.... Unmei-chan lives with me, Lamya and Jiaying in the manor now." she says looking across the street at it. She sulks a bit and looks back to Natsumi-chan. "I... um." she shifts. "...I'm dating... Ariel now.. Ari-chan." she says quietly. "Not---" a pause. "Not.. rubbing it in just. I wanna... be honest." she says.

She looks up. "Have you... met someone new Natsumi-chan?" she asks softly.
Natsumi Matsumoto 2019-02-04 19:53:41 103398
Natsumi shakes her head. "I've not been in town long enough to really meet anybody. I didn't get out much at the country house. It felt kind of pointless while I wallowed in my silly misery. At least, it seems silly now. I'm glad things are working out really well for you. It makes me feel a lot better to hear it from you, yourself.". She fiddles with her charm bracelet, the crab grasping at her finger-tips.
Lacrima 2019-02-04 19:56:35 103399
Lacrima nods a little. "Do you want to come in for a snack...?" she asks. "I bought fresh donuts this morning..." she says. "and I think everyone is doing their own thing still." she says. "And besides. It's raining. You're gonna get all wet!" she huffs as she motions across the road.
Natsumi Matsumoto 2019-02-04 20:10:52 103400
Awkward pause, then Natsumi shakes her head. "I think I might need to walk a bit in the rain to get my thoughts together, and then deal with this at the root. Sorry.". She smiles nervously at Lacrima, hoping she isn't being too rude by declining the invitation.
Lacrima 2019-02-04 20:13:55 103401
Lacrima seems to understand and shakes her head. "I understand." she says. "...Please... feel free to come back?" she asks. "I don't mind visitors..." she says quietly. "And I'm sure Unmei-chan will probably find your crab raincoat cute." she giggles a little. "But-- don't.. feel like you need to avoid...okay?" she asks.