IC CONTACT - Ruby City

[berrynice]

Hello! You've reached Holly Kujo. Sorry I can't talk right now, but leave a message and I will get back to you A~S~A~P!

Comments

[berrynice]

It's... completely normal...?

[She kind of stops listening for a second after that.

It's completely normal.

Jotaro can use her Stand with no trouble at all.

So it follows that the problem doesn't lie with the Stand at all, but instead--]

I can't. I can't do that, Noriaki.

[Her eyes are starting to water, so she closes them, shaking her head as she turns her body away.]

I know... I'm sounding stubborn right now, and I know you're the Stand expert and you know best, but-- but your soul is your best friend. You can use it to do anything-- everything! It'll protect you! You can trust it not to hurt you!

I can't do that!

[The flickering returns as she cries out the things she's normally so good about keeping to herself, this time all along her arms, like the Stand would be holding her from behind if it was allowed to manifest fully.

She loses steam, a little, her breath heavy and shaking.]

... I-- I trust you, I do, but... it's not something you can stop from happening to me, if that's what it decides to do.

[lapidarius]

[Kakyoin flinched at the outburst like instinct told him everything was going to come crashing down at that moment, but quickly recovered and pushed that aside. His own lingering fear of the incomprehensible didn't matter right now. The only thing that mattered was that someone he loved like a second mother was upset, and he needed to do something about that.]

That's not-... [He trailed off, taking a step closer.] I'm sorry. You're right, I can't even understand this--I've never really understood it. The concept of a Stand that would hurt its user never made any sense to me, and I still don't know if it really has something to do with willpower or if it's because of...the way it developed.

[The last thing either of them needed was to bring up Dio directly, but the implication was clear even with the calm tone of voice Kakyoin was careful to use.]

...But if this is what's worrying you, then I want to say that I don't find myself able to think it's your fault. There's no way the soul of someone as kind and compassionate as you would ever be reflected as something entirely malicious on its own.

[berrynice]

[She seems to settle down a bit as Kakyoin speaks, her breath evening, her shoulders losing some of their tension, the purple shimmer around her arms slowly fading back into nothing. Like a puppet whose strings have been cut, she sags, stepping forward to lean against the wall for support.

She wants a hug. She wants her father, if she's honest. But she's not yet so blind that she doesn't see the distance Kakyoin has been keeping, and there's now way except by the whims of fate that her father will come running to her rescue. She takes deep breaths instead, trying to find her center once more.]

I just... wish I knew why, then. It would be really nice to know.

[There's guilt and anger in blaming herself, but closure as well; a double edged blade that at least gives her an answer, even if it isn't a pleasant one. The opposite relieves her of responsibility, but also leaves her adrift in a sea of questions no one truly knows the answers to.]

I'm sorry. I won't chase after him. I really... really want to, but I won't, if that's what he wants.

[lapidarius]

...I wish I could answer that for you. I don't even know if there is an answer, but if one exists I want to help you find it.

[Kakyoin pushed back what little hesitation remained, coming closer and gently resting a hand on Holly's shoulder.]

I want to go after him, too. But I think it's going to be okay--I trust that he knows by now what he can and can't handle. And when he gets back, we can both lecture him for making us worry so much.