Week 2, Post-Trial: Ichigo

[withsadness]

[Mary watches Ichigo storm off after the meeting, looking back and forth from between where he went and between where the others are still talking. In the end, she chases after him, not wanting to lose sight of him if he gets too far away. He was so mad! All that bloodthirsty excitement seems to have completely vanished as she tries to catch up.]

Wait! Ichigoooo!

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[bladeisme]

[Painted her on canvas...So she was a tsukumogami, but of a painting instead of a doll. And it seemed that she lived in a world with the others, in a gallery? Something like that made perfect sense to him - like the world of the living and the dead, two worlds that were never meant to touch but co-existed beside each other.

Then she reveals her end, and he -]

How could she?

[He doesn't know the whole story here - not by a long shot - and Mary is intense, but...she's no less scary than a hollow or an Arrancar, and she's in a child's form. Even in the world she originally came from, that doesn't mean that someone should kill her for the crime of not being human.

He cradles the back of her head with his hand as he holds her, his expression hard before softening as he thinks about how painful that must have been for her.]

...I'm so sorry that happened to you, Mary. You didn't deserve it.

[withsadness]

[Mary hiccups against Ichigo as she struggles with the way that she feels, the terror and the rage and confusion all bubbling up inside of her. Her childishness mixing with the years beyond even her own knowing. This is so hard to talk about.]

Junko burned them all up--she burned them and I hate her, I hate her! I hate her!

[bladeisme]

[Burned them all up -

He's confused for a moment before he realizes what she's talking about. The manikins and masks in the toy shop...Mary had loved that place, and now he thinks he understands why.

She'd said the place reminded her of her sisters, didn't she? It probably did remind her of her home, among all the other pieces in the gallery in their own little world. In that case...no wonder she was so devastated by what had happened.

He lets her get it all out - she needs it.]

I know, I know. She didn't get away with it, did she? She'll be gone by tomorrow, in the same way she took them away from you.

[And also in the same way she took Eleanor away from everyone, but - Right now, Mary's pain comes first.]

[withsadness]

[Eleanor is a hard blow in and of itself, but it's easier for her to understand her feelings for those who are more like her. Humans are confusing. She loves them, envies them, wants to be one herself, but she can't truly relate to them, and they frighten her just as much as they fill her with wonder. So where does she place Eleanor's kindness, or any of their kindnesses, in importance? It's complicated.]

Yeah...she will.

[She slowly seems to be calming down, at least a little. Her hands slowly unclench.]

And I don't scare you, either? You don't think I'm scary?

[bladeisme]

[He's glad to see her relax a little, and he lets her go just enough so he can look back into her eyes, if she'll let him - so that she can see that he's not scared in the slightest by her being non-human.

After all, she was here, acting just like a little girl who's faced so many hard things in her world, killed just for being different. How could he ever be afraid of her after hearing that?]

Of course not. You're someone I care about, no matter if you're human or not.

[It's a genuine smile that flits onto his face, warm, open, and inviting.]

I'm a shinigami, remember? I've seen a lot of things - and I've fought a lot of things - and I've been able to make friends with people who aren't human. Just like you.

[That doesn't mean he loves how gung-ho she is about murder, but...Well. He can deal with it now.]

[withsadness]

I remember!

[It makes the beginnings of a smile reappear on Mary's cheeks, and she nods her head.]

You won't take it back no matter what then, will you?

[Another pause.]

And you won't tell anybody?

[bladeisme]

I promise I won't take it back - and I won't tell anyone.

[There's not even a single moment of hesitation as he holds out his hand, pinky extended - a gesture she should recognize.]

You can make me swallow a thousand needles if I lie, alright?

[He knows she'll probably take that literally, but...He won't betray her trust in him, especially about something like his.

He knows what it's like to be different, and to try to hide what you are.]

[withsadness]

Okay!

[Mary giggles like it's a joke. Maybe not a promising reaction but at least it makes her smile widen as she takes her finger and wraps it around Ichigo's.]

My friends mean more to me than anything, you know. All I want is for us to all be able to play together.

[It's just, sometimes, that playing involves murder. Sometimes you have to kill your friends so you can keep making more, forever.]

That's the real reason I decided not to go back home. It's so, so lonely.

[bladeisme]

[And thus, the sacred pinky promise is complete. Ichigo nods, patting the top of her head again.]

That's alright. It's a good reason to not go back, anyway.

[He gives a sad smile, his eyes reflecting a deep, unhealed pain.]

I didn't go back because all of my friends were already dead...and that I'd had to do something that might get undone if I returned to life.

[Or worse...he'd be alive but trapped, limbless, in the crystal.]