The Other Side Of The Looking Glass // Rade

[Arrows]

kirito

victor of the 70th hunger games

Silence hung over the training center like a thick sheet of fog. All around the utterly dark room mists of memories danced through the shadows. Voices of the buried traversed through the crevices of the ground as their lives remained remembered. Chains wore painfully against the shackled spirits' souls as their cries for retribution fell upon false ears. Not even their piercing poison glares could penetrate the shield of sweat that laid as a suit of armor across Kirito's skin. None of their claws of hate could drew blood from Kirito's body ever again. Never again would he lose life to knives being plunged into his body as he was sculpted into a human push pin. 

Heavy breaths forced Kirito's chest to rise and fall quickly as swung another one of his fists at the dangling sand bag. A brief disruptive wave shifted the sands as it spread out from the epicenter of his punch. Slowly other time he had been regaining his strength, yet even now he still felt his nerves shriveling from the fatigue of his games. Thankfully though his shattered mind had recovered more rapidly than he would have ever predicated. No longer did he crave blood or did he scream at the sight of his fellow arena members by his side. As of now they had all become a part of him. Kiri still stirred like a serpent of hell beneath Kirito's chains and all his departed tribute comrades never let him go a day without remembering. 

Dawn's feeble beams began to leak in through the low lying windows of the center as Kirito wiped his soaked body down with a tender towel. Off to his left Kirito spotted Sue's glare from the depths of the shadows and merely snorted as he watched the gun twirl. "It's a little too late to try and shoot me again Sue." Kirito said monotonously as his hollowed steps led him out of the ghastly room and to the nearby elevator which now lacked its guarding peace keepers. With the tributes shipped away there was no longer any reason to guard this place, now it was just another mausoleum of despair for those with anchors the size of arena's attached to their quaking hearts.

Before long the elevator returned Kirito to his own quiet floor. From what he could tell as he crept silently through the decrative halls was that he was the only person crazy enough to be awake before six in the morning. Alas Kirito could of sworn he heard a sound from within Katelyn's own chambers but he didn't dare enter. Kirito knew just as well as Katelyn did that their rooms were their sanctuaries. Within the confines of those walls they were meant to be left alone to their own devices. Behind their glamorous doors they could scream or cry all without a care in the world, and that was not a kind of trust Kirito ever intended on breaking.

Warmth filled Kirito's body as he entered his own room. Although it was one he rarely used it still held a special place in his heart. It was in the safety of this room Kirito truly realized he would get to live. It was also in this very place that he was first reunited with Circe again who as jokingly as ever wrapped her hands around his neck before hugging him and vanishing back into the depths of his subconscious. All in all this simple place was full of bright and dark moments he had encountered, and to Kirito that was what made something a real home.

Time moved rapidly as Kirito went about the next hour showering the stench of his early morning sorrow away and changing into another new outfit. Today it would seem he was wearing a fine long sleeved sleet grey shirt and grey vine embroidered black pants. Although the style was clearly not his own Kirito had to admit Zell's sense of Capitol fashion had helped him quite a bit with getting Annora and Harbinger the sponsors they needed. Hopefully this outfit would do just as well as the last several, Kirito thought as he departed into the living area.

Finally Kirito's long loneliness was ended as he spotted Katelyn dressed for their next day of mentoring as well.  However as Kirito approached his lovely blonde haired companion he couldn't help but desire some time away from all the craziness of the games. Kirito was positive they could go out somewhere nice in the Capitol for breakfast at least without missing anything major since surely half the city wouldn't even be moving until nine at the earliest. So with a small cheeky grin Kirito walked up beside her and shook his head at the pre made coffee for them both which was now steaming before them.

"Morning Katelyn, I hope your night was alright." Kirito said calmly as he pulled his gaze away from the brown liquid. "I was thinking about going out to a nice cafe I heard about for breakfast this morning. I would love the company considering I would probably get hopelessly lost in this multi-colored maze. Oh also I promise to pick up the check too." As his words finished he couldn't help but notice the smile brimming brightly on his face now. Over the past year Katelyn had become a very big support to Kirito and he enjoyed spending time with her. Especially since they have been so busy recently he couldn't help but long for a little breather for them both. 

here is a Key to every gate and every exit,

yet every Key has its own cost.

table by anzie

[charade]

KATELYN PERSIMMON

The evergreen forest could hopefully provide a little more protection against the elements. It still wounded her soul to leave Marc behind, but being forced to fight him? No, that wouldn't do at all. With luck, she'd never see Marc or Lexi again but in th sky or in the next life. But there was a noise. Tributes. Lexi? No, no, no, no. She had to help, had to try. Throwing axes cartwheeled across the expanse. Then Prism took Lexi's leg, Her hand followed. The air was cold, but the blood splashing everywhere was hot. Liquid fire forged from crimson, raining down on the snow in twisted showers. But then Prism lay dying, and she was screaming at his ally. Chaske. The boy from nine was laughing, and he had no right to. It was wrong and threats spilled from her mouth like the blood that was staining everything. And through it all, the damned Capitol theme was playing over and over and over...

 Katelyn awoke with a start, Lexi's name on her lips as the screen wall wailed an aggravating tune, She must have fallen asleep with it on. Bleary-eyed, she watched as the cameras followed twenty tributes in the process of starting their day or trying to sleep wherever they could.  None of the tributes had found each other yet, though the announcers were saying that the alliance that had lost Odile was bound to run into the same tributes that killed her again if they kept traveling on their current route. Then it cut to a grid view that started giving video and stats of mentors and the betting odds for which mentor was most likely to lose a tribute by the end of the day. Often, the promotional materials played up her strength. While Kirito seemed liked he was slowly being cemented as the "nice" mentor for their district, the all around good guy, it seemed like she was given the role of being the hard one.

Granted, her appearance could be imposing, and the quiet look of annoyance that had a tendency to grace her features added a bit of menace, but the Capitol always went overboard. Why, she remembered reading an article about herself in Victor's View, and the photographer made it look like she was plotting to kill someone. She thought about Kirito's most recent article, and then thought about him. Did he see her through the lenses the Capitol provided? Or like many people did back home? As this roaring lioness, this brave mentor that got the job done?

This in turn caused her mind to wander first to her own games, and then the quell she had helped Kirito through. Not for the first time, she compared the lives they had taken in the arena. Both of them had killed someone in the heat of the bloodbath. Both of them had managed to avoid killing another tribute until forced to in the final four. And both of them had emerged victorious in the finale.

So far, neither Annora nor Harbinger had killed anyone, so that pattern was moot. Maybe they'd get farther with no deaths on their consciences. That wasn't too much to hope for was it? Shaking her head, Katelyn got dressed in a simple tank top and jean combo and headed out into the lounge, where her fellow mentor was already awake and apparently, bustling about. "Morning to you too Kirito." she said as she approached.

After grabbing a mug and pouring herself some of the coffee that Kirito had brewed, she sipped at it, eyeing Kirito over the brim of the cup. He was so...happy. An honest smile was plastered across his face as he offered to buy them both food to start the day. When she thought about how she had helped him, she couldn't help but think about how there had been no one but Finter to help her through the aftermath of the games and then the subsequent year of mentoring.

She doubted that either of them were as well adjusted as she liked to think, but some of it had to have worked. How else could he manage to be so chipper at such an early hour? A far cry from the boy that had skinned a mutt and worn its bloody fur like a cape. Katelyn drank a little more before setting the mug down. "Breakfast at a cafe sounds lovely. Lead the way." she replied with a soft smile to match the one he had. It'd be nice to do something normal and not think about the tributes in peril, at least for a little while. After painstakingly watching Kirito's every movement the previous year, she knew that this time, she needed a break. 

"And its haunting me, but I feel fine
War of worlds in real time"

table coding (c) ghosty

[Arrows]

kirito

victor of the 70th hunger games

Relief washes over Kirito's body like a gentle wave against the golden sand lit beaches of District Four. Although Kirito had only been to Four once he had to admit he had acquired quite the taste for the salt sprinkled air. Still though he was more than happy to have Katelyn accept his offer. From what he had seen so far the both of them, as they naturally should be, were wrapped head in over heels with the games. Thankfully though they could take this time to step back from the spotlight as their tributes slept and just breathe. Not to mention Kirito was longing for just a simple nice conversation with his friend that he had been missing since the moment Harbinger and Annora's names were blasted through the speakers back in Eleven.

Kirito's smile stayed thick on his face as he let his tablet sparkle to life with just a few tender taps of his fingers. He wasted no time in pulling up a generic city map of the Capitol and locating the cafe they were suppose to dine in. In fact Kirito couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle "Would you look at that apparently the cafe we are going to was one of Cadence and Glamour's personal favorites during the Sixty Seventh Games. Seems like there isn't anywhere in this place that isn't connected to the games. Oh well." He said with a shrug as he memorized his desired route to their destination before watching the screen slip gently back into its sleeping state. 

"Alright," Kirito said as he began walking with Katelyn into the elevator. "I made sure to find the route there which we will avoid the most attention. I don't know about you but I am rather sick of all the cameras up in my face." A partially satirical laugh sprung out from Kirito's throat as the elevator began its descent. Kirito was of course grateful to be alive but he never would have imagined just how much his hell would still hold onto his soul. In fact he had to blink twice for just a brief moment as he could of sworn Katelyn was Circe and they were heading up to Kirito's abandoned floor. Yet Kirito knew all too well that wasn't the case. 

With a gentle gust of winds the elevator doors slid open and Kirito walked calmly out and through the silent building. However as he pulled the door open for Katelyn like his Ma had always told him to do he couldn't help but sigh quietly to himself. Just the fact that they could both depart from this building whenever they wanted now made him sick. He remembered spending countless nights wondering what lied beyond his prison and what the city was like. And now he could go and explore it whenever he wanted. It truly was odd just how rapidly life could change. 

As if on cue a small swarm of Capitolites came whisking over to the two victors as Kirito simply turned and started walking away from them despite their desperate pleas for a photo or a signature. No matter what they believed or thought he would never allow himself to feel like the star they wanted him to be. All he had become was a murderer with a fancier title and for whatever screwed up reason they adored both him and Katelyn for it. Needless to say Kirito was more than relieved when they had both reached the partial sanctuary of a nearby alleyway that would lead them right near their final destination. Yet even in the shadows of this magenta alley he could see at least on large screen broadcasting the games. 

Currently the screen was focused on Harbinger and his allies as they slept in the cool morning of their breath taking arena. Unlike his own Harbinger and Annora's arena was one of pure surreal beauty, but everyone new that beauty in the games was only deceiving, In fact Kirito was kind of grateful to the wastelandic hell he was thrown into since he never could forget where he was. Nothing in he arena was beautiful except for three people who all lost their lives in the shadow of that now crumbled clock tower. Rhyme, Circe, and Key were all just too gorgeous for the arena not to keep. They were all its treasure now and there was no way for Kirito to steal their lives back from the dragon of the 70th Arena. 

As Kirito continued to walk alongside Katelyn another thought crossed his mind that made his heart rush just slightly in its rhythmic beating. Harbinger was Navya's treasure, one that Kirito still had the power to save. Harbinger was a treasure Kirito had promised to return to Navya without a doubt. So far Harbinger had been doing more than excel in the games but Kirito couldn't help but pray that it all kept up. A promise to Kirito meant everything so he only wished that he would not have to break one and return it back to its receiver in the form of a coffin. 

Shaking his head briefly Kirito turned his attention back to Katelyn as he shoved his hands into the comforts of his pockets while they continued to trek forward. "The cafe should be just up ahead to the right according to the maps." He said very concisely as his stomach let out a partial rumble. Apparently he was more ready for breakfast than he had originally thought. 

here is a Key to every gate and every exit,

yet every Key has its own cost.

table by anzie

[charade]

KATELYN PERSIMMON

Kirito was just so...unflappable. She supposed she was partly responsible for that. He had come to the Capitol as a starry-eyed kid who abhorred violence a year ago. In the games he had cracked under the pressure and once he had come back, he had managed to recapture some of his exuberance. Though she had noticed his accent was fading. Probably because of the time spent in the Capitol. When she thought about it, she supposed that in general it was the victors who had won without a mentor in their corner that were more prone to being self destructive. She wondered what that said about her.

He went to say that the cafe had the star of approval from some gamemakers. She didn't care to know about them, but it was hard to avoid when a culture was built around entertainment, so she gathered that Cadence was a sort of one hit wonder, and that Glamour was rumored to be in a relationship with one of the victors. How any self-respecting victor could have feelings for one of the people responsible for the hell that was televised every year, Katelyn couldn't fathom.

They exited and Katelyn was surprised to see how gentlemanly he was, holding the door and waiting for her to go first. His mother must have been proud. They suffered only one gaggle of eager fans before they managed to get on the quickest, emptiest route that Kirito had been able to find. They left the people behind, but weren't able to leave the games behind, watching from a screen as tributes slept or started to wake up as the morning hit. The ones that slumbered on looked peaceful, too peaceful considering their situation. At least the weather seemed more or less normal in the arena, no smog filled skies like the quell or the sub-zero temperatures she had endured. When they reached the cafe, she didn't spare the name a glance, going inside and being ushered to a table.

The violet haired waitress beamed at the both of them, facilitating between gushing about how amazing it was to serve the two most recent victors together and trying to list the items on the menu. Once she managed to actually get a word in edgewise, Katelyn ordered the blueberry waffles with a side of hash browns and a tall glass of orange juice. Kirito made his order soon after, while Katelyn's gaze was uncomfortably drawn to one of the godforsaken viewing screens that every single building the Capitol seemed to have just in time to see the current male tribute from three get cut to pieces and go down in a heap.

There were some cheers mixed with groans of disappointment from the people crowded around the screen, reactions likely dependent on their bets. She grimaced and turned back to her fellow mentor dryly. "At least there's other things to keep people in here occupied other than bothering victors." Their server came by the drinks and she sipped at her juice before changing the subject. "How've you been holding up?"

"I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone"

table coding (c) ghosty

[Arrows]

kirito

victor of the 70th hunger games

Light whisked across Kirito's face as both Katelyn and he finally turned the last corner from the alley. All around them activities were slowing becoming more and more apparent as the Capitol grew more and more alive with every passing second. In fact just down the street Kirito could spot a group of children racing off to a nearby playset. A bit of bitterness swirled within Kirito's mind as he imagined the playsets back in Eleven, all zero of them. Although Kirito had nothing personally against the young Capitolite offspring he still found sourness towards them. For all he knew they could grow up to be even worse than Snow. Just like the Districts they were trapped here in their lives of luxury and corruption. Hell Kirito would have given anything to see a Capitolite parent explaining the games to their children, who knows maybe they all think it really is just some show, as if. 

As Kirito's fingers, both real and fake, wrapped around the cool metal door handle to the cafe he caught several pieces of what Caesar and Claudius were discussing. Apparently a good amount of Capitolites were still vastly devastated by the early departure of a young Hannah O'Leary who still beamed like the North Star in Kirito's mind. Even though their meeting had been brief and over a few drinks he had really felt like he got to know her and he would be lying if he said her death still didn't linger through his thoughts. Still he let the shadows of sadness that scourged his visions dwindle and fade as he once again opened the door for Katelyn to enter first. 

Not even ten seconds after walking calmly through the door Katelyn and himself were flung at by a violet haired waitress who swiftly showed them to their seats along with expressing her utter love for them both and the honor she had in serving them. Kirito let himself laugh softly as he patted her elbow, "Just treat us as any other customers and I am sure everything will be as wonderful as I heard." Surely enough she took off darting away with her eyes as bright as the silver lining after a gruesome and brutal storm. Thankfully though it appeared the flattering brought her back quickly to receive the orders. 

Luckily the waitress asked Katelyn for her order first giving him just enough time to select his own entree. With a gentle smile Kirito ordered the Monte Cristo with a side of a buttered biscuit and a nice chilled glass of cranberry juice to soothe his throat. Yet Kirito's attention shifted over the crowd of Capitolites watching the games screens all across the cafe. A slight snort popped out of Kirito at Katelyn's remark. "Yeah thankfully, still its kind of sad that they are all just so drawn to that screen. I just wonder how they see it all, as just some show or if they can even comprehend the sheer amount of death and suffering that is scaring that distant land." 

Chills jolted down Kirito's spine as he happily snatched his cranberry juice from the waitress and let its taste snap across the surface of his taste buds. Yet as he placed the brightly colored red liquid down on the table he met Katelyn's gaze to answer her question. "Well let's see," Kirito said gently as he let one of his hands glide softly through his hair. "The training in morning is going well considering I nearly have all of my strength back from before the Quell. As for my mental status, the doctor has fully released me and I am finally off of medication as well. There are still a few days where things are a bit darker but I can usually find the light I need. Then back in Eleven I have established a clinic out of my house like I use to have except this time I have the supplies I really need to help people. Yet my family is another story, my Ma is fully recovered and back to her old self but my brother has practically shut me out. Thankfully we are trying to work things out but its just hard when he left me when I needed him most, when things were just so filled with the sins of the shadows."

The cursed feeling of water welling up beneath Kirito's tear ducts caused his hands to quickly wipe away the troubles beginning to storm. "Sorry," Kirito said with a gentle laugh, "Didn't mean to get all down. So anyway how have things been for you Katelyn, you look really well." Kirito said with a genuine smile as he let the liquid once again race down his throat and into the acidic churning of his stomach.

here is a Key to every gate and every exit,

yet every Key has its own cost.

table by anzie

[charade]

KATELYN PERSIMMON

It was sad, the way they crowded around the screen like a pack of wolves inspecting a carcass and baying for blood, but she already knew the answer. They couldn’t comprehend the misery, because they had been brought up taking joy in the suffering of others. It was natural for them, and if there were any who understood the reality of it all, she doubted they cared. They were all wolves in some way. But she was a lioness, and lions were above wolves in the animal kingdom. She could smell the scent of food being cooked wafting in from the kitchen, mingling with the dishes that the other patrons were eating. For the most part, she detected sugar and thought it apt. It was a sickly, cloying aroma that hung heavy on the air, not unlike blood.

Kirito answered her question in spades, going into detail about what life was like after the games for him. It was good to know that he had almost completely recovered physically, and that he didn’t need the pills to get himself through the day. She hadn’t known that he’d taken it upon himself to run a clinic from his house, using his victor winnings to get people the help they needed. How old was he again? She couldn’t think of the number, only that she was older than him by at least a year if not a few more. And then of course, his brother and him were having a spat; as Katelyn had no siblings, she wasn’t really sure what such arguments were like, but she had other things to deal with at home.

The boy sitting across from her smiled when he asked about her life, and for a brief flicker of a moment she wasn’t sure how to start. How to say that eating meals with her parents was an awkward affair? That even now, two years later, they still seemed afraid to do or say the wrong thing like it would cause her to crack like glass. Or how to explain that that girl had already been broken and rebuilt? How had she been? She’d been worrying non-stop about the two tributes from eleven and their well-being.

It had been so much easier the previous year, when Kirito was the only one to worry about, with no partner of his to be sent home in a box. How to tell Kirito that she had had greatness thrust upon her in a district where many people had long since given up hope of a victor. How to tell him that she was afraid of failure? That she couldn’t afford to show weakness when she felt Kirito and indeed, many kids in eleven looked up to her as this hero?

“I’m fine.” She said with a small twinkle in her mouth. “Been helping out in my Dad’s cherry orchard. It’s looking like it’ll be a good crop come harvest time.“ She stretched, working out a kink in her back with a sigh. Between her workout regimen, diet and training, she was doing pretty good; tired from lack of sleep, but otherwise in very fit condition. The names inked on the visible parts of her arms and torso caught the light a little as she settled back down. “I’m glad you’re doing better Kirito. Really. Sorry to hear about your brother, hope it gets resolved soon.” A canon punctured the atmosphere and Katelyn twitched, turning to the commotion some of the other customers were making and seeing the instant replay of a spear going through the face of the girl from ten. Her hand was on her neck before she knew it was, as if to make sure it wasn’t bleeding.

A moment later, the waitress returned with their food and Katelyn turned her attention to the hash browns. They were good, a little on the greasy side, but seasoned well. She cut a piece of pancake off and swirled it around in the maple syrup lazily. ”I killed them, you know.” Margaret said, lunging forward with her spear. Katelyn ignored the memory and focused on her food.“Thanks again.” She said warmly. “I haven’t been able to find a place that knows how to cook potatoes properly.""Or that doesn’t name one of its potato dishes after the Earnest boy.”the thought finished darkly in her head. “A girl could get used to this.” she said with a light chuckle.

"You know, it's taken its toll on me,
But I don't feel invisible"

table coding (c) ghosty

[Arrows]

kirito

victor of the 70th hunger games

Richness sizzled across Kirito's mouth as he enjoyed his meal. However not even the maple drizzle across the egg battered cinnamon dough could completely distract Kirito from the hounds of people still swarming around the screens. Part of Kirito wondered if they would ever want to stop all the useless carnage, but he knew they wouldn't. They all believed the Games were a tradition, one that they could never break. As for those such as him and Katelyn they viewed the arena as nothing more than a slaughter house. Even those that manage to slither away with blood staining them are cursed with the incantations of death. No one ever leaves the arena unchanged, no one. 

Across the cafe a canon rung out sending Kirito's nerves through the rough as visions of blood soaked his face and mind. Yet above all he swiftly brought his attention to the screens in fear of seeing one of his own tributes downed by a fatal blow. Thankfully Kirito saw that the owner of the canon was the girl from ten who now laid bleeding out upon the ground. Sorrow overwhelmed Kirito's body as he looked away from the horrid sight that the Capitolites now swooned over. Although Leticia wasn't one of his tributes she was still just another innocent girl stolen away from the cruelty of the Capitol in a swift plunge of a spear.

Slowly Kirito let his attention rotate back to his meal and his partner across from him. Before Katelyn had even begun to speak Kirito could see it in her eyes, she , just as he was, was afraid of letting people down. Kirito couldn't imagine the stress she was feeling knowing she had already been successful in bringing him home on her first round of mentoring. Now she was posed with the challenge again but both Kirito and knew that there were never any guarantees in the games, especially not for the lower Districts. And despite some citizens beliefs District Eleven was still a lower district. 

Several more moments passed as Kirito finished his meal and listened intently to Katelyn's much briefer description of life. Katelyn had always been a rather reserved person but perhaps that was what Kirito liked about her. He liked the challenge to try to break down her frozen wall and allow herself to open up to him. He wanted to be there for her the exact same way she had been there for him in the turmoil of his shadowed darkness. Yet above all he wanted her to know nothing was solely on her shoulders anymore because she had him now to ease her burdens. 

Gently Kirito let a smile appear across his face as she thanked him for the meal while commenting on the well prepared cuisine. "I think anyone could get use to this." Kirito said with a subtle laugh. "You know Katelyn," Kirito said softly as he met her own gaze with his own. "You aren't alone in this anymore. If somehow Annora and Harbinger both fall in that arena you don't have to struggle under their weight alone. I will be right beside you every step of the way even after we have another person crowned beside us. If You have my back and I have your's then I can promise we will make it through whatever comes our way." 

As Kirito let his words sink into effect he lifted the thin glass of juice once again to his lips as its startlingly fresh flavor flourished across his taste buds. "Also, I heard about an interesting park nearby that has the statues of all the past tributes there. If you are up to it we can walk through there after we are finished here. Don't feel obligated though it is just a suggestion." Kirito says with one more genuine smile before taking his final sip of the soothing red cranberry liquid. 

here is a Key to every gate and every exit,

yet every Key has its own cost.

table by anzie

[charade]

KATELYN PERSIMMON

Katelyn's fork froze halfway to her mouth. Was she really that obvious? Was the source of her stress that obvious? Well of course it was, she thought after a moment. Kirito was probably stressed about their tributes too, and she had already told him everything was fine at home, so what else did she have to be worried about? She hadn't thought it that visible though. "Thanks. I know. I'm glad." she said quickly. Perhaps too quickly. Their tributes were still doing well, but so were the careers; all six of them were still alive and kicking, and it was them she had her eye on, as well as the remaining tributes from six and seven. Both districts had made it to the last fight in the past two years, though they hadn't won. 

As for Kirito....A suggestion, she thought as he finished his drink. For what? She didn't need closure, she had that. Why subject herself to stone representations of the people she had lost? Of the people she had killed? Those things found her in her sleep whenever she was in the Capitol anyway. Velocity. Marc. Lexi. Dillon. Chaske. Margaret. Mason. Orion, she added after a moments thought. And Kirito wanted to subject himself to the same thing? Maybe he was the one that needed some closure. So why had his suggestion rattled her?

Two years and twenty-three names tattooed on her body later, was she really afraid to walk through a field filled with facsimiles of the dead? No, she thought. Katelyn fucking Persimmon wasn't afraid of death anymore. "Interesting isn't the word I would use. But I understand the draw. Maybe a day or two from now? I've got some stuff to take care of after breakfast." That being baking some things and sending them to the victors that had lost tributes thus far. Hell if she if how many of them still cared about losing tributes, but she needed something to do to get her mind off of things. Kirito...he was a good friend, and maybe he was right. They weren't mentor and tribute anymore.

They were both mentors, Kirito wanted to help the new tributes too. And he wanted to help her. She thought maybe she should let him. Then she remembered her last three friends. One a snow angel with a halo of crimson. Two abandoned so she wouldn't be forced to...to...("I killed them, you know.") There was a reason she didn't get close to anyone. But... "Nobody deserves to die alone. Not even you." She had told him that. Hadn't she? The boy she had killed. Chaske. Maybe nobody deserved to go through life alone either. Kirito could tell that she was stressed out, and even figured out the reason why. "Yeah. Two days from now? Call it a date." she paused for a second, and chuckled awkwardly as she realized the implication of the word she had used. "Or you know, hanging out or whatever."

"You know, it's taken its toll on me,
But I don't feel invisible"

table coding (c) ghosty