Left My Head and My Heart // [Navya x Kirito]

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

NAVYA SACHDEVA

It turned out that the sort of notoriety she'd earned by being Kirito's friend and whatever she was to Harbinger Rhodes did not open very many doors. It mostly meant the little kids who worked in the orchard ended up under her feet more than usual. She spent her afternoons shooing them off her trail as she smuggled the best of the orchard's hall into the center of the District, where she traded it for the most valuable thing in all of Eleven: a little time with a working phone.

This one was located adjacent to the Peacekeeper's station, a daunting proposition for anyone. Straight-as-an-arrows Navya Sachdeva almost passed out the first time she lifted the handle and heard the dial tone. This was forbidden, definitely illegal, but she had to try. There were things that could not wait to be said.

But she had to wait and break the law for seven days before she finally called at the right time.

She had become accustomed by then to listening to the empty ring tone, to twirling her fingers around the steel cord, to keeping an eye on the end of the alleyway for any patrols. She almost didn't know what to do when she heard the voice of her best friend on the other end of the line.

"Kirito?" She breathed, emphasizing his name on all the wrong syllables, as she always did. "It's Navya. I cannot believe this finally worked." Heady relief then gave way to annoyance. "I've been trying to reach you for a WEEK! Where have you been, young man?" It was only after the words left her mouth that Navya realized she might not want to know. What did the victors do while their tributes were in the arena? Was he interviewed? Interrogated? Was it awful?

She held the phone close to her lips. "I don't know how long we'll have so I just wanted to say I miss you. And him. How are things in the arena, do you think?" If she hadn't hurt him with the earlier question, she expected this one to at least sting. But she had no one else to ask. Katelyn was a goddess, untouchable, and their District had not been blessed with any other victors. There was only Kirito, the only person who could possibly understand both what Harbinger was going through and what Navya needed to know.

table coding (c) ghosty

[Arrows]

kirito

victor of the 70th hunger games

Shouts and screams echo throughout the entire lobby as Kirito felt the bile in his stomach swirling viciously. The bitter taste of metallic death smeared itself across Kirito's tongue with every boom of a canon. Just across the counter Kirito met the gaze of Arbor Halt and did nothing more than send him a sympathetic glance. Although each one of the mentors in this room predicted the amount of bloodshed that would fall upon this day, none of them were ever truly prepared for it. Even now as Kirito sat watching Harbinger drag his body away from the dismantled figure of Chloe Angor Kirito felt ashamed. All he wanted was for Harbinger to be the one to rise from the darkness of the arena, yet Kirito had almost forgotten what the price of his survival would be. Then again how could he ever forget Key's most influential lesson, 

"Twenty three doesn't equal one."

No matter how many times Kirito searched through his own games or games of years past. No matter how long Kirito spent trying to justify the stolen blood that swam through his veins. No matter how long Kirito spent questioning every single fucking action he took in the crucible of damnation. No matter how many attempts he made to learn from each sound of a canon. No matter where he turned there never was a way to balance the equation. There was never a reason truly justifiable. There was never a true way to make all their lives equal his own. There was never a way to set his mind at ease, and in truth, there never would be.

An ocean of regrets found itself drowning Kirito within its whirlpools of sorrow as he forced himself to exit from the lobby. Ancient voices filled Kirito's mind with more uncertainties as he found himself tumbling aimlessly towards the elevator. As Kirito's fingers fumbled around the button to his ascent the voices shifted into faces as the memories sent turmoil down Kirito's spine. Wyatt's broken body flung itself at Kirito with the venomous reminder of his final crime. Orion's eyes seared themselves into Kirito's soul as they questioned why he shut them. Circe's frozen body reached its icy claws out for help as the chilling calls of death creeped across her skin. Even Elya's single eye drove its stolen light straight into the beating clock of Kirito's heart. All of their clocks had long since finished ticking, but his still tocked on with the force of a clock tower. 

In fact the light chime of the elevator's doors sliding open to their passenger sent Kirito nearly falling to the ground as he heard the gruesome pangs of the fallen tower of time. Kirito had to practically drag himself within the shelter of the concealed space before he crumpled to his knees from the gravity of his past. Kirito could feel his heart thundering within the temples of his head as his nails dug deep into the cold metal beneath him. Simple phrases whipped across Kirito's mind as his fists slammed against the floor.

"Tell me what it's like to still be in love again." 

I don't know Circe, I don't know anymore... 

"I could give you one to match, so you could try for yourself."

If only you could have known Elya...

"You wanna go get some water? Your face looks a little red."

If only we still could Rhyme... if only we still could...

The chilled breeze of the District Eleven floor snapped Kirito away from the encroaching dusk of his sins as he weakly pulled himself to his feet. From the silence the ebbed across the entire floor Kirito presumed he was the only one around, and for once he was more than happy to be. That was until the sound of a high pitched ring sprung forth from the phone. Curiosity prickled across Kirito's mind as his right hand shakily pulled the phone against the false exterior of one of his ears.

"Hello?" Kirito asked lightly into the line careful not to let his current condition shine through considering he was suppose to be stronger than most men now. However only a half beaten laugh trickled out of Kirito's lips as relief came alongside Navya's voice. As he expected he quickly found himself beneath the oh so benevolent scolding of his best friend as she harassed him for missing most of her calls. Yet even though she was scolding him Kirito couldn't have been happier to find her in the moment he needed to be anchored the most. So when her voice finally tailored off he allowed himself to talk calming in return.

"Well, to say the least things have been rather busy around here. More often then not I am out speaking with sponsors for the tributes, or well, tribute now. Not to mention..." Kirito forced himself to quickly cut off as he didn't dare tell her about Snow's restrictions upon Katelyn and himself. Kirito was sure that this conversation was being listened to than more then the two of them so for now he figured to keep the truth under the wraps. "Oh never mind that last part I will tell you later." 

Thankfully Navya seemed to steer the conversation away from the last topic as Kirito found himself grinning at her concern for Harbinger. "To be honest I think things are alright in there. Right now Katelyn is out speaking to some people about sponsoring him a medicine kit so we will keep our fingers crossed, but he is  brave so no telling what's in store. Also how was the reaction about Annora back in the District? I know Katelyn and I took it pretty harshly however we have no idea how things back home have been."

here is a Key to every gate and every exit,

yet every Key has its own cost.

table by anzie