Confrontation with Smiling-Sama

Kahn was right in saying that the man had done a lot of bad, but that still didn't mean violence was going to settle the situation. ''That is true. Just don't overdo it.'', he'd respond back. Arguing wouldn't help either, and as long as Kahn didn't beat the guy to a pulp, he'd take it. After that, he turned his attention back to their 'enemy' as he started to talk again, giving another strange explanation. His other side? Did he mean the person that was behind the murders? That would mean he was implying the whole thing, was in a way his doing. This was getting more and more complicated by the minute. And the man wasn't particularly helping as he proceeded to call someone before continuing his speech. From what it sounded like, he had most likely been turning himself over to the police. That would mean he has given up already. Although it didn't really look that way, with how stuck up he seemed on the whole case. In the end he didn't even tell them the name of the person who gave him the Mask in the first place. Which was the one thing that could have actually been helpful. There was definitely something strange going on, if only they could figure it out before it was too late.

After hearing all that, Kahn apparently decided on a different strategy, asking him and Destiny to contact the attendants for help. That wasn't a bad idea if they needed help any time soon, which Hibiki suspected they would if things kept taking such sharp turns every few moments. Hw would nod at Kahn, agreeing to do as said. It wasn't as if there was anything more important to do, as Kahn himself seemed to be handling the conversation well on his own. Letting Kahn occupy the man with his questions, he would fiddle with his phone, settling for a text message to Noctis, as a call wasn't really an option with most likely being overheard if he did so. He quickly wrote what Kahn had asked him to, and was just about to turn his attention back to the 'interrogation', when he heard a familiar voice from the direction of the shrine behind them.

Turning his head around, he was glad to see that Naito was alright, although it seemed that he did not remember much from what had happened during the time the Mask had been controlling him. With Kahn being busy, he figured he could try answering Naito's question. At least sort of. They didn't really have time for detailed stories right now. If the man had really called the police before, theor time was running short if they wanted to accomplish something more right now. ''Well, back then, after the fight the Mask had jumped at you and sort of took control of your body. Using you, it had taken Ruo hostage and tried to push us into going to fight those Gods for it. In the end we had to get out of the Shrine, as it threathened to kill her if we stayed. Since then, we've been trying to question the guy that had the Mask on previously, but so far it's only getting more confusing. I'm sure Kahn could explain to you later, as he's doing most of the talking.'', he would try to explain as shortly as possible, walking over closer to Naito. ''I'm glad you seem fine...How did you get rid of the Mask though? And what happened to Ruo?'', he'd ask after a moment, quite curious as to what went on inside after they were forced out. Naito had to defeat the Mask somehow if he was standing there, and Ruo was nowhere in sight so far. He could see the possibility of the Mask doing the same to her as it did to Naito after he got it off, but he didn't really want to believe that. It was already troublesome for Naito to handle it, and who knew what would happen to Ruo, considering that she wasn't even human. He really hoped that wasn't the case, but if it was, they'd have to deal with that too, as much as Hibiki didn't like the idea. It was starting to become quite frustrating, how they were being tossed around by a thing like that, whatever it really was.

    Shadows weren’t monsters? Well, what else were they supposed to think? The last (and first) time Destiny had interacted with a Shadow, it had seemed pretty intent on killing anyone it got its hands on. …Well, at first. After I had been beaten senseless, it had seemed almost docile. Perhaps there was some truth in what this man was saying after all. And this “ultimate reality”…what would happen? What was the point of changing everything if people’s dreams and hopes were integrated into the new version of the world? It felt as if there was something missing. What else exactly would change because of this “new world”? He mentioned something else, too. An “other side”. But he cut himself off before he divulged too much about that. Why couldn’t this be easier?

    The blonde tensed for a minute when the man moved. Was he going to try and walk away again? Oh, no, he was pulling out a…phone? // What is he…? // He was…calling the police? Why? …Oh. After a second, Destiny understood. If the police were on their way, then soon he’d be in custody, and couldn’t answer anymore questions about the Gods or anything else. A clever move. Apparently, though, “Natashi” didn’t mind adding something else. The Mask was a part of whoever gave him that power? Was giving people a “peace of mind”…was that to make the transition over to the “new world” easier, or was there some other purpose? Natashi even seemed ready to give them the name of that person, the one who’d given him the Mask in the first place…but he couldn’t? Or was he just pretending he couldn’t? After all of the tricks he’d pulled, Destiny wouldn’t be surprised about the latter.

    Turning towards Kahn as he addressed her, she listened to his request, only to frown lightly. Call Chance? Did he mean the Attendant Naito had introduced her to? Oh dear…what was she supposed to do? She didn’t have Chance’s number! Naito, might have, but it wasn’t as if she could go into the shrine and say, “Hello, Mr. Mask. I don’t want to fight. Would you mind giving me that cell phone in your pocket?” …Somehow she doubted that would go over well. Hibiki didn’t offer any protests when Kahn spoke to him, and the blonde felt her face heat up, aggravated at her inability to help. // Note to self: get Chance’s number. // So that nothing like this ever happened again. “S-Sorry. I don’t have her number.” Destiny said quietly to Kahn, trying to keep the shame out of her voice. Why couldn’t she be useful?

    // Hmm? // Was that…? Turning her head at the voice, the girl couldn’t help but smile. Oh good…Naito was alright. He didn’t seem injured, as far as she could tell. But…where was Ruo? And that Mask? The silverette wasn’t carrying anything, and there was no one behind him. She was tempted to rush over and ask the flurry of questions rushing to mind, but Hibiki was already taking care of that. It wouldn’t do any good to rush over there and ask the same things and overwhelm someone who just went through…that. Instead, Destiny stayed near Kahn, listening to him question Natashi. She didn’t think the redhead would do anything foolish at this point, what with the thought of the police coming, but…it was best to stay close, just in case.

Kahn would take Natashi's verbal attack head on. There was a juicy bit of information buried in there, and it was something that the red haired young man had suspicions about. The Shadows were like wolves tracking the scent of their next meal, these creatures followed the "scent" to the doors that led to their world. As Limbo became stronger, the "wolves" would be able to cross over to the other side for the biggest feast they could have. Most unfortunate, but that is why the group was taking action right now to fix the mistakes that were made. He would turn away from Natashi in order to converse with the others. He took a breath, his hands curled up into fists then he exhaled and they relaxed. Not hearing or seeing police cars or officers of the law he decided to let out some of his anger. He would whirl around and attempt to catch the CEO off guard and hit him in the face. Regardless of the result, the red haired young man would feel much better. "Maybe that will clear your head a bit. I won't pretend that we haven't made mistakes along the way, I know I have. But I know you have been in Limbo at least once. Naito saw you there with Anya! Your act of "saving" people was the reason we had to venture into it in the first place! Not to mention whatever your "other half" was doing! You two can't wipe your hands clean of your part of the burden!" He would say anger clear in his green eyes, before turning back to the group. His patience was worn thin, and he had made his point. He was done with the man, if the man wished to strike him...that would be a mistake that the CEO would deeply regret.

While Kahn was relieved to see his comrade alright, however he was concerned about Ruo. Hibiki, was extremely vocal about his concern and voiced it first. Granted, the two were better friends than him and Ruo were so it only made sense. Granted, seeing Hibiki take such initiative made Kahn wonder if the two primary leaders of the group weren't rubbing off on him. The red haired young man saw Ruo as a very powerful ally given her unique ability of...transforming. That was all he could really call it, he had never seen such an ability before. If they were to challenge the Gods, then he wanted to make sure they could hit them with everything they could. "I'll back what Hibiki said. I'll share the details of the interrogations with you after you tell us what happens. If Ruo is still in danger then time may be of the essence." He would state, the more information Naito gave out the better Kahn would be able to come up with a logical, perhaps illogical plan if Ruo was indeed in danger, for their next course of action.

When the Tsurinai took notice of Azame turning his back towards Natashi, his silver hues narrowed as he shot by Hibiki. When Kahn turned to punch the man, Naito had to use both arms to pull the red head back so his punch would barely miss Natashi's face. "Azame, control yourself. He is the type that would attempt to press charges for an visible act of violence against him. Do not give him the opportunity to provoke you. It'd be a pain for all of us if you were to have a bad run in with the police." The Tsurinai released the young man and looked towards Natashi. Shaking his head, he crossed his arms and looked back towards the group. More specifically, he looked towards Hibiki who he knew had a close relationship with the weird female that reminded him of a toaster. Naito took his gloved thumb and pressed it between his lips for a second to scrape his cheek. Pulling it out, he'd show some blood on the previous clean white glove. "I believe your little friend decked me before running off into Limbo. The Mask may have chosen her as its new host since I wasn't a worthy candidate, perhaps." He brushed the blood off his finger and onto his blazer. "Regardless, it is not my goal to go rescue her. She is of no concern of mine, and the Gods are much more important for the future of this world. However, if you all wish to go rescue her, I won't stop you. I just suspect you'll return alive." The pale faced young man turned and began to leave the shrine. He walked by Natashi without even sharing a glance. "Well then, I'm tired. I leave the rest of this up to you all. There's something I need to look into."

Those were the last words Naito shared with the group as he departed from the broken and trashed shrine. The battle had definitely left some scars on the battlefield. When he made it to the bottom of the hill, the Tsurinai removed his cellphone from his vest and scrolled through the time. They had been here for some time now. If what the masked man was saying was true, then Ueitawa only had a short while till it was removed off the map completely. He needed to make sure those he truly cared about were taken care of. Wasting time questioning a madman was not on his agenda. With no more words, Tsurinai Naito left the scene.

[exit]

The man had once again started ridiculing them, calling them fools for what they were doing, and they were still stuck on the same scenario, basically. Kahn was getting angry again, and attempted to punch the man to try and get his point across, but this time he didn't even get the time to think of stopping him as Naito did so first. Well, that was a good thing. Hibiki almost frowned when Naito informed him about Ruo and what probably happened, stating that he wasn't intending to help either. That was a bit harsh, but he knew that Naito was just that way. But, still if what he said was true, it would be dangerous to go after her at the moment. And Kahn was still busy with the man. Going alone would be stupid, even though he was worried about her. For the time being he would wait and see how the situation develops. If Kahn decided to go, then maybe they could attempts something. Patiently listening to the current conversation, if it could be called that, he would walk back over to Kahn, and wait for the man's or the redhead's reaction.

   Really? Was that true? Were they responsible for what was happening to Ueitawa? The blonde turned away for a moment at Natashi’s words, even though he was directing his rebuttal at Kahn, not her. Guilt was starting to rise deep in the pit of her stomach. It was so horribly ironic and…sad, almost, that they were fighting against some disaster they had inadvertently caused.

    Destiny returned her focus back to Kahn and Natashi as she heard something akin to a scuffle. Widening her eyes, she placed a hand over her mouth at the scene. Goodness, what was Kahn trying to do? Attack Natashi? It seemed so, since Naito was obviously holding the redhead back and keeping him away from the culprit just in front of them. They had a lucky break; the police probably wouldn’t take too kindly to Kahn hurting Natashi in any way, so it was in his and the group’s best interest to keep violence out of the equation as much as possible. But Kahn’s little speech did some good for her conscience. He was right; this man and that killer—Natashi’s “other half”—had been the ones to start this. The blonde herself hadn’t even been aware Limbo existed until she’d been kidnapped and thrown inside. If anyone was to blame first, it was them for starting this mess. Of course, that didn’t absolve her and the others from their mistakes, but those two had been the cause and this was the effect.

    Naito, once satisfied that Kahn wasn’t going to lose his temper again, proceeded to tell them that Ruo had been claimed as that Mask’s next host. What would it take to destroy that thing? They couldn’t keep letting it jump from person to person. If it pulled the same trick it had in the shrine, why, they wouldn’t be able to do anything towards helping Ueitawa; they’d just be stuck in a continuous loop of confronting the Mask and then retreating, or eventually caving into its demands. They’d have to figure out something to do about that issue. // What…? // Did…did Naito really just say he wasn’t going to go after Ruo? Yes, they were tired and exhausted and in need of rest, so of course they couldn’t run after her now, but…she was an ally. They couldn’t just…just leave her with that Mask! But…oh, what were they going to do about this?

    ...Well, first things first. This man still hadn’t been picked up by the police. While they were waiting for the authorities to arrive, perhaps Kahn or Hibiki would have a plan on how to get Ruo back. Or deal with the Gods. Or…or come up with some course of action that wouldn’t leave Destiny feeling at a loss for what to do, or worrying over that girl who was now at the mercy of the Mask.

Kahn felt two hands grab him, as he was yanked back to the point where his fist barely missed his target. He shot Naito a bit of a glare, before taking another breath. He would give his classmate a nod signaling that he was okay before he was released. Naito determined that the Mask had taken Ruo as a new host, and that he would not be participating in any rescue mission. The red haired avenger had expected as much, but something felt a bit off. Did The Mask say something that got to Naito? It was a possibility, but Kahn had no real evidence. Seeing Destiny and Hibiki remain silent, only Natashi would speak warning them that his "other half" had a Persona and was far more powerful. The deluded man continued to call himself a hero as well....Kahn would not offer a reply, and was just as happy for that criminal to be gone.

Granted, now he had to lead the two Persona-users who stood beside him to their next step. No doubt, Hibiki wanted to take the plunge in after Ruo and try to save her. Granted, the group was tired and wandering into Limbo right now was quite unwise. Furthermore, what would they do if Ruo attacked them? They couldn't hurt her, if they did then they would risk their allies life. Destiny seemed indecisive as always, but that was too be expected. She was thrown into this situation, and had no real experience dealing with situations like this. Granted....did Kahn really have any right to speak as though he had experience? Sure, he had dealt with thugs before, but this situation was several levels beyond what he had dealt with before. After a moment he would take a breath, before finally saying something.

"As much as it pains me to say this, we may have to let Ruo fight her own battle. If Naito is right and The Mask did escape into Limbo then it could be anywhere by this time. That world shifts and twists countless times in minutes, and my tracking abilities are very limited. Not to mention that thing has probably set traps for us, and then we would have to deal with Shadows too. The situation is not in our favor." His green eyes would look toward Destiny to gauge her reaction, before looking toward Hibiki, "Furthermore, I'm not sure how much more Ruo's body can take if she fights a supernatural source. This being said, I have no plans of completely abandoning her. I assume you two recall what happened when I called out to Naito?" He was talking about the lapse of power The Mask had, where Naito broke through, "If there is one thing I have learned about the power we have, our bonds make us stronger. Regardless of the distance, these bonds connect us, or so I have gathered from Noctis. Thus, Hibiki, I want to focus really hard and try to reach out to Ruo using your bound. I know this sounds really cheesy, but I figure it's worth a shot." Even Kahn had to admit he sounded like some cartoon super hero, but if it worked with Naito...then maybe it would work for Hibiki and Ruo since those two knew each other so well. After a brief moment of silence, he would begin again, "I know one thing for certain though. That Mask wants us to defeat The Gods, and it can't do it on its own. If we go fight The Gods, then I'm more than willing to bet that we will get another crack at The Mask, and another chance to save Ruo. Does that sound good to everyone?"

((I don't even...Well, I've been late as fuck indeed >< But I finally have time, so no more lateness from me -.^..I'm even gonna come on chat lol..I missed that T_T))

By now it was becoming obvious that no matter what argument Kahn pulled against the man, the guy would still insist that he was the supposed hero of the situation. To be honest, Hibiki didn't even mind much that the police was almost here and they wouldn't get to question him anymore. It wasn't as if they were getting anywhere further in the last few minutes either way. They might as well have been just wasting precious time there. Maybe that was one of the reasons why Naito left without bothering with this. Although it was still sad that he didn't seem to care about what happened to Ruo.

Hibiki turned to Kahn as he started assessing their current situation. He seemed to have good points, though Hibiki made a halt when Kahn suggested he try to reach Ruo. It didn't appear as a bad idea, however..'How do I do that...?', he thought for a moment, before responding. ''Well, I suppose....I could try, although I have no idea how that works.'', he'd say to Kahn. It wouldn't hurt to try, even though he didn't know how exactly, as this was different from the one before. Naito had been present when Kahn tried calling out to him. And since Ruo was god knows where, maybe even somewhere deep inside Limbo, it most likely wouldn't work the same. But he guess he could try to humor it somehow. So far, a lot of things that seemed impossible at a first glance worked out, so maybe mind connections weren't that farfetched. ''I guess so. We don't really have much of an option right now. It might be for the best to prepare and aim for what we know already, rather than taking a careless risk.'', he would respond, as he had been sort of listening to what Kahn said after his suggestion. It was true that their highest chance of meeting Ruo would be if the went to fight the Gods as planned, since that was the place the Mask would most likely appear at some point of time, considering its goals. So, all in all that might just be their best bet. Rushing into Limbo right now without precaution would probably just knock them down before they knew what hit them in the first place, as much as he disliked admitting it. He really didn't like leaving his friends in a bind, but they couldn't afford to act recklessly in a time like this, that he understood.

With that said, he would get a bit lost in his thoughts again. Well, he still had to attempt something. It really felt weird, and kinda awkward to do..what exactly? 'Kahn called it reaching through a bond, so maybe that I guess..' But as they say, there goes nothing. 'Eh,...I have no idea if this accounts for something...but, Ruo, if you can hear me by any chance...then don't give up. You may not be a human, but you are a good friend and I believe you can do this...We all do....', Hibiki was trying to focus as much as he could, and ignore the fact that he was really starting to feel like a sappy fool for doing that, but what else could he do? Shaking his head a little, he would turn his gaze onto Kahn and Destiny to see whether they were all in agreement and going elsewhere, or there were more issues to adress.

    Should they stop him or something? Natashi was just…walking away. True, they weren’t getting any more information from him, but it left Destiny feeling a bit unsettled that he could slip away from the authorities if he chose to do so. Well, she supposed that was the least of their worries now; after all, the source of his power was gone, and he wouldn’t have anything to gain by running away. If the police came by and asked about him, though, that would probably be a good tip-off that he’d run off. Besides, it was making her sick to have to hear about what a hero he was and how all of them were the villians, almost as if he was treating all of this as a twisted little game that had a poor ending. With an attitude like that, he was no better than that killer.

    Kahn was starting to speak again. Tucking a hand under her chin and wrapping her other arm around her waist, the girl stayed quiet. She figured that they couldn’t go after Ruo; she’d been expecting an answer like that from the beginning. Still, it hurt. She felt hopeless and stupid and sick and wounded that she couldn’t do anything to help that poor girl, someone she’d been starting to like and get to know. They’d even agreed to protect each other, to look out for one another, and now…now Destiny was safe and sound while Ruo was off in who knows what terrible place, doing who knows what. But it was selfish to think that she was the only one who was torn up about the whole situation; Kahn obviously wasn’t keen on the idea of leaving Ruo behind, and Hibiki seemed to share the sentiment. Careful to keep her features nonchalant, Destiny swallowed thickly, trying to shove everything down and focus on what the redhead was saying.

    // Bonds…? // She’d tuned out for a minute there. Use the bonds and…reach out to Ruo? Did he mean…a bond of friendship? Or was he referring to a different bond? Oh, wait…Kahn was only asking Hibiki to do that. Perhaps he and Ruo were close? It would make sense, then, that Kahn was referring to a bond of friendship. Friendship was powerful, after all. If they ever needed something like a miracle to happen, now would be the time, she supposed.

    Well, as long as they were in the line of hoping for miracles to come true, Destiny supposed it couldn’t hurt to try out one of her own methods. Subtly shifting her hand so it clutched at the collar of the blue shirt she was wearing, Destiny silently made a wish on the fabric, praying that for once that one of those old superstitions would actually work. // Please…Please let Ruo be alright… //

    Lifting her eyes back to Kahn as Hibiki did she same, Destiny asked softly, “What do we do now?” Going after Ruo was a moot point now. And if they weren’t going into Limbo to save their comrade, it was safe to assume they wouldn’t be tackling the Gods tonight either. What did that leave, then? Resting was one option. Meeting again soon was another. But she wanted to know what Kahn and Hibiki thought before she said anything else.

Kahn stood there waiting while Hibiki tried to reach out to Ruo, as he waited he looked past Hibiki toward the shrine. Where the door that led to Limbo remained, they could still go after her instead of trying to reach out to her through Hibiki. This was just one option they had, a rescue would no doubt guarantee Ruo's safety. This compromise that he had chosen only satisfied one part of him, the rational leader that was trying to keep a brave face. The avenger in him was roaring at him to take action, to throw caution to the wind and take the plunge to save Ruo. Sadness and anger began to consume his heart, as he stood here, safe and sound while one of his friends was in danger of death. The entire reason he sought out the dark path of the avenger was to send a message that to cause any harm to his friend was to bring Kahn's wrath down upon the perpetrator. Yet...here he was....while one of his friend's was suffering. However, as a leader he had a duty to his other comrades, Naito had indirectly told him that when the silver haired swordsmen threatened him. As a leader his duty was to protect Destiny and Hibiki who stood before him, and by taking the plunge he would be putting them through unnecessary risks.

However, was Ruo not a comrade? Did he not tell her that he would gladly sacrifice himself for his friend's safety, for their happiness, to give his life instead of theirs? Some may argue that he was doing this for the greater good, but to hell with that. The greater good still had a darker side, someone had to be sacrificed for the greater good and this time it was Ruo. Why would anyone want the greater good, when the better solution of everyone getting out alive could exist? He would switch places with Ruo if he could, but for now he had to accept that he failed to do what he told her he would do. This wasn't his first failure either.....


What a fucking hypocrite he was.


His eyes started to water a bit, as he came to that realization, but when he was spoken to he would shake his head a bit to hide it. "Sorry, I was thinking...as for what to do? There was a pause as Kahn tried to figure out what to say, "To be honest, I have no damn clue. For now, as much as it pains me to say this, all we can do is pray for Ruo, and try to prepare to take on the Gods. I'll contact you with a mission assignment so we can get money to spend on equipment to ready ourselves for that challenge. Till then rest up, you all have earned it. I'll keep in touch." With that he spun on his heels, and headed off back to the dorms. Once he was out of earshot and sight, he would shed the tears that he had hid from the others. A leader has to maintain a controlled demanor, even if on the inside they know how grim a situation looks.

Leaders had to make tough choices, Kahn knew this much, it came with the territory.





But that doesn't make the fact that he had to add another failure to his growing list any better.....some leader and protector he was.

((Exit))

After they all focused back on the matter, Destiny stated the one question that they were probably all thinking at the moment. And the answer definitely wasn't easy to find in this case. Just what should they do? Funnily enough, it wasn't as if there were many choices to make it a hard decision, and yet it sort of was. It was either leave the place and plan for later, or go and try to find Ruo right now. It was tough to pick tough. Both options had their pros and cons, but sadly it would appear that the former was less risky right now. At least Kahn arrived to that conclusion after taking some time to think. He seemed quite distressed about the situation, and the decision they had to make, but it wasn't like Hibiki could argue with that. He really did not want to leave Ruo there just like that either, however they couldn't deny that it might be too dangerous to jump in, no matter how much they'd want to save her. It was quite frustrating, and Hibiki was decidedly unhappy about the development, but at least they could hope they'd come across her if they go after the Gods, right? As much as he was trying to think at least a bit positively, it wasn't working nearly enough, and Kahn's words and expression helped the grim situation even less.

It had been a while since he felt down like that, actually he couldn't really remember when was the last time, but they still had to press on, even with all these crooked turns in front of them. It was almost ironic, how sad the atmosphere was, even though they technically won the battle they originally came here for. Well, it was't really that much of a win in the end. ''Alright...See you around then..'', he would trail off after Kahn bid them goodbye and quickly went on his way. Guess it was time to move. He would give Destiny a light, albeit a bit sad smile, and a small wave as he walked off in the same direction as Kahn, making his way to the dorms, his thoughts scattered around quite a bit, and mood quite gloomy.

~Exit~

    Kahn didn’t know? He was the one who was leading them, and now he didn’t know what to do? Biting her lip lightly, Destiny could feel a sickening feeling start to settle deep in the pit of her stomach as the redhead continued. Was that really all they could do? Go back home and sleep until the time came to train or defeat the gods? After a moment, she knew that it was the only logical course of action to take. Going after Ruo, no matter how much any of the wanted to, was practically suicidal at this point; who knows that the Mask was planning to do to them should they follow it? And Destiny wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of running into Limbo, especially after learning that doing so would just make the whole situation even worse, if what Natashi said was true. Still…why did everything have to turn out so…wrong?
 

    Kahn left after his short response. He really did seem tormented over all of this. Was he as disappointed as Destiny was about this whole thing? It seemed so. After all, he and Ruo had been allies too; it would make sense that he’d be a bit emotional about losing her. Hibiki offered her a small, sorrowful smile before he bid her goodbye as well, heading off in the same direction as the redhead did moments before. Offering him a weak smile in return, the blonde watched him go before she turned and began walking to the bus stop. It was somewhat creepy at the shrine now that she was the only one here, and home, where there was noise and people, was a much more comforting thought. A wince flashed across her face at the realization that Ruo wouldn’t have the same luxury. Instead, she was stuck in that awful place, with that horrible Mask…. Destiny just knew she wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight. She was too full of guilt and worry to be able to flop into her bed and close her eyes as if none of this ever happened. // I’m sorry Ruo… //