Room 503, Saturday Mid-Afternoon

[dojima_hime]

Dōjima had listened to radio once she got up (late) this morning.

Dōjima was currently suppressing the desire to bang her head against the wall.

Red was an idiot.  Clearly, confronting her at work was giving Rikku 'time'.  Maybe she'd go throw a dictionary at his head later.  That might be amusing. 

Firing off a quick text message to Rikku, she tossed her phone on the nightstand and walked over to crack the window open just a bit, letting in some fresh air as she set about doing some spring cleaning.   Going through her clothes and getting rid of last seasons' stuff might be a fun distraction, since it meant she could go shopping later. 


[OOC:  Door and Post are open!  Conversation with Rikku comes last chronologically and is locked to them.  Brought to you by the letters O, C, and D, serving the greater Fandom community since before time.  ETA:  Out for RL, SP = Love]

Comments

Re: Second

[the_merriest]

"It's not hard," Rikku said. "Fighting, I mean. I could teach you, if you wanted to learn. And my dad taught me once how to sucker punch someone right in the solar plexus. You can take down a guy way bigger than you, and he never sees it coming. You don't have to hit all that hard, it's just a matter of getting the spot right. Very handy on occasion, especially if you're stuck with Mr. Grabby Hands."

Or when Keyakku thinks Tidus is a fiend, and everybody's shouting at each other. Either way.

She clapped her hand over her mouth. "In the store?" she giggled. "No way. Dude."

Re: Second

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Way," she admitted, nodding. "That's not even the worst of it, seriously. I have no shame, Rikku, and I'm afraid it's rubbing off on Romeo."

Re: Second

[the_merriest]

"I'm getting worse," Rikku confided, blushing again. "I'm just crazy. And it'll be good for Romeo. I think our posse is just one huge bad influence on each other."

Re: Second

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Dōjima raised one eyebrow skeptically and looked over Rikku. "I've been a bad influence since I was twelve, because someone has to set a bad example. Taxing work, but rewarding."

"How do you think I knew to recommend that end stall in the ladies' room at Caritas?" she asked, eyes sparkling. "How's the saying go? 'When I'm good I'm very, very good, but when I'm bad, I'm better?' Something like that?"

Re: Second

[the_merriest]

"I thought you guys were ... you know." She shrugged awkwardly. "Just teasing me. You really ... in Caritas? Weren't you worried someone would come in?"

Re: Second

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"The adrenaline rush is half the fun!"

Seeing the awkward, however, Yurika took pity and shrugged. "Just don't tell Romeo I told you, he might die of blushing. Girl Talk stays as girl talk, right?"

Re: Second

[the_merriest]

"Always," she said, smiling faintly. "I'm so ... I didn't even know you could ... like, against a wall. Or this, or that, and ... I feel stupid sometimes. Like everyone else knows so much about sex and they're all laughing at me for not. I mean, you and Reno --"

She bit her lip. Right. She didn't have that particular problem any more, did she?

Re: Second

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, but you had a loving Pops keeping you away from boys, right?" she joked. "I started sleeping with various boys and girls just to piss mine off."

"'Me and Reno' what, Rikku?" Dōjima tilted her head, puzzled. "Neither of us has ever made fun of you. Tried to make you blush, yeah, 'cause you're freakin' adorable when you do, but we aren't making fun. I'm sorry if you thought we were."

Re: Second

[the_merriest]

"I mostly hung out with Brother's friends," she admitted. "So they'd crack jokes but it's not like they were gonna try anything. He's dumb, but he'd so kick their asses."

She shook her head. "No, I just ... maybe I did? I don't know. I guess it doesn't really matter, now."

Dōjima ... had heard about that whole mess, right? With ... her and Reno not being her-and-Reno? Uh. Probably.

Re: Second

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"It matters, Rikku." Dōjima shoved more clothing out of the way, scooting back on to the bed a bit more. "Don't just brush it off, bottling things up leads to all sorts of nastiness."

The was a slight paused before she continued. "If I didn't laugh Reno out of my room this morning, you're probably safe. My idiot tolerance seems fairly high today, and you aren't an idiot."

There. Let Rikku make of that what she will.

Re: Second

[the_merriest]

Rikku held her breath for a long moment.

"Is he okay?" she asked finally. "I mean. All things considered."

Because he probably wasn't peachy-keen, at the moment. Still.

Re: Second

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Besides the fact he's got a nice welt on his head where I threw a book at him, he's physically fine," she replied calmly. "All things considered, he's doing a bit better than he was on Wednesday. Still hating himself, but more of the 'I want to fix this' and less of the 'I want to die' type of hate."

Re: Second

[the_merriest]

Rikku flinched at the last part. "I ... I f-found him, Monday, in his room, sick, and ... it just all came out, that ... that he worked for the government, and he'd been lying, all this time. And ... I knew it was bad. I knew it had to be, from everything he didn't say. But I never thought ..."

Re: Second

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"You never thought he'd do that," Dōjima finished for her, leaning back against the wall. "I went over on Wednesday, after hearing him on the radio. I thought he was just having a really bad hangover, so I went to check on him."

"He told me. Yelled at me. I had already figured out about his job, and he knew that I knew, but I never would have guessed about that. I think I'm still in shock, just a bit."

Re: Second

[the_merriest]

"He knew ..." Rikku bit her lip. "I told him. That I knew there were things he wasn't saying yet. And they were bad. And that he could take his time, and he said if he told me, I'd leave. He ..."

She sighed, leaning over, folding her arms around herself. "I can't stop thinking about it. He's ... he's not supposed to be them."

Re: Second

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Them?" Yurika considered for a moment, then moved closer to place one hand on Rikku's back. "I thought you were from different worlds. What do you mean by 'them'?"

"Or you can tell me 'shut up, Dōjima', and I will."

Re: Second

[the_merriest]

Oh. She ... somehow, she hadn't realized that she'd never told Dōjima about any of this. Her people, what it meant to her, why the word 'government' had been a slap to the face.

She swallowed, hard, but her voice was calm, and she was grateful for Yurika's hand. "Them, meaning ... Yevon. Fire-bombing Home until there was nothing but rubble left. Sand and fiends and bodies on the ground. Our government ... wasn't so different from his. They knew how to destroy cities, too."

Re: Second

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Government?" Swell, more uncomfortable parallels that Yurika really didn't want to think about. "When he said 'president', I thought he just meant of their company. I didn't realize he was the actual government."

Re: Second

[the_merriest]

"I think it was one. A company. Before." She was staring at the floor. "He ... knew how I ... felt. About. The government. So he never told me, because ... I would be upset. I watched our Home burn down. We live on an airship now. There aren't many of us. Not after that. Not that it matters, we're just the Al Bhed, the filthy heathens, they'd find a way to blame us, like they did when Yunie was arrested. They have power, they want to keep it. Nothing else matters to them."

Re: Second

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"That's why you were surprised I liked your eyes." Let it never be said Dōjima is stupid. "Well, at least he was smart enough to know you'd be upset, right? That means he's not a complete moron."

Yurika started rubbing soothing circles on Rikku's back. "You aren't a heathen, Rikku. All that...it's okay to be mad at him. Hell, he knows he deserves it. You don't have to forgive him, or even ever talk to him again. But...he wouldn't have been throwing up if he did this for fun or anything sick like that."

Re: Second

[the_merriest]

Rikku lifted a shoulder, almost sheepish. "I know no one cares here. I've heard it a hundred times. I just still ... expect it. I'm waiting for someone to freak out. It's been like that my whole life, you know?"

She shook her head. "I don't mind that one, we didn't follow their stupid religion anyway, and it's better than some of what they called us. And ... I know he doesn't like it. I don't hate him. I don't hate them, either, for what they did to us. I can't, or I'm just keeping the cycle going. That's what got things started, before. I'm just not sure what to do now."

Re: Second

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"This might sound silly, but, make a list?" Yurika suggested, looking sheepish. "Reasons why you like him, reasons why you want to punch him. Sometimes it just feels better to get it all out and written down, and then you can keep it or burn it or mail it to him. Just, write down everything that's going on in your head, and it doesn't even need to make sense, as long as you get it out." Because repression was so not healthy. Not that she knew anything about that. At all.

"Or, you can say 'screw it, I want to be spoiled, dammit,' and we go shopping on Monday." Dōjima grinned slightly. "Although the two aren't mutually exclusive."

Re: Second

[the_merriest]

"Maybe ... make the list up and go read it to him," she laughed. "Perform it outside his window in interpretive dance."

"Shopping?" Rikku said, perking up. "That'd be kinda fun. I have money and all, I just never know what I'm doing, you know? I like bright colors. I'm not so concerned with whether other people think they match."