✩ ＭＯＲＩ² ✩

"Mori welcomes you to Mori's blog! Please, make your cute self at home. If there's anything Mori can get you, please let Mori know~!" status: alive affiliated with: archive of despair 2

[shslenigma]

Il Mago's Fabrication | Mori

[shslenigma]

"Why you say… well, why can mean a great many things, don’t you think? Why hide your talent, I assume is the question you’re asking but you could be asking why are you so chipper? Or why aren’t you worried someone will get you for this? Why " he steeples his fingers together and then tilts his head at him.

"But I digress." Nagisa clears his throat. "The ‘why’ in this case is rather simple. Because it’s easier. It’s easier to move around and get in people’s good books. Easier to be trusted. Maybe that sounds callous but not everyone has your heart, Mori-chin. A murderer that pleads you to look into a matter is not likely to be listened to… even a detective would be seen as perhaps, cold and dangerous… not that I can confirm having such talents but you get my point. There’s also the matter of the danger I’d put in if I told people anything. What I can do… well, let’s just say I imagine I’ll be very helpful - and it helps to have an ace in your hand, right?" he laughs but then looks up to the ceiling speaking in a slightly more hushed voice. "But Mori-chin you have to remember that I’m not your enemy here."

[morisquared-blog1]

Mori blinks in bewilderment. Gosh, Yamanami-chan is always so confusing! But... given what they'd learned today, that seems to be the other boy's nature in general. It certainly does nothing to whet her curiosity, but when he mentions the word "injury", his hand darts instinctively to her face, gently tracing over a few of the slashes left behind by Aku-chan. Upon realizing that he had done so, she slowly lowers his hand.

"...dangerous?" she asks blankly. How could his attitude be dangerous? Wasn't it the polar opposite? "Mori doesn't really understand, but Mori is glad Yamanami-chan is okay."

She nods sagely, at first, but then more enthusiastically as Nagisa continues to speak. "Y-yes! Mori wants to--" Wait, what? In all truthfulness, those questions hadn't even occurred to the model before the other had risen them, like a necromancer conjuring bodies from the grave. Well... Mori always figured that Yamanami-chan was so happy because that's just how he was! Similar to how Mori was... or had been. Happiness is a bit more rare, these days. The fact that someone might target Nagisa for lying was also a new, and frankly scary, thought for the model. 

Mori tilts her head right back at him, looking more and more perplexed as Nagisa speaks, his expression falling further and further. M-murderer...?! Of course, it's just an example, but... Gosh, no, Yamanami-chan wouldn't kill anyone! Though, she would've said the same of Min and Chinatsu...

He brings himself back, listening as Nagisa trails off. "Mori really does want to know, but if Yamanami-chan can't tell Mori, then Mori understands! And Mori doesn't know what Yamanami-chan can do, but Mori bets that Yamanami-chan will be very helpful!" She examines the boy's expression as he stares toward the ceiling, but he doesn't have long to think on what it could mean before he speaks once more, catching her completely off guard. "Mori doesn't think that at all, though!" he insists, almost pouting at the seeming accusation.

[shslconstructionyuriko-blog]

I came back from a fever for this?! Open starter

[shslconstructionyuriko-blog]

Oh NO.

"Ah, mother of- Morikio-san I am so sorry…" Shit shit shit this is what she gets for being an overly angry woman! 

Yurirko quickly scoops up the glasses from the ground, handing them back gently to the other. She hoped they weren’t broke. “Ah, no I don’t have any tissues…” 

Yuriko put her hands on her hips for a moment, thinking. She couldn’t just leave poor Mori like this… So thinking quickly, Yuriko reached down and with a bit of effort tore off the edge of her dress. 

She held the piece of cloth out to Mori. “Here, use this.” Mentally she was chiding herself. What would *she* think if she saw Yuriko hurting people?

Well.

Hurting people who didn’t deserve it.

[morisquared-blog1]

While the pain isn't excruciating or anything, it still hurts, and Mori ends up gasping for air, trying not to agitate her hurt nose any further, or swallow any blood. The thought of it makes him shiver unhappily, and she almost doesn't notice when Yuriko carefully hands her thankfully unbroken glasses back to him. "Thank you, Yanagi-chan..." Her voice has a pained, nasal quality to it.

After returning her glasses to his face, she gently raises a hand and begins feeling at his face, very very lightly. The wounds from the dragon's attack are still there, scabbed over, and she silently is thankful that he's not the type to pick scabs. Her eyes dart up to the construction worker at her words, nodding softly. "It's alright..." His attention goes back to her face, and eventually his fingers find their way to her nose. It's sore, but probably, hopefully not broken, so there's that at least.

Yuriko once again gets his attention again with an abrupt ripping sound, and Mori looks up, startled, to see the other girl holding out a swatch of fabric torn from her own dress! "Y-Yanagi-chan, M-Mori can't! Yanagi-chan's dress is too cute..." He takes the piece of cloth but doesn't let it anywhere near her face, still frowning up at Yuriko.

[shsl-networker]

Mind your own business | Mori

[shsl-networker]

Mori was soon left in the corridor with his thoughts.

… Not for long however, as seemingly less than a minute later Manga’s furious footsteps could be heard, stomping all the way back to the corridor.

"That stuff was bullshit, anyway! Did you see that thing, I mean come on!! That trash is so FAKE, like everything else here. Y-e-a-h, I was poor, but seriously - a rice farmer? Me?! You don’t seriously believe that do you?” His heart was beating too fast - it was wrong. His heart shouldn’t be beating so fast for a lie, of all things. He was usually so poised… the whole thing was just wrong and unfair. Why did it have to be this?

Nothing in his tone revealed it. Nothing in his language. But in his eyes it was irrefutable.

He was looking at Mori for a lifeline.

[morisquared-blog1]

Mori continues smiling, trying to, perhaps, convince the social networker that she is completely harmless and, more importantly, completely sincere. The other boy is obviously absolutely enraged over his secrets being revealed, and Mori is definitely aware of that. He might not the the sharpest, and she's more than a little naive, but he isn't dumb, after all. 

The grin remains, even when Manga's expression shifts, but she doesn't take heed of it, really. It's going to work, of course it is! Well... sure, maybe, he can't really help. But she can at least try, and he's definitely going to, if Manga will let--

The yelling catches her off guard and he takes a step backwards, eyebrows knitting together unhappily and the smile falling faster than Manga's own facade. Oh. Oh dear, oh jeez, oh gosh, this isn't how it was supposed to go at all, no, no, no... "Mori... doesn't think Ichimonji-chan is stupid..." he forces out, though the words are nothing but a shabbily built shack in the wake of Manga's hurricane of fury. 

The model's arms wrap around herself as if trying to defend from the verbal blows the other strikes, but no luck there. With flushed cheeks, he can feel tears pooling in her eyes, and until Manga finally, furiously, stalks away, he just freezes up, only letting out a shuddery breath when the smaller boy spits the last of his venom and disappears around the corner. 

Mori sniffles, trying to stay relatively quiet as he takes in gasps of air. Okay, that didn't work, but it's okay...! It's okay... it's... he'll just... It feels like her brain's just... stopped, for now, and before he can get it jumpstarted again, the sound of decidedly angry foot stomps catches her attention. 

Manga's back, and it seems he's not quite done with the model... This time, something feels different, though he can't put her finger on it. But he listens none the less, and for a good ten seconds, Mori lets his question hang there in the air. Finally, after composing herself a little bit, he speaks, slowly at first, but gaining a little confidence the more she goes on.

 "Mori... Mori is sorry, if Mori made... made you mad. Mori... thinks it doesn't matter if it's true? B-because you did everything yourself. You... you're the one who got your title, and Mori thinks it doesn't really matter where Ichimonji-chan came from..." There's a pause. He's acutely aware of her slip up, but continues anyway. "... because you still achieved what you did, whether or not the secret was true. N-not that it's any of Mori's business if it is or not..."  After a moment of silence, he nods, and smiles, the tears finally falling from his eyes. She takes a moment to wipe them away.

"Mori thinks you're amazing, really!"

[shsl-networker]

Mind your own business | Mori

But he was so caught up in his own thoughts that he neglected to hear the footsteps approaching, and after rounding a hallway - he unfortunately came face to face with someone and stopped dead. 

"…WHAT-!?" He snapped at the person, hardly even paying attention to who it was. 

"Your timing - let me be frank, IS SHIT. Get out of the way!!” His tone was clipped as he hand-waved them to move aside. If Manga was previously a snake in a grass, then this was definitely the cobra rearing up and spitting venom.

[morisquared-blog1]

More secrets, more reveals, and more hostility. Mori had seen Manga dart from the cafeteria as soon as his secret was out, and against better judgment, had decided to follow. Of course, Mori was Super High School Level Model and not, say, Super High School Level Tracker, or anything, and she soon lost sight of him. Well, shoot. 

That doesn't keep him from continuing to look, however but minutes and minutes of searching turn out to be fruitless. She's not entirely sure where he is at the moment, but maybe just a few more minutes...

She turns a corner and comes face to face with a spitting mad Ichimonji Manga, and Mori's hesitant smile fades immediately.

"Ichimonji-chan...! Mori... wanted to know if you were okay...?"

It's kinda obvious he isn't, but... 

"Mori... doesn't think any less of Ichimonji-chan or anything... Mori just hopes Ichimonji-chan is okay..."

She flashes him a smile that's only a little forced, as he puts her hands up in a defensive position, trying to let the other boy know he means no harm. 

"I-if there's anything Ichimonji-chan wants to talk about, Mori can listen..."

[shslenigma]

Il Mago's Fabrication | Mori

"I don’t need the cards to tell me you want to have a word with me." he says out of the blue when he hears footsteps near his seat on the table. He tosses his head back, grinning, seemingly as chipper and unbothered as ever.

"Well I don’t suppose I mind. I should have expected this, I guess."

[morisquared-blog1]

There were two parts to what they'd seen today: what had been revealed to them, and the potential of what would be revealed over the coming days. Judging by most people's reactions, they were focusing on the latter, which was entirely fair enough, given that most people probably had more to hide than the model, probably.

But... Mori's curious. She'd always been curious, in ways that had come back to bite him, even before the invitation to Hope's Peak, and this whole mess. Almost tiptoeing forward, Mori slowly but surely approached the mysterious boy, but before she can even say one word, Nagisa speaks up and Mori honestly flinches back slightly before regaining his composure. 

"O-oh...! Mori is sorry for sneaking up on Yamanami-chan, but Mori just wanted to make sure Yamanami-chan is okay! ...a-and stuff."

Mori smiles as he rubs the back of her head and laughs, though she seems a bit... wary? Though, he's not sure what she has to be wary of. It's Nagisa, he's been nothing but kind to her thus far. Plus, his secret was already out, so... things are fine. He takes a seat next to the non-amnesiac, twiddling her thumbs for a moment before speaking again.

"Mori's not... mad at Yamanami-chan or anything...! Just... curious, Mori guesses? M-Mori doesn't expect Yamanami-chan t-to tell Mori, either, but... Mori just wants to know 'why', if that's okay?"

[shslconstructionyuriko-blog]

I came back from a fever for this?! Open starter

"But that in itself would cause me a world of trouble… Damn-" She began to swear when the sound of someone approaching caused her to jump and swing her sign towards whoever was there. "Who’s there?!" She yelled.

[morisquared-blog1]

The announcement of a motive had scared the poor model even more than he already was, but... On one hand, Mori's not sure she has any secrets! Right? He means, what's the worst Aku-chan could dig up? On this hand, Mori isn't concerned about the motive...

...but on the other hand, it seems that Mori is in the minority in those not really affected. He frowns, folding her arms over his chest a little too tightly to be casual. She turns, starting to walk away and wondering vaguely what secret or secrets of his own the dragon will dredge up when--

"Owwww!"

she cries out as a large street sign makes forceful contact with his face, sending her to the floor in a heap. The impact knocked the glasses from his face, and... h-her nose is bleeding. Just a little, but... 

"Mori's s-sorry, Yanagi-chan. Mori didn't mean to scare you... ... ... d-does Yanagi-chan have a tissue, m-maybe?"

he asks, trying to stifle the admittedly light flow of blood with a hand, the sleeve on that arm of the shirt pulled back so as not to ruin another item of clothing.

[morisquared-blog1]

Deerly Departed // Kiku

[shslfluffytamer]

So, when she heard the knocking and the model’s voice, she was pleasantly surprised. Although she didn’t know what Mori would want to came to talk to her, instead of just approaching her whenever they encountered each other again, like the cafeteria or the beach itself. She stood up right away and opened the door with a smile- it is him. She waved, then nodded with her head and opens the door further and step aside for her to enter, motioning for her to come in. Arthur, who was indeed with her, perked up. She remembers her!

Presuming that the model enters, Kiku closes the door behind him and picks her notepad up again to write out at least a greeting for Mori!

"Hello, Mori-san! What can I help you with?"

[morisquared-blog1]

Admittedly, the smile on Mori's face is fragile, but she has to try, doesn't he? Because... well, what else is there to do? She doesn't... really want to think of that. So the grin stays on as he rolls back and forth on her feet, from the balls of her feet to the tip of his toes and back again, waiting eagerly for the smaller girl to open the door. 

It doesn't take too long at all, thankfully, and the model absolutely beams when Kiku opens the door. He waves back, with almost childish excitement, and once given the okay to do so, follows Kiku into her room. 

Maybe it's because she hasn't been in many, or really any, of the other rooms, Mori is surprised at how nice the room is! Goodness, how adorable! He waves at Arthur-chan too, but doesn't make to call the dog over, at least not yet. Mori isn't schooled on proper dog etiquette after all. 

Turning back to Kiku, she sees that the animal behaviorist has written him something on her notebook! Leaning down slightly to read it, he takes in the words and then nods enthusiastically.

"Hi Fujikawa-chan! Mori... well, Mori just wanted to talk, if that's okay? Mori's not really gotten to talk to Fujikawa-chan much and Fujikawa-chan is very cute and nice and Mori would like to do so! Mori's... feeling a little lonely too, but..." An apologetic shrug. 

"Mori thinks Fujikawa-chan was amazing during the trial!"

[morisquared-blog1]

Scaredy Cat // Kyoki

[delvingintotheblackabyss-blog]

Kyoki finds herself relying on Mori for support, which the detached part of her mind muses is rather fitting, as a physical metaphor for her emotional state, before being told to shut up and get lost by the rest of her mind. The novelist feels as if she is too weak to stand, as if if she tries to rise with her own strength her legs shall shatter like glass and the rest of her will crumble into dust and ashes, to be scattered to the wind,

Hearing the model’s words dispels her own poetic, melodramatic monologue from her mind as she listens. “I must apologize f-for my lack of composure. I miss him and I do not want him to be dead. I should not have been foolish enough to associate with him.”

Her speech is interrupted as her voice cracks and she gives out another sob, her constant shaking only worsening as she continues. “The genre of my existence is tragedy. This is how it has always been, and how it shall be. I ought not to have friends, Mori-san. I w-was simply foolish enough to forget it.” 

[morisquared-blog1]

Between this and what had transpired with Katsumi (which is what the poor model's tried and failed desperately to push out of his mind), Mori isn't doing too well at the moment, and it's all she can do to try and console Kyoki any way he can. Still making soft little noises, all of which aren't entirely aimed at the novelist, she continues to pet the short bobbed hair, trying to provide some modicum of comfort.

"It-it's okay, Fujimori-chan... Mori's n-not mad, Mori thinks Fujimori-chan is d-doing well. It only makes sense for Fujimori-chan to miss her friend, a-after all..."

But that last part... what does Fujimori-chan mean by that? "Mori thought Fujimori-chan liked Red-chan, though...?" Her brows knit together in confusion. 

Mori whimpers when the poor girl in his lap sobs again, and she goes overtime in trying to help, but something that the novelist says strikes her as off. He pauses. "Fujimori-chan...? Does... does that mean that Mori and Fujimori-chan... aren't friends...?" 

Oh.

[morisquared-blog1]

Fading Roses, This Garden's Over // Katsumi

[beautyqueenshsl]

“If that’s what Sakata-chan wants!" she mimicked in a high pitched, wheedly voice before laughing. "Just listen to yourself! Don’t you have a spine? What, do you need my permission to leave? Pathetic, that’s what you are. So easily fooled and weak-willed." She took a moment to pause before swivelling around to see that she was still there. "Not going to go? Haven’t we already established that you really, really don’t want to be around me - or do you not know what else to do? Or who knows, maybe you don’t even realise that I’m not the kind of person that you want to be around. I wouldn’t put it past you."

Katsumi recoiled when the full implications of what she had said sank in. Too far. Way too far. It was time for a hasty retreat before the damage became too great to ever mend. She didn’t even say goodbye: she simply chucked the rose she had been holding onto the ground and stalked out of the rose garden, neglecting to do so much as glance over her shoulder.

Thankfully, the maze was near the rose garden and a safe place for her to retreat to. Katsumi didn’t even bother to keep track of the twists and turns she took, of the number of dead ends she met. It felt like an age had passed before she found the centre. It was quiet and deserted, far away from any distraught models.

She sat herself down, letting the full impact of what she had just done settle. The beauty queen didn’t cry - she hadn’t cried in years (her mother always said that running mascara ruined her beauty). But she certainly got the closest to crying that she had in years.

[morisquared-blog1]

At some point, though Mori doesn't know exactly when, she began to shake, and is still trembling right now, and even with his arms around herself, feels like she's just going to shake himself to pieces right there in front of Katsumi. She's well on her way already, at least. His face stings badly from the tears pouring down her wounds, and despite his desperate sniffling, snot's begun making its way down her face too. 

Looking decidedly un-model-like, Mori freezes at Katsumi's words, not reacting, just staring at the beauty queen for a good ten or fifteen seconds, face blank... before the poorly-constructed facade breaks, and his face pulls back down into an expression of anguish she cries openly. When Katsumi whirls around to face him, she hurriedly takes a few steps back, and ends up tripping, falling back onto his ass with a pained whimper.

"Mori's... sorry..." is all that escapes her mouth, but the words are so soft and so broken it would be a wonder if Katsumi even heard them. But when she continues her tirade, Mori freezes up again before hunkering down like a beaten dog, the tears flowing even harder as her eyes screw shut. He doesn't even look up as she hears Katsumi leave without even saying goodbye, simply sitting there sobbing, until the footsteps are gone, and he is alone.

She finally opens his eyes again, blearily staring down at the ground, before slowly, almost painfully, getting up to her feet. He... should go. She's not really sure where, exactly, but... not here. Back to his room, for starters, to... wash up. Maybe a shower will help. Perhaps she'll try reading the book Kyoki had given him to take her mind off things.

You spend some time with Katsumi, and feel like you got to know her better.

A lot better.

[morisquared-blog1]

Scaredy Cat // Kyoki

[delvingintotheblackabyss-blog]

Kyoki lets herself fall into the warm embrace of the model, tears continuing to fall from her purple eyes, her body beginning to shake. She shouldn’t let this mean anything, she shouldn’t let herself have another friend, because he’ll just die, or hate her, because that’s just the sort of miserable story her life is. 

The hug, some detached part of her brain thinks, is really not very formal or dignified at all, and not very suited to a distinguished literary figure such as herself. But she feels warm, and the hole inside her made by Red’s death feels a little less empty, so she sends that thought back where it came from and tentatively puts her own arms around Mori, hugging back. 

"I miss him. He was my friend, and I miss him." she mutters, wanting to use more perfect words, wanting to give what she says a literary weight but too caught up in how much her friend’s absence hurts to be able to. "I do not deserve friendship."  

[morisquared-blog1]

Mori holds Kyoki as tightly as she dares, which is snug but not too tight; he doesn't want to hurt her, after all. Without something to say, she just goes back to stroking the other girl's hair, gently, adding in an errant nuzzle every one in a while. Thinking on it for a moment, he begins to shift, getting more into a sitting position and pulling Kyoki into her lap, the better to hug her.

It isn't until the salt stings the wounds on his face that she realizes he's crying.

Mori understood losing a friend, after all. Not even the scares of Kyoki's book could drive that out of his mind, no matter how she tried. Despite everything, a small smile finds its way onto the model's face when he feels Kyoki's arms tentatively hug him back. 

Said smile immediately falls when the small girl speaks, and Mori's breath catches in her throat. 

"Mori... Mori knows, Fujimori-chan..." he says quietly. She's... not sure what else to say, really. He's not got a way with words like the novelist does. When she continues, Mori only squeezes her closer to him.

"That's not true at all. Ev... most people d-deserve friendship, and Fujimori-chan is definitely o-one of them..." She finishes her sentence by sniffling slightly. Maybe the beach isn't the best place to comfort the other, but it's where they are, and probably where they'll stay; Kyoki is shaking like a leaf in a hurricane.

[morisquared-blog1]

another attempt was made

who's the heart for, kiku? :0

[painttoolsi]

finally tried and finished An Art

11/29/14

[prophetesque]

writing sad rp replies more like

[morisquared-blog1]

Fading Roses, This Garden's Over // Katsumi

[beautyqueenshsl]

She relaxes her grip on the rose; her palm is wet and raw. Katsumi barely notices. That can be bandaged up later, it doesn’t matter. She looks over her shoulder at Mori, adopting a mocking, almost cruel expression.

"Do you think it’s so black and white? In fact, I’d say that Genji-san and Meng-san were at least a better type of bad person than I am. At least they are and were honest about it; never pretended to be good and kind. I may as well be a professional pretender. And I sure fooled you, didn’t I?" She forces out a laugh as she turns away again.

She’s lying through her teeth. Could anyone who had seen her almost throw her own life away when she tossed a shoe at Aku-chan in rage over Mori’s apparent death believe that she didn’t hold some genuine affection for the model? Of course not. But Mori hasn’t seen that, and Katsumi has faith in her acting skills. It doesn’t matter if she hates you. It’s for the greater good.

[morisquared-blog1]

Mori blinks. Wait, what? Seemingly out of nowhere, something about Katsumi... changed. And she's not sure he likes what's happening. She takes a step forward to follow the other, but finds himself faltering, coming to a stop before her foot even raises to take another step. Why did Sakata-chan roll her eyes at him? Why did she walk away? What's going on...?

She physically flinches as the words leave Katsumi's mouth, as if, instead of being lodged in her hand and drawing blood, the thorns from the rose had been fired at Mori, and had stuck him, again and again. 

"Sakata-...chan...?"

No, no, no no no no no no no no this isn't happening. The tears that were in her eyes before are nothing to what start flowing now out of panic. Though he tried not to dwell on it, Mori had lost friends like the before. With two fashion photographer parents, plus her own career, he was well off and... well... people tended to take advantage of that, sometimes. That and her kindness were what people cited when breaking it off, if they even bothered to talk to him about it before cutting off contact, so... was this the reason, then? But... but...

"But... Sakata-chan said... Sakata-chan said Mori was... good in Sakata-chan's life?"

Or... had that just been a lie, too? Mori's arms wrap around herself tightly, as if to hold him together at this point. She meets Katsumi's eyes, or at least, he thinks she does, through the tears, but any fight in him was let loose during the trial. Her shoulders slump, and his gaze slides to the ground. 

"Mori's... Mori's sorry Mori wasted Sakata-chan's time... Mori will go now, if that's what Sakata-chan wants...?"

She looks back to the beauty queen with a broken optimism, hoping like hell this was some sort of awful practical joke. Mori could, and would, forgive that. Otherwise... Mori wasn't sure what he'd do.

[morisquared-blog1]

Deerly Departed // Kiku

Mori believes she owes someone an apology. 

Red-chan had done a lot for Mori, even though they'd never really gotten to talk. Red was, after all the one who, with Arthur's help, had helped Katsumi and Hua Yu to find the broken model in the depths of the big library. Mori hadn't even gotten to thank him before... before Chinatsu had done what she'd done. But Arthur-chan was still here, though, and if Mori is right, then the dog is dwelling with someone else he's long overdue to speak with, even if the speaking part would be a bit one-sided.

It's only when she gets to Kiku Fujikawa's door that he remembers that the animal behaviorist has her own room, and Mori's face lights up for a brief moment. There's been a lot happening lately, and it's getting harder and harder for the model to put on a smile. But that's his job, right? Besides, Kiku's been nothing but nice to her...

"Fujikawa-chan?"

he asks as he knocks almost gently on the door. No need to disturb her, or Arthur-chan, if this is where the dog is.

"It's Mori! Can Mori come in and talk to Fujikawa-chan?"

[morisquared-blog1]

Scaredy Cat // Kyoki

[delvingintotheblackabyss-blog]

The smile falls apart, and so does the veneer of coolness that Kyoki had adorned herself with, as her eyes brim with tears. She thinks to herself that allowing the other to comfort her would be selfish; she is not supposed to have friend, didn’t that just prove itself? 

But just one hug can’t hurt. That won’t count as a friendship, right? And, in the absence of her stuffed toy, it looks like it might be the only hug she can get. Biting her lip, Kyoki nods. “If it would not trouble you unduly, an embrace would be… appreciated. My sincerest apologies f-for any inconvenience caused by my melancholy manner.”

[morisquared-blog1]

The flinch causes Mori to immediately draw his own hand back, as if burned. And between the adverse reactions she'd gotten from both Katsumi and Kyoki, he sorta had. But... she had to learn somehow, he supposes, averting her eyes away from the novelist.

He doesn't look away long, however, because she just gets a feeling that things aren't right, and when he looks back...

"Fujimori-chan, you're... crying..."

The statement is of the obvious, but Mori's brows still furrow in unhappiness. Though she wants nothing more than to throw his arms around Kyoki immediately, she forces himself to stay still, his arms anxiously fidgeting at his sides.

She waits until the words that he thinks mean yes leave Kyoki's mouth and then her arms are around the other girl, pulling her against him and gently petting her hair. He doesn't even let her finish, just knowing that the novelist wants... no, needs a hug being enough to spur her into action.

"It's okay, Fujimori-chan..."

he murmurs, gently nuzzling against the top of Kyoki's head.

"Mori's... Mori's not doing too good either, but... we're gonna get through this, Fujimori-chan..."

[morisquared-blog1]

Fading Roses, This Garden's Over // Katsumi

[beautyqueenshsl]

But there is one other major reason, and this one she can explain to Mori - even if only in a simplified form. Katsumi picks the rose off the bush, first using her nail to dig into the stem and then yanking it. The action causes its thorns to dig into her hand, but she hardly pays that any attention. Then she takes a deep breath and forces herself to turn around. She’s not a coward, he at least deserves to have her look her in the eye.

"Mori-san, it’s not your fault. Don’t think for a second that it’s your fault; I won’t tolerate that. Do you hear me? I won’t stand for it." The blonde is trying to sound assertive, and there’s certainly conviction in her voice, even if it was wavering. "You’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. In fact, you-" she stopped to consider her words, "You’ve been nothing but beneficial to my life. Really, I mean it."

She can feel a trickle of blood from her hand where one thorn dug particularly deep, but ignores this as she uses her nails to pluck the thorns off, now looking down and being focussed entirely on her task. “The thing is, Mori-san: I’m not a good person. I’m really not. And you should only surround yourself with good people. Do you understand me?”

Where has her usual eloquence gone? It’s disappeared; she can barely find enough words to get her point across.

[morisquared-blog1]

Mori tilts her head, but this time, instead of in enthusiastic curiosity that normally accompanies the action, there's just... confusion and sadness. He watches silently as Katsumi gently caresses the rose, and even now, after only those words, she can feel wetness pooling up in his eyes. But when Katsumi jerks roughly at the rose, Mori whimpers, darting forward until the beauty queen looks up at him with a fierceness that stops her in his tracks. 

She blinks, sending the tears cascading down his face, and even though the other girl's words are meant to be uplifting, he thinks, she still finds herself hunkering down a little. 

"Mori doesn't... understand,"

he says gently, though there is a slight smile at Katsumi's kindness. It doesn't last long before breaking back down into an anguished frown.

"Sakata-chan, you're bleeding..."

She reaches for Katsumi's hand before pausing, fingers curling back in apprehension. The last two times he'd touched the other bubble up in her mind and she pulls his hand away. Was... that the reason, maybe? Katsumi herself gives the real reason not long afterward.

"B-but Sakata-chan isn't a bad person!!!"

she insists earnestly, hands curling closed.

"Sakata-chan is nice and kind to Mori! And even if she wasn't, Mori still doesn't think Sakata-chan would be a bad person. Meng-chan was a bad person. ... ...Genji-chan is a bad person. But Sakata-chan is not! Mori promises!!"