the loveliest lies of all

"Takahiro Kagome is my name. I'm a prosecutor. This is my friend, Tsukasa Kishimoto, she's a ghost hunter." "We won't accept any question about Angel Wing Mall so please leave us alone." - - - - status: survivor blog status: post game - - - - sideblog to prosxcution affiliated with Mall of Despair and RIncorporated

[starshineseeker]

Worst Nightmare | Suzuka | Tsukasa

“Tsukasa!! Tsukasaaaa!!!!”

Suzuka whirls into the room, tears streaming down her face. “Tsukasa please, please, please, please please!!! Mizuiro’s in trouble, Masae’s in trouble, it’s happening again, Tsukasa, what are we going to do?!”

Suzuka covers her mouth in agony, tears still streaming down her face, Suzuka collapses into the ground. “’Zuiro….”

[prosxcutor-blog]

Tsukasa jumped as the deceased lifeguard suddenly appeared in her room. Tsukasa had been playing a video game to try and get her mind off of that bad feeling she was having and nearly dropped the controller as soon as Suzuka had started speaking.

Pausing the game, Tsukasa quickly approached the ghost, kneeling down i front of her.

“Wh-What about Mi-kun and Masa-chan? What’s happening again? Suzu-chan, what’s going on?!”

[mallofdespair-travis]

“Maybe…I should have gone with her.”

“She always did get into huge trouble after all…I don’t understand why she would want to go to a place like that….I should talk to Takahiro about this, perhaps…”

“Oh god, Lucy, wherever you are, please come home safely…I’ll make your favorite Apple Pie when you come back….”

“Please Lucy…You can’t go. I don’t want to say good bye again…I can’t…I won’t….”

[prosxcutor-blog]

To say that that bad feeling Kagome had earlier bothered him for the rest of the day was an understatement. It made him zone out a lot, nearly running into every door possible (along with Tsukasa laughing at him) and just him being uncharactiscally quiet, unlike his usual loud self. 

As he fiddled with the keys to the apartment door, he quietly closed it in case a certain someone was sleeping or working, but as it turns out, he was instead pacing around the living room. Kagome silently moved towards the pacing man and wrapped his arms around him, resting his forehead on his back.

“Hey, I’m home and I’m tired what’s up?”

Kagome stopped as he heard Rikai mutter something. Lifting his head up he spoke quietly.

"You okay? What's wrong?"

[prosxcutor-blog]

“!!! What the hell...?”

“....You felt it too, right?”

“....It’s probably nothing...although...I might contact him, something doesn’t feel right...”

[masae-atoshi]

Haunted Panels [ Masae | Tsukasa ]

[prosxcutor-blog]

"Ah well I’m not sure but he kept muttering something about—"

Tsukasa suddenly stopped talking and snapped her head towards Masae who was…crying as she wrote her message. She felt her heart drop into her stomach. Oh god she didn’t mean to make her cry oh god no…

"S-Shi-chan I didn’t mean to…o-oh god…"

As Tsukasa read the message, she suddenly dropped her phone letting the deceased poet read what Masae had wrote, and gently pulling Masae into a hug as she wrapped her arms around the younger girl, stroking her hair as she spoke.

"I’m sorry Masa-chan I didn’t mean for you to cry. You…you have no idea how much your sister misses you too, I…I’m so sorry…"

Tsukasa knew that Masae couldn’t hear her, but Tsukasa could care less. With her phone on the floor, it vibrated with a message from a certain boy she was talking about a bit.

[Taka-chan]

"Tsukasa I know you’re at Hopes Peak right now, I’ll be there in a couple of minutes. I’m getting coffee, two creams and no sugar. You want anything?"

Tsukasa frowned as she gently pulled away from Masae to go pick up her phone and sent a rather hasty message back at Kagome.

[ “im kind of havin a moment here can u not????” "i want a frappucino extra whip cream >:c" ]

She closed the text message app and went to go write down something in the notes app before handing it to Masae. As Masae wrote her message Tsukasa went to go grab a paper towel, damping a little bit, before she started dabbing it a bit on Masae’s face and using the dry part to clean it off.

[ “aaahhh im sorry i didn’t mean to make you sad masa-chan :ccc”

"your sister misses you very much. trust me on that. she’s doing all she can to help you, even if you cant see her."

"i hope that hug was okay sorry it was so sudden.."

"i would love to be ur sister!!  okay wait that sounds weird ahhh im sorry you’re just really sweet and asdlgaskfhbgkjrgbkebrtb"

"wait that last part was supposed to be something nice but i forgot what it was and just started typing random things ffff im sorry masa-chan :c" ]

[masae-atoshi]

        Just as the phone fell, Shizuka leaned over and read the messages. The tears in her eyes only grew to be more frequent.

❀ Masae…

        Though she knew all of her actions weren’t going to be known directly by the younger sister, Shizuka still leaned in and hugged Masae.

     A small gasp escaped the girl's lips as she was suddenly brought in for a hug. That's when the actual bawling came. With trembling hands, Masae accepted the embrace, burying her face deep in Tsukasa's sweater. She shook against the blue-haired girl, the release of sorrow feeling so satisfying after such a long time of hiding it.

     The soothing touch of her hand against Masae's head brought her back to a gentle hiccuping. It reminded her of Shizuka. Her arms only wrapped around the other girl's waist tighter, then.

     She stepped back a bit, after Tsukasa leaned away from the hug. Masae didn't notice, but Tsukasa's phone had vibrated. The younger girl waited until she texted whoever was texting, back.

     She peered in, reading the message, until she realized Tsukasa left for a moment. Masae began typing her message, overflowing with emotions, when suddenly she felt paper towel against her face. SHe looked up, smiled, and... felt somewhat at peace.

     She gave Tsukasa back the phone.

[ Thank you. ]

     Then, once Tsukasa was looking at her again, she began signing, as if she knew that somehow Tsukasa would know what she was saying.

        Shizuka was smiling wider than ever at her sister as she signed.

❀ She says that she would love f-for… you to be her sister… and she keeps… repeatedly thanking you… which I should do as well…

        With a deep bow, the poet smiled again at Tsukasa.

❀ She asks if you would accompany her on a walk to cool down…

     Surely enough, Tsukasa agreed, and the three walked around the school. Masae quietly dabbed tissues at her face, while Shizuka calmly watched her younger sister pick herself back up again, like she knew she always could do. Tsukasa was being whisked away by the angry texter known as Takahiro Kagome, but by then, Masae was feeling better. They embraced once more, before Masae finally signed a last 'thank you' to the blue-haired girl.

［  Ｔｈｒｅａｄ  Ｅｎｄ．

                                                       Ｃｏｎｔｉｎｕｅ  Ｔｏ  Ｎｅｘｔ  Ｔｈｒｅａｄ  →  ］

[masae-atoshi]

Haunted Panels [ Masae | Tsukasa ]

[masae-atoshi]

     Masae bit her lips as she read Tsukasa's message. She looked up, noticing the blue-haired girl talking to 'herself' again. Masae couldn't help but bring the phone close to her chest and cover her mouth with her hand, as if the phone itself was a letter hand-written by her late sister.

She closed her eyes, and felt tears roll down her cheeks.

❀  He… did? …how did he make it…?

        The poet smiled a sad smile, until she looked over, only to see her younger sister crying.

❀ Kishimoto-san… what… did you exactly… say to her..? W-Why.. is she crying..?

        Her ghostly hand reached up to brush away hair from Masae, but it only made her hand go straight through the strands.

❀ M-Masae…

     Finally, after a few breaths, Masae began typing away at the phone, her vision blurry. She handed back the phone, and began dabbing her sleeve at her face.

[ you really think so? …     I miss my sister so much… she was always willing to talk   with me any day and I can’t do that with my mom… I just   want to see her again. I wish I could hug her and just spend   a night with her.    You’re very lucky to have your sister.   … Kishimoto-senpai… would it be okay if I had a hug? ]

     Masae was trying to stop crying… but she knew she couldn’t. She looked into the mirror and looked at her reflection.

|| this isn’t fair… ||

[prosxcutor-blog]

- 

"Ah well I'm not sure but he kept muttering something about--"

Tsukasa suddenly stopped talking and snapped her head towards Masae who was...crying as she wrote her message. She felt her heart drop into her stomach. Oh god she didn't mean to make her cry oh god no...

"S-Shi-chan I didn't mean to...o-oh god..."

As Tsukasa read the message, she suddenly dropped her phone letting the deceased poet read what Masae had wrote, and gently pulling Masae into a hug as she wrapped her arms around the younger girl, stroking her hair as she spoke.

"I'm sorry Masa-chan I didn't mean for you to cry. You...you have no idea how much your sister misses you too, I...I'm so sorry..."

Tsukasa knew that Masae couldn't hear her, but Tsukasa could care less. With her phone on the floor, it vibrated with a message from a certain boy she was talking about a bit.

[Taka-chan]

"Tsukasa I know you're at Hopes Peak right now, I'll be there in a couple of minutes. I'm getting coffee, two creams and no sugar. You want anything?"

Tsukasa frowned as she gently pulled away from Masae to go pick up her phone and sent a rather hasty message back at Kagome.

[ "im kind of havin a moment here can u not????" "i want a frappucino extra whip cream >:c" ]

She closed the text message app and went to go write down something in the notes app before handing it to Masae. As Masae wrote her message Tsukasa went to go grab a paper towel, damping a little bit, before she started dabbing it a bit on Masae's face and using the dry part to clean it off.

[ "aaahhh im sorry i didn't mean to make you sad masa-chan :ccc"

"your sister misses you very much. trust me on that. she's doing all she can to help you, even if you cant see her."

"i hope that hug was okay sorry it was so sudden.."

"i would love to be ur sister!!  okay wait that sounds weird ahhh im sorry you're just really sweet and asdlgaskfhbgkjrgbkebrtb"

"wait that last part was supposed to be something nice but i forgot what it was and just started typing random things ffff im sorry masa-chan :c" ]

[masae-atoshi]

Haunted Panels [ Masae | Tsukasa ]

[masae-atoshi]

❀ Please don’t worry, Kishimoto-san… sometimes I forget… to let myself cry…

         She furrowed her eyebrows slightly. Her pale green eyes were glazed over with concern.

❀ Wait… Kagome-san… isn’t… he hasn’t… moved on..? what… do you mean…?

        She watched her sister from the corner of her eye, but mainly focused on Tsukasa.

     Masae couldn't help but giggle as she read Tsukasa's message. She had never actually met anyone who talked to her like this. It certainly was a breath of fresh air. She tried to keep her hopes up, however hearing that Tsukasa's younger sister... doesn't really see her any more...

     It made her stomach turn.

[ You should go visit your sister sometime. I think she'd like   that... I know I would. If my sister visited me every now   and then... I'd like that. ]

      She furrowed her eyebrows, similar to the way her sister did.

[ What are you referring to...? the ghost thing or... the fact   that you keep looking off to the side and talking to thin air... ]

     She gulped.

[ Sorry if that sounded rude, i dont mean it to... ]

     She gave back the phone, and then clutched her stomach.

[prosxcutor-blog]

Tsukasa whispered quietly to Shizuka.

"Earlier today...he kind of yelled at me because I was about to throw away a cup of cold coffee he made a couple of days ago...I...think he made it for you..."

Tsukasa kind of chuckled a bit.

"Taka-chan has weird coping mechanisms, huh?"

Tsukasa took the phone back. As she read it, a sad smile was on her face as she read the message, quickly typing her reply.

[ "i think i'll go message her when i get back home!! thank you for reminding me, masa-chan c:"

"im sure your sister is always thinking about you, even if she isn't there. i know that i do with mine. older sisters always want to care for their little sisters even if they aren't physically there."

"haha that sounded weird didn't it? :p" ]

Tsukasa smiled as she typed in her last message before handing it to Masae.

[ "it's okay! i kind of have a habit of talking to myself. gives me something to do when im alone. it's cool tho, it kind of weirds out my friend tbh" ]

[masae-atoshi]

Haunted Panels [ Masae | Tsukasa ]

[masae-atoshi]

|| Tsukasa... ||

     Masae repeated her name with her hand motions, much more fluid than the blue-haired girl's. Before she could reply, Tsukasa wasn't paying attention, and instead looking for something.

|| Ah, her phone... ||

     Masae waited for a few moments. It was nice to get to sign with someone, however it was clear that Tsukasa only knew a few things. She put her hands together, resting them against her skirt, as she looked around the bathroom for a bit. Her tears were finally dry, her eyes slightly sticky.

     Finally, the phone was turned towards her, and the young girl looked at it, gently taking it from Tsukasa's hands.

        Shizuka smiled again at Masae. The sweet grin faded as Tsukasa brought up the motive.

❀ Yes… she… was… along with my m-mother…

        Shizuka’s voice hitched slightly, and a few beads of tears pooled in her eyes.

❀ S-Sorry… it’s… I…

        She carefully dabbed her fingertip to the edge of her eyes.

❀ They weren’t supposed to be a part of all that… and yet… you and… them… are the ones… who have to live with… what we couldn’t stop…

        She looks at Masae, who was busily typing away at Tsukasa’s phone. Shizuka’s pale hand slowly reached up to her sister, who in fact was taller than the poet herself, despite being 5 years younger. She gently placed her hand on Masae’s shoulder, her touch lingering as she held in her ghostly tears.

        Masae flinched a few seconds after, swatting away at the air as if a fly was buzzing around. She scratched her shoulder with her right hand before getting back to typing.

        The poet retracted her hand and placed it back in front of her, joining with the other.

❀ It’s why she… has those scars on her hands… They… b-burned her…

Her green eyes didn’t flicker away from Masae’s freckled face for a second.

❀ It’s been so long since I… was able to remind her how pretty she is… especially, even with her hands…

Shizuka places her face into her hands, rubbing her features softly before resting them at her side again. Masae held out the phone for Tsukasa to take.

❀ It… doesn’t help to… be complimented on appearance… from our mother… I know she means best, and Masae knows that too, but… sometimes I know it’s hard, for my sister…

     Masae was wondering why Tsukasa was still looking off to her right every now and then. She turned, the phone still in her hand, wondering if someone else was in the bathroom. There wasn't anyone there.

     She squinted at Tsukasa, taking back the phone to add an additional message. Then finally, she returned the phone.

[ That's alright! If you're okay with typing then I'm okay too.   It's cool that you know how to introduce yourself in sign,   though... it at least makes me feel a little less   disconnected...   A ghost hunter? That sounds cool... Has any ghost actually   shown themselves to you before? Or did you just get weird   readings off...   Well, I don't know where I was going with that.   Yes, Masae Atoshi is my name! It's a pleasure to meet you as   well, Kishimoto-senpai! Your name is very pretty. I also   really like your blue hair! It's a very pretty cut too...   it shapes your face very nicely! ^.^   I'm not a student here, I was actually   Just here to pick up a few things from my sister's room...    May I ask why you're here as well? If you don't go to Hope's   Peak any more...?   Also, if you also don't mind me asking... why do you keep   looking to your right as if something is there? ]

[prosxcutor-blog]

Tsukasa immediately felt bad or bringing up that incident. Looking to the side nervously.

"Ah...right...sorry about that..."

Tsukasa rubbed her neck where the purple ribbon she once wore for his braids was now snugly wrapped around her neck in a cute little bow. It was a good way to hide the scars, honestly. She touched her cheek where a long scar was under her eye and she shivered. It's only been two years and yet the memory was still fresh in her mind.

Tsukasa gave Shizuka a sad smile when Masae had unknowingly swatted her dead sister's hand away from her.

"It's...it's fine. It just...really sucks that you and the other guy had to be sacrificed so that we'd escape. I...I don't think Taka-chan moved on from that yet. He...he sometimes get's kind of sad..."

Tsukasa rubbed her arm as she looked at the ground. She doesn't know if Kagome is just being...Kagome...but she sometimes caught him making two cups of coffee and sitting on the table, just drinking one of them while he left the other on the other side of him, as if he was...

Tsukasa was snapped out of her thoughts as Masae handed back her phone, quickly reading the message before typing up her response.

[ "it's nice to meet you, masa-chan!! awwwee ty ty ur name is vry cute as well!! omg ur such a sweetie" "oooh that's cool! what a good lil sister you are. i have a lil sis too, she's actually my half-sis. she moved to live with my uncle after she graduated tho, i miss her a lot :ccc" "im just here to visit, really. i just graduated and im just hanging around here bc my friend is being naggy atm :///" ]

Tsukasa paused. Glancing nervously at Shizuka at Masae's question. She then slowly began to start typing up her answer.

[ "?? im not sure what you mean masa-chan" ]

Ah yes, lie to a little girl. What a good role model you are, Tsukasa.

[superduperactress-blog]

So what exactly did happen after MoD….

"Haha, this is my talent! It’s what I like to do."

"W… why did you invite me along?"

"Hey, I thought you might have liked the adventure."

"…Yeah, whatever. I’m not scared or anything."

"Hey, look on the bright side! You’re a literal ghostwriter now, so you know your subjects better than me."

"…"

"Aw, come on, cheer up. You look crushed, it was just a joke."

""Hmmmph, not funny!"

[masae-atoshi]

Haunted Panels [ Masae | Tsukasa ]

[masae-atoshi]

    Masae blinked, suddenly realizing where she was and what she was doing. Her Masae`s eyebrows raised slightly once she realized that this odd blue-haired girl was... signing to her? She forced a tiny little smile on her face, watching the agonizingly slow movements turn into something she could recognize.

☞ You know sign language?

     Masae was confused as to why this girl's movement were slow. Maybe she was learning? Also, why was she looking off to the side and moving her lips every now and then?

|| weird... ||

☞Unless you're learning. Then, I can go slow.    My name is Masae Atoshi, what's yours?

❀ Yes… ever since my… death… she hasn’t been doing so well. She’s been very strong but… after her… torture… right before I died…

        She bit the inside of her cheek, looking at Masae. Sighing, she calmed herself down and rose her hands again.

❀ Okay. What she said just now was… well, she asked if you knew sign language, but then wondered if you were learning. and then she introduced herself as… Masae Atoshi… …then she asked you for your name…

        Shizuka’s hands moved in a fluent motion, repeating the similar patterns that Masae did moments before.

❀ and… here is how to say your name. Basically, you spell it… so.. tsu-ka-sa. Like that.

        Shizuka smiled. She watched Tsukasa sign back to Masae, and she could feel her sister’s warmth filling the room, the same way that she used to, when they would spend hours talking to each other. She still does, to this day. She sits in Masae’s room, every time the young girl would sit alone, crying. She would always find herself talking, or rather, signing, to herself, after a big crying episode.

        What she didn’t know, was… her older sister was always signing back to her…

[prosxcutor-blog]

Tsukasa nodded, watching in awe at Shizuka's fluid hand motions as she showed her how to sign. Tsukasa glanced back at Masae who had a confused look on her face as Tsukasa talked to Shizuka. Good thing she can't hear her right now...

"Okay so like this....?" [  "My name is Tsukasa." ]

Tsukasa stood there a bit awkwardly. She can't really keep pausing awkwardly, but she doesn't know sign language. A metaphorical lightbulb appeared in her head as she whipped out her phone, clicking on the notepad app and quickly typing something down before handing it to Masae.

[ "sorry i don't know sign language that well! my...friend...taught me that but that's all i know tbh. im tsukasa kishimoto! i used to be a student here, im a ghost hunter actually. you're masae atoshi right? nice to meet you ma-chan!! what brings you here to hopes peak?" ]

As she watched Masae type her reply, Tsukasa leaned over a bit to whisper to Shizuka.

'So...she was your motive then? Like how I was for Taka-chan?"

[masae-atoshi]

Haunted Panels [ Masae | Tsukasa ]

[masae-atoshi]

        Knowing that no matter what she did, her sister wouldn’t be able to hear or feel her, Shizuka still gently began to stroke her sister’s hair as Masae was washing her hands. She could hear her breathing calm down a bit, and her hands reacting better to the warmer water. Shizuka was visibly calmer as well, relieved that her sister’s harmful tendencies were so quickly put under control this time.

❀ She’s my younger sister… she was … in the same position as you were… t-two years ago…

        Shizuka looked up at Tsukasa with a sad expression. 

❀ I’m sorry for bringing that up…

        Looking back down at Masae, she moved again to get a better angle of her face. Shizuka smiled, something that she’s been doing a lot more after she had died. Not because she was happy that she didn’t have to live through the pain anymore, but because she could spend all her days with her mother and sister. She just wishes that she could do something about their pain though.

❀ She should be stopping soon… Thank you for doing that, otherwise it would’ve been 20 or 40 minutes worth of… her destructive… actions…

        Shizuka wiped away her tears and took a deep breath out.

     Masae blinked, suddenly realizing where she was and what she was doing. Her hands stung as they shook, slowly coming out from under the falling water. She looked up in the mirror, seeing her red eyes and the tear tracks on her face. The water continued to flow as her scarred hands gently made their way up to touch her cheeks, wiping away the tears with her wet hands. That's when she realized that there was someone else in the mirror.

     Jumping out of her skin, the young girl stepped away from Tsukasa, her arms close to her chest in a protective stance.

        Shizuka moved forward a bit, shaking out her hands and stretching her fingers.

❀ Kishimoto-san, m-maybe you can… repeat after me? It’s been so long since Masae had anyone to talk to… I’ll tell you what she’s saying. Maybe you should turn off… the water…

Shizuka looked at Masae for a moment, watching the water run down her arms through the ridges in her skin.

❀ Just…. repeat these… signs, after me… I’ll say what I’m signing… so you… know what you’re saying….

        Shizuka then carefully signed something.

❀ Do you understand how to move your hands? Does it make sense….? You’re… basically asking “how are you feeling, everything is okay… You’re calm now.”

        Shizuka waited until Tsukasa signed to Masae.

[prosxcutor-blog]

-

"Your...younger sister, huh?"

Tsukasa looked back and forth from Shizuka and Masae. Now that she got a good look at them, they really do look alike.

"No problem! I'm just glad I was able to help you two."

Tsukasa listened quietly to what Shizuka had to say before nodding, looking at her hands and trying to imitate the hand signs the ghost poet was showing her. She looked to see Masae had taken a couple of steps away from her, which is totally justifiable. Hopefully she doesn't notice her mumbling to herself, which was her actually talking to her dead sister. Yeah, totally normal things...

Tsukasa waved at Masae before she slowly and carefully tried to imitate the hand signs Shizuka showed her.

[ "How are you...feeling, every...thing...is okay......you're calm...now" ]

"(Oh gosh, I really hope I did this right...)"

Tsukasa then glanced at Shizuka before whispering quietly.

"How do I tell her my name?"

[prosxcutor-blog]

The Water is Great | Post Game | Tsukasa | Closed for Mizuiro

[mizuiroren-blog]

Mizuiro wasn’t SHSL Spring Board Diver for nothing while he was in high school. Twisting in the air, he manages to right himself just before his hits the water, cleanly entering, despite the clothes that he’s wearing. Erupting out of the water with a splash and a curse, Mizuiro hauls himself out of the water, and snarls quietly to himself. Shivering slightly and completely ignoring Tsukasa’s offer he stalks over to a button on the wall and presses it violently. Above him, the heat lamp turns on as he yanks his shirt off. Warmth spreads from the heat lamp above him.

He stares at her for a long moment before stalking off, muttering under his breath. “Stay if you want, but don’t go into the pool unless someone’s guarding. Someone should show up at the top of the hour.” He growls, not looking over his shoulder. Walking into the pool office, Mizuiro barely resists punching the wall.

Fuck.

[prosxcutor-blog]

Tsukasa watches Mizuiro quietly. It's surprising that the bubbly Suzu-chan is friends with this grump. Then again, the same could be applied to herself. As Mizuiro walked back to his office, Tsukasa stood there for a bit. Turning to a certain deceased lifeguard girl, a sad smile on her face as she gave her a shrug.

"I tried, Suzu-chan, sorry..."

Tsukasa then walked towards the pool office, poking her head in before she spoke.

"Suzu-chan said she misses the way you braided her hair."

Tsukasa stood there for a bit before bowing at Mizuiro.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Mi-chan. It was nice seeing you again, Suzu-chan. I hope we can meet again."

As she closed the door, Tsukasa left the pool. Hands behind her back as she hummed to herself.

"Now where to next..."

[prosxcutor-blog]

".....Something doesn't feel right..."

"I need to contact the others..."

[masae-atoshi]

Haunted Panels [ Masae | Tsukasa ]

[masae-atoshi]

❀ No no no no.. stop, Masae please stop, please don’t-

        The deceased poet followed after her younger sister, covering her mouth and attempting to stop herself from starting to cry. She hated seeing her like this, and it pained her every time she did this, because she couldn’t do anything. Seeing her turn on the tap as she did countless times before, the poet broke, hands shaking and her knees weakening as her sister began scrubbing her hands.

❀Masae, Masae please stop hurting yourself-

        Shizuka’s eyes began filling with tears as she tried grasping at Masae’s wrists, only to have her hands completely pass through her. Frustrated, Shizuka’s trembling hands clutched her own hair as she leaned against the wall next to the sink.

❀Please, please stop, Masae p-please…

        She closed her eyes, the tears gently rolling down her face. Suddenly, she heard a voice. Snapping her head up, she realized it was a blue-haired girl that looked oddly familiar.

        “No… no it can’t… be…”

❀ K-Kishimoto-san?

    Masae's fingernails dug deeply into her scarred skin as the freezing water numbed the pain. She wasn't aware of the two girls talking beside her. In fact, she hadn't even noticed the blue-haired girl that was standing by the sinks just as she came here. With her tunnel-vision, she knew that all she could do right now was scrub the horrible memories away.

|| Clean.. clean, clean yourself, Masae, get, get- away ||

     The hills and valleys on her quick-moving hands were starting to show signs of redness, and some scratches were beginning to produce tiny red dots under her skin.

❀ K-Kishimoto… Tsukasa, is… is that you?

        The poet wiped her eyes and stepped behind her sister, panic still in her voice but her eyes fixated on the short-haired girl. She remembered her braid lying on the floor in the television screen like it was yesterday. Takahiro Kagome’s pained expression once he realized what exactly they were doing to his best friend.

❀ C-Can.. you help, please.. j-just…

        She pointed at the sink once she stepped closer to Tsukasa.

❀ Please, t-turn the warm water on— s-slowly. Slowly, so its.. gradual, please.. please, she’s hurting herself, please just do this for me, she’s deaf, she can’t hear you b-but don’t touch her. Sh-She’ll stop scratching soon and she’ll stop the w-washing once.. once she’s calmed down just please do this for me, I don’t want her to hurt herself…

        Shizuka’s pleading eyes and voice grew louder than she had ever spoken when she was alive. The tears hadn’t stopped flowing from the poet’s eyes, and it was causing some of her loose hairs to stick to her face. She moved back to Masae’s right side, leaning down a bit to look at her sister’s face. In a soothing voice, much unlike the voice she used with Tsukasa, she spoke quietly to her sister.

❀ Masae… Masae please stop… I love you, please don’t.. h-hurt yourself.. I’m here… it’s okay…. Masae I-I love you…

[prosxcutor-blog]

Tsukasa was at a loss for words at the moment. It's been a while since she's last seen the dead poet, not really the best way she wants to see her again. She pushed those thoughts aside as she nodded.

"Y-yeah...I'm Tsukasa Kishimoto. It's...it's been a while...Shi-chan. I..I'll do whatever I can to help!"

Tsukasa listened quietly, looking at Masae worriedly but with slight curiosity. She's deaf? Well this made things a bit harder...but regardless, Tsukasa listened carefully to Shizuka's instructions. Approaching the sink where Masae was, Tsukasa slowly put her hand on the knob for the hot water, doing what Shizuka had told her to do and slowly turned it on, her green eyes flickering to Shizuka and Masae as she did so.

When Tsukasa put the hot water equal to the cold water, Tsukasa looked at Shizuka and spoke softly.

"Shi-chan...who is this girl? What's going on?"

[prosxcutor-blog]

The Water is Great | Post Game | Tsukasa | Closed for Mizuiro

[mizuiroren-blog]

Mizuiro rolls over and scowl. “Don’t apologize. I’m the asshole here not you.” Standing up Mizuiro walks over to her and gently cups her cheek. Running a thumb over her scar, his gaze softens slightly. “We both had to deal with shit during that chapter. Aside from Dai…and anyone else who was used, no one else is going to understand that. We all wear scars in the same way.”

Mizuiro turns back to the edge of the platform as she starts to make her way down the ladder. She’s…interesting to say the least. No one can get him to talk about her except for Daiki, but somehow, girlie managed to do it. Mizuiro cracks a small smile when he hears Tsukasa climb back up.

Turning around he’s about to give her a quizzical look when he freezes.

"Also…tell Suzu-chan I said hi, she’s been hugging you for a while now."

"Wha-?" Mizuiro has a look of shock on his face as he starts laughing. "Really funny Tsukasa. You think that what you said earlier was out of line? Now this is fucked up. Really hilarious, good job." He sneers at the blue haired girl, backing away from her. "Just because your talent had to do with paranormal shit doesn’t mean I’m buying whatever the fuck you’re trying to do. You’ve really lost your-"

Mizuiro’s sentence is cut off when all of the sudden there’s nothing but air beneath his back foot. A look of surprise appears on his face as he makes eye contact with Tsukasa for a split second.

Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding.

[prosxcutor-blog]

Tsukasa simply stared at Mizuiro at the things he said. While it is true that rarely anyone believed about her sixth sense, only a handful would go as far as to call her, "crazy", or some other insult. Before she could say something to defend herself, she noticed how far back Mizuiro was and what looked like a smirk on her face as he took another step back...right off of the diving board.

As the boy fell back into the pool, Tsukasa stepped towards the edge of the diving board, making a quiet whistling noise as he fell. As soon as a splash was heard, she made a whooshing sound as if there was an explosion. Was it mean to not warn him before hand? Probably. Tsukasa looked to the side and opened her mouth, as if talking to someone until she then started climbing down the ladder to join her fallen friend from the pool, stopping by the side of the pool and crouched, her forearms resting on her thighs as she waited for the boy to swim back.

"For the record...you should have known that walking on the diving board is dangerous, Mi-chan."

Her eyes then narrowed a bit as she spoke.

"Also, don't call me crazy. I'm not crazy. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not real, that's invalidating their existence and that really sucks."

Her expression then returned to her normally cheerful and laid-back one as she stood up.

"Anyhoo, are you alright? I can go grab you a towel, where are they anyways?"

[masae-atoshi]

Haunted Panels [ Masae | Tsukasa ]

［  ←  Ｐｒｅｖｉｏｕｓ  Ｔｈｒｅａｄ                                                [ ♫ ]  ｐｒｏｓｘｃｕｔｏｒ​  ：  Ｔｈｒｅａｄ  Ｓｔａｒｔ  ］

     Ｈer tear-stained eyes threatened to lead her straight into a wall as the young girl kept her head low, speeding through the halls. Her hands were certainly trembling, a nervous scratching along the side of her scarred wrist was stinging her imperfect skin- but the thoughts going through her head were louder than any annoying noise of nails-to-skin could produce. Her breathing was erratic- at some points she wasn't even sure if she was breathing any more. Sometimes she wishes she wasn't.

     Ｗiping away at her eyes, Masae turned left, right into the woman's bathroom. Without hesitation, she walked up to the nearest sink and turned on the water onto the coldest side. She plunged her hands into the freezing waterfall, and as if it were a daily routine, she scrubbed her fingers dry.

     Ｈer vision was blurring again as her tears were flowing again. At that moment she could swear she heard someone calling out to her- but the voice was unfamiliar. Her shaking hands didn't stop scratching, and scrubbing at each other, despite the alarmingly cold temperature the water was at.

[prosxcutor-blog]

Tsukasa leaned back on the sink as she scrolled through her texts, one of them being from a certain shark-toothed prosecutor boy. 

[ Taka-chan ] where are you? i'm with rikai right now but mom just called and asked if you were with us, where did you run off to this time?

Tsukasa was about to type down her reply until the sound of...a girl yelling startled her. Putting her phone back in her pocket, Tsukasa looked around, trying to find who the voice was until a young girl suddenly appeared in the bathroom, causing Tsukasa to take a step back. It wasn't just the unfamiliar girl that startled her, it was more or the familiar girl that followed her...at least...the familiar girl only Tsukasa could see.

"(...Shi-chan...?)"

The sound of running water snapped her out of it as she saw the young girl washing her hands...rather aggressively. That's a lot of cold water she's using. Tsukasa's eyes darted from the ghost to the younger girl before she spoke up.

"Ah....excuse me...you should use some hot water...that looks kind of cold..."

[prosxcutor-blog]

The Water is Great | Post Game | Tsukasa | Closed for Mizuiro

[mizuiroren-blog]

Two years ago, Mizuiro probably would’ve snapped at Tsukasa for what she’s saying, but he’s learned to control his temper. Slightly. Letting out an irritated sigh, Mizuiro barks out a laugh. “Good for him. She hated letting people see her cry.” Mizuiro  says tersely. Clenching his teeth, he glances at her with an agonized expression on his face. 

"No. I don’t think of ‘if only I’. I was used against her, not the other way around. We all were. That motive broke her. I knew and Daiki knew, even when we were blacking out because of the pain." Mizuiro’s eyes almost glaze over as he recalls the events of that part of the game. "We knew she’d…decide. The only way she wouldn’t have is if someone else beat her to it."

The second the words leave his mouth, Mizuiro scowls angrily and has to resist the urge to roll over onto his side so that his back is facing Tsukasa. Childish, he knows, but…this blue haired girl shows up out of nowhere and somehow gets him to talk about her. 

"And I know I’m not. That doesn’t make anyone feel any better."

[prosxcutor-blog]

Tsukasa listened quietly, twisting the ends of her purple ribbons between her fingers. She the suddenly stood up (that's kind of dangerous), stretching her arms towards the ceiling before putting her hands in her pockets, looking down at Mizuiro and smiling.

"...I'm sorry, that was really out of line with me, wasn't it?"

She then walked off the board towards the ladder, stopping right in front of it before speaking again.

"We're really not the same, we were both lucky enough to get out of  that situation alive, but...that costed you Suzu-chan's life while Taka-chan is still here..."

She looked back at Mizuiro, a kind of sad smile on her face.

"My apologies again, Mizuiro-san. I honestly didn't want to offend you but I guess I was out of line. I'll go wander around somewhere else if you want, besides, I'm not supposed to be here in the first place..."

Tsukasa then took a step down on the ladder before climbing back up, her blue mop poking from the bottom.

"Also...tell Suzu-chan I said hi, she's been hugging you for a while now."

[prosxcutor-blog]

The Water is Great | Post Game | Tsukasa | Closed for Mizuiro

[mizuiroren-blog]

"Mi-chan…" Mizuiro mutters,eyes hardening when Tsukasa mentions Kagome moving in with his boyfriend. "Bloody fucking right girlie. We match." He says with a sneer, although the resentment seems to be directed at himself rather than at her. Mizuiro’s eyes land on the scar on Tsukasa’s cheek before his hand brushes against the scars on his temple. The red-head’s face darkens with emotion before he sighs and falls onto his back, forearm covering his face. 

The former SHSL Spring Board Diver doesn’t say a word, because he knows if he does he’ll regret it. No. They don’t match. She got lucky. She got lucky because they both got out. She got out and he got out, and they still have each other, and they still can be happy and-

You could’ve been happy you fucking dumbass.

Mizuiro lets out a low growl before covering his eyes with his arm. Fuck.

[prosxcutor-blog]

Tsukasa glanced down at Mizuiro when he laid on his back before glancing up near him. A small smile on her face as she looked back to the other side, swinging her legs as she spoke.

"...Suzu-chan...she's a really nice girl, isn't she? She's so cheerful and outgoing...even in the state she is now she's managed to have some sort of peace..."

Tsukasa then leaned back a bit, staring up at the ceiling as she talked out loud.

"Taka-chan..he made Suzu-chan cry a lot..even after all of that happened...he blamed himself for everything that happened to Suzu-chan and Shi-chan...even though it's been two years, a part of him still doesn't forgive himself for everything that happened in that mall..."

Tsukasa toyed with the end of the purple ribbon wrapped snugly around her neck, talking without looking at Mizuiro.

"You're the same as him you know."

Tsukasa closed her eyes.

"You both keep thinking 'If only I had done this, she would have still been alive', and the guilt keeps eating at the both of you, no matter how much time passes. Time doesn't heal all wounds, huh?"

Although Mizuiro can't see it, Tsukasa had a rather sad smile on her face as she muttered something.

"You're not the only one whose lost someone they love...except my person died a long time ago..."