exsiliumlogs | Time to get up [Closed]

Date & Time: Thursday evening
Location: Utena's apartment.
Characters: Asuka Langley Soryu (

redheadcarrier )& Utena Tenjou (

revolutionized )
Summary: Asuka tries to find out where the heck Utena has been.
Warning: Sad teenagers?

It wasn't that she needed to see Utena, Asuka told herself. It was because she wanted to. She wasn't worried, just curious (right). Besides, it had been weeks since she'd last spoken to her and they were supposedly frinds, right? And as far Asuka knew, friends checked up on one another. Hikari had looked after her back in Tokyo-3, so she could look in on Utena here.

Besides, she could always just borrow some tea or something and leave if she wanted to. Yeah. That was all. Asuka paused outside, jsut so she could work back the feeling of anxiety and dread that was worming its way into her gut. Doing this didn't make her weak. It didn't make her dependent on anyone else. It was just normal (she hates being normal).

At least that's what she told herself. She still spent a minute staring at the door. Then she knocked. Then again, louder.

"Hey! Tenjou! Are you in there?"

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Utena had admittedly avoided or tried to avoid everyone she'd met in Exsilium since Anthy's sudden and unsettling absence, but it was difficult, particularly when everyone she knew had her address.

When she hears the knock, she's studying her sword (not hers really, but the Sword of Dios. she thinks. she doesn't know anymore). The blade was still sharp, the hilt still freshly polished. She had not touched it since her impromptu training session, had shown it to Anthy without using it. There were no duels here. What was the point?

There's another knock, and then a voice she knows. The sword is wrapped in white cloth, propped up against the wall, and Utena studies it for a while. A funeral shroud, she thinks, and rubs at her arms. Where had that thought come from?

"I'm here!" she calls out. "I'll be right there!" When she does open the door, she's smiling, albeit a bit nervously. She's aware of her unusual absence, but her greeting is casual.

"Hey, Asuka-chan."

Asuka doesn't comment on the amount of time it took Utena to open the door. That'd just be impolite, after all. She just leans on the doorframe and shoots Utena a friendly (well, friendly for Asuka; the arrogance is still there, hidden in the corners of her mouth, the way her chin lifts and the little competitive spark in her eyes) grin. Of course, she recognizes a nervous smile when she sees one (she's worn a false one far too often, after all), but doesn't let that stop her either. She just bulls on through with all of her usual tact.

"I haven't seen you in a few weeks and I got a little worried-"

The part of her that hates that she's starting to rely on people screams at her. It roils and bubbles and brings back memories of being alone, of being embarrassed and pushes her to simply turn around and leave, to scream something insulting, to brush Utena off, just to prove that she doesn't need other people. She quells those thoughts and moves on.

"-so, I thought I'd come and check on you. What have you been up to, anyway?"

"Ah, gee...I didn't realize I'd been gone for a while." Her smile shifts from nervous to apologetic. This occurred more frequently, in Exsilium — she would get lost in things, in her own head, and forget everyone else. She wasn't being a good friend, if Asuka was worried.

"I haven't been doing much...ah, it's kinda embarrassing." This sort of moping wasn't like her at all. What was wrong with her, she wondered. "I guess I've just been distracted, is all. Say, d'you wanna come in?"

"Sure!" Asuka chirped and almost instantly ducked into the apartment. It only took her a few more moments to make herself at home on Utena's couch (which was identical to the one in Asuka's apartment, of course). She leaned back and stretched her arms over her head and for a brief second, she looked like she was deep in thought.

"Yeah. You kinda vanished after Anthy got sent back."

Asuka always had been terrible about being subtle or indirect.

"Ah..." There's a brief flash of something at the mention of Anthy. Pain, or resentment. Utena isn't sure herself. But the heavy moment passes, and she tries to muster up the urge to smile. It's a little dim, this time.

"Uh yeah, I guess so. Eheh, it got pretty quiet, y'know, without her around, so it took a while to get used to. We spend a lot of time together at home, so..." She rubs at her arm, glances down, and quickly changes the subject. "But what have you been up to? Has anything exciting happened?"

Asuka's not sure she ought to press on that. She kind of wants to, just to see what Utena knows about the other girl. For as briefly as she touched on Asuka's life, there was something about her that felt a little strange. Then, of course, Utena changes the subject.

"Not really. Maryam came back, I guess-" She pauses and her nose wrinkles. She's not exactly the most empathetic person, but she can still tell when someone is uncomfortable (because she likes to push buttons) and when someone doesn't want to talk about something.

"Hey. Tenjou-"

She wants to ask about her being gone for weeks. To push a bit deeper. But she's a bit scared of what she might find and she's not sure she should (she shouldn't care about other people).

"If you ever wanna talk about something... I'm around."

She knows what Kaworu has done for her and she knows that she doesn't like the idea of being a crutch. But Utena doesn't look so hot.

"Hm?"

She's surprised at the offer, tries to remember the last time anyone had done such a thing. There was Wakaba, who was pushy about it, and Anthy. She had always just seemed to know when Utena was upset. "Well, I..."

How to explain? The loss of Anthy was a real and terrible thing, the main source of her self-imposed solitude these past few weeks, but it seemed to go deeper than that too. She wasn't sure where to begin.

"I don't really know what to talk about," she admits, and adds, sheepishly, "I just feel sort of strange, I guess. Um, like I said, me and Himemiya, we spend a lot of time together. We're always together, so I...say, do you have a friend like that?"

Time to get up [Closed]

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