paixaorpg | Another Unfamiliar Ceiling [COMPLETED]

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Another Unfamiliar Ceiling [COMPLETED]

Character(s): Asuka, Rei, Death.
Content: After a frightening loss of sanity, Yuki took Asuka to the hospital, where she now awakens.
Setting: Aiches Memorial Hospital [H4]
Time: Early morning Wednesday.
Warnings: None.

She awakes to a white world.

White, sterile white, that familiar shade of huelessness, blank canvas walls like ghosts onto which shadows project.

For Asuka, waking up in the hospital is like reliving Groundhog Day. The same white walls, the same clinical odor clawing at her nostrils, the same pangs in her limbs as she rises to launch into battle again.

Except here there is no battle, and with that fact there is no purpose, and with no purpose, no reason for Asuka to be.

She tries not to think about it. She tries not to think about the fact that this hospital doesn't smell particularly medical, either; the air smells more like incense, or some kind of herb. The shattered candy swimmingness in her head seems to have cleared a little, anyway, though she still thinks the hospital walls would look a lot nicer painted a pretty shade of red. She giggles a little, lightly, to herself, though the motion stings her chest, and she soon has to lay back and draw breath.

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Death had spent the night wandering around in the hospital; peeking through glasses at newborn babies purring in sleep and listening to old men's labored breathing through the curtains. She is not actually allowed to wander around the wards, of course, but she gets around and no one notices her when she does not want them to. A hospital is a place that she frequents quite often, for a birth or death. It is an interesting place; a place where most lives begin and end. A baby was born about two hours ago in this place, and an old man gave her a very warm hug when she came for him. The latter left her in a very pleasant mood.

Whistling to the tone of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Death enters Rei's room in the early morning of Wednesday to check up on the albino. Toning down her voice to an almost-silent hum, she tiptoes her way to Rei's bedside when a giggle turns her head to the source of the sound. It is the girl that Dream wanted to help, and she is awake. Smiling despite the fact that she knows how much of Asuka belongs to Delirium, Death gives the redhead a slight wave, "Morning there, Asuka!" She then turns to Rei, "Rei, have you said hi to your roommate yet? Her name's Asuka!" Death does not have the gift of foresight, but if she does, perhaps her grin would not be so wide.

Bandages free of sweat and blood, cast renewed, and a bed had sent Rei into immediate sleep once the room had been quiet. She hadn't even glanced at her roommate before slipping off into a peaceful, motionless sleep. It was a relief to know her wounds were being allowed to heal properly. After all, she needed to get well enough to find Commander Ikari.

She would have slept far into the day had not the sound of giggling brought her back to consciousness. After sleepily looking at Death, remembering the events of the previous day, the pale girl rolled her head to the side, looking upon her roommate for the first time.

"Asuka... ?" Rei echoed, the name familiar. Something about... Unit 02... doll... the message board. Rei frowned. It was slightly foggy, but she slowly made the connection that this was the girl that seemed to know her on the message board. Rei remembered that she had been upset with her for not knowing her. "The Second Child."

Asuka stalls from scouring the room for a scalpel (she'd decided the walls really would look so much better red, she was getting bored of the white, and she couldn't see any red paint lying around, so she'd have to use blood....) when Death's entrance draws her out of her reverie. The cinnamonblackwingsdeath woman she'd ran into earlier in the city evokes a slight eyebrow raise from the redhead, but the more startling sight is that of the pale girl in the bed next to hers... a pale girl with distinctive light blue hair, crimson eyes and an expression, or rather lack thereof, she'd know anywhere.

"Rei!" she cries out, her customary title of First forgotten in her slightly deranged joy at finally seeing a face from her world again. She launches herself rather lopsidedly out of her bed, staggering over to the other pilot at an accelerated pace, and greeting her with a most un-Asuka-like flinging of arms around the girl's slender form.

"Rei, you're here, this is awesome!" she says laughingly, her slight giggles again bordering on the hysterical, her aqua eyes unfocused, clinging more fiercely to Rei than a normal hug would require -- or, quite probably, is beneficial for the girl's injuries. She's so happy to see her she could almost rip her throat out with her teeth just to be closer to her, but something in the back of her mind tells her Rei probably wouldn't enjoy that very much, so she just keeps hugging her, instead.

Well, that was rather... unexpected. She had expected them to know each other, yes, but not hug each other as if letting go might mean the end of the world. Considering how they treat each other like best friends who have not been able to meet each other for years, Death thought about leaving the two of them alone to catch up with each other. And yet, Asuka's seemingly innocent giggles are bordering on insane, so it might be best for her to stay around for awhile.

Stepping back a bit, Death leans her slight figure against the white wall with a content smile. As much as she likes interacting with people, she likes watching them too. There is something beautiful about mortals; how awkward they are, how sincere they are, how wonderfully human. This time, she is content to watch the two good friends reunite. It is going to be a good day.

Before Rei could react, she felt as if she were being crushed. Her wounds were tender, and her arm was stuck against her and the girl, pressing against her bruised ribs. Rei let out a gasp of pain and shock. This girl had been angry at her, and here she was holding onto her... rather roughly.

Rei squirmed in pain. "Please," she squeaked, glancing over at Death. "You're... you're hurting me." Rei had been hugged rarely before, but never like this, and she didn't like it at all.

"...oh, okay. Sorry," Asuka giggles, releasing the blue-haired girl and half-sitting, half-toppling back to the floor at her side. As an afterthought, she gives Rei a small, clumsy kiss on the nose, laughing lightly at her own action.

"Um, so do you know me yet?" She laughs harder, and harder still until it almost seems like she's sobbing, and then she is sobbing, sharp shoulder spasms wracking her small figure.

"...I want my mother," she whispers through the tears, balling her hair tightly in two fists as if threatening to pull it out.

Death is rather glad of her decision to stay in the room, just in case, although she is not exactly fond of having to deal with any kind of drama, really. While she is still leaning on the wall, her posture the very picture of repose, her eyes reflect tension behind the dark depths. She makes no move to separate Rei from Asuka despite the knowledge that the latter's embrace might make the albino's condition worse despite its good intent. Asuka withdrew from Rei willingly, which is good, although the laughter that accompanied it would make Death shudder if she were human.

Her eyebrows are slightly knotted as Death lifts herself up from the wall and approaches Asuka who is laughing harder and harder by the moment. She walks tentatively towards the girl who is sitting on the floor beside Rei. By the time Death reaches Asuka's side, the girl's laughter has dwindled into wracking sobs.

With genuine concern, Death kneels before the red-haired girl and gathers her into a rather awkward embrace. She places her left hand on the small of the girl's back while she tries to placate the girl's fists into releasing her hair with her other hand. Death is no daughter, but she knows how it feels to be one after meeting so many, maybe. "Don't cry, I can help you find your mother," she whispers into Asuka's ear.

Not being a very opinionated person, Rei very rarely judged people or thought about them much. People were people, and each served their purpose. She was not the type to label people, but as she stared at the girl while cradling her arm, she thought this girl must not be sane.

She watched as Death went to the girl. Rei didn't know if it was wise to say anything to upset her... She still didn't know this girl. The supposed Second Child. Yet her insanity made Rei believe that she could indeed be a pilot. Psychologists were always around NERV, asking Rei this and that and how she felt and what bothered her. It seemed they were always waiting for her to crack... so it was likely that someone else could have lost their mind, too. Rei wondered if she would have ended up like this girl on the floor.

After a moment of watching her sob, Rei carefully shook her head, "Sorry." It seemed like the thing to say.

Asuka's sobs don't exactly stop at Death's words, but they start to take on a different quality, and before long it's as if she's lauging again. Her mind feels like a pendulum, swinging tirelessly back and forth, made of spun candy-sugar and shadowy raindrops in a spiderweb hall made of beads. "You can?" she chokes out, her fists slowly uncurling at Death's touch to fling themselves around her neck. "Oh thank you thankyouthankyoutha...can we go this minute? I..." She tries to scramble to her feet, but only ends up collapsing back down on her rear, and she growls, frustrated, at her body that won't move for her.

Asuka looks up at Rei's apology, her expression halfway between smiling and bemused. "You didn't do anything, Rei," she laughs, missing the meaning of non-literal meaning of Rei's statement entirely. "You sound like baka-Shinji."

Insanity is not something that Death is comfortable with. Yes, her youngest sister is Delirium, but she prefers to call her by Del. For all the things Death has said about letting go of the past, she always feels a tinge of regret that she did not take good enough care over her own sister. Somehow, she feels strangely the same about Asuka, although not to the same extent.

She lets the distraught girl hug her around the neck, but her eyes are on Rei as confusion marks the usually emotionless face. The both of them, they still have so much to learn about life, but already Death can see that longing for release that is behind the eyes of every person who forced their lives to end. She hates how people try so hard to run away from her, but perhaps she hates how some wants her so bad even more.

Death makes no move to help as Asuka tried to stand up and fell back down on the floor. Instead, she stands up slowly and looks at Rei as she mutters an apology. Death gives Rei a half-smile for a reward while extending her hand to Asuka, who is talking to Rei, to help her stand up. "What would you do when you meet your mother, Asuka?" Death asks as if she asked about the weather instead, "I mean, why do you want your mother?"

Rei's mind was reeling, and she wasn't sure if it was due to the renewed pain of her injuries or simply seeing this girl break in front of her. Rei knew that people her age often went through changes emotionally. It was a time to find their place in the world and decide how they wanted others to perceive them. Yet ever since she was a child, Rei knew her purpose. There was no question as to why she existed. NERV.

And now NERV was gone. Rei never hoped, but she found the little hope she had in finding NERV in this place wither and die. She had... failed. Her failure had made her no longer of any use to NERV - to Commander Ikari.

Rei's hands slowly gripped the sheets on her bed. She was being stupid. This girl's insanity was interfering with her own sanity. But all she could do was continue to stare at the girl, as if doing so would answer Rei's questions. She... just needed to get well. Get well and find a way to contact NERV.

Asuka is surprised at the hand extended to her; an unfamiliar sight, it's been so long since someone gave her a hand to help her up. Grasping it possibly more tightly than necessary, she tries to focus on Death's eyes as she pulls herself up; but they look all unsafe and swimmy and like the edge of a cliff with darkness below, and her head spins and she almost falls straight back down. She looks at Rei's eyes, instead. Rei's eyes look like two bright pieces of strawberry candy. She wonders what they'd taste like, briefly. Rei has blood inside her, too. Blood is red and sticky just like strawberry candy. Maybe Rei tastes like strawberries all the way through. She's nice and sweet so she probably does. It's a happy thought.

As for Death's question.... she isn't sure she knows how to begin to answer it. How can she explain the loss that's lingered in her for so long, the pain of separation anxiety, the absence of the one who should protect her and embrace her and show her love? How can she make her understand how much it hurts inside and how fragile she feels, and how she just wants someone to hold her close and take away the pain? How she feels so empty inside, like a shell about to shatter with the slightest touch, how her mother's love and EVA always filled her up inside with light and warmth and how she feels without it she might collapse inwards, like a deflating balloon? She doesn't even know how to form the words, and the words are noisy and strange and hurt her anyway, so instead she begins to sing softly to herself.

"We lived our lives in our paradise,
As gods we shaped the world around...
No borderlines we'd stay behind,
Though balance is something fragile....." (http://youtube.com/watch?v=avCpTcCIQJg)

As Asuka takes hold of her hand, Death puts another arm behind the frail girl to keep her from falling. While Death herself is not so much taller than the girl, she stands up straight and tries to get Asuka, who is by now singing softly to herself, to lean against her. Her face is grave as she listens to the song Asuka is singing, but more than just mourning over the girl's lost sanity, she remembers the day Delight is no more. In a selfish musing, Death is glad she was not there when the change happened because she did not have to see her sister hurting so much that she lost her sanity, and her delight.

Death turns to Rei who seems to be very confused about the whole situation. She does not want anything bad to happen to Rei either. Giving the albino a sincere smile, Death hopes that it will be enough to stop her from worrying, "do you want to come with us, Rei? We're going to go find Asuka's mother."

Usually, Rei found that people did not like making direct eye contact with her. It was understandable. Her eyes were an odd color. Yet the way the girl - the Second, her mind said now - looked at her eyes made her uncomfortable. So for the first time, it was Rei who broke the stare and looked away. The breaking of a human mind was... alarming.

She gave Death a blank look. To find her mother? Rei was silent as she thought it over. She was well enough to walk, she thought, so that meant she was well enough to look for the commander. She did not know where to start, but perhaps if the Second Child were to find her mother and get well again, she would be able to help.

Rei nodded. She supposed she did owe Death, and a lack of funds made this seem like the next logical option.

Feeling more secure now that she can lean against Death for support, she extends her other hand to Rei. Maybe they can all support each other. She feels suddenly very tired and alone, but Death's presence is comforting. She should find this more frightening than she does; she touches the woman, and she feels oblivion swirling just inches away, a tempting black pit for her to fall into. But she doesn't want to go yet. Not just yet. Not while she has this chance.

Asuka did say that she wants to go meet her mother as soon as possible, or even now, but Death likes to do things honorably. She has no money, it is true, but she still needs to pay the hospital for taking care of both Rei and Asuka. After all, if she runs away without paying, who will cover the costs of the bandages? She does not want the doctors or nurses or the other staff members to have their wages cut because of her not paying.

Stroking Asuka's hair once, she leads the girl back to her bed and tries to make her lie on it. "I need to go to the lobby to pay first, it won't be long," she smiles to both Rei and Asuka. "Try not to hurt each other while I'm gone," Death gives them a playful wink even if it is less a joke than it is a real advice.

With those parting words, Death steps back from Asuka and walks out of the room. She takes the elevator to the ground floor, glad that she does not have to wait for it at all. Hands in her pockets, Death strolls over to the reception desk where she first met Dr. Nick. Instead of Dr. Nick, however, someone else is behind the counter. "Morning!" she grins widely, "I'm here to pay for two patients; Asuka Langley Sohryu and Ayanami Rei," then as an afterthought, "they're both in room 982."

The cheerful nurse was humming as she typed in data from the latest patient forms into a console just a bit larger than the regular Paixao journal before the raven-haired Death stepped up to the counter. She turned her chair, a small squeaking sound resonating with the motion. Oooh... this was the girl the other nurses were talking about, the nurse thought as she inspected the person before her. The girls were saying that a darkly dressed person was practically pressing her face against the class of the babies' room. She was certainly an odd-looking person, but she sure emitted amical vibes; thus Joy returned Death's grin with her own.

"Good morning to you too!" she nodded happily. "Oh, all right. Let me check their record. Please wait a moment!"

Not even flipping one page of the patient book, nurse Joy tapped her pen once she found the query.

"Heehee! Found it. Room Nine-Eighty-two: Miss Ayanami and Miss Langley Sohryu. Ouch, these girls gone through a lot," she commented, noting 'broken bones' and 'anti-depressents' written in the column. "Well, they seem much better according to this morning's reports. I'm glad." She moved from the paper to the JC (journal console), hitting a few buttons. "All right. Nightly fee and medication for the two amounts to two hundred dollars. We accept all currency," Joy informed smiling. "May I know how you are related to them, miss?"

It is quite a relief to find one so joyful about life; people like the nurse is getting much too rare for Death's liking. Perhaps if there are more people like the nurse, Desire's twin would not have to be so busy. But she should save that thought for later, now she needs to somehow pay the hospital two hundred dollars or the equivalent. Death's right hand is toying around with the red cent in her pocket while she tries to think of a solution.

"Hmm... any currency?" Death puts a finger to her lips in thought. She wonders if she can do that thing her brother likes to do; granting boons to people and stuff, it sounds rather cool. "Can I pay you with deeds?" Death asks with a sweet smile, "a boon, perhaps?"

She really hopes that her offer would be accepted, but if the nurse rejects it, then Death will probably need to get a job somewhere in town and earn money. That doesn't sound too bad, really, if she gets a job as a waitress then she will be able to meet lots of people! May I know how you are related to them, miss? Death is not related to mortals in anyway except for the fact that they are her boss, perhaps. She ponders on the question for awhile before replying, "They're my friends," and flashing a grin, "really good friends!" Everyone is her really good friend.

Asuka lays back on her bed, wheeling her legs in the air in hardly concealed restlessness. She dislikes this stark white room and its featureless white walls. If she stares for too long at those empty blank canvases she thinks she can see movement busying itself just beneath the surface, billions of scurrying lifeforms almost too small for the eye to see. She doesn't like the sensation. It's weird and disorienting and makes her think of things crawling beneath her skin.

She wants to paint the walls. She wonders if Rei would help her. They could paint together, and it could be so beautiful.

Maybe after that, they could go look at sundials.

Rei watched the girl with her good eye while lightly running her fingers over her bandaged one. The commander had trained her well in what kind of people to avoid, and she found that this girl should be avoided. She was unpredictable and unstable, yet Rei had just agreed to follow her and Death. She failed to see the irony in that, too busy justifying her choice. Helping the Second might mean finding the commander. He could forgive her, couldn't he?

She would ask the Second how she knew her later, if she were more coherent. Rei didn't know anyone her age. It would be interesting to see how others like her - in the piloting aspect, at least - would normally act.

"Boons! Why, I needn't any boons, miss!" Joy exclaimed, surprised and amused. "I am already blessed, you see. I cannot accept your offer; that would be so selfish of me! Besides, this hospital and its hard-working doctors are the ones who rightfully deserve such things. Nevertheless, thank you, miss."

The pink-haired nurse giggled softly; then taking a pad of paper and her trusty pen, filled out the pre-printed form--or more specifically, the receipt. Shick! sounded the plastic rubber binding the pad together as one of its pages were ripped away. "Here," the fair-skinned woman said, handing the sheet to Death, "a copy of the bill. Like I said, we accept any currency."

Ahh it seemed that the nurse misunderstood her meaning, but that is alright, Death supposes she wasn't being clear enough. Death giggles, "No, no, what I mean is to give the hospital a boon," she explains. "I only have one cent with me," she flips it to the air to emphasize her point, "but I can give the hospital things other than money!" Death catches the coin back, "I can grant the hospital one wish for helping me," she grins widely, "Any wish at all." While the job required hard work and only one day-off every century, being an Endless is rather neat sometimes.

Death takes the bill from the nurses' hand anyway, and folds it neatly before putting it into her back pocket. She does all this still with a wide smile on her face, "it's okay if you would rather have the money though, just keep the bill and I'll go earn some money to pay you with!"

Asuka is bored. Bored bored bored bored booooored. And she doesn't like the way those walls are moving and shimmering like they're going to start advancing towards them at any moment.

She thinks for a moment about just upping and leaving, but then she remembers the reason she's waiting here. Her mother. The death-woman is going to take her to her mother and she'll finally be happy, finally be free of this inner nightmare. She sighs and flops over onto her front, eyeing the blue-hair girl lazily.

"Hey, Rei," she says matter-of-factly, as if she were inquring about the weather. "Wanna do something?"

"You do not seem to be in a state to be able to do much." Rei said after a few moments of dwelling over the Second's question. Rei thought it would be best to just wait for Death to return - she wondered how she was going to pay for their bills, but Death seemed to have it under control. Or at least, she had taken it to be her problem, so Rei didn't have to think about it.

She was hesitant to interact much with the Second Child without Death around. Not that Rei was inclined to interact with people in general.

"Awwww, c'mooon," Asuka pouts, taking Rei's response as a rebuffal of her offer -- which well it is, of course. She leans over to Rei and grabs her good hand, again unthinking of trhe girl's person boundaries.

"I know something really cool we could do with sundials. This really neat girl showed me. Well... she kinda showed me then she had to go away." Faint memories come back to her, of biting into Yuki's arm and tasting his blood in her mouth, of the swirly colorful place with the fountains going away. "They took her away from me." Her voice saddens, but then perks up again, turns to awe as if the moment she experiences in her mind's eye is a religious vision, a floating simulacrum of the Heavens. "But it's so close.... and this is so much fun.... I could show you how, Rei. You just have to let go...."

Rei tried to pull her hand back. She didn't like it when people touched her, and seeing as they rarely did, it alarmed her. Rei had no desire to have her hand held or be hugged or anything of the sort.

"We should wait for Death to return," Rei said softly. She didn't know what the Second was talking about. It was probably just her mind crumbling further. She had no interest in sundials or whatever fun the girl had in mind. She doubted it would help her in finding the commander.

Death is once again humming as she walks to room 982, even though she is now humming to the tune of A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes instead of a Mary Poppins song. She likes Disney songs too, but they are mostly about her brother, not her. Not that she minds it, really, just that a dream is not really a wish that your heart makes. It is more of her brother's current mood.

Without knocking, Death jerks open the door and chirps out, "Hi again!" as if she has just arrived to a party instead of a hospital room. "I haven't paid, but I got a copy of the bill so I can take care of that later," she explains to both Rei and Asuka. "Ready to go now?"

Asuka jumps up and raises her hand in the air as if angling to be picked for a sports team, almost pulling Rei up with her as she still clings to her other hand in spite of Rei's squirming. "I am!" she cries excitedly, not even sure a moment later what she's just responded too, but knowing somehow in the back of her mind that it was a Good Thing, anyway.

She looks down at Rei still lying there awkwardly, not noticing the difficulties she undoubltedly has in getting up. "What are you waiting for, First?"

Three feelings went through Rei's mind. First, relief as Death walked into the room. Second, pain as the Second jerked her arm. And third, a quick flash of annoyance. None of these emotions showed on the First's face, of course, save for the subtle tightening of her jaw.

"Mm," Rei nodded at Death. The bills could be thought about later, but... Rei looked at Asuka. "Are you going to let my hand go?" It was said stiffly. Rei was careful with what words she chose, not the tone of her voice. This girl could be a key to getting back to NERV - or simply getting answers - but she was... so unstable Rei sensed a threat.

A wide smile is still on Death's face as she watches their banter, not making any move to separate them. They can resolve their problems themselves, she should not intrude. It would not do much good if she meddles in their matters anyway. "Right! Take my hand!" She says as she offers the both of them each her hands.

She probably cannot linger to watch Asuka and her mother catching up as she needs to pay the hospital as soon as possible, but she will be dropping by to check up on Asuka once in awhile. She is unsure of what to do with Rei, but she will probably go with Asuka since they are from the same world.

Death wants to go and find her brother before she looks for a job though, there seems to be something he needs to say to her.

(Aaah! So sorry! This is delayed, but I thought I'd post anyway because Joy is so fun~ sadly, I cannot pick her icon any longer as NPC's paid account expired. xD;)

"Thank you, and sorry for the inconvenience!" the nurse called out as Death walked back down the corridor. A smile still on her face, Joy sat down and resumed her daily duties, but she couldn't help ponder over the girl's lingering words.

"A wish, huh..? Hmmm....certainly something I cannot think of for myself."

Asuka releases Rei's hand wordlessly, wrapping her small fingers around Death's.

"Can we go now?", she says, her voice suddenly small, looking up at Death with a gaze intently focused. Suddenly, she isn't very sure she's talking about going to find her mother, anymore.

Rei flexed her hand slowly as soon as the Second let her go, trying to get the blood circulating once again. The Commander would not stand for such behavior.

But the Commander was not near the hospital, so Rei said nothing of it to the unstable pilot. Instead, she looked at Death's offered hand as if weighing her options.

There was little to weigh, she realized.

Rei carefully placed her numb hand into Death's.

It's good to know that the two have agreed on going with her. The only thing she still needs to sort out is to whom she should entrust Rei with. Despite how much she enjoys Rei's company, Death cannot take her to where she is going after dropping Asuka off with her mom. Family business, especially regarding Dream, is something that she likes to keep private. Maybe she can ask Kyoko to take care of Rei for awhile.

Smiling gently at Asuka, she wraps her own fingers over Asuka's hand, "Yep, we can go now!" Not forgetting to give Rei a smile as well, Death takes the both of them to where Asuka's mother is with the sound of many wings.

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Another Unfamiliar Ceiling [COMPLETED]

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