heritrix | Recolle

[Trusting gravity to do the rest, Rin lets go and walks down the hall, smoothing out her velvet skirt.]

I wouldn't get called back if they didn't. You have to know how to work your audience; it's no coincidence most of my co-workers are actors.

[Closing in on the second room to the right, Rin reaches up to pull the hat from her head, bumping the door open with her hip.]

So where's mom and dad? They waiting in the food court?

[Dutifully, Sakura hums along to indicate she's heard -- a little tidbit of information for her to keep.

Her expression grows uncertain when Rin poses that question, however, slipping through the second room on her sister's heels. She's spent all this time thinking of what she'd say to Rin upon finding her, but it occurs to her then -- really occurs to her -- that the other doesn't have a clue of what's happened in the past fourish months.

She doesn't even know if her sister's on the retrospec network.

So her answer isn't immediately forthcoming like Rin might expect, and Sakura is going to look for a place to sit if there's any. If not, the wall will do.]

No, I'm here by myself. [A pause, and because she's not here to play games, Sakura elaborates quickly] They're in Japan still.

[It's a locker room, actually. Enjoy that light, mall-fresh sweat aroma in the air as you stand about, little sister. Rin grabs her bag from one of the lockers, then goes into a stall to change, letting out a small breath when she's out of sight.]

Oh.

[Disconcertion? Relief? Rin's not sure how she feels, actually, her eyes landing on the cellphone in her bag.]

I was... [Almost hesitant, against the cheap stalls her voice echoes slightly. Then brusque as usual:] Never mind. I can't believe they let you out of their sight, though.

[Mom must be blowing up your phone, she nearly adds, but that's probably not possible... Should she ask? Maybe she can sneak a peek at Sakura's cell later. Quashing that thread of anxiety in her heart, there's a shimmying as Rin works off her skirt.]

[Sakura's suddenly grateful for Rin vanishing behind a stall; there's no hiding how her expression sours.]

... It wasn't planned for me to be gone so long. [Against Rin's tone, Sakura's is low and level, more easily lost in the hidden spaces of the locker room. She bows her head] They only let me go so I could surprise you.

[And Sakura had absolutely taken that bid for escape, used their parents' money without question and taken a flight all by herself like a big girl. She won't pretend the distance didn't initially thrill her.]

Kaa-san wanted to come, of course, but I convinced her I'd be alright by myself.

[Rin mouths those words to herself, kicking both her skirt and jingling shoes to a corner of the stall. "So long?"]

So what; you've been holed up in a hotel by yourself for two weeks? [For a moment Rin feels guilty. A little annoyed too, but mostly guilty.] Sorry, Sakura. It's bad timing on my end, but I didn't mean to hold you up. I hope you've done some sightseeing.

No, I--

[A pause to steel her breath. Her hands fidget.]

I live here now.

... Since August.

[Thud! The metal of the stall walls buckle—crash crash—before the door opens enough for Rin to poke her head and bare shoulders out, topless.]

What?!

[And theeeeere it is.]

Since August. [As that part bears repeating. Though for all Sakura's dignified tilt of chin, she is definitely not looking at Rin while she continues speaking]

Don't worry, it was for school! [She didn't drop fourish months in a city all by herself just because she was looking for her sister... is the story she's sticking to for now.]

Recollé University has a wonderful art program, and Tou-san seemed accepting of the idea...

[After Sakura lied and insisted the sisters were rooming together, so of course it would be fine.]

I thought you just said it wasn't planned for you to be gone for so long! What's the big idea?!

[A trio of workers from one of the fast food restaurants at the food court open the door to the locker room, probably off their shift...

Aaand promptly take one look at the argument in here involving a half-naked chick and back right on out. Seems like a good time to get a mocha! 8D]

[Guys no please take Sakura with you--

Or actually, forget that because WOW, Nee-san, could you not find holes in her logic for two seconds? She's staring at Rin now, fussed into a pout]

I-I meant I was supposed to check out the college, meet up with you, and then go home! But then I couldn't find you!

[And let's play a game, shall we? How is it that Sakura got to stay in the U.S., without supervision, unable to find her older sister, and their parents didn't somehow manage to hire the secret service to find them?]

[Wow, Sakura's brackets! You read her mind! +_+]

Oh god, how have I not seen you on a milk carton yet. They think I'm missing, and then you stick around for four months?

[Hell—]

With the way calls aren't getting out, I'm surprised they haven't called the army! Maybe a SWAT team will swoop in any second!

[As if half-expecting that, Rin slams the stall door shut again—twice, when it bounces—and hurries to change, muttering under her breath. It's not very audible.

I'm going to be in so much trouble...!

Because they'd definitely look for Sakura before they looked for her, even thinking she's missing.

It's an unfair thought, and Rin knows it the second it crosses her mind, along with a multitude of other worries. Homesickness. But selfishly she can't find a fault in it, so that little hurt remains.]

Wha--

[Just. Flabbergasted. She stares at the stall door, mouth flapping, before the hurt and anger set in hard. Her foot stamps against the locker room floor and echoes]

They don't know you're missing, o-or anything that's happened!

[Because she lied, is the unspoken truth, one Sakura will have a reckoning with in a hot second. But for now she's too chaffed over the idea that Rin expected Sakura to sell her out.]

Last they heard, you were busy and I was getting ready to start school!

[For a moment, save for the squeak of Sakura's shoes on slippery tile, there's silence.

...]

...you didn't tell them?

[Her voice carries no inflection to give away her thoughts.]

[...]

No, I didn't.

[She makes sure her own voice doesn't waver. For better or worse, it's the decision's she's stuck with.]

It wasn't a complete-- [A complete lie, she means to say, then huffs against the bangs near her eyes] I thought you were busy with school, so I told them that.

[And then when it came time to come clean and admit she couldn't find her sister, she just... didn't.]

[A little bit wiser to the world than she was when she left Japan, Rin immediately wants to scold her sister. Recolle is a nice place, but no city is free of danger. She probably should have ratted on her.

On the other hand, that she didn't works to Rin's benefit. SO. Priorities.]

...Well, for the sake of retroactively validating you, I have been busy. So it's the truth.

[Fabric rustles, with soft shuffing noises.]

[Ha, well. Given her current experience with Recollé, Sakura would agree if she could hear her sister's thoughts -- keeping quiet wasn't the smartest decision she's ever had.

With a tiny sigh, she tries to put her thoughts in order, leaning more fully against one of the lockers. It squeaks on rusty, aged hinges underneath her weight.]

They think we're living together, of course -- or at least in the dorms. [The dutiful older sister keeping an eye on the younger, less experienced youth. Oh, their parents ate it up.]

I promised myself if I couldn't find you by New Years, I'd ask for their help, but... [A gesture Rin can't see, aimed at the changing room. It seems there's no need for that anymore]

Edited 2017-12-29 05:34 (UTC)

Let me guess—your calls and emails aren't getting through.

[She doesn't sound very surprised.]

... They haven't, no.

[Staring pointedly at the stall]

Does that mean you've tried, too?

A few times, yeah. The Americans...

[Hrm.]

Well, it doesn't matter.

[Changed into her casual clothes, she opens the door again, tugging her hair out of its pigtails.]

The point is I've had the same problem. It seems most people have.

[She can only nod in distant agreement. There have been multiple complaints on the network alone, and--

-- And suddenly Sakura goes quieter than usual, eyes dropped to the floor, trying to keep the spike of worry from entering her face.

Really, she could just smack herself. Of all the details to forget until now, and it might be the most important one]

Nee-san... by any chance, have you heard of a network called Retrospec?

[A blink, and—]

Yes. You've heard of it?

[-- A huffed sigh. Whether it's relieved or something else remains to be seen.]

I was invited on it back in September, actually.

[Rin looks a cross between annoyed and disgruntled as she secures her bag over her shoulder, scooting over to a mirror she can look in to fix her hair.]

I only saw it on my phone at the beginning of the month. I can't deny what I seen with my own two eyes, so I gave up on denying it that same night, but it's still creepy running into other people who've heard of it.

Almost as much as the people who don't know what I'm talking about. It feels like I've stepped into an old episode of The Dayspring Zone.

[That pulls a smile out of Sakura at least, as she goes to step up near the mirror herself. She doesn't bother fussing over her own hair save to smooth it back behind her shoulders, but she does study her sister through the mirror]

You get used to it. After a while, you'll even start recognizing everyone on the network. We're a small group.

[Less than three hundred, last she'd discussed with Kyouko. That's pennies in a big city like Recollé]

... But everyone is telling the truth. About the strange visions, the weird things that happen-- [She gives a light shrug]

Or I suppose we could all be mass-hallucinating.

[Ah, yes. The perks of growing up with someone like Sakura, if you could call it a perk, is you get used to tendencies to spout off random creepy one-liners. Rin doesn't miss a beat.]

Yeah, well I'm trying not to let it interfere with my life too much. The most use I can think to get out of it right now is free advertising.

[Her father's daughter, through and through.

If a bit older looking than last they saw each other. It's been a year and a half, after all, and Rin is nearly 20. Her face is less round, and she's lost some of that baby fat... Actually, she looks thinner in general. Though maybe that's just the lighting; she's always been petite, after all.

With a bag on her shoulder, and sensible dress shirt and pants, her appearance is more womanly too. Business chic. She's wearing her hair differently as well, tying a small strip of hair into a simple but eye-catching side ponytail.]

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