22nd Memory [Future-dated to Saturday Morning][Voice/Possible Action]

[memoryboxes]

[It was the usual day—forgetting something, needing an ear on the matter, and then calling someone. It was when she would typically call someone like Raine, or Ginko. And when she called the Mushi-shi, it fell through.

...

It fell through?

No, that's not right. That wouldn't happen. She must've just... done something wrong.

But then it continues to not connect. It's not connecting... That meant—No, no, nonono,  no, please. You can't do this. You can't wander away again; it was okay to walk away before, but not now. You can't just leave now, after everything that's happened, after all she's learned and gained—gained from everyone here, and from you.

Her hands grow numb and her body is hot and her head is spinning, and for a moment she loses her legs from under her and nearly pulls the tablecloth down with her. A soft pitter pat of stunned tears hit the journal. No... It's just a mistake. Maybe they took him and shut off his journal. But that wouldn't make sense, would it, Sayo?

—she has to be sure. And upon checking where he would have typically stayed... she's struck silent.

He's gone.

When she makes the announcement, there's a long, horrible pause where she keeps her voice from betraying the overwhelming feeling in her stomach.]

Ginko-san is....

Ginko-san has left Luceti.

[As the journal shuts, a choked sob cuts out in the middle. It won't be long now until Nami's journal admits Sanji's leaving, forcing Sayo to unleash her own strained tears at the thought that two of the most important people in her life now have vanished without a trace. O-or... some sad trace, she thinks feverishly, cradling the blue notebook in her arms.

They're gone.... just like that.]

Comments

[wise_maiden]

[ ...


She's just not going to bother with the journal response and head over to Sayo's house.]

[memoryboxes]

[Sayo will be there, with the door cracked—she didn't bother with it after coming back from Ginko's apartment. She'll have herself seated on the couch, holding the things written out for her in her arms still.

Hot, dizzy, confused. She's never had to suffer this feeling of loss before, not like this. And she seems so consumed in her thoughts that she hears nothing of Raine's arrival.]

[mikangirl.livejournal.com]

[She's halfway to Sayo's when she sees this announcement, and Nami breaks into a run. She won't even bother to knock-- the door is already ajar, so she pushes it right open and comes in.]

Sayo?

[memoryboxes]

[There's no reply. The shaking woman can't speak without some semblance of pain burrowing into her voice, so she doesn't. She curls up further on the couch—if you come here, she has to face the truth, and that is so unbelievably hard to do right now.

You can't be here, because that means it wasn't just her imagination or some dream she couldn't have ever dreamed in the first place.]

[voice]

[forestpride.livejournal.com]

Left?

[That implies something different than 'taken by the Malnosso.']

Re: [voice]

[memoryboxes]

He's no longer in Luceti. He's—gone home.

[her words should have been fiction, but they're real and very pained]

[voice]

[chikaidestroyer]

[He's somewhat surprised that Ginko's disappearance would be noticed, if simply because Ginko spent so much time wandering. But he supposes that even he would have someone who would keep contact with him.]

Thank you for letting us know.

Re: [voice]

[memoryboxes]

... You're welcome.

[She can manage that much, stranger or not.]

[Voice]

[semper_cogitans]

[He doesn't filter this. It's too... shocking.

... He knew Ginko was... close, to Sayo. Was a powerful presence in her life, here in Luceti. Maybe he didn't understand the entirety of what that meant, but...]

... M-Ms... Ms. Sayo...?

...

Do you... need someone to talk to...?

[... He understands if she doesn't want to, but it's the only thing he can really offer.]

Re: [Voice]

[memoryboxes]

I'm sorry, Robert-san—I... I need some time.

[She's not even sure how much time that would be, with the way her chest feels.]

[voice]

[fourteen]

[ She only sees this message after speaking to Nami.

Ah. Just like that, both of her dads have gone home and left her. Probably forever.

It's his voice that rings in her ears, from a long ago conversation.

You are alive. And loved.

Such a level of devastation is beyond that which can summon up tears. She has nothing left to give. Nothing, not at all. Instead of crying she speaks, and she'd surprise herself if she was capable of feeling any emotion at all. ]

Who are you?

Re: [voice]

[memoryboxes]

... I'm Sayo.

[It takes a few minutes. Some silence on her end. But she feels like... it's her job, to do this, even if it's slowly sapping her of willpower.]

I am—I'm from Ginko's world.

[Voice]

[chiisaichou.livejournal.com]

[This comes before the news from Nami. Perhaps that is why Miyabi treats it with a delicate kind of calm. Somehow Ginko's departure doesn't fill her with suffering. There is grief, yes - she did respect the man very much - but not suffering. He doesn't belong here, in this cage. Ginko always seems so...so open, and spacious to her. Something spiritual, that should not be caged like this.

That's why Miyabi feels almost relieved by the news. She wishes, though, that they could have spoken of eachother's worlds, and stories. Their differing Nippons...she wished Ginko could have learned about her gods, and about Amaterasu. So many untold stories...]

...Thank you for telling us. [She looks out at the sakura tree looming overhead. Even in black and white...the tree looked blacker today. The forest must be sad, too.] I think he'll be missed by more than just people.

[Missed, but not forgotten.]

Re: [Voice]

[memoryboxes]

He will be. [And it's strange to think she understands what Miyabi means so well.] He won't be forgotten, either.

[consultmybooks]

Sayo...?

[He didn't known Ginko well. But he knows the voice. Knows the hurt. He can try to provide for the ones left behind, at least.]

...do you, um, d-do you need anything?

[memoryboxes]

I'm fine. [It's in a low, sad voice. Probably expected.] I'll be okay; don't trouble yourself, Giles-san.

[Voice]

[knightofratatosk]

I... th-thank you for telling us.

[He pauses. Even though he doesn't know this woman, that sob makes his chest constrict with sympathetic sorrow.]

... will you be all right?

Re: [Voice]

[memoryboxes]

... I'm not sure. [Because in the hours after knowing, how can you ever know for sure?] I don't know.

...

But I'll try to be.

[for him

and for those still here.]

[not here] (hi I edit for inconsequential reasons)

[imatreenow.livejournal.com]

[He listens. First, there's bitterness -- do you really think you know what it means to lose someone? But there's another layer quietly swelling up underneath:

Empathy.

For a moment, somewhere, a connection clicks into place and he lingers on the message. Then the moment passes -- a frown, some forced anger (because he's supposed to be angry?), and hastily, he turns the page before it can sink in too deeply.]

[Private]

[goldenglasses]

[Ginko, was gone? It seemed so strange to him. Unable to really picture it.]

Sayo... do you want some company?

Re: [Private]

[memoryboxes]

... Not yet. Just... give me a little time. I'm so sorry, Vash-san. [It's muffled behind her hand, as she composes herself for a reply. He was being kind, but she couldn't possibly break apart in front of someone. It wouldn't be fair to him.] I just need some time to think.

1/3?

[markofthebrave]

[This is a very not happy gasp.]

[markofthebrave]

[Katara doesn't ask Sayo if she's sure.

That would be cruel.

Instead, she crafts a filter to Ginko and watches it fall.

Her heart starts beating quickly, painfully, a staccato rhythm pushing against the confines of her chest.

She tries again. Again, the filter fails.

No.

One more time. One more time, even as the crushing weight of grief presses down against her, making it impossible for her not to believe. And one more time--

--He's really gone.

A raw sob comes from somewhere. One hand comes up to cover her mouth, and Katara finds her cheeks already wet. Oh. She's crying. Katara manages to shut the journal just as her shoulders begin to shake.]

done

[markofthebrave]

Sayo, it's Katara. [Her voice is raw, despite the water she's drunk.

This hurts.

She's not sure if the older woman will remember her - they'd only met a few times, once or twice when she'd checked on her at Ginko's request, once when Yuber and Nu had nearly killed Nami... and of course, at the Seventh Heaven. But all the same, Katara doesn't think a reintroduction would hurt. She's familiar with the particular mushi in Sayo's brain, after all. It had happened to Longshot that same week when her eyes had been consumed with darkness, and Ginko had rescued her...]

Do you need anything?

[samurinjathief.livejournal.com]

[Sayo - after a moment, Goemon recognizes the name he reads at the corner of the page after a moment, remembering her mild-mannered attempts at reassuring him when he was in sword-withdrawal restless with Zantetsuken's absence. A good deed is not unforgotten.

He can hear the pain leaking into her voice - the sob making her distress that much more evident - and considers, for a moment, that perhaps he should not intrude. But then, he contemplates writing a message; at least that way, she does not need to speak and be placed in an uncomfortable position.

This is his first written comment to someone thus far. His penmanship is careful and elegant; it's what one would expect of a man who has dabbled in some of the gentler arts.]

I am sorry for your loss.

[While it may seem cool and clipped, for text has a way of being difficult to interpret, he is sincere.]

[memoryboxes]

[There's a long pause—hours long. But there's a reply nonetheless for Goemon, when he flips his journal back open at a later time.]

Thank you.