A Resolute Person [Aerith/Open]

[Slash]

Very well.

[/center]

Jericho grew even colder. "None would."

He stared up at the faces of saints, as far removed from them as fire was from ice. They almost seemed to be leering at him, holding him in contempt.

I hate the light. I hate all beings who represent the light. And yet I can't bring myself to hate you, sister.[/color]

He scowled and turned away, firmly set in an even fouler mood than he was in just previously.

I'm going to honor your wish- whether out of spite or something else I neither know nor care.[/color]

All of this made him want to kill something. Anything. Preferably large crowds of people. However, he wasn't going to do this, probably out of some perverse attempt to make a point.

"I'll honor your wish. Whether you believe me or not makes no difference."

He walked away and entered the main section of the cathedral. Neither Emi nor Nadia were there.

"Where did they go?" he asked Ethan.

[Aerith]

I only know so much.
--------

Aerith watched Jericho leave before finally standing and following him. When she returned to the main section of the cathedral, she didn't see Nadia or Emi.

Ethan had been unable to say anything to stop Nadia from leaving, but he did his best to answer Jericho's question. "Nadia took Emi somewhere else. She didn't say where they were going, unfortunately. Neither did she say when or if she would return here."

[Slash]

I see.

[/center]

Jericho wordlessly acknowledged Ethan's words, then disappeared into a Corridor. Nadia would most likely return, but he had time.

In the space between worlds, within the Corridor itself, Jericho called out. His Heartless came to him, his Aranea. There were many of them, and all served as his ears and eyes around the different worlds.

His darkness spread and writhed within the Corridor, seeking to consume whatever lay in its path. The Aranea were not harmed by this- in fact, they fed off of it, and all crowded around the cloud of darkness.

Jericho sat down. The stigma was spreading over his skin again, and he let it. The Other sat with him, and after a few minutes both seemed equally monstrous. He reached out a hand to one of his Heartless, petting it as if it were a dog.

There were many around him, but in a sense he was still alone.

At this point, he preferred that.

[Lagunamov]

...

With the fight finally over, it seemed the group was splitting for a bit, for Jericho was looping for wherever Aerith had gone off to. Animositas had figured the new Princess of Heart wouldn’t be able to stomach such sights for long. How she became entangled with these people remained a baffling mystery in its eyes. As far as it could tell from Kairi’s memories, she usually spent her time with people at Radiant Garden, not with creatures of darkness. Of course, indulging into this train of thought was necessary to an extent for the Sentiment. It wasn't particularly interested in the retorts and comments that it need to act more human. It was amongst those that knew it's true nature, such a thing shouldn't be necessary.

The following, however, managed to enrage the armor. What it heard was the one morality point it still kept. It seemed the woman named Nadia had tampered with the other girl’s memories, quite possibly triggering the entire fight it had just witnessed. Anger could be seen clearly on the image of Kairi the Sentiment was still projecting, to the point where it could frighten even a grown man. But, the pair was gone before it could do anything. Though, it wasn’t about to do anything other than possibly protest over that fact. In Animositas’ mind, memories were one self’s proof of existence, and tampering with them was an unforgiving act.

Regardless, little after Jericho came back to them, now reduced to just Ethan, Animositas and the man’s severed head on the ground, only to leave as fast as he came. With a frown on its face, Animositas turned its head to its companion and looked at him. “Your friends… are asses. Good thing you manage to keep that side of yourself inside.”

[Aerith]

We wait for now.
--------

Hm. This getting left behind business was beginning to get old. Ethan made a mental note to learn how to use these Corridors for himself. Perhaps then he could run off unexpectedly without leaving any sort of clue as to where he was going. Was there some sort of rush to be had from doing that?

Naturally, he kept this all bottled up inside as he turned to Animositas. "I would not fault them for openly expressing their true natures. It just so happens that I enjoy hiding mine beneath layers upon layers of false kindness. Much more kindness, it seems, than either of them ever pretends to have."

It was the truth, after all. Ethan would only reveal what he really was in the most opportune of circumstances. The fewer who knew about the nature of his core, the better. If everyone went into a meeting with him knowing the loathing that lurked deep beneath his surface, such encounters would eventually turn boring, too straightforward. The self-righteous would constantly want to kill him outright, and he would have to kill them in return. So routine and cliche.

"I suppose, for now, we can wait here. I do not believe the lady is in any condition to move." He looked over at Aerith.

She was quiet. Very quiet. She hardly noticed anything Ethan was saying. Instead, she had found a spot to sit down and process. There were too many people to worry about, and she was feeling stretched thin. She wanted to help them all, but she knew that was impossible.

Brother... I want to help you, too. But you won't see it as help. I really don't want you to hurt, either. Why can't I be better at this?

She continued to sit there and ponder, digging deeper and deeper holes into herself. There had to be something she could do. Anything. She wanted something that would never happen. But that didn't stop her from trying to figure out some way to reach that goal, anyway.