I needed to distract myself. Digging around the kitchen for some snacks (marshmallow, chips, pretzels), I grabbed the bags and headed for Akane's room. Might as well see how the caged goddess was holding up.
As I walked up the stairway to her room, I pondered Triskix's decision. He hadn't really given her the fairness of a trial by her peers. Then again, he was nothing but an immature teenager with an order complex. What would he know of proper justice?
Sighing, I knocked on Akane's door. She quickly answered it. "Oh," she said. "Rexikat, right?"
"Uh, yeah," I answered distractedly. I held up my snacks. "I brought food. Can I come in?"
Akane jumped and hugged me tightly. I growled, and she let me go. "Sorry," she said. "You can come in anytime you want."
"Don't take this the wrong way, Akane," I said as I entered the room, "but my mission here isn't to take sides or make enemies. I make my calls situation by situation, so I'm not promising--" My nose twitched like mad, some scent in her room setting my alarm bells off. Unconsciously dropping the bags, I dropped into a low crouch and made my way slowly over the boy in the room.
I sniffed him cautiously, and finally identified the scent. Quicker that he could react, I snatched him around the throat and growled, "You." It was the unmistakable scent of bugs and evil, the scent of Oogie Boogie.
Deidrex, who was also in the room, jumped at me with a fireball in hand, but I tripped her and held her down with my foot on her neck. "Akane," I said lowly, "would you like to explain the meaning of this?"
The tension in the room was palpable as Akane fished for an answer. Finally, she said defiantly, "He's my friend. He raised me. He came to me when I needed him. He stays."
I looked between her and Oogie, disguised as a Nobody boy. "On a personal level, I can't tolerate this," I said. "Oogie is a long time nuisance of mine. However, on an Organizational level, I hope you do realize that by now, Triskix knows of this...act." I pointed up to the many cameras installed around her room, and looked pointedly at her.
"Damn," she whispered. "I forgot about those." She began to cry. "Why are these things happening to me? Why doesn't anyone understand? I just--I just want to be accepted."
Deidrex threw my foot off her neck and rushed to Akane's side. "Don't worry, Akane, I'm here for you," she said. I let go of Oogie and looked at them.
"Why is this happening to you? This is happening because you are hot-tempered and rash. You act on shadows of emotions you once had. Maybe once you understand that these emotions no longer exist for you," I said coldly, seriously, "these 'things' will stop happening to you."
"Oh, go to hell," Deidrex snapped at me. "How do you know she can't feel? You're just a heartless b***h."
"How true," I murmured, "how true." With that, I left her room. Standing just outside her door, I wondered if I'd been too harsh. For some reason, being heartless simply came naturally for me. Perhaps it had something to do with Kateri's lifestyle before Giovanni came into her life...I wish I could remember.
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