The choices we make [Himeko]

[Kiko/Hotaru]

It was finally time to choose; Kiko's eyes hardened as she made her way into the park, the place where she was told to meet...

Himeko.

Her three days had elapsed. After three days of being followed by very paranoid Knight members, Kiko had given them the slip, with some help from Mitsukai. She had left the pin that they had given her back at home, the pin that told them percisely where she was at any given moment. She wanted this to be private, she didn't want anyone other than the sin she was meeting to learn of her Loyalty.

Or of her betrayal.

She certainly dressed up for the occasion; more so than usual. Her dress, shoes, and socks, all matched to some degree, and her usually straight hair was gently curling at the ends, and for the first time, she was wearing eyeliner. But her appearance wasn't the biggest eyecatcher on the rather petite raven.

It was her expression. The sweet, gentle girl had the fiercest expression around, a harsh mixture of anger and self-loathing.

It scared Mitsukai greatly. The neko chara stared at Kiko's back, surprised and dazed. Trailing behind, Mitsukai was...unsure. She had been told, by a stoic Kiko, about the whole church incident, and who exactly was in it. 'Mit-yan' couldn't imagine Kiko ever choosing to go over to the dark side, but she could imagine what Kiko would do to get not only her friend Ima back, but her beloved brother as well.

And as Himeko came into Kiko's line of vision, and as Kiko let out a quiet animalistic growl, Mitsukai's wide bloodred eyes watered.

What was Kiko going to choose?

Stepping ever closer to Himeko and her chara, Kiko pondered her decision. Was it the best course of action? Could she survive the consequences of said decision? Stopping a yard or two away, with a tearful Mitsukai behind, Kiko waited for the beautiful brunette in front of her to say something.

[OOC: We need to stop with the wonderfully addicting romance for a moment and get back on plot. While I absolutely LOVE writing out fluff, this isn't the time for it. Oh noes! Kiko!!!!! DX]

[+. I M A]

If devils really did exist in this world, then Murakami Himeko was certainly one of them. There she stood, beautiful and indignant to the girl's pain, waiting with a gentle smile for the answer. In truth, Himeko had guessed what Kiko's answer would be since the moment Ima suggested that Kiko be given time to think it over.

Himeko's smile softened as she noticed the details of Hirogawa Kiko. The outfit, her expression, the feeling of the air around her...everything was almost how Himeko had imagined it in her head. All that the girl had to do now was speak the words Himeko knew she was going to hear.

Kira, Himeko's chara, was hiding within Himeko's long dyed light brown hair. She felt really bad for both Kiko and Hotaru when Himeko had told her what happened in the church. She also pitied Ima when she became a sin until she found Ima sneaking around in an Easter office looking for clues. Ima hadn't noticed Kira and the idol chara had remained quiet. She never told Himeko either and planned not to. Kira also wanted the old Himeko back, not this artificially made Easter servant.

"It's good to see you again, Hirogawa-chan. I know you've had a lot on your mind," she murmured sweetly, like a siren luring a sailor to the rocks. "But tell me...what is your decision?"

Himeko waited patiently, but her shoulders tensed a bit. Kira peeked out from over her shoulder with eyes holding the trace beginnings of tears.

In her head, she kept repeating the phrase 'say no!'

[Kiko/Hotaru]

It had been a miserable past two days. The choices that Kiko could've picked swirled around restlessly, day and night, and the raven had focused solely on the consequences of those choices. This morning, Kiko had finally chosen.

The anger drained from her face, and her thin, fragile body loosened up, as the raven remembered that she was bringing this on herself. Like always.

"It's good to see you again, Hirogawa-chan. I know you've had a lot on your mind, But tell me...what is your decision?"

Kiko smiled, and closed her tawny, honey-gold eyes. A tiny peice of her mind screamed out to think this over and to pick the other decision. Kiko shut that voice up, and opened her eyes, the ferocity back in the warm, tawny depths.

"I'll never bow down to Easter. I'll never take the path my older brother and my friend took." Kiko glared at Himeko, her jaw set in a stubborn fashion. "But I will get Kakeru and Ima back. I'm going to save them." Kiko added on, her glare never wavering. But, even though the glare didn't change, her eye color did. From the warm honey-gold into a vicious blood-red. And the very familiar cat ears and tail made their appearance on her lithe, doll-like frame. Mitsukai's character change went without explaining.

"I'll never become an Easter corp slave like you."

[+. I M A]

Kiko's impassioned words did not have much of an effect on Himeko. She had already assumed that the stubborn, witless girl knew better as an embryo to not join Easter. She would have become fodder for the fire instead of a valuable pawn like her brother and Ima. The girl's spirit brought a smile from Himeko's lips.

"I guess that's the difference between you and my sister. You have backbone," she murmured smoothly while twirling a strand of her dyed light brown hair. "I'm a little disappointed. I was expecting a little more bravado. But you seem to be pretty honest with yourself, don't you?"

Himeko stopped twirling her hair and began to walk towards Kiko, even as she watched the younger girl character transform. "Since you're so honest I'll be honest with you, koneko-chan. I have absolutely no intention in letting anyone take away my precious baby sister away from me. You understand how I feel, don't you? After all, you have your adorable Kakeru-nii-san. It must have been so shocking and painful to see him..."

A soft sigh escaped her as she seemed to ponder something for a moment. Then her gaze flickered back to Kiko and a smile once again appeared on her face. The smile of a cat with a bowl of cream. "Let's make a deal, Hirogawa. I promise to return your Kakeru-nii-san to you. In return, I want you to forget about my sister. I want both of you, brother and sister, to let her stay with me. She did abandon you, so why would you waste your time on someone like that?"

Somewhere, closer then Kiko or Himeko would think, a heart was breaking. The sound went unnoticed in the confusion of the world.

[Kiko/Hotaru]

Himeko's words caused Kiko's persistance to waver a bit. Why was she so determined to get Ima back as well? Her 'friend' hurt her with her disappearance, and she obviously wasn't the only one hurt. Maybe Ima didn't deserve to be back. But...a part of Kiko wanted her back, and that part knew exactly why Ima was supposed to be back.

"I'm wasting time on Ima because I'm a selfish person. This heart," Kiko clutched frantically at her chest. "can't let go." A rueful, pained smile mangled itself on Kiko's face. "Maybe it's genetic. I hear that nobody in my family is good at giving up. Though, Kakeru might be the exception...Anyways. I really am a selfish, dirty creature." Kiko continued, her bloodred eyes looking straight at Himeko, but she really wasn't seeing the beautiful brunette. "I latch on to people because I'm afraid. I'm afraid to be alone, I'm afraid of being ignored. I've lived through that fear too many times...and I barely survived each encounter with that fear." Kiko confessed, losing her character change in the process. This wasn't 'Sweet, shy, clumsy Kiko' or 'Strong, bold, free, Mitsukai-Kiko', no.

This was the true Kiko, the Kiko who made Mitsukai appear in the first place. The Kiko who craved companionship more than anything. This was the Kiko who Kakeru had grown up with, the Kiko who, for most of her life, been ignored.

Kiko sighed, and for a second, it seemed as if she was tired. "Ima, has, unknowingly, become one of those people I've latched onto. Just like Shouta, and Kakeru, and Su-sempai and everyone else. So, even though I want to, I can't forget about her. It's...impossible for me." Kiko glared at Himeko. "I can't forget about Ima or Kakeru! And I don't need your help on getting them back! I'll bring them back...and then! And then...! And then we'll..."

We'll what? A subdued voice in Kiko's head questioned.

We'll be together. Kiko responded back.

Kiko's heart pounded irregularly. What if her choices made everyone miserable? What if 'We'll be miserable'? It hurt her.

It made her want to cry.

[+. I M A]

The expression Himeko wore was probably difficult to read. She was smiling still but the power and ferocity she once had behind it had diminished. This smile seemed to be held on crutches in order to appear. There was something akin to sadness in her eyes as she approached Kiko.

"I see. So you're the same as that child," she murmured under her breath. Her eyes searched Kiko's face, looking for weaknesses and information written there in her expression. "And just like that child, you can't throw a person away. Even if they have already thrown you away. You're both pretty stupid."

The last sentence came out more full of spite and spitfire then she had intended. All her self-hatred had bottled up inside and was now being uncapped for Kiko.

[Kiko/Hotaru]

The sudden anger surprised Kiko into stepping a few steps back. It was a knee-jerk reaction; her embryo automatically fliched away from any imposing auras. And Kiko shied away from those auras as well. But, before Kiko could retreat further, Mitsukai once again character changed with her, once again filling Kiko with courage.

"I suppose so." Kiko glared at Himeko through narrowed blood-red eyes. Her tiny body tensed for whatever Himeko might throw at her; You could never be to careful, now could you?

"But is it really stupidity when you're fighting for your loved ones?" Kiko bit back, clutching her tiny fists.

[+. I M A]

She didn't know how to explain anything to this child. Himeko didn't feel like arguing with a pubescent little brat about the values and meaning of life either. Kiko might have had a rough life - she may even have a hard life now - but in the end she still didn't know any motivation to go on. Himeko had fortunately learned early on that there was no such thing as reliance. She couldn't rely on her parents, or her brother, and asking Ima for her shoulder was irresponsible and cruel.

But love...Himeko knew about love. Or she had seen it in the adoring eyes of her little sister. That's why Himeko would never give Ima to anyone else: because she knew how much Ima loved her. No one had ever sacrificed so much for her before. She just didn't want to lose the one person who actually gave a d**n about her.

"You think you love my sister?"

Himeko took a step back; however, Kiko would feel as if she had just taken several forward. There was a vehement look in her eyes as she glared at Kiko.

"That child belongs to me! No one else is allowed to love her!"

[Kiko/Hotaru]

And Kiko did retreat. Backing away from the now frightening woman in front of her, the small raven never broke eye contact, once again losing her character change, and returning her eyes back into their usual honey-gold.

"Why? Why are you the only one?" Kiko questioned, in a wavery voice that only too clearly portrayed her fear. "That'll make her so unhappy. Why?"

"If you're the only one to love her, then the love she has for you will diminish. That tends to happen when you covet and monopolize someone like you want to do to Ima." Kiko murmured, averting her gaze to the ground.