Voice of Reason [Rem]

[Machina Kunagiri]

Trudging through the woods like some happy forest critter. That was apparently all this class was good for right now, just moving from location to location without even knowing what the hell they were looking for or where they were going. Ace and Queen did a good job of trying to hide the fact that they were completely and utterly lost in the middle of nowhere, but Machina saw right through their façade. Both of them had been eyeing that map a little too long with a little too much concern in their gazes, and then when they’d announced that everyone should be on their guard from now on, it was pretty much all the confirmation he needed. They were lost, their leader didn’t know what he was doing, and Milites could pop up and start shooting them at any given moment now. It was enough to put everyone on edge, and that was exactly the state the dragoon was in right now; on edge. One of the smarter kids (so not Nine or Eight) had suggested they move in pairs, so that if they should be attacked, at least they wouldn’t all be sitting ducks. This idea was just fine by Machina, and he had surprised everyone by openly agreeing with it. He normally wasn’t so quick to agree with anything this class suggested, after all. Thankfully for both himself as well as all the others, nobody had been foolish enough to pair him up with someone other than Rem for this. By now, they probably knew it was pointless to take him away from the one person he did trust in this merry band of misfits. He’d be more trouble than help if he’d be paired up with one of the others, because rather than watching their back, he’d likely be too busy keeping an eye on Rem, even if she was way off in the distance. It wasn’t like they were going to watch his back anyway, so why should he watch theirs?
Machina paused his stride for a moment to look over his shoulder at Rem. He shouldn’t walk too fast, her legs were a lot shorter than his after all, and what was one step for him was like two for her. “You okay?” he asked when she got close enough to hear him and then he sighed a little, leaning back against one of the nearby trees, “Isn’t this class just everything you imagined it to be?” he asked her sarcastically as he nodded off into the distance, where Ace was walking, “Our fierce leader doesn’t even know where the hell we are,”he shook his head a little, “We’d be a lot better off by ourselves. It wouldn’t be any different from what we’re doing now, only the illusion of us having allies in all of this would be gone.” he didn’t trust these people, and he didn’t care if they knew it or not. So far, none of them had given him reason to believe otherwise, so they probably didn't care about whether he trusted them or not anyway. It didn't matter. They didn't have to be friends, they were just people who happened to have the same goal, that was all as far as Machina was concerned.

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Words: 545
Tagged: Rem! <3
Location: Some forest somewhere
Outfit: Uniform
Notes: I love his bitterness. Let me know if you need anything changed!

[Rem Tokimiya]

This wasn’t the ideal thing to do, but Rem wasn’t going to start complaining now. She was too quiet and polite to do so as it was, more like the voice of reason or optimism, but still, she had to admit that even this was a little lame. Without complaint though, Rem trudged on forward, the back of her calves already feeling a bit sore from having to keep up with Machina’s longer stride. The horrors of being short, getting worn out quicker than the average heighted person. She had been keeping up fairly well though, only a few strides behind Machina. After all, this wooded area was outside Academy grounds, it was nice to see something aside from textbooks and concrete. With a small huff of a breath to keep herself going, she picked up her pace as much as she could, still feeling the soreness of her legs tingle a bit more and more with each step she took. Perhaps asking Machina for a small break wouldn’t be bad? Even though they didn’t really have the time to stop and chill for even a short amount of time, no sense in getting killed over wanting a break.

Still, he’d stopped just as she’d thrown the idea out the window. Stopping abruptly a few feet back behind him, she felt the soreness in her legs simply linger and intensify now that she wasn’t moving, but that didn’t bother her, there could be far worse things, like getting shot in the back by a milite soldier. “I’m fine.” She said honestly with a small nod, clasping her hands together in front of her chest as she gave her childhood friend a sincere smile, though it was small, she knew he was a bit…uncertain about Class Zero. Though maybe uncertain was the wrong term, perhaps bitter and angry was a good way to describe his tone and attitude towards the elite class. It made Rem frown usually whenever she could see the frustration between Machina and the other students within her newly assigned class, all she wanted was for things to run smoothly since their transfer, and so far it’d been anything but smooth. “Well, things were going to be different, surely you expected that, right?” she asked, her small smile fading to one of almost a sorrowful one, not wanting this to turn into a hate rant by any means.

Hearing Machina speak, Rem lowered her gaze towards the ground, her hands to her sides as she tried to find something to say. He felt some sort of hostility towards the group and Rem could understand why, but holding a grudge wouldn’t make things any better. The best way to get along in life was talk things out, move past those grudges and try to make the best out of anything and everything. Lifting her gaze a bit, the brunette rocked back on her heals a bit, slowly folding her hands behind her back as she tugged at the hem of her skirt slightly. “Machina, I think you need to give them another chance. First impressions are important of course, but sometimes people make mistakes. Desperate times call for desperate measures. If you don’t give them that second chance that everyone longs for, you’ll never see the good in them like I do.” She started speaking in her soft tone, taking a few steps towards Machina and patting his arm. "A different perspective, a clean slate…you see people differently. Class Zero is much better than some make it out to be, it just takes a bit of time to get used to and to understand…” her words probably wouldn’t do much, but if anyone could get through that thick skull that Machina had, it was Rem.

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Words:[/color] 721
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Machina
Wearing:[/color] Uniform
Listening To:[/color] Payphone: Maroon 5
Notes:[/color]

[Machina Kunagiri]

It wasn’t just the walking through the forest not knowing where the heck you were even going that was getting on his nerves. It was mostly the fact that they were in the middle of a war, and in the middle of the enemy’s forest, with the only companions around you being a bunch of school children. Machina didn’t really judge them for that though, after all, he and Rem were just kids too, in the end. But really? Sending kids to do adult work like this? It was true that Class Zero was the only class who still had access to magic and was thus the only one well equipped enough to take on this fight, but couldn’t they have sent just a few soldiers along to keep an eye on them? A few adults with guns to keep them out of trouble should they run out of magic or whatever? Hah, silly Machina, of course not. They had guys like him and Nine to take care of that, since they were more focused on physical fighting instead of using magic. And hey, if all else failed, they could just toss little Cinque at the enemy and hope for the best.
They dark haired youth shook his head as he leaned back against the tree, giving Rem a moment to catch her breath. This whole situation was just bizarre, and above all else, it was terrifying. Sometimes he wondered if he was the only person to actually be scared at times during all this. The rest all took it in stride as though they did this crap every day, and they were used to it by now. Were they strange for being so stoic about all this, or was he the weird one for not manning up and getting on their level?

“Yeah…” he replied with a sigh, “I knew it was going to be different, I just never could’ve imagined this is all,” he turned his head to look at her and frowned a little when he noticed her expression, “I mean… look at them Rem; a guy with a pack of cards, a girl with a flute, another girl with a mace she can barely even carry… these guys are ill-equipped to watch each other’s backs, let alone ours.” It wasn’t really their weapon of choice that worried him though, but he was sure Rem already knew his exact feelings on the subject, so there was no reason to rant about it again. That was, until she spoke up again and told him he should ‘give them another chance’, and that ‘desperate times called for desperate measures’. Was she being serious right now? Machina stared at his closest friend with an incredulous expression. The pat on his arm calmed him a little, but sadly, it wasn’t enough to keep him from getting upset about this. Of all the people he’d indirectly expected to tell him to ‘grow up and get over it’, Rem was pretty much the last person he’d expected to do it. Of course, that was most likely not what she was trying to say at all, but Machina wasn’t known for his pondering things over carefully before replying. With him, he tended to just blurt out whatever he thought, without stopping for a moment to think about what had really been said. It was a bad habit, but he hadn’t been able to break it just yet, and now was definitely not a time to work on it. There were bigger things going on that needed attention more than a dragoon’s temper.

“First impressions?” he scoffed, “People make mistakes?” he took a step away from her, letting out a sarcastic laugh before turning back, “Well sure, some people will accidentally pass you a note when a teacher is watching and get you into trouble,” he started, “And then some people watch your brother bleed to death in the middle of the street, I can see how those two connect.” He shook his head again, “How can you even say something like that? This is Izana we’re talking about Rem, you know, the guy you once called your friend as well, or have you forgotten about him already?”

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Words: 545
Tagged: Rem! =D
Location: Some forest somewhere
Outfit: Uniform
Notes: That last line had me going ‘aww no he didn’t!’ but I just couldn’t bring myself to remove it for some reason. >.>

[Rem Tokimiya]

This wasn’t going to be the most leisurely stroll one could’ve taken, but Rem was sure if anyone could get to Machina, to get him to lighten up on Class Zero a bit, it would be herself. Of course, she didn’t want to push the wrong buttons, of course…something like that couldn’t easily be avoided, especially with Machina and the topic at hand. His brother had died, Rem’s friend as well, Izana…but…sometimes you needed to think about the situation at hand, you needed to move on even though it was difficult. Oh well, all she could do was try and hope that her tactics led her to somewhere good with Machina…but if not, she wasn’t quite sure what she’d do, probably just remain silent if that’s what it took. Sometimes emotions could be a dangerous thing…sometimes Rem wished she was stronger, but alas, here she was, and nothing was changing that.

“I guess when you put it that way…it can seem rather different than what one might expect, but you can’t judge a book by its. Though Cinque may have a mace that weighs more than she, she’s still able to wield it, and Ace’s cards are powerful…it all just depends on how you use each tool.” She said with a shrug while taking her rest, summoning her daggers to her hands as she gazed at the tinted red blades carefully. “I mean…we all adapt to our tools. I’m quite sure that we can trust them to have our backs.” That was simply her opinion, but she knew where Machina was coming from should he not understand that. Izana had died after all, in the streets next to Chichiri…how could something like that be forgiven? It couldn’t, and thanks to the Suzaku crystal, the memories of the dead simply faded away in time, but Rem had reminded herself of those she’d lost, written them down somewhere, able to remember that they still lived at some point in time. She didn’t want to forget Izana, or anyone else that had died who was near and dear to her heart. After all, she and Machina had been friends since childhood, of course she’d been friends with Izana as well…she wouldn’t forget that.

But somewhere along this road, she’d stepped across some certain boundary that shouldn’t have been crossed. Frowning slightly after she tried to give a few words of optimism, trying to put Class Zero into a better light, Rem just blinked as she listened to Machina, watching him and hearing where his words were going. The last bit he spoke…it did hurt. How could she say something like that? Well, it was fairly easy…you couldn’t hold a grudge like that when the other person didn’t have much of a choice. Letting her dark red eyes flicker towards the ground, Rem felt her daggers disappear from her grip, her hands folding together in front of her as she kept her head down, almost in shame. A quiet tone replaced her rather concerning and optimistic one. “I haven’t forgotten Izana, Machina.” She informed silently, lifting her gaze slightly. “But how can you hold someone accountable for the death of something…when there was nothing they could do? Everything happens for a reason…and death…it isn’t always possible to prevent. I’m a white mage and even I probably couldn’t have saved him...had I been the one out in that field of war, able to be killed in a blink of an eye, would you be holding such a grudge against me? At least they gave an effort…Ace tried…” but this was going to push some major buttons.

And that’s where she stopped herself.

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Words:[/color] 738
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Machina!
Wearing:[/color] Class Uniform
Listening To:[/color] Christina Perri
Notes:[/color] >> this may end up being a debate amongst friends...yay angst?

[Machina Kunagiri]

Talks like these made Machina feel even more frustrated with his new classmates than he already felt. Somehow, they’d managed to charm Rem into thinking they could be trusted, and now, rather than trying to persuade him themselves, they’d thrown the only person he actually listened to at him in order to sweet talk him into giving them a break. This hatred he felt was starting to affect his relationship with his best friend as well, and though he’d honestly tried to heed her words in the past, he just couldn’t forget what had happened. Whenever one of them laughed at something, he grew to dislike them just the slightest bit more, because how could they laugh when they had Izana’s death on their conscience? How could they even live with themselves after all the lives that had ended because they’d failed to save them in time? It had been a while back, yes, but still… it felt like they’d all conveniently forgotten about the lives that had been lost already, and it was irritating him to no end. And now Rem was trying to tell him he was wrong for feeling the way he did. What kind of backwards world was he in? Was this some sort of dream? Because it certainly felt like that sometimes.
“Well, I’m not holding my breath.” He replied when Rem again tried to assure him that their new classmates would look out for them as well. He didn’t like arguing with her, and he tried his best to keep his negativity on Class Zero rather than directing any snide comments at Rem herself, but the longer this talk lasted, the harder it became to not just snap at her and throw all of his frustration on her instead of on the people who actually deserved it. He was doing a decent enough job at it so far, but he could feel his emotions bubbling just underneath the surface. He needed to cut this talk short before he said something that would forever damage his relationship with the red eyed girl before him. When she told him he should consider giving them another chance and that everyone made mistakes however, he just couldn’t bite his tongue any longer, and before he knew it, he’d lashed out at the only person left alive that still meant something to him. As soon as he’d spat the cruel words out and watched her reaction, he closed his eyes and turned around, swearing at himself over how stupid he’d been. How could he say something like that to her? Of course Rem hadn’t forgotten about Izana, she was the sweetest person in this world, he didn’t actually think she’d forget anyone, let alone someone as close to her as his brother had been. So why had he said it when he didn’t really mean it? He was such an idiot!

With a frown, he turned back towards her but kept his eyes low in shame over what he’d said. “Rem… I…” she cut him short with some words of her own, and those words only made him feel worse about himself. That comment had to hurt… he knew he would’ve felt hurt if someone had said it to him, anyway, so he could only imagine what his longtime friend had to be feeling right now. “I know that…” he started quietly, but then felt his anger rise again, not exactly at Rem, but just at everything. At Class Zero as a whole, at Ace, at Queen, at this damned war. Even at Izana, because he could’ve been alive if he hadn’t taken Chichiri and tried to play the hero. “I know that!” he repeated again, “Don’t you think I’m aware of that? I know people die, I know it can’t always be prevented!” he took a few paces away, hoping to calm himself a little. It didn’t work. “I wouldn’t hold a grudge against anyone if they’d actually tried, I wouldn’t have blamed anyone for anything if they’d arrived too late and found only… only a body…” he took a shuddering breath as the mental image appeared before his eyes again, but this time, it was more blurred than usually. He was forgetting him. Slowly but surely, he was truly losing him. Gritting his teeth behind his lips and twisting his hand into a fist, the dragoon slammed his fist into the tree he was standing next to before twisting on his heel and glaring at Rem, “Bullshit Ace tried!” he snapped at her, “There were three of them, three, one guy who could’ve easily carried him to safety, another two who possess strong magic skills, and you’re telling me they tried? They tried for exactly three seconds before they all decided that they couldn’t be bothered to waste more than a minute on a simple grunt! Who the hell cares anyway? It’s just one guy! There’s a whole army left of guys just like him, it’s not like he’s actually worth something more than just cannon fodder to them, it’s not like he had a family that needed him! Don’t tell me they tried, because you and I both know they didn’t!” he turned around again and closed his eyes, pressing a shaky hand against them to try and stem the flow of tears he could feel coming up. “He was alive… he was still alive when they found him. Had they tried for just a second longer, they could’ve saved him. He would’ve still been here…” his voice was starting to crackle a little, but with some effort, he managed to keep himself from crying. “He was all I had left…” he spoke quietly now, his voice filled with sadness rather than rage, “After mom and dad… I swore I wouldn’t lose him too, but now I…” with his head held down, Machina slumped down next to the tree, pressing his back against it as he kept his gaze on the ground. The tears that had slowly been forming behind his eyelids finally broke through and rolled down his cheeks when he finally admitted the truth to himself, the truth he still didn’t want to face, but there was no escaping it. He was losing him, and he couldn’t stop the process. “I can’t… even remember his voice anymore.”

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Words: 1053
Tagged: Rem! <3
Location: Some forest somewhere
Outfit: Uniform
Notes: *Hands Rem the psychology cap* All yours doctor Tokimiya.

[Rem Tokimiya]

Rem knew she was walking on thin ice here, but she’d decided to take a leap for the better, to try and shed some light on Class Zero. Not that she worshiped them like a few people did, but they weren’t god awful monsters like some also used to think. That leap, that thin ice she had been walking on…it only shattered before her eyes. She never liked seeing Machina outset, better yet, she never ever liked seeing him upset with her, snapping at her, but she could easily understand where her words would set him off like that. With a silent exhaled sigh, she did her best to stay composed, that was never all that difficult, having to remain silent and calm even under such awful circumstances. She stood there with her hands clasped low towards the hem of her skirt, her eyes on the ground, but moving ever so slightly, not wanting to meet Machina’s gaze, even though she was supposed to be the supporting childhood friend, she had crossed boundaries that didn’t need to be crossed.

With a slight flinch at his louder words, Rem lifted her eyes slightly, seeing him and wishing she could turn back time to only a few minutes ago, to change the subject altogether and just keep trudging forward. No, instead she tried to be comforting, tried to help with the Class Zero situation, but it all came out in one jumbled up mess. She regretted ever opening her mouth to speak. She had to fix what she’d caused, but Rem wasn’t sure if there was even a solution to these things anymore. Losing a loved one…how would one replace or fix that? It was like…taking a hammer to glass, shattering it into dust and trying to put it back together, nearly impossible. Keeping silent as he went on for the most part, Rem had piped up only slightly to inform him that from her sources, Ace had tried…if there was one member of Class Zero Machina needed to not hate right now, it was Ace. Rem had figured that Ace and Izana were good friends for the most part, both liked chocobos and Ace did seem a bit distraught at the fact of Izana’s death, but there was war at hand…sometimes…you just had to do what you had to do to stay alive, but Rem would never say that aloud, especially not now.

Another flinch.

Watching him crash and burn was probably the most painful thing Rem had ever seen. She’d been there the day his mother had died, when the Milite soldiers stormed into their village and created a massacre of the town, but Rem and Machina had gotten away. That was a simple stroke of luck…and if she remembered correctly, she had someone to hold onto at that time…and now Machina was the one falling apart at it all. She needed to forget logic, forget the tension and ties between Class Zero and them, she needed to focus on what truly mattered at the time. With a sorrowful expression, Rem moved over towards where Machina had slumped down and eased himself against the tree trunk, looking at him as her hands moved to clasp together just over her cape tie, above her heart. Sinking to sit down in front of him with her legs tucked beside her, she moved a hand and placed it on his shoulder. “Machina…” she started, finding this image to be completely unbearable. Some friend she was, hm?

Scooting herself around until she was at his side, she shifted up to sit on her knees, her backside resting on the back of her heels as she adjusted herself so that she wasn’t so short sitting next to him. “The crystals of Suzaku…they are cruel. They wipe away our memories of those we've lost…but…I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you never forget Izana.” She said, pressing a hand on his shoulder again. “I’m sorry, I…really am. I never meant to…to…say any of that.” She said with a light shake of her head, giving her most sincere and almost hesitant apology. Next time she were to walk on thin ice…she was going to step back, instead of taking that leap of faith, the feelings of her nearest and dearest friend meant too much to her for that. “I’ll always be here, Machina. I promise. You aren’t alone.”

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Words:[/color] 848
Muse:[/color] Excellent!
Tagged:[/color] Machina!
Wearing:[/color] Uniform!
Listening To:[/color] Type 0 sad sounding stuffs.
Notes:[/color] I had to write this out of order!

[Machina Kunagiri]

Even Machina had to admit that Rem could be absolutely infuriating at times. She didn’t do it on purpose, but she had the incredible ability to say things that ticked you off, and still manage to make you feel bad for yelling at her over those comments. She could make you feel angry at yourself for getting angry at her rather than actually getting angry at her for what she’d said. Yes, it was very complicating, and Machina was no doubt the only person who actually understood what he meant by that. Still, he couldn’t dislike her for those comments, because they were more than likely the truth. Unlike Machina, who seemed to be 95% percent emotion and 5% logic, Rem had things divided nice and evenly. She wasn’t cold hearted and ruthless like some of the other people he’d met in his day, but she also had the ability to look at things from a logical point of view. Whereas he held grudges and looked to the past, Rem could forgive people for what they’d done, and she focused on the future rather than lingering on old pains. In many ways, he wished he could be more like her, but so far he hadn’t had any luck in changing his personality. He was what he was, and there didn’t seem to be a way to take his undesirable personality traits and fling them out a window, leaving only the good ones behind.

That was also part of the reason he was upset with her right now. He knew she was right. Somewhere, a logical part of Machina understood that everything Rem said was true. It was just that he didn’t want it to be true. He needed someone to blame for Izana’s death, he needed to believe that people didn’t just die like that, but that they died because someone else had failed to help them on time. He needed to hold on to the idea that, so long as there was someone around wanting to safe you, you really couldn’t get hurt at all. But that wasn’t true, was it? People really did just die off as simply and as swiftly as Izana had… and that thought terrified him, because it meant that even if he really, really wanted to, in the end, he might not be able to save the people he cared about either. Slumping down in defeat, the dragoon couldn’t do anything but say the first thing that came to mind, mindlessly blurting his feelings out and not even thinking about the burden it would place on someone else to know of his fears and sorrows. Hearing Rem say his name and feeling her comfortingly touching his shoulder made him react by turning his head to the side and away from her. She shouldn’t be comforting him, not after the things he’d said, or more to the point; yelled at her. Rem had every reason to be mad at him and yell back at him, but that just wasn’t who she was. Forgiving, that was who she was. A person who could forgive you for yelling because she could understand why you’d said certain things. She really was a much better person than he could ever hope to be.

Izana had been a much better person than him as well. Rather than wanting to run and hide from the war, his brother had bravely gone forth to help defend his countrymen, and there was no doubt on Machina’s mind that had their roles been reversed, Izana would’ve found the strength to accept what had happened and moved on with just as much strength and resolve as he always possessed to see this whole ordeal through. He would’ve been able to forgive Ace for not having had the power to save his younger brother, if he’d even gone as far as to blame him in the first place. And because Izana had always been the stronger sibling, both physically and mentally, he no doubt would’ve done a better job defending Rem too. It was just sad to think about how much better off everyone would’ve been had their roles genuinely been reversed, and had it been Izana who lived while Machina had died. He didn’t want to die, not at all, because the mere thought of death sent chills down his spine, but if he had to choose, he’d rather throw his own life away than risk the lives of other people. “How?” he finally managed quietly, “There’s no way to stop it… my memories will be gone soon, but so will yours,” he glanced over at her and brushed the back of his sleeve against his cheeks to wipe the tears away, “How can you make sure I won’t forget him when you yourself will forget him as well?” at her apology, the emotional dragoon merely shook his head and tried to smile faintly. If anyone should be apologizing, it should be him, for having implied that she didn’t care about Izana as much as he did. That had been cruel and unnecessary, and if anyone didn’t deserve harsh words like that, it was the friend who had stuck by him and tried to cheer him up since the beginning. Not just the beginning of the war, but the beginning of everything. Machina couldn’t even remember a time when Rem hadn’t been there with him, and it was impossible to think that there would ever be a day when she wouldn’t be there anymore. That fear, combined with her reassuring words, made him reach out and wrap his arms around her, hugging her tightly. “Rem… I…” he started hesitantly, as he just wanted to tell her everything now. All of his fears and concerns, but also all his hopes for the future, and most importantly, his hopes for their future together, but he managed to keep from blurting it all out this time. “I couldn’t save Izana… but I swear to you, no matter what else happens, and no matter what I have to do to make it happen, I’ll see to it that you make it through this. I may not have been able to protect my brother, but I’ll do everything in my power to protect you. Everything,” he held her a little tighter, “I’m sorry I… I said that about Izana. I didn’t mean any of it, you know that, don’t you?”

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Words: 1070
Tagged: Rem!
Location: Some forest somewhere
Outfit: Uniform
Notes: And then he ends up being the reason she dies.

[Rem Tokimiya]

This was going from bad to worse, and Rem knew it was she who had overstepped some boundaries. She wanted desperately to turn back time if only a few short minutes ago to stop herself from saying anything in regards to giving Class Zero a new chance, she should’ve simply kept her mouth shut and suggested to continue trudging onwards. Oh well, there was definitely no going back now, and Rem had to witness the consequences of her words…though they hadn’t been cruel or harsh, they’d still crossed over some boundaries that Machina wasn’t ready for. All and all, she felt pretty bad right about now, watching him break like this…it was never a pretty sight to see someone so far in despair. It was in Rem’s nature to try and assist, to cheer another person up, especially when it was her best friend…the very man she’d grown up with as a child, she needed to continue to be a best friend.

Sitting at his side and trying her best to throw a few comforting words at him – truthful yet comforting – Rem looked to him with saddened eyes, doing what she could to try and help. It was hard getting over the fact that someone you admired, someone you loved had died. Rem had felt the hurt and pain upon hearing that Izana had died, he was like an older brother to her…though she’d never have the same pain and heartache that Machina had…at least she could relate, even if only a little bit. How was she supposed to keep Machina from forgetting? The Suzaku crystal wiped your memories of the dead clean, as if they never existed…that way you didn’t have to feel that pain and heartache for all of eternity. “When we get back to the academy-“ notice she said ‘when’, not ‘if’, “-I want to show you something. Ever since that day that the Milites destroyed our village and took the lives of people we knew…I’ve kept somewhat of a journal. Writing down memories of people I was close with. It helps me remember them, to know they exist. Izana is among some of the pages.” She admitted with a small shrug.

It wasn’t too weird, it at least kept their memories alive. “You’re in there too.” She admitted, putting a small smile on her face before she was pulled into a hug which she easily accepted. Of course she’d want to keep all her memories about Machina, should something happen there would be no way she could forget him of all people. Not that she’d ever mention the small little hearts she drew around the pages whenever writing about him – that was a story for a different day – but she would gladly let him take a look at Izana’s pages…that way he could always remember him, at least in some form or another.

With a tight hug, Rem felt a little better at the way things were going. She was doing everything she could to be that best friend to Machina, it seemed with her apology, her attempt at words of comfort helped a little, but she never wanted an apology from Machina. What he said though, about protecting her…she believed him. “I trust you.” She nodded slightly, still in a hug that made her feel rather comfortable, not angry or sad anymore…just comfortable. Shaking her head a little though, she wasn’t sure what to say towards the words he spoke about doing everything in his power to protect her. Aside from the ‘I trust you’ she was pretty much out of words, which was odd. Normally Rem had a ton of words to spill, she had so many words of wisdom from time to time and now they were coming up just dry. Nothing important could be said, but as stated before, she didn’t want any sort of apology. “We all say things we don’t mean…I think it’s best if we move on…and just try to make the day a little better. We don’t want to fall behind, do we?”

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Words:[/color] 799
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Machina
Wearing:[/color] Uniform
Listening To:[/color] Nothing
Notes:[/color] We should have them fall behind, and get attacked, and they should PWN Milites

[Machina Kunagiri]

Though their talk had started off pretty badly, at least Rem and Machina were heading back to a more pleasant area where they didn’t yell at each other or accuse one another of bad things. Machina never could stay mad at her for long, and Rem was quick to forgive him in most cases. Perhaps that’s why they made such a good team on most days; they got along no matter what they did, and even if they did have different opinions that spiraled out of control and turned into arguments, at least they were always able to get over it and not let it affect their easygoing friendship. Even now, things were already starting to ease down again after having reached an all time high that just had to happen one of these days. Machina had been angry and upset for a long time now, not at Rem, but at other things, and he hadn’t been able to properly vent until now. He hated to say it, but he felt relieved after having yelled at Rem a little. What he’d said was something he’d apparently needed to get off his chest, and thankfully Rem was strong and wise enough to understand that he didn’t mean any of his cruel words, although that hardly stopped him from feeling bad for having said those things anyway. Had their roles been reversed, Machina was sure he wouldn’t have taken such comments as well as Rem had. He really did admire her kindness, and her patience too, because Machina knew well how difficult he could be sometimes. He didn’t purposely try to make her life harder, but in hindsight, he could usually acknowledge his faults.

Now that they were back to talking civilly, Machina felt himself calm down a little again, his nerves were slowly ebbing away, and although he wasn’t over his sadness for Izana’s death and his anger towards Class Zero, he at least felt a bit better right now. “Does that… actually work?” he asked her when she mentioned keeping a journal of the people she’d lost, so she would be able to remember them. He couldn’t imagine how that would even work, because once your memories were gone, a journal couldn’t help bring them back, could it? Wouldn’t it just be meaningless words on a page? But then, maybe just reading about those people and getting a good idea of who they had been was enough. Perhaps knowing that you’d had a brother and knowing some details about him, even though you stole all of those details off of a piece of paper was better than just accepting that his memory would fade away. “Can I see it, once we get back home?” he asked quietly, but then looked away when she mentioned how he was in her memory journal as well. A shy smile broke through his previously saddened expression. So he was in there as well? There was no reason for that to be a shocker, after all, they were close friends, and it was only natural that she’d want to remember her childhood pal, but still. Machina couldn’t help but feel a little hopeful that he was in there for another reason. “I’m ah… glad to hear that,” he spoke softly, looking back down again to make sure she didn’t see him grinning and blushing a little like some fool. But what if she caught a glimpse of it anyway? His body figured out a better solution even before his mind had figured it out, and before he knew it, he’d pulled his closest friend into a tight hug. This was better, she couldn’t see his face this way, and he wouldn’t lie and say he didn’t like hugging her, because he did. At least now he had a valid excuse for just scooping her up in his arms. He wasn’t sure whether it was the position or the location or something else that made him want to say all those things, but as he held onto her, he found himself pouring out all the words he’d often told himself. How he wanted to protect her and how he’d do anything and everything to keep her safe. As soon as he’d said it, he felt a little awkward about it all, but as always, Rem had a way of making him feel better just by saying a few words. She accepted his words, just like that. She trusted him to look out for her, and that was the end of it. Nothing more needed to be said. Machina sighed slightly in relief, and though he really didn’t want to, he had to agree with her that sitting here hugging it out probably wasn’t a great idea, considering they were in enemy territory.

Very reluctantly, he let go of her and sat back, ending their hug for now. “Thanks for understanding,” he told her with a smile, “Yeah… we shouldn’t keep our pals waiting,” As soon as he’d said it, he smiled guiltily at her, “Sorry, I’ll be good for the rest of the day. I promise.” It wouldn’t be an easy promise to keep, but he would do his best to make sure he didn’t break it. After the argument they just had, he wanted to give Rem a break from all of that. Etro knew she deserved a break more than anyone else.
“Alright so uh…” he looked around for a moment and then frowned when he couldn’t catch a glimpse of his classmates. No Ace, No Queen… no Deuce or Cater… Where the heck had they walked off to? He knew it! He knew those assholes would abandon them the moment they saw their opportunity to ditch them! His jaw clenched a little, but when he suddenly heard a noise come up from behind, his eyes widened some as he turned around towards it. Taking a step towards Rem to stand in front of her, he glanced over his shoulder, “Did you hear that?”

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Words: 1000
Tagged: Rem!
Location: Some forest somewhere
Outfit: Uniform
Notes: In case the post didn't make it clear, I agree with your idea! Feel free to toss some Milites into your next post! =D

[Rem Tokimiya]

Rem was simply trying to calm the waters between her and Machina, she’d never intended for him to get upset, especially to the verge of tears for his brother…in fact, she’d never expected anything like this as it was. She’d calmed things down a little bit, feeling rather guilty for it all, but hey, mistakes happened…you simply had to work around them to make them better. With a small yet sincere smile on her face, Rem spoke of her journal. She had a few pictures in there, some nice words and memories written about various people, and of course she’d be more than happy to show Machina the section about Izana. Though…she was going to have to conceal the part about him, especially with all those hearts scribbled into the margins. With a small shrug to Machina’s question, Rem could not provide an accurate and legitimate answer for him.”I suppose. I mean…it keeps my memories alive, even if it’s very faint. Anything is better than nothing. Knowing someone existed…it’s better than not being able to remember at all.”

With a more distinct smile on her face, Rem nodded enthusiastically. “Of course you can. Hopefully it will help, even just a little bit.” She let her words cut off there, almost feeling a small tinge of heat work its way onto her cheeks, but luckily she was good at masking her emotions to remain calm and collected for the sake of other people, the same thing went for this case as well. With a small nod, she said nothing more on the subject, simply being pulled into a hug, something she hadn’t expected, but easily accepted. She’d liked seeing him a bit happier, feeling as if the rifts between them – short lived rifts might I add – had been healed for the time being, that was all she really wanted, and it seemed her words and suggestion of looking at her own journal would do him some good, it’d helped. She felt a smile cross on her face as her arms were clasped together around Machina, returning the hug and just feeling…quite safe and relaxed.

Being released and sitting back some, Rem nodded in agreement. They needed to catch up with the others before they got left behind. In war, you waited for no one. It was as simple as that. Giving Machina an understanding look, she shook her head, a small smile still on her face as she simply dismissed the comment Machina made about their ‘pals’. She was being understanding right now, not letting those things get to her, at least he was making an effort, that was all she could ask for in the end really. Dusting her uniform off a bit, a small noise was heard from behind. Rem’s head turned in the general direction before Machina had taken the liberty to put himself in front of her, between Rem and whatever was coming their way. “I heard that, yes.” She commented softly, barely even a whisper as she let her eyes scan the brush around them. In a forest area like this…being separated from your allies…it just wasn’t going to settle well, especially with the dragoon she was with who already held a big enough of a grudge.

Rem took a deep breath, moving herself so she was at Machina’s side, rather than being guarded by him. Sure he had promised to protect her, to keep her safe, but making himself a human shield would do no good, that only made him the prime target for something bad to happen, and Rem wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if something bad happened to him, all because he wanted to keep her alive and safe. Still keeping rather quiet, it was then Rem heard and saw what was making the noise. Out of the brush a line of Milite soldiers formed, guns in their hands as they began closing in on the two students from Rubrum. Feeling her muscles tense, the dagger wielder shifted a step backwards, narrowing her eyes at the soldiers before hearing them mumble a few things amongst themselves. “We’ve got two of ‘em, think General Bashtar will want ‘em alive?” “Man, there’s plenty more of them ahead, I saw them earlier as they passed by. I haven’t gotten to shoot anything for a long time-.” Rem quickly flung her wrist out, flicking it in a circular motion as a cast of Fira was then soaring towards the cluster of soldiers, sending them scrambling, giving Rem a chance to summon her daggers.

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Words:[/color] 860
Muse:[/color] Good!
Tagged:[/color] Machina
Wearing:[/color] Uniform!
Listening To:[/color] Skyrim OST
Notes:[/color] And there you have it.

[Machina Kunagiri]

As always, Rem was able to calm Machina down again to the point where they could sit and talk rationally about things. No matter what state Machina was in, Rem somehow just knew which buttons to push to get him to cheer up again, if only just a little. At Rem’s answer, Machina merely nodded his head in understanding. Anything was better than nothing, that was certainly true. The dragoon was still somewhat skeptical about it, but if it worked for Rem, then there was no reason it shouldn’t work for him as well. If anything, it was worth trying out, even if he could only remember small bits and pieces about Izana, it was better than forgetting him completely. “It’s worth a shot,” he told her with a small smile, “Thanks Rem. I actually can’t belief I didn’t think of it myself.” Rem was usually the one with good ideas, and this was no different than what both of them were used to. If he didn’t have Rem around to figure these things out for him, Machina would definitely be completely lost. Speaking of lost, it seemed that in his anger earlier, he hadn’t really paid attention to their surroundings. With narrowed eyes, Machina looked around for any sign of their ‘allies’, but he saw none of them. Had they accidentally wandered off somewhere, or had Class Zero simply decided to leave them behind? It seemed to be the latter, because Machina was pretty sure they hadn’t wandered anywhere, instead just staying in one location as they talked. It figured they’d do something like this right after Machina had promised Rem to be nice for the remainder of the day and to try not to be a jerk to them right now.

His jaw clenched, as did his fists. Keep calm Machina, don’t go out on another hate rant after you’ve literally just healed the rift between yourself and Rem. It took all his energy to keep his negative thoughts to himself for now, but his mind wandered away from Class Zero for a moment when he heard a sound coming from a nearby bush. His thoughts were instantly back on the situation at hand, and Machina could feel his heart rate shoot up when he thought of all the things that could be making that noise. It could be a raccoon or something, if they were really lucky, but Machina wasn’t having a lucky day today so if anything, it was probably a bear who had decided to crash their party. Even that would’ve been a welcome thing compared to what was really happening though. The dragoon’s eyes widened some when their intruders decided to reveal themselves. Milites. Why was it always the Milites? In this case it was understandable, he supposed. This was their territory after all. The dark haired youth felt his jaw clench once again, and all of his muscles seemed to tense. A strong fight or flight reaction made him want to act, but shock over their sudden appearance kept him rooted to the ground where he stood. What was he supposed to do now, he couldn’t take all of them on by himself. Rem was there too, but he didn’t want her to be there, he wanted her to run and catch up with Class Zero. As much as he distrusted them, she was probably safer with them than on her own. Maybe if he just rushed forward and caught them off guard, that would give her a chance to flee. Fat chance that she was going to listen though, just like he would never leave her behind, Rem was unlikely to leave him behind as well. They worked perfectly as a team at least, and it was nice to know she had his back, but…

The decision of what to do had been made for him when Rem’s fire suddenly passed him by, the attack exploding before the cluster of Milites, sending most of them tumbling over their own feet as they tried to move away from the fire, some of the others had been hit fully and were blown backwards off their feet by the impact. Without another moment of hesitation, Machina summoned his rapiers and rushed forward towards where the Milites had fallen and were currently trying to recover for their attack. Unlike Rem, Machina wasn’t that well versed in the ways of magic, and he preferred to let his weapons do the talking for him. He preferred not to fight at all, but this was war, and Machina was realistic enough to know that if he didn’t strike and kill them now, they would certainly do it for him. He couldn’t let that happen. With his heartbeat pounding in his ears, the dragoon jumped the last bit towards their assailants, lifting his leg to kick one of the scrambling soldiers in the face and knocking him out, he slammed the back of his rapier against the temple of another soldier and yanked the gun out of his hand, aiming it at a smaller group of soldiers nearby and opening fire on them. There was a great sense of satisfaction to shoot someone with the weapon they’d meant to use on you instead. Machina didn’t enjoy killing, but he enjoyed moments like these, when he could use their own strength against them in his favor.

The moment of joy was short-lived though when a sudden gust of ice magic was shot at the arm holding the gun, freezing the barrels shut and freezing the gun itself to his arm, effectively making that arm useless for the duration of the fight unless he could free himself somehow. With gritted teeth over the frostbite he felt spreading all over his arm, Machina used his one free arm to slash the rapier in it at a nearby soldier, and though he went down, it was more out of pure dumb luck than skill in this case. His movements were clunky with that block of ice on his arm, and he needed to get rid of it if he was to survive this attack. Focusing his energy on his own magic for now, he created a fire ball in his frozen arm, melting the ice away slowly but surely until he was freed again. During that time, he occasionally managed to slash or kick someone who got too close to him, but he’d failed to notice the formation a few survivors had set up nearby. They were already readying their weapons once again while Machina was vulnerable, but the dragoon didn’t even notice them. Between trying to free his arm, hack at enemies, and keep an eye on Rem, there was little time left to deal with enemies that stood further away. This was going to be a tough battle.

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Words: 1136
Tagged: Rem! <3
Location: Some forest somewhere
Outfit: Uniform
Notes: Had to end it somewhere, otherwise it would never end. XD

[Rem Tokimiya]

It was always so nice how things could go from complex to carefree. Rem gave a genuine smile towards her childhood friend, she really did enjoy being around him, and lately…he just seemed far too emotionally unstable, if there was anything Rem wanted right now…it was for him to smile more, to be happy. That was of course easier said than done, but not impossible! She was going to give it her all, to make sure Machina got a bit of the bright side, at least sometime soon would be nice, otherwise she was sure Machina and Class Zero would not get along for awhile…at least until some tension had been rid of. Another situation of easier said than done. Oh well, there was no time to dwell on such things, they needed to get moving to catch up with the others before they fell behind…

…too late.

Rem was on high alert, she was watching and getting ready for whatever battle was coming their way, and judging by the voices she was then hearing, it wasn’t going to be a pretty fight. Feeling her heartbeat stop slightly at the sight of the Milite soldiers who looked far too eager to shoot the two, Rem felt a small jolt in her veins. She was a true mage, though belonging mostly to the white mage class, she was very proficient with her black magic as well. Her hands felt a little cold and icy, as if the blood circulation had been cut off, but she was moving in an instant, causing the best distraction one could ask for with a flick of her wrist, and a form of heat surrounded her hand before it raced off towards the soldiers. A cast of Fira, and that’s when her daggers formed into her hands, and that’s also when she noticed Machina go charging into battle without so much as a warning or an idea as to where he was going. That was war wasn’t it? Go in and fight, may the best man – or woman – win? Well, he didn’t honestly think Rem was going to sit back, relax and enjoy the show, right? He probably would’ve liked for her to flee during all of this…but that wasn’t an option. If for some odd reason Machina were to go down…Rem was going down with him.

Rushing forward and ducking down slightly to pick up speed and swiftness, Rem slid down slightly towards one soldier, twirling herself and keeping her arms out firmly, not flinching when she heard and felt her blade pierce through the skin of whoever she was attacking. It was nothing but morbid actions and thoughts, that was war as well…but the students at the academy were practically soldiers, sometimes you just needed to swallow your innocence…face your fears and protect what you held dear to your heart no matter what the cost was. Hearing the wails from the man she had just cut open, she stood up taller instead of ducking down, leaping back a small step to avoid a counter attack – if he could even manage an attack – and judging by the thud at her feet, Rem was sure she wasn’t going to be attacked by that guy anymore. Onto the next!

Shooting a glance over her shoulder towards Machina, she blinked for a second, taking in his arm that was practically frozen. He was working on so much at once that Rem really did need to jump in and assist him. There were soldiers coming his way which he was slashing at them easily, but the ones reforming and getting ready to attack again…no way they were going to mess this up. With a distinct frown on her face, Rem ran towards Machina, a quick little sprint as her daggers soon disappeared and she skidded against the rough ground to the side of her friend, that frown still on her face as she held out both hands and let out a…shocking attack. Pun intended all the way. Shooting double the amount of electricity towards the cluster of soldiers, it seemed to do a wonderful job at spreading and tagging each soldier in one form or another, it was like a nice…painful…electrocution. It seemed that to Rem, thunder magic was the kind that wore her out the most, that and wind magic, but it was definitely worth the trouble when she watched a few of them twitch around, not able to make sense as to where they were going. Giving herself a second to recoup, she glanced over her shoulder once more. “We need to get out of here!” an obvious statement, and after speaking, she went right back to magic casting. One flick – fire, another flick – blizzard, areo, and water…the cycle just repeated through any destructive magic spells she knew, until Machina was ready to get going…until they were able to actually move without getting shot in the back, Rem was stationary.

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Words:[/color] 918
Muse:[/color] Amazing
Tagged:[/color] Machina
Wearing:[/color] Uniform!
Listening To:[/color] Awesome music?
Notes:[/color] I have so much muse for Rem.