#NAKADA REINA. / threads

[soulsballad]

it's the dead of night and reina is snuggled up to @sozokami's side, only to shift to stand a moment later. quietly, reina tip-toes around zoro, eyeing him while she does so to make sure he is sleeping. once she is sure he is, her attention turns before her as she tip toes out to the deck.

[moonsmourning]

@sozokami reina & ahamya for your birthday !

she's tall... and beautiful. with curves and dips at every angle -- reina is quite jealous! reina... that was her name, she thinks. so who was this? where was she, actually? what was happening? lifting a hand to her head, she sees strands of blonde hair glide through her fingers, fingers which were quite pale and dainty as she then examines her fingers. long, dark nails sit at the top of her fingertips, and, when she looks down, she blinks once again.

oh, she's naked. nice.

❝ hello, ❞ she begins, hearing her own voice for what sounds like the first time, but deep down, she knows it's not. ❝ um... where am i? and who are you? do we know each other? ❞ could she explain what was going on?

[soulsballad]

tag drop; original characters. ( p. 5 )

[moonsmourning]

that question hasn't come her way in a while, but she thinks it would be a good story to tell this nice cursed death painting. ❝ no, not everyone is. my family are not sorcerers, my stumbling across this world was quite scary at the time. ❞ the memories return in a flood and the young blonde can't quite find it within herself to smile fondly. ❝ my grandmother liked to collect unique and odd pieces of jewellery, and she ended up buying a cursed necklace. within a few short weeks, it had killed her, and i was the one to find her and clean out her house, ❞ she speaks quietly, but firmly, relaying the story with a flat tone. ❝ my third day there i found the necklace, picked it up, and unleashed some ugly goo monster thing - it nearly took my head off you know! ❞ still, reina would not be reina if she didn't get a little carried away with herself, evident by how she fully turns to him and gets lost up in the emotions of recalling the event. ❝ it was really ugly, chased me around the house for hours. a sorcerer showed up and dealt with it for me, i got to keep the necklace. ❞ her hand moves to the cross around her neck, holding it up with a grin. ❝ now it stores my strongest shikigami. quite weird how things turned out, huh? ❞

it's good advice, great. he just needs to make it make sense within the bounds of his existence. his morals, his context. make meaning with it, give himself a chance. it sounds easier than it is, but he hasn't had much opportunity to try. the accompanied pat on the shoulder is awkward at best, but the intention behind it brings a smile to his face. no one aside from his brother had attempted to comfort him. not that he faulted anyone for it, he didn't present as the most approachable.

“   i wasn't going to cry over it, ” he assures her, amused. “   but, thank you. for... being kind, you jujutsu sorcerers are surprising, ” some weren't as welcoming as others, and some took time to warm up to him. it couldn't compare to the curses he had thrown his lot in with prior. his expression distorts in discomfort at the reminder, and he reaches for a distraction. “   what drew you to this life? i hear not everyone is born into it as i was. ”

[moonsmourning]

while dante seemed to be focusing on seemingly enjoying himself and the torment he unleashed when arguing with sana, reina was actively losing her sanity each time the three of them were teamed up. yes, reina enjoyed dante's company and has grown to like the smell of his cologne mixed with the cigarettes he smokes. but, for some reason, she feels like sana is ruining everything. whenever reina gets to spend time with dante it seems like sana's name is always brought into it, and that is if the man of the hour isn't also present. the poor girl is actively being cock-blocked by someone who has no idea they are even doing it. but now, after a few horrible missions, reina feels as though she has finally lost her mind. there were three people on this team today; her, dante, and sana. but, of course, the two men had to have their ridiculous war, masculinity vs masculinity. testosterone vs testosterone. and, yet again, reina was forgotten about and discarded, left standing there like an absolute idiot. what was she, a ghost? sana had already fled the scene to avoid reina's wrath, but dante was stuck to deal with it firsthand.

❝ yeah, sana is their favourite, so who do you think will get the blame here?! certainly not him, or even you! ❞ she's frustrated, it's evident in her features as she tries to keep some sort of control, but the grip she had was beginning to loosen. four of her curses are out and wandering the area, cleaning up some of the mess that was created by dante and sana's dramatics. ❝ i'm so tired of this, dante! we're a team, i'm here too you know! i'm not just some shadow following you both around, you both completely ignore me when we work together. am i just a joke to you? ❞ her question is spoken with an unbearable amount of sadness as her frustration begins to melt into something more doleful. sensing their master's shift in mood, the four curses who wander around, a kin to zombies, pause and glance over briefly before continuing their task. fingers curl into fists as reina scoffs quietly, glancing off to the side. ❝ this is the last time i work with you both! honestly, i don't even want to work with that idiot, i hate him! ❞ i only agree to the missions so i can spend time with you. the words don't exit her mouth and she hates that she can't find the courage to change that. instead, she raises her hands and wipes under her eyes before turning away from the man and towards her curses as they finish up. ❝ whatever! just... i'll finish up here. you can write up the report or something. ❞

" you can't just listen to one side and block out the other. " ( from reina, for dante. 0

ugh. frustration curls under his skin in the same way that it always does after missions like this –– when he happily acts to throw sana under the bus, when he acts like him and reina hadn't done wrong either. the truth remains that they're crazy in their own ways –– they can work together, but they choose not to nine times out of ten, because the chaos is better than the lull of it all. he likes stepping on sana's toes and sana likes stepping on his own, and in return that puts reina in the middle, trying to calm them both down and huffing when they become idiotic boys. really, dante just hates the way that they look at each other –– reina can do better. if he happens to mean him by that statement, he doesn't have to say so.

instead, he pulls his cigarette free from his lips and scrapes it out on his shoe sole, frowning softly to himself as he does so. he takes a few extra moments, allows himself to feel fully chastened –– so that he has the appropriate down trodden puppy look that should be presented. but in reality, it simmers under the surface that he would do it, again and again, because it's too easy. it's too much fun. and it's been a long time since dante's actively had fun with a group of people. " you know that one of us has to take the blame and it's not going to be either of us. sana's their favorite –– he'll get off with a slap on the wrist and be completely fine. besides, i totally had that curse. it was his fault for rushing in when i was working. "

[soulsballad]

a tiny smile finds its way to her lips after he confirms he was asleep, but no longer was when she up and left. had he gotten used to her presence already? was that a good thing? maybe not, but for some reason it makes her happy.

sighing quietly, reina shifts ever so lightly to the side, letting the side of her head fall against zoro's bicep, her gaze still fixated on the water. ❝ i don't know. i feel like there's something i've got to remember, and it's right here- ❞ using one of her hands, she lifts it up, index finger pointing to the middle of her forehead. ❝ like when you forget a word, but it's at the tip of your tongue. ❞

dropping her hand, she purses her lips. ❝ i'm just doing a lot of thinking. like... i can't swim- is that because i never learned? or did i eat one of those fruits like luffy? i want to try and learn to swim, but... ❞ peering over the edge of the ship, reina peers down at her own reflection against the dark water. ❝ the sea is terrifying... ❞

he lingers in the moment, taking a second to watch her intently. his head tilts to the right, and a hand rises to his neck, stretching it out with a scrunch of his face. after this brief pause, he starts to move a little closer.

" i was, " zoro comments, the implication clear that his awakening coincided with her departure. there's a silent narrative in his actions, suggesting a connection between his awareness and her absence, leaving a subtle tension in the air. once he reaches her, he reaches out to brush a hand against the crown of her head.

" something bothering you? " he asks uncharacteristically, hand moving away as he crosses his arms to lean up against the railing, back to the water.

[soulsballad]

she'd never expected to feel bad for the half-curse, but she does. i don't really know what i am. he says it and reina feels a pang go straight to her chest, and it stays there as he finishes talking. truthfully, how was he to know any better? he could have been told anything after being incarnated and he'd have no choice but to believe it, why would he have any reason to question it? he's not been here very long, on two legs and in a breathing body, so reina feels for him.

" it should all come naturally to you, so don't worry too much over the details. for now just do what feels right, and always question what you're being told. that's the only real advice i can give. " she's not too bright herself, but she tries her best. awkwardly, reina takes a side step towards him, slowly raising a hand, hovering it awkwardly in the air for a brief moment. " it'll... it'll be okay. " with that, she gives the cursed womb a timid pat on the shoulder.

@soulsballad

his  morality  had  been  called  into  question  ever  since  his  shift  in  loyalties. he  had  been  hellbent  on  avenging  his  brothers;  now,  he  was  left  only  with  grief  and  the  perplexing  reality  of  his  existence. human  or  curse?  he  couldn't  say. when  he  thinks  about  the  human  lives  he  took  in  shibuya,  he  remembers  feeling  nothing. it  hadn't  occurred  to  him  that  committing  such  atrocities  would  weigh  so heavily  on  him  thereafter;  ever  since  itadori  yūji  altered  his  trajectory. to  feel is to be human,  or so the saying goes.

chōsō  hums  his  assent  to  her  question,  despite  the  worn  frown. you  seem  like  a  very  nice  person. does  he?   “   i  wouldn't  lay  a  finger  on  my  brother's  allies,   ”   if  that's  any  consolation. he  tilts  his  head,   “   you're  very  understanding . . . truthfully,  i  don't  really  know  what  i  am. i'd  like  to  be  a  ' nice  person ',  as  you  say  but, i  don't  know  what constitutes being nice. it's  all  new  to  me. ”

[soulsballad]

she should have figured that was the case. for all zoro likes to sleep he woke up easily enough to spoil her shenanigans. however, tonight there were no shenanigans. just an inability to sleep. so as zoro follows her out after a few minutes, reina is already standing with her arms resting on the wooden railing, watching the bottomless pit beneath them move by them effortlessly as the ship sailed on course.

turning around when he speaks, the blonde pouts and relaxes once more. " i was so sure you were sleeping, " she comments, sighing a moment later and turning back to look out at the sea once more. " i can't sleep... "

he's up the moment she moves, he can't help it. his brown eye flicks after her towards the door, but he makes no effort to bother or stop her. he's curious. he's just that way, however, he doesn't move til she's already out the door. sitting up with a groan, and rubbing the back of his head, he waits for a few minutes before following her out in silence.

" what're you doin', " he questions to break the eeriness of the night across the ocean.