Caira falls

[18:11] Returning up the mountain behind Xiaowen had distracted the woman from what may have been the most important sight she'd see in a long, long while. Thankfully enough the radiant presence was enough for Rindou to notice her.

A deep breath was taken before she marched right up to Sors, a hand reaching for his shoulder. Yes, she actually reached out to him. She always had slapped him away and avoided any kind of contact with the man, but right now there was something more important. She needed his attention.

"Let me take care of her." She said outright - out loud. An amber gaze pierced through the lord of all evil, as if striking at his core with her demand.

"I have the restraints."
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[18:12] Caira's eyes were half-lidded as she rest on the snow once he threw her. Still glowing with the faintest little spark of valor within her veins, the woman twitches and groans very quietly as Despair took another one of her belongings. Her mother's potions.. Jannah never saw this future, huh? Caira remains laying in the snow, pushing upwards very slowly with a despairing frown.

Though her hair covered her expression in a dark shadow, the struggle is easier to see than just her face. ".. S-Sors.. You.. W-Won't.. Win.." Her arms wobbled and body trembled in pain.

.. Soul torn, damaged far deeper than any wound, how was she supposed to recover from that?
(Caira Vindict)
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[18:21] The weapon and the potion had both been taken from the woman, but his eye still carefully remained on the Gehennan. It would only be after she spoke, as she pushed upwards, that his foot would once more come down. It would be placed on her back, pushing her downwards into the snow as Dusk and Aurum stared down at her.

"This world is filled wit' sufferin'. It takes an' takes. Ya say I won't win? As long as the people who stand against ma know pain, as long as they suffer? Tha' is my victory. I am winnin'."

The hateful oppressive energy would be felt around him, threatening to gather in his hands. The art of pain, of suffering, gathered continuously around him until he began to be addressed.

"Gehenna will come fer her. Tha' is the intent. I intend fer them ta suffer as they reach fer her. Nothin' mor'. Nothin' less. They planned to strike the mountain. We strike first."

His eyes then moved to Rindou as she approached her hand reaching to his shoulder. He squinted slightly at this uncharactistic behavior before his lips formed a line.

"Wha' would ya do ta her? You are not to kill her. She is my prisoner, an' her role of bait will be utilized. But, if you can provide me wit' good reason, I am mor' then willin' ta listen."

And finally, a tsk and shake his head.

"Age has no meanin'. S'long as one's ideal, one's will is strong, it matters not how much stands in their way. It matters not how much I age."
(Despair)
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[18:24] Caira has ears - But that's about all she has left. As she's struggling to push herself back up and channel the earth right back into Sors' chest - A powerful boot comes down onto her back and breaks her arm's strength. Slammed back down into the snow, she continues to fight but at this point it's no use.

No amount of struggling strength in that moment was going to save her from the overwhelming force of the Ultovex. And so- She lay- Unresponsive in terms of wholesale progress being made-

But struggling nonetheless.
(Caira Vindict)
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[18:24] A frown came to her features as the man demanded a good reason for her to be the one taking care of Caira. There were many. Oh, so many. Though none would really satisfy the man as much as this one.

"Because she never visited the shrine." She said, only to add more to it - to give exactly what Sors wanted to hear.

"Because she called me weak for losing to you, and broke what friendship we had over it."

She still hadn't looked at Caira one bit.

"If death is what you're worried about, don't be. I won't kill her."
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[18:29] The Ultovexian would stare down at Caira, then up to Rindou. His arms remained crossed on his chest, imagining it all. Moments pass as it played in his head, kindling to a fire. And finally, his foot raises.

"I care not fer the individual. So lemme make this clear."

"She is not ta die. She is ta b kept atop the mountain. She is not to b allowed to escape. If you accept those terms? I ain't real care who holds the remote. Her blade, on another hand, will remain with me."

The Masamune remained held tight in his clutches. His hand reached forwards, a claw settling atop the shoulder opposite to her gesture to him. He whispers something faintly. And then nods.
(Despair)
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[18:29] Despair whispers: Break her.
[18:30] Rindou Sakamoto whispers: For her blade, I will.
[18:31] Despair whispers: Do a good job? Sur'.
[18:33] Rindou gave a response of her own, making quick work of moving away from Despair's hand the moment it sat on her shoulder. It was back to the usual cold reactions from her. She shifted past the man and reached down for the ground, practically peeling her ex-friend off the snow, making quick work of binding her wrists together, and began dragging her away.

She had something in mind, that much was obvious.

.. By gods was this a special day.
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[18:36] Her fists tighten slightly as the ground below her and the Ultovex begins to rumble. From below the snow, a large marble pillar rises upwards with intent to either smash into his gut of his face - But at this point, it's predictable. The ground still responded to her calls.

.. In marble, pure fashion too. Though with the last of her mana being thrown right at him in a pitiful attempt to break his nose or upset his stomach, that all stops when Rindou approached and picked her up from the floor. Words are mouthed from the groggy, life-drained Caira.

It seemed that even in these trying times - As she lived the same life Rindou did oh so long ago.

She never lost that spark. Never gave in. The day where she called Rindou weak - Roared at the Envy sin for daring to even think about bending. It all comes full circle.

.. And she didn't regret a single second of it. As wrists are bound together and all of her magic is sapped in one fell swoop, it would appear as if Gehenna's Bulwark -

Wasn't leaving any time soon.
(Caira Vindict)
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[18:37] Caira Vindict whispers: How could you?
[18:39] Rindou's grasp grew rougher as she practically rubbed Caira's face against the sharp ice below, dragging her with little to no regards for her safety, happiness, or emotional state. By her hair, too.

A venomous reply was given to her words.
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[18:39] Rindou Sakamoto whispers: The same way you could, fake friend.
[18:48] Once Rindou pulled her prisonner far, far away from the rest of the world she stopped, sighing out right by the waters that span far and wide off towards the other unexplored spire isles. She turned around to face Caira and...

Fell to her knees. The expression on her face was one filled with turmoil, sadness, horror, fear, and years of hellish pain. She got on level with the Gehennan for one specific reason, too. Her arms reached out, pulling— forcing her into a holy-fueled hug that threatened the squeeze what little life she had left in her.

She held her close, held her warm. She gave Caira the very same thing Rindou knew that was needed after falling to Sors' horrible, horrible magics. She whispered to the other's ear, leaning all the way close. Tears could be heard in her words.

"I won't let you die. I promise."

When had Rindou Sakamoto ever thrown anything away? A bridge burning down was no match for her desire - her need for friendship, for Caira's friendship. She knew the girl to be immovable, but she hoped her unstoppable emotions would shake that light within her, that it would make her understand just why Rindou had tried so hard to be her warden.
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[18:59] The holy still sparks to this day. The shred of unrelenting kindness and righteousness still spiraled very slowly below the surface. When brought over to this cliff, Caira is left to cough and get her bearings back together. Her eyes are half-lidded as she looked back up. When Rindou fell to her knees and the expressions are filled with intense emotions left and right, it's almost as if..

.. Caira doesn't buy it. "Don't lie to me.." She speaks up now, as a massive hug is taken and Caira finds her bones creak just a little below the surface. ".. Please.. Promise me.. This isn't some.. trick.. I heard, Rindou.. Envy. Please.. Don't.. Take advantage of me."

And while that might not be something one should throw out right in the beginning - It was almost as if she was pleading with the emotional Rindou to get things together one last time.

.. The light inside of Caira spirals upwards once more as more golden force seems to blossom just barely.

".. Because I trust you. Up here, I've got no one else."
(Caira Vindict)
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[19:07] It was clear Sors had done a number on Caira. Her voice was getting weaker, her body needed that warmth more and more, and her despair was... overwhelming.

Yet here she was. The friend that had escaped from her grasp, the best friend that could have been more if fate had cast a different die. Rindou remained right there for Caira, holding onto her tightly and allowing her to feel that this... was real. There was no illusion, none whatsoever. There needed not to be, either.

The swordswoman needed no breaking from anyone on this mountain, she had already nearly given up on her own, leaving none to believe in, to trust but Envy herself. Rindou was not too sure where she heard those words, but they went as follows:

Sins feed sins.

The more love Rindou was offering Caira, the more she'd trust her. The closer she held her, the more she'd need her. This was no mistake; invoking this desire for what others had may have been the Sakamoto's goal subconsciously.

Who wanted to be the person with no allies or friends on this mountain, anyway?

As it stood, it seemed like Rindou was honest about her emotions. She really wanted Caira back. She really wanted her alive. She really wanted her help to fight against that man, one day.

"I hate it up here, it doesn't matter what you have or don't."

She still put herself terribly below Caira, even when the Gehennan was in that state.
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[19:20] There is trust because there is desperation. There has never been a moment in Caira's life where she was not toiling away at a hard fought after project. There had never been a time in her life in which she found herself below someone and relegated to begging. This isn't that time, nor would it ever be that time. Instead there isn't despair in Caira's heart. No.

That'd be too easy. There is lingering fear - And there is the determination to push past it once more. Push past it even harder than before. When she looks down to Rindou and stares back with golden eyes of the Xizoh - There is naught but furious, searing willpower below the surface.

And so as the valor slowly went back to resting and recharging, Caira leaned inwards and took Rindou in that hug with the same intensity. It wasn't enough to snap her back, but it was of the same intensity. It would seem that even after being life-drained, it's starting to come back to her little by little.

".. Look. We're going to win, okay?" Caira says, falling into that leader position almost immediately. She reaches over and takes the Sin by the shoulders. ".. I was angry when I heard what you became, but I thought about it. And.."

She frowns and sighs.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for neglecting you, and never thinking about you, and- I didn't realize it until I really needed to, until it was too stupidly late that the reason the world sucks right now is because I promised you everything..

.. And I gave you nothing."

And so Caira takes in a deep breath. ".. I'm not sad, I'm not hopeless. I'm not a product of his despair - Just the pain he dishes out. I'm Caira Vindict and I never bend my knee.

.. And I'm sorry. Again."
(Caira Vindict)
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[19:30] For someone to tell her they were sorry, that they were wrong, that she was right to be upset, sad, and demolished over time, that she had been mistreated— Caira admitting that she hadn't been good to her just felt... incredible. The deep, deep desires that came with Rindou's fall were being fed more, telling her that there was a reason she did it all, that she let her heart be tainted.

Reito and Caira had both said the same.

I'm sorry.

Yes. Yes... YES. Rindou couldn't help but tighten up the embrace as she completely, wholeheartedly approved of that message. Where her sins crawled up her back and spilled out in her most desperate moments, they energized and empowered her when she felt victory right within her grasp.

This was what she wanted to hear, and by gods did it feel good.

"It's not too late, Caira. You can still give me everything. We're together again, aren't we?

Nothing will get in the way of our friendship."

She sounded happy, incredibly so. Relieved, too. Warm, glad, grateful. There was an underlying storm of positive emotions but Rindou kept them hidden deep within her heart, allowing them to feed on the eternal desires she held.

"I want to take him down, too." She revealed, leading up to a more dreadful revelation. "He wants me to break you if I want the sword back."

She wasn't going to tell her about everything she had planned. About how she wanted to go and take the twin weapon for her own, or about how she'd go and challenge Caira when she received it - in an honorable, true battle to determine which of them was the strongest. A violent, one, too.

This wasn't needed anymore, no. Caira was right there.
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[19:39] The woman, involuntarily, gives Rindou more reason to let whatever desires were below fester. And though it isn't her intention to give the Sakamoto reason to flourish and spill out in all of her envious tide - It's her intention to be kind, and truthful, and forgiving.

.. So she could reach the zenith that was removing the head of Sors Ultovex. She takes in a deep breath and leans back now, breaking the embrace now as she hit the snow and closed her eyes. Collared and restrained, the Vindict is left to get her bearings together and take in slow breaths.

".. Don't say it like that.." She comments at first to the sweltering and all encompassing ideals that Rindou churned out almost immediately. ".. There's a lot more to rebuild, but-" Her eyes close and Caira coughs some, wiping blood off of her mouth in hopes to not look too ruined.

Injuries of the Occultic and void nature are more than noticeable in that moment, though.

".. Yeah. I should've said all of this ages ago. I don't know how we're going to work with.. The Sin.. But I'm willing to give it my all, alright? You don't have to envy me, anymore. I'm going to help you- Help me- Help us."

But upon hearing that Caira needed to be.. broken? Well. She stares back at the Sakamoto. ".. Do you intend on breaking me?"

Blunt as always. She had to know, after all.
(Caira Vindict)
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[19:46] Bit by bit, step by step. Those who had fallen out of Rindou's life were being pulled back, claimed again as friends and allies despite the horrible affliction most of the world hated her for. It made her smile to hear that Caira was going to help, that she would give everything she had in order to save the world.

Save them, too.

Rindou moved to lay down upon the snow right by the Gehennan's side, to rest in the same way they had rest oh-so-many times before. Of course when the subject came to desire to have Caira's life was made, the noblewoman spoke up, sounding... happy. Too cheery.

"I don't think that's possible. You're strong. You never give up. You don't stop trying, either. You've been a bad friend, but... I don't think that'll ever happen anymore. After that night at the hot springs I fear it's not possible for me to feel any other way towards you."

Rindou said, turning to face Caira soon after to answer her question with one of her own.

"Do you see any other way to get the sword back?" She asked at first, then followed with another question. "Do you think you can handle it? You'd need to have absolute trust in me. To believe, deep down, that I won't betray you. That I won't turn on you. That I'm doing whatever I'll do to you... for us.

For everyone else.

Can you trust me?"
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[19:55] A smile comes onto her face when Rindou admits an early defeat in the task of trying to break the Vindict. She was a woman who wouldn't go no matter what you threw at her. The only way to shatter her was death. The two of them knew that intently. She closes her eyes now and sighs just a little bit.

".. Yeah. I agree." She reaches over and gives the Sakamoto a pat on the shoulder. As the hot springs are mentioned, she seems to grin and nod her head. Even still.. Those long, long years when they were kids - That's all the Sakamoto felt? She takes in a deep breath and scoots a little closer to the Sakamoto and stares up at the sky above.

"I don't think I'm getting Masamune back unless I kill him. Or he gives it to someone we can take. Or he gives it to you." She frowns some and closes her eyes. She didn't want to think about losing Masamune. It was a hefty price to pay.

Caira turns to Rindou and stares.

"Handle -what?-"
(Caira Vindict)
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[20:08] Rindou responded well to the bit of affection that was given, leaning in closer, too. Breaking those barriers that had been put up between them through loss and absence and... going back to what it was, when it was perfect. That's what she wanted. A happy life. Friends. Something greater than everything else - though Caira being able to provide that was left up in the air.

"Being hurt. Being manipulated. Being humiliated. Being... torn apart. You won't be able to fake those emotions, and I won't be able to fake all of that torture if that's the plan we want to go with."

A pause came for a moment, then she spoke again, turning to Caira.

"Do you think you can handle to go through the absolute worst things I can think of, Caira?"
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[20:14] Caira shakes her head left and right. "Right onto business with you.." She frowns a bit and shakes her head side to side. ".. No. I don't think so. If you want the sword that badly, then fine - Do your worst. But I'm not going to offer myself up to be shred and put through the ringer to acquire Masamune once more. I think it's time..

.. If I manage to break away from here, to acquire the sister blade." She groans very lowly and turns over in the snow now, facing the north. ".. My head hurts.. I'm worried about those in Gehenna. I hope they don't break themselves trying to help me."

Laying on her side now, the woman exhales some and makes a very small bed out of some softened snow.

".. But I'm your prisoner. Can I really stop you?" Eyes close, she begins to hum a soft melody. The same tune that the used to play at the small coffee shop in the spa north of Gehenna.
(Caira Vindict)
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[20:22] I think it's time... If I manage to break away from here, to acquire the sister blade.
But I'm your prisoner. Can I really stop you?

It didn't take long for Caira to earn Rindou's deep seeded anger once more. Those desires, this envy, this want for something better all of herself wasn't sated due to people like Caira. People who would willingly give up a blade that made the world jealous and run for one that was meant to be their rival's own.

Unfair. Unjust. Plain wrong.

Caira grew too comfortable, leaning down on the snow and closing her eyes to hum a tune, one that could only call back to a certain place - a certain spot.

It was...

She had to be doing it on purpose. Those words, these thoughts? Maybe she knew someone could be watching. Maybe Sors himself was watching through her. This had to be her way— yes. Her way of making it obvious to only Rindou to proceed forth. To do what she had to do.

It. Had. To. Be.

Her right hand slowly, but surely reached out to Caira, settling upon her cheek, thumb grazing at its slightly fuzzy surface - bless her heritage - before her hand moved down to her neck.

"No..."

A flicker of red in her eyes.

"I don't think you can defend yourself. I can do whatever I want to you, and you're helpless."

Rindou Sakamoto was either the greatest genius on Agartha or plain, straight-up losing it.
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[20:31] Safety is important. One doesn't openly advertise to their warden they're okay with being tortured. Perhaps Caira is playing some game here, or perhaps she had gotten far too comfortable far too quickly. With eyes closed and her head resting, she's trying to get back some stamina and headspace that she lost fighting the Arcane chain master himself.

So often had she subscribed to Ren Shi's rendition of swordplay - But after losing to Sors, it had become another story entirely. The wielder makes the blade. Masamune could just as easily be used by a fiendish and evil swordsman here and they could write a tale with it.

.. That was a possibility - And so - Masamune had to be used by an equally great swordsman who wants to write the tale they wanted with it. When her right hand reached for Caira and a thumb brushed against her cheek, Caira's eyes go wide for a time as hostility can be seen in Rindou's eyes.

".. I didn't mean it like that, Rindou." Very quickly do eyes widen - and valor surrounds her almost defensively. A hand comes down onto the Vindict's neck.

".. I can't fight him without a blade. Is this your plan?" She's very wary with the brush to her cheek.
(Caira Vindict)
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[20:40] The holy might did little to push her away or even break her pace. It was a defensive display, that much was obvious, but with Rindou in full control of the situation there was nothing to fear. A simple click of a remote would be enough to make all of that resillience pointless. Her lips curved up into a smile, as if to re-assure Caira that everything was going to be fine. That it would all be alright.

"I've got many, many ideas in mind. I suggest you don't fight back, Caira." She said, letting that hand shift further down her neck before reaching the other's shoulder, fingertips grazing upon her skin before they struck dirty, messy clothes. With a gentle nudge of her bound wrists with her other hand, Rindou spoke up, her voice gentle and kind. That flicker must've just been something she... stole, or rather pretended to be for the purpose of that moment.

"The only way to get that blade back is for you to be in such a bad shape you almost won't be able to use it again."

Her fingertips tugged at the edge of Caira's shirt.

"Trust me."
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[21:16] With the display of the holy magic around her, it's clear she isn't fond of the way this was going. She wasn't dumb. Caira knew where Rindou sought to take this and earth starts to rumble below her. The spark of valor that otherwise would've made the distance between us is put down when the remote is clicked.

Caira couldn't win within her blade - Without any single blade to use. Her entire honor and pride were on the line as Rindou closed the distance. Resistance that would've otherwise flurried is no use. She can't win, can't run, and can't get away. Caira's eyes go wide with fury for a time as her eyes shift from side to side as Rindou brought the hand down her neck to her shoulder.

Sharp teeth show as Caira's distaste flares. ".. This remains your decision.. Not mine." Her eyes close as fingers tug at her shirt. Looking away, the prisoner knows -

There isn't fighting against Rindou here. To be broken. Valor forbids it. Caira forbade it.

It didn't stop Rindou.
(Caira Vindict)
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