asgardmeridiem | END OF ARC 1: DAY 169-170 DOWNTIME

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END OF ARC 1: DAY 169-170 DOWNTIME

[The first battle is over, but the second will begin any time. For two days, the enemy forces will remain on the other side of the battlefield, working on strategy and tending to their wounded. Both sides have taken heavy losses, and the Arena is full of the hurt and dying.

The battlefield itself has turned to a bloody, muddy mess. The elves will be asking the Army Engineers group and anyone else willing to help them lay timber and gravel out to make the ground easier to walk on for the next battle.

What will you do in your breathing space? Keep working, mourn your losses, or retreat from the horrors of war?]

[ooc note: This log takes place IC on Days 169-170/Nov 4-7. Please be sure you've read the plot post and the battle log's starting info thoroughly. Make absolutely sure that you include the day/rough time in the subject line of top-level comments, as well as if your thread is open or closed.

In addition to the battle log, there is a full-event log for those hiding out in Folkvang here. If you have any questions, please direct them to the mod post so everyone else can see them!]

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If there was a chance to contact Lilly at all, Hanako would like to fully stay here. It was something she told a few people, so it wasn't new. There was really nobody else she was that much emotionally attached, except maybe the people at the orphanage.

"It's true... if the enemy forces invaded the districts, quite a few buildings might go down." She frowned, looking down. "I'm mostly worried about our House and the Library."

"Oh - yeah, the Library! I hope it's alright..."

The look of worry on his face was almost comical - he loved that Library like a second home. Frankly, he COULD live there. His own room was a worry too, he wouldn't want it to get smashed up, but the Library was a much greater concern.

"I wonder if I can get anyone on the bracelet who might know if the Library is still OK.... Maybe later if we hear there's been a lull in the fighting. I'm sure there are people manning the Odin district. I hope the Hrafin tea room is OK too...."

Hanako would consider it her second home as well, if she wasn't concerned about all her belongings... the chessboard and Lilly's doll especially, which she didn't have the time to nab away before the sirens blared.

"I guess we could check it out once the battle is over..." She didn't think it was the case to bother people with that question, since everyone was busy surviving on their own.

"Yeah. Best to keep our priorities straight, right?"

He frowned, an uneasiness settling into his stomach. He hoped they were winning. But what if they weren't? What if this was actually the last time he and Hanako spoke? If Ragnarok - the end of days - was really around the corner, what then?

"....I'm happy we're talking again. Really. Now that this is all going on, especially."

"... Yes." She admitted to herself that all those times she avoided him or spoke poorly to him hurt more than anything else, and she was starting to feel heavily guilty for it. The fact this reunion was happening in such a dramatic circumstance was ironic. It was like fact brought them back together before the end came.

"Perhaps this is the last time we'll get to talk like this..."

"I was kind of thinking the same thing. I mean, eventually I'll have to go back to healing people and you'll go back to making barriers and we'll be seperated so, if... we lose..."

His brows knitted close together and he could hear his own heartbeat as it raced. His mouth felt dry. Could he do it? Restate his confession a second time? Was it even fair to do so now that everything might be ending? Was it fair NOT to?

"Do... you remember." he managed to say. "Um. The other night, I told you one other thing. Before helping you get home. I wanted to know if you remembered."

"If I remember...?" Hanako couldn't pretend she didn't know what he was talking about. Is he... is he bringing up the confession? What they told ton each other, half of which was still hazy in her head thanks to the alcohol?

...

There was hesitation, her gaze wandering aside, conflicted. Then, a little, vague nod.

"I see."

....and where had he been going with that? His throat felt constricted and he tried to breathe evenly. The last thing he wanted to do was have a heart problem here. Why had this been easier when she was drunk? Would this be easier if he was drunk? Probably.

"Well... then... Do you still feel the same way?"

"..."

This was making her uneasy very quickly, not to mention he sounded like he would feeling sick. But... diverting the attention from their talk to his conditions would be seriously unfair. Especially now, such an important matter that they... should definitely clear out, before they had no longer a chance to.

Hanako had been mulling over and over about what she told him... she did remember she definitely said those three words to him. They were fed with alcohol, frustration, anger, strong emotions in general, but it wasn't only that. There was a hint of genuine sentiment, and that made her think, focus on it when her head cleared.

Hisao had become just as important as Lilly during the four months they had been here. They spent basically most of the time together, having breakfast together, going to the library together, taking walks in the park together, taking care of Nashi together, having dinner together. They did many things together, she lost the count.

Excluding the past month where they barely ever talked with each other... surprisingly enough, this period apart from him helped her come to terms with her feelings. She missed him, in the end. She drank, and yelled, and nearly beat him up because she missed him above all her other problems- and she couldn't take it anymore. The separation was slowly tearing her apart. She had control of her emotions when she opened her heart out to him, even for a few seconds, but that was it. Hanako loved him.

But... from reaching that conclusion, to actually tell him that yes, she felt that way, and she wanted to be with him as more than friends-- that was another big leap. She was afraid that she misunderstood his words back there. Maybe he was rejecting her. Who... who the hell knows. Even so, Hisao wouldn't be so cruel to confirm that fact by asking that question. Should she take the risk? Would she handle the hurt in case of a rejection? Would this be... the right time?

...

A loud voice in her head is shouting at her to screw it. Screw it all. They were all going to either die or return to their homes anyway. There wasn't going to be another chance like this anymore.

...

She nodded.

She nodded.

His heartrate soared and he closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths. He wasn't going to let this end the same way it had with Iwanoko. He'd come too far for that. All the stress of being in a war coupled with a lack of sleep and a lot of physical exertion - all these factors were conspiring against him. But he wouldn't let them win. The girl he loved just told him without words what he'd been yearning to know for so long now. And she was lucid, not drunk. She owed him nothing and had no reason to lie to him. The world was being brought down around their ears by Gods and Giants and the armies of men and elves, but knowing that she loved him... well. It was a bight spot in an otherwise bleak horizon and he was going to hold onto that no matter what his physical heart decided to do.

"....I love you, Hanako Ikezawa."

He opened his eyes and took a step forward. He was still pale and his breathing was a little labored, but the look of determination on his face was unmistakeable.

"I wish I was brave enough to tell you so before the world went crazy, and I wish I'd been the man you needed me to be before so we didn't have to spend the last month apart."

...

It wasn't a shocker, not as much as she might have seen coming. Her fear, though, overruled the certainty that Hisao felt that kind of love towards her. The fear of rejection, the fear that after this they would have been separated forever. It would come off as irrational after this, but... the the revelation brightens her heart even stronger, thanks to that.

"Hisao..." Hanako was speechless. As he walked towards her, so pale and rigid, her senses came back, and her hands reached a little forward to support him in case he was going to collapse right there.

"Hanako..."

He closed his eyes again, forcing himself to slow his breathing, as much as his lungs were trying to hyperventillate. In through the nose, out through the mouth. He felt her reach for him, her hands supporting him more than she could know.

"I'm OK... I'll be fine. Sorry. This isn't.... I sometimes wondered, if I ever got the courage to confess, how I'd do it. I always pictured a picnic or a romantic dinner or a moonlit walk beside the lake. And in my mind's eye, I always had a gift of some kind. Roses or some jewelry. Not... well. Not the middle of a warzone in a field hospital, empty handed except for a cup of black tea."

"Hisao-"

She was growing worried. Even with such development, seeing him so pale and stumbling was no good development. The least thing she wanted was him collapse in the middle of... this.

"Don't worry about it, you need to sit down." She held him in support, face flushed, almost dropping that cup of tea before she noticed she had one still in hand.

"OK.. OK.. I'll sit."

And he did, forcing his legs forward to the wall, he leaned against it and slid downward, coming to sit carefully.

"Yeah. That's better. Phew... Sorry, Hanako. It's been a long couple of days. That's all. Still... as tired as I feel, I'm really happy."

Hanako lowered herself when he did, sitting next to him, close enough so she could intervene if he felt worse.

"After this, we should both have a rest." She murmured. At the mention that he was happy, she tried to smile. It came out a little weary, because they were both tired. "Me too..."

He turned and smiled back at her. Yeah, it was a weary smile, but it was big and genuine. He'd meant it - he felt happier now than he had in a long time.

He reached into the pocket of his apron and took out a small paper packet of pills. His evening dose. Opening it up he crunched them down dry, pulling a small face.

"Now, we just have to hold on until things go our way out there."

"How long are we going to hold on, though?"

Hanako bent her legs together, and placed her hands on her knees. They were going to go on talking as if the confession didn't happen. No fireworks, no big hugs and celebrations. Just sitting there, waiting for the nightmare to be over. In a way, Hanako preferred it to be this way. It suited her inclinations.

"As long as we can. There are great fighters out there doing everything they can. They need our support and help and we'll give of ourselves just as much as they do."

Because they had to win. Especially now. It was selfish of him, he knew, but now that he knew where they stood he was more determined now than ever to do the best job he could and heal people as completely as he was able. They had to push through and finish this. And maybe it wasn't the night of their confession, but he still wanted to do all those things with her - picnics and moonlit walks and fancy, sweet dinners. He wanted that for the two of them so bad, he wasn't going to allow this war to deny them those moments.

"Everything will be fine. We're going to win."

... There was nothing Hanako couldn't agree with here, nodding. They were currently surviving a dire situation that looked hopeless, the more people were taken here, either alive and injuried or already dead. But losing hope would mean they'd let the enemy win. They would certainly die, and then what next? There would be nothing. The confession would mean nothing in the end.

She... couldn't let this happen.

"When you feel better, we're going to resume working." Until even the last injuried human was cured, even if it meant they would take weeks to meet each other againn and... be an actual couple.

"We will. As soon as my legs work - sorry. When I get like that they tend to get pins and needles and they don't want to be useful for a few minutes. Maybe five or ten minutes longer tops."

At least his breathing had slowed to a normal rate and his color was returning to his cheeks. His chest still felt just a little tight but not painfull. Thank goodness for small blessings.

"Hey, where's Nashi? She's OK, right?"

"Then you're not going to stand up until the pain passes, alright?" With the pills, it should be alright, but Hanako was all the more concerned after she heard what she heard from him.

"She's in a safe shelter along with children and people who can't fight." Upon hearing there was actually a shelter, Hanako sent her dog there- and of course they didn't refuse taking her in. "They guaranteed me she'll be fed and taken care of while we're here."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Hisao replied with a small, dry smile. He couldn't get up and run around right now if he wanted to.

"I'm glad to know she's alright. I worry. I've missed her."

"We're going back and pick her up when this is over." She promised, briefly reaching out to pat his arm. It was brief, but such initiative from her was a big leap for the both of them, probably.

"That will be nice. Having us all back together. I--"

Oh. Wow - she'd patted his arm. Without any kind of prompting or curse or alchohol. He was speechless for a moment.

"....I'm looking forward to having our little group all together again."

"Me too." She agreed briefly, retracting her hand, and falling into a quiet silence, just sitting there with the person who was supposed to be her boyfriend from this moment on.

END OF ARC 1: DAY 169-170 DOWNTIME

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*FATE brought them together, I mean... typoooo

It is OK I figured that was what you meant

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