Welcome to CERES' new dating experience -- ABOMIDate (Catchy, huh?). They've found that they're a little concerned with everyone's ability to... connect with denizens of different species, and in a place like Cerealia that is full of aliens, that's a Big Problem! After all, it's pretty clear by now that there are a lot of things about your friendly neighborhood aliens that you just know nothing about. What else do you not know? That the greeting of a Faswwg is face licking? That feathered species require mating dances to woo? That [REDACTED] needs [REDACTED] to [REDACTED]? So clearly, the way to fix this problem is...to practice dating other species!
Namely eldritch abominations! In CERES' experience, eldritch abominations really sum up the full interspecies dating way of life and provide you a variety of different species (and orifices) to enjoy.
So it's time to put on some proper music -- no, not that, that's not right. There, that's better. Anyway, time to put on some sexy background music, and woo the monster of your dreams!
 [ horrifying noises of nightmares and despair ]
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PHASE I [ 8 00 ] Welcome to the new and improved Abominable Dating, CERES’ brand new virtual dating experience! The first thing you will see will be a character select screen, because CERES wants you to get to the dating part right away. Don’t worry, there are a lot of beautiful and handsome candidates to choose from so feel free to jump right in! There’s this fellow, or this dashing lass and even a hidden character who is... not really all that hidden if they’re right there to be picked, but there you go!
You have to pick one. There’s no other option, I’m afraid.
And once you do, you’ll end up in a room with your date, dressed up in beautiful, date-like clothing. Unfortunately, everyone else who picked that date will also be in the room with you, also dressed up and prepared for dating.
This is awkward.
It gets even more awkward when your date decides that you look like a great main course. Watch out for those claws/teeth/limbs/etc! Maybe you can work together to take down your starving date, sad as that sounds.
PHASE II [ 1000 ] No dating game would be complete without stat boosting sessions. Regardless of how you feel about your current date, you’re locked into the game now (and hopefully not while covered in the blood of your date themselves, though they just come back even if you managed to kill them), and the game is picking a stat it thinks you need to work on. Either your intelligence is deplorable, your charisma is totally lacking, or your strength is at noodly-arm levels. That’s pretty bad. (It doesn’t matter what your actual intelligence, charisma or strength are, the game might be making things up at this point.)
Because of this, you’re going to be automatically tossed into a mini-game to increase those stats! This will be fun, absolutely. Nothing but Fun here in ViViD. So regardless of what the game thinks you’re lacking, it’s going to throw you into the same mini-game -- eldritch abomination make-over sessions.
You'll show up at a row of dressing rooms, each marked with a sign above the door reading NO INTELLIGENCE or NO STRENGTH or NO CHARISMA in bright red letters. Choosing the right one (embrace your shame) will reveal your initial date to you. They bat their eyelashes in greeting and growl out a very sultry, Will you help me, senpai?
Time to get to work!
You won’t be able to leave the mini-game until the monster is completely satisfied with its makeover, so it’s time to really tap in to your inner fashion sense. Of course, the fact that you’re all trying to apply makeup to the same monster might make this hard, but you can surely all get along, right?
Right?
PHASE III [ 1800 ] At first, you were on a date. Finally, you, your monster, candelight. Everything was going right until... well, you made a bad dialogue choice. They asked you what your favorite food was, you accidentally picked "Italian" (or maybe picked it on purpose which makes this even worse!) and then things went dark.
When you wake up, you'll find yourself in a cage. The room is dark and dank and there's no light other from the crack of a door somewhere up a flight of stairs. You're in a cage in a basement and there's a key glinting on the table right across the room there. Is it for your cage?
Welcome to the Yandere Route.
You might not actually be alone though. The cage isn't terribly big but there's enough room for someone else and if you shift around a little, you'll bump into them. Maybe you should share some woes of the eldritch horror dating experience. Maybe you should try and find a way out! Who knows? But there's one thing for sure:
You're both extremely naked.
Good luck!
PHASE IV [ 1830 ] You did it. You’ve gotten to the end of the game, or nearly. You’ve earned up enough affection points somehow. Maybe it was through the eldritch abomination following you around to trying to eat you or maybe it really, really, really liked your makeover. Maybe there was that thing and the cage and some weird pictures it took -- who knows! But now it’s time for the inevitable scene.
The confession scene.
Except... well, ViViD can’t do confession scenes very well. You'll find yourself there in the schoolyard, dressed in the appropriate school uniforms but...
For one thing, there’s a heavy shower of rose petals. A heavy shower. They’re everywhere. They might get in your mouth and face, they’re pooling around your knees, it's a rose petal flood and you're about to drown!
For another, the eldritch abomination you chose to romance is getting closer and... closer. And closer. And that sure is a lot of teeth, huh? Is it coming in for a kiss or to eat off your face? It’s... really hard to tell with all the rose petals, isn’t it?
To make matters even worse, you can’t move -- you’re locked into the scene until it comes to its proper conclusion. The game is stuck and you're here, suffering through it all. Well, you're suffering unless someone comes and rescues you, but who in the world would interrupt a touching scene like this to do that?!
BONUS [ why o'clock ] You know you have to get dressed up nicely for your date. It's an important one! Third date means third base, after all. So, you’re shoved into a closet, and surrounded by tons and tons of choices to pick from. You're spoiled for choice!
But, well... no matter what you put on, or even if you just elect to stay in your regular clothing, it changes as soon as you step out of the closet to meet your date.
Don’t worry, you look adorable.
It can’t be taken off, of course. So you’d better get comfy, because you’re going to be a pink dinosaur for your third date and... your fourth date. And your fifth. Hell, you might still be a pink dinosaur when it comes time to confess! How... cute.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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There was a monster with them. If that wasn't cause for alarm, there was the fact that they were being toyed with-- that much was clear even to him.
No swords, not that he could see. And ...Vivid? The name makes him shake his head, and he turns back to the spider beast. It was still just staring, sizing them up apparently, but-] If it charges, then get behind me. I don't want to attack first.
[Was he new? To what, the afterlife, this particular circle of hell?] What is Vivid?
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Yuri doesn't even really need her powers here to sense he might be suspicious of her-- mostly because she's aware that her calm in this situation would seem off-putting to anyone.]
Do you know what 'Virtual Reality' is? Essentially, our bodies are asleep somewhere safe, but our minds are here-- it's a game. That's all. [She shrugs, though honestly even if it wasn't a game she... probably wouldn't care much more or less, one way or another. She's still struggling on where she stands on the life vs. death thing.] Or, it's supposed to be a game, but the people in charge here aren't very... [HOW DOES SHE PUT THIS POLITELY...] Competent. So we might be stuck here for a bit until we can log out. And they put things like that [here she gestures towards the creature] in a game genre like this.
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Her explanation of ViViD only makes things worse, which is actually quite a feat. Congratulations. It makes things worse because now the ninja was frowning, his brows furrowing with memories which he can't decide are recent because they only formed a day ago or if they're old and now gathering dust because of how much had happened since.] Then no, this isn't all that new. [As for their bodies being safe... well, what the hell did that matter? Neji sure felt like he was in control of the one he'd been loaned here. And it wasn't pierced through and bleeding and cold-- and she'd been right. It didn't wear the shinobi uniform or flak jacket or weapon's cache and he'd been reduced to light slacks and a starch white dress shirt. Stupid thing was constricting. Neji was about to force out another entirely too-straightforward question to his companion when it seems like her gesture to the spider only served to piss it off.
It opened its mouth- rows of teeth like a shark- and bounded forward like some kind of eager dog, the human body flailing off-tempo along with it.
Forgive Neji for not falling in love with the image. In a blink, he's dropped to a practiced stance. In another instance-- he's about to bite out a remark, but stops. His right hand draws up to his chest, palm forward and raised, his left drawn back. Then he steadies himself and hopes the girl was moving behind him, because he thrusts the palm forward and something hits the monster and sends it rolling back. The infuriating part being that Neji couldn't see how much chakra had hit or had only served to deter the thing, could only go by sensation alone. To Yuri-] How do we get out?
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Remembering his words, she quickly backs away behind him, fingers twitching in a desire to help, to do something, anything, but what--
Well it clearly wasn't necessary, and it's now that Yuri places why he looks so familiar. While she may not have seen that particular move, she's definitely seen his face, heard his voice, and seen some of his fighting, thanks to some impromptu trips through Lee's memories.
The monster seems dazed for now and Yuri's eyes narrow, glancing about.] The game should move on on its own. From here we'll probably end up somewhere else, and so on until we reach the end. But, it shouldn't be too hard, just... annoying.
[Yuri hesitates a moment, before deciding to just barrel on ahead with what she knows] You're Hyuga Neji-san, right? I know you-- Not personally, obviously, but... I know Lee-san. He's a close friend of mine. [She stumbles slightly over the word 'friend' like it's a word she's not used to actually, you know, using.] That move was...something with chakra, right? Lee-san tried to explain it to me a little, but where I'm from things like that don't exist.
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And it was a rookie mistake to show attachment in the line of vision of a stranger, but to hell with shinobi rules.] You're wrong, he can't be here. [And the thing about Neji is, the boy carried himself like he had all the certainty in the world that what he did and said was, in fact, correct. That wasn't the case now.] We don't exist in the same place anymore. [His words are, maybe, laced with alarm.] Put simply, either he can't be real or I can't, and I certainly feel like I am. Our fates were different from the beginning, he can't--
[Being dead is new to him. You understand. There's a pause. He'd said either enough or too much, but the girl had mentioned souls and safe bodies. And it was infuriating not to even know what to say next, because whatever this place was, it was wrong on a level above dating monsters and] I refuse to believe it. [Killjoy.]
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It's strange, because she knows him, but at the same time she doesn't. Telling into Lee's memories meant tapping into his feelings as well--she'd felt what he felt, and the phantom impressions of those feelings still linger in her psyche now that she faces him. And she knows on some strange, instinctive level (but not her instincts) that Neji is behaving strangely. Like he's breaking some kind of rule that she didn't know (that Lee didn't bother with), in regards to shaking attachments and emotions and things like that.]
I think I know that it's Lee, unless it's some imposter. [The honorifics drop now, because honestly she'd told Lee to do away with them awhile ago anyhow, when their relationship had developed beyond a need for cursory politeness and she didn't feel the need to keep up appearances right now] Black hair in a bowl cut, fond of green and spandex. [Dryly she adds:] The eyebrows...
[Yuri's quiet a moment, analyzing, and her brows furrow somewhat] Do you think you're dead?
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She goes on to describe Lee- and who else could it be, different dimension or not- and he bites back the urge to demand she proves it's him, that she really knows him. But five minutes with Rock Lee told everyone all they needed to know about the guy. Not literally, but Neji ultimately couldn't find a reason to voice his request. Not if the girl's pushing forward, had said everything convinced she was in the right. It wasn't her fault he was being such an ass, so Neji resolves to quit it with complicating matters. His shoulders square, expectant.] I know that I died. [Which was a different answer, still said matter-of-factly. Was he dead? How in the world should he know? All he knew was that he'd been dying, and then... How does someone describe what followed, anyway? And then the plea.] You're saying people don't have to have died to be here? It's only the souls that were taken?
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Okay granted she never signed up for any of this ever and wouldn't have if she'd had the choice, but still. She eyes the monster, trying to figure how much time she has and how many corners she can cut.]
Let's see... Our worlds were destroyed, first off. [JUST. GETTING THAT OUT OF THE WAY.] Supposedly, anyhow. According to the people in CERES, they rescued us and were able to save us-- or most of us. They have the data on everyone in our worlds, but it takes time to salvage it all, I suppose.
[She realizes this is going to get into territory she doesn't know how to explain, so she presses on] Either way, they can bring us back to life fairly easily. Your body is currently residing in the city--the real city, in the real world, that they've brought us to. But for some reason when new people arrive or they're testing if they brought you back to life correctly, they put your mind in ViViD-- a place like this.
...I'm aware that it probably doesn't make a lot of sense. Sorry, they have an official presentation that explains things better, but... [She trails off with a shrug. Okay it doesn't really explain things too much better than Yuri's attempt but s t i l l]
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The world was destroyed.
So she had been lying after all, but just how far that lie stretched Neji again couldn't be sure. Not to mention the fact that Sere-is meant a whole lot of nothing to him, as did 'data' and 'real city'. Real world? He'd already said he'd left that behind. The jolt of helplessness at the truth that someone else, some They, had control over his soul only made Neji look harder at the messenger.
Then he turns back to the monster. It was yawning. And infinitely more real.] I don't feel like playing games. Do you know a way out?
[Of the room they're in. She'd said the game was supposed to move ahead on its own. Neji now just pegged her for failing to search hard enough.]
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Sometimes it was just easier to accept and move on from there than to keep fighting the inevitable.]
I don't have the ability to manipulate this place. [She's no hacker, after all, and again her powers don't work like that here. She bites her lower lip a moment, looking around. There had to be something, an opening...? She tries to bring up the menu in her head, but nothing seems to be working as the monster picks itself up and prepares to attack again.
Not that it gets far as the world around them changes, and Yuri finds herself seated with Neji in front of the row of dressing rooms.]
...Ah? [She looks around warily] Well, we're out of the first part, at least...?
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And then in another blink of the eye, it seems there was good reason for it. Neji stands and crosses his arms over his chest. Takes in the new scene. Learns there are others milling around, some as confused and others as complacent. Hm.] Perhaps if we do nothing at all, whoever's playing this new game will get bored with us and let us go.
...What's your name?
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[Which would be easier all around. She studies the signs-- no charisma, no intelligence, no strength? She supposes they have to pick one and is in the process of trying to figure out the angle and which would lead to the easiest--or at least, least embarrassing--scene, when his question registers.
Yuri stands, brushing herself off a little, and bows politely.] Kozukata Yuri. Pleased to meet you, Hyuga-san. I've been in the city for a few months now. [Which she hopes provides some more explanation of why she's so 'same old, same old' about this situation right now.
It didn't help that she was still kind of 'whatever' and on the fence about the idea of dying, so this sort of world, where a death only meant losing a 'life' and/or waking up outside of the game, death was even cheaper to her. She had, after all, never been really afraid of dying.]
You're a ninja like Lee, right? We don't have those anymore in my world. [She trails off a little, the 'so I find it all a little fascinating/interesting' going unsaid, but present in her tone.] But it's very impressive, like what you did to the monster.
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but he's not obligated to, and besides she already knew his name and supposedly knew him. A small nod would have to suffice.] It's an honor to meet one of Lee's friends. [Sometimes... but white lies were easy for them both and it's not like he was going to say meeting her was pleasant. And the conversation was moving into becoming an actual conversation, and Neji would lie if he said he didn't feel pulled towards the subject. He tilts his head to one side, defenses lowering and looking pointedly more boyish.] He is a teammate of mine. [Was? --no, 'is' is still accurate.] While I'm certain Lee's told you of his unique situation [-because he's not going to let slip a weakness-], the same doesn't hold true for me. As far as team assignments go, as genin we are grouped in ways that ultimately balance out our talents.
You mentioned earlier that chakra doesn't exist in your world. [See? He does listen.] Chakra isn't something that only resides in shinobi. It could just be your world doesn't have the means to see it. [What a sorry day it'd be if shinobi forgot how to mold their energy. If they died out, even if the world around them continued. The thought has him forging distance again. He glances at some poor suckers going into a room to try their luck at this new game.]
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I'm aware of Lee's situation, yes. He explained it to me when we were discussing chakra. [Yuri's a little impressed despite herself to learn he was paying attention--but then, she supposes it shouldn't. From the memories she'd seen, he has pretty... what's the word she wants to use here? A professional, as ninjas went? After meeting Lee and Naruto, Yuri's pretty sure Neji is the most ninja-like of them all.]
Sometimes-- [Yuri starts, hesitates, and then mentally curses herself for starting the sentence at all. The level of trust Lee had for Neji was another phantom feeling-- she didn't actually know that well, but the idea of just letting something personal slip had seemed natural up until the point of actually doing it.
It's not Neji's fault, but Yuri's expression still grows rather drawn and sullen, and she frowns at him as she studies him.
...It doesn't hurt to tell, she supposes. After all, she was planning on giving her services out freely and that would involve having to talk about it anyhow. She looks away, makes her decision, sighs, and then looks back again.]
Sorry. I'm not used to talking about it too much. It's considered 'abnormal' where I'm from, but seeing things other people can't--charka, for example... Abilities like that still exist, sometimes. I can track and locate things easily if I have something connected to the person or thing lost. The trail... I don't know if it's chakra. I'm not sure how to explain it...
[She shrugs helplessly. Though she hadn't asked, she didn't think Lee would be able to help with it; she didn't know if he'd be able to see what she saw when she used her power.] But I suppose it might be similar. Or, at least, it's the closest I might get to understanding it.
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He brings his hands up behind his neck to coax back strands of hair, and readjusts the tie so that it rests properly low on the tail.
He wouldn't push for her to continue, no matter how many more questions were taking form in his head. Turns out even that courtesy wouldn't be needed, because something had made Yuri volunteer the words anyway. He hums at her apology. It's nothing grave.
He'd made a poor show of being Lee's comrade, hadn't he?] It's not as if I've made telling me these things easy. [And really, if someone wanted innate gentleness they'd have to seek out his lady Hinata. Her image is buried as soon as it's brought up. It was Kozukata Yuri Neji was attentive to now, curious.] Superior sight isn't given to just anyone in my world, either. There are measures in place to ensure certain secrets are well protected, and the abilities stay with the people who will best use them. [And then there were the Uchiha. But anyway.]
Chakra is something very basic. Because of that, it's difficult to put into words. I suppose you could call it a life force. [But they were talking of it because he still had it, so, no that couldn't be all that it was.] We'll just have to imagine what you can see and what I can feel are similar.
At least until we can test it.
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[Yuri shrugs lightly.] ...It's not like that anymore.
[ANYWAY... She stands a little straight, curious and interested] Can we test it? It should still work in this place. If you hide something around the room and give me something connected to it, I should be able to use it and find it.
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Neji even begins to feel bad as he shakes his head. At least he doesn't frown, and tries to keep his voice from becoming a sort of reprimand.] I didn't mean right now. [Because fighting and dying in a war was exhausting enough, and on top of that he'd already had to fight off a monster. He was preparing himself to fight more. The last thing on his mind was to use the rest of his chakra for something so... inconsequential.]
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Another time then. We should figure out what this next game is supposed to be. Or just wait until it changes again.
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Like, for example, when he didn't bristle and only looked expectantly back at Yuri at her first suggestion. Hadn't he already said he had no interest in playing...?
And Lee would have to forgive him, but it seemed being entirely amiable around her was going to be a more-than-difficult task.] No, Yuri-san. [And truly, he wasn't one to bother with honorifics save for the precious few that were his duty, but again. It was for Lee's sake.] I'm not here to be played with. And if doing nothing will only put us into another game, then I'd rather not do that either. [He'd fought hard to make his life his own. Whether he had succeeded was up in the air.
But like hell he'd slump his shoulders and call it a lost cause if he was being given the opportunity to fight the Inevitable again.] I'm going to find a way out of here. A real way out. Follow me if you want. I can tell you don't want to be here any more than I do.
[someone tell this jackass he'd taking a dating sim way too seriously jfc]
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This isn't... It's not like any of this matters. It's a game-- People log in to play games. We just happened to get stuck in this game for a little bit. [She's not sure what his problem is with this, but she can't help but feel bewildered-- like she missed some important conversation cue or something and is now floundering along with half the explanation she needs.
But she tilts her head, considering.] Ah... I probably seem very callous or something, don't I? Because I don't really care. [About the situation or the apparent inevitable-ness of it all. At least she's honest on that point.] It's just a game; once we get out of here, we can go about our lives like normal, so being stuck here right now is just a minor annoyance. [She crosses her arms over her chest and shifts her weight as well, looking towards the curtains and the people trying to fulfill the ridiculous requirements of the game. She figures he'll learn, once he's been here a while, and not take it so seriously, but for now she understands, a little.
Yuri isn't fond of looking like an idiot though, so she looks back at him, expression openly curious at just what he expects he's going to do here. She won't play the game if it'll mean being humiliated.]
I'll follow you. Lee trusts you, so I will too.
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Whether it mattered in the end or not. It's the principle of the thing, to not jump every time someone above them told them to, not if that someone wasn't working for the good of his village and his world.] Other people might not mind this and I don't care if they don't. But I don't remember being asked if I wanted to take part in this. [Because consent is a hell of a drug. And Neji thinks, fleetingly, that he's thinking entirely too much of 'hell'. Should stop that. He'd wish Yuri would stop looking at him as if he'd sprouted two heads all of a sudden, too. But Yuri was right on one count: sometimes what they had no control over was after all just a minor annoyance. So he ignores her. Stares at the bold red signs. No Intelligence. No Strength. No Charisma. Option D, then: All of the above. It they were supposed to find the one that best fit the pair.
A monster calls shrilly from the other side of some curtain. He takes the cue to begin to walk away. To where...? It's not the first time Neji had no clue of what he was supposed to do next, but that's never stopped him before.] How did you first meet Lee?
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The question makes her go quiet a moment, thinking. It feels like forever ago, but she remembers with a soft 'ha' of amusement.]
When I arrived, we were all stuck in a different game. I was dropped on a roof and couldn't figure out how to get own, but he helped me. He jumped from the ground right to the rooftop, and I was so surprised I almost fell-- When I asked him how he did that, he just said, 'I am a ninja, and I am here to save you.' [Yuri makes another soft, amused noise the corner of her mouth tilting up in a smile despite herself.] He hasn't really left me alone since. Our personalities couldn't be more different, but it doesn't seem to scare him away...
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He thinks he would have preferred to find himself stuck on top of a roof too.] Hm. [--that's amusement, by the way. Not at Lee, but directed towards Yuri.] That's because Lee's fearless. [A good trait for a ninja? Who knew, but definitely a flattering one for the freak. Neji refused to let fondness bleed into his words, though he does seem to move around more easily.
There were the clothes-things people would sometimes dart out of the curtains to go fetch, and Neji thought following someone into an extra room stocked with costumes and make-up and All Things Dress Up was the next logical step so he goes ahead and does just that.] He's absolutely overwhelming. [Not 'overwhelmingly ______'. No. Just 'overwhelming'.] It'll take more than just differences in personalities to deter him, if that's what you want.
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It takes a few moments for what he means to register with her, as she's browsing some of the clothes on the rack with a dry amusement (did anyone think these clothes would help the monsters any...??) When it does hit her, her head whips around to look at him, mouth turned down in a puzzled frown.] What? No. I don't want to get rid of him.
[Her tone is mildly baffled, but she does realize that it might be a legit concern for some-- Yuri herself doesn't have much room to talk there, since in the beginning all she wanted was for him to leave her alone (though, to be fair, she had wanted everyone to leave her alone). So she shakes her head and continues] I like Lee. He's kind, and considerate-- and a little too quick to praise me, but I don't have any problems with him.
...People can be cruel to him, can't they. [Her tone is disapproving, and it's not quite a question. She knows human nature, she who can see into peoples' hearts, and she knows between his looks and her lac of ability to mold chakra he's of course been the target of bullying. People, as a whole, don't particularly like things that go against the grain. Yuri sighs, mildly frustrated-- not at Neji, but the fact that if people were being mean to Lee back in his world, there's hardly anything she could do about it now.]
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He couldn't use any of this. He's walking away to dig through some garish costumes that are obscuring (lo and behold) an entirely blank wall. Half-expecting the shout of 'Dynamic Entry' and for the wall to suddenly sport a decent-sized hole in it, he stands still for a moment. Then he places his palm flat against it, shoulders tensing... and sighs, letting his hand drop again before stepping back to face Yuri with a quirked brow.] It's obvious. [It's out before he can help himself, and then Neji allows himself to think he'd said nothing wrong anyway so why worry about timing.
But why bring the case up at all, is what's got him staring at her again.] You have to admit he doesn't make it difficult. [No longer a surprised little outburst. He'd admit the boy was an idiot to anyone willing to listen, too. He'd admit the same of his sensei. Facts were just that. So he waits and just watches.]
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