Complete Private Acrimony

[Little Doggo]

"EEEEEEEH?!" Her focus split between Yuhan and the game itself as she did her very best to survive by the skin of her teeth. Vulpes's butt explosion propelled him with no issues across the air, coming in clutch when she had to get onto a ledge after being thrown time and time again out of the boundaries of their battleground.

"W-well I played it with a friend on his TextBox360. The controllers are totally different." She jumped over to excuses, not even good ones but she had more to worry about than that when all she had was one stock left and Yuhan took the lead with two of her own. "And even without knowing them I'm beating you!"

She made full usage of these little openings, oblivious that her sister granted them in the first place, she could almost taste victory if only she tried a little harder. Legs crossed, back bent forth and her controller against her lap. A winner's posture. With each hit Vulpes got on the plumber, her lips twisted into a wide smile, until even that stopped as she focused entirely on her inputs, however clumsy. But Yuhan was slipping, or she was getting better.

"Little Doggo, what do you think of Kyra?"
"She's ni...Ce." The button smashing stopped as hindsight filled her with stress, turning her head over to face Yuhan in that very instant, only to notice how hard her sister's gaze was upon her. Eventually she dropped the controller on the couch. The silence hurt. And it was only getting worse from there on.

"W...Why?" Her lips quivered with that question. She held her breath in, the suspense alone pummeled her to the ground with it's weight. Bao sniffed twice, a bad omen knowing what comes after. Why.

Why did she have to go as far as to play with her just to do this, now when she had forgotten all about Terrasphere..?

Bao wouldn't wait anylonger, not when a glimpse of her tears started to show up on glittering eyes, and instead she got out of the couch, aiming to run all the way across the kitchen towards the hallway, hoping to lock herself inside her bedroom, the only safe haven remaining in this house.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

The confirmation shocked Yuhan far more than she expected, making the girl freeze as she looked at her little sister's expressions shifting in a very... Horrified manner. Yuhan couldn't help but be stunned at the actual reveal, looking at Bao with her breath unable to escape, and with the tears forming in her eyes that were what actually snapped Yuhan out of her shock.

"Bao-" Yuhan called, albeit too weakly as she rose her hand in a half-attempt to reach her.

It took a moment for Yuhan to process what had just happened... Bao's response, Bao's face, the naturality the first half of a second of her words. How much did Bao know? Was she aware... She was Ruby? If so, and honestly regardless if she was or not, that also meant...

Oversleeping was a lie, that face wasn't of someone that was sleepy. That wasn't the face of someone groggy. No, that was the face of someone dejected. Of a young girl that obviously couldn't take the harshness of a stranger.

Or worse yet... If Bao knew Ruby wasn't that much of a stranger...

... What I have done...

Yuhan's mind rushed for dozens of minutes, in an emptiness of expressions and movements as she stood frozen on the same place she was, with a sudden push coming into her mind, forcing her to stand and go through the hallways, nearing the door where Bao's recently bought sign was hanging.

Pursing her lips, Yuhan tried to reach for the knob at first, but halted herself, with her hand turning into a partially closed fist as she softly knocked the door.

"... Bao..?" She called, with a voice hinting with far more remorse than she intended.

She forced that remorse away, keeping her hand on the door. "Bao, I'm... Are you awake?" She asked, resting her forehead on the door, averting her gaze to nowhere in particular.

"... Can I go in..?"

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

Desperate, Bao got her hands first on the switch over her night desk, giving her the respite of that faint light. She hoped that would be enough, but hope got her nowhere as she sat down with her back against the wall, knees against her chest and arms wrapped around calves to secure herself like a ball.

Pressing her face against her legs helped to quiet a bit her sobbing, the desperate cries in her mind that wished to break free and make themselves vocal. The fun they were having felt too good to be real after their encounter ingame. She expected a lie from Ruby, a stern gaze. From her family, even. Not from her big sister.

At least, big sis was aware enough not to bother her for a bit, but even that last sliver of trust was breached as she came knocking and woke her up, half-asleep as she was. Eyes darted to the door with evergrowing panic.

'No, please...' She knew she had no way out, her own bedroom a dead-end that Yuhan was about to break through. Ask away and punish in that same order. The pain in her chest forced her to react, quietly glancing to her left, where her last hope for a good night's rest was left, and for her to escape from her sister at all...

So she made haste, fingers tugging from the VR helmet with a bit more harshness than usual, laying her head down against her pillow. Her eyes closed, leaving behind only wet cheeks as the link was initialized once again...

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

The lack of response made Yuhan purse her lips, squeezing her hand against the door and feeling that guilty crawling and prickling her chest and heart, feeling an undying desire to push the door open and to reach for her beloved sister, that she had so much failed to show her true care.

It was hard to not listen her sisters' immediate response at being called, it was hard to know that she had done a mistake, and did yet another mistake, by failing to reach her sister before she managed to ran away.

Ruby was fast and fierce.

Yuhan was a bit more of a coward.

Letting go of the door, Yuhan took one step away, gazing at it and taking a moment to consider before swallowing her hesitation and reaching for the doorknob.

The door opened, and the sight of her sister with the VR made her frown her lips.

How she didn't figure out earlier?

Approaching, Yuhan's heart once again nearly shattered, seeing the mark of tears on Bao's face. One that she couldn't even afford to try and clean it up, to avoid any VR malfunction that could hurt Bao.

Clenching her fist, she was unsure if she should, but she was certain of what she would.

She couldn't miss her, not again. Not like just half an hour ago.

@Little Doggo

[EXIT THREAD]