perfectmatch | week two

To be honest, I frequently feel like I'm a mess.

[It's easy for her to hold the conversation while they're taking their lessons. Her posture and demeanor are still so easily confident, each step falling the way that it needs to, even if it's to compensate or to guide.]

I projected a certain version of myself for a long time, but now that I no longer have to do that... For a while, it felt like even "myself" was unnecessary. When it comes to things like this, though, I feel pretty good. [It turns out she also enjoys them as "herself."]

[Huh. That's not what she would've expected to hear from their resident director and showwoman. Sure, she's been feeling things out while she's been here, but haven't they all? (Aside from freaks like Luka).

But no, she says that, and Ringo's immediately fascinated.

Step, step... step. Ringo's naturally athletic, having a body specifically crafted for it, but her brow is still furrowed, eyes narrowed as she focuses on keeping the steps straight.]

"A mess"...

[She doesn't really know what happened, but somehow, "it felt like even 'myself' was unnecessary" feels like one of the saddest things she's ever heard.]

It sounds like you've been through a lot, then. For most people, "themselves" is all they've got.

[What must have happened for Furina to feel like that?]

... Still, I'm glad we ended up doing something you like, then.

[Well... it's not as if that also wasn't true. Perhaps that was even what made it most difficult. That "herself" had also been all that Furina had.}

My spirits are much higher now. I think it must be because I finally allowed myself to love things as myself. I had to accept that the individual called Furina is who I am. [She doesn't remember who that person was before...everything, so, as Ringo said... she also only has herself.] And that person was a star, so she knows the catalog of her strengths, but her journey of self-discovery is just starting otherwise.

[She watches Ringo's brow furrow, almost able to hear her counting the steps out loud. They're a few moves away from the AI turning the dance into an equation and getting too in her head to let her muscles remember the moves. She squeezes her hands, and it's almost a pinch.]

Don't look at your feet! Your eyes will start tricking your body, so don't let them deceive you.

[Furina is right to call it when she does; Ringo, distracted by Furina's words and distracted by trying to learn the dance, had absolutely started to turn it into a formula in her head. One, two, one, two, and then Furina squeezes her hands and Ringo jumps a little.]

H-hey!

[... She clears her throat.]

Right, right, they're up! Eyes on you only, ma'am!

I guess the Furina you are has high expectations for the people around her, huh?

[It's said lightly, though--in good humor, because Ringo doesn't think that's a bad trait at all.]

[Eyes on her. She can certainly deal with that. Furina's smile is encouraging, and her movements become more fluid as they practice the same basic steps from the top again. By now, she's putting a bit of a twist into it--doing more leading than the instructor, even, really. As important as the basic technique is to approach objectively, maybe this will help Ringo feel the movement rather than simply calculate it.]

I'm known for being quite demanding. [She was seen as a prima donna before, her stringent specifications and spitfire attitude only adding to her reputation. Though not the primary reason she was convinced no one from her past endeavors would want anything to do with "her," it certainly didn't help her impression.]

The greatest performances require everyone to be at their best. Regret is a fickle thing, but someone who doesn't see their own potential to reach it is sure to regret it.

[While her standards might be incredibly high, and she may have held herself to standards that ultimately couldn't bear the weight, it sounds like there's a wealth of genuine care motivating her.]

[At the very least, Ringo's body was created to be athletic; as Furina nudges them into more complex dancing, she follows, matching her steps, if with significantly less grace.

But! She's grinning as she does, and it seems the challenge is extremely enjoyable for her.]

In other words, you're always looking out for the people around you and want them to be able to look back on what they do with pride.

[A fond laugh.]

Yeah. That sounds like you.

Then I'll keep giving it my all too. I can't be left behind, after all!

[It sounds...like her? Though she never loses time, Furina pauses to mull that statement over. After all, isn't it to be expected? Of course, she has this reputation, even just from the work she's done since obtaining her freedom. But it's so oddly and unexpectedly nice for something to be "like her" and not necessarily "as expected," or some comment about her still acting like she's sitting about the Opera Epiclese.

It sounds like her...because it is her. It's exactly like her.

She'd never fully break form during practice--that's also part of giving it her all--but when there's a moment of free movement in between sets, she steps out a little, lifting her arm to give her dance partner a little twirl. When they return to position, she's standing a little closer, her hand a little lower.]

I don't think you know how to do anything but. I wouldn't doubt for a moment that you have what it takes to keep up with me.

[Oh! That's so charming. Furina twirls Ringo and Ringo moves with the motion, directed by Furina's easy grace and poise, and is laughing when they come together.]

Good!

[They come back together. Furina's hand moves a little lower, and Ringo's slides in a little, towards the curve of her neck. It's hard to say if Ringo is even aware she's doing it, but. It's fine.

Certainly, the touch at her lower back keeps her all the closer to Furina as they move back into step.]

The last thing I'd wanna do is slow you down.

[It's... hard for her to come up with words to describe this, but nonetheless, it feels important.]

Better if we're side-by-side, yeah?

[Walking in step with someone is almost completely new to her. Even her newly forged bonds often come with strange paces. Furina sometimes feels like she's running a completely different race to catch up with a destination that'll already have moved by the time she arrives. It's fine to walk at different paces or over different terrains, but to be parallel to someone for any amount of time feels so new and so tempting.

Professional, still, far too professional to get distracted or fall out, Furina nevertheless finds herself as the one who can't break Ringo's gaze as they begin to sway slightly side to side. Her hands fuss a little more, though they never stray too far from proper placement.]

How far do you think we'll accompany me? [It's only been a couple of weeks...not even that, really. For someone who could only recently think about having a future, this is a question Furina must ask. Perhaps neither of them truly know, and that would be fine...but she needs and wants to hear it.]

[How far... that's a really good question. All this time...

They sway together, Furina's fingers featherlight against her, and Ringo pauses to consider the new and exciting sensations she's feeling and thinks--]

... I've got some time, you know. I fulfilled my directive, saw it through, and now...

[For as long as Aion allows, she's got this body, and she can just be Ringo.]

What I'm saying is... I've got a lot of freedom. So maybe at the end of all of this, we could stick together for a little longer.

[Even if it's only a little while longer, even if Furina finds her match and changes her mind--a little while longer sounds nice.]

["I've got a lot of freedom" does make her smile. Ringo sees the possibility in that, not the emptiness... Furina wonders if things might have been different if she knew her before. But then Ringo would have also known her before, and this would be different. They wouldn't have met in a position where they could both enjoy newfound freedom.

Maybe Ringo would understand that, too.

After all, freedom doesn't mean having to accept being alone.]

How does it feel, now, knowing you've done everything that you were asked to do? Was it hard?

[She's not sure if she means the tasks themselves or adapting to the freedom afterward. Her fingers clench a little, like she's holding the question of the future between them.]

[Ah. It's funny. Nobody's asked her that question, despite Ringo thinking it's an obvious one. How does it feel? Was it hard?

Yes, it was hard.

It feels--]

... For a little while, I was adjusting to the idea.

[Ringo's fingers remain light in Furina's and against her body, but there's a tension to her body beneath Furina's fingers.]

My directive was done. My companions left to pursue their own goals. I had to figure out who Ringo was. The Ringo who wasn't saving the world.

[Maybe the words come easier because Furina looks... like she understands. Because Furina asked the right questions.]

You know, I think I'm still learning that, too. But I'm also excited. Does that make sense? Even if it's a big mystery to me, I'm excited to see where I end up with it.

week two | dates

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