Work Text:
The ghostwalker, a sword that kills whomever is impure. Now in their possession….they cleansed their soul. Or so they’d love to think.
Their soul was now haunted, HATRED staring them back in every mirror they came across. It was agonizing. They were dissociated, completely out of it. But they pressed on regardless…just on auto pilot this time.
“You doing alright?” Kyoko asked
They looked at her, the urge to lie and say they were okay was strong. But they couldn’t bring themself to. They shook their head, despite wanting to keep on going without her worrying. But she’d worry anyways. That’s something they liked about her.
“…” they remained quiet, their breathing labored and shaky. Holding back tears to keep appearances even now? It felt like the most difficult thing aside from moving.
She took their hand, rubbing the back of it with her thumb. “How about this? I’m going back to bizville tomorrow, you could stay in my room until then!” She flashed a smile, though it was hard to when their friend was sporting such a dead expression.
“…sure.” They nodded, heading back to her room— it was a private one, with a luxurious bathroom. By their standards at least.
“Sorry about the bed situation! I can sleep on the fl—“
“No.”
“Huh?”
“Is it okay to share? I don’t want to be alone.” Their voice rang out to her. Their heart was shaken up and torn.
“…” she flushed slightly, “YES! Of course! Haha, I’ve never shared a bed since I was a kid but sure! Heh!”
They nodded, turning away for a moment. “I’m gonna go take a shower.”
“Alright! Don’t drown!” She smiled. As soon as they locked the door behind them she put her face into a pillow and screamed “don’t drown!? Ugh, that’s stupid!” She sat up and took some deep breaths to calm herself, waiting for them to get out.
After a little bit she walked up to the door and it. “Player? You okay?”
No answer.
“Can I come in?”
“It’s unlocked.” They finally said.
She steps in, covering her eyes.
“It’s okay. You can look.”
“Oh—! Okay” she opened her eyes, her hand dropped to her side. She stared in shock— they had so many scars… frostbite on their fingers and venom in their veins. Side effects from the swords.
The scar that shocked her the most was the pale one that branched out from their heart.
“Ugly, right?” They flashed a wry and weary smirk, trying to be humorous.
“No, not at all!!” She crouched by them, as they were sat in the shower “do you want any help?”
They nodded, it was useless to lie again. Especially to her. Or anyone else. It was like they could all see the cracks and stains on their soul.
How embarrassing.
They stare at the floor as she gently scrubs them down, they felt horrible for asking this of her. Can’t they take care of themself?
….
They couldn’t deny how nice it felt to be taken care of.
“Did you wash your hair already?” She asked, interrupting their thoughts
“Yeah.. I did.” They nodded, turning off the water and getting up to dry themself off.
With her help, they got into their pajamas and in bed with her after she got ready for bed.
She shifted awkwardly, noticing the way they were looking at her.
“What?”
“You’re…staring.”
“Oh, sorry. I’ve been doing that a lot.” They paused “you look nice.”
She laughed softly, adjusting her bonnet “really? I look ready for snoozevill!”
“You’d be the prettiest in snoozevill.” They mumbled.
She blushed, her cheeks darkening as she leaned in, their foreheads touching, “you mean it?”
“Mhm.”
She smiled, wrapping her arms around them as they finally fell asleep. It seemed like this would be one of few times they weren’t plagued by nightmares.
And it was all thanks to her.