Continuation of
>>109664 Writing while sick really sucks. But it was either that or let the delay drag out even longer. If you think I should've done the latter after reading today's update, well... Let me know for future occasions.
Anyway, here's the half* I wrote yesterday, just to show you all that I'm still alive, and it's not on HIATUS END LOL. I'll have the rest done in a short while, hopefully, so... please bear with me.
Shitty excuses~
--------
"Well... no, I suppose I don't disagree; you do make a good point, after all..." She really does, as much as you'd hate to admit it when the guilty party is someone you'd hope to get along with - Koakuma being Patchouli's servant-familiar type thing and you being Patchouli's apprentice. It doesn't help that your mind really can't bring itself to think of the voluptuous temptress as a 'child' to begin with... Patchouli's sharp gaze upon you clearly shows that she expects you to continue speaking and reveal your thoughts to her. Well, who are you to refuse?
"But, don't you think you could, well, stick to a stern talking-to if this is the first time this has happened?"
"It is not." Facing forwards again, she marches onwards, straight ahead, maintaining her composed stride even as you nearly stumble over your own feet in surprise.
"It's happened before?"
"Well, the circumstances were somewhat different. I had not engaged in such actions with the male in question, naturally..." And she keeps bringing it up over and over again as if it were no big deal.
"That particular incident occurred due to the male in question choosing to advance upon Koakuma, himself; however, she should have known better and rejected his advances."
"Did he..?"
Words are unnecessary; she knows what you wanted to ask.
"No, the man lived. Barely. It took him months to recover, and the encounter most likely robbed him of several years of his life regardless." She coughs into her palm, less out of discretion or somesuch, and more out of running short of breath yet again; walking and talking at the same time seems to be more taxing to her than you might've even guessed. She takes a short break before continuing.
"I had explained to her calmly when I first summoned her that she was not to lay hands on men without consulting me first, and that she could simply come to me if she were to become plagued with problematic urges to begin with."
...Hm, now what's that supposed to imply.."
"So you didn't do anything to her that time?"
"No. Therefore, this time I must teach her a proper lesson. I will not tolerate my familiar acting of her own accord behind my back, without my knowledge. I hate... not knowing things." That's beginning to sound like her catchphrase by now.
"Especially in matters such as this, where her urges could result in someone being injured, or worse."
A few more minutes of silent walking, turning left and right along the hallways, you're lost in thought, not even bothering to try and sense where you're going, just following behind Patchouli as if your body were on autopilot, like a good little puppy. She's a little difficult to speak to, the way she is right now, but at least she seems to be trying hard not to lash out at you. Despite her presently calm exterior, you saw earlier what's truly boiling underneath the surface.
"...If you're going to be punishing her regardless of what I say-..."
"I will be, indeed."
"...then, could you at least try to talk to her first, and put some emotion into it? Because, well..." She gives you a bit of a perplexed look, as if unable to comprehend what you could possibly be talking about. Of course, it's probably difficult for someone to realize their manner of speech is cold and emotionless if that's how they've always spoken...
"...It's hard to convince someone you're doing something for their own good when you sound so... cold."
"Cold, you say? Hmm. I see." For a brief moment, she almost sounds mildly hurt, although you were probably just imagining it. Surely, she of all people wouldn't take some random kid's mumbling to heart like that. Rubbing her chin with a pensive expression on her face, she keeps walking beside you in silence; you take this as your cue to finish your attempt at persuasion and mitigation of Koakuma's punishment.
"You know your familiar better than anyone, of course, but... I'm certain she only hid her intentions because she was afraid of being punished in the first place... I'm sure she wouldn't have tried anything if she properly understood why it was a bad idea in the first place. Maybe she thought there was a way..?"
"Then she should have asked me. You may stop trying to convince me now; your thoughts and statements have been taken into consideration." A blunt and sudden response, but Patchouli probably isn't one to say what she doesn't mean. You've done all you can do, here; what happens next is out of your hands. The gaze in her eyes seems to have softened just a little, and her steps slow down to a somewhat less furious pace.
No, wait, she's just having trouble breathing, again. Before she can lose her balance, you manage to catch her under the arm, supporting her weight for as long as it takes for her to regain her strength.
"Thank you." She's caught her breath yet again, and pulls herself from your grasp; not in a hostile manner, mind you, but in a hurried one. The two of you are almost to your room by now, and Patchouli's expression darkens - a truly impressive feat, considering how she had already been up until now. With no other ideas on hand at the moment, you resort to a mild attempt at humor to brighten the overall mood of the situation; going into the room with a face like that, she's likely to give the poor succubus a heart attack. It truly is amazing how such a physically frail person can conjure up such a terrifying visage...
"You're welcome. I'd like to stay on your good side, rather than become another child deserving of punishment, heh..."
"Hm." Not a laugh or even a smile, but close enough.
"I do not think of you in such a manner, though."
"Oh?" You're not entirely sure whether this statement should make you feel good or bad, really. After all, the way she's been caring for you all this time, you kind of thought-... Hm, but how does she feel about you anyway? It's always a challenge to try and figure out how her mind works.
"Quiet, now... We are here." True to her usual blatant disregard for personal space, she presses her index finger against your lips to silence you, not even looking at you as she does so. The door to your guest room awaits straight ahead, and Patchouli's movements become even more silent than before, to the point where you can't help but feel overly noisy despite your best attempts at sneaking after her without making a sound. She grips the handle of the door firmly in her grasp, then closes her eyes for a moment... before opening them again in shock, sending an utterly confused glance in your direction - this serves to startle you as well, because a confused-looking Patchouli is certainly a strange and scary sight to behold. Eyes wide and mouth muttering silent words, she swiftly pulls the door open, leaping into the room with you following closely behind.
It's empty.
"...
Son of a lich." Spitting out this peculiar invective, Patchouli slams her fist into the wall hard enough to likely cause no small amount of pain to her hand, before stumbling over to your bed and giving you a rather tired glance over her shoulder.
"...Do you mind?"
Huh.
"Er, no... I mean, what are you..?"
Before you can formulate a proper answer or even begin to comprehend what exactly it is that she's asking, she simply slumps forward, collapsing onto your bed limply with her eyes closed. In shock, you extend your arm towards her and exclaim her name, but as you receive no response you simply run over to her to check if she's alright.
-------
*(Note that when I say 'half' I mean 'part 1 of 2', not '50%'. Stay tuned for the rest of this.)
