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[contract_star]

[Here's Hei. He is no longer crazy; in fact, he has been out of the Gate for a few days now. But you can tell at a glance that the whole thing is still having an effect on him--he looks tired, as if he hasn't been sleeping, and there's a vaguely haunted look in his eyes, though it's not nearly as bad as it was.]

[He wanders the Plane until he finds a nice palm tree at the beach. Then he sits down and leans back against it with his hands behind his head. He says nothing, just stares up at the Astral sky, watching the stars.]

Comments

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

... Maybe it's not something you can fight head-on. So... get strength in other ways and win. It's the game of life and you can't afford to lose, Li.

[contract_star]

[Laughs a little, but it's a bit strained-sounding.] It's not that simple, Ikki. You can't fight Hell's Gate. It's like telling the ocean to stop being salty.

Anyway, it's been ten years now. We've learned to deal with it.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

Something had to have put it there. Find that out, and fight it. There's no force in any world that's both evil and invincible.

[contract_star]

They've been trying to find out how the Gates got there for the past ten years, and they're no closer now than when they started. And it's not so much that the Gate is...evil. It's just...[He sighs.] It's just a place humans were never supposed to be in.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

[Ikki is silent for a while, then he slaps Hei on the shoulder.] Well, that royally sucks. But you know what? I don't think that's how it'll be forever. Something will change... but I'm pretty sure the change has to start with somebody.

[contract_star]

[SIGHS INWARDLY. But decides to humor Ikki.] Aheh, you may be right.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

I'm telling you, I'm a genius. But me thinking it's not hopeless ain't worth anything if you don't believe me.

[contract_star]

[Smiles more genuinely this time.] I'll try to work on that, then.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

Believing in me should be easy. I'm not the kind of guy who loses.

[contract_star]

[Just chuckles a bit.]

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

[Ikki chews through some bento and looks up at the sky again, letting comfortable silence settle between them. There's only one thing he doesn't like about this place, and that's the lack of wind... and birds in general.]