[It was to be expected, she should have known it was coming, but the anger bubbled all the same, her mind screamed in frustration and her desire to strike the other down rose once more. She was avoiding the question, refusing to give her a straight answer, then twisting things around and throwing it all back in her face. The arrogance, the taunting of her sincere explanation and lamentation, the inability to just say they had both mistakes, it almost made her reach for a pill bottle again, not that fighting would do them any good now.]
[That being said, she wasn't wrong. There were no longer health reasons barring her from consuming sweets. Unfortunately, it was now something must worse preventing her doing so.]
No. I could... [A moment to breathe, to calm herself, looking for a flash like the awkward school girl who'd just sigh and relent, before disappearing in a flash. The person who stared back at the confectioner was far more sure of herself, regretful but firm.] ...but I don't want to.
[It would be seen as an excuse regardless of what she said, but nevertheless, it was finally time for to actually speak up. Not run away, not ignore the matter or cave it, but to be blunt and honest, even if that meant all but slapping the other Ultimate right across the across the face with words that would undoubtedly sting.]
There's no point. Anything you gave me now...I know it would taste completely sour.
[Her words were sharp, assured and unflinching, and she knew all too well they would hurt Ruruka. However, it was the truth, and her tone told that she took no pleasure in revealing that fact to her. No matter how carefully she might have prepared whatever treat she was still carrying on her now, Seiko knew she would not be able to appreciate it. She could already imagine the void where the sweetness was supposed to be, a stimulation of the taste buds she had never known due to her inability to digest sugar. Instead of the fizzing buzz of a rush, she anticipated a dull tang that would cause her features to scrunch up as she tried to swallow.]
[This was not because of any mistake on the confectioners part on the technical side of her baking, but rather the resounding impact of all that had happened. All the toil, outbursts and blame had left their friendship as little more than a husk, a baked good with no sweetness, light texture or delicious flavor, but something dry and stale that crumbled in your mouth and made you choke. Anything she was given now would be handed to her by a Ruruka that she didn't really know, one that now only offered her something to prove and point and satisfy her own wishes. She had dreamed for a long time about what it would be like if she ever got to experience the taste of sugar and what it could create, and more than anything she had wanted her first bite to be of a treat the person closest to her made, just for her to enjoy.]
[Fortunately, she did have something left by that Ruruka, the Ruruka who had been someone she trusted, the Ruruka who had given her something pure, innocent and brimming over with sweetness born of sugar and wish to forge a friendship that could possibly last forever. And so she pulled out the lone candy from her pocket, the shiny paper still somehow catching the light in a way that looked enticing, even though by now it should have lost all flavor. Yes, a sweet that she had clung on to for well over a decade, even after their falling out, would still contain all the sensations to delight her pallet, of that she was convinced, because it was given to her by her dearest friend who wanted to give a token of fondness to a sad little girl who couldn't stop crying in the rain that day.]
Good thing I kept this then. [This might not have been the assurance Ruruka was expecting, or even what she wanted, but Seiko felt this was the right thing, the best thing she could give the confectioner. This wasn't just about showing her willingness now she was dead, but how she had always been willing, ready and waiting and clutching that piece of candy like something to treasure. Because for her, it was.]
[Her first gift from her first friend, ready for the occasion when she could give the acknowledgement Ruruka wanted so badly, even if in truth she had actually had it all along. It was that candy she wanted to eat first, carefully unwrapping it and bringing it to her lips, unwavering and without hesitation, intending to let it slip into her mouth before the other girl had the chance to say anymore. Regardless of whether or not their friendship could begin anew or be put to rest, it would all end then and there one her mouth closed and she started to chew.]
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[That being said, she wasn't wrong. There were no longer health reasons barring her from consuming sweets. Unfortunately, it was now something must worse preventing her doing so.]
No. I could... [A moment to breathe, to calm herself, looking for a flash like the awkward school girl who'd just sigh and relent, before disappearing in a flash. The person who stared back at the confectioner was far more sure of herself, regretful but firm.] ...but I don't want to.
[It would be seen as an excuse regardless of what she said, but nevertheless, it was finally time for to actually speak up. Not run away, not ignore the matter or cave it, but to be blunt and honest, even if that meant all but slapping the other Ultimate right across the across the face with words that would undoubtedly sting.]
There's no point. Anything you gave me now...I know it would taste completely sour.
[Her words were sharp, assured and unflinching, and she knew all too well they would hurt Ruruka. However, it was the truth, and her tone told that she took no pleasure in revealing that fact to her. No matter how carefully she might have prepared whatever treat she was still carrying on her now, Seiko knew she would not be able to appreciate it. She could already imagine the void where the sweetness was supposed to be, a stimulation of the taste buds she had never known due to her inability to digest sugar. Instead of the fizzing buzz of a rush, she anticipated a dull tang that would cause her features to scrunch up as she tried to swallow.]
[This was not because of any mistake on the confectioners part on the technical side of her baking, but rather the resounding impact of all that had happened. All the toil, outbursts and blame had left their friendship as little more than a husk, a baked good with no sweetness, light texture or delicious flavor, but something dry and stale that crumbled in your mouth and made you choke. Anything she was given now would be handed to her by a Ruruka that she didn't really know, one that now only offered her something to prove and point and satisfy her own wishes. She had dreamed for a long time about what it would be like if she ever got to experience the taste of sugar and what it could create, and more than anything she had wanted her first bite to be of a treat the person closest to her made, just for her to enjoy.]
[Fortunately, she did have something left by that Ruruka, the Ruruka who had been someone she trusted, the Ruruka who had given her something pure, innocent and brimming over with sweetness born of sugar and wish to forge a friendship that could possibly last forever. And so she pulled out the lone candy from her pocket, the shiny paper still somehow catching the light in a way that looked enticing, even though by now it should have lost all flavor. Yes, a sweet that she had clung on to for well over a decade, even after their falling out, would still contain all the sensations to delight her pallet, of that she was convinced, because it was given to her by her dearest friend who wanted to give a token of fondness to a sad little girl who couldn't stop crying in the rain that day.]
Good thing I kept this then. [This might not have been the assurance Ruruka was expecting, or even what she wanted, but Seiko felt this was the right thing, the best thing she could give the confectioner. This wasn't just about showing her willingness now she was dead, but how she had always been willing, ready and waiting and clutching that piece of candy like something to treasure. Because for her, it was.]
[Her first gift from her first friend, ready for the occasion when she could give the acknowledgement Ruruka wanted so badly, even if in truth she had actually had it all along. It was that candy she wanted to eat first, carefully unwrapping it and bringing it to her lips, unwavering and without hesitation, intending to let it slip into her mouth before the other girl had the chance to say anymore. Regardless of whether or not their friendship could begin anew or be put to rest, it would all end then and there one her mouth closed and she started to chew.]