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[ Susato twitches with an air of annoyance like someone being woken up from a restful sleep. She frowns. Her heartbeat is slow, but otherwise steady as she moans in protest against him. Open your eyes... does she have to?

Around them, the scene starts to distort again. White static creeps in like a fog, so bright that when her eyes flutter open, it's hard to keep them that way. She attempts to right herself, gripping for the softness of whatever clothes he is wearing as her remaining arm shields her face. She catches sight of that claw, but that can't be. The fear welling up within her is paralyzing, her voice choked as she tries to meet his eyes. ]

Kazuma...!

[ Not again. Not again, never again.

The white light that would have freed them retreats into the darkness, and in Kazuma's arms, Susato will gradually feel heavier and heavier, with the sensation that she is being pulled down. The nightmare strengthens its grip on her, refusing to let go, and they sink further towards the bottom, always just a little further away.

Never ending. ]

[He felt that fear in her voice, his stomach twist. Here where one's feeling lay bare, he sees how Susato truly sees his nightmarish appearance. It's not unexpected, just heartbreaking to see. It's takes everything in him to not suddenly retreat. Thankfully this dark world keeps his mind distracted as they're suddenly plunged into further darkness. Susato weighing heavily in his arms.]

Don't let the darkness bury you! [The darkness was starting to seep into him. A vessel susceptible to nightmares is enticing.] I won't leave you. I need you.

[ Likewise, it takes everything within her as well not to let him go, to push him away. To free him. It's not fair for her to weigh him down, yet her grip on him only tightens as she buries her face into his chest. His words resonate, finally reaching the deepest part of her soul as it finds the tiniest of threads and starts to unravel it. ]

I need you...

[ She repeats his own words. ]

I need you... Please. I can't find my way out without you. You're my light.

[ Right now, he is her everything. ]

[Her light...it should be the other way around. She's proven to be just as capable if not more on her own. But he is not here to have a back and forth. She needs him. Perhaps words are not enough to help her. Perhaps they need to connect in another way.]

Look at me! [Before she catches sight of his hideous form once more, he'll catch her in a kiss.]

[ Susato's eyes close automatically. Maybe she's crying; maybe she's just numb. It's hard to tell, but she can feel the nightmare energy leave her like dead weight being shed. His taste, his warmth... It's familiar. It's not at all hideous. And most importantly, it guides her home once more.

When her eyes flutter open, she's met by Kazuma's face, mere inches from her own, and the blinding light from the bathroom ceiling shining behind him. ]

. . .

[Ryusei hisses from the edge of the tub when they return, susprised. A dark aura had surrounded Kazuma, his features that of his noctaere self. He hasn't fully shifted, mind still his own. As time passes, his appearance will eventually start to slowly revert back to normal. That aside, the important thing right now is they got out of that dark pit. When their kiss ends, he stares down at Susato, and then proceeds to embrace her. A long relieved sigh leaves him.]

Thank goodness. [A frantic whisper. He's holding her so tightly, as if she would disappear if he let her go.]

[ For a moment, Susato doesn't even understand what happened. She feels warm, and she knows she is safe, and yet hearing the frantic heartbreak in his voice terrifies her. She catches sight of his yellow eyes, and his long hair tickles her skin as she's pulled into the embrace. She can feel the scales of his snake tail wrap gently around her bare legs, and when he spoke, she thought she saw fangs.

In the end, all she can do wrap her arms around him return, maintaining a shaky grip. His shoulders are broad. He is taller, bigger than before.

This is all her fault. Her voice is so small. ]

I'm sorry... I, I'm sorry. [ She might have mumbled it a few more times, but it's not enough. ]

[What was she apologizing for? Oh. No hiding the fact it was her nightmare energy that caused this. He gently runs his claws through her hair.]

Shhh....It's okay. [Just don't leave me again. He couldn't shake these strong feelings of loneliness, even with Susato in his arms. A byproduct of her nightmare energy perhaps.] We're here...together.

[Ryusei, who had remain on the tub, decides to cautiously slither down and approach them both. Are you....are you both going to be okay?]

[ Susato doesn't say anything, but she seems to tremble as she tries to bury herself further into Kazuma, make herself as small as she feels. Her breathing is shaky against his chest, but she wills herself not to cry. Because they are here, together.

She only pulls back when she hears Ryusei, who is now tilting her head at them curiously. ]

Oh, Ryu. [ Had she forgotten about her after she'd been forced to watch the whole thing? Maybe. Only for a second. ] Did you want a hug, too?

[ Susato seems to open one arm to make room for the snake. Guess that's a yes.

Has she even realized she's still naked yet...? ]

[It's certainly quite a sight. A small naked lady with a snake, on top of a snake demon. Thankfully, there's a towel conveniently nearby that Kazuma can grab and wrap around Susato.]

Do you want to take a moment...and, maybe talk? [Is that what he's suppose to say in this situation?]

[ The weight of the towel falls comfortably onto her shoulders as it wraps around her. Susato blinks, the realization hitting then, causing her cheeks to flush her favorite shade of pink. Although this is not the first time, she can't help but self-consciously pull the towel tighter around her, treating it like a fuzzy blanket cover as she awkwardly crawls off him.

Ryu has also squirmed her way out of her arm by that point, having apparently decided that she did not need to be there for this human talk--though she assures them that she would not be far. ]

Y, Yes, but I, um... should probably be dressed... for that.

...Oh, yes! Your clothes. [Hadn't he been getting them before all this? He gets up, but has to hunch over or else he'll poke holes into the ceiling. The other issue is...actually getting out of the bathroom. One look at the door...he really doesn't want to have to make repairs for yet another door. He feels bad making Susato go out, but...]

I've put your clothes out, in the kitchen. [Why the kitchen? Cause he had set aside a warm bowl of water for Ziggy and Ruby to have a soak.]

[ The kitchen is a bit of an odd choice. That earns him a tilt of her head, but all things considered, she doesn't question it too much. She can see the way he hunches over his large form, the way he looks at the bathroom door before she walks through.

She has to bite her lip to keep from apologizing again as pauses to look back at him. ]

Can't you transform again? [ Into a serpent... She doesn't want him to destroy another door again either. ]

Not enough power. [Shocking though it may seem, but even now, the dark aura had already become barely visible around him. He settles back down on the floor, tail wagging somberly.]

Don't worry. It shouldn't take long before I'm able to leave. Apologies for not bringing your clothes though.

[ At the mention of her clothes, she is pulling her towel up and closed again, fidgeting. She tucks some loose hair behind her ears, then shakes her head, because that wasn't the point she was making. ]

It's okay. [ She sounds defeated, but clearly isn't ready to give up. ] Maybe a smaller snake form would require less power...?

[ Yet she feels the idea stupid immediately after it leaves her mouth. What if a smaller form requires more power? ]

. . . [No, it's not a stupid suggestion at all. He should be able to, in theory. Maybe if he thought about the garden snakes....he closes his eyes, thinking about being like the snakes that live in their garden. A sound of an amused hiss is heard nearby. Ryusei was still lurking about, fascinated by what was happening. He's like us now~!!

Indeed he was, in size. A small white snake is now curled up on the bathroom floor. Everything is so much taller than him, and colder like this.] ...Hm. Sshould have thought thiss in the first place. [Good job, Susato.]

. . . . . .

[ It takes her a moment to process it. Susato might have even lifted an arm up to shield her eyes from whatever light show she expected from the transformation, but in the end, it feels like she just blinked, and he was gone. Her gaze falls to the floor, and there is Kazuma, his scales almost blending in with the glare on the bathroom tiles.

. . . Thought #1: their door could have been spared all along, along with all that work that went into repairing it. Granted...circumstances were far more dire at the time. Even if she had thought of it, there was no guarantee he could have managed it. At the very least, that's what she tells herself, to keep it from feeling like her own failure.

She mumbles, though he had not directed it at her: ]

I should have.

[ Thought #2: he is toy-sized. It is hard to resist the temptation to just scoop him up immediately like she does with Ryusei and the others. In the end, it is Ryusei's amused hissing that finally cracks a smile on her face.

She responds to her as well, the proud little eavesdropper. ]

Hehe. Well... I suppose I can count on you to look after him until I come back, then.

[...The ladies are amused. He can sense it. All he can do is sigh as Ryusei comes down beside him. They can see eye to eye, clearly ok with babysitting him.]

Try not to take too long. [She's not going far, but he still has that feeling of dread of being left alone. He doesn't want to be here, he wants to be with her.]

[ Her mood is certainly a step above what it had been moments ago, though that same feeling of dread seems ever present in her too. Damn. She's not even leaving the house, but there is a longing she sees when she looks at him that seems to radiate in return.

Whatever restraint she'd been exercising before, she seems to set it aside for now. Before she can hesitate, she gets down onto one knee so that she can meet Kazuma eye-to-eye too (or at least, something closer to it). When that isn't enough, she will pick him up and lift him up to her face, with both hands acting as a little platform for him.

...For a while she's content just to hold him. But then she leans in a little closer, eyes fixed on the Asogi family crest atop his forehead until she touches it with her lips. ]

Okay...

[ How long could take to throw on some clothes...? For a girl, perhaps still longer than Kazuma would like. She means to let him down then, but she can see Ryu looking very displeased out of the corner of her eye. (Can snakes roll their eyes?)

"Jussst take him with you." ]

[Normally he'd tell her he's fine, but he doesn't. He just allows himself to be picked up in her warm hands. He may feel cold to the touch to her. If snakes could visibly blush, he'd be doing so when she kisses him on the head. Embarrassed? Happy? Is it wrong for him to feel pleased and wanted? Susato's nightmare energy is quite...potent.

He curls up a little when Ryusei insisted she just take him. She can make her own decision, even if Kazuma would like the "take him" decision. She probably wanted it too, with how long it's taking for her to decide.]

I did change ssso I could leave... [He glances back up to Susato, and then proceeds to crawl up her arm. Once on her shoulder, his head is pressed against her cheek.] I'll be right here.

[ Susato holds her arms out naturally when she sees Kazuma slithering his way up, perhaps in her attempt to make it easier for him. Her mouth hangs open when he settles on her shoulder, and she could feel the little hairs stand up at the back her neck, running all the way down her spine.

He is cold. Though her cheeks seem to be warm enough for the both of them.

With a sigh, her shoulders seem to relax a little as she says her farewells (and apologies) to Ryu. Not that she would object if she decided to follow them, and she probably would, but... ]

I think she is a little jealous. [ Said once Ryu is apparently out of earshot. Kitchen, right? ]

Hm. Sshe knows we'll return the favor. [The cold seems to stay with Kazuma, even as he wraps himself around Susato like an odd necklace. Hopefully he'll warm up soon...

In the kitchen, Ziggy and Ruby have finished their soak and were huddled around a pile of clothes Kazuma had left out on the counter. Susato's clothes. They're surprised to see a familiar, and smaller white snake around her neck. What hass happened...?]

Everything's fine...I just needed a way out of the bathroom. [The snakes tilt their heads. That didn't quite answer their question. He suppose he should turn back, but he's already nice and cozy where he was.]

Still... [ Susato trails off guiltily. Perhaps in her mind, she is thinking of all that Ryusei has accomplished for her tonight... She glances back, but in the end, is only motivated to get dressed more quickly. Find her again. 'Course, she hadn't been the only one. Seeing Ziggy and Ruby near her clothes like guard snakes, she softens as she greets them. ]

Not to worry, I'll take good care of him.

[ Not exactly thinking about the fact that Kazuma easily turn back. Her shoulders roll as she closes in on the sink and the make-shift snake bath. Probably as cold as Kazuma now... ]

You're so cold, though. Maybe you want a warm soak as well while I get dressed.

[He hums quietly.] I probably sshould. [It's a struggle to wiggle himself from around her neck. Both because he's comfortable, and sluggish from being cold.]

You were inside an iceberg in your dream.

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