willbeurprincess | 12 / / Action

A. Action; Cunningham Lane

[Her regain arrives a little late, wrapped in the usual box and she is quite confused to see it at first...She picks it up, rattles it, and then looks inside. Her gaze meets her own chest, framed within the borders of the polaroid and on it is her ownership symbol, the two overlapping Vs. She picks up the picture, confused by the intangible regain for a moment before she remembers Lithuania's scars. The soft burning on her chest makes her hiss and she presses a hand to where it must now be.]

It's back? That's what I gained back from the town?

[Unfortunately she is going to unbutton her shirt right there, just down to her cleavage to examine the mark that now rests on her chest]

There'd be no hiding that in a swimsuit would there . . .

B. Action; Shops

[The 50's dresses she has in her closet tend to do quite a lot to cover the mark on her chest, not that she'd care either way. It's her precious proof of ownership and she is glad to have it back. It's the proof that Sora owns her now and she thinks that's the best thing in the world. However, she has managed to find the one dress in that closet, cut a little too low for most sensibilities, but still a fashionable summer dress. She has a basket in hand and is going up and down the street in front of the shops more for something to do than to really buy anything]

C. Action; Diner

[The diner is not somewhere she usually goes, but she peeks her head in out of curiousity more than anything else. There is only so much one can do to pass time and the pool was no longer an option. She took a hesitant step in and looked around more boldly]

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.....a tattoo?

[A little odd...]

No it's my mark of ownership. It shows I belong to Sora.

[There is a pause.

A long pause. And the smile is gone from Ukraine's face.]

Koharu.

Dear. You are not a possession. People, can't own you.

I--the game--the one where men owned girls...[She stumbles to explain why the mark means so much to her but she knows Ukraine is right. She isn't property--except she's been treated as such for a very long time] Sora had her own mark of ownership for her girls. With this mark I was safe from them, I was hers. No man could hurt me without risking pain...

That game is wrong. It's in violation of so many human rights I wouldn't know where to start.

You do not belong to anyone. Not a man, not a woman, not Sora. You are your own person here and if anyone says otherwise, I will make that point clear to them myself.

I--I know...I just--I know I'm my own person...[She covers her mark with a hand] It was a hope for me when it felt like nothing would change. It was proof that no man could touch me. It's important.

[There's a pause as Ukraine listens to her and thinks over what the girl is saying.]

It is a symbol of hope.

In a way...When we belonged to Sora, we were fighting for her cause. Fighting to win the game and end it for all the girls...

Couldn't you fight for her cause without belonging to her?

I--no. We couldn't...We--the weapons we possessed in the game, the rifle I've gotten back here, they would only appear for the person who owned us. She could only fight if she owned girls. We could only help her cause, be part of the hope, if we were hers.

I see.

.....Well that may be the case. But the game is not here.

I know. [She isn't sure what else to say]

So you are not her possession here.

I belong to her no matter where I am, if she has need of me.

[Koharu looks oddly defiant here. It's part of her identity. Whether Sora loves her or not, whether Sora wants her or not, Koharu will always consider herself belonging to Sora]

You are not a possession. You are a young girl. And anyone claiming "ownership" of you is in direct violation of human rights.

It's...It's not about rights, it's about knowing that I want to belong to her. [She doesn't have the words for it and there's a sick feeling in her stomach that maybe Ukraine is right and it's wrong to want to belong to Sora just because she loves her.]

How old are you Koharu?

...Seventeen.

How long have you known Sora?

I know where you're going...and...it doesn't matter. Have you never met someone and believed in them? Wanted to devote your life to their cause, to see their dream come true?

And what is her cause?

To free the girls from the game. To make sure no one has to fight or hurt each other and she doesn't want to fight to do this, but she must. There is no other way in the game, to win, you must fight and to fight you need weapons. And for her world, the world she wants where men and women don't fight and they don't hurt each other, we have to win. We have to get that step closer. And for her and her dream, I would do...anything.