Ryoki was on point as always, easily identifying Yutaro and trading blows in their oh-so-innocent banter. Yutaro was surprised to learn that the girl he had greeted wasn't a friend, but actually Ryoki's sister. There wasn't much of a resemblance, but he was no geneticist so he didn't question it, but instead decided to treat her sister with delightful cordiality; it was important to make a good impression on the family after all. Ryoki inquired about his activities thus far in the evening, and he figured it was best to explain the mishap with Kyle and Sabine now rather than later, and the two shared several laughs before he finally asked her if she would like to dance. He was certain that the waltz with Sabine, while enjoyable, would just be a prelude to the fun he would have tonight. He was curious to see what Ryoki could do on the dance floor, and even more curious to see if she was willing to open up the "advanced rulebook" she had alluded to on their last date. But, most of all he was just happy to see her happy face again after their long week apart...

[center][i][color=ed1c24]Whatever Fortune has raised on high, she lifts but to bring low.[/color][/i][/center]

A distant crack of thunder. A warm mist. Yutaro wiped the moisture off his face to find his fingers painted bright red. Silence followed by horrified screams. Yutaro looked over to where Mokyu was sitting and his face turned white. He didn't scream, or rather he couldn't scream; the grizzly sight of blood gushing out of a young woman's neck choked his voice and tied a knot in his stomach. The warm mist on his face was blood [i]her[/i] blood. He began to tremble as his stunned brain slowly processed the horror that had just unfolded. And than a scream brought him back. 

Ryoki... he couldn't even begin to comprehend what she was feeling right now, if she was even feeling at all. Her shrieks of horror may have just been a primal instinct to scare off whatever predator may still be lurking, or they could be echoing the realization that her dear sister was gone forever. Yutaro had no idea what to do. What was the right thing to do in a situation like this? Was there even a right thing to do? His body seemed to move on his own, acting purely on feelings even more fundamental than instinct. He wrapped his arms around Ryoki and held her tight though his own arms were trembling. He cradled the back of her head, and brought her face down to his shoulder so that her eyes would be blocked by the padding of his bloodied tuxedo. "Don't look..." he muttered, stroking her back but expecting no results. "Don't look Ryoki... God, please don't look..."

He couldn't fix what had just happened, and he had no words that could calm her down. All he could do was take that nightmare out of her line of sight, though it may have already been burned into her mind. "Just don't look..."

[@Delta44]