<div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Fuchsia Fox and an Artifact Absent</strong></span></div><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/3f/cb/51/3fcb513183b094b643a10c74bed38b1e.jpg)</div><strong>NAME:</strong>Date Toshiro<br/><strong>DAY:</strong>December 26th, 2018 | 1:30 PM<br/><strong>LOCATION:</strong>SOPHE, Second Floor Balcony<br/><strong>TAGGING:</strong>Nerissa | Mentions: Albion<br/><strong>EXTRA:</strong><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" style="">CONTENT WARNING</div><div class="spoiler_body"> Recalling assault </div></div><br/><strong>WEARING:</strong>An overly large gray hoodie with a Polkadot Stingray emblem (https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.746250090.2683/ssrco,lightweight_hoodie,mens,grey_lightweight_hoodie,front,square_product,x600-bg,f8f8f8.2u3.jpg), black jeans, and his worn running shoes.<br/><hr/><br/>While Toshiro would certainly analyze Nerissa's somewhat peculiar words regarding her relationship with Albion's body in the days to come, the battered man was too distracted with the moment to think on them further. Every time he felt as if he'd attained some form of emotional footing, every time he thought he had gathered the resolve necessary to face his attacker, the fox demoness had him questioning whether or not he'd made a mistake. Even as he made to object to her pushing aside the all too willing Marceline, he couldn't voice a denial as she suddenly and unexpectedly sat in his lap and placed his head against her chest.<br/><br/>Toshiro hadn't noticed how cold it was on the balcony until now, the light breeze passing over the trails left by his tears sending chills through his body that made the warmth of Nerissa's touch all the more resounding in contrast. He could feel a searing pain shooting across the bruises where her body pressed against his, but he couldn't bring himself to trade their relief for the undeniable comfort her presence was having on him as he continued to struggle to catch his breath between his usual difficulty breathing that came with his panic, and the light sobs that finally escaped him as the weight of what had happened to him felt even heavier now in Nerissa's embrace than it had as it was happening.<br/><br/>For a time there was only silence between them, the thick walls of SOPHE isolating them from the noise inside the building while the canopy of snow covered and arcane touched densely growing trees trees absorbed  most of the noise coming from the city around them. The trees slowly shifted in hue as they were want to do on occasion between their verdant greens to rich ceruleans, and their icy adornments shifted silently to accommodate them; taking on the appearance of a field of crushed sapphires and emeralds sparkling beneath the midday sun, rolling up and down with an indiscernible pattern as they would occasionally stretch and contract leisurely against the densely packed Tokyo skyline through wind and magical influence.<br/><br/>He had no recollection of when he'd wrapped his arm's around Nerissa and buried his face into the fur lining the top of her jacket, only that as a clarity of though began to return to him, he'd found that he'd left it somewhat damp with his tears. Lifting his head slowly, Toshiro looked up towards Nerissa's face for a moment before he managed to say with a still somewhat meek choked voice, “I don't... I don't want to believe it was you Nerissa. But I can't... I can't trust you, not yet.” Life had taught him that it mattered little what he wanted, but as Toshiro saw it there were two possibilities. That Nerissa was telling the truth and that she was willing to help him despite his detestable behavior, or that she was continuing to string him along to continue reveling in his despair. As unlikely as the latter might seem, it would not have been the first time he had experienced the horror of such a cruel desire.<br/><br/>However with these two options, it truly meant that Toshiro had nothing to lose by at least trusting Nerissa with what had happened to him, because she would either be true to her display of unmitigated charity and help him, or she would already know what had occurred and would gain nothing by learning. Turning his gaze back towards the glistening tree tops, he stared out in silence for moment to collect his thoughts before starting without much in the way of guilt, “It started when I took something I wasn't supposed to from SOPHE. I didn't mean to hurt anyone by taking the statue, I just thought I might be able to figure out what it was on my off hours, and it hadn't ever shown signs of being a threat to anyone.”<br/><br/>There was little in the way of shame for his actions as he explained what had happened the previous night to Nerissa, only a audible hint of self-loathing for allowing himself to be tricked. “I should have known something was wrong when Albion started coming on to me, he'd never shown any serious interest before last night. I was just lonely I guess, last night more so than most, and it's not like I never thought about him that way. It was... it was stupid of me to think he'd ever... I guess it was kinda my fault for thinking otherwise.” Toshiro left little out in the way of illicit details, from their passionate kisses and what had seemed like an over eager desire to feel each other's touch as they clumsily made their way to Toshiro's apartment to become more intimate under the warmth of jazz and even more drink.<br/><br/>“That's probably where he... she got me. I'm betting she put something in my drink, because it wasn't too long after that I started losing control as I was admiring Albion's body.” With a bark of a self deriding laugh Toshiro shook his head as he suddenly recalled, “No scars... there were no scars on his chest. Fuck... I'm such an idiot.” Biting his lip for a moment he continued, “Once I was out of it Albion started to say... I never thought I'd have to hear him say things like that, and I know he didn't but... his face, his voice, it was all the same, and then he... he...” Toshiro's hand's instinctively traveled between him and Nerissa to where he'd been kicked repeatedly, the pain intensifying as the memory of the assault burned so vividly in his mind.<br/><br/>Coughing to clear aside the start of another sob, he looked briefly back at Nerissa but found it hard to maintain eye contact, “I think she thought I was out of it, so after taking the statue and the cash out of my wallet, she dropped her illusion and she... she looked just like you Nerissa. Same pink hair, same tail, she looked just like you except... everything about her face said she couldn't stand me.” He didn't explain further, but that look of utter disdain was why he gave any credence to the idea that Nerissa might not be the same person as his attacker, he just didn't want to believe that the person showing him such tenderness now could have hated him so much just the night before.