I Don't Care | Minnie | Execution Reaction/Chapter 4 | Closed for Renee

Renée wasn’t less happy, she had just been thinking. Fighting over territory and mates was natural animal behavior, and it usually didn’t even result in serious injury– she was fine with that. Bring up the other kind of animal fighting, though, and you’d probably make her cry. But her thoughtful expression soon smoothed easily back into a bright smile.

Renée’s pants options were more colorful than most, though there were several pairs of simple dark jeans to choose from, of both the normal and skinny variety.

 And there came the cheerful version of Renee. It was odd, but as long as Minnie and Renee had been roommates, she didn’t think she had ever seen her smile nearly as much as she was smiling right then. It was nice to see that.

 At Renee’s description of where the pants were, Minnie scooped up a standard pair of jeans and held them up for length comparison. Not perfect, but it’d work. Though the other styles of jeans did look like lots of fun to wear, maybe it wouldn’t be a good idea to wear them with a mustard-yellow sweater.

I Don't Care | Minnie | Execution Reaction/Chapter 4 | Closed for Renee

Renée was more interested in things like unique tongues, personally. Giraffes weren’t endangered, though, and not her specialty. Ask her about an Amami rabbit and she could probably tell you about almost all of it’s adaptations.

 Oh, she looked significantly less happy now. She hoped that mentioning animals fighting, wouldn’t upset her, which meant she had to stop herself from laughing at kung-fu kicking giraffes. She owed this girl too much to make her upset, especially now that she was giving her free clothes.

I Don't Care | Minnie | Execution Reaction/Chapter 4 | Closed for Renee

That was about the extent of what Renée knew about giraffe’s in particular that anyone but her would find interesting. Everything else was pretty mired in science and nerdiness.

 Oh my gosh, giraffes just let their tongues hang out all the time? How cute! Why couldn’t this little guy have a cute floppy tongue hanging out of his mouth? Well, it was decided she was wearing this one. 

And thus was the extent of Minnie’s knowledge on the subject. Youtube was right in the past, so this would have to be correct.

I Don't Care | Minnie | Execution Reaction/Chapter 4 | Closed for Renee

Some clothes she had bought just because they looked cute, and never really intended to wear.

No Renée, she did not. Who knew that?? Who just randomly said that??

 Wow, Minnie did not know that because who really would? But at the same time, it was really cute to see Renee so happy about something, even if that something was giraffe tongues. 

Minnie confirmed with an honest chuckle.

I Don't Care | Minnie | Execution Reaction/Chapter 4 | Closed for Renee

If Renée was bothered, she didn’t show it. Her smile didn’t waver, and if Minnie gave her any guilty-looking glances she would offer a quick reassurance.

She didn’t want to get too aggressive with the excitement, but she thought Minnie would look cute in a lot of the things she was picking.

 Really, Renee? Your style was giving a totally different impression.

She pulled up a giraffe one.

I Don't Care | Minnie | Execution Reaction/Chapter 4 | Closed for Renee

Renée’s grin widened and she opened up the closet for Minnie to examine her wardrobe. She did, indeed, have a lot of clothes. The space was as tidy as the rest of her room, but also pretty much full to bursting.

She was getting a little ahead of herself. Tone it down.

 Wow, this was not what Minnie was expecting to see. After living with a wardrobe which consisted of a few dresses and her current outfit, this was something she wasn’t used to seeing. If they ended up having to live here for the rest of their lives, then at least Renee would be looking cute the entire time. 

 Something else Minnie wasn’t used to seeing. At Renee’s request, she stepped up and took a look through the closet, shifting through the many sweaters and long dresses. Sweaters were nice, they were warm, so she grabbed a few of those, especially ones with super cute prints. But at the same time she felt so guilty about the entirety of her actions if only because it meant she was depriving Renee of them.

I Don't Care | Minnie | Execution Reaction/Chapter 4 | Closed for Renee

Renée sounded excited about the prospect. Save yourself Minnie. She didn’t even notice that her roommate had finally remembered her name, not that she had noticed the conspicuous lack of name remembering in the first place. Her mind was on one thing alone: cute dresses.

Wasn’t dress up something entirely different from borrowing clothes? But regardless, Renee looked more than eager to let Minnie borrow some of her clothes, and who was Minnie to deny this bubbly young girl’s enthusiasm?

I Don't Care | Minnie | Execution Reaction/Chapter 4 | Closed for Renee

Renée felt a little bad for embarrassing her friend, but she was glad that she had taken a shower on her own. It was a step up, definitely.

Minnie would look so cute in some of her clothes. Renée was in dress-up mode now, God help us all.

 Huh, now Renee was offering for her to wear one of her outfits? Well, it’s not like she had any opposition to this, Renee was always dressed pretty cute and her sweaters would likely keep even Minerva warm, or so she hoped. But would they fit? And even if they did, did Renee really wanna share her clothes with her.

Wow, so apparently Renee had climbed the ladder to Minnie actually remembering her name.

I Don't Care | Minnie | Execution Reaction/Chapter 4 | Closed for Renee

Of course it had been unnerving, but there wasn’t much Renée could have done about it. She had been more worried about Minnie than herself– after all, if it was unnerving to her secondhand, the other girl definitely had it much worse.

Renée frowned at Minnie’s words, but could sense there was little point in arguing. Positive affirmation spoke louder than words, hopefully, and she turned it into an encouraging smile instead.

First thing was making sure she was healthy physically, though. And anything that smelled that bad was not sanitary. That was the whole reason the brain interpreted the smell as bad!

 At the mention of showering, Minnie turned a bright red. She had already showered, couldn’t Renee tell? Had she not bathed right? Surely not, she always took care of keeping herself smelling good once she got out of the shower.

 But what she couldn’t control in the shower was...

 Less she just decide to go naked. But she couldn’t do that, she’d be freezing consistently.

I Don't Care | Minnie | Execution Reaction/Chapter 4 | Closed for Renee

Oof. Yeah, that was strong. Not bad enough that Renée was gagging, but it was definitely a discomfort. As Minnie pulled away, she brushed a hand against her nose casually, as if trying to get rid of the smell. What Minnie was saying was definitely more important to address than any B.O..

Renée’s frown deepened. She didn’t know how to express what she felt, especially not in Japanese. She continued, but felt like what she said was lame, at best.

 Renee was such a precious angel, someone please save her from this nightmare. Most people would look at people in Minnie’s position and decided she wasn’t worth saving, that she should just be left to expire. What would have happened if the roles were swapped, would Minnie have helped a perfect stranger, simply because she shared a room with her? 

 But in addition, didn’t it unnerve Renee to hear her babbling to an unknown party?

Scared of her worthlessness, scared of what they’d do to her, scared that her sacrifice had led to an eternity of suffering. It wasn’t a pretty thought.

I Don't Care | Minnie | Execution Reaction/Chapter 4 | Closed for Renee

Renée stayed in the trial room for a bit after the trial had ended. She hadn’t watched the execution, and had willed herself not to hear the aftermath. Tsutomu and Sahar had eventually left, and as she herself finally calmed down, Renée stood up on shaky legs and headed out herself, heading back to her room.

Renée gave her roommate a strained smile. Her voice had given a bit of a false start, and it was a little hoarse, but she was starting to fall into some semblance of okay.

 And suddenly, Minnie wasn’t alone. She looked up at her roommate with a sense of awe to hear her voice, to know she was here. She...still thought she was Minerva, which was fair in that Renee didn’t know what was happening with her. But to see this girl, this tiny little angel, gave her heart a little flutter of emotions, just as it had in the trial.

 Slowly, Minnie rose to her feet and on equally slow terms made her way to Renee, where she gently held her arms out to her before drawing her into a well-meaning hug. 

 AND HECK DID THE STINK HIT HER. IT WAS LIKE A SWEATY GYM SOCK TIMES EIGHT, AND IT WAS NOW UP IN RENEE’S NOSE.

 But at least the kindness was there, nonetheless. After giving Renee a good whiff of the stank jacket, she pulls away.

I Don't Care | Minnie | Execution Reaction/Chapter 4 | Closed for Renee

 Minnie had been silent the entire duration of Minoru’s confession. She had been right with her first assumption, her gut was right despite her heart begging for it to be false, despite her mind denying it if only to keep Minoru on her side. But Minoru was on no one’s side except her own, and it seems that Sora had taken a stand against her in this motive.

 Minoru Otoishi had killed her friend, the one who called her senpai. But Sora had acknowledged her own death and hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye. But she couldn’t put her sorrow onto Sora for she said they were friends, Minoru would have to do.

 But where was Minnie to take a stance in this argument? Was it right to hate Minoru or not? While a resounding no answered her own question from the depths of her soul, it was only Minerva’s lingering fragments who urged her. Hatred was wrong, but her devotion against hatred was what caused the greater wave, wasn’t it? It’s why the voices wanted her…

…

 It would be no different here. If she spoke up against it now then Tsutomu would hate her, and she couldn’t have someone she loved so much hate her now, not when they had accepted Minnie without question. Without a word, she instead places her vote for Minoru and walks away when allowed.

 Somehow she arrives back in her dorm. The room stills smells of the stench the sickness provided, but it wasn’t like she could ever escape them. It was like the rotting of her own soul, which sat decaying in her hollow body. Despite the fact that the voices had stopped, she could still hear their whispers, the impact of their words. 

 Perhaps those voices would get what they wanted most.

Manic Depressive | Minerva | Chapter 3 | Closed for Renee

Gently Renée reached inside the blankets, taking Minnie’s hand and pressing the bottle into it.

There was a hint of desperation in her voice.

 For once, Minerva finally responds to one of the actions of Renee when she feels the water bottle in her hand. Instead of clutching it and bringing it to her fevered lips, she instead shrieks quietly at the touch of the chilled surface.

She replies. At least it was something.

Manic Depressive | Minerva | Chapter 3 | Closed for Renee

Renée sounded as assertive as she could manage without being harsh. Minnie really needed to drink something. She stood up and, with a last concerned glance at her roomate, headed out of the room to grab a bottle of water from the kitchen. She was back within five minutes.

She knelt down next to Minnie once more, offering the bottle to the other girl tentatively.

She stressed the need as gently as she could while still sounding urgent.

 Minerva made no reply to Renee as had been the tradition in their interactions thus far. Neither did she accept the water when Renee offered it to her, she just kept muttering her despair, shaking occasionally.

 You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

Manic Depressive | Minerva | Chapter 3 | Closed for Renee

That all sounded…familiar. Daisy’s earlier words about her mother floated through her head, and Renée’s stomach lurched. Very gently, she kneeled down next to Minnie’s bed.

The sweating was concerning. Minnie was going to dehydrate and have a heat stroke if she didn’t replace all that liquid.

 Minerva breaks eye contact with Renee in favor of digging her face back into the folds of her pillow, clutching her stomach as though a monster could burst from her abdomen at any given opportunity. She shudders at the implied pain.

She moans. Well, it looks like what conversation she was having with Renee is over for now. Or maybe that meant no she had not had water.

Manic Depressive | Minerva | Chapter 3 | Closed for Renee

Minnie was very definitely ill. Renée wasn’t sure what she should do though. She was heavily hallucinating, clearly, which could go bad if she got carried away.

(tw for self deprecation, violence and victim blaming) 

At Renee’s question, Minerva finally turns to look at her. She looks terrible, if it weren’t obvious. The multiple layers of clothing and blankets along with the fever is causing sweat to pour from every gland, her hair is a sticky mess of sweat and tears, and her glossy eyes are heavily tear stained. What could be going on in that mind that would distress her so when even a murder game hadn’t gotten to her this bad? 

 She clutched at her stomach, as if a sudden pain had exploded there. The tears wouldn’t stop.

Manic Depressive | Minerva | Chapter 3 | Closed for Renee

It had been a long day, to say the least. When Renée did walk back into her room, she almost didn’t notice the quiet bundle sitting on Minnie’s bed. It was only one of the outbursts of nonsense that got her attention.

 Minerva made no attempt to vocalize any response to her roommates sudden appearance, nor did she when she even addressed her by name. Had she even heard what Renee was saying? It was difficult to tell, her routine continued as though uninterrupted by Renee’s concern at all, as though none lived in this plane by her and the voices.

The voices...

 She paused as if to hear an unseen party participate in this argument before responding with a sniveling whimper.