Keiko knew something was wrong with Botan the moment she laid eyes on her.
Not because she was physic, or because she was could deduce things in the blink of an eye. She knew because she was a woman. And when she looked at Botan, it was like looking in a mirror.
She recognized that fake, plastic smile, cracking at the seams from overuse. The forced openness of her eyes and the almost harsh way she spit out her laughs, like the very act of it pained and disgusted her.
She wore a mask that all women wear at some point in their lives, but for her, it seemed as if she had been wearing it for far too long. It was falling apart, this fake person she tried to be, and she didn't even know it. Or perhaps she did, but was so used to lying to herself that she didn't know how to stop.
It was sad.
So Keiko decided to do everything in her power to make those smiles real, to help the bitter, angry girl stuck in that body come out and learn to be happy again.
She didn't know who she had been before the mask and frankly, she didn't care. If she could get her to laugh, to cry, even to scream in genuine frustration, then she would be content.
It would be hard, but Keiko felt she was up to the challenge.
AN: Heh, Keiko really doesn't know what she's getting into does she?
Review Please!
~Delgodess
