ITP: Chariots of Fire

[fracta_anima]

Who: Minami, Open
Where: Virgo Ward
Summary: Minami has come to Hinoto-Ri and meets people both old and new.
Warnings: Minami and friends making fools of themselves.


[So there's a young lady in the Virgo Ward who looks a bit lonely, a bit nervous, and obviously trying very hard to look brave. People who know Minako might notice this girl's striking resemblance to her. Though, if one looked closely enough, they might notice she still seems to have some baby fat on her, her face is a bit rounder, and her hair a different shade of red. She's also taken to wearing her hair pins to form XIII rather than XXII. If anyone asks she claims it's due to losing a couple hairpins and not bothering to buy more.

Being in this place is no sweat. She's been to new places practically all her life and Igor had told her she had a new Journey to partake in. Maybe this was it? The big journey she's supposed to partake in now that her brother had taken her place as the Seal? Maybe, just maybe, this is how she can pay him back?

....but did it really have to be by herself?

With that thought in mind, the girl turns a corner onto a street specializing in food vendors. Her stomach growls (loudly) and she tries not to look too embarrassed by it. That's right, she hasn't eaten for a few hours. Not since her brother had....

It's at this time a very familiar face near a fruit stand spots her. Conveniently at the same time the girl spots said face.]

Minami?!

Miki?!

[>Cue Music

The pair run at each other, both a pair of giggly high school girls incredibly happy to see each other in such a strange new place. Both even jump once they're close enough to reach other, intent on tackling each other in a bear hug.

Too bad they wind up headbutting with a loud "THUNK" and a pair of girly shrieks instead. Both wind up on the ground clutching their craniums.]

[OOC: So, yeah, both Miki and Minami will be replying to threads after making idiots out of themselves. Expect threadjacking and don't be afraid to threadjack yourselves!]

Comments

[fracta_anima]

[Arisato 'sisters' unite against the man from the tacky 80s music video?]

Uh, yeah. Miki mentioned you were here. It's nice to meet you in person.

[Awkwaaaaard. She'd heard about Minako leading SEES and a few other details and while it's inifinitely less awkward than Minato, it's still awkward to think she may or may not have had another sister or that Minako is another version of herself. Minami had never looked too closely into her past and considering her injuries when she was in the car accident, she had trouble remembering much from before then.

Minami withdraws her hand and instead gets the other flavor of Featherman gum.]

Getting something to eat, too?

[greatseal]

Yeah, I didn't feel like having to go out or cook later.

[Although her shopping basket is sort of mostly filled with junk food like chips rather than the base of any sort of actual meal... Well there's some prepackaged microwave udon.

To be honest... the inside of Minako's head is still frozen, and she can't take her eyes off of the girl beside her. She's shorter, and her face is rounder (though she still wouldn't call her fat, Miki) but the family resemblance is still far more obvious than between her and Minato. It's probably just their gender and closer hair and eye color, but it's still strange. Like she's seeing an actor picked to portray her... almost the same, but not quite.

...That's not really a line of thought she wants to keep trailing down, so she cuts it off. She has important things to do now. This the sort of situation where she thrives the most - keeping her energy despite any obstacle thrown in her way. Minami may be a surprise, but she's here and it's her job as the older - as the veteran in Hinoto-ri to give a good impression.]

But what about you? If you've just arrived, someone should be showing you around to the best restaurants, not the convenience store!

[fracta_anima]

Uh, yeah, about that....

[Minami laughs and then toys with the cord of her MP3 Player, twisting it and untwisting it around her ring, middle, and index fingers as she tends to do when she's nervous and has to fight to keep at all still and not flit about everywhere.

this is Minako. Minako. Minami just can't wrap her brain around it.]

Miki and I were a little too, uh, enthusiastic about seeing each other and wound up headbutting. I'm looking for some Eve Quick or some other aspirin for the headache.

[greatseal]

[She pauses for a moment...


...and then starts to giggle. She can just picture what that must have looked like.]

I think the medicines are on the next aisle. Let's go look.

[fracta_anima]

[She giggles a bit, too. Another thing she tends to do when she's nervous: it helps ease the tension. She follows her 'cousin' to the next aisle.]

It's not the first time we've done things like that. Yukari thinks Junpei's a horrible influence on us with how often we wind up in situations right out of an American slapstick cartoon.

[greatseal]

I'm not sure Junpei-kun would really have much to do with it...

[It's you two who are clumsy! Not that she'd say it like that, because it would sound rude and she just thinks it's amusing, honestly.] Mm, well, I'm not exactly always graceful myself!

[fracta_anima]

Considering he talked us into pretending to be his 'adoring sisters' for Operation Babehunt? I'd say he had a bit to do with it.

[It's more they're only really clumsy when they're being idiots around one another like good friends tend to be. Put both of them on the battlefield and you couldn't even tell they were ever clumsy.]

[greatseal]

Um.... "Operation Babe Hunt?"

[What... exactly had Junpei been doing in a practically all-female SEES?]

[fracta_anima]

His big plan to pick up chicks at the beach. He kept complaining that there weren't any guys he could pull it off with so I volunteered to be his 'adoring sister' while he tried to get a date. I almost felt bad for him and his awful pickup lines.

[greatseal]

I... see.

[This put a whole new dimension on some of the things Akihiko had said after the beach trip. Junpei, really.... Or maybe she should be more exasperated that Akihiko tagged along?]

[fracta_anima]

That was also the day I met Aigis, now that I think about it. [There's a fond tone in her voice. She had always been close to Aigis, especially now that she knows her version essentially saved her life as a child.]

Did you guys have a nice time in Fukushima, too?

[greatseal]

Overall, yeah! [apart from Ikutsuki spreading lies and upsetting Yukari.] We met Aigis then, too.

[She's fond of Aigis also, even if... what she did was the opposite of saving her life. But it gave her the chance to save the entire world.]

[fracta_anima]

[Ikutsuki should've DIAFed big time. >B|] Huh. Neat. Oh! Is it true you're going to start senior year instead of your second like me? 'Cause the whole twin thing I heard about is kind of weird to me.

[greatseal]

[well it's weird to her too you know but she avoids saying that.] That's right... Minato's my twin. I was in 2-F with Yukari-chan, Junpei-kun and Aigis.

[fracta_anima]

[Huh.] You know, I'm not surprised Aigis would be in 2F with you guys. In my world she's in 1C with Miki and me. She was so mad she couldn't sit next to me, though.

[greatseal]

I don't think Misuru-senpai would've left her on her own somewhere. [...It would have been dangerous.] But... she actually did get to sit next to me.

[fracta_anima]

She must have been ecstatic. It took the longest time for me to figure out why she wanted to so badly. I still wasn't used to a lot of people wanting me around at the time.

[greatseal]

[That last statement is a little sad to hear so directly. It echoes thoughts she's long since pushed away, and wouldn't be able to share herself. But Aigis had come in the summer, and Minako had already found some good friends on the way to becoming better. By then the empty feeling was already mostly healed...]

I think that's okay, since she didn't know it herself, either.

[fracta_anima]

[It's easy for Minami to say to Minako, which is weird, since it's only been a handful of people she's ever mentioned those kind of feelings to. Part of her wonders if this is the famed "Arisato Magic" a few kids at school claimed she and Minato had had over the last few months and how easy it could be for people to talk to them.]

Pretty much. So! [She claps her hands in front of her much the same way as in Minako's icon.] What do you personally like to do for fun? [It might be awkward, but she does want to get to know Minako better.]

[greatseal]

[It's definitely been easier for her to open up to Minato than anyone else. But she also has childhood memories there... With Minami, it's a little different, because of the added awkward timelines. She doesn't want to scare her off before they've even started and to be honest, she feels like she should be trying extra hard to be a role model. To be someone Minami wants to depend on.

So getting to know her better isn't something she'll object to.]

Well, lots of things! I played volleyball in school, but I also like music and karaoke, arcades, window shopping.... going out to eat... [that gets near the end of the list so it's not so obvious.] And I like crafts and cooking, mostly baking and desserts though. Reading, too, though I like getting out and walking more than staying inside a lot. And of course, being with friends!

[fracta_anima]

Being with friends with awesome. [No matter how much she got moved around with the only explanation being "they don't want you" as a kid, she tried to make friends. Even kept in touch with a couple from middle school. Then she made a ton at Gekkoukan and it's only recently she truly feels like she's settled in one place and will be staying for a long time.]

And I'm not very good at cooking, but Mitsuko offered to teach me sometime and I'm thinking about maybe taking up the guitar. [She'd wanted to before, but since she'd essentially had to live out of a suitcase most of her life, learning any kind of instrument had been impractical.

Yeah, these differences with Minako are definitely putting her at ease. Some part of Minami had worried they'd be carbon copies of one another or, worse, that she'd feel inferior next to her, but like this? Well, maybe they can be friends down the road.]

[greatseal]

[Minako is glad about it too, not because of insecurity, really, but just because... it's easier like this. Minami is her own person, a younger relative. There's no need for her to be the same.]

Oh, I'm glad you met Grandpa Bunkichi and Grandma Mitsuko too. [The bookstore couple were far too kind, and they were some of the people she felt the worst about leaving behind. Minami at least, would be able to keep her promises...] And the guitar sounds fun. I used to play the piano, but I'm a little out of practice now.

[fracta_anima]

[And she planned on making good on each and every single one of her promises.]

Really? That's so cool, how'd you get into it? [The piano. Minami is guessing Minako's living situation might've been very different from hers, meaning Ikutsuki might not have been as "involved" in it as for her. Which would be great, in her opinion, if at least one of them had been left alone before Gekkoukan to just live their lives.

That being said, she finally finds the Eve Quick on the shelf and puts it in her own basket.] Hey, when we're done here do you want to get lunch or something?

[greatseal]

[Unfortunately in the end 'left alone' wasn't so different in practice, even if it was in circumstances. But Minako, not yet knowing this, pauses. The past is still difficult for her to discuss. It goes against her whole philosophy of optimism, looking forward, and presenting a cheerful face to others. But, Minami is family. Like Minato, she's someone who understands, and deserves an answer.

She continues lightly, but with a slight tinge of nostalgia.] Well, Grandfather wanted me to take music lessons, and they continued for a while even after he couldn't look after me anymore. [Until she'd been passed far enough that the instructions of a deceased patriarch hadn't meant anything anymore.]

But lunch sounds good to me... Is Miki-chan still around here, or did she have to leave?

[fracta_anima]

I.... actually lost track of her since we both went looking for places to get some headache meds. [And Minami had asked for some time alone to process everything.] I can send her a message to see if she wants to come.

And.... did you really get to stay with Grandfather? [Minami hadn't really looked into the past too much. It was too painful for her to think of most of the time to think of the cycle of awkwardness, hope, and bitter disappointment.

Truthfully, Minami didn't know if she had any other relatives, but it would be something to look into now that she can move on. She'd already been planning on contacting a few of her old foster families to find out if they truly hadn't wanted her for the sake of closure, but that was on the backburner thanks to being here. Why not look into her other relatives as well?] What was he like?