(no subject)

[hasleveledup]

Who: Junpei and you!
Where: Pisces District, rail station
Summary: Junpei is no longer in Iwatodai. What do?
Style: I'm good with either.
Warnings: None at the moment.

Damn it, that's the last time I pull an all-night gaming marathon.

[Junpei sighs and stretches, kicking his feet out and throwing his arms up before relaxing back onto his seat. Yes, an all-nighter playing games is not the wisest thing to do. But...things had happened. Good things, but also sad ones. Distraction was all he could do to take his mind off of it.]

Ah well, beats lying in bed doing nothing.

[He rubs at his eyes and yawns, his vision clearing. He wasn't on his bed. In fact, it appeared he was sitting in a station. He finds his ball cap sitting beside him, and immediately pulls it on.]

Wh-what? Where am I? Dude, this ain't the dorm... Heck, I'm pretty sure this isn't Iwatodai either. How did I end up here? Where is here?

[He stands up, taking a few steps around to see if he can get a feel for where he is. Was that dream real?]

Aww man, good thing I have my wallet. Should have just enough yen to hop a train back home...and maybe some breakfast too. This is too weird.

[Junpei also has his Evoker, oddly enough. Why would he need it anymore, though?

Time to get a move on.]

Comments

[hasleveledup]

I gotcha. This place is really starting to pick up. Can't blame'em though, they got jobs to go to.

[But there are also people in school uniforms. School didn't start for another couple of weeks...]

Never thought I'd say this again, but lead the way, Minako-chan!

[themortalhalf]

[He can't say he has any hard feelings about it.]

I guess we could head back to the Dorm. [Though they might run into Minato if they head back that way. But at the very least he agrees that they shouldn't stay here. It'll only get more congested and this is hardly the place for talking.] There's also a café that's not too far from here.

[greatseal]

I'm up for the cafe! [Was.... that even actually in question here?] I didn't really get to eat breakfast this morning anyway.

[While they're deciding, she calls up her COMP as discreetly as possible, which means using the watch part. She quickly writes a text to Minato. 'Junpei-kun's here & knows me. Senpai and I will explain things. We'll miss class today... Meet you this afternoon?'

Hopefully this will be enough to head him off.]

[fools_journey]

[ For better or worse, the ping of a new message sounds clearly from just a short distance away, where Minato is slouching his way over. In fact, the ping sound right as he is smiling a little, both at the sight of a familiar ball cap and because he is right behind and a little to the side of Minako, just starting to poke her in the side. ]

Junpei--

[ Well, whatever he was going to say never gets said, because the ping also distracts him and he glances down at his watch. He doesn't stop his poke, though. ]

[greatseal]

[Normally he might not have gotten a huge reaction, but the poke combined with the current situation, the comp chime and the voice directly behind her ear makes Minako jump at least a foot. She then whirls to face the blue-haired jerk.]

Minato, don't sneak up on people! [And somewhat reflexively, she pokes him right back.]

[themortalhalf]

[Shinjiro, meanwhile, has the dignity not to look surprised at Minato's not-so-sudden appearance. (Because, honestly, when does Minato appear anywhere suddenly; he merely lurks around, occasionally going unnoticed thanks to crowd cover and inattention.) A single eyebrow does rise perhaps a quarter of an inch when Minako jumps halfway out of her skin, and were Junpei not just feet away from them, he might have the situation funny. He's seen very little ruffle Minako even in the most precarious of situations, and it makes him feel a little bit better about himself and everything he's had to suffer through over the past seven months.

Well, it is a little bit funny still. Fractionally. It manages to penetrate the deep recesses of his mind where his sense of humor does indeed exist, though rationality is quickly writing the situation off as something juvenile and silly. But none of those emotions have a chance to leak through his stubborn facade. He has someone to act for, after all. He hasn't seen Junpei in seven months, and Shinjiro will be damned if he lets his possibly sickly constitution back home stick longer than it takes him to forcibly make it go away.

He'll let Minako take care of her brother, anyway. See him off so they can talk properly, or whatever she wants to do. He's not going to interfere with that, just nod in Minato's direction. He's going to do the dutiful "boyfriend" thing and not say a word.

None at all.]

[hasleveledup]

[Meanwhile, Junpei enjoys a laugh. This guy's got stealth! He looks pretty laid back as well, which is good in Junpei's book.]

Hey man, what's up?

[He extends a hand to Minato.] Junpei Iori. You're a friend of Minako-chan's?

[fools_journey]

[ There's a slight hesitation in Minato's actions - a microscopic pause that most people wouldn't catch, though Minako and maybe Shinjiro might. And then he takes Junpei's hand, shaking it once. ]

... something like that. I'm her brother. Minato.

[ And he smiles a little. If there's something a bit sad and resigned in his eyes, hopefully Junpei will pay it no mind. It hurts, after all, to have someone you care about not recognize you, but... Minato is determined not to make a big deal about it. After all, he knows it must have been the same for Minako and Akihiko or MItsuru. It's just... this hurts a bit more than not being recognized by Shinjiro or Koromaru because, well... it's Junpei. They were bros, once! ... usually. ]

[hasleveledup]

I didn't know you had a brother! What else are you keeping secret?

[Junpei gently and playfully elbows Minako. While he does notice Minato is not as chipper as his sister, he considers it some form of shyness. Or maybe he's just quiet. Either way, so far, he's a pretty cool guy. He can see a few similarities right off the bat.]

Nice to meet you Minato. You coming with us for breakfast?

[greatseal]

[Leave it to Junpei to not even question it. That's a good thing - but she's still going to have to tell the full story eventually.]

It's not really secret... [It just. Never came up before. And for good reason, but.] But that's part of what I wanted to explain.

[She glances at Minato, noting the expression. There are still things she needs to warn Junpei about, but she can't just send her brother away now that he's here. She'll just have to risk it.] Do you want to come along? I think school's a lost cause today.

[fools_journey]

[ He had been going to ask about school, but she preempted him. And so he blinks and looks sidelong at Minako and then at Shinjiro, searching for whether this is just a polite inclusion or whether really they want to just talk to Junpei on their own. But well... her expression is giving away nothing, and Shinjiro is being unhelpful, so he shoves his hands in his pockets. ]

Sure.... should we send a message to our teacher, though?

[themortalhalf]

[The idea of sending a message to their homeroom teacher explaining their whereabouts hadn't crossed Shinjiro's mind. He evaluates Minato's answer without much in the way of expression, and answers Minato's question with a casual shrug of his shoulder first before speaking.]

If you want.

[He doesn't see the point of it—they're adults and don't need to explain their whereabouts to anyone—but he's never been a die-hard academic hellbent on making a fantastic first impression. And having Minato along should be fine, as long as the conversation is monitored. It makes things a little bit more complicated, but nothing they can't deal with, so long as they have at least a few seconds' warning, so one of them can steer the conversation in a less awkward direction.]

[greatseal]

I can do that. [She'd been planning to anyway, but now she can include Minato on the list of absentees. Hopefully, their teacher won't care. They are Visitors, after all. But she doesn't want a reputation as a poorly motivated student.]

But we should get going - the platform's getting really crowded.

[hasleveledup]

Wait, you guys are all going to school here?

[They're in some weird new place to save the world, and they're attending classes? That sounds kind of bogus to Junpei...then again, even though he's putting more effort into his schoolwork, it just doesn't make sense.]

[fools_journey]

[ Wow Shinjiro it is VERY IMPORTANT to not make the teacher think you're a loser who doesn't care about school and randomly skips class, okay.

But Minato is perfectly okay with starting to shuffle off away from the platform to someplace less crowded and with delicious food. Or at least good coffee. He wants to go drown in a cup of coffee right now... And get the confusing time and parallel world shenanigans out of the way. Get through Junpei's freaking out - if he hasn't done so already - and... he doesn't know. Try to make friends again, he guesses. He doesn't think it will be too hard, but... what if Junpei freaks out over the parallel worlds thing?

Well... whatever the case, for now he just plays along. ]

As long as we're here, might as well finish high school.

[themortalhalf]

[It's also important not to set up unreasonable expectations.

Perhaps, years ago, he might have grown up to be a gold-star worthy student that even Mitsuru would lavish praise upon, and become the eternal rival of the resident boxing champion, but that wasn't the case. He doesn't see the need for it (not for himself, at least; everyone else had damn near well accomplish something with their lives, and that usually entailed sitting through hours of lecture and group work. Shinjiro doesn't really have much of a legitimate reason to dislike school now, outside of old habits and insecurities that don't know what to make of themselves here, and the idea his presence here might be a single footprint on the sand, easily washed away and forgotten, has never really bolstered his motivation. Regardless, his pessimistic stubbornness makes him cling to it. Though maybe in six or seven months some of that will be nagged out of him. He'd still rather spend his time working odd jobs in Saggitarius and feeding the stray animals he has the delight of coming across.]

That's the idea.

[Not that he particularly agrees with it. Not that he cares what other people do—they can go to school if they want—but seems a bit unnecessary given the precarious circumstances. That, at least, is one thing he and Junpei have in common. He turns on his heels and slowly starts to walk towards the café. If he had known this was going to happen, he would have worn his coat; the pockets in this jacket aren't even close to deep enough for his hands to settle comfortably in. He's not even dressed for the occasion.]

[greatseal]

[For Minako at least, it's about getting on with life. Education may not be the most fun thing to do, but it is what's expected, and so she can work to complete it - and then move on to the next step, whatever that may be.

She would rather have done this at Gekkoukan, but this is the next best thing.]

Mm-hmm... School just started again last week; it's April here.

[She follows along beside Shinjiro, for once not taking his arm. It doesn't seem like the time for PDA.]

[hasleveledup]

Geez, Mitsuru-senpai isn't even here to get on your case!

[He laughs. He's mostly joking. He's been trying harder since...well, Chidori's little incident. Maybe the instructors are nicer here. It's a clean slate for all of them. But he's not in the state to go to school at the moment...no lie.]

It's not March? Man, I feel like that guy who slept until he was old and grey...but well, not old and grey.

sorry for being late on this :c

[fools_journey]

[ Minato almost comments that Mitsuru had been here, but... then he doesn't. Explanations about people coming and going can wait. Besides he doesn't really want to talk about that right this minute, anyway. ]

Rip Van Iori...

[ Small jokes are better! ]

Maybe you can grow a long beard for the part.

[themortalhalf]

[Shinjiro snorts at the mental imagery (ridiculous) as he weaves through the crowd and finally picks his way into a less congested area where the commuters are thinning and dispersing.

Iori's right, however: Mitsuru isn't here, not anymore. He stares ahead flatly for a moment, before his eyes flicker in Minako's direction for the briefest of seconds.]

She doesn't need to be.

[greatseal]

What Senpai means is I'm here to get on his case. [She doesn't seem ashamed of this in the slightest.] We only have one more year, after all.

[hasleveledup]

That's the guy! Rip Van-Something-or-Other!

[Junpei laughs and follows the three of them, hands shoved in his pocket as he looks around during their conversation. Hinoto-Ri has a lot of similarities to home, but it's also quite different, too.]

That's true.

[Junpei doesn't really want to skirt by life anymore. So long as he has Chidori to think about, he seems to get back on track. For the most part.

Maybe a diploma from this school will be good enough back home. I still don't really get why we're all here, though. This city doesn't look like it's suffering to me...