destinystrings | [Closed] Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain

Entry tags:

[Closed] Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain

Who: Shinjiro Aragaki (

themortalhalf) and Miki Sanada (

helenchanted) and Akihiko Sanada (

risetocaesar).
Minor appearances by Minako Arisato (

greatseal) and Minato Arisato (

fools_journey)
Where: Shinjiro's Apartment (Libra 7-06)
Summary: The orphan trio has a lot of catching up to do. Continued from here.
Warnings: Some possible language on Shinjiro's part. Teal deer. IDK.

Shinjiro pours the green tea he's made into two ceramic cups, leaving them onto the counter near the side of the sink absentmindedly, giving the tea a few minutes to cool while he waits for Miki to get back from changing out of her festival clothes. Perhaps she hadn't needed to, but what they had needed was a few minutes to breathe, and he was more than willing to give her as much space and time as she needed before coming down to his apartment again. They both needed a few moments to themselves before diving into things. Most of which he wasn't looking forward to telling her. Not when she had looked so upset and confused as it was—though she seemed to possess the Sanada habit to recover fairly quickly, all things considered. Meanwhile, he's still trying to digest some of the things Minako had told him.

He wonders then if he should make something quick and more substantial to go along with the tea, though decides against it seconds later. Food would only be an unwanted distraction that would probably be left mostly untouched. And... hell, he doesn't even know what food Miki likes now. That alone makes him suddenly and painfully aware of the divide that's between them. She seemingly knows him, but... he doesn't know her. Just the shadow of her that rests in the dust-filled hallways of a part of his life that's come and gone.

She was clearly different now, exuding the type of confidence he never expected out of the little girl that was, in his mind, little but a fragment of memory a decade decayed. He suddenly feels inadequate. He isn't her Shinjiro, after all. He'll never remember her like she might be expecting him to. He doesn't know how to fix this kind of thing. How to start over. Continue from where they left off. It had been ten long years for him. Who knows how long for her. This place was a pain in the ass, even though no words can quite express how happy he is to know that she's been able to make a life for herself somewhere, and that he and Aki had maybe been able to be a part of it—for a little while, at least. And it's comforting, in a way, that he has the chance to see what kind of person she could have been, as much as it pains him to see the potential that was cut short in his own.

He finally sits in one of the kitchen chairs, leaning his elbows on the table, watching the door. He no longer feels the sting from the scrape on his face from where the geta had hit him, though he can still feel the rough redness that's making his eyes feel dry and irritated, though he had managed to dam everything back as they had made their way back to the apartments. Shinjiro hadn't trusted himself to talk for more than a few words at a time, and his mind was busy enough trying to figure out what to do. How to tell her the things she needed and deserved to know, and how to ask the questions of her that needed to be answered. He had to be so damn sure about everything this time, about who she was (though he didn't doubt it), about what had happened in her timeline and where they stood at this point, that it would kill him to find out that he was wrong.

He couldn't bring Aki into this until then. He could do that much for him at least—and her. He didn't know what kind of timeline Miki had been taken from, but she couldn't have any idea how her brother had lived on his side. How he probably couldn't pass a single toy store without thinking of her. There's a reason they rarely brought her up.

He picks up his COMP then, absentmindedly at first, before he fires a text message Minato's way.

Make sure you get the right tank with a filter.
10 gallons if she's bringing home one. Bigger if she wants more.

Though maybe they had already found something at this point. He doesn't know. But the text would do its job. It says "look after your sister" just as much as it says "we're fine, so stop worrying." As "fine" as things can be, anyway. And Minako will know about it if she's around. Might keep the eventual interrogation at bay for a little while longer.

And now he all he can do is wait. For the tea to cool and Miki to come back and his emotions to settle.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He has no reason to check his COMP, but he'll pick it up sometime later, reading the unsent messages. He's not sure what to make of the fact that she's naming a damned fish after him. Or the pun.

His reaction to Minako's message is a slightly different story. Luckily, such reactions aren't usually shown through a bunch of typed words. He's thankful, at this point, for its emotionless presentation.]

I'll talk to you tomorrow.

[The appreciation is unsaid, but it's there.]

[~~kyaa senpai noticed me!!1!~~

she will wait patiently for him to come by when he's ready.]

[~~kyaaa! giiiirrrrl senpai has looked in your direction!!!1~~.

he will come and visit her after his best friend's not-so-dead-sister posts some spoilers for her eyes to behold. Until then, enjoy the radio silence.]

Once she gets done learning the spoilers she's just going to sit. In silence. Staring at the fishtank.

She should probably call Minato. But something else is keeping her from doing so.

This continues until Shinjiro ends up interrupting.

And he'll come over soon enough, after he gets up, sees the message, marvels at it, and showers, making sure the water is as damn cold as he can make it. Eventually, he'll make a hard exit out of his doorway, walking over to hers and wondering if the distance between their two apartments had always been this short. He stares at the door for a few seconds, like the door might suddenly become a portal to somewhere, before knocking.

Under normal circumstances, Minako might have quite a few remarks to make about her door being a portal to somewhere, and a few more about this being the first time he's ever been in her bedroom. But right now... both of their minds are in other places. It will have to wait.

When she hears the knock it takes her a moment to right herself (she'd been lying back on the bed and hugging a pillow, maybe she needs to invest in a teddy bear or something if these kind of situations are going to become normal.) But she does, and pads across the kitchen to open the door.

She's wearing a sweater, skirt and socks, but doesn't look close to being ready to go out anywhere. Her hair isn't pinned, for one. She gives him a once-over.

"....You look terrible," is the first thing from her mouth.

There will be a time and a place for that. The fact that he's walking into her apartment doesn't really faze him. Not yet anyway. He shrugs at her comment. "It's fine."

And he will be. As hoarse as his voice sounds and at how red his eyes are and at how tired he is, he'll be back his version of normal in a few days and a good chunk of actual sleep later. What Miki had told him had been a lot to take in, coupled with the things he had to tell her in return, but it's nothing he can't handle. In the end, whatever price he has to pay to see someone who died ten years ago is a price he's willing to accept without question. "I saw her..." he pauses. "...apology."

"So did I."

This probably answers a few of his questions, though not exactly thoroughly. She steps aside to allow him through the door. "...Do you want some tea?"

She hasn't made any yet, but she could.

He steps inside, taking off his shoes as he does so. "She said she had talked to you. And your brother."

He doesn't know if Minako's talked to him yet, but at least it might save her some time wondering how to explain things if she hasn't. Once inside, he nods. "Tea's fine."

He had a cup of coffee before coming here, too, and with any luck, the caffeine in it will last awhile, but if he's going to talk, might as well drink something. At least Miki's ill-timed message has probably saved him from having to explain a good chunk of everything, even if she had gone about it ass-backwards. It wasn't the way he had wanted Minako to hear it—not out of the blue like that, but that's how things are.

"It looked like Mitsuru-senpai saw too." Which is somehow more awkward than either her or Minato hearing about it that way. "...But I haven't decided what to say to him yet."

How do you begin that conversation? 'I heard you're a murderer in another world, but it's all right. And what should we do about that sister...'

Instead of considering it, she busies herself with making the tea. "You didn't need to come over so soon, though. They're still at your place, aren't they?"

It had been pretty obviously Shinjiro's room in the background of the video. No one else had such a complete lack of decoration. Even she has put up a calendar and her fish tank even if it is absurdly neat.

"Yeah." And that's just another can of worms. It looked like the conversation had switched to private, but he'll have to send Mitsuru a message or talk to her over the watches or in-person, unless Aki gets to her first. He can only imagine what she must have thought upon seeing that upon waking up. At least Minako had—he assumed, anyway—been able to put two and two together at the festival. He can only guess she passed the information along to her brother from there.

He tilts his head, watching her make the tea. He feels like he should be brewing it himself, not making her do it, but he's too tired to protest much. "Aki's asleep." And Miki. She had wanted him to go, which was a stark contrast to last night, when it looked like she might not let either of them leave her sight ever. Instead of receiving that upon waking, that look of 'please don't go' she had been the one who had suggested that he leave before he could even broadcast his intentions. She was a weird girl. "They probably deserve to be alone for a little while."

And he had wanted to come—he won't admit to being worried exactly, but everything about the Minato in Miki's world had probably been the last thing Minako had wanted—or expected—to hear. Not that he hadn't wanted to stay with Miki, either, but there were a lot of elements at work. He didn't need to be in there as a crutch—he wondered if she still felt intimidated by just being in Aki's presence (he hoped not)—but with any luck, they would get over that awkwardness quickly.

If she knew what Miki had done, she could probably explain it to Shinjiro. The girl was already exhibiting symptoms of what some would call 'shipping.'

But if there's a reason for Shinjiro to be concerned about Minako now, she's doing her best to conceal it. As soon as he walked through the door she started to smile more, and now she's retrieving something to pull back her hair. "You can stay here, then... ...You should probably be taking a nap and not drinking tea, actually." She looks at him critically again. She's never seen his eyes this red before.

He'll be sure to keep an eye out for a shipping wall.

"When I go back I'll try again." And with his luck, something else equally spectacular would happen while he was out. Like Aigis showing up or some shit with news that their world just about hung itself for the third time because it hadn't yet figured out how to get over its suicidal tendencies. "You fine?"

"I meant you can nap here." She's not sending him back there looking like this, when Akihiko will probably want to drag them all out for beef bowls or something like that. Let the siblings catch up on their own for a little while.

And then, his question. She puts the teacups on the table. "I'm fine." She pauses, and then she shakes her head. "...Of course I'm fine. This isn't about me... It's about you, her, and Akihiko-senpai."

All that mattered was that Miki was alive and with them again. Everything else is the past of a timeline none of them will ever see. No matter how hard it is to hear.

"Here?" He hadn't really thought about it. It was like there were some hard and fast rules at work here that governed what you did and did not do in any given situation, and this was something that teetered so precariously on the greyer middle of the scale to the point it just fell off the radar.

But he accepts her answer with a nod and a quiet "okay" and goes no further than that, drinking the tea instead.

Whether or not he fully believes her, he's not going to pry. Not like either of them had enjoyed talking about themselves, anyway. All he knows is that she has a tendency to latch on people after knowing them for only a short time, and it wouldn't surprise him if the two alternate Arisatos had managed to make some sort of impression, if only because they were a part of the family group Minako considered herself to be a part of. Miki had said she had told Minako about half, so he assumes she has been told the things that were relevant to her—things she would have asked about. Not that they could change any of it. The worlds they will all go home to will never be the ones they hear fantastical stories about.

But the fact that such worlds like Miki's exist means something. Those worlds were like his watch: a reminder about how things could have gone.

And there is also a slim chance one of those people from this Miki's timeline will eventually show up, just like Miki had. And that would start to make things feel less like a disturbing story and more like a tangible skeleton with flesh and blood and a heart that actually worked.

At least, for the moment, what had happened wasn't a bad thing. Good news still isn't something he's used to. Miki had come to this world wrapped in layers of confusing wire, but once you get past that, everything is surprisingly okay.

Edited 2012-10-02 04:33 (UTC)

He really can read her well. But there's still nothing she can do from here. She can't turn back time in Miki's world, save Minato from being broken, rescue that Akihiko from the fire, stop Ken from joining Strega or anything else. It's just as finished as her own Journey.

All she can do is be there for the friends she has now. The family she has now. And most importantly of all, Miki is making two people she deeply cares about happy. There's no way she'll let herself spoil that.

"...So now there's six of us," she decides to say, then sips from her own cup. "I wonder if the rest of SEES will show up soon." ...And whether there might be more surprise members.

"Aki figured this place was trying to collect the set."

This place still made him feel like they were little more than pawns on a chessboard, except they were pawns that had been given a very convincing illusion of autonomy to keep them from revolting until the game was through. And it's done its job. He can't hate this place, though he can't help but feel apprehensive sometimes.

He'll also never admit that he wouldn't mind seeing the rest of SEES again. Wouldn't mind taking a walk with that mutt one morning. Spite Aki's ridiculous exercise schedule a little bit. He thinks he's done with surprises though. For awhile. He thinks he's had his fair share of them for the next six months. Next one might do more than just leave him sleep-deprived.

"Might as well start betting."

Well... "I think you'd be happiest if it were Koro-chan." He shouldn't think for a second that he fooled anyone in the dormitory about his relationship to that dog.

Ken might be another person it would be good for him to see... but she's not sure she wants to wish this kind of experience on Ken, as much as she too would like to see him. Hinoto-ri doesn't seem much more dangerous than home was, so far, but it still isn't home.

Edited 2012-10-02 05:34 (UTC)

"I'm fine with what I've got. Don't need a dog."

Relationship? He has no idea what "relationship" you are referring to. That video you would like to present as evidence before the judge was doctored by a pun-loving bastard.

And Ken can stay where he is. The kid needs to re-learn how to act his age. And with him not around in Aki's world—and in a convenient coma in another—he might start to be able to.

Edited 2012-10-02 06:46 (UTC)

"Fine with what you've got... I guess I'll accept that." Even if it's patently untrue. Everything is better with Koromaru.

Ken acting his age, though, is probably not going to happen, despite either of their efforts. Maybe if he hangs around with Junpei enough.

But that isn't acting like a kid so much as it is learning to act like a moron. ...Though Iori might be a better role model than most people would openly give him credit for. There are worse people Ken could take to. That's something that's been proven in the last 24 hours.

He shoots her a look, lacking its usual intimidating edge, smiles a little. "Dunno what that's supposed to mean."

He's going to have to start reading from a script at this rate, one he'd have to get approved first.

He'll have to keep not knowing, because she's changing the subject now.

"Did you see the fishtank yet?" No, he hasn't, because it's mostly out of view in the other room. "Minato helped me set everything up last night."

"No." Unless he secretly crept onto her balcony last night, he doesn't see how he could. "I was wondering where you put it."

He thought it'd be around the front living area somewhere, quite honestly. Seems like someone had other ideas.

"It's right in there." She points through the open door into the bedroom. She thought it would be more interesting if she could see the fish when she was doing things, not just during meals or when she's walking in or out. "Next to the desk."

So that's the "SEAS" fishtank then.

He has to twist his head around a bit to spot it, but he eventually does, eyes cutting a path through the open doorway until they find it. Looks like a decent tank (...her brother was certainly stronger than Shinjiro had originally been willing to give him credit for, because someone had to carry that damn thing), and his eyes easily register small, brief flashes of color from its inhabitants as they swim around their enclosure. Sometimes the fish stay still enough to count, and he thinks he spots Aki's namesake. ...Still alive, huh. Guess his adventure into completely unknown territory hadn't been enough to kill him. Unsurprising.

But just how many had she come home with? Five of them? More?

She is certainly enthusiastic about her new pet project.

"Just how many did you get?"

[text some time later.]

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