ic contact;

[battering]

UNIT № 1 0 7
"Yo, this is Yata!
Make the message worth my time
an' I'll get back to ya!"

[ call | text | voicemail | action ]

Comments

action

[battering]

[ Forward Yata: the AU. ]

Sounds good... maybe we can do stuff that they only have where you're from, too.

action

[redsea]

[ the AU... Kougyoku looks distressed. ]

I don't know if they have them here... Do you think Exsilium has flying carpets?

action

[battering]

[ Flying carpets... real life Disney princess Kougyoku Ren. ]

Uh, maybe. I mean, I haven't seen any, but maybe someone's got some hidden. [ a beat, and he laughs, ] You really have those?

action

[redsea]

We really do! Do you think I'm lying? How else was I supposed to get around? Carpets are just... faster!

action

[battering]

I don't think you're lying! It's just cool, that's all. How different both places are.

action

[redsea]

Yeah, it is. I wish I could show you my world. The truth is, I haven't seen a lot of it. [ even though her brother wants to conquer the world ] But if you were with me, we could sneak out. Then we could go to all sorts of places together!

[ A whole new world on a magic carpet ride. ]

action

[battering]

Do you think maybe they'd let us visit? They have all this stuff that lets us travel to different places, right? Aah, it'd be great if I could spend a few days in your world and then we could just jump over back and forth so I could show you around Japan.

[ He sighs, a hopeful smile making its way across his features at the thought. If only. ]

Sneaking out though, huh... who knew you were such a troublemaker, Kou-chan? [ He approves. ]

action

[redsea]

The palace is so boring! Can you truly blame me? [ a sigh. ] I wish they did. It would be nice... I mean, I've already been to Japan, but it isn't the same as your Japan, is it?

action

[battering]

If you've never had ice cream, then no, probably not the same one. Ah! And you could see Kusanagi-san's bar and meet the rest of HOMRA. I bet Anna would be happy to have another girl around.

action

[redsea]

Anna... I, I would love to meet Anna. Tatara's told me many things about her. She is HOMRA's princess, right? A princess so powerful, she can bring even Mikoto down on his knees!

action

[battering]

[ Yata laughs, loud and genuine at her wording. ]

That's about right, yeah! Mikoto-san would do anything for her. All of us would. [ nod nod. dumb thicker-than-blood bonds and shit. ]

action

[redsea]

[ They really look out for each other, huh... ]

But that is peculiar. Did Mikoto truly have a daughter at such a young age? Is that a custom in Japan?

action

[battering]

-- what? Anna's not his daughter... did Totsuka-san say she was?

action

[redsea]

No, but... She's your princess... [ Because she's Mikoto's daughter? Right? Maybe she's adopted? This is Totsuka's fault, either way. ]

action

[battering]

Mm, that's just a title! She's really cute and little, and she always wears those fancy poofy dresses like one of those princess dolls. She's also the only girl in HOMRA, so I guess we all just started thinking of her that way.

[ It's all Totsuka's fault, yes. ]

action

[redsea]

Ah, I see. [ She should start getting fancier dresses for her Anna doll, then. ] That does put things into perspective.

Perhaps I should go there. Leaving a little girl in the care of men isn't very good. [ In a smaller voice: ] She needs an older sister.

[ Not that Kougyoku knows how to take care of kids or has any experience in being an older sister figure, but she wants to make a female friend that badly. Maybe she should make a list of things she and Anna can do together, too.

Even if she's well aware of the fact that she might never meet Anna at all. ]

action

[battering]

[ He opens his mouth, prepared to interject that hey, they take really good care of her, but. ]

Yeah, you should come... do you have older-sister experience? Siblings, or whatever.

action

[redsea]

No, I'm the youngest of ten. [ TEN!!! Her smile turns into a small frown. ] None of my sisters ever paid me any attention, though.

[ She thinks of her cousins: there was Hakuei, who acted like an older sister, but she didn't like her; there was Hakuryuu, who was a year younger, but they weren't close. Yet the more she saw them together, the more she wanted an older sister to rely on and a younger brother to dote on.

A smile makes its way on her face once again. ]

But I think it would be nice, being one.

action

[battering]

Ten?! Wow...

[ jesus. he can't even comprehend having that many siblings, let alone ones that don't acknowledge you. instead of focusing on that one negative bit, he smiles back at her and nods. ]

I think you'd be a great older sister.

action

[redsea]

[ She's so happy, she's trembling. ]

Do you think Anna will like me? [ She already asked Totsuka, but. Validation... ]

action

[battering]

Yeah, of course she will! Everyone else in HOMRA will too.

[ Why are you trembling, are you a chihuahua-- he pats her head :( ]

action

[redsea]

[ Too late, she's crying. She can't help it—she knows it can't happen. ]

I want to go... I want to go...

action

[battering]

[ Shit. Shiiiiit. Hesitantly, he pulls her in for a hug. Three times now!! Totsuka had suggested a hug last time she cried in front of them, so... ]

I know... I'd do anything to make it so you could go, even for just a little while.

action

[redsea]

[ Overcome with emotion, she hugs her friend back and rests her head on his shoulder. The tears won't stop. She thought they would. She hoped they would. Yata did say it was better to cry than to keep it in, but right now, she feels like a child.

... Well, in the end, she's only a child. ]

I want to meet Anna and the rest of HOMRA, I want to play more games with Eric, I want to take pictures and fill up a million albums with Tatara—

[ Kougyoku sobs, gasps for air, tightens her hold on the back of his shirt— ]

I want Izumo to be there to tell me "Welcome home" like he always does, I want to see Mikoto... and I... With you... [ She can't even say it. ]

action

[battering]

[ He's sad the hug doesn't have the intended effect, both because he realizes how much he hates to see her sad and... it's tough, knowing that the right thing to do is to comfort her in some vague way and just let her cry it out, probably lessen their attachment so it hurts less in the end.

Yata has never been very good at that, and his arms tighten around her slightly. ]

... please come with us. [ The words are soft to keep his voice from cracking. ] I know it's really selfish, and everyone in your world needs you, but Kou-chan I-- we need you too...