2022-11-18: Ambition
- Log: 2022-11-18- Ambition
- Cast: Akane Shinjo, Yuta Hibiki
- Where: ?????
- OOC - IC Date: ????? (0096-11-18)
- Summary: Akane Shinjo fails to appreciate that she already has a friend.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
This all feels very familiar.
It's a summery evening. (It's always summer in Tsutsujidai, after all.) Outside, the sun begins to drag itself down into darkness. It feels like it's setting for the first time and yet also feels like it's setting for the last time.
There's that momentary flicker of deja vu -- that feeling that the same river has been crossed twice, that the world has become an endless 'now' looping in on itself. It quickly settles down into... something more like normal.
Besides -- Yuta Hibiki only barely remembers who he is, let alone whether he's been here before.
About ten feet away, a girl hums a graduation song. She lazily plays with a pair of Taraba sofubi. Her gaze tracks to the waking boy.
(The two of them, together, make for a private joke -- and a cruel one.)
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
As far as first memories go...
Blue eyes blink and flutter. Waking up is difficult, like trying to swim up to the surface with weights pulling him down. It takes a few moments, but he manages! Before him is a beautiful girl, warm sunlight illuminating her as she plays with two little... things. Shoulder-length purple hair complements a purple hoodie perfectly. Yuta fixates on the sight, and the sound. Every piece of this memory settles into his heart with the strength of a setting foundation.
Managing to lean forward, the young man stares blearily at the girl before him. He's laying on... not a bed. A couch? Covered by a blanket stitched with blue... things, with six three-spiked branches. Despite the warmth of the room, the blanket is still comfortable. Perhaps it'd be surprising, if Yuta wasn't so dazed. This is familiar. He can't remember why it's familiar, but -- it definitely is. That's a certainty.
"Good morning. If it is." He murmurs, eyes half-lidded with confusion and exhaustion. Why was he so tired? As much as he wants to be polite to this lovely girl, he can't think of a single thing to offer her besides... "Sorry... Who are you?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
At first, all the girl has for him is a, "I was so worried when you wouldn't wake up!" But then the question comes. And it's a doozy.
No sooner has the question escaped Yuta's mouth than does the young lady stop playing around. In moments she's practically on top of him, one knee up on the couch with him, looking at him with a worried expression.
"Are you alright? Did you hit your head? Do you know who you are?" The mystery girl seems deeply comfortable invading his personal space, to say the least; are they... friends? Something more? She certainly seems worried.
Indeed, she seems so worried that she immediately hustles him up to his feet and starts helping him move toward the bathroom. He clearly needs a little time to put himself together, and a space it's easy to do that in. The bathroom is good for that, at least.
"Did you lose your memories?" she calls, from the other side of the door, once Yuta's in there -- at which point she gets distracted tidying up after him.
There's a nagging feeling all the way down Yuta's spine and into his arm. It's not quite physical -- more... the sensation that something ought to be driving him on, and just isn't.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Woah, so close..! Yuta looks totally shocked, his blue eyes wide as the young lady practically jumps on him. Is this normal for her? Or are they super close?
"U–um..!"
Finding himself suddenly in this girls' bathroom, Yuta stares at himself in the mirror. It's... quiet. Even the sounds of Akane bustling around in the other room seem to fade into the background. Something about this feels really, really wrong. Knuckles go white as he holds tight to the edge of the sink, feeling for a moment like he's entirely unmoored from reality.
Yuta waits. Looks at his own, unfamiliar face. No answers come to him.
Well... staring at himself isn't going to help anything. Time to go find that girl again. Wandering out of the bathroom, the young man finds himself in an odd shop. It looks like... Old crap everywhere? Unfamiliar tools and computer parts. Does anyone actually buy this kind of thing?
"You there. What're you doing?"
Jumping in surprise, Yuta quickly turns around. A woman is looking at him... kind of? Her eyes are hidden by her bangs, and she seems unfocused, even as she addresses him. Head resting at an angle that feels just slightly off, the lady's posture almost feels suspended. Like a puppet, Yuta thinks, moved around by an amateur. It's not quite right.
...the more he looks at her, the scarier she feels. Heart thudding in his chest, Yuta manages, "Uh! I'm sorry! I'll go!" He lowers his head in an apologetic bow, partially just so he doesn't have to look at her anymore.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Where did Akane slip off to?
Where did Yuta slip off to?
Akane reenters the scene in short order -- just as Yuta finishes trying to excuse himself. She fixes him with a stare and a small frown. "There you are!" she says, already just a little bit annoyed that she's having to chase down this wayward child even in a dream designed to get him to sit still.
"Yuta, you really shouldn't be wandering off on your own with amnesia," she says, half-pleading and half-irritated. That thought naturally leads its way into another one.
"Mama," Akane says, shifting tracks. "I'm going to take him to the hospital, okay?"
The woman doesn't answer; she simply remains there, stock-still, in that slightly inhuman posture.
Rather than force Yuta to remain in a slice of the dream in which he's obviously uncomfortable, Akane immediately sets about leading Yuta off into the foggy streets of Tsutsujidai.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"Yuta? Is that my name?" It sounds familiar, and it feels right, like a puzzle piece slotting into place.
Further questioning is cut short by Akane's statement, drawing Yuta's attention back up to this woman's – mama's? – face. She looks even more wrong now, almost like she's been turned off, or something.. Nervously, he looks between Mama and Akane. Going to the hospital is the right thing to do, isn't it? Amnesia is a medical event...
As he follows Akane out of the shop, Yuta becomes aware of something on his back. Twisting, he tries to get a look at it. It's a backpack, he thinks, but he has no idea what's inside, or why he's carrying it. This momentary distraction is enough to lead into another, almost as though he can't quite get a full thought assembled before his attention is drawn elsewhere.
Thick fog swirls around the street, making everything feel dark and oppressive. Yuta moves a little closer to Akane. "The mist sure is thick..." Is it always like this?
An answer comes in the form of a sunbeam. After the dim shop and the darkness of the street, it's blinding, and Yuta raises his arm to shield his eyes. Despite the slight pain of doing so, he finds his gaze drawn upward, past the mist. Some kind of advertisement sits on top of a building, reflecting the sunlight back at him. Squinting, Yuta tries to make out the sign. It looks like... a face? "What..?" He murmurs, staring into the light. Something about it makes his heart leap in his chest, as though recognizing a call.
Yuta blinks, and looks again. No. It's just some writing and a phone number. He must've been seeing things.
Lowering his gaze, Yuta brings his arm down. His... arm. Brows furrow as he looks at it. Is it weird that there's nothing on his arm? It almost feels like something should be there, but... How would he know? All the same, he can't help but stare at it, feeling unsteady.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Yep! Yuta Hibiki," Akane confirms, on the topic of the name -- but she doesn't linger there. She wants to get him moving.
"Seriously." That's all Akane has to say on the topic of the thickness of the mist; she's more interested in monitoring Yuta, apparently. She notices his slightly dazed look at the sky, then back to his watch -- ah, perfect. She'd been keeping this one in her back pocket -- well, her front pocket, she doesn't have any back pockets! -- for a bit, but it seems perfect now.
Reaching out, Akane gently takes Yuta by the wrist, her model builder's hands dancing swiftly until she's affixed a watch at the wrist. It's a simple, though high-quality piece, silver with a deep blue face.
"You're always wearing it," she says -- but she realizes this puts the cart before the horse a bit, so without skipping a beat, she explains, "My watch."
Akane shuffles Yuta along very, very quickly -- the whole experience feels a little bit dreamlike. She gets him to the hospital, and they tell him he's mostly fine. It comes out that he doesn't know where he lives, and needs to be walked home.
It's a few hours, but it feels like it whips by in an instant, with only a few words exchanged between them.
They end up outside a 7-21, as evening stretches into nighttime. Akane's treat, of course; she's picked up a couple of individually wrapped convenience store cream puffs.
She's standing there with hers opened, as if ready to start eating. She hasn't yet.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"Your watch? Is that okay?" Yuta twists his arm back and forth, feeling the weight of the watch. It feels better. Maybe it's not quite heavy enough, but it's definitely right to have something on this arm.
"Thanks, um--" A bashful smile, and he looks away. "Sorry, I still don't know your name."
---
It almost feels like he's being carried by the tide. Akane's gentle guidance pulls Yuta along easily, with nothing else for him to rely on, or cling to. Somehow, being told nothing is really wrong with him at the hospital feels worse than if they'd given him answers. If nothing is wrong, why did he lose his memory? Can people really just go back to normal after something like that? Yuta is quiet, worrying to himself. At least Akane is here. If he was totally alone, he'd freak out for sure.
---
"Um, thanks for all this..." Yuta offers, accepting one of the cream puffs. "I'm sorry to be such a bother." Taking a bite of the little treat seems to raise his spirits a bit. Maybe he was just hungry, and that's why he was feeling weird?
"So, hey... Why was I sleeping at your house? Do we have a history? Like, uh... Are we friends?" Yuta gestures awkwardly between the two of them with his cream puff.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane does, at least, properly introduce herself as "Akane Shinjo" once prompted. That'd be pretty cruel to leave out -- and difficult, besides.
Once they get around to Q&A time, though... Akane decides to straightforwardly explain, rather than complicate things too much. "On your way home from school, you collapsed and slept at my place." That's a pretty straightforward answer, at least -- and kind of explains the amnesia...
The second question, though, gets a bit of a bomb drop in response: "Actually, you and I are dating." She takes a moment to process the question, before reflecting: "... You don't remember." She sounds hurt, though more flat than genuinely wounded. Her gaze goes off to one side and down, avoiding saying much else.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"Akane Shinjo." Yuta smiles. "That's a nice name. I think it suits you." It feels familiar. Maybe this is proof they really did have a relationship before his amnesia?
Eyes going wide, Yuta almost drops his snack as Akane says they're dating. "Huh?" Looking away, he closes his eyes, trying to find the right words. What are you supposed to say in a moment like this?!
A hot blush covers his face. "W--well, that's good to know! It's true I don't remember anything, but I feel really lucky, um, waking up to be dating a pretty girl like you."
It's difficult to look at Akane in this moment. Yuta's face feels so warm, he's sure his whole face looks like a tomato, matching his red hair... Glancing across the street, Yuta startles. A shadow -- some kind of hunched person, lurks just across from the convenience store. In the time it takes for him to blink, the strange shape vanishes.
"Did you see--" Yuta begins, glancing around. Nothing is left but swirling mist.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
At that, Akane has a bit of an outburst. "'Lucky'?! That's unbelievably cruel! Jeez -- how could you say that?" She rounds on him fully, giving him an incredulous face for a few seconds -- and then decides to turn to the other side and sulk away instead.
"This guy... unbelievable," she mutters to herself, with a roll of her eyes. She's not paying attention at all as she starts walking away, instead playing a rhyming game. "Stray cat... grey bat... play mat... hay stack... hm, no, that one's a little too far out, but the stress pattern is right..."
She doesn't have an answer for Yuta, and it's obvious she wouldn't -- she's practically looking in the opposite direction.
She does, at least, lead him home. 'Home' is an empty apartment on the fourth of four floors in a mid-rise apartment complex. "Here's where you live," comes her confirmation. "I'm going home."
Giving him several seconds to pursue her when she knows full well he's too disoriented to, she makes it all the way back to the steps -- and then sprints back up to him, giving him immediate bedroom eyes.
"No kiss?"
She leans in closer, and closer, and --
-- grips his dumb little cheeks. Her lips turn up in a playful smile, and she teases, "Got you~"
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"Hang on, I didn't mean it in a bad way!" Yuta cries, chasing after Akane. "Come on..!"
She's so aloof..! Is this really what it's like to date someone? What is he supposed to do now? Yuta tilts his head as Akane rhymes words. Maybe this is his chance to cheer her up a little? "Um, what about... chit-chat?"
Not really being sure how the game works, Yuta can only manage a wobbly little smile.
---
"Right." Yuta says, as they come to his apartment. Somehow, it feels even darker here. "Thank you. I'll see you later..?" It's a hopeful little question.
The door is locked when Yuta tries to open it. Maybe there's some keys in his backpack? As he slips it off his shoulders to look, Akane is suddenly right next to him. "W--woah!" He gasps, dropping the back to the ground.
Woah, she's so close... Her eyes are so big and pretty! Yuta blushes bright red, frozen in place. Is this going to be his first kiss? Has he had one before? Mind racing, he can only watch as Akane comes even closer...
And grabs his cheek. What?
Still frozen in place, Yuta stares down at her, speechless.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane giggles at Yuta's cluelessness -- and then sprints away again.
She decides to leave him to his own devices. It'd be easy, she realizes, to offer up all she has -- and all she never had.
... something about that doesn't feel right though. Is it the wrong moment? The wrong offer? Certainly Hibiki is lonely; certainly he buys into her description of the world. But... part of her just can't make it happen. So, as happens so often:
Akane Shinjo retreats amid the nighttime sound of the train tracks, the crossing bar sounding a bell.
They continue into a normal -- if somewhat tentative -- high school romance. Akane doesn't bog it down in the particulars -- everything feels swept along by the tides. Long walks together, past every one of the artifacts of Akane's cruelty.
Like the sofubi, it's a joke at Hibiki's expense -- or perhaps desperation. Part of Akane expects him to, at any moment, confront her -- remember the truth of the situation.
She has to do this. She has to tear everything about Hibiki and Gridman apart from each other. Beating him has become impossible, and she doesn't... really understand what it is that he has that makes it so difficult for her to get control of the situation back. This is the only way she has.
If she can just dig into his heart with that understanding -- pierce through and tear every damned thing off of him until nothing remains but --
Maybe then she won't feel like she's the empty one.
They end up... traveling? Hey, actually, how'd they get here?
They're on a city street -- not in Tsutsujidai, or even in Tokyo. Akane has just tripped. Yuta's caught her.
(... It was just tripping, wasn't it?)
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Akane zooms away. Yuta watches her go, bewildered. "I... think my heart just stopped..."
His keys are, indeed, inside the backpack. After opening the door, Yuta calls "I'm home!" He waits a moment in the doorway, but there's no reply. All the lights are off, and the apartment is silent. "...it's dark..." After a moment of fumbling, he finds the light switch and walks into what must be the kitchen.
One hand still on his cheek where Akane touched him, Yuta looks around his home for the first time. It's a pretty nice place, tidy and clean... But, so empty. So quiet. A single picture waits near the entryway. It's just a river, with a little piece of what seems to be a bridge in the corner of the frame. Why would anyone frame something like this?
The picture makes him feel uncomfortable. Yuta quickly turns away from it. For a moment, he almost feels like he sees something? Is it that face again? A weird, silvery face. When he glances back, it's gone again.
A quick exploration of the apartment reveals Yuta's room. It's a little messier in here. A lint roller lies abandoned on the floor, perfectly clean. Laundry spills out from beneath his bed. Yuta flops down onto the bed, still fully dressed in his school uniform. Sweater vest and all.
This feels weird. He doesn't want to think about it.
Instead, Yuta lifts his left arm, looking at Akane's wristwatch. At least there was someone there for him, right? A real girlfriend... "Losing my memory... might not be so bad."
---
Yuta falls easily into the pattern Akane sets for him. He's pretty good at being a boyfriend. Maybe a little clueless at first, but he's thoughtful. Lunch dates, little tokens of affection, plenty of silly texts. It's fun to hold hands. It feels right to have a connection with someone.
Every so often, that face appears -- silvery. Is it a robot? It's never there when he looks twice, and he wants to write it off as some kind of weird amnesia thing. Nobody else seems to ever notice it.
Whenever he tries to think about it too hard, the concept seems to slip through his fingers, as intangible as the ever-present mist. Maybe it's for the best? Akane is always right there for him, happy to pull his attention toward happier things. It's fun!
It's fun.
---
Traveling! Wow, he never expected anything like this. Especially so soon after exams! "This city is so big, don't you think, Aka-- woah!"
He does indeed catch her. The fabric of his sweater-vest is soft against her skin, and his arms are strong. Yuta is warm, and he holds her close. "Are you okay? Let's find somewhere to sit down."
There must be a bench nearby. He'll carry her over to it, if he needs to.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane can accept the help, this far in, right?
It's fine.
"Oh, sure," Akane agrees, and sure enough, there's a bench; it's a bit of a walk, but not miserably so. "Ehe... I kind of like it when you worry about me, Hibiki-kun~" Still not quite there on first names, for her. Not yet, anyway.
Rummaging in her bag, she fishes out a tangerine-flavored sucker and a sparkling orange juice blend; she offers the former to Hibiki, then pops the latter open. After a brief drink --
"Oh, I didn't realize this was carbonated. That's kinda on me!" She laughs awkwardly, and then says, "Here -- do you want this, too? It's not a huge deal, like... I can drink that stuff, but I'm not a huge fan."
She looks out toward the skyline. "This place... kinda feels like it's not really for us, huh. I hear a bunch of the stuff in this district is secretly owned by organized crime groups. ... I think home's the only place you can get a break from that kinda thing."
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"Of course I worry about you. You're my girlfriend!" Yuta grins. "You're my world!"
Once he's sure Akane is settled on the bench, he also rummages in his bag. He stops when Akane offers the soda. "Wow, you're into orange stuff today, huh? Thanks, I was kinda thirsty." Yuta takes the soda and takes a long drink, then continues rummaging around in his bag. "Hey, does that count as a kiss? Drinking after each other like that~."
"Yeah. Nothing ever compares to home." Yuta agrees, following Akane's gaze. "Really though, a secret crime group? That sounds like something from a movie... Does it really happen in real life?" He laughs, but there's a nervous tilt to it. "That's kinda scary."
Sunlight glints against the windows of a skyscraper. In between blinks, Yuta sees that face again. This time, he can see a little more of the robotic figure. It's wearing tall shoulder armor...
And it's gone. Yuta shakes his head, the red points of his hair fluffing out a bit. Focus. Being here with Akane is a big deal. It's important to make the most of things! "Um -- I was going to do this somewhere nicer, but maybe we should head back soon? So..!"
A hand emerges from Yuta's bag, holding a little box. It's clearly the sort that holds jewelry, with a velvet feel and inner padding. Should Akane open it, she'll find a polished silver heart placed on a silky pillow. At the inner point of the heart, a small light blue stone hangs down. A delicate silver chain curls around the pendant in a pleasing way.
"I saved up for ages. All for our special trip. I really hope you like it, Akane!"
Wait -- didn't he make this thing? With help from --
Yuta blinks, his eyes faraway. No, he bought it. The store's logo is even stamped onto the top of the box. Where did that thought come from?
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Oh, stop," Akane says, her tone teasing at the effusive enthusiasm for her and for being her boyfriend; she lets out a light, lilting giggle, and for a moment, she feels... good. Really good, honestly. It's a reminder of how nice the dream can be. "... I think it might, though," on the topic of the indirect kiss.
Her expression turns very serious at the question of whether that happens in real life. "Yeah," she says, distantly. "In real life that kind of stuff happens all the time." The wind escapes her sails in short order.
When Yuta offers her the box, though --
"Oh, what's this?" she asks, a little surprised; usually she's the one with control over these things. It's a surprise to get... something offered, from Yuta. She opens it, and --
This was never meant for me, she realizes instantly. She manages her reaction carefully, though -- this is. ... this is. It simply is. She can deal with Yuta's subconscious fishing up a familiar shape.
"It's... really nice," Akane says, holding it up to the light. "Thanks, Yuta~."
... okay, so that was a lie. As Akane puts it on, she's instantly overtaken by the wrongness of taking this particular spot. She needs to find somewhere else, somewhen else to be --
Akane hugs her knees as reality presses in on her. Her thoughts -- and her control over the kaiju -- start to drift a little.
None of these are going right. She has to... has to...
Akane sprints back toward safety -- back toward her dream. A voice calls to her -- its source seen in every window, heard in every footfall. A train points toward progress --
-- and Akane runs like she's trying to match its pace --
-- in the other direction, telling herself she hears nothing, sees nothing --
-- feels nothing.
Things that aren't eternal may as well not exist, so --
That sick feeling presses in as she half-awakens in a graveyard, to the endless cry of cicadas.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Akane's giggle brings a sunny grin from Yuta. How can one person be so cute! Everything she does is so charming... And when she teases back about the indirect kiss, Yuta blushes deep red, even though it was his idea to begin with. "I-- uh." He stammers, then laughs at himself.
That laugh quiets down as Akane confirms that things like that really do happen. Yuta glances around, as if looking for an imminent threat. Not like there's anything he could really do about it, though.
Yuta watches Akane's expression carefully as she takes out the necklace. She's not normally one for fancy things, so he'd tried to pick something on the cuter side. Something casual, while still being nice. It looks like... she likes it! Yuta breathes a sigh of relief, his bright smile from earlier returning in force. "I'm so glad. The blue crystal reminds me of home, and home always makes me think of you."
A soft breath in. The moment feels right. Yuta scoots close to Akane on the bench, leaning in. Blue eyes carefully keep an eye on her reaction. Does she want this, too? One of his hands brushes through her hair, as he slowly moves to bring his lips to hers--
---
As Akane runs, she's watched. That red-blue-silver face. He appears everywhere, anywhere that could work as a mirror. Windows, puddles, gleams of light... He never says anything, never emotes. Watching.
---
"Akane... Akane!" Yuta calls, smiling. He looks a little more concerned as she doesn't answer right away. "Akane? Is everything okay?"
Moving a little closer to her, he reaches out, offering her his hand. The cicadas are so loud this time of year. It's a little strange to try and get used to -- everyone just accepts such noisy bugs! Weird...
Really, Yuta is feeling weird about a lot of things, right now. Whenever he tries to identify what's causing it, it slips away. His blue eyes are a little distant, a slight frown on his face.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane doesn't dare face Yuta immediately. She's -- distraught, exhausted. Bujack begs for real sleep and Akane hasn't had that in an age, deferring all of her needs into the dream. She can feel the bags forming under her eyes in real time.
She looks around, steadying herself -- and pushing those emotions, too, into the dream. When she does turn to meet Yuta's gaze, it's with a bright smile and an embarrassed laugh.
"Ahaha -- yeah, I just... spaced out," she says, shaking her head. ... Was that Gridman or Yuta calling to her, as she ran?
She can't tell anymore.
Her feet carry her through the cemetery. It's in a traditional Japanese style -- family graves, not individuals. She steps past...
... empty plots. So many of them. So many guilty moments that she can't show Yuta -- but in their absence, isn't she drawing attention to them nevertheless?
"I love cemeteries in the summer," she says -- and it is summer, despite the fact that it's... October? November?
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
If Yuta wasn't so distracted with his own confusion, he might notice Akane's distress. As it is, he simply gives her a distant smile when she faces him. Why does he feel so strange? A pit is forming in his stomach, making him feel... almost guilty. A little sick, somehow. Even in the fall, Tsutsujidai is so hot. Yuta feels suffocated in his school uniform, his knitted vest clinging in an uncomfortable way.
"Oh, I'm glad." He replies, then begins to trail after her. Yuta looks at the ground as they walk, puzzling over his own feelings. Sweat trails down the side of his face. "During the summer, Akane? But it's October.."
Gravel crunches beneath Yuta's vibrant red shoes as he walks. That sick feeling gets worse, and his head hurts. Has he been in the heat too long? No, that's not it. "It feels like..." Yuta stops, swallowing uncomfortably. "It feels like I'm forgetting something."
Is it dumb to say that? He still has amnesia. "Something's..." Yuta stops, his arms hanging limply at his sides. "...lacking."
Even that feels clumsy and inadequate. How does he explain this?
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane's grip on every dream weakens.
(It's not just here she's striking out. There are three parallel tracks -- and every one of them is spiraling out of control.)
"Who cares about any of that," she hisses -- sharp, aggressive. She needs this to go somewhere now --
Akane doesn't meet Yuta's gaze, staring out toward the graves. Is it -- filling up? Are there more, now, than there were a moment before...?
Or does the world just feel smaller?
"If you're having fun, what does it matter?" she asks Yuta, practically chirping.
Here, though -- in this space, where their hearts wind around each other -- the hissing is what's felt. "It can't be more important than me, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Normally, Akane's voice taking on a sweet tone like that would bring a smile to Yuta's face. Now... something feels so wrong. He can't even think of Akane in the face of this gross sensation. Is he having fun? Has he been having fun? Akane doesn't understand what he's trying to say.
"That's not what I mean," Yuta says, diplomatically. "I feel like there's something I've gotta do."
Something even more important than Akane? Yuta reaches forward, trying to grasp her hand. "No! Of course not." He's sweating so much. Everything feels unbearable. "It's something important, even to you." Looking down, Yuta's eyes go faraway again. There's a resigned tone in his voice. "Something only I can do. Something! Something that I must do."
Light glints off a gravestone just in front of Akane, and Yuta finds himself moving toward it. The first few steps are slow, but then he's running, suddenly, before he knew what his body was doing.
TONKAWA FAMILY
It feels like a shock. It feels familiar. It feels like...
A face is looking at him, as sunlight shines against the polished grave. Yuta's reflection is overtaken by the face that's been haunting him -- silver, red-and-blue. A green gemstone glistens in the center of this being's forehead.
Yellow eyes.
Yuta blinks, and it's his own face again -- but the ghost returns. Staring evenly at Yuta, gaze heavy with expectation.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane doesn't move. She lets Yuta sprint off in search of his calling. It's inevitable. This was doomed from the start.
"Don't!" Akane pleads, atop the construction crane -- a plea heard, and not heard.
The railroad crossing cries out for something to stop.
Maybe for everything to stop.
Her arms hang limp at her sides. She feels -- sees -- the intrusion.
If only she could tell it -- and not Yuta Hibiki, before her -- to stop.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
The connection gets stronger. In his own private way, Gridman races toward Yuta, following a thread of light through the labyrinth of Akane's making. The windows he's been looking through all this time surround him, until he finds one big enough, fragile enough, and--
---
Blinding light bursts from Yuta's left arm, but he doesn't turn to look at it. Lowering his head slightly, red bangs obscure his eyes. The weight of responsibility falls heavy on his shoulders, enough to almost make him stumble. A long moment passes this way. White light shining from his body, burning into his vision.
Kaiju. Bettermen. Angels. BioNet. Triple Zero. Bloody Valentine.
Akane.
Yuta's hands tremble.
He takes off the wristwatch. Walking back to Akane takes so much longer than running away from her had. One hand is mechanically extended toward her, offering the watch. His fingers curl slightly in, almost reluctant to give it up.
"This is all a dream." Yuta says, tonelessly. "Here's your watch back."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane accepts the watch back. Her eyes widen just slightly, then narrow in abject defeat. There's still the hint of a smile on her face -- but one utterly crushed in defeat.
"Wouldn't you rather dream forever?" she asks, looking like she's about to choke up -- but she's long forgotten how to cry.
She extends her hand below the watch, but can't quite bring herself to snatch it back.
... after a moment, she retrieves the necklace from earlier.
"This isn't mine," she says. "... A lot of things in this dream aren't."
She sees no sense in hiding it anymore. "Are you going to wake everyone else up, too," she states, not bothering with a question mark when she already knows the answer.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Akane's voice sounds so fragile. Yuta has to work up his courage to be able to look at her, and when he does... He quickly lowers his face again. It's too painful. The girl he's given up everything to try and save, why does he have to hurt her so much?
Maybe he would like to keep dreaming. It's such a heavy burden. It was fun, dating Akane. Going places together, laughing... Yuta bites his lip.
"Dreams are... things you wake up from." He chokes out the words, his own voice heavy with unshed tears.
Yuta watches Akane hold out the necklace. Now it makes sense -- this took the place of the charm bracelet he put together for Rikka. Down to the blue stone as the centerpiece. Is he really so predictable?
A trembling breath is drawn in. "It's yours. Even if it came from another idea -- it's yours. It's something I worked hard on. I wanted to make you happy. Please--" Yuta has to stop, taking another breath. "If you can. Please keep it."
Tears fall down his cheeks at her next question. Yuta only has one choice, and it's too much. He's not only shattering Akane's happiness, but that of all his friends. Asuka, Alouette... Everyone. They'll all go back to suffering. Because of him.
"Everyone has to wake up from dreams. Even you, Akane." With halting moments, Yuta reaches out, placing the wristwatch in Akane's hand. "I can't stay here. Gridman is calling me."
As if to illustrate this, the light on Yuta's arm forms into a shadow of the Primal Acceptor. It begins to beep, over and over, just as it used to. With one last act of courage, Yuta raises his head just enough to look Akane in the eyes. His own are still lost in the shadow of his hair, but -- She deserves this much.
Everything he could say sticks in his throat, as tears trickle down to darken the fabric of his vest. Akane looks stricken, but she doesn't make any move to stop him.
This was the only normal time Yuta's ever had to exist. His only peaceful, carefree memories. Being able to act like a teenager. Having fun.
It was a gift.
"Thank you."
Unable to bear it a moment longer, Yuta turns on his heel and runs.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane's eyes nearly shut. She needs them to stay that way -- to hide herself. She'd told Orpheus he had eyes like a monster. What she sees in Yuta's eyes here is -- there's a sense in which it's similar, and a sense in which it's utterly different.
"I wish I could stay in this dream forever," she mumbles.
Yuta tries to meet Akane's eyes directly, even as she does her best to hide them -- and for a second, she sees them, those impossible blues, in full.
She accepts the watch -- and holds both it and the necklace.
(Rikka tells her how kind she is, even as they part. Utsumi tells her that this would have been fine, had she been willing to take it as a risk and not indulge her desperate need for control.)
She stares out at the city. "Even in dreams, I can't reach them..."
... every dream is collapsing. But -- if she just reaches out to her other friends -- maybe...?