2025-02-18: Nightmare Scenario
- Log: 2025-02-18- Nightmare Scenario
- Cast: Rikka Takarada, Akane Shinjo
- Where: Nouvelle Tokyo - Takarada-Shinjo Household
- OOC - IC Date: 0100-02-18
- Summary: The pressure of the last few weeks starts to weigh on Rikka, and she has a nightmare. Her tossing and turning wakes Akane, and they do their best to debrief about the pressures of the intervening period.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Things have been busy lately. There's still a lot to sort out from the other day's kaiju attack, and from the matter earlier in the week, as well. Both Rikka and Akane have had a lot to take care of... but thankfully, they have their new home to welcome them back.
It's late, and they've both retired to bed after a long day's work. The night passes uneventfully... but it isn't destined to last for long.
Rikka shifts in her sleep. This is unusual in and of itself. Her breathing quickens, becoming short and sharp and distressed - and its only when she feels herself practically hyperventilating do her eyes open, wide and fearful.
They dart around the darkened room as if searching for something that isn't there, and as she realises that she's returned to reality she squeezes her eyes shut for a moment before attempting to get her breathing under control, a hand shifting to rest over her heart.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane's had a busy week as well; putting in the work has let her get ahead of the work in this term's Studio Art class, but all that space has been full of actual work. She'd really like a break -- being this busy is a bit of a struggle for her, and she ended up snagging a nap in the middle of the day out of sheer exhaustion.
This in turn has her sleeping pretty lightly; in her sleep, she feels something moving in the bed, and it's enough to get her about halfway to awake. A few moments after Rikka awakens, anxiously looking around the room, Akane scoots toward her. She awkwardly shifts her legs a few times, trying to get herself back to full wakefulness; she can dimly tell something's wrong, but isn't quite awake enough to be certain of what.
"Rikka...?" she murmurs, turning over onto her side; she scoots a little bit toward her on the bed. "Is everything okay?" Her eyes need a bit to adjust, but it's hard to miss those eyes screwing shut even in the dark.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Rikka feels Akane shifting, too - and then, she hears her name.
"A-Akane," Rikka exhales. ...She feels just a bit embarrassed - even if she also feels relieved to hear her. A hand ventures out, searching for her - and then practically clinging to her, once she finders her. "Sorry... did I wake you?"
'Is everything okay?' ...Rikka doesn't answer right away, but it's easy to tell what the answer to that is. For a moment she just lays there, holding onto her, until eventually...
"I was... We were... back on the Garuda again." Rikka starts, a bit shakily. It's little wonder what got her thinking about that. "We passed by where Alouette was being held... and it was empty."
She hesitates a moment before continuing.
"I asked you where she went - and you just looked at me and asked who I meant." Rikka shuts her eyes for a moment, exhaling sharply. "Leina didn't know anything about her, either. It was as if she was just... gone."
...And she was the only one who remembered.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Ehhh... I was kinda half-awake," Akane answers, turning to face Rikka a little more -- and then pulling in close as Rikka finds her. "I don't think I was in REM sleep, anyway." She takes a deep breath, occupying the silence; it's been a big week for the two of them. It's natural that Rikka would be a little distressed; she gives her time to find the words -- or not, if she doesn't. She's okay with just being a presence.
Rikka does speak, eventually, though. A dream....
She draws a few mental lines in her head, as Rikka recounts it. ... It's not far off from what happened with Tonkawa, or the other members of Arcadia... it's a lot of elements of Rikka's trauma all at once. Akane pulls Rikka in a little tighter.
"That's awful..." she murmurs quietly, trying to sort through it in her head. Gridknight and Nidaime coming back... the onsen visit... A lot of familiar markers of the past -- and it's natural to have that dredge up other ones.
"Do you wanna sit up for a little while?" she asks, glancing over to the lights. "I don't mind... with Studio Art done I'm pretty free tomorrow until the afternoon." In the back of her head, she's turning that scenario over in her head. Fears of her friends being tampered with -- survivor's guilt -- being somewhere scary again... those are all pretty reasonable fears... "I'm right here," she adds, gently. "And I promise I haven't forgotten anyone."
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Akane says that she was half-awake - not in REM sleep. Rikka doesn't know if that's true or not... but she appreciates it either way, and appreciates the way she pulls in closer. It takes time, but she does talk. Akane pulls her in tighter, and Rikka lets herself lean against her.
And... she appreciates, too, the way Akane accepts it without judging. ...Even though it may be difficult for her to hear, too.
Rikka hesitates for another moment - and then, she nods.
"...Y-yeah." Rikka decides. She doesn't think she'll be getting back to sleep anytime soon, anyway. "...That's good. Sorry."
Rikka eases herself up into a sitting position, taking another moment to breath in and out. She's breathing a little more easily now, at least.
"...Thank you." Rikka murmurs, as Akane assures her she's right there, that she hasn't forgotten anyone. Rikka's hand searches for her closest one, holding on tight.
...It's a relief to know she hasn't forgotten anyone, either. She knows in her heart that's something that hasn't happened in a while... but it's still a fear she keenly remembers.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
With a low groan, Akane gets herself sitting up again, pushing some stray hair out of her face. She pokes around for the remote for the lights; eventually, her free hand comes to rest on it, and she says, "Let me get the lights," giving Rikka a little warning before she turns them on to a low setting.
Giving that hand a squeeze back, Akane says, "... We've had a pretty difficult couple weeks..." She takes a few moments to just -- sit, to hold Rikka's hand, to reassure her that she's there.
"Do you think it'd help for us to, like... go over what's going on and what we can do about it? Or do you just wanna spend a little while, like, coming down from it?" She's not gonna push Rikka to any particular conclusion on what to do.
Instead, she just... sits with the thought a little more. Something sticks out as she gets a little more oriented. "... You don't need to apologize," she adds, gently. "It's okay. I really don't mind."
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Rikka nods, closing her eyes for just a moment when Akane warns her that she's turning the lights on. She squeezes her hand back, and it helps with some of the built-up tension. There's still a lot of emotions roiling beneath the surface... but it helps.
"...Yeah." Rikka agrees with a nod. She doesn't answer the question right away. For a moment, at least while she's still getting her bearings straight, she does want to just sit here like this.
"...Thanks." She replies, as Akane assures her that it's okay, that she doesn't mind. She can tell that she means it.
And for a moment, she just sits there quietly like that, looking down at her hand holding Akane's... until, eventually, she exhales, having managed to collect herself a little more.
"I think... it might be good to go over it, yeah." She decides with a nod.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane's kind of wanted to talk about this too... sure, she's dealing with it in a professional context, but some things you just can't sort out while you have to be level about them.
"All right. ... Wanna go downstairs and get a snack?" She seems happy to do that, too -- though she wouldn't mind just sitting with Rikka either. "I'm a little hungry..."
As they sit hand in hand, though... Akane can start to tell just how much Rikka's holding beneath the surface. She's definitely starting to put herself back together, but -- there's enough that it's actually a little startling, in some ways, to notice. This is the first time Akane's seen Rikka so shaken in a while...
She doesn't pressure her to start talking more or anything, though, as much as she wants to hear more about what Rikka's grappling with. Instead, she reaches over to the bedside table to get her glasses -- the big black-framed fashion ones, not her blue blockers -- in the hopes that putting them on will nudge her to full wakefulness.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
"That sounds good. Getting up for a bit might help." Rikka replies with a nod. She says that, but... she doesn't really make an effort to leave the bed just yet. A part of her does want to stay here - but when Akane retrieves her glasses Rikka finally lets go. She slides her legs off of the edge of the bed and, after taking a moment to psych herself up, stands up fully.
She stands there for a moment, holding her arms out to stabilize herself, before moving to the other side to offer Akane a hand getting up.
Going downstairs... it's been a little while since they moved in, but there's still something novel about having a proper downstairs to go down to.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Multiple floors! It's a hell of a thing. Akane's never actually had it since she moved to Tokyo for the first time; it's nice.
With Rikka's help, she gets out of bed at last, and -- with that still-kind-of-groggy, irregular gait one has after waking up in the dead of night -- starts heading down the stairs. It's pretty slow going, but... well, that's life.
Turning on the lights, Akane heads into the kitchen. "Mmrm... kinda low on snacks..." She opens a cupboard, murmuring, "I think all we've got is senbei and -- wait, no, the KitKats that were on sale a couple weeks ago..." She takes a few steps to the side, opening another cupboard and pulling down a bag.
She takes three fun-size packets for herself and then starts heading over to the couch. "... That -- was a really near miss, earlier this week... it kinda scared me too. Hinoki and I were talking about it for a while... it's scary how fast they packed up, too. Like -- they're running, but they're still out there..."
She feels like she's saying a little too much -- so she decides to eat her KitKats instead, letting Rikka settle in too.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
It's slow and steady - but that goes for Rikka, too, so she doesn't mind shuffling carefully down the stairs with her. Each step helps stabilize her. The lights go on in the kitchen and Rikka takes a moment to debate what she wants - before eventually deciding to follow Akane's example. She definitely wants something on the sweeter side, right now. She takes a couple of packets for herself before joining Akane over at the couch.
She's still feeling a little clingy after tonight's scare, so she scoots in close before opening up one of the KitKats and nibbling idly at it.
...The sweetness definitely helps.
"...Yeah." Rikka agrees with a quiet nod. "I'm just glad you realised something was up, and that Nidaime was there and caught onto what was going on..."
She exhales, and nods.
"...It is. They packed up fast - and they were able to establish themselves pretty quickly, too. It all seemed legit until we actually got in there..." Rikka replies, with a shake of her head. ...And like Akane said, they're still out there somewhere. "They were practically on our front doorstep."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Balam slowly peeks his dumb little head out of his cat tree -- really more of a cat jungle, with how many cat trees have been placed next to each other to form an array of tubes and boxes and dangling fuzzballs -- as the two of them settle in. It's not totally unheard of for Akane to be up at this hour, so he doesn't consider it remarkable -- but he does decide to slowly make his way over.
Akane, meanwhile, chews at a KitKat. It dangles out of her mouth as she listens to Rikka; she can feel it melting there, a bit. "This... is the kinda stuff that usually doesn't make it to you, but in Intelligence we talk about this kind of thing a lot. The Red Dragons outliving the Nubia Connection kinda -- changed how crime works a lot. The food thing is a pretty common setup..." She scowls at that -- Akane has some Feelings about food.
And that they were that close... "Nouvelle Tokyo's definitely got that kind of problem, too... it's honestly crazy how bold they can get."
She lets out a small sigh, and reaches over for a remote; she turns on a little light music in the hopes of clearing their heads. "I'm trying to figure out what they even get out of this..."
She trails off, then shakes her head, snapping the rest of the KitKat into her mouth. "Right now next steps are kind of in Blue's hands, at least on getting rid of them..." It may be reality-format-related, but it is fundamentally science crime -- and that's Blue's job. "... Something really just feels, like, off lately, though. It feels like the international stuff is headed toward peace, but this kind of thing..."
She sighs. "I dunno." She leaves Rikka the space to speak, then -- as Balam finally finds his way over and nestles in between them.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Balam peeks his head out, and Rikka can't help but smile just slightly at the sight of him. He always cheers her up.
"Hey, Balam. Sorry, did we wake you?" Rikka greets, before looking back toward Akane.
Rikka nods quietly. The nature of crime... She frowns, but her expression is understanding. It makes sense, she supposes.
"Yeah..." Rikka agrees with a sigh. "I've always known Nouvelle Tokyo had a problem with crime, but... it's different, experiencing it like that."
Akane turns on some light music, and she takes a moment to think it over, too. "No idea."
Rikka finishes off her own KitKat as Akane continues. She trusts Blue to handle it - it's their area of expertise, after all. But, Akane raises a good point, too.
"...Yeah. It feels like things are changing, but I can't tell if it's good or bad..." She replies, shaking her head. Balam makes his way over to them, nestling into the space between them. Rikka greets him with an idle scratch behind the ears.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Balam plants his face on Rikka's thigh. Evidently he's not that bothered by getting roused from the perpetual catslumber -- or eager to get back to it. Either way, the net effect is the presence of a cat.
"Yeah..." Akane lets out a sigh, flopping backward a little on the couch. She's not awake enough to start churning through intelligence -- she has a vague sense of a lot of things that could be going on, but she can't chase them all down every rabbit hole in the middle of the night.
"I guess we'll see," she concedes, at the question of what the future of the Earth Sphere looks like. No way to find that out but to live it -- and to play her own part in making that world. It feels like a lame answer -- but what other answer is there?
Akane gives Balam a few gentle pats. "... is there anything I can do to help?" she asks, a little bit at a loss now.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Rikka laughs just a little. The presence of a cat is a huge effect, indeed...
Akane agrees, flopping backward on the couch. Rikka doesn't blame her for not wanting to dig into all of it here and now. She's operating on a similar amount of sleep, after all.
"That's the future, I guess..." Rikka replies. Sometimes, it's going to be uncertain... but that's life. Akane asks, then, what she can do to help - and Rikka thinks it over for a moment.
"Mm... I don't know about anything specific, but... This helps." Rikka replies. "Being here with me."
It helps keep her tethered to the now, rather than an imagined world where her worst fears all came true, or the thought of what could have been a few days ago, if things had gone a little differently.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
With a drowsy little smile, Akane says, "Okay," and for a while that's all she says -- just sitting on the couch with Rikka. She scoots away from her just a bit -- but it's only so she can lean onto her without squishing Balam too much between the two of them.
She starts in on another KitKat. For a few seconds, the room is almost-still -- just the sound of crinkling wrappers being placed on the table.
... Then, of course, Balam takes exception to the crinkling of a wrapper and all-at-once goes from half-asleep to leaping at the table. He comes up just short -- but he does get the KitKat wrapper, at which point it's time to savagely attack it.
It's enough to break the oppressive mood, at least a little. Akane laughs as she watches him go, with a quiet murmur of, "... So mighty..."
An arm comes around Rikka, as Akane still leans into her. "... If you wanna do spa day at a more established place this week," Akane whispers, "I'll come too, this time."
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Akane scoots away to give Balam some more room before leaning onto Rikka, and Rikka leans onto Akane in turn. It's nice - relaxing, just them, Balam, and the faint sound of music...
...And then Balam surges forward, attacking the KitKat wrappers! Akane laughs, and Rikka laughs, too.
"He's a fierce hunter. I think we're in good hands." Rikka replies. Akane puts an arm around her, and - Rikka is briefly surprised by the offer but her expression soon softens, offering her an appreciative smile.
"...Thanks. I'd appreciate that." She replies. She's... a little nervous about the prospect, after the last time - but it's not something she wants to let be ruined for her, and going with Akane would help. "Maybe we can see if anyone at work has any recommendations."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane had a hunch that Rikka would be nervous about that kind of thing -- she's put her hand in her fair share of innocuous-looking things that turned out to be bear traps, after all.
But Rikka is the one who helped her learn not to assume individual bad experiences make statements about the world as a whole -- and on some level, Akane feels like she owes it to her to bring that lesson back around when it's Rikka who needs it.
"Oh, yeah... I guess everyone else at work has lived here a lot longer, huh?" Akane's technically lived in Nouvelle an okay amount of time herself, but... it's a big city, they're in a different neighborhood of it than they were, and 'a decade plus' still beats 'a couple years.' "Yeah... I'll ask in class, too. I know one of the guys in Research Methods is big on this kind of thing..."
Slowly, she lets the tension out of her body, allowing herself to more fully lean into Rikka now that there's no risk of squishing Balam. "... How are you feeling now?" she asks after another long moment of quiet.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
"Mm-hm." Rikka confirms with a nod. They'd know the nearby places better than they would - and if a longtime resident of Nouvelle Tokyo and a member of 3G give it the okay, then that's good enough for her to go on. She nods, too, as Akane says she'll ask in class. "Thanks..."
Akane lets the tension out - and Rikka lets herself lean into her in turn, cuddling up next to her. She appreciates that silent moment. And when Akane has how she's feeling now...
"Better, now." Rikka replies, genuinely.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"... Good," Akane murmurs, when Rikka says she's feeling better. She can tell that there's less tension there, at least -- they have plans for the week, and maybe that's the best place the two of them can start.
Her hand slips around Rikka's again, after she finishes the last of her KitKats.
This couch is pretty comfy... she's glad they sprung for it. It is a little on the cool side in the sitting room, but it's pretty easy to sleep when it's cool, so maybe that's not the worst thing either...
She closes her eyes, letting herself drink in the feeling for a few moments.
... it'll be a while before she opens them again.