> First Stop: Slippery when wet

[busstopsign]

Who: Shinjiro and You
Where: Wandering confused in the plaza
When: July 29th
Style: Starting with prose but feel free to switch to action and I will match up
Status: Open!

Had to be the drugs.

At least that's what he told himself as he continued to walk, his shoes making noise from the water buildup. His hat did little to protect him from the pouring rain, and his hair was already stuck around his neck. His coat was in no better shape and he grunted as he idly put his hands in his pockets, walking along confused. The coat hid his hospital outfit well...considering upon waking up, Shinjiro had remembered the promise they had made, and his first thought wasn't to get properly dressed, but to grab what he could from his room and make a dash for the school.

...only to end up here. Really, it had to be the drugs. He'd managed to catch a date on his way out, and he knew it had been a while. Maybe painkillers with a a side effect. Who the hell knew. But he'd certainly wake up any minute now.

Strange how it felt so real...he looked up to the sky before sighing.

"Tch. Think I'd be done with dreaming after so long..."

Comments

[angelphones]

[Katsu heads out to the plaza, towel in hand. It's that time of the month, after all. A brochure is tucked in his pocket - he can get the rest of the stuff for the welcome kit as needed.]

[Thus, when he spots Shinjiro, he heads over and hands him a white fluffy towel.]

You're not dreaming, sorry. Welcome to Vatheon.

[busstopsign]

[Okay step one - take the towel without so much as a thanks from a random stranger. Usually he wouldn't even bother, but considering he has no idea where he is, and if he's still dreaming...of course they'd tell him he's not dreaming. Had a few dreams like that in the hospital, actually.]

Who're you?

[His voice is full of distrust. For all he knows you're just a fragment of his imagination.]

[angelphones]

My name's Katsu Aoki. This is going to sound weird, but you're stuck here, at least for a while.

[He hands Shinjiro a brochure once he's dried off a bit.]

If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them as best I can. I've been here for a while.

[shotarcana]

Minako had certainly been aware from the start that this wasn't a place where the ordinary rules applied entirely. Here she was, dead or missing or away as she should be; and here were many of the people she'd feared missing so much, too. And then there was the whole business with her new "twin".

She'd been strolling all around the place during the daytime ever since she'd gotten here, and seen others come in, too, reassuring her that she was at least hardly alone. Today she was lost a bit in her thoughts, trying to decide exactly what she needed to do here, trying to decide how she should feel about the unexpected detour.

Actually, she'd stopped entirely noticing her surroundings as she got deeper into her conundrum, just skirting the edge of the plaza, staring down at her feet, absently rubbing a spot on her lower back where she'd finally found her new tattoo.

[busstopsign]

The girl in his dreams.

Every since he'd been in the hospital comatose and ignorant of the outside world advancing without him, he'd been plagued of a girl. Sometimes she'd show up halfway in a dream, other times, she'd just laugh and disappear when he looked again. He knew her. He definitely knew her, but never get her name right. Wherever he thought he had the answer, she she would grin, or hold his hand and cry before disappearing just before he could. Yet he'd stubbornly continued to march in the mists of his mind until, one day, he'd been able to say it, finally leading to him waking up, covered in tubes and machines.

"Minako Arisato."

Had he said that out loud? Wasn't sure. Hell, this might just still be a dream. Idly, as if this would somehow give him a straight answer, he pinched himself and--OW.

Slowly...he ended up walking towards her, half expecting the field leader to burst into a cloud of smoke, unable to say her name again as if it was now taboo to do so. However Minako might notice the shadow creeping up behind her. Shinji wasn't exactly good about sneaking.

[shotarcana]

Surprisingly, or maybe not, she didn't immediately notice. She'd been wandering around for hours, and plenty of people had walked behind her before, after all. Only... something did seem to indicate to her that something was about to happen. Maybe it was part of that talent for getting the drop on Shadows. But there weren't any Shadows here.

Except for the immediately obvious one, of course. She turned just a fraction, to reveal her face in profile, and then, out of the corner of her eye, was a figure that made her blink, and then almost freeze up for a second.

Oddly, stupidly, the first thing that came to her mind was that he hadn't been on the starfish communicator's list. Maybe she was going crazy. Maybe she was already crazy. Her hand flew to the pocket with her communicator in it, as if to check there, rather than with the evidence of her own senses. She didn't want to finish turning around, in case it wasn't real, at first. He was the one she hadn't gotten to really say goodbye to...

But her hand stopped once it reached the communicator, because-- what was she doing, what was she thinking? Whatever it was, she'd better just treat it with equanimity, as usual. Of course. That would be easy, right?

[video]

[golden_gloves]

When Akihiko first arrived in Vatheon, he was approached by a girl who told him that the coral was so powerful it could bring the dead back to life here. He couldn't believe it.

Now, as he idly scrolls through the contact list on his SFC while nursing his injury, he recalls that encounter. Why? There is a name on the list that makes him do a double-take.

He scrolls up and down a few times, then squints to make sure he's reading the name right.

Hand shaking, he dials the new number.

[video]

[busstopsign]

The last thing Shinjiro expected was his phone to start ringing. Wait...he had a phone? Tentively, he took out of his pocket and stared at it for a second as it rang a second time. The hell was this red little starfish design with an angry face on it? By now he had figured out he wasn't dreaming, just gone into some sort of weird-ass rabbit hole that he couldn't leave. Just his luck. That didn't quite give him the answer of who had this number, however.

Third ring. Only one way to find out. He opened it up and took the call.

...somehow he should have expected Aki here too. He didn't even have to wonder if he'd visited him at the hospital during his stay. Still, it would have been unlike him to have acknowledge that. He wasn't going to bother him with much of a hello either, just shake his head in annoyance, even if there was a small smile on his lips. Very tiny.

"Figures it'd be you. Tch. Can't leave me alone for even a few minutes can you?"

If only he knew.

[video]

[golden_gloves]

This was just the sort of response he would expect to get. Akihiko's smile is a lot more obvious. Seeing him there -- moving, speaking, breathing -- makes him forget about his own problems. He tries to stand up, but yelps in pain and settles back down on the couch.

"Try a few weeks. Wh-why can't you think of someone else for a change?"

It was really hard to keep cool. He wondered if this was just a dirty trick to get his hopes up.

[invoker]

Mitsuru had taken to walking around the plaza during the day, as per her duty as the leader of the Amusement Quarter in the Defense Force. Mainly because sometimes, she stumbled upon new arrivals and often, it felt good to help them back on their feet and get them used to their new surroundings.

"..."

She tilts her head upon seeing someone very familiar.

"Shinji?"

[busstopsign]

"..." He stops walking and looks at her., his hands still in his pockets, still without proper clothing under that huge coat of his. He hadn't seen Mitsuru since the incident, but considering what had happened so far, he didn't seem as surprised finding her as he should be. Not to mention he knew all to well what she might say next.

"...If you're gonna lecture me about what happened, save it."

Hi.

[invoker]

In a completely shameless show of emotion from Mitsuru, she ran over and threw her arms around Shinji. And she was... sobbing? Quite possibly, or what passed for sobbing from Mitsuru would be considered silent tears from anybody else. First Akihiko coming back, then Takaya, now Shinji's back from the dead.

"You're alive." she said as she grasped him tightly. "You're alive."

1/2

[tsundyne]

[Yukari's used to helping out newcomers, as part of the welcoming committee; though mostly she just hands out the brochures and towels. Maybe she'll spend some time talking to them if they want to, but she's never really handed out the little sandwiches before. It seems more people than usual that she's familiar with are showing up, though--

...So she's got a small picnic basket in her hand when she crosses paths with Shinji, hearing him as he talks to herself. She's a little distracted, though; looking inside of the basket to make sure they're not getting squished, when she brushes up against him and nearly drops it all.

Of course, realizing it's him doesn't help.]

[tsundyne]

[...

Honestly, she's not even sure how to react. She turns around and really gives him a good once over, before opening her mouth to speak. It takes her a couple tries, but finally, she'll manage something, hands gripped tightly onto the basket as if her life depended on it.]

S-Senpai...

Hey, you're here.

[She wants to say 'It's about time.' Maybe to lighten the mood. But she won't. She can't. It hasn't even sunk in yet...

It'd been so long.]

[busstopsign]

[He had noticed her passing by and brush by him, but hadn't commented. Honestly at this point he knew he wasn't dreaming, as much as he didn't like the prospect at all...but it was still strange to see faces he knew pass by.

Besides, he hadn't changed much, hospital stay aside. Usually wanted for the others to speak first.]

Takeba. [He looks around and sighs.] Yeah. Guess so. Still ain't sure how this all happened...[But then suddenly, he switches subjects.] What's in the there?

[Mentally, already wondering if there were at least some vegetables in there. Shinji you were in a coma for so long, got whisked away to another world entirely and your first thought meeting one of the SEES members is 'they better be eating a balanced meal'.

...some things never change.]

[ai_can_cook]

Dreaming, huh?

[Ai just pops up behind him, looking him up and down, sizing him up]

You make a habit of taking really long naps, mister?

[busstopsign]

[First impressions can be important...but this was Shinjiro. He just gives her an annoyed look and almost pushes her off.]

Tch. Had my share with dreaming already.

[ai_can_cook]

Hey, no need to be rude! I was just told that whenever someone new comes in town, they should be welcomed!

[Ai sticks out her tongue]

If you're going to survive here, you're best off making friends, not enemies!

[messianic]

[He is out on a usual walk, a little concerned with what's been happening in Vatheon, when a familiar voice catches his ear.

He freezes.

By this point (of course), Minato is well-aware that the dead can come to Vatheon. But...never Shinji. Shinji had never once shown up, and he...

He finds himself feeling very lucky indeed that he gets to see his senpai again. So Minato is quick to walk that way (maybe a little too quickly to be considered a true walk), hands tucked into his pockets out of habit, and when he's close enough--]

Shinjiro-senpai?

[busstopsign]

[The hell is this guy, and why does he know his name? Shinjiro gives him a small glare before speaking. Unfortunately for Minato, there's not much to offer in comfort or familiarity.]

...who wants to know?

[messianic]

[... oh.

Either Shinji is from a time before he met Minato, or he's like Akihiko was that first time--he's from his alternate female self's timeline.

He can't help the pang at that, though he just pauses, tilting his head calmly, before continuing.]

...Sorry, my name is Minato.

[...okay, well. Time to take a gamble.]

I'm in SEES.

[flyingdreams]

[Oh goodness, he's extremely frightening! Still, Mrs. Brisby doesn't want to be impolite. She carefully and quietly speaks up, sounding timid. She's at his feet, so it's fairly clear where that tiny voice is coming from.]

Um, ah... sir? Welcome to Vatheon...

This is like the CR I never knew I wanted until now

[busstopsign]

[There's a voice coming from somewhere and it looks around before realizing it's much closer and looks towards seeing her. Well if he wasn't imposing to the average person, he must seem terrifying to her. Thankfully he lowers and kneels down a little, his face looking more confused.]

...now I know I'm dreaming.

[Fought monsters and shadows, but put a talking rodent in front of him and he didn't know what.]

[echigo_wargod]

Kenshin often frequented the plaza during this time of month, dressed head to toe in samurai armor and regalia carrying a thermos full of sake. Those who had been at Vatheon were pretty accustomed to the androgynous samurai, but for new people, this was easily a very unusual sight.

"Unfortunately this is no dream," Kenshin offered, hearing the other speak. "This is a place called Vatheon, and is quite real."

[ Shinjiiiiiiiiii ]

[busstopsign]

He looked at the other person speaking with a small look. At first thinking that he looked like some of the summons Minako used, but then ignored it. This place was full of surprised.

"So I've been hearing," he muttered, showing him the pamphlet Katsu had given him. "Still hard to believe all this bullshit."