vatheon | open

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Who: Shinjiro, and perhaps you?
When: Afternoon of the 24th.
Where: Somewhere on the island, near the water.
Format: Either's fine.
Status: Open.

[Chances are you don't find too many people relaxing on the beach in a hot and heavy coat and skull cap. Chances are they aren't sprawled out awkwardly in the sand either, or lack proper vacationing accessories like a beach towel and bag.

But you've found one, and he's just started to return to consciousness thanks to a healthy film of sand building in his eyes, picked up by the wind.

Shinjiro groans, sitting up and gazing out at the sea with watery eyes.]

Where the hell am I?

[So many possibilities. He could have died, and this was the afterlife. He could have fallen comatose again. Briefly he wondered if Akihiko had knocked him out cold to drag him on a trip. ~~And if that was the case, he would be in for a hurting.~~ He just wanted to see her again.

But he's here now.]

Damn.

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For the most part, Shinjiro has healed. His body is not quite what it was back in October, but he won't let discomfort get in the way.

"I'm fine. Don't apologize."

Minako has started to turn slightly pink in the face in embarrassment at her own impulsive behavior. But as long as Shinjiro isn't complaining... "Okay."

The smile is already returning irrepressibly to her face. "I really am happy to see you," she says - in case her method of greeting had left any doubt. "But you must be kind of confused, ending up here like this, huh?"

Shinjiro lets go of the tension in his body and settles against the sand again, sighing as he picks up one of his arms to push some stray strands of hair back under his beanie, all the while watching her.

He was happy to see her too. He'd expected the situation to be a lot worse than it was, like a bizarre kidnapping. "If Aki's responsible for this, he's not getting off the hook by sending you first." He was confused, indeed.

That gets a surprised blink. "Why would Akihiko-senpai--?"

She cuts herself off mid-sentence with a shake of her head - nevermind, that's beside the point. "Unfortunately, it's a little more complicated than that." Now she picks herself up off him to kneel on the sand, brushing grit off her fingers onto her skirt before offering him a hand up. "This isn't anyplace in Japan," she says, a little more serious now as she gestures at their surroundings. "I'm pretty sure it's not even our world."

Even though help is offered, Shinjiro doesn't want to pull her down onto the sand again and gets up on his own. He doesn't mean it to be offensive, but she probably knows that.

His eyes widen at her words. "What do you mean?"

Sure enough, Minako doesn't seem to take any offense, just lets her hand drop to her lap once it's clear that it's not necessary.

"I'm not sure exactly how to explain it," she says, a little apologetic now. This is going to be a ridiculous story. "I haven't been here all that long myself. But up until just recently, we weren't up here on this island - when I first arrived, it was in a city in a bubble on the bottom of the ocean."

Very ridiculous. Maybe he fell back into a coma? They said it might happen, and he was pushing it earlier overexerting himself. But there was Tartarus. Tartarus was always a shining reminder that bizarre things were possible.

"Can see why you'd want to be on the surface..."

"It wasn't so much a choice," Minako admits. "The city started to flood. Something about the giant magic coral that generates the bubble running out of power. Some people tried to recharge it, but it seems like it didn't take."

She's looking very wry by the time she finishes saying all of this. She hasn't had that much trouble accepting the reality of the situation - she never does - but it sure does sound stupid when she says it out loud like this.

"Yukari's here too." She hurries on to a more important point. "She said she's been here almost two years, so it's one of those 'time moves differently here' things."

This is all pretty crazy, but the most surprising part is the fact that Takeba had been here for so long. What did Minako mean by time moving differently?

"How long was I really out for?" Three or four months just didn't seem right, if Yukari was-- "Don't think we're on the same page yet."

She ducks her head a little at the question, an embarrassed laugh hitching out of her. "I was hoping you'd tell me," she says. "The last thing I remember before I ended up here, it was the beginning of November, and you were still in the hospital."

When she looks up again her expression is bright-eyed and hopeful. "But you're all right now."

This is true. He's doing much better--

*cough*

Well, he's doing well for someone in his condition. There were more important things to worry about, however, besides being a worrywart with his well-being.

"It's March. Everybody was looking for you."

When he coughs, Minako promptly starts looking concerned again. She manages, barely, to keep herself from asking if he's all right again - he already said he's fine, and even though he clearly isn't, he'll only say that he is again if she asks - but it takes an effort.

Her brows draw together in vague puzzlement at what he says. "For me?" she echoes, and then quirks a lopsided smile. "Am I in trouble?"

It's more a quip than a genuine question, and after she asks it, Minako shakes her head. "--but, see? Our time doesn't match up. It's kind of like Tartarus and the Dark Hour, I think."

He smirks with a short laugh.

"You? In trouble?" His smirk is short lived, and falls back into a sad frown. "We're the ones who're in trouble. Forgetting about you like that..."

It is pretty much the last thing she was expecting to hear, and it catches Minako completely off-guard. In an instant, her face falls - surprised, confused, and, in spite of herself, a little bit hurt.

"...you forgot me?" Her voice sounds uncharacteristically small.

"Not by choice..." He's said too much, and now she's upset. He never wanted her to be hurt in any way. "I don't exactly know what happened. I just knew that the minute it hit me, I had to go find you."

"...I see..."

She doesn't really, but from what he's saying, it seems to her that something strange must have happened. Perhaps it was related to the Dark Hour being done away with, or something to do with his injury...?

"That's all right, then." She summons up a smile. "You remembered, so it's fine."

It was hard to tell. He hadn't received all the facts. He was stubborn and left ahead of everyone else to go see her. What he'd been fed in that time felt more like a string of lies to fill in blanks that were actually memories stowed away.

"I'm sorry."

Minako shakes her head at that. "It's not like you chose to forget. It's something you didn't have any control over, right? So there's no reason for you to be sorry."

It would be a lie to say it doesn't still bother her, but she can put it away in order to smile and hold out a hand to him. "For right now, we're both here. That's the important thing."

He looks down at her hand before taking it. She's right. They're both here, and they need to figure things out for the present.

One of his first priorities is to try and get her back in high spirits. He's quiet for a few moments before finally speaking. "I heard your voice while I was conked out."

"You did?" If he's trying to perk her up, he's chosen his method well. Minako's face brightens immediately, her smile turning almost hopeful. "I'm glad. You hear about how that sort of thing is supposed to help, but..."

She lets that thought trail off. There's no point in dwelling on it. Instead she adds, more quietly, "I've really missed talking to you, you know."

"Now's your chance." He's missed listening to her. It's always been fun to hear about her day at school and work. She meets a lot of interesting people, and is always learning something new. He does too at times.

"We're stuck here. Moping around won't do anything."

When he puts it that way, really, it just sounds like good sense. "You're right," she agrees, the smile on her face warming with relief and assurance. "And really, it's not so bad now that there's three of us here. Yukari's been stuck here on her own for a while, but with you and me here too, we'll be able to look out for one another."

While any of their group being stuck in Vatheon isn't a good thing for any amount of time, Yukari will at least have some answers about how this world works.

He nods, looking out at the water as it runs over the sand in gentle waves. This is kind of nice, at least for the moment.

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