genessia | [action]

Entry tags:

[action] | [video]

[ACTION]

[A little while after parting with Takeru, Hikari found herself wandering the local park once more. Lost and confused, but not yet frightened, she continued on with a hesitant determination. Taking in everything around her. The trees. The paths. The people walking by.]

[In her hands, she continued to carry a small egg. Unable to recall where and when she found it any more than she could remember how she ended up in this place. It didn't look like the park near her apartment. Had she been sleepwalking? The last thing she could remember, she'd gone to take a nap after failing to find anything good on television. And she was still in her pajamas. Wearing her house slippers--she hoped she wouldn't get in trouble for getting them dirty by walking around with them outside.]

[First thing's first, though...she needed to figure out exactly where she was. So she could figure out how to get home.]

[VIDEO]

[Hikari hesitated for a long time, staring at the item in her hands, before wiling herself to turn it on. Not because she was afraid. Not because she didn't know how to use it. But because she knew, no matter how carefully she phrased her question...she would inevitably cause some kind heart to worry about her. And she didn't want to do that.]

Excuse me.

[Starting off polite, just like her mama taught her. The most important thing was to not look or sound scared.]

I was wondering if anybody could tell me...how to get back to Odaiba? I think I walked a little too far and got lost along the way. [Conveniently leaving out the memory lapse. That would DEFINITELY cause people to worry.] If there's anybody who could at least point me the way I need to go, I would be very appreciative.

[She ended her brief inquiry with a small nod of her head in preemptive gratitude.]

Thank you.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Like Hikari, Dray doesn't know what happen and he doesn't remember what he was doing. He blinked and suddently his family was nowhere to be seen.

If Hikari is paying attention, she might spot a small golden coloured kitten wearing a necklace and mewling in distress.]

(Taichi should consider himself lucky he hasn't yet found or touched an egg, but...images of long ago popped into his head the second he finally came across Hikari. He hadn't seen her when he woke up, figured she might be out and about but when Takeru wasn't even around that was cause for concern.

Until now.)

...Hikari?

[She stopped short when she caught sight of the little kitten. Kneeling down and putting on her best smile. For all she was lost right then, she couldn’t resist the urge to check on a precious creature even smaller than herself.]

Hello, little kitty-cat. Are you lost too?

[Turning at the sound of her name, Hikari looked...up. Far higher up than she should have to find that familiar tuff of wild, brown hair. And a face that looked...familiar. But not. Older. More like a grown-up than preteen boy. Her eyes were wide in confusion, staring with her mouth slightly agape.]

...Oniichan?

[It couldn’t have been, and yet...the young man before her looked so much like Taichi, she couldn’t help the moniker passing through her lips. More of a question than greeting.]

...Yeah.

(Taichi was used to Hikari being shorter than him, but...this was a bit much. It was like he'd gone back in time and overshot the distance.

He dropped down to a knee and pointed to his eyes, as if she could tell it was him just by sight. Then again, she might recognize him by his hair right off the bat.)

[Even if she looked and sounded nice, Dray was still startled. He tried to take a step back, only to trip on his own legs and fall on his ass. Little Edions didn't have the best balance. He shook his head, mewled softly and then looked up at the girl.]

I...I can't find Masha.

[Her eyes never once left him as she watched him kneel down. Taking in every detail of his face. His eyes. His hair, of course—somehow also even bigger than she remembered.]

[There seemed to be little doubt in her mind this was her big brother. But she was still (understandably) confused.]

Oniichan...why are you so big?

Did...something happen to you at camp?

(Camp. The day it all started, when it had started snowing on August 1st. Apparently Hikari was de-aged back to before he'd first returned.)

Quite a bit happened at camp. What about you? Everything okay?

[She nodded. It was true...enough...to not be a lie. She wasn’t hurt and she wasn’t even scared.]

Don’t tell mom I left the apartment in my house slippers, please. [Glancing down at her feet, it would immediately become apparent she was not wearing her usual sneakers.] I didn’t mean to. I don’t even remember going outside.

[...did...that cat...just talk?]

[Hikari straightened as she continued to stare down at the kitten with slightly widened eyes. First, she woke up in a strange park that didn't look anything like home. Now, she was hearing animals talk. Did that mean she was dreaming?]

Who's Masha?

I promise.

(Taichi reached out to ruffle her hair, making sure not to touch the egg under any circumstances.) It'll just be between us.

[She smiled in relief at first. Then scrunched her nose when he moved to ruffle her hair--something so Taichi that her smile brightened all the more when he pulled away. Her posture seemed to relax mostly, except for the part where she was still protectively cradling the egg in her hands.]

[Almost as if there was some memory buried deep within that involved protecting eggs from her brother....]

Does this mean we can go home now?

[She looked to him expectantly. If he was here, now, that means he was done with being at camp. At least long enough to bring her back to the apartment. Maybe he could even stay a little while after that.]

Yeah, but for now we'll be staying somewhere else.

(Taichi motioned for Hikari to follow him, holding out his hand as if to say she can take it while still keeping the egg safe.)

[There was only a moment's hesitation before she stepped forward, slipping her tiny hand into his. The other holding the egg to her chest. His head tilted so far back in order to look up at him--he was practically a giant!--she nearly fell over backwards.]

Why?

[She trusted him, but even trust needed an explanation. Why couldn't they just go back to the apartment? Why did they have to stay somewhere else?]

Should we tell mom and dad? They'll worry if they get home from grandma's and I'm not there.

Because I told them we'd be going somewhere fun and that I'd take care of you the entire time.

(Not to mention, they couldn't exactly go home at the moment. Not with Hikari looking as young as she did. He led her back to the place where the Chosen frequented, a bit surprised that he remembered the way since he had only been around for about a week or so.)

Don't worry. I'll let them know we've arrived safely.

...okay, Oniichan. I trust you.

[Even if she didn't understand a lot of it. Why he was so big. Why they couldn't go home--although maybe that was because he was so big. Because of something that happened at camp. And since she was here, with him now, he couldn't take her back home yet without risking their parents seeing him.]

[Though even all those hypotheticals still didn't explain exactly where they were and where exactly he was taking her. Another apartment, judging from the outside of the building. One he had managed to find with a great deal of ease.]

Is this where a friend of yours lives, Oniichan? Are we staying with them?

(Taichi hoped this wasn't a permanent thing, but if he was right then by tomorrow morning Hikari should be back to normal.)

Yeah. We're staying with a few friends. Most of them came but the rest couldn't make it or were delayed.

(Which was the truth, more or less. There might be a chance the others could arrive. Taichi made his way into the apartment with Hikari, then led her to her room...or, their room. He still didn't have the bunk beds set up since they hadn't arrived.)

This is where we're staying, but it'll be a while before our bunk beds get here.

[Our bunk beds.]

[That...confused her even more. It was one thing to spend the night at a friend's house, but the way Taichi kept talking, it was like...they were planning to stay for a while. The confusion was certainly enough for her to stare up at him again. With that unreadable, intense gaze that could seem much too old for an eight-year-old. And a silence that lasted several seconds after, until finally:]

Are they friends of yours from camp?

They are.

(And yours too, though Hikari doesn't seem to recall that just yet. He ruffles her hair again and gives her a reassuring smile.)

It'll be okay. I promise.

[She nodded, but this time it was a more absent response. More habit than anything. She wanted to believe him. Taichi would never lie to her, right? It was just...]

[...there was still something so very strange about all of this. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew things weren't as right as Taichi was trying to make them out to be.]

[To protect her, most likely. Just like he always did.]

Do I know any of them?

You do.

(Telling her the truth, that she was really supposed to be in junior high and they had been brought to another world? He wasn't sure how Hikari would take it while currently de-aged.)

[That did seem to ease her. A little.]

Which ones?

All of them.

(Which was true. Hikari did know Mimi, Takeru and Yamato. The question now is, were any of them affected the same as his sister?)

[He was being vague, and she couldn't tell if it was on purpose or not.]

What are their names?

(He might be acting vague, but at least he was honest.)

Yamato, Takeru and Mimi. You meet them sometime after our time at camp.

(Which was true, and almost as if Taichi guessed what Hikari's next question might be he made sure to add when they meet.)

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 4

[action] | [video]

Action

[Action]

Action

[Action]

[Action]

Re: Action

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

Action

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]