genessia | [Action around Genessia and Attleton]

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[Action around Genessia and Attleton]

Well. This was an odd feeling. Akihiko remembered this place like a fading dream, yet the last time he was here was... a couple blinks ago from his perspective. He wasn't all too sure he wasn't dreaming at first. However, as he wandered the familiar streets and saw subtle changes here and there, reality set in and he was... adjusting.

Rather than announce his presence on the network, he decided to wander around to regain his bearings. Eventually he found himself in Attleton, lingering in front of the gate to the Midnight Channel before moving on. He kept his hood up while he wandered, preferring to try and remember what had happened the last time he was here. It was all fuzzy, as if a long time ago...

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In Genessia City, during these twilight hours, was Shinjiro. Feeding a stray dog, because of course he was. After Ace led around the pack of dogs on a merry adventure this past weekend, Shinjiro found it even harder to ignore the furry fellows than usual. (Not that he ever tried very hard to do so.)

She was of a medium-sized indeterminate mix, and absolutely filthy. She also spooked rather easily, and Shinjiro tried to coax her out with gentle words and a hand filled with dog treats. He still had some of the stash that he'd kept for Koromaru left in his coat.

Still, this meant that he was facing the little mongrel, rather than looking at the street. Which also meant he'd never see the guy coming.

[Junpei probably spent the last hour checking out the city and looking for a good dinner to stop at, or even just a sweets shop. Merely strolling along with his hands in his pockets, just wondering what the guys and gals would say if they saw this place.

But along comes a hooded guy looking like he's seen better days. As Junpei gets closer, he can make out a familiar face under that hood.]

Huh? Is that you, Akihiko-senpai?

Aki just watches for a good long moment. He's glad he kept his hood up because it would probably look like he saw a ghost. ...And for all intents and purposes, he has. After making sure he wasn't just seeing things and that this wasn't someone who just looked like Shinji, and waiting until the dog was finished eating whatever Shinji gave it, Akihiko made his move.

With one fluid motion, he pulled on Shinji's shoulder to face him, before hitting him with a right hook. A right hook that would definitely hurt, but was obvious he was holding back.

[Akihiko blinks for a moment as he hears his name. He glances around as he's shaken from his thoughts to spot Junpei, his face lighting up in recognition.]

Iori? I wasn't expecting to see you here, but I'm happy to see a familiar face.

From his perspective, things appeared to have happened very quickly.

Fist, there was Akihiko. Older, clearly, looking a bit road-weary, and was that a cloak? Seriously? But that's not why Shinjiro's eyes went wide. After the siren's broadcast, he had been very much thinking about the friends he left behind. The brother he'd left behind, honestly.

"Aki -"

Second, there was the punch, which rocked him back on his heels. The guy was definitely holding back. If it'd been his left hook, there, Shinjiro wasn't sure he'd still be standing.

Shijiro had died and he was probably still going to die, except this time from Castor losing control, and what does his best friend do when he sees him? Sock him one, good. His arms itched to reach out -

He laughed, instead. "Come on, I know you can do better than that."

Akihiko ducks down, arms close to his chest as he dashes forward. He closes the distance between them in the blink of an eye... yet the punch doesn't come. Instead, Akihiko pulls Shinji into a bear hug, that likely felt like the strength of an actual bear. Shinji wasn't getting away.

"You idiot..." was all Aki could say as tears streamed down his face.

Though his face still throbbed from the previous strike, Shinjiro still anticipated getting hit again. Certainly, he didn't do anything to shield himself when Akihiko rushed up to him. He figured he'd deserved anything that he got.

Instead, he got a hug which forced the breath out of him in an "oomph." It caught him by surprise. Maybe it should't have, but it did. They didn't really do this. Too many awkward silences, shouted arguments, and terse stare-downs over beef bowl. Through the coat, the many layers, it was probably obvious how thin he still was.

Despite that. Shinjiro's arms returned the hug, though without quite so much force. (Seriously, did Aki just mainline protein shakes now?) It'd been a week for him. How long had it been for Aki? He couldn't tell how much older he was.

"Still a crybaby," Shinji muttered, gruffly, ignoring the burning sensation in his own eyes. He wasn't being very serious, anyway.

It is you, Akihiko-senpai! Sup, dude? Why are you dressed like that?

[Seriously. You look like a boxing champion who fell from grace.]

Somewhere in the middle of this man's thoughts and Nao's unquenchable wanderlust, the two accidentally bump into each other. Nao metaphorically had his head in the clouds when he bumps right into this wanderer. The beastkin stumbles to keep upright with a slight yelp. It's not like him to be this inattentive and clumsy but he's a tad out of his element. The effeminate shinobi regains his balance and some of his dignity rather quickly while giving the other before him a curious glance.

"My pardon." Nao says politely with a slight hint of surprise in his tone. "Believe it or not but I didn't see you." He silently questions if he's going blind or something. This sudden bout of clumsiness has Nao wanting to seek a doctor or healer. Maybe he's just a tad disoriented. He's a newcomer after all.

Aki smacks the back of Shinji's head at that comment. Three years certainly haven't softened the blow of losing his brother, especially in the way he did; gunned down in an alley.

"Shut up. You don't have room to talk, Shinji..."

He wasn't even sure of what he was doing or saying anymore. All he knows is that Shinji is there, alive, and real. Three years of emotions just come bubbling out of nowhere.

[Akihiko blinks before glancing down at himself. Why was his fashion always what people react to first?]

Like what? This is my normal gear these days.

Akihiko was likewise lost in thought, especially after bumping into someone he thought was dead. His walk had gone from re-familiarizing himself with the city to trying to untangle the emotional jumble that was dropped into his lap. Upon bumping into Nao, however, his reflexes kicked in and he reached out, catching Nao's shoulder to make sure he didn't fall.

"Don't worry about it. I wasn't really paying attention either. You okay?"

"Ow," Shinjiro complained - and it was just complaining for the sake of complaining. Trying to tease, trying to complain, trying to act like his regular self - this was all better than the emotional stuff they were doing right now.

A tiny voice in the back of his mind said that the emotional stuff was actually pretty necessary. You died, it said. You're gonna die again. And that hurt. That really hurt. Because, if he had it his way, nobody was supposed to care if he died.

Well, he was more than ten years too late for that.

Despite his complaining, despite his bellyaching, he actually hung on to Aki. The fact that he'd been snatched to a strange world and was trying to deal with dying? Not really the issue. The fact that Aki was reacting like this? That was the issue.

He wasn't even sure if he should be apologizing or if it'd be a waste of air, considering what his future looked like even now.

"These days?" Dude, ya feelin' all right? Last I saw ya, you were in the Gekkoukan High uniform and S.E.E.S armband.

The hand upon the shoulder is a welcomed gesture since Nao is a little unsteady. Maybe he's had enough exploration for one day considering he hasn't rest yet. That's probably the reason for his clumsiness. The young man is utterly exhausted. "I-I'm quite well, I think." He states honestly with a faint smile.

"You seem to be doing much better I. I take it you're...a native." The youth looks like he would blend in well in Attelton. Most of the residents here seem to be human, so Nao just assumes that this man is a resident. It doesn't cross his mind that Akihiko is a newcomer too.

It took him a good couple of minutes, but Akihiko finally got his emotions under control and took a step back. He wiped his eyes before leveling a glare akin to a parent grounding a child.

"Never pull that sort of thing again. From now on, you tell me when something happens, got it?"

[There's a brief look of confusion on Akihiko's part.]

...I haven't worn that outfit since I graduated. ...Two years ago.

"No I just got here..."

Akihiko cocks his head slightly as he notices Nao's fatigue. "You okay? You look like you should sit down..."

Red eyed (though he swore up and down he hadn't actually been crying like Aki was) and a bit raw from, everything, Shinjiro couldn't help but wince. Something like, running low on Suppressants? Not being able to find more? Having an incident not long ago where he felt like he nearly lost control of Castor?

He felt chastised, sullen, guilty, and a bit angry, all at once. Shinjiro stuffed that all down. Sighed. Lied, but with all the force of wanting the lie to be true. Because Aki didn't deserve his shit. "Fine."

Then, finally, he got a good look at his friend. "The hell are you wearing?"

Nao quietly laughs off the concern. It's welcomed but he honestly feels somewhat ashamed of himself. "I'm quite well, thank you." He offers the fair-haired man another faint smile. While he should be resting, Nao is trying to power through it all. It's unnecessary on his part but he's somewhat stubborn.

"This is your first time here as well?" He looks a tad surprised at that. "Goodness, we share that in common." The absurdly dressed ninja takes a step back and glances down the street from whence he came. "All the houses look exactly the same to me. Is this the general aesthetic of this odd village?" Those tired blue eyes rests upon the young man again.

"I must admit, this place looks nothing like 'home' to me but the inhabitants are friendly."

Edited 2017-09-13 22:13 (UTC)

[Have a Junpei version of confusion.]

The hell? How did you graduate two years ago? The school year hasn't even ended yet.

Akihiko takes a moment to steady himself, wiping at his eyes once more. Once he was confident he could speak without his voice cracking, he glanced down at himself, and then back up at Shinji, clueless.

"...It's my training gear. Why?"

[And have a bewildered look right back.]

...of course it did. Speaking of which, it feels weird to see you without your jersey on. Are you feeling okay?

Akihiko debates for a moment explaining that he was here once before but decides against it. He wasn't here for long and it would only confuse matters.

"Yeah, it seems like it. It's weird to me too. Looks like mid-west United States... I'm from Japan." Another beat. "...Oh, I'm Akihiko Sanada, by the way." The concern may have been waved off, but Akihiko stands poised to catch Nao should he waver.

Were those scars? What the hell had Aki been up to over the last ... how long had it been? He'd have to ask that at some point. He'd also have to ask how the hell Mitsuru let the idiot be seen in public like that. Shinjiro, frankly, had a long list of questions, and thinking about the more ridiculous ones (like, "why does my friend look like a crazy shirtless hobo") was better than thinking about feelings.

Rolling his eyes was hopefully a good way to distract from how red and damp they were, too.

"Guess we're swingin by a store to get you some shirts."

Akihiko just gives Shinjiro a blank look. Obviously he didn't see a problem, especially since he can just pull the cape over his shoulders to cover himself. Not unlike what he was just doing.

"...Why? Shirts just limit my range of movement."

Shinjiro levels an even, steady look at his friend. One which should say, in neon flashing letters, are you even kidding me right now.

"Are you fightin right now?" he asks, and then doesn't give him a chance to respond. "That's right. You ain't. So you can be dressed like a normal person."

Shinjiro just gets a look of fierce determination (TM) in response.

"I need to be on my toes at all times just in case I need to spring into action at a moment's notice."

And Akihiko gets an eyeroll in return.

Part of him is glad - even though Aki looks older - that he hadn't changed very much.

"Then wear a shirt with cheap buttons, or something, that you can just tear off."

And then Shinjiro smirks. "Besides. Since when didja you let anything slow you down?"

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[Action around Genessia and Attleton]

Genessia City

Genessia City

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In Attleton

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