Arrival; Backdated to 8/1 - OPEN

[not_that_sasuke]

[Castle]

[Hello there, castle friends. You're getting at least one new buddy today, and for some of you, he might even look familiar.

When Sasuke wakes up, his school uniform - a sailor shirt and black pants - are still dirtied by soil, along with his hands. A thin cord of rope remains loosely circled around his neck, though there's marks on his neck that suggest it was much more snug previously. Unsurprisingly, he looks pretty alarmed at all of this, although a completely black cat soon shoots to his side, investigating him and making sure he's okay.

The sight doesn't calm him entirely, but he does relax enough to pat it on its head, scritching behind the ears.]

Kurou? Where...?

[Hirajiro]

[And then some stuff happens. It's very upsetting. But it's fine. He'll be fine. He's just got to get out of the castle and find the town, which he is capable of, because even if he was terrible at it he still had training all his life in a mountainous forest. He can find his way.

There's just... other problems with that plan. Which is why people in town might find themselves looking at a black cat that, if approached, keeps walking just out of their reach - and yet, it will stop to make sure they keep following it nonetheless.

The reason for this becomes abundantly clear soon enough, because the cat is leading them to a teenager collapsed on the street. There's dirt on him from a forest, though not necessarily this one, and if they look closely enough they might even see a little rope burn on his neck, though he at least had the sense to remove the rope from his shoulders.

He. He probably needs some help. Please help him.]

Comments

hirajiro...

[16lab]

[ Cats are abundant in this town of Hirajiro. She usually doesn't stop to pet one, but it's been so hot today... she wants some animal therapy. However, when she approaches the black cat, it keeps scooting away. With the way it's acting, she can't help but to wonder why it wants her to follow it...

Then she sees the reason why and immediately rushes over to his side. She thinks he collapsed from heatstroke, which isn't really a farfetched idea, but then she sees a little rope burn around his neck. What the fuck.

She is immediately picking him up bridal style and carrying him to the hospital, careful not to move his head too much in the process. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[The good news is, he's pretty light! The bad news is he's probably a little underweight, actually. But that's much less pressing than the fact that he sure is warm, even for having been out in this heatwave.

He does stir a little when he's picked up, eyes cracked open.]

...Who...?

[It's a mumble, but given she's carrying him, it's not hard to hear. The cat, meanwhile, is going to follow.]

[16lab]

[ Unfortunately, RO is also pretty warm... a little warmer than what a human should be. Probably from being out in the heat for some time longer than she'd like. But if she hadn't, she wouldn't have been able to find Sasuke. ]

Don't talk. I'm taking you to the hospital. Save your energy.

[not_that_sasuke]

[Unfortunately, while Sasuke is usually a smart boy, he's very dumb when it's about himself. Which is why, even though she says that, he's going to try to gather the strength to look around a little in spite of feeling fairly sick.]

Wh-- Who are you? And Kurou...?

[This would work a lot better if he actually had energy, but apparently that's not stopping him.]

[16lab]

[ Boy... RO doesn't say anything in response for a while, only focusing on getting Sasuke to the hospital. Unfortunately, it's a fairly long trek from where he was found, so it'll take a while. However, she doesn't mind the silence and holds a fair grip on him so that he doesn't try to escape. ]

Are you suffering from heatstroke?

Hirajiro

[reveilation]

[ Kido's walking down the street with a bag over one shoulder and a strip of paper in her other hand when she spots the cat. She stops where she stands, as if giving the cat a chance to bolt, but when it just looks back over at her, she takes a tentative step forward, clicking her tongue softly in an attempt to coax the cat towards her.

It doesn't do much, leading her bit by bit down the street, but the next time the cat turns around, Kido's knelt down with the bag on the ground, pulling the tab off a small can in her hands. ]

I was saving this for somebody else, but... Here, kitty. Are you hungry?

[ It's cat food. This probably isn't the sort of help that Kurou wants to bring to Sasuke, but cat food is meat and it's probably tasty? Maybe Kido has something more fit for human consumption in that bag of hers. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[Why must you tempt him like this.

He does take a couple steps towards her... before swerving to get back on track, stopping and looking at her.

Come on. We need to go!!]

[reveilation]

[ Damn, and she almost hand him. Kido pushes herself up onto her feet, carefully holding the can upright so none of it spills, but she does follow after the cat, trying to reason to herself that maybe the cat has kittens, and there's no way it can bring a can back to them like it could a mouse.

Alright, alright, she'll play food delivery. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[Well.

The cat doesn't have kittens. But it does lead her to this weird kid passed out on the street!!

The cat stops to sniff at him, butting his head against black hair and then looking to Kido. Please help his human!!]

castle - cw for mentions of murder :')

[laconism]

[Red is taking one of his routine strolls throughout the castle with his Pokémon friends, Pikachu, Blastoise, and Charizard, when an unexpected sight causes him to suddenly stop in his tracks. The other three follow suit in alarm. There's a boy on the ground, petting a cat. But it's not just any boy. It's...

Immediately upon looking at "Yuusuke's" face, the image of Red slashing the other boy's throat right in front of him, blood spray painting his entire body as Yuusuke falls to the ground and Shirou screeches in despair flashes through his mind. His face loses color, moving himself behind the large 6'7" dragon and clutching onto its side as he stares at Sasuke in terror. Charizard wraps a protective arm around his trainer's shoulders, fixing Sasuke and Kurou with a harsh stare. Blastoise gives them his own wary stare, but Pikachu just looks up at Red with confusion and concern.]

Chu?

[This is totally Yuusuke and he'll definitely want to get revenge on Red for killing him, right? As much as he hates the guy, he doesn't want to have to repeat that incident ever again. However, there is a sliver of doubt caused by the rope around Sasuke's neck, which is the one thing that's preventing him from just bolting right out of here. Red didn't kill Yuusuke by hanging or strangulation, so why is that there? Is he hallucinating right now?

He feels physically ill, and so anxious that he's convinced his heart is about to explode. Nevertheless, he forces himself to call out weakly to the boy.]

...Y...Yuusuke...?

[not_that_sasuke]

[He sees Red of course, and his entourage of creatures that he definitely doesn't recognize at all. It's enough to make him freeze up too, especially when the pokémon go on the defensive. Kurou actually moves in front of him at that, back arching as he tries to puff his tiny body up as large as possible to intimidate them right back, because this is his human and he is determined to protect him this time.

The name definitely gets a reaction, too- albeit likely a different one from what's expected. Sasuke actually starts, looking behind him, and then scanning the room like he's expecting to see someone else around (and he is, because Yuusuke was the one who set the rope trap and caught him, standing over him as he coughed on the ground). It's only once it's clear that no one else is in the room that he turns to Red again, expression tight with both confusion and wariness.]

...You know Yuusuke?

[Even his voice sounds the same.

Wherever he is now, it's definitely not Morimori. This boy is probably human if his... animal companions are anything to go by, so it would have to have been someone Yuusuke met before high school... right?

But it's not really in Yuusuke's nature to terrify people to that extent without reason, either, and Red's clear fear just adds a layer of puzzlement to Sasuke's already mixed emotions about this entire scenario.]

[laconism]

[That is... definitely not the kind of reaction or response that he expected, yeah. This guy implies that he's not Yuusuke, but even that voice unmistakably belongs to him. It hasn't been long enough for Red to have forgotten what Yuusuke's voice sounds like. He did forget that his profile mentioned him disliking his brother, though. If he remembered that, he would have solved the mystery of this boy's identity by now.

Red gives a brief, single nod at the question and raises his hands to his eyes to rub at them, hoping that when he lowers them and his vision clears again, he won't see Yuusuke's face on this person anymore. His hopes are dashed. Why? Why can he only see and hear Yuusuke? His frown deepens as his hands return to Charizard's side, clutching him a little bit harder this time. There's a slight quiver in his voice as he poses another question.]

...Who... who are you?

[not_that_sasuke]

Sasuke. We're twins.

[That's... probably what's confusing him, right? But...

It's clear as day that his movements are fearful, and Sasuke keys into that all too easily. It only heightens Sasuke's own concern--

What did Yuusuke do? And not only that, but...

Why?]

...Did... my brother do something...?

hirajiro

[rabbeats]

[ Despite the neverending sneezes and teary eyes, Hibiki follows the cat on a whim&madsh;it turns out to be a good call because no longer than a few minutes later, he sees Sasuke lying on the street. Hibiki kneels down next to him and tries talking to him. ]

Hey...can you hear me?

[ It's accompanied with some loud sneezes and coughing, too. ]

Good kitty. I'll take him to the hospital, okay? So follow me.

[ Hibiki will wait for a little while, hoping that Sasuke will regain consciousness, but if that's not going to happen, he'll pick him up and carry the boy on his back. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[He does stir a little at the voice, and Kurou will sit patiently as Hibiki sets about picking up Sasuke because - well, even if he's conscious, he's not actually capable of much movement right now.]

...Who...?

[He remembers trying to get through the forest, but...]

[rabbeats]

I'm— [ A sneeze cuts him off. ] I'm—

[ He tries again, but sneezing never ends. ]

Hibiki.

[ Now, that's better. Not that they've ever met, so it's not going to mean much. ]

It's okay, I'll take you to a doctor.

[not_that_sasuke]

[Poor Hibiki. Kurou is sticking fairly close because he doesn't know what an allergy is, so good luck toting this guy along with that.

A doctor, though... Sasuke tenses a little at that.]

Just need... water.

[And sleep. ...And food.]

hirajiro

[flowerclips]

[ when rei decided to follow the cat, she didn't really know what to expect. maybe a little exciting adventure that'd lead her to some other cats (they are really cute! she always tries to share a bit of food with them if she can), but instead, she comes across a collapsed teenager and immediately, she wants a refund on this adventure. ]

[ immediately, she kneels down next to sasuke and reaches for her omamori. it won't be that effective during the day, but she calls upon her persona anyway. ananke appears and places her hands particularly around sasuke's neck. the little rabbits jump around on him (luckily, they're not that heavy) and he should feel a small warmth flowing through him. since personas aren't as effective outside the lockdown period, rei will just have to continuously cast diarama until it does the trick. ]

A-Are you all right...?!

Re: hirajiro

[not_that_sasuke]

[There's... something? touching him. His eyes flutter open, and it takes him a moment to focus on the girl in front of him.]

Huh...?

[He's just so tired. He feels overheated and sick, and everything feels muffled...]

[flowerclips]

[ she leans down until her face is close to his. ananke continues to do her thing and heal sasuke. ]

Can you hear me? Where are you hurt? I can heal you!

[not_that_sasuke]

[He blinks a few times, wincing and closing his eyes.]

...Just tired. [He says, even though this pretty clearly goes beyond just tired.] Do you... have water?

castle

[decipere]

[ kokichi is just outside the castle, sitting against the exisal and playing with one of the crows around the area (he's named this one "karasu-chan"; it's the same crow that bothered kido last month). this crow is his only friend and he's just having meaningless fun with it when he ears someone in the castle. hmm? okay, what's that about? he didn't hear the voice too carefully to recognize it as something familiar(?) but he gets up and decides to check it out. ]

[ he enters the ruins carefully and quietly, taking his time to see if this voice belongs to a friend or foe. karasu-chan rests on his shoulder as he peeks over and, oh, hm... well, ain't that an old face... kokichi could handle this maturely but probably not. it's not like he or yuusuke had any bad blood against each other. it probably wouldn't matter if he greets "yuusuke" like this. ]

A-Ah--! It's a zombie--!

[not_that_sasuke]

?!

[Sasuke looks over Kokichi's way, expression confused. He's still feeling off kilter from Yuusuke, and the conversation with Red didn't help with that in the slightest. His mind is trying to be five places at once while running low on steam thanks to his general exhaustion, and it makes it even harder to keep a lid on his emotions.]

--Huh?

[decipere]

[ hm, that's not the reaction that he expected "yuusuke" to have. he supposes that anyone could be thrown off from coming back from the dead. he knows he sure was, but hmm. he decides to keep playing along with this zombie nonsense while karasu-chan still rests on his shoulder. he wants to see where this goes. ]

S-Stay back, zombie! I know that I just have to aim for the head to defeat you!

[not_that_sasuke]

Zombie...?

[His voice is the same, but the tone? Not quite. Yuusuke tended to be full of himself and confident, but Sasuke is uncertain all around, voice a touch quieter as a result.]

Is this part of a game?

[All he knows is, he needs to get to town after this. But he supposes someone might be out here... playing...??]