ouaite

[ouaite]

Zundar: I have created conquerors.

Wombat: You fucked up a perfectly good student council is what you did.

Wombat: Look at them. They’ve got anxiety.

[ouaite]

          He regained his composure once Akoya let go, taking a breath. “I don’t know what you’ve been through, no. However, now that I am here, I don’t plan on going anywhere. You may air your complaints directly to me, now. I will do my best to rectify any issues that I’m able to.” A pause. “...I’m glad you hadn’t given up hope on seeing me just yet. I truly am sorry about not being able to be here.”

So, this could have gone better.

Akoya felt mascara leaking down his face, leaving trails of watered-down grey across his cheeks. (That much wasn’t his fault – it was supposed to be waterproof!) He pulled back in order to dab beneath his eyes, utilizing the crook of his finger to clean his face. There was no doubt that he would have ‘raccoon eyes’ after all was said and done, but he could minimize the damage for now… Tempting as it was to wipe his tears away, that would only make the smearing worse.

“I’ve been waiting for months,” he complained, his petulant tone wavering with emotion. “I’d almost given up hope about seeing you… That’s how long you made me wait!” His reddening eyes fixed on Kinshirou in an accusatory manner. “Do you have any idea what I’ve been through? And I had to do it alone!”

[ouaite]

          “I suppose it does. I only arrived a short while go; you are one of the first people I’ve spoken to her, actually.” Arima’s composure at the situation made it hard for Kusatsu to attempt to speak his mind. He had to stop himself and end where he did, as to not make it seem like he had lost any sort of common sense in his absence. 

          Well, in any case, he attempted it. He had taken a step forward, and successfully contained the urge to embrace the other, however the same couldn’t be said about allowing himself to continue speaking. There had barely been a moment’s silence before he spoke up again.

          “...I’m not sure what I would have done if I didn’t know whether or not you two were here. Although it may not be the best circumstances to be under, I’m sure it’ll be easier to handle now that we’re all here.”

For once,Arima had a lot to say.  He hadn’t reallyknown what to do with himself since arriving here and most of that hadtransformed into listlessness and a vague sense of worry about Akoya that hedidn’t know how to act on.  What heactually said was:

“Ah, it’ssomething like that.”

“When didyou get here, Kinshirou?  This means we’re all here, doesn’t it?”

[ouaite]

          Still recovering from the embarrassment of it all, he merely nodding in agreement to the ways they were similar. Aside from some... minor differences, he doubted he would have believed that she really wasn’t Akoya even when she said so herself. "Kinshiro Kusatsu. Where we had been previously, I was his senior at our school, in both age and status in the student council. He is also an important ally; it’s only natural I’d attempt to find him first. At least this conversation confirms he’s here.”

[🎼] What a priceless reaction! Surely he must be the stern leader type if he was so quick to save face? What interesting friends her twin had. Suppressing a laugh, Luka momentarily brought a hand to her mouth in a show of modesty, letting it drop to her chest before speaking.

[🎼]“There’s nothing to apologize for. We are remarkable similar, aren’t we?” Thick pink locks are pulled outwards in a display and allowed to fall gracefully. “It’s not just the hair, either. Our eyes… and even our personality to a degree. I’ve entertained the thought of us being twins. But that’s enough about us. You must be a friend of Akoya’s if you’re looking for him. It’s a pleasure to meet you, my name is Megurine Luka.”

[ouaite]

          He thinks for a moment. “It seems doubtful, though not completely impossible. They’ve never been the type for complete subtlety; a regular life in a city this way seems a bit on the boring side, especially for them.”

“No… I guess you wouldn’t. None of us would.” Hard to miss the edge of the cold shoulder there, but just walking away from a friend in a place like this was madness, so far as he was concerned. “You don’t think it’s another attempt from… them, do you?”

[ouaite]

          "--!”

          The only thing Kusatsu managed to get out was a noise of surprise when he noticed Akoya begin crying. He wasn’t quite sure what to do; comforting friends wasn’t his forte. He had to hold back the urge to cry himself. The mixture of being relieved to know Akoya was fine and the fact that he was a sobbing mess holding onto Kusatsu made it hard to do so, but he shouldn’t.

          “...You’re right. I apologize. If I had known you and Arima were waiting for me, I would have made more of an effort to be punctual.”

He didn’t want to cry.

– Didn’t want to, but it was so difficult. He could remember how alone he felt before he’d found Arima, yet even after they were reunited, something huge was absent from the dynamic he knew so well. The temptation to speak about what he’d been through was pressing hard against his throat, but this wasn’t the time or the place; there would be better opportunities later.

For now, he wanted to make sure that he wasn’t dreaming.

“You took too long to get here,” he sniveled, clinging to Kusatsu as if his life depended on it. “Isn’t it your job to look after me? I’m your underclassman!”

[ouaite]

          The hug, being the second most surprising thing to happen to him today, left him frozen in place. Normally, under any other circumstances, he would have scolded Akoya and shaken him off. However, these weren’t normal circumstances, and this wasn’t something he would have expected Akoya to do. And he had to admit: it felt fairly relieving knowing the other had missed him enough to willingly hug him. Kusatsu awkwardly returned the hug, allowing himself to briefly smile.

… Kusatsu-san was here.

Akoya missed a great number of people – his father and mother, his aunts and uncles, his grandparents and cousins, and a very select few of his classmates – but he didn’t think he’d be seeing any of them again. When he first spotted Kinshirou, he had assumed that his eyes were playing cruel, desperate tricks. Perhaps it was selfish to be glad, because that meant they were stuck here as a group… But it was such an immense relief to know that he’d been reunited with his three closest companions. Being with Arima was wonderful, but without their President, everything had felt incomplete.

Without a moment of hesitation, he rushed towards his friend, tugging him close in a crushing embrace.

[ouaite]

          He stood in silence, momentarily forgetting he was in a public space. After the initial shock ended, he straightened himself out and cleared his throat. “...It would appear that way. I wouldn’t have expected to see you here, although I suppose I wouldn’t have expected to be here either.”

The odd bump wasn’t exactly uncommon, Atsushi had quickly found. So when an arm grazed him, it was almost an automatic motion to turn his head to apologize.

The words died before he could find them, though, replaced by a surprised look to match the one looking back at him.

“Kin-chan…? You’re here, too?”

[ouaite]

          He narrowed his eyes at En’s retaliation. To say Kusatsu missed having his point retorted by him would certainly be a lie, and one he would refuse vehemently. In particular, he didn’t like that En was comparing the two of them. The statement had caught him off guard, although he knew he should have expected it. He hesitated before answering, likely because he didn’t exactly know what to say, only to make a discontented noise.

          “I’ve never claimed to be perfect. Just because we were both captured does not mean we’re the same; just because cats and lions both eat meat doesn’t mean there’s not an obvious power difference.”

It was unseasonably warm and generally weird, but that was nothing out of the ordinary for a place like this. Normally, he would be huddled under a kotatsu, snoozing the day away in the middle of Christmas break, but since the temperature hadn’t gone below 60, there wasn’t much sense in even trying to find one. Instead, he’d made his way out and about, eventually settling himself down in the park in the quietest area he could find. With any luck, he’d figured, no one would come along to poke at him.

He honestly should have known better.

The backhanded insult was bad enough, but the fact that he recognized the voice that came along with it made matters even worse. For the third time since he got here, he was hoping this was just some strange dream he could wake up from, even though logic told him otherwise.

“I guess you have a basis for saying something like that, but I have one for saying it’s amazing that the perfect Student Council President would allow himself to be captured, too. Does that mean you’re no better than me?”

[ouaite]

          He wanted to say something about how relieved he was to see a familiar face, or at least, one he trusted. Maybe something about how he was suddenly worried about why the other was here, and what had happened. Instead, he merely glanced down to the hand on his shoulder, speaking after only a short moment. “...I trust you’ve been well in my absence. I’d expect nothing less of you, after all.”

Arima looked like someone had just dumped a bucket of cold water on him, but he smiled all the same.  With one heavy hand, he touched Kusatsu’s shoulder.

“Kinshirou.”

[ouaite]

          Kusatsu only stared for a few moments, immediately understanding what she meant. He almost immediately embarrassed, though he cleared his throat to hide it. Looking away slightly, he focused his attention on nothing in particular to the right of him.

          “...Ah. It seems I do. ...You have my apologies. I’ve only recently arrived, so I suppose it was more that I was hoping to see someone I knew, and only searched for those that look similar.”

[🎼] It’s getting to be it’s own special hassle, moving back and forth between her apartment and studio; so much so that the idle thought of moving in to her workplace has crossed her mind more than once.  It’s on one such trip that she’s called out to… by the wrong name. 

[🎼]Needless to say, she wasn’t very pleased, but to say she was angry… well, it’d be a stretch. Luka had met Akoya, after all, and the resemblance was astounding.  ‘Telltale’ locks found themselves twined around gentle fingers as the idol peers over her shoulder, and eventually turned on her heel. A few minutes shaved off of practice wouldn’t hurt.

[🎼] “I’m afraid you’ve got the wrong person.” Surprise.

[ouaite]

@pearlchevalier

          “...It seems you’re doing well, Akoya.” There was no mistaking the appearance of the other (this time, for real). Despite the relief Kusatsu felt knowing both other members of the student council were here as well, he did his best not to show it. 

          “...That’s good to know.”

[ouaite]

@ceruleandaze

          He scowled. He had to admit that he was slightly impressed by how organized this place was, but he was disappointed to find out the city was really quite normal. There was absolutely no organization outside of what Kusatsu had just experienced. It really was unfortunate; the city had so much potential before he actually saw it.

          Realizing he’d been walking for quite a while, he stopped to get a proper look at his surroundings. Looking around, he noticed an incredibly unpleasant-looking person sitting on a bench, practically asleep. For a moment, he held himself back. Despite their unorderly looks, he wasn’t about to yell at a stranger. Once he got a closer look, though, he realized the person in question was no stranger. Unfortunately for him, he knew exactly who this person was:

          “Yufuin. I’d say I’m surprised to see you here, but it comes as no surprise that you’d allow yourself to get captured.”

[ouaite]

@epinaru

          The streets of Hive City were far too crowded. There was absolutely no order with them; something he’s always hated about large cities. That’s not saying he preferred smaller towns, of course, but he was sure there would be a more efficient way to handle paths. While thinking of how much he’d be able to improve them, his arm bumped against another person. Turning around to glare at them, Kusatsu’s face soon turned surprised.

          “...Ah.”

[ouaite]

@escargent

          Noticing his vice president almost immediately on the street, Kusatsu walked over to him. At first he hadn’t been sure it was him, thinking it was just someone that looked similar. However, in a city like this, he realized it wouldn’t be unusual to see those he knew.

           “...Arima. You’re here as well.”

[ouaite]

@roseaterondo

          The long, pink hair was almost a dead give away. He couldn’t think of anyone else who would willingly have their hair look like that. There was no doubt in his mind who this was. Kusatsu could recognize the members of his own student council, after all. What sort of president would he be if he couldn’t even do that?

          “Ah, Akoya. ...Your hair seems to be longer. Has it really been that long since you’ve arrived here?”

[ouaite]

|| throwing out a quick rp ad for kusatsu! as i’ve been fairly busy lately, they’ll vary in length. three is the cap, though castmates can ignore that!