songerein | { stroke of midnight }

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{ stroke of midnight }

STROKE OF MIDNIGHT

Although the Masquerade is being held on the night of the Fourteenth, some new problems arise in the days after. This log is split into two sections, the Masquerade and Around Town. Everyone is free to participate in either or both, whichever catches your interest.

More details on everything can be found here and here. As a reminder, events double as our TDMs and information can be found here with arrival details here. Any outside characters participating in the log are canonly logged as appearing in Songerein in February and will remain in Songerein from the IC date of February 14 through 28. TDM only characters can only thread within this log. Anyone who apps in and is accepted will have their character count February as their first time in the game without any disruption, so all content will carry over. Those who do not apply will disappear which should not seem too unusual, however players in game can choose to retcon and pretend a character was never there to begin with if it would be easier; or even think their presence was just a dream.

IMPORTANT! All outside characters MUST have "TDM" in their subject line, even if you might not app. This will help people differentiate those who are already in the game and those who are not.

TDM threads are required for samples. Refer to the Game Info for general information and feel free to toss any questions here. Reserves will open Wednesday, February 22nd and Applications will open on March 1. Our next cycle after won't be until JULY.

TDM Toplevel Link Directory (click to view, updated 02/22)

Avatar: The Legend of Korra - Korra
Avatar: The Last Airbender - Iroh
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - Miriam
Chainsaw Man - Power
Dr. STONE - Dr. Senku Ishigami
Elsworld - Noah Ebalon (Nyx Pieta)
Final Fantasy VII - Cloud Strife
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - Zack Fair
Final Fantasy XIV - Erichthonios
Final Fantasy XV - Noctis Lucis Caelum
Final Fantasy XV - Prompto Argentum
Genshin Impact - Shikanoin Heizou
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist - Solanaceae
Katekyou Hitman Reborn - Hayato Gokudera
Kingdom Hearts - Ienzo
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Link
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Sheik
Marvel Cinematic Universe - Kate Bishop
NieR: Automata - 9S
Percy Jackson & the Olympians - Jason Grace
Percy Jackson & the Olympians - Nico di Angelo
Persona 3: FES - Shinjiro Aragaki
SinoAlice - Sleeping Beauty
Tales of Arise - Shionne Vymer Imeris Daymore
Tales of Symphonia - Kratos Aurion
Tales of Symphonia - Martel Yggdrasil
Tales of Zestiria - Mikleo
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Sena
Your Wings and Mine - Shealtiel

We will request any thread submissions for certain prompts during AC and TDM threads will count. For more information, refer to the Game Notes.

I. MASQUERADE

It's time for the masquerade and the carriages will start arriving before sunset. Upon arrival, everyone who leaves the carriage (or mercilessly spat out if they try to resist) will be greeted by fairy godmothers with an eye for the most dramatic and extravagant fashion. It's a masquerade, after all! For those who already arrive with their outfits, the fairy godmothers may add a little embellishment here and or just change it completely if they think it could look better. For those who did not, they will create a whole new outfit that would fit the wearer perfectly—with magic of course. They will also create the masks and half of the glass slipper brooch that everyone will wear. The masks are enchanted so that regardless of obvious personality or physical traits, they are somehow unrecognizable at first. While it is possible to figure it out through interaction, or if it's someone they already know well, it's more likely they need to reveal their identity first. These outfits can be kept even after the masquerade is over.

A. Get in the Carriage. As the pegasus drawn carriages begin to arrive to transport those who have decided to attend the masquerade, there is some commotion from others. The pair of coach mice—who are only about four feet tall—can be found smiling and cheerily squeaking about the masquerade as they grab and literally throw protesting individuals into the carriage, whereupon the door will immediately shut behind them. Ho ho ho, it'll be such a grand time! Will anyone try to help the poor soul? Or perhaps help the mice? Maybe you're a struggling victim instead. Should anyone want to try and drive the carriage, they might have a chance…but good luck having the pegasi listen to them. Eventually the carriage will land and take them to the front of the castle where the masquerade is hosted.

B. Half of a Pair. Near the entrance, everyone is encouraged to pull out one or more of the shoe brooches contained in a large bowl. The rules are simple: 1) use the brooch to lead them to the person wearing the other half; 2) spend whatever time or activity with them, be it general socializing, a dance, a walk in the gardens; 3) keep the brooch or return it to a designated "Used" bowl. The brooches will absorb whatever kind of dreamotion energy is formed between the two, and the stronger it is, the brighter (if positive) or darker (if negative) it will glow. The interaction can be romantic, platonic, or hostile. For those who do happen to "click" and wish for some privacy, there are numerous terraces and balconies available. Some are public, but there are quite a few with curtains, so be sure to close them to signal the balcony is occupied!

C. Dancing in the Air. The main draw will be the dance floor, and the ballroom is wide and spacious to accommodate numerous pairs to dance to their hearts' content—the music is played by enchanted instruments so they'll keep going without much of a break! Of course, what makes this dance floor truly special is how it uses dreamotion energy to lift everyone up—literally. Pairs who are having a fun time may find themselves floating up and dancing in the air instead of on the ground. Somehow they can maintain some balance…but it's just as easy to lose it.

D. Royal Banquet. There are numerous tables one can use and be served an assortment of foods. In fact, one could make special requests and somehow the dragons serving will be able to make it, or at least as close as possible. One just has to imprint the idea of the dish onto a special card that the chefs will use to recreate it. There are also two bowls filled with special tear drop chocolates, one with only white, pink, and red, and the other filled with the other colors. The "game" is to randomly choose one from each bowl and share a kiss depending on what is picked.

E. Out in the Gardens. Every castle has extravagant gardens, and this one is no different. Filled with numerous pink, red, and white flowers, the gardens have their typical fare…with not so typical effects.

Extravagant mazes that one could easily get lost in are common, but what's special about these gardens is that the flowers will emit a soft, sweet scent that will feel as if they are walking through a dream. In fact, the section they are going through will begin to change to look like a place from their world and must now find their way out. When this change happens, only those who are in the area will be affected and no one else can enter the area until the main person affected gets out. Those inside can help, and there are no threats—it's all in simple fun…unless the place evokes certain memories and emotions for the person. Might not be as fun for them, then.
A crystal greenhouse where the temperature is perfectly warm (or cold!) and houses various different flowers. Here some may recognize flowers from their world, the scents also creating nostalgia. There are instructions left that indicate anyone can try to help grow the flowers. The key ingredient will be dreamotion energy, and should they succeed in creating a blossom, a small marble containing a symbol of their home. There are also special daisies that can be used to play the "they love me they love me not" game. If the last petal is "they love me," then become extra flirty and clingy. If it's "love me not," they become angry, jealous, and possessive. The effects only last for a short time…unless they keep plucking flowers.
The white fountain in the center of the gardens will have a bit of a musical playful side. It will splash colorful water at any who pass by, chime-like notes playing out as it does. But if one were to drop a flower that has absorbed positive dreamotion into its water, it will calm and let people sit to look and relax. There is also a strange frog wearing a crown that claims to be a prince. For those who believe its words that a kiss will free him from the curse, they will be sorely disappointed as nothing happens and the frog just laughs and hops away.

II. AROUND TOWN

A. Mask Up. Attracted by the masquerade, some enchanted masks have found their way to town and are now finding their way onto people, be it by tricking their victims to be put on or just forcibly latching themselves on. Depending on the type of mask, the wearer will behave based on a festive, dramatic emotion. While wearing the mask, the dreamotion that is projected is stronger. Examples are angry emotions will cause tremors and cracks on the ground, happiness could blind people or will cause confetti to fly everywhere, while sad ones will cause clouds and drizzling rain to appear overhead. The only way to remove it is to somehow make the other person feel the opposite of whatever emotion the mask is using. Once the mask’s emotion is countered and stabilized, it could be removed or even fall off if the countering emotion is strong enough. Masks can also be captured and collected before they attach to someone.

B. Special Messages. Throughout the month, valentine's are being delivered to people all over town. Some are even receiving some from the fae and dragons who live outside… Perhaps some caution should be had from those. Regardless, while the messages are brimming with both platonic and romantic (and questionable) love, the messengers are a bit… Well they need help.

Insightful Mockingbirds. Special mockingbirds are flying around and perch on random shoulders. They have the ability to "read" a person's thoughts and repeat them out loud. Without warning. Hope there aren't any secrets because that bird is going to make it public, especially if it's an observation or thought—good or bad—about another person. Good luck shooing it away, too—it'll stick around for a while because it might enjoy sowing this bit of chaos.
Arrow Delivery. The group from last year have decided to use their prank arrows for good and start a business in delivering special Valentine's messages via arrow. A "shot to the heart" in the less literal sense this time! While some of their archers are skilled, others are…less so. Some are hitting a bit too close to comfort or way off the mark. Some messages are going to the wrong person entirely. Help avoid, retrieve, or even deliver these messages around town.

C. Candy Kisses. A special assortment of flat bottomed, tear shaped chocolates are currently selling like hotcakes and can be found practically everywhere. Their main selling point is they come in different colors and each color has a special effect that will make the eater want to kiss the person near them in a certain way (see chart). Some people are deliberately swapping the wrappers around, so be careful!

D. Bleeding Hearts Return. It's Valentine's, yet Cupid is nowhere to be seen. That is because he's still corrupted from last year and now he's thirsting for love, any love. Using the Bleeding Hearts from last year, Cupid is using them to gather all that jealous, possessive love, but of course that's going to make it worse. We're not tackling Cupid here, but the main goal will be helping those who are afflicted by the Bleeding Hearts and purifying them via dreamotion instead of just destroying them. Purifying the Bleeding Hearts with pure love—romantic, platonic, familial, reminders of how they are loved and cared for by others—will help Cupid. Of course this could backfire and make the person feel worse, so be careful!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It’s just lucky this guy has a weapon. Gokudera isn’t looking to accept him as some ally, but Shinjiro makes a good point in fighting being a waste of time. Especially if they might have the same enemy in this.

Throwing a tantrum is meaningless. The last one he threw got him tortured. He’s… trying to get better.

“I gave you my fucking name, so why not use it, huh? Tch! What if my boss is waiting at the party, though… and this was just something nice and thoughtful… like a surprise party…”

Working through it… it’s not something his boss would do. More something his boss’s mentor would do.

“So then why the hell would he invite you? You’ve probably never even heard of Reborn-San or the Vongola, have you?”

"Is that the kinda thing he does?" Shinjiro asked, though he already had a feeling the kid knew the answer to that. He closed his eyes when Gokudera (rightfully) called him out on not using his name. Sure, Shinjiro would find that annoying as hell, too, but. What a headache.

Weirdest goddamn afterlife.

"Nope," Shinjiro confirmed his suspicions. "Your people must not have any presence in Iwatodai. I'm not gonna assume too much about your operation, but generally - I try to stay out of that kinda business. Not my problem."

“It’s the kind of thing that’s uh… family tradition. I’m just not cut out for anything big like this yet.” The Tenth hasn’t even had his inheritance ceremony, and Gokudera doesn’t know what that will be like. Will they test him? Have they been testing him?

They have, and he has no idea.

“I’m aiming to be the right-hand man to the boss. Nothing worth throwing a party over.” If someone met him and didn’t hear him mention his boss, he’s not Hayato Gokudera.

“Hmph.” Yeah, figures Shinjiro wouldn’t know.

My people? Gokudera looks over at Shinjiro with a raised eyebrow.

“Sounds nice and safe.” Shinjiro had asked him what he’d been doing before he showed up…

“What were you doing before you showed up here?”

Great, just what he needed - an ambitious gangbanger with a big mouth and no impulse control. Shinjiro resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and merely gave another little shrug. "Maybe, maybe not. You're right, though - doesn't explain what the hell I'm doin here. I'm not interested in joining on, either, if this is some kinda weird recruitment thing."

Shinjiro couldn't hold back his snort when Gokudera called Iwatodai safe. Even if he wasn't fighting Shadows - between the fuckery Strega was up to and the Shadows attacking people generally, even if people weren't aware of it, Iwatodai wasn't safe.

But he's quiet for a long moment before he answered Gokudera's question. How much to say? How much to keep secret? He didn't owe nothing to the Kirijo Group, but causing a panic wouldn't help anyone and he liked Mitsuru, so. He kept their secrets for all of these years. But if this was a weird afterlife, did secrets even matter?

He figured one thing was safe to say. Shinjiro said, bluntly and without any kind of regret or sadness about it, "I got shot, and I died."

Gokudera isn’t trying to maintain eye contact, so would miss the eye roll Shinjiro resists, he notices the shrug, though. And that this guy seems uninterested in the Vongola. He wouldn’t expect someone outside the Mafia to be familiar with them, anyways. “It’s nothing like that, probably, and if it were, it doesn’t work like that! I don’t even know where this is, but it’s no Italy!” Which is where a big Vongola event would be held. The Tenth may be in Japan, so then… where is this?

“Doesn’t seem much like Japan either.” Gokudera frowns at that little snort. What is so funny?

The answer stuns him and he just blinks at Shinjiro, clearly stunned.

“Well uh… that’s very different circumstances.”

But then he wonders if maybe… he died in his sleep? Did the Millefiore invade their base? What about the kids?! Are they dead too?! Gokudera’s quiet… just standing there looking a little pale. He’s talking to someone who is dead? But…

“You don’t look dead, though.”

"We could be in Japan or even Italy, for all I know - off in the countryside somewhere? The world's a big place," Shinjiro figured, and he knew he hadn't seen much of it. Unless they had landed themselves around Tokyo, Shinjiro knew he wouldn't recognize it at all.

His expression shifted, slightly, at the obvious concern overtaking Gokudera's face. The line of his shoulders softened, and Shinjiro stubbed out his cigarette on the floor under his boot. He looked at the kid, thinking of what to say to him. Meaningless platitudes were - meaningless. And lies anyway, most of the time.

"I know what happened to me. I don't know why I'm here now, or how I'm all healed up." Shinjiro said calmly. "But, there aint no reason for us to think the same's happened to you, 'specially if you don't remember anything. All it means is ..."

Shinjiro was quiet for a moment. What did it all mean? "Whatever reason we're here, is probably even stranger than what we can even guess at. Stranger than the mob, or a regular kidnapping."

If it is death, wouldn’t it be good to not find his boss? Or any of the kids hiding out that they’re supposed to protect… They were all thrown into a future where a strong family was trying to eradicate them… and everyone they knew and loved. Their friends and family, and he’s spiraling a little bit, thinking they just… they didn’t get a chance.

He jerks when Shinjiro speaks up again, expression still somewhat fearful. This guy is dead! Why is he acting so calm?! Gokudera frowns at him, looks away at that door that won’t open, and the carriage is still rolling.

“I don’t…”

What should he do? Should he look for the Tenth? Probably, for peace of mind alone. But… what about if he doesn’t find him. It’s not something he wants to give up. But thinking about a life without his Family, without anyone familiar is terrifying.

At least hiding out underground in his future, there were familiar faces around. It was scary, but easier to adjust when he had someone who needed his support.

He’s not used to needing help from anyone, and he certainly isn’t looking for Shinjiro’s help. But… he knows he can’t take on every little thing by himself. For the most part, Gokudera’s still just a kid.

“Y-Yeah…” He’s low key dreading the arrival to… wherever they’re going.

“What if I don’t find anyone?” Gokudera says softly.

Edited 2023-02-15 22:39 (UTC)

Honestly? Being alive was worse. Shinjiro felt Castor simmering in the back of his mind, and was Actively Not Thinking About Him. He didn't want to consider what being alive meant. How he'd be a threat to others. The limited amount of pills in his pocket, and what it could mean if he ran out.

Much like being locked in this carriage - there wasn't a point raging over something he had no control over now. He could ... think about it later. At a time when, if Castor decided he didn't like his train of thought, he wouldn't somehow hurt Gokudera. Gangbanger punk or not, he was just a kid.

And Gokudera was terrified. Shinjiro felt awkward. He's not good at ... comforting people. Reassuring them. He's shit at all of it. He's not supposed to care. Shinjiro swallowed and looked away.

(Remembering, being younger, being alone, truly alone, fending for himself when he barely wanted to live -)

"If you don't find anybody now, you will later," Shinjiro told him, even and firm, like he spoke from experience. His voice was a little gravely from the sincerity. "You assume they're alive and waiting for you to get back. So they'll be expectin you to be at th' top of your game when you get there. Hell. Maybe you'll even bring somethin new to the table."

Gokudera isn’t trying to be a burden or anything for Shinjiro. It is incredibly awkward, especially because this guy might have his own problems, being suddenly alive again after being dead. Who shot him? What if they’re in this world too?!

He’s not thinking for a moment, letting his emotions get the better of him as they usually do. It’s a bit of panic and fear and listening to Shinjiro’s firm words is like getting a splash of cold water to the face. Snap out of it! He’s probably right…

“Yeah… You’re right.” He could learn some new cool things. Maybe the experience will make him stronger. Then he won’t have to worry about bringing any shame to the family he hasn’t entirely been accepted to that doesn’t look at him with much worth. He’s stuck in a weird place, and will just have to accept what he can.

Panicking won’t help anything. He takes a deep breath, leaves the door alone, and cuts off his flames. Gokudera takes his seat again and lights up a fresh cigarette, closing his eyes and dropping his shoulders. Just… gotta focus on what he can do. As far as he can tell, at least for now, they’re safe.

“He’s smaller than me, my boss. And his hair is all over the place. The Tenth doesn’t look how anyone would expect the boss to look. We’re classmates.” Y’know… just in case Shinjiro ever meets someone matching that description, vague as it is.

“If you see someone like that, could you tell them I’m looking for them?” Just an if can’t hurt? It’s not like he’s counting on Shinjiro to help him find the Tenth, but… if he ever does see him somewhere, to pass that little message along.

Shinjiro took in a deep breath, shamelessly taking in some of that smoke for more nicotine. Centering himself. He hoped what he said made sense. Gokudera had people he clearly gave a shit about, clearly wanted to live his own life. He hoped what he said wasn't a lie after all. If Gokudera was dead after all, well ... well then Shinjiro just proved himself to be a giant asshole.

Unfortunately, there was just no way to tell right now.

He hummed, listening to the description. "Messy hair. Looks like another high school kid. Does he got a name he'd go by, or would he go around calling himself the Tenth?"

Which did sound more like a title, but what did he know?

“Sawada Tsunayoshi. Usually, he goes by Tsuna.” Gokudera just has never really called him by name. Feels too disrespectful, even though his boss would rather be friends. Gokudera doesn’t really know how to make friends, though, so he just scares his boss regularly with intense focus on the Family. His boss doesn’t even really seem to want to be a boss.

“A-and his tutor is a baby! Wears a fedora and a full suit, and has these really curled sideburns.” Yes, he knows that’s probably a weird description. “He goes by Reborn.”

"Tsuna. Got it," Shinjiro nodded a little. "If I see anyone lookin like that who answers to Sawada, Tsunayoshi, Tsuna - I'll let you know."

He didn't like the feeling when people relied on him, not when he was slowly dying. And frankly, being dead but somehow healed up again didn't lessen that feeling of discomfort. Shinjiro shouldn't be here, shouldn't care, shouldn't get attached. But it seemed too much of a dick move to say he wouldn't keep his eye out for the guy.

Shinjiro blinked slowly. "A baby in a suit named Reborn."

“Yeah. He’s probably more noticeable, but he’s very good at hiding and blending in. Reborn-San is no normal baby.” Should he say that Reborn is the best hitman from his world? That… probably wouldn’t make sense to anyone unless they’ve met Reborn.

But Shinjiro is as new as Gokudera is. Maybe he could help him as well…

“Do you want me to keep an eye out for anyone from your home, Shinjiro?” It only feels fair to offer.

"I'm pretty sure a baby in a suit doesn't exactly blend in with the rest of 'em," Shinjiro couldn't help but quip, but. Still. It's a ridiculous idea and yet he rolled with it. "I'll let you know if I see him, too."

Shinjiro frowned, shoulders now hunched higher up toward his ears, as he considered that offer. It's clear Gokudera was trying to do him a solid in turn. He's so used to pretending he had nobody he cared about on the streets, even being back with S.E.E.S. for a week didn't break him free from that. But yeah, if someone else he knew wound up here - he wanted to know. If only to make absolutely certain they hadn't died, like he did.

But the silence was likely awkward and heavy as he considered his answer.

"There's a kid, 'bout ten. Light brown hair, answers to Amada. There's a guy my age, short hair that's kinda silver like yours, wears gloves all th' time, name's Sanada. A girl my age with red hair, real knockout, Kirijo." Shinjiro frowned a little deeper. "A quiet kid, round your age, dark blue hair, probably got head phones on, Arisato. Kid your age wearing a ball cap and a real dumb goatee, Iori. Girl your age, prolly in pink, trendy haircut, Takeba. Or this girl, dark hair, real quiet and shy, Yamagishi."

He thought if Aigis showed up, she wouldn't be subtle about it. Would probably shoot down a few walls trying to find Arisato. "You see any of those guys ... try to find out if they remember bein alive, like you. Or if they're like me."

“Well. He’s just… really into costumes? So he kind of hides right in plain sight! Reborn-San also has many other identities!” Really, he’s sometimes just sitting around, dressed as a potted plant, or a baby Cupid sculpture. He could be anywhere! Wouldn’t surprise Gokudera if Reborn were dressed as one of the mice that threw him in the carriage in the first place!

It’s unlikely, but not impossible.

“That’s a lot of people…” Gokudera replies, uncertain if he’ll be able to remember them if he ever happens across one of them.

“Would it be easier to ask if they know you, and go off their reaction to that?” He’s just trying to make it easier to help.

Shinjiro shook his head wryly. "You don't say. Well, if I even notice 'im, then, I'll let you know."

He didn't think it'd be too hard to miss a baby in a weird outfit, even still. It's not like that was a thing that Shinjiro had seen happen before.

Hunching a little more in his seat, Shinjiro shrugged dismissively. Perhaps he should've only mentioned Ken? Except - fuck. He hated giving a damn. But if any of them were dead ...

"Nevermind," Shinjiro muttered. He frowned, and then told Gokudera a bit more firmly, "If they're alive, they don't need to know I've come back. We don't know why I'm back. That could change at any time, so."

Best not to get their hopes up.

“That’s not very fair to them.” Gokudera says with a deeper frown than what he was already wearing.

“What if they don’t know you died?! And if they find out you’re here but were trying to keep away from them-!” Gokudera shakes his head.

“I’m not gonna walk up and go ‘hey did you know your dead pal Shinjiro is alive in this weird place?’ That’s fucked up!” He objects to keeping quiet. He won’t tell anyone outright about this guy being dead back home.

“It’s not my place to share something like that, but if I could see a friend here… that back home was gone… I don’t think I could ever forgive them for keeping away.” This really shouldn’t be something he should butt in on, but knowing that in that future he was put in, his boss was dead. It sucked to accept that, but it made him value his time with Tsuna that much more. Made him fight to protect their future that much harder.

Edited 2023-02-16 00:00 (UTC)

"Trust me," Shinjiro grimaced, feeling this punk's words hit a little close to home, "they all saw it. If shit is temporary, you think I really want to put any of 'em through that again?"

His hands clenched in his pockets. In his right pocket, just like in his coat pocket, there was that fucking bottle of pills. Shinjiro was sure it was all in his head, but those bullet scars - he could swear they were pulling at his chest just then. What did this kid know, anyway?

But he remembered Ken's look of horror as he died. The choked sound of Aki's voice while he held him, when he promised to look after the kid.

"I've already done a lot they can't forgive anyway," Shinjiro told him, pushing past his own painful memories. He shut his eyes. "Just, forget the whole thing."

“And if they’re from a time before that happened?! What then, huh?!”

Shinjiro being alive for his friends, that’s a blessing! Sure, Gokudera doesn’t know him very well, and he’s not a very good example as far as friends are concerned, but having seen and felt the loss of a friend, he understands that keeping away would be painful to those that may have experience losing Shinjiro.

“I refuse.” He responds, stubborn about this.

Was that even possible? Shinjiro hadn’t considered it. After all, it’s not like time travel was actually real ~~that he knew of, that he had memory of~~. That seemed like a nightmare. Was he supposed to tell the others about the future, then, or would it cause some kind of sci-fi paradox?

“Stubborn asshole,” Shinjiro muttered. He closed his eyes. What a fucking headache.

Aki would really like this kid. Or they’d get into a stupid fistfight and lose half their teeth in the process. He can’t decide which.

“Ain’t nothin I’ll say will change your mind, will it?” Shinjiro said rhetorically, sounding tired. Did he have a type of hotheadead people he got mixed up with? Was that it?

“No. I got shoved forward in time ten years into my future and a bunch of fucking people were dead, and y’know what? I wasn’t mad at the people that died!”

Gokudera has lost people he wishes he could have spent more time with, like his mother. Never has he thought he’d be upset at her. Maybe if she were revived and hid from him, yeah.

“I may not know anything about what your world is like, or what your friends think of you, but I’m not going to hide the fact that you’re here from them.”

That sounded like it’s own kind of nightmare. What if Shinjiro was thrown into the future? What if he learned that the others had died in the interim? The whole idea twisted his stomach and he shoved the thought away.

This was why what-ifs were useless.

“Do whatever you want, then,” Shinjiro said with a sigh. He could only hope that he really did provide with too many names for the kid to keep track of after all. “I can’t stop you. But I ain’t supposed to be alive - so I don’t know how long this will last.”

And yes, he knew better than to even hint at why it’d be be better if he wasn’t - or why that was the case. Shinjiro wasn’t trying to fish for pity and didn’t want to begin to explain.

For as young as he is, Gokudera’s been through a lot more than most people his age. It wasn’t just him that was brought to the future. It was most of his Family, and the children that his boss’s mom looked after. Toddlers, and a girl from middle-school being hunted by a mafia family who wanted them gone just because they knew Tsuna.

For Gokudera, this is not a matter of what-ifs. It was a future he was just pulled out of. He’s not even been able to go back to his own home time. And now he has to deal with whatever this place is. He’s had it! He’s going to-

Do whatever he wants. YEAH!

“Well. Before you go back to being dead, then… maybe make the most of it. I’ll look for my boss, and if I happen across anyone you mentioned, I’ll tip them off that you’re about.” It’s pretty clear that his number one priority is finding his boss, though.

“That ain’t bad advice,” Shinjiro had to admit, even if he did so a little grudgingly. It’s even advice he’d give to someone in a similar boat. Most people didn’t have a Persona with a track record of slaughtering innocent people, though. Not that he’ll tell this kid that. He lied for the first time that night, saying, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

If he can keep himself from hurting anyone, he will. That’s that.

Shinjiro looked at him again. “I’ll keep an eye out for your boss, too. Least I can do.”

Gokudera doesn’t usually give anyone advice, so it’s weird to be told it’s not bad. He looks genuinely surprised, and it feels like the carriage is slowing. He gets up, less eager to leave, and more eager to see where they are.

“Thanks.”

He feels like he should be ready for whatever is going on. So long as no one recognizes him, he’ll be fine. Gokudera isn’t planning on partying. He’ll do more snooping and looking about for anyone from his Family. Worst-case scenario, he’ll have to figure out what to do on his own in this unfamiliar place.

“Let’s see how it goes.”

And the door to the carriage opens. Looks like a party. Gokudera steps out, but lingers as if he’s some weird bodyguard for Shinjiro.

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mortal_son - 2023-02-16 01:21 (UTC) - Expand

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bakudan_bambino - 2023-02-16 01:25 (UTC) - Expand

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