Day 49: Evening - Bus 1

[hat_einen_vogel]

Whatever promise the day had seemed to show in the morning, it had steadily turned for the worse since then. The weather hadn't bothered Prussia at all (other than the annoying women who seemed to think he could actually get sick by staying out in it, as if a little rain was just as dangerous as economic trouble), but by the time the nurses were

Comments

[scintillatingly]

It didn't seem like Neku was doing all that much better, but maybe things had improved, even if it was only by a small amount. Sora tried not to look too worried for the other boy, since that tended to bug some people, and Neku seemed like the type who didn't want to be pitied by anyone.

"You didn't freak me out!" he said with a shake of his head. Sure, Sora had been concerned for him, but it wasn't like Neku had scared him away. Which had to be clear, seeing how he'd made the decision to talk to him again.

"Is everything pretty much the same as the last time we talked?" he asked curiously. Sora got the feeling that was the case, which probably meant that Neku was still torn over what to do. If he "had his head on straight," though... then maybe he'd come to some sort of decision? Still, losing a friend wasn't something that was going to get easier just after a few days. If Sora lost Riku or Kairi, he didn't even know how he would handle himself.

"You know you can talk to me if anything's still bugging you, right?" Sora looked the other boy straight in the eyes, wanting to make sure that Neku knew he was being truthful.

[composers_proxy]

That was good at least. Sora wasn't weirded out by what he'd said the other day. In fact, he seemed honestly worried about him and everything that'd happened. A "nice guy" if ever there was one. While they might look similar, their personalities were anything but. If he smiled as much as Sora did, his friends would've carted him off to a real asylum sooner or later.

"Kind of," he ran a hand through his bangs, managing not to disturb his headphones.

"I talked to that guy, not Sho, the one who might've... y'know, put out a hit on Josh. It's complicated, but it doesn't sound like he meant for Joshua to get hurt. I don't know if I can trust him again or not, but I don't think he's on Sho's side," he explained. That much was sort of a relief. Whatever Hanekoma really was, some higher being or just an under-appreciated artist in Shibuya, he wasn't out to kill Joshua.

The last question caught him a little off-guard, but he nodded. The way Sora looked people right in the eye, it was hard to believe Sora had even heard of lying, let alone be capable of it.

"Yeah. Things just suck right now I guess. Ran into another friend from home last night too. Only it wasn't really her. This place likes screwin' with people, doesn't it?" he asked, though it was more that he just felt like pointing it out, having been personally screwed over more times than he could count in just the last couple of days.

[scintillatingly]

The only thing that Sora knew was that Neku was right about the whole thing being complicated. It seemed to get worse and worse each time they spoke (that was only twice, but his point still stood!). "So now there's you and two other people who might be on different sides?" But both of them had an issue with that Joshua kid, and Sora had to wonder why. He hadn't known the silver-haired boy very well, but he still couldn't see why people would want him dead.

"It doesn't seem like there are many people you can trust, huh?" he asked quietly as he turned his head to stare at the seat in front of him. Getting separated from Donald and Goofy had always made him feel lost; even though that was over a year ago now, the memory still hurt. Sora hoped Neku had some close friends around who could support him.

As if things weren't bad enough already, Neku then explained something that had happened to him last night. Someone who was like a friend, but not? Sora glanced over at the boy, his worry increasing. It seemed like things were just piling up for Neku. Sometimes bad things came in waves, but that didn't make it any more okay. "What do you mean? How was it not her?"

He'd read messages on the board like that, about impostors and other creepy stuff. It was enough to make anyone a little jumpy.

[composers_proxy]

It was little wonder the people in town thought they were all crazy. Lately he had trouble keeping it all straight in his own head, let alone explaining it without everything coming out a mess.

"Well there's the guy that killed him and one other guy from my world," he started, tone even and a little somber. "The other guy used to help us a lot. He was one of Joshua's friends and a great artist, but I guess he had his own agenda. Josh was the one in charge of running Shibuya, at least the underground games and stuff. But not everyone thought he was doing a great job. This guy was planning to dethrone him or something because of it, but... things changed at the end of the Reaper's game, so.... I guess he didn't have to. He said he just wanted what's best for Shibuya, in the end."

Had it been just about anyone else, Neku would've doubted the sincerity or even the reasoning behind it all. But CAT's artwork, Hanekoma's artwork, spoke volumes for how much he cared about that city. That much had to be true.

"But yeah. Kind of messed up when someone you thought you could trust turns out to be like that. Had me almost as bugged as what happened to Josh," he shrugged quietly, glancing out the window for a moment before considering the last question.

"It was Shiki, one of my friends, the one that looks kind of like Kairi. She was pointing a gun at me, saying it was my fault it'd come to this... or some bull like that. Shot me," he put a hand to his chest, where he'd felt the hole tear through him. "But in the morning it wasn't there. Like a bad trip or something. But I know it wasn't her. Shiki's not like that."

[scintillatingly]

Even though Neku was being patient and explaining it all as best he could, it was still a lot to grasp and keep track of. Sora had been trying to understand how things worked where Neku came from, but he got the feeling that he just wouldn't be able to grasp it completely unless he went there himself.

Still, that wasn't the point. What mattered was that someone who Neku had considered a friend of his had decided to turn on him. Even if he hadn't wanted Joshua to die, that was still pretty bad. "It would have been better if he'd explained things to you before this all happened, though, yeah," Sora agreed as he shifted in his seat. His wet raincoat rubbed against the vinyl, making a squeaking noise with every move that he made.

The point was, he knew what it was like for things to be hidden from you. More than that, he knew what it was like to be used. At least nothing like that had come up here at Landel's for him, though. Most people were focused on getting out, but then things like this happened and Sora had to reconsider.

He forgot all about that when Neku brought up Shiki, though. Even though she clearly wasn't Kairi, she had reminded him a lot of her -- and to think that someone had tried to trick Neku like that was just infuriating! "That's terrible!" he exclaimed, maybe a little too loud considering they were in such an enclosed area. "I'm sure it wasn't her, but that's still an awful thing to do." Especially with everything else Neku was dealing with. Sora was just glad he was there to lend an ear, if nothing else.

[composers_proxy]

Neku was honestly pretty surprised by Sora's outburst, turning his head to see if any of the other passengers had looked up or noticed, but it seemed to be ok. Terrible maybe, and maybe he wanted to shout out loud about it too, but he'd managed to keep cool about it, at least a little. And while he did wish Hanekoma had been more forthcoming about pretty much everything, there was still the pins.

"Yeah, not a lot I can do though. Just be ready for it next time I guess," he shrugged. It felt a little weird asking like this, but maybe Kairi was right.

"Hey um. Kairi said you guys might need an extra hand with whatever," he managed. Ok, so it hadn't come out a question. Great job. Try again. "It's not like I really have anything better to do at night, so y-know. If you're short-handed or something."

[scintillatingly]

Having to suspect every person that walked up to you at night just wasn't something Sora wanted to do, though. He couldn't blame Neku for being paranoid after what had happened to him, but having to keep that in the back of your mind all the time was just wrong. He wanted to believe that he'd know if something was masquerading as one of his friends, but at the same time, other people had fallen for it. The mimics had to be really convincing.

He sharply glanced over at the other boy when he mentioned Kairi. "You talked to her?" he asked curiously. He didn't mind, of course; it was good for Kairi to meet more people, since a lot of the patients she'd known before her long time away were gone by now.

"It'd be great if you came along! We don't really have plans tonight, though," he admitted, bowing his head until he was staring at his lap. "It's kind of hard to get a hold of anyone when we're on the trip and stuff." Though he really should have talked about it with Riku this morning. Still, his friend hadn't brought it up either, so it wasn't his fault! "I guess the two of us could meet up, at least, and we can try to get a hold of Kairi, too!"

He also wanted to include Riku, of course, but his friend got weird about new people entering their group. It was the sort of thing he needed to be prepared for, rather than having it sprung on him. Still, knowing Riku, he'd probably go do his own thing since they hadn't made any specific plans to meet. Sora didn't like it, but there wasn't much he could do about it at this point.

[composers_proxy]

Sora seemed pretty startled when he'd mentioned talking to Kairi, but it just seemed... he wasn't sure really, natural maybe? That he would end up talking to people who were a lot like people from his own world. She'd actually been the one to see him first anyway, thinking he was Sora or something from a distance.

"Yeah, a little. When she was looking for you once, and then today's all," he shrugged. At least he didn't seem bothered with Neku for wanting to tag along. He might feel a bit guilty about Leonard, but he'd given the man ample warning. As long as he paid attention to his notes, he'd be alright.

"I think I can handle that," he nodded, "where's a good place to meet? That main hall by the stairs? I don't really need anyone to walk me from my room, so whatever's easier."

[scintillatingly]

If Neku had seen Kairi today, then that probably meant that the girl had made it through safe and sound. Then again, there had been nothing dangerous during this trip except for a bit of rain. Which might have bothered the girl, but he was sure she'd handled it.

"By the stairs sounds fine," he said with a nod. He didn't know where Neku's room was, but it sounded like it didn't matter, if they were going to meet somewhere else. "Hopefully we'll catch Kairi around that hallway." She'd have to go through there once she left her room, so if Sora was just as fast as usual, then it would be fine. Unless she'd made other plans, which was possible...

"I'm not sure where we'll go, though," he admitted with a glance to the other boy. "Did you have somewhere you wanted to see?"