Whole new definition of "raining cats and dogs"...? [semi-OPEN]

[letmeatem]

Who: Yukari Takeba, Akihiko Sanada, and you
Where: Anywhere, then Building #1, Room 3-01
When: Anytime during the event!
Summary: Yukari is discovering the Suddenly Animals thing, then possibly taking some home with her.
Warnings: PG+?



[ Anyday, anytime ] -- So, she'd finally started to get settled. After obtaining her job in the clothing store (thanks, in large part, to a Certain Senpai), she'd started forming a routine. Routines were...appreciated, after all. It helped her feel normal. Like she had some level of control over her life, in a place she'd been brought, against her will. After work, she went to the archery range. After the archery range, she'd go for a walk to wind down. Rinse and repeat.

Day in, day out...it was basically the same thing, every single day...

The only difference was the people she'd see each day, as well as Sundays. Sundays, just like back home, she had to herself. On one particular Sunday, she'd decided to go for a walk in the park. She could be found, fingers interlocked behind her back, strolling along.


[ Day One of the Event- Closed to Akihiko Sanada ] -- Speaking of routine, she was supposed to be meeting with Akihiko-senpai on this day...

On the way to a certain place, filled with sweets, she was pausing to stare up at the sky. Seriously, she'd never expected to be able to feel...remotely normal, in that place. She still refused to call it home, but, hell- if she had to be stuck there, then why not take in some good aspects of it? Whatever, it wasn't like she was giving up on going home. But, why should she suffer, just because she'd been kidnapped?

Shaking her head as though she was clearing her thoughts away, she continued on her way. Once she arrived at the agreed-upon destination, she was looking around for a head of silver-hair.

Comments

Day one, afternoon

[evocalize]

[It's a good thing that Yukari decided to take a walk just then because Minato's been trying to look for her for hours, and if she's wondering how he's doing or why she hasn't seen him around the park yet after getting his call about having a suspicious feeling that something's up, well-

There's something furry hurrying her way now, carefully balancing something on its body as it runs. It seems to be a scraggly black kitten from a distance, but she might see something alarming as it gets closer...isn't that Minato's headphones it's carrying? Why would a kitten even think of carrying something like that? There's not much time to question it though because the kitten stops and looks up at Yukari's face expectantly- upon a closer look, the kitten also appears to have a green ribbon tied around its neck.]

Meowwww... [Translation: Could you help me out, Yukari-san? I think I'll be stuck like this for a while... so he thinks, but he's yet to learn how to communicate telepathically.]

[letmeatem]

[Actually, yes, she has been wondering about that strange phone call...

She already has plans to run by Minato's apartment, later, to check on him. She isn't thinking too much beyond what she'd heard. Though, she does have a strange feeling. Out of nowhere, that strange feeling is growing...

...Suddenly, she sees something small and black coming towards her. The vague memory of Shadows come to mind and there's just the faintest jarring sensation that has her steps coming to a halt. As she quickly turns her head in the direction of the creature, she blinks.] Huh?

[Her head tilts as the kitten stops and looks up at her. Well...that's strange. Those are- Minato's headphones. Actually, that ribbon seems familiar, as well. She doesn't even pause before she's picking the kitten up, fingers curiously wrapping around the cord.

Her eyes narrow a bit at the kitten. Why is she getting such a familiar feeling while looking at the little guy?] How'd you get these, little guy?

[Her thoughts return to the phone call.] ...Heh. Yeah right. There's...there's just no way...

[R-right?]

[evocalize]

[Oh dear. Yukari picking him up isn't among the list of things Minato's expected her to do, and he's not the greatest of thinkers when he's dangling in the air, stubbornly fighting his instinct to purr.

He raises a paw to touch her hand and meows again, sounding a little sleepy as he does so. He's probably staring quite a bit too, with way too much intensity that would be possible for a tiny kitten...hopefully Yukari gets what Minato's trying to tell her before he accidentally talks to her telepathically and gives her a right scare.]

[letmeatem]

[Well, it's certainly easier to get a good look at the kitten while it's in her hands.

That stare, though...

The brunette's brow tenses slightly as she gives him a hard stare. Her lips part in brief surprise, and then she's letting out a nervous laugh. She stood by her previous words.

Seriously.

There IS no way in hell this...

Of course, she'd thought the same exact thing about the whole being on another planet and having to touch people...thing. She gives a look of disbelief, and her voice is slightly shaky as she whispers to the kitten.] L-look, I'm gonna try this just once, but...

[She glances to each side, briefly, then back to the kitten, giving a firm expression.] If- if it's really you, Minato-kun, then...[What would be a good thing to ask a kitten to do...? And, could she even be sure he could understand her??] ...blink twice?

[evocalize]

[Oh, that's a good idea. Minato for his part doesn't feel quite as animal-like now that he's had some contact with Yukari and he gives her the best stare he can manage as a kitten, blinking twice slowly so that she can see how deliberate it is. As is though, he's also wondering if there's any better way to do things because he can't expect Yukari to understand him with meows and purrs alone...]

Mrow. [The little meow shouldn't be surprising even if the kitten seems very quiet and placid judging by how passive it's been, but what does happen next is quite another thing:] It's me, Yukari-san.

[letmeatem]

[She's very slowly moving to draw him closer to her, cradling him a bit with that confused look. She never once stops watching his face, however. It's a...good thing she had moved to hold him closer, too. When she sees those deliberate blinks, her own eyes pause in blinking. She literally just stares, all the way until she hears the meow, and...then...]

H-huh?!

[W-wait, he just...talked to her! But, his mouth never moved!]

S-...so, it is you...

[Blinking, finally, she finally remembers to breath- wow, when had she started holding her breath...?]

Just...how?

[evocalize]

[Minato would do a shrug if he could in this state, but he settles for swishing his tail instead.]

Beats me. I think this is telepathy...it could have something to do with our physical contact. [Solving the communication issue pleases him greatly, so he relaxes a little more and begins to purr as if on instinct, the soft rumble being easily heard in their quiet surroundings.]

Uh- if that's the case, you might want to keep holding onto me. I don't feel like running aimlessly around the park anytime soon.

Day One - Closed

[emperor_with_no_groove]

He was running late, because he had been… feeling strange, that day. He tried to think of what the reason could be – maybe he ate something bad, pulled a muscle somehow during training, anything of the sort. But nothing came to mind… weird.

Still, Akihiko wasn’t incapacitated. He really didn’t want to cancel on Yukari, if he could help it. Even though he wasn’t fond of sweets, his intention was to visit with his underclassman. Hopefully, she would expect some form of contact from him. He had to make sure Yukari was taking better care of herself, since the last time he saw her.

When he finally reached the sweets shop, he immediately looked for the brunette. Spotting her from behind, Akihiko casually jogged forward and touched her arm with a gloved hand. “Hey, Yukari. Sorry for coming late…”

[letmeatem]

Well, she wasn't angry at him being late. After all, it wasn't as though that was the norm for him. In fact, instead of annoyed or anything similar, she was a little worried. Her senpai was always big about being on time, after all. The brunette's brow tensed in concern as the minutes ticked on.

"Seriously, where is he...?"

He was also the type to let her know something was up. She already had a strange feeling about Minato, so she didn't need that. A frustrated sigh escaped and she was pulling her device out to contact Akihiko-senpai, when--

With a blink, she turned. She was starting to get...a little better about contact. In fact, she barely thought anything of him touching her arm, especially once she saw who it was. Her expression was tense, as she asked, "Did something happen? First Minato-kun, then you..."

[emperor_with_no_groove]

Right, he could have used the device to contact Yukari and tell her he would be late. But that would take up precious time for hauling his butt over to their meeting place. Easier to explain in person, anyway. Plus, his brain felt a little foggy, as though he couldn’t rationalize everything. He wanted to go with his instincts, almost like…

Well, whatever the case, he was here now. He smiled apologetically at Yukari, before his expression grew concerned from her words. “Minato? What happened to him?”

Akihiko still felt uneasy, and it was a bit frustrating, not being able to just shake it off. Could be low blood sugar or something like that. Brow tensing, he made a gesture at one of the small empty tables, meant to seat two patrons. “Come on, sit down… order whatever you want. My treat.”

[letmeatem]

Well, it would have been nice, senpai. She'd been worried, you jerk.

She managed a smile, however, at his own apologetic one. Well, she supposed she couldn't stay too mad at him. He clearly hadn't meant to make her wait, and well- she kind of had other things to worry about. To his question, her brow tensed.

"Well..."

She paused to sit down, then smile at the offer to buy her whatever she wanted. Hey, he might want to reconsider that. After all, he had made her wait- and, more importantly, worry. Of course, they thought was fleeting, only a consideration of something to tease him with. After all, she still needed to explain the situation with Minato.

"Well, um...I received a strange phone call from him, earlier. He'd mentioned having a suspicious feeling, and that...he thought maybe something was up? I don't know, none of it really made any sense. I'm planning on heading by his place, later today. Wanna go with me?"

She knew her senpai cared about their leader, too, after all. Well...he had in her version of their world, at least. The Akihiko Sanada sitting across from her, in that moment, had only known the female counterpart. So, maybe he wouldn't- care as much, then? It was a fleeting suspicious thought, though- and kind of dumb, in her opinion. Of course he cared about Minato. He was a good guy.

Her expression fell a tiny bit at that thought, eyes shifting to the side. Then, a thought occurred, "How are you feeling, by the way? You don't seem to be feeling all that well. Have you, you know? Had enough...touch, lately?"

That was her first time asking about that sort of thing, so it felt weird coming out of her mouth.

[emperor_with_no_groove]

Not that he would advertise it, but he had saved up quite a bit of money. Back at the orphanage, money was scarce. Akihiko knew how to be smart with his finances, and still have enough to splurge every once in a while. He had a serious complex when it came to food, anyway, preferring to feed his friends if he thought there was the slightest chance they would go hungry.

He took the seat across from her, and listened patiently to her story. He nodded at the end of the first part, quickly agreeing, “Yeah, sure. I went to visit him when he was in the hospital, you know. Maybe he’s still feeling like crap from the place he was at, before here.”

It didn’t matter which leader he knew, personally. Just because he wasn’t familiar with Minato, didn’t mean he would just turn a blind eye to his needs. Besides, it would take a hell of a lot to replicate the feelings he had toward Minako… and after months of her initial disappearance, he was finally starting to get over her. Akihiko had thought they would stay together for a long time, but when spring came, she died…

He shook his head in the present, not wanting to think about that right now. The Minako that recently came in was different. Their relationship had ended, was gone, and he… needed to come to terms with it. Eventually.

“Huh?” Akihiko looked up at her question, also feeling surprised by her observation. He didn’t think Yukari knew him well enough to tell. “Oh, uh… not that much. I haven’t seen much of Shinji lately, and… well…”

Close to the end of the week

[shadowsgambit]

[There's a big white draft horse in the park, marked as a fellow guest by the fact that there were two small machines following her, as well as, if Yukari could catch a glimpse of it, the glint of metal behind her ear. But that's assuming her attention isn't drawn by the blood on her hind legs. Someone had a run-in with a predator.]

She's clearly on edge, and at least semi-feral from her lack of speaking, but it doesn't seem entirely like she'll spook, turning her head to look at Yukari and nickering nervously as she shifts on her hooves.]

[littlerat]

On that Sunday meant to be all for Yukari, in that nice park, out comes a Pikachu from between the bushes to get in the way of Yukari's path as she walks! The pokémon had been searching for flowers in the area, and he was just making his return everyone else - alas, he couldn't quite spot any oncoming people from his height!

Pikachu will try to quickly scramble out of the way with a "Piff-!" But with front paws and a mouth occupied by all the flowers he could pick out, he ends up tripping himself over. Oops!

Try not to step on or kick Pikachu, Yukari!