THOU ART MAIDENLESS, AND THUS THOU ART ALONE

[darknesshotpot]

⭐ Who: Ango and YOU
⭐ When: Throughout February
⭐ Where: Mostly around Yumemigaoka, but also the Dream Sphere
⭐ What: Dumb shenanigans

Comments

[hanamane]

[Amane sticks out like a sore thumb amidst the other adults milling about the waiting room, clutching his bookbag to his chest as he scrolls mindlessly through his phone. Never mind the fact that he was definitely too young and too small to be eligible to donate blood, but wasn't it kind of early in the day...? Why wasn't he at school like the other kids his age? And while he doesn't look nearly as haggard as poor Ango did, he's definitely seems to have seen better days himself, if the dark circles under his eyes and the paler-than-usual complexion was any indication.

Which makes it all the more ironic when he turns his head the other man's way at the sound of his groan, his brow furrowed in morbid concern at the shambling corpse in front of him. It probably would have just been wiser to leave this wreck to his own devices, but Amane opens his mouth to say, against his better judgement:]

... you sure you should be leaving like that? You look like you crawled straight out of their morgue.

[SERIOUSLY. WHY ARE THEY LETTING YOU GO HOME LIKE THIS, ANGO???]

[darknesshotpot]

Yeah, well you look like you oughta be in school.

[Ango is normally in full support of truancy and general delinquency, but the brat is the last person he wants to see right now. What's Hanako - or whatever his real name is - doing in the hospital, anyway? He's probably got the kind of parents who drag him to the doctor for every little sniffle.]

All I've gotta do is make it to work, and then maybe Ai will nurse me back to health... you're looking pretty under the weather yourself, so maybe she'll dote on you a little too.

[hanamane]

[Honestly, Ango was definitely the last person Amane had wanted to see right now himself, so the feeling was certainly mutual! It just figures, with the way his luck was shaping up as of late, that he'd run into the guy he wanted to punch the most when he didn't even have the strength to actually do it. (Never mind the fact that Amane could barely hit somebody when he was feeling normal, let alone in this horrendous, pained, overly fatigued state of his, but!! Even so!!) The absolutely piss poor state Ango was in had made him worried for a brief moment that he was actually ill, but upon closer inspection of the cookies and juice in his hands... it was clear he was just one of the many here for the blood drive, instead. But there was no way donating would make him that haggard, unless he was anemic or something...

He shoots the other man something of a Look when he mentions school, and it only intensifies when he casually throws in the subject of Ai on top of that. Amane had enough people poking into his personal business during that whole Nightmare fiasco, and he was feeling less than inclined about sharing any details about his life now, especially after that thing had finally up and disappeared. So instead, he pointedly ignores the comments aimed his way, his gaze returning back to his phone instead.]

... yeah, sure, good luck with that. She'd probably send you right back over here the moment she lays eyes upon you. I mean, if you don't go and pass out on the train first, anyway.

[On the other hand, Ai probably would fuss up a storm at the sight of Amane had he bothered to go visit her... but that's precisely why he hadn't. Valentine's was already over, but she had enough on her plate at the moment that something like this would just add more weight on top of things. No need to worry her over something that was probably going to be resolved with a new medication or extra bedrest... or so he hoped, anyway.]

Why push yourself, anyway? You never struck me as a guy with actual work ethic.

[darknesshotpot]

[Damn, for all of Hanako's outgoing, enthusiastic energy in the Dream Sphere, he sure is a sour little shit in the real world. Not that Ango is really surprised by that... he's spent the past thirty-odd years pretending to be more easygoing and confident than he really is, so he recognizes all of the worst parts of himself in the brat.]

Man, can't a guy enjoy a little fussing?

[The kid's right, though - he most likely would keel over on the train, and not for the first time. Back in Tokyo he used to pass out on the Yamanote loop line and ride in circles around the city for hours, a pretty apt metaphor for where his life was going back then.]

Why push myself? I dunno. Guilt, probably.

[Ango flops gracelessly into the nearest waiting room chair and leans his head back to look up at the harsh fluorescent lights. The brat's rotten mood must be as contagious as whatever strain of flu he's probably incubating.]

...A good friend of mine lost the fight against his nightmares, and there wasn't a damned thing I could do about it. I don't know if smashing Torments actually helps anybody who's struggling, but at least it feels like I'm doing something.

[hanamane]

[Honestly, could anyone blame him for being sour at the moment? The past two months has been a slowly accelerating series of aggravating events-- the failed Reverie search, the gnawing anxiety in the Dream Sphere, Crimson, that stupid Nightmare-- and his health going down with it didn't make it any easier. And actually... hadn't this all started because of Ango?? It was hard to summon any of that cheerful energy, even in this wrung out state of his, when all he wanted to do was push the old fart back towards whatever doctor drained him dry and tell them to take another pint of blood for good measure.

... but then, Ango just has to go and say that, withering some of that animosity within him. He hadn't investigated the other man's Disturbance as much as some of the others had while it was happening, but he had caught glimpses of stuff on his trek through that fake city. That cozy circle of friends, growing ever smaller... it was hard to tell at the time what had been picking them off, but now with this context on top of it...

He hated that they had that commonality between them. That guilt. Tsukasa never died, or fully disappeared for that matter, but the gnawing sense of responsibility was still the same; the drive to keep the Dream Sphere safe, so this sort of thing wouldn't need to happen again to others.

... not that he was going to tell Ango any of that, though. Better leave it for his own Disturbance Maybe it would have been appropriate to apologize for his loss, or at least acknowledge the vulnerability he just offered him, but instead, Amane just continues to scroll upon his phone, bangs obscuring his eyes as he's slouches over it.]

I'm sure missing a day of trying to start up an inappropriate work relationship with Ai-senpai or whatever you pass the time doing in the DU offices isn't going affect the Dream Sphere that much.

[Because, noble motive for Dreamerhood aside, this wasn't about that-- this was about him probably causing a train delay by passing out in the tracks and inconveniencing everyone's mornings because he couldn't well enough stay in the hospital when he was feeling like shit!!!]

Not that you're not gonna be much help over there anyway if you're in this state to begin with. It's one thing to give it your all as a Dreamer, but it's kinda pointless if you up and croak in the real world instead.

[darknesshotpot]

[To be honest, Ango never gave too much thought to why Hanako became a Dreamer. The explanation seems simple enough - every kid wants to be a Dreamer, right? Everyone who grows up watching anime magical girls and tokusatsu superheroes valiantly battle the forces of evil must secretly dream that one day, they too will awaken with power and a sense of purpose. The real fantasy of hero media isn't the magical powers or the cool costumes... it's the idea that one person can do something to change the world.

The worst part of being Hanako's age was the feeling of powerlessness. And it turns out that the worst part of being an adult is also the feeling of powerlessness.]

...It's not like there's a lot I can do on my own in the Dream Sphere, anyway.

[It's ironic - he's always seen himself as a fighter, but as a Dreamer, Ango doesn't have much in the way of offensive or defensive capability. He's only good for sneaking and support.]

So if one of my dumb jokes can get a laugh out of Ai, that's gotta count for something, right?

[He can't afford to get so wrapped up in his own shit that he doesn't notice what's going on with his friends. Not again.

...And something's definitely going on with the brat.]

You can laugh at how much of an idiot I am, too, if it makes you feel any better.

[hanamane]

[It was bad enough dealing with all the limitations that came with being a kid-- the lack of money, the lack of freedom, pinned down with all the rules the adults had foisted upon him-- but it was especially frustrating when he couldn't even control his own body. Society was one thing, but to be held back by something most people took for granted...

At least whatever seemed to be going on with Ango was temporary. Amane could only wish he could get whatever was wrong with him fixed by just an IV infusion and some rest. He can't help but snort at Ango's words, however, eyes still focused on his phone in true teenager fashion.]

You sure are good at causing problems on your own, at least.

[THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK HERE..... although, really, it's not necessarily a bad thing, either. Problems could provide good distractions or inadvertent damage to his enemies, provided he used them wisely-- though so far, it just seemed to be providing massive headaches to the people he wound up in a team with.

The moment Ango mentions getting Ai to laugh, however, he finally looks up from his phone, sending the other man a flat look. Maybe he felt particularly touchy about her given his own circumstances right now, but:]

She's not going to be laughing much if she sees you looking like this, though. Seriously, I don't know what you did to yourself, but just treat this like the vacation you always said you wanted, and--

[Before he can finish his lecture, however, something seizes in his chest and catches in his throat, drawing his words up short. A hoarse cough overtakes him, doubling his slight frame over as it wracks his body, sending him wheezing and gasping for breath once it's through. Crap-- this is what he gets for expending so much energy trying to talk sense into this old fart. Bad enough Ango had to run into him here at the hospital, but to have the guy see him in a fit like this... he may as well have a neon sign over his head screaming SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH YUGI AMANE at this point.]

[darknesshotpot]

[Ango doesn't pay much attention to the first few coughs (it's February, after all, and more than a handful of people at the DU main office have been sniffling into their sleeves for the past few weeks) but when the coughing turns to gasping and the kid looks like he's about to fall over, he scrambles out of his chair and hurries to steady Amane with a hand on his shoulder... although who's steadying who is debatable.]

Oi, oi, now you're spewing your kid germs all over the place...

[That's all it is, right? Middle schools are germ factories filled with snot-nosed kids, so it's no surprise that the brat has come down with a cold... his doting parents probably brought him to the hospital to have it checked out. That's all it is. If the brat looks paler and more worn out than the last time Ango saw him, then it's probably because he spent his day off from school playing video games instead of resting. That's all it is. Right?

...Odasaku used to cough like that when he was sick: wet, painful coughs that seemed to stick in his throat like his own body was trying to choke him. But that guy always had rotten health and was in and out of hospitals... the kid's just skipping class with a nasty case of bronchitis. Nothing to worry about. Not that Ango would be worrying about the brat, anyway.

But as much of a brat as Hanako is, he still seems like the type to wear a mask if he has something contagious, especially in a hospital waiting room...]

It's okay, just sit down and I'll...

[Do what, exactly? Even as a Saver, Ango's healing abilities are limited, and they're completely useless here... once again, somebody's struggling and there's not one fucking thing he can do about it.]

...I'll get you some water, okay? Hang in there for a sec.