yumemigaoka | January Is a Tough Time for Theater Kids (Catch-all!)

[The ice and cold has let up (until its triumphant return tomorrow!)... and Junna's in the Dreamer Union again. She was looking over some reports, because some of the rumors of Crimson Dreamer had bothered her. It had always bothered her: the idea that Crimson was alive out there, but in some sort of state that...

...that people didn't talk about, in detail.

So she decided it best to ask. She sent Amane a message to see if he wanted to get dinner. And that she has something to ask him!

And now she's in the cafeteria. She has a rice bowl -- chicken katsu and some vegetables to go with it -- and a soft drink. While she waits, she's idly flipping through her phone.]

[That message of Junna's definitely took him off guard-- dinner invitations were a rare occurrence for him, especially from his peers-- but her reasons behind it were an even bigger surprise. What sort of things did she want to ask him about that had to be done in person...? School stuff? Family troubles? Heaven forbid... love advice?? Amane sure as hell was not qualified to answer any of those things, but as her Mentor (and... maybe friend...??), it was his responsibility to help her with whatever she needed!

Thankfully, with school being closed for the week thanks to the cold, he has no problem making his way over to the DU at this time of the evening, though it does take a bit until he's navigated the cafeteria properly. But finally--]

Junna-saaaan...!!

[He trots his way over towards her, his black winter jacket unbuttoned and a fluffy navy-and-silver flecked scarf hanging loosely around his neck. (In fact... the style of the scarf looks a bit familiar... hmmm.) He slides into the seat across from her, setting down a tray with a curry bowl filled to the brim with all sorts of toppings-- fried shrimp, sausage, hard boiled egg, cheese-- along with a soda of his own. T-That's a teenage boy appetite for you, huh...]

Sorry, that line took a lot longer than I thought-- so what's up?

[When Junna looks at that plate of curry with infinite toppings, she stares for a second. In awe. That looks tasty, but also a lot. Then she shakes her head to clear her daze, and looks up at him.]

Amanda-kun. [She smiles.] That looks tasty. Ah--

[Right. Focus, focus, she asked to meet him here for a reason.]

I wanted to ask you about Dreamer Crimson. I read a few things, and... well, I thought it's best to ask directly.

[He's shifting off his coat and scarf, making sure they're laying neatly upon his chair, when she comments on his bowl, and he can't help but laugh a little in response.]

Ahaha, you want some? You can have some of mine if I can have a piece of that katsu of yours--

[Because clearly what his curry needs is more protein!!! He picks up his spoon, ready to dish out whatever toppings Junna might want, when her next statement makes him pause in his tracks.]

...

[... well. That's someone he hadn't talked about in a while. After his Disturbance and the incident in Slumbering City, he figured it was best to keep something of a distance from whatever she was involved in. Outside of Hibiki's incident, it seemed like Crimson had largely disappeared as of late... and whether or not that was a good thing, he couldn't say. His smile dims to something a bit more practiced, more contained, as he finally dips his spoon into his curry, hoping Junna wouldn't catch on to his discomfort.]

... ah. Okay, then. What was it that you wanted to know about her?

[The subject was still a sensitive one for him, but... as his trainee, she needed to know this information, right? And, for better or worse, he had the deets to spare...]

[Junna blinks -- she's weighing his offer for a second. On the one hand, more flavors. On the other, precious, precious katsu and--

Right. Focus. Topic that's been bothering her.

She keeps quiet for a moment for a second, when he asks. She knows enough to know it must be close to home. Even if... well, it's close to home for her in other ways. She looks down for a second, her eyebrows furrowing. What does she want to know? It's a tricky question. She isn't sure she knows what she wants to know.

But, she has to start somewhere. Junna exhales.] I... I know she's still... out there. She didn't just disappear, like we've heard.

...But do we know what happened? Or... have any theories on it?

[He's quiet as he mixes his curry a little with his rice, using the action to help get his thoughts sorted. Because as simple as the question was... there was a lot to unpack from it. An awful lot, really.]

... Not exactly. But from what I've seen and what I've read... I think I have a few ideas.

[But where does he even begin...? It feels itchy, sharing someone else's story and pain, especially one filled in with conjecture and guesses. Then again... Crimson sure liked to drag out everyone's deeply buried problems with these Disturbances she'd been triggering, so maybe he shouldn't be sparing her such sympathy on that end.]

I went through a bunch of her old reports when you guys were all stuck last year, and... it sounds like she was doing a lot of deep dives into the Dream Sphere for a while before she vanished. Really intensive stuff, along with another Dreamer who I'm pretty sure must be Reverie.

[Which is wild to say, considering how long SHE had been missing, but the carvings in that tomb in Necropolis and the blatant namedrop at the end of her final report had been proof enough. Although, on that subject...]

And then... she lost her younger sister, back in the real world. I can't say for sure, but... based on her last report, I think she decided to go into the Dream Sphere to stay, once and for all, to get away from all of her feelings here. At least, that's how it sounded to me, anyway.

[Which... y'know. Is pretty dang grim and has some Not So Great implications behind it!!]

She certainly didn't want us around when we crashed her domain a while ago, that's for sure.

Mm. I know we can't really know what she's thinking just by observing, but... yes.

[Her eyes widen a little as he explains. She didn't expect Reverie to factor in. That was far before her time. But... what could they have been doing?

But--Crimson's sister. Junna looks up. Her eyes widen a little.]

I... had no idea. She's... still there, then? In the Dream Sphere? What was she like?

It's not just observing-- she said straight out that she didn't want us helping her. She made it loud and clear when she kicked us out of... whatever that gazebo place was that she liked to hole up in.

[Of course, maybe Amane should know better than to take other people's words and actions at face value when he sure as hell never says what he really feels himself, but--]

I know because I was there when it happened. I've ran into Crimson a couple of times already during our searches for her, and...

[He pauses then, unsure how to say it. Admitting that she intimidated him was something he was too embarrassed to own up to, not to mention... he was Junna's mentor, for goodness sakes. It wouldn't be a good look on his end! (Never mind the fact that Junna's probably already seen him at his lowest already, but still) But finally:]

... she's not someone you take lightly. She claims to be on our side, but... anyone who keeps pulling people into the Dream Sphere to trigger these Disturbances doesn't have our best interests at heart.

[After all, what was it that she had said? "Is it that bad to offer a choice? Nobody has to say yes." How could anyone ever refuse when they feel like they have no other options left in the first place?]

Edited 2025-01-25 01:10 (UTC)

That's... that's worse than I thought. [Junna does wonder for a second. Sometimes people need help but won't say it. Sometimes they really want others to butt out. She wishes she knew what she wants, but--

No, no.

She looks up and her eyes widen a little. She swallows, and then she nods.]

...Yeah. I... I just wanted to think that maybe... maybe I didn't understand. I want to believe in her, since...

[She sighs. She glances to the side. She never talks about this much, anymore. Part of it is that if feels inappropriate, now; if Dreamer Crimson is drawing them into the Dream Sphere to experience Disturbances, that isn't someone to look up to it. But part of it is personal, too. It feels embarrassing.]

I met her, when I was little. Just... a public event, where I got her autograph. I always looked up to her.

But... [She looks down.]

[He's quiet for a good long moment after that confession of hers, hand idly playing with the handle of his spoon. It's not exactly surprising-- Shinsha had told him a while back about their own admiration for Crimson when they were younger, after all-- but now he's really wondering if he said too much. It's not like he has fond feelings to spare when Crimson was involved, but it did feel a bit cruel to shatter Junna's personal vision of her, too.]

... I mean. To be fair, a lot of people probably still look up to her, too. I was more on the Ai-Doll train than the Crimson train as a kid myself, but...

[That was largely for personal reasons!!]

Whatever is going on with her now doesn't take away all the good she's done with RAY and the DU in the past, either. There's nothing wrong with admiring who she was, but... if you're expecting the same woman to be there in the Dream Sphere, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

[He reaches over the table (albeit a bit awkwardly) to give her what he hopes is a comforting headpat. No one ever likes to find out that their heroes were flawed, and especially not to such a disastrous degree such as this one.]

... sorry. This probably wasn't what you wanted to hear, huh?

Mm... no, it doesn't take that away. But... you're right.

[That hurts to admit. And part of her wants to say there must be some kind of mistake -- but Amane's one of those people who was pulled into a Disturbance, and she can't fault him for being unhappy with her. Or anyone, really. Something huge changed.

And whatever her reasons... those people were hurt.

Even if Junna wants to help her, that's something to reckon with.] I'll remember that. I just wish I...

[She blinks -- then smiles at the head pat. Then, she smiles less and looks down.]

...not really. I wanted to hear that... that there was some reason, some misunderstanding. I--I wish I knew how things got so bad for her. Or how to help her, or...

But it's not that easy, is it?

[He can't help but give her a rueful smile as he pulls his hand back a little, eyes sympathetic. It would be easy to tell her to just forget about Crimson, to leave her to whatever twisted path she had set herself upon, but...]

... it's not. But you're a kind person, Junna-san. And who knows? Maybe a kind-hearted person like you might be what Crimson needs to come back to her senses.

[A beat, and then he shrugs a shoulder, before adding:]

... or not. I can't really say. But it's not a bad thing to want to help somebody you looked up to, within reason.

[He returns to his bowl, scooping up a bite of curry rice to munch upon thoughtfully.]

This might all be a moot point, anyway. I don't think anyone's run into her since that emergency in Slumbering City last year, as far as I know. Even the place she was usually in looked trashed, according to reports.

[Of course, there was Hibiki's Disturbance, but... she hadn't mentioned anything about encountering Crimson, so whether she actually triggered it or not was still up in the air...]

Maybe so... I'll try, at least. If I ever see her. I think I could live with that, with whatever happens, as long as I tried to reach her.

[She looks down for a moment again, before she nods. Within reason. She can agree with that -- even if it's painful, she can't let herself be too clouded.

She looks up, though, and blinks. The place she was -- the Gazebo. Junna hesitates for a moment, before she nods.]

...Yeah. It does make me wonder where she got off to. I...don't think... [She hesitates.] ...Maybe it's that she's someone I look up to, but I imagine she's strong enough that she wasn't hurt.

Physically, at least.

Mm... you got a point. And if she's lasted in the Dream Sphere for this long, I doubt she'd be taken out as easily as that. [A beat, and then:] Although we don't really know what else is lurking in the Dream Sphere right now, either...

[Like that inexplicable thing that Junna and the others had fought in the city around that same time... or the bizarre chamber Hanako's group had stumbled upon a year ago, the very details of it blocked and scrubbed from his mind. Though, come to think of it... Crimson had pulled them out of there before... whatever that was went and spotted them. Was everything connected, after all...?

Carefully, he plucks out one of the hard boiled eggs from his curry with his chopsticks and plops it into Junna's bowl, a silent means to cheer her up. He can't take back what he had said in regards to Crimson, but he can do this much, right?]

Whatever you do, just be careful, okay? She's a stubborn one, and more powerful than she looks. I have faith in your abilities as a Dreamer, but... I also don't want you to get hurt, y'know?

[IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE.....

He turns his attention back to his curry, dunking one of his fried shrimp into the sauce, a bittersweet smile lingering upon his face.]

... haaa, listen to me. I'm starting to sound like a mother hen with the way I'm coddling you guys...

That's true. I... still remember what we found. And we don't have a good explanation for it.

[She frowns a little bit more as she thinks about it -- though she gets distracted by the egg being put there. In a good way. She's a fan. She takes it in her chopsticks, then has a bite.]

Mm.

[Then she smiles -- and Junna nods, seriously, at him.]

I understand. I'll be careful, I promise. I don't want to, either. And... I don't want to worry you, either, Amane-kun. [She's quiet for a second.] It's okay. I don't mind if you're looking out for me.

January Is a Tough Time for Theater Kids (Catch-all!)

Dreamer Union HQ, 1/23 (closed to Amane)

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