sweetdevil | 1st ♫ | my wish came true in a dream

Anko..?

[ Like...as in, the bean paste? But it's a do--oh, so it's like wanko...

...Whoever's in charge of naming these things must have a real goddamn sense of humor. Still, though, Asuka's never exactly been good with animals, let alone Pokemon. And even if she was, she's...more of a cat person...

Even so, she's trying to be a bit more, well, personable. What the hell would a normal person who isn't socially maladjusted do in a situation like this? It's probably not just staring at the damn thing for a while before leaning down to...maybe try and pet her...please don't bite her hand... ]

I-it's cute...

[ Look, mutt, she gave you a compliment, don't let her regret it, okay? ]

It...is a Pokemon, isn't it?

[ The furious whipping of the Furfrou's tail cranks up to a whole new level as Anko shoves her nose right into Asuka's hand. For a moment all she does is sniff frantically and then she butts her head up against Asuka's hand. hello friend!! you smell weird like mom and the others do!! please apply petting now.

Sonico just lets out a little sigh and manages a smile. She's guessing this girl's from outside of Kalos (not that Sonico can talk) and gives a little nod. ]

That's right...! She's a Furfrou -- they're pretty popular Pokémon around here. I'm sorry she just barrelled into you like that...!

Furfrou...

[ Well, it certainly is affectionate. Let's just keep petting her and see what happens. But it's not the typical, almost aggressive and vigorous petting one would expect to give to a dog; Asuka's petting is slow and deliberate, gently running her hand across the thick fur as if she were grooming it. Almost...cautious, and hesitant. ]

Don't apologize. It's a sign of weakness.

[ She looks up at Sonico; at least she knows she's in a place with Pokemon for sure now. ]

I'm, uh, more used to...schiesse, what the hell did Blue call it...I dunno, but it was a shapeshifting pink blob. A little unsightly. Someone I know wore it as a bra.

[ Yeah, that's the kind of person you're dealing with here, Sonico. ]

But I'm sort of visiting and looking for her. ...T-the girl, I mean, not the Pokemon, of course. I think I'm a bit lost, though. We're not in Kanto, are we?

Edited 2016-01-14 15:29 (UTC)

[ ... what girl would use dittos as a bra oh my god nameless girl please love yourself.

she doesn't bother to hide the wince at that thought but does try to wipe it off her face as quick as she can and forces a smile. ]

Ah, those are Ditto! Dittos...? Is that a plural by itself, or... A--anyway, they're pretty common around here! You might see someone else with one.

[ the mention of Kanto makes her pause, though. She... can understand getting turned around in Lumiose (because she's lived here for months and her sense of direction is STILL absolutely unbelievable) but there's 'turned around' and 'that's like three continents away' ]

... um... N--no, you're in Kalos. You're... kind of far away from Kanto.

Glad to see she's odd by your standards, too. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Blue's just an alias, but she insists...

[Blue is a character, all right.]

Mm...that figures. I'm still kind of learning my way around this whole alternate world business...at least I'm in the right, uh, universe, I suppose.

...Might as well figure out my way around not-France, though, right? See the sights? Fake Eiffel Tower? Fake Louvre?

[ The casualness with which the girl just blurts out alternate world business makes Sonico start a little bit and she opens her mouth to question it before shutting it again. Maybe some time ago that would've sounded like a bizarre non-sequitur but stood here in the streets of a city in a world she wasn't born in... well, it just makes her brow furrow a bit. ]

... um... I'm sorry if this sounds strange, but did you come here from the Future Foundation?

Future Foundation?

[ That's certainly a strange question. ]

No. Can't say I've ever heard of such a thing. I got here with a portal gun. This mad scientist-type ended up making it for me. Or at least, came up with the idea. ...He's another fucking wackjob, if I'm totally honest. But then, I guess we all are.

[ That last bit said more to herself than anything. ]

Why do you ask? Are they some kind of world-hopping organization? They better not try and recruit me, now, I seriously don't have time to pour into another job...

[ aaaaand she messed up. god. she hates all this multiverse stuff so much and it's only for the fact that it keeps her in contact with friends and family alike that Hinata's stupid wormhole machine is even in the vicinity of her good graces.

She fidgets a little nervously with her hands and Anko gives a plaintive whine, as if picking up on her owner's distress. ]

... um... I'm not... really sure how much I should say. B--but usually when someone ends up here saying they're from another world... I'm used to it being because of the Future Foundation.

Got it. Classified information. I remember when NERV used to be like that...

[ How times have changed. ]

Just be thankful that you weren't introduced to this whole multiverse crap the way I was. I swear, I never want to see a damn school building again for as long as I live.

[ a school building, huh?

She gives Asuka a smile, but there’s something bitter about it, like there’s something sour sat in her mouth. It doesn’t suit her face much, nor does the way it makes her lips thin out. ]

It wasn’t a school building exactly, but I’m pretty sick of the thought anyway. I know what you mean.

[ ... well, she doesn’t, as far as she knows, and she’s maybe letting a little more slip than she should with that response. But it’s hard not to. She’s still mad as hell, Future Foundation, just for the record. ]

That so?

[ An interesting response. One she doesn't miss. She doesn't want to pry, but she's curious all the same.

Funny. Few months ago, she probably wouldn't have given a shit. She wonders when she became more interested in other people's affairs... ]

I'm Asuka. And I...appreciate the help.

[ It looks like she's trying. ]

Probably not every day you have to deal with weird foreigners like this, after all. ...You're from Japan, though, aren't you? Or, at least, some form of it.

[ she dips her head in a polite nod – she’s far away enough from anywhere like Japan that she’s had to train herself out of bowing. It’s a little too formal for a place like Lumiose, so that’ll have to do as a substitute. ]

It’s nice to meet you, Asuka-san. I’m Sonico Yamamoto.

[ the introduction seems to be just as polite in Lumiose as it was in Japan, though, so that stays.

Weird foreigners makes her lips quirk up into a smile, though, and she just shrugs. ]

You’d be surprised. [ the stories she could tell about her family, Asuka ] But yes, I’m… from Japan. It’s been a while since I went back there, though.

[ she tilts her head. ]

Where are you from? Are you Japanese too?

Actually, I was raised in Wilhemshaven, Germany. But my mother is Japanese, and I've spent a lot of time in Tokyo.

[ Or, what's left of it. Let's not get into apocalypse scenarios with strangers. ]

Needed a bit of a break, to say the least. Things are kind of messy back home. I'll spare you the details, but, coming here is definitely a change of pace.

Can you show me where to get a good hot chocolate around here? I'm sure everyone around here drinks coffee, but it's a bit of an acquired taste...

[ And she hasn't acquired the taste. ]

[ she laughs and shakes her head. While she can’t deny that pretty much all everyone in her family drinks is obscenely fancy pokestarbucks coffee, there’s plenty of obscenely fancy hot chocolate to go around too. ]

There’s plenty of cafes that’ll serve hot chocolate around here – some bakeries, too. They’re a little expensive, but I think they’re worth it. One of my favourites serves all kinds of different coloured eclairs and macarons, and they’ve got more blends of tea than I’ve ever even heard of before…

[ … she realizes that she’s rambling a touch and gives Asuka a sheepish smile. ]

S—so, um… I—I can definitely show you where, yes!

Money's not much of an object, assuming I can find a way to convert yen to whatever the hell kind of currency we have here. Unit-02's cost of repair was surprisingly less than I had anticipated, so I have a bit more spending money than I know what to do with...I've never had a macaron before. We don't have much in the way of fancy sweets like that back where I come from.

[ As much as she tries to be mature, well, she's still got a kid's taste buds. It's why she doesn't do alcohol, either. ]

Let's go to your favorite, then, if you have one.

A—alright then, if you’re sure…! Um… just make sure to stick by me and Anko while we’re walking. It’s… really easy to get turned around here.

[ Anko gives a little whine as if agreeing and then starts snuffling at Asuka’s hand again. Don’t worry friend, she’ll make sure you don’t get lost!!!!

With that, she starts leading Asuka along, taking care that the girl doesn’t find herself getting caught up in the crowds. There’s a million and one questions on the tip of her tongue, so she decides to start with the one that seems safest. ]

S—so, um… how did you get here, exactly…? People usually have to go through the Future Foundation for this sort of thing… a—as far as I knew, anyway.

This Future Foundation seems like they have a monopoly on world hopping. I kind of just came through as I pleased. Probably why I got lost...

[ Let's just twirl her portal gun around on her finger, Christ, Asuka, you're gonna make a hole to summon Cthuli like that... ]

I just fired it and stepped inside the portal it made. Easy. I have a lot of choice words for that bastard Rick. But damn if he isn't smart, when it comes to this shit, anyway. Enduring, we called him, in the school we were stuck in.

I was Contrary, if you're curious.

[ They’re not Super High School Level titles exactly, but they’re close enough that it makes Sonico’s stomach do a nasty little flip. She purses her lips for a moment, because she’s afraid a commiseration might fall out – and if that happens, if might end up leading to explaining why she relates and that makes her chest knot tight with panic.

But... even if this girl’s a stranger, Sonico suspects she understands. Nothing about her face or voice is familiar, but something about the way she carries herself reminds Sonico so much of her own family that she finds herself giving Asuka a bitter little smile before she can stop herself. ]

That’s a lot snappier than what we ended up being called. It was... “Super High School Level” something-or-other – so you probably would’ve been “Super High School Level Contrary” or something like that.

[ which is kind of insulting tbh to this day she’s pretty glad that she only got saddled with ‘gravure idol’. ]

That's not even words. What kind of title is that..? Chō-kōkō-kyū...even in Japanese, it doesn't work at all.

[ But this is weird...such similar stories, even though they're obviously different.

Let's cut to the chase, then. She's sticking by the dog, but she still looks Sonico in the eye and just...gets on with it. ]

...So, how'd you get out?

[ Oh, she knows. She knows exactly what they’re both talking about. Her gaze and her words are so direct that Sonico’s a little unnerved – but she swallows hard. She hasn’t done anything she feels ashamed of, to feel guilty about, or at least not in the way Asuka’s asking her. ]

... We escaped, in the end. It... took so long, but we did it. We came out right here in Kalos, and we stayed here for a while, then... well, some of us went home. A few of felt like... after everything, going home wouldn’t really work for us. So we stayed here.

[ none of it’s exactly a lie -- but it’s certainly not the whole truth, either. She’s twisting things a bit, flubbing some of the details, but that’s mostly because she simply can’t be sure that their experiences line up so perfectly. Being trapped in one of those fake schools is one thing, but a murder game is quite another. ]

[ Sorry for her lack of tact. But the answer seems to satisfy her. ]

So you were brought here from Japan, and decided to stick around, then. ...Fucked you up that bad, then?

[ Her tone isn't malicious. But it's not quite sympathetic, either. She's stating it as though it were just a fact. Sky is blue. Water is wet. People kill people. ]

We escaped, too. ...Those of us who were still kicking by the end of it, that was. They almost flubbed it at the last second, too, those jackasses...

[ Geez. She's getting a bit more tense just thinking about it. But even so... ]

The place we walked outside to wasn't anywhere near as nice as here is. Still, if enough of them had stayed behind, I probably would've stuck with them for a bit longer. ...They're the first group of people that I came to feel close with. I don't want to say we're like a family now, or even friends, because God knows that might be pushing it when it comes to some of them, but, well, you don't just go through something like that and not come out with a sort of mutual respect for one another. An...acknowledgement of what happened that's stuck in all of our hearts, for better or for worse.

[ She's not exactly bright and cheery about it. But, seeing as though she damn near got away with nearly killing most of them, she's hesitant to consider them all her friends. Even if she has their forgiveness. Even if she's closer with some than others. Even if she's learned that she doesn't need to shoulder everything alone.

Still, though, there's no one she really trusts more than that group. ]

...And here I thought we were the only unlucky ones. I didn't think anyone else would have to go through the shit we did.

Let me get you an eclair or something...

Edited 2016-03-10 22:00 (UTC)

1st ♫ | my wish came true in a dream

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