estoria | Days Go By [OPEN]

Entry tags:

Days Go By [OPEN]

Who: Hikari Yagami (

givesalittlewhistle) & OPEN || Iris ~~Hawthorne/Fey~~ (

shroudedinsecrecy) & OPEN
When: IC, Mid to late May / OOC, February
Where: Various Locations, specified in Starters
What: Catch-All for Hikari and Iris as they go to school, work, around the city...and each come across their respective masks.
Rating/Warning: None to Start. Will update if necessary

I. - Morning Walk to School (Hikari)

[Careful not to wake the slumbering Tailmon on her pillow, Hikari bade those still at the apartment a courteous goodbye as she headed out for the day.]

[The walk to the local school wasn't that bad. Not much further than her elementary school back home. She'd spent several days memorizing the path, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that it even allowed her to pass by a small cafe. When she was a little early, she could stop and buy an extra baked good for breakfast. And a second one to wrap up and save for Tailmon for later, of course.]

[Otherwise, the eight-year-old child can be found quietly strolling along, her footsteps barely audible against the ground, nearly full backpack slung over both shoulders. Quiet, but with a faint smile on her lips as she tried to think of what she might want to learn that particular day in class.]

II. - Lunchtime! (Hikari)

[Thanks to those ViViD games, on top of her small allowance for attending school (who would have thought?), Hikari had enough left over to spend on a nice lunch for herself. Normally, she would just eat in the classroom...but it was such a nice day outside that day! She wanted to enjoy it!]

[So she found a comfortable area along the grass and placed her things down. Sitting on a small blanket, she reached inside her pack and pulled out what looked like a plastic box. Inside, containing all sorts of delicious treats and a pair of disposable chopsticks for her to eat them with.]

[But not before she pressed her hands together and bowed her head in a habitual show of respect for the food she was about to consume.]

Itadakimasu!

III. - The Park (Hikari)

[Tailmon was usually up by the time she returned home. And eager for a little exercise.]

[Or all the things, they'd found a soccer ball in one of the local stores. Hikari wasn't quite as good or even enthusiastic about the sport as her brother, but there was something about the idea of getting to kick it around for a while--with Tailmon chasing after it in the strangest came of catball and mouse one would se that day--that lifted her spirits immensely. She let out several bouts of laughter as the silver whistle around her neck shone in the afternoon sunlight, not even caring that she was getting a little sweaty or dirty from all the exercise.]

All right, Tailmon, I'm gonna kick it to you! Ready?

[She waited until the feline digimon looked ready to pounce...and kicked.]

IV - The Mask (Hikari)

[She noticed it from Day One.]

[Hikari had always been a rather observant child, even when she was very small. For the blank, white mask to appear within her line of vision no less than...well...every time she looked? Even if it was just out of the corner of her peripheral vision?]

[At first, she thought someone was playing a joke on her. It wasn't funny. Then she wondered if the mask was alive. She tried talking to it. It didn't talk back. She picked it up. No response. She put it back down, and went along her usual way. It followed.]

[That would have been more than strange enough for her, the girl who had a talking cat for a companion and sometimes glowed when she got upset. But then...the mask started to grow feathers. Little by little. Day by day.]

[She was officially confused.]

...does this sort of thing happen a lot?

[She stare down at the mask on the sidewalk in front of her in all its featherly glory, wondering if--perhaps--she needed an adult.]

V. - Shopping! (Iris)

[Dressed in her full priestess garb once more, Iris was on a very important mission that day, which was what led her to any shop she could find that looked like it sold a variety of tea blends. Always with a very specific request in mind:]

No, forgive me. I should have been more specific. I'm...looking for the herbs themselves. Not teabags.

I...like to mix my own blends.

VI. - Work! (Iris)

[And not just for home; once she found what sh was looking for, Iris brought her prizes straight to the Cerea gym, where she had already procured a small tea set. It wasn't quite the equipment she'd had at the Temple, but it was sufficient enough to suit her needs.]

[In between customers, she would sit on one of the floor mats and serenely ground at the herbs little by little, placing the finished products all in separate jars. Labeling them accordingly and testing both their smell and a small dab on her tongue for taste to determine which ones might be best suited for one another.]

[A highly relaxing ritual, but not one that would distract her enough not to notice whenever someone entered the room.]

Hello. Is there something I can help you with today?

VII. - Mask (Iris)

[...was this another game? A non-ViViD game? Because she was fairly certain she had not entered the virtual reality for quite some time. Not that she could recall.]

[Iris stared at the strange, white mask that had been...for lack of a better word, following her, for several days now. It seemed everywhere she looked, there it was. That same, blank expression.]

[Except, today, there was a noticeable change. It had started to...crack. Little tiny fissures breaking through its otherwise smooth surface. And, though she possessed no spiritual powers of her own, and had no explanation for their appearance...she felt a small chill travel down her spin each time she realized the cracks were getting bigger. And deeper.]

Whoever's doing this... [She finally whispered into the air when she saw it sitting on the park bench beside her. Even more cracked than before.] ...please stop. I beg of you.

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I'm not sad. Just...confused.

[Alright, maybe a little upset, but it was the kind of upset that stemmed from the aforementioned confusion. Combined with frustration and a lack of understanding.]

This thing... [She motioned to the mask] ...it keeps following me. And now it's breaking, even though I haven't touched it.

Well that just weird, I wonder why!

[He said before taking a closer look. While he wasn't sure what was going on, he might have an idea of what happened!]

But it sure looks a lot like the mask that a friend of mine had! Maybe the fortune teller gave you a really bad mask! But it's still not a very nice thing to give someone though.

[And especially when his was filled with feathers too!]

I don't remember...speaking with any fortune teller.

[She would have noticed. No, this mask hadn't been given to her. It just appeared.]

Which friend of yours is it?

Really? Then I wonder why they decided to give us all these masks. Maybe she just wanted to celebrate that holiday? Where you dress up as other people?

[What is Halloween in Japan??]

Oh! Her name is Rise-san! She said that she got a mask that kept coming back to her for some odd reason!

[Of course, for Iris, dressing up as other people brought about a...different memory. And not of any one specific holiday, but rather a series of less than fortunate events over the span of several years.]

The carnival...there seemed to be a lot of focus on appearance. The way they called all of us the Ugliest Person.

I wonder if it has to do something with that? Maybe they really don't like the way we look.

But why? I remember them saying something about the way we look but I wonder what was that for!

[He said before digging out his mask and showing it to Iris. With all the white feathers running about, it was amazing that most of them didn't fall out!

But he was tempting to give it to her though...]

[She didn't reach for the mask. She didn't even move to touch it; as far as she knew right then, Takeru had only taken it out to show her. So she took a look.]

[It was different than hers. Uncracked, and with feathers everywhere. She wondered if they felt as soft as they appeared. And why Takeru's mask was so different than hers. Almost...beautiful.]

What do the feathers mean?

I'm not sure but I wonder if it has anything to do with Angemon.

[He said before pondering a little] Because whenever Patamon evolves, sometimes, he leaves some feathers behind so maybe that's why?

[Although, that doesn't explain why his was so different from hers. And when hers was so cracked too...]

[That...actually made sense? Somewhat. She only knew of Angemon through Takeru's words, but if he were an angel...with feathers...then perhaps there was something personal to the mask's customization.]

[Though that still didn't answer why hers was so...cracked...like a...broken mirror...]

It's possible...the masks are reflecting people that are close to us. Or...were.

Were?

[He asked before looking back up at Iris. If the masks were meant to be someone whom they know, that only made the poor boy more worried about Iris's]

....Then do you think that the mask had to do with someone you know? ...Or knew?

[For a second, she considered not telling him. He was so young...could she really burden him with that knowledge?]

My...my sister. My twin sister.

[A mirror image.]

She...passed away shortly before I came here.

[A mirror cracked.]

[Takeru didn't say anything for a moment. While he had dealt with death before, the idea of having one of his family members dead?

He can already imagine how difficult it would be]

...I'm sorry. Were the two of your really close?

[Although, he wasn’t sure if he should be talking this if it was going to make her sad]

We were raised separately, but she always remained in my heart. And we...kept in contact, whenever we could.

[Right up until the day she betrayed Dahlia, and ran away from their plan out of fear.]

But you don't need to be sorry.

She...was not a very nice person. Her death finally put an end to the horrible things she'd done.

But even if she did those horrible things, wasn't she still your sister?

[Not nice or not, family isn't something that can be broken easily]

That's still something to be sad about.

[Out of the mouths of children. Iris smiled faintly, nodding her agreement even though...it was far, far more complicated than that.]

She will always be my sister, Takeru. That much can never change.

I just...hope this is something you will never have to understand yourself.

You mean that one of my family members might die?

[Takeru had to ponder. Honestly, after his experience with Devimon and nearly being deleted, there were a few times he had to wonder about his brother...]

I know that they will have to though. It's a natural thing isn't it?

[More like...having a family member commit such horrible crimes that she needed to be executed. So that justice could be served, and the souls she'd caused so much pain and suffering could finally be put to rest.]

[...but, again, for a child...his answered sufficed.]

It can be, yes.

You're very wise for already accepting such a thing.

[No, he didn't. He couldn't stand the idea of having Patamon die much less any of his family members or any of his friends here. Just because he said it doesn't mean he had to.

Which was why there was a long pause before he said anything]

Yeah...I guess so...

[Mumble mumble]

[. . . ?]

[She couldn't quite make out those last mumble mumbles.]

I'm sorry. What were you saying just now?

[..............]

....I'm sorry, Iris-san but I don't think I'm wise at all.

I know people will die but I really don't want that to happen to any of my family or my friends. Especially not here.

[Her expression softened in understanding.]

And you think that doesn't make you wise?

...No, I don't think so?

[...That is how it works right??]

[She motioned to the spot beside her. For him to accept or refuse at his will.]

Come here, Takeru.

I want to tell you something very important.

[Like Takeru was going to refuse that! He just leaned in closer!]

Yeah? What is it, Iris-san?

[Close enough. Just as he leaned in, she bent down to better meet him at eye level. Wanting him to be sure that what she said was meant to be taken as the absolute truth, not merely words of patronization.]

Not wanting the people you care about most to die...regardless of the circumstances...that's not showing a lack of wisdom. If anything, I would think it's just the opposite. It shows how much you understand their lives are worth.

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