estoria | [open] And as you know I have a gigantic heart

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[open] And as you know I have a gigantic heart

Who: Rise Kujikawa and OPEN!
When: 7/19-7/23 (IC) aka event-time!
Where: Various prompts
What: It started with a goat. Then it all just went downhill from there. AKA Rise Kujikawa and the mysterious memories event.
Rating/Warning: N/A for now, will update if needed

[It started with a goat. Honestly, at first she thought that she'd dreamed it, that maybe it was just an extension of the white feathers she saw in her dreams recently but no. She wakes up and there sure is a wispy little goat at the foot of her bed. She stares…and the goat bleats flatly at her. It's a sad-looking thing, but as she tries to get closer it seems to disappear immediately.

Wow. That's weird.]

A.) is for Academy

[It's a normal school day. With everyone back from the dead and her worries a little more at ease, she can concentrate a little easier. It's quiet in the Study Hall period of the day and she's working on some homework when she spots the goat out of the corner of her eye…approaching a wastebasket. She hasn't realized it can't change much of the world around them, but she'll get that memo as soon as she gets up and stealthily tries to approach the animal.

Of course, the goat suddenly moves and it startles her and her arms suddenly pinwheel as she yells, trying to balance on her high heels so she doesn't bite the dust. Are you going to catch her? Let her fall? Fall with her? Sorry about all of that.]

B.) is for Bad Places Rise Shouldn't Wander

[This goat is seriously way more trouble than it's worth. She's not sure where it came from or why it's in such poor condition, but she's taken to following it around the colony to make sure it doesn't get too far out of her sight. It's for that reason she doesn't even realize she winds up right in the middle of the Pleasure District. The goat's paused, and if it's possible it gives her a knowing look despite its lack of real expression.

(Is it possible that this goat knows about her dungeon?)

She ends up in a staring contest with the goat, narrowing her eyes when she realizes she's standing in front of a love hotel.]

Don't even think about it. [She sure was talking to the goat, but it's not that hard to overhear her.]

C.) is for Cafe

[Everything is exhausting. She's sprawled over a chair almost ungracefully and that goat hovers around near her feet, but at least its not moving. On occasion, she'll be writing neat lines in a notebook and sipping her tea, though she frowning in concentration. There's an extra chair at her table though. Feel free to ask if you can join her or even be nosy about what she's doing, she won't mind.

On the other hand, if you're a friend or even someone she recognizes, she'll look up and smile brightly before pushing the chair out with her foot.]

Hey, over here!

D.) is for Dancing Games

[Sometimes Rise likes to play games. Sometimes Rise likes to use the game station to practice and when she gets bored of dancing in her room this is the next best thing. However, she's found at the game center today in front of one of the dancing games, and as she watches the colorful arrows fall across the screen she's continually missing and whines in frustration.]

Ugh, come on! This should be really easy! [And it would be…if she actually remembered how to dance. It's like all memories and coordination have left her and she's left trying really hard to fix that. Help her? Challenge her? Question her?]

E.) is for Everything Else!

[If you want to run into her while she's out shopping, at work as a model/karaoke star/tofu connoisseur, or if housemates want to do apartment shenanigans here you go!]

[ooc: ALSO if you have a preference on your type of memory please let me know! Otherwise I will be randomizing. Thank you!]

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[It happens so suddenly. Leon, unable to see Rise's own spirit animal, had been too distracted by the situation and conversation to put much thought into the fact that it surely must exist. That this could happen. Of course it could. When it does, it takes him completely off guard. It's like the world around him just turns off, and this other world turns on; it's dizzying.

His mind needs a few beats to catch up, but it's a long memory, and before too long he's with it, watching it the way he would a movie. (Not quite that way. This is much, much more deeply personal than that.)

He's free this time of the physical effects of having his own animal touched, but seeing this . . . his gut wrenches anyway. It's not like he has any context for this, though he can piece together bits. Shadows. The other world. Things Rise's mentioned in the past, that he didn't fully understand and wasn't sure how to ask about when they could be having a good time instead. But CERES, or rather, whomever is behind this, seems sworn to make sure no one has a good time today—and here this is, this sick reality staring him in the face.

He doesn't know who the guy is, and he can pick up enough to be grateful it's no one he's ever met, or even met anyone like—that he remembers, anyway. His memories of that person have been taken. Was she anything like this? "I was bored shitless and wondering what to do next." All that talk of Despair. Things Leon only knows about secondhand, from those who survived her, but he knows enough to feel his stomach go heavy as lead at the attitude.

(Rise's so cool, in this memory. That sweet, caring, fragile-looking little thing he likes had stood right up to this monster. And they'd won. He knows they must have. She and her friends hadn't let the world change after all—)

And then the memory loosens its grip on him, and he comes out of it with a tiny gasp he can't hold back. The first thing he's aware of is how tense his face and shoulders feel. Had he been clenching his jaw, watching that? It's like being shoved forcibly back into his own body and having to take stock of what it had done while he'd been gone . . .

He works his jaw for a second, and then snaps fully back to reality, turning to look at Rise with wide eyes.]

Kujikawa—

[Somehow in the time it's taken Leon to watch that memory, it's enough for the effects to hit her. By the time he comes out of it she's curled up into a ball on his couch, arms loosely folded across her stomach and limbs pulled in tight. There's a dizzying sort of nausea settling in and she's actually concerned she can't fight it off. The intensity of this memory seems to match the intensity of the side effects.

So. She hears her name and there's only a slight whimper of a response. She's experienced this with other people before to varying degrees, but it's enough for her to say--]

I hate this.

[Oh, shit. Leon snaps fully to attention. She looks miserable. He knows what she's feeling; he'd felt it too, but she looks even worse. The memory he just saw was intense, but he can shove it aside for the sake of the real world for a bit, and right now in the real world Rise looks awful.

He shifts over closer, lifting a hand to touch her shoulder, shoving aside his previous distance along with the memory issue.]

Hey. Hey, hey, you gonna be okay? You need anything? Hey, just breathe, 'kay?

[On the one hand, she's absolutely miserable. On the other, this is Leon and she really, really would rather not look so pathetic in front of him. So even if it's taking a few moments and a hand's on her shoulder she's following his advice and breathing to push down the nausea and everything else.

Some warning would be nice for these things, but she supposes beggars can't be choosers. She remains mostly curled up but she opens her eyes to look at him, not quite connected to the conversation at first before she blinks a few times.]

I'm going to find a way to lock that goat in a closet.

[It surprises him how charming he finds that—grumpy, sulky Rise. Not that he's happy about her suffering, but she's still . . . really, really cute. It's not a side of her Leon gets to see often. And maybe it's a relief, in all of this mess, to see it now.

He laughs and sways forward to press his forehead against her shoulder, because in the heat of the moment, he can't figure out how else to express his feelings; he might grab her up into a hug if she didn't look like she might throw up on him if he tried. It's probably best not to jostle her too much right now.]

Yeah . . . you and me both! You gonna be okay?

[At least someone finds it cute and while she'd continue to be sulky, having Leon's forehead on her shoulder is enough to jar her out of it. She blinks in surprise, a startled giggle escaping even as a hand comes up to rest on his hair. She's not sure if she wants to keep him there or push him away...so she just allows that.]

I'll be fine...this isn't the first time it's happened, but I thought the goat would have learned by now. I can't believe they found new ways to show people our memories.

[You know what? This is fine. He leaves his head right where it is, letting her touch his hair, not pushing for any more closeness than this but not wanting to break the contact, either. As long as he's not driving her further along the road to getting sick on his couch, this is pretty comfortable.

He sighs, though, sobering a little.]

. . . I don't even know who "they" is. Is this even a CERES thing? I'm used to blamin' everything on them, but they didn't shove us into the jungle that time. They didn't shove me into the sewer either . . . we've got way too many people jerkin' us around, huh? I'm sick of it! It's like—everywhere we turn, it's just people screwing us around and trying to manipulate us!

[It's been like that for longer than he's been in Cerealia, too. And now he knows it was the same for her.]

Just like Enoshima. And—that guy I saw in your memory. Adachi. What a fuckin' asshole . . .

[Worry not, friend, she will not barf on your couch in this thread. Maybe in the future. As it is she can't help but make a face though this time it's at the implication that this isn't a CERES thing.]

I don't know who else it'd be this time. The Labyrinth was part of old Cerealia wasn't it? That was when the memory thing happened the first time. But you're right. We don't even know who we can really trust anymore!

[She settles down at the mention of Adachi. And Enoshima. She recognizes the name from the tablet and seemingly understands suddenly that she was the mastermind.] ...you saw him? [She smiles almost bitterly.] Nothing good I bet, huh?

[To say the least. Leon lifts his head finally with a snort, settling back normally against the couch; he doesn't move away again, though, remaining leaned lightly up against her side. This is . . . okay, right? She doesn't seem to hate him. Things probably aren't okay okay yet, but maybe they're kinda okay?

Either way, there's more going on here than that. They'd both shared things they hadn't meant to.]

You were in this freaky red place . . . he was explaining all the shit he pulled and why. All this stuff about the new world and not wanting you there, being bored and that stupid despair shit every asshole like that's obsessed with. —You were really cool, Rise-chan! You were totally ready to take him on!

[It's okay enough, she thinks. Things are still strange and uncertain and she doesn't understand everything but she does at least believe Leon's story. It doesn't make what he did okay, but she can believe him and they can move forward with what to do next.

When he describes that wasteland and the confrontation with Adachi, she can't help but give him probably the most bitter smile he's ever seen on her.]

That's what one of the places inside the Midnight Channel looks like. Remember what I told you about dungeons that form based on us? [She ducks her head.] Adachi-san did some really terrible things and because of them, someone else started to act, too. The other man thought he was saving people by kidnapping them and placing them in the TV. He didn't know that being in the TV world would kill them, but Adachi-san did. He planted the idea in Namatame's head.

[She shakes her head now.] He murdered someone Yosuke-senpai was close with, and because of him and because of what Namatame had done, an innocent little girl died. [She won't mention who Nanako is.] We don't know how, but she came back...she's okay now, but that was the last straw for us. And the worst part was that he was one of the police officers assigned to the case of solving the string of murders in Inaba.

[After a few beats, he moves to take her hand. She'd listened to him; she'd believed him. And now all this, bringing up shitty memories of everything she'd been through, which was more than he ever suspected, even knowing what he'd gathered from her stories over time. So some asshole, bored murderer was behind all that stuff like people dying and Rise being put in danger, having to fight her Shadow . . .

It's the sort of thing he never would have even been able to conceive of, once upon a time. He hates that he can now.]

You got him, right? You guys took him down? —I could tell you meant business. I had no idea . . .

[Almost immediately she laces her fingers with his. It's a nice supporting gesture, something to hold onto and she realizes she has to tell him quite a bit about what they'd done at home. She hasn't really told anyone the full story if only because it never came up. But hearing about the Mutual Killing? She thinks Leon would probably understand better.]

Yeah…but he wasn't the last person we had to take down to stop the world from getting destroyed. […well, last "person", yes, if you get technical, but…] We thought he might have been, but there was one more we needed to take down to pursue the full truth of everything that happened in that town.

. . . If you wanna start at the beginning, that's cool.

[He's having some thoughts along the same lines. There's a lot he's learned by now from her about all of this, and yet he feels like he doesn't actually get any of it, and it seems—kind of unfair to her, actually. It's harder to be understanding over something he doesn't understand, and yet here he is trying. He can at least provide a hand to hold and a shoulder to lean on.]

But—I mean, it's cool if you'd rather not, too . . . ah, man, we both came from some pretty messed up stuff, huh?

[That's not something he often likes to admit, or even think about. But it's easier when he's not alone.]

I don't think we really knew just how messed up it was, huh? [She's trying to be a little positive even now, a bright spot in all of the fucked up memories they're sharing with each other. In a way, it's nice to know they resonate on that level...but on the other hand it's pretty bad they can even relate at all.] I don't know if the beginning's really that exciting though.

[He definitely hadn't known how messed up the world was before coming here, and he doesn't know how to cope with what knowledge he does have now. Mostly he tries not to think about it. Sounds like a good life choice. He continues doing so right now, shaking off the topic with a sympathetic smile and no answer otherwise, focusing back on Rise's story.]

It's cool, I mean . . . I guess I'm not askin' you for entertainment anyway, so don't worry about that! I just wanna know where you're coming from. You listened to me, Rise-chan! . . . Thanks.

[She's about to fire back with something cute and cheery, maybe something about how she'd always listen to him because he was her friend and he was important to her, but no. No, she's stuck on something and she blinks at him very carefully.

She hadn't really thought about it before, but now that he's done it twice she can't help but stare.]

...you called me Rise-chan. [Normally it's Kujikawa. So this...is different. (And utterly delightful, she's so pleased with herself she can hardly stand it.) But go on, Leon, let's just see if he was even paying attention himself.]

Ah . . . yeah . . . is that okay?

[Oh, he noticed. He'd noticed the first time he'd done it, too; when it hadn't been commented on, he'd just gone with it.

Is it weird to do that now, of all times? After everything she just found out about? She can tell him if it's not okay, right? But she doesn't seem upset . . .

Still, he's a little nervous now that she's called it out.]

[Normally she wouldn't comment on it, but Leon's always made it a point to call her Kujikawa. So of course she's noticed the difference. He's right though. She's not upset and instead she's grinning a little. Maybe she should have been calling him Kuwata-san or even Leon-kun this whole time, but...no. She didn't think either of those sounded right for their friendship.]

Of course it's okay! Sorry, I didn't mean to make you think it wasn't. I guess I just wasn't expecting it.

—Long as it's okay! I just, heh, why not, right? You've got a cute name, I wanted to use it!

[This is so not the time to be blushing a little, but there he goes anyway, beaming back at her.]

[This is the real problem. Leon being like this is a Problem because it's endearing and sweet and it makes it so much harder for her to remember he's technically a murderer, too. But the circumstances were so messed up...everything about this situation is messed up, but all she can do now is focus on the fact she's glad he finally told her. Even if it wasn't meant to come out this way.

So the blush is cute and her expression softens.]

I think I can allow that, just for you. [And a wink. But...right. The story.] ...you're one of the only people who I think could maybe understand the whole story about what happened in Inaba. If I tell you all of this...you can't think it's totally weird or anything. Okay?

Uh . . .

[He could try and lie about that, and maybe that'd be the tactful thing to do, but he's not great at tact or lying, even at his cutest and blushiest.]

It's a little too late for that . . . it's definitely weird! —But not in a bad way! No offense, okay? It's definitely no weirder than the kinda stuff we had to deal with, or the stuff we're dealing with now! It's more like somehow the whole world went crazy, so even though this sounds crazy too . . . welcome to the club?

[He laughs weakly, even though he's definitely feeling more at ease by now.]

[There's a fond look before she shakes her head again. Leon does have a good point in that, she must admit.]

When you look at it that way, you're probably right. Okay. [She settles in, comfortable with him once again as she thinks for a brief moment.] So...Inaba's always been a really quiet little town. Just far enough outside of the city to make you feel disconnected from everything, which is why I moved back there. When I went on my hiatus for work, that was the perfect place for me. My grandma owns a tofu shop there, so she let me stay with her for the school year. She never really asked me questions like why I quit or when I was going back...she just let me stay there and help in her shop. [Which unknown to Rise, Yosuke already told Leon.] But a lot of things happened before that...before I took my hiatus and moved, two people were killed. It was the start of a serial murderer case, and they knew it was the same guy because of how he left the bodies. They were always strung up on an antenna. [She wrinkles her nose.] It started back around April, I think.

Originally it was just Yu-senpai, Yosuke-senpai, Chie-senpai and Yukiko-senpai. [A pause.] No, that's not right. Just those first three. Yukiko-senpai was the first of us to get kidnapped to the TV world. I never saw her Shadow or anything and nobody really talked about it afterwards, but all of us sort of agreed that our dungeons were pretty bad. For a long time, we would be monitoring the Midnight Channel. I know I've told you a little about it, but it was something bigger than we thought. It was a reflection of what someone thought humanity wanted to see...so all of the victims were people that were seen on TV recently. Since they had public attention, it seemed like those were the people that the town wanted to keep track of.

[A pause.] You know about Adachi-san. But there was another man involved...his name's Namatame. Following so far?

[He nods. So far, it's both pretty ordinary (other than the whole TV World aspect, of course) and a lot to follow. But he's with her . . . he just hopes there's no pop quiz at the end.]

Yeah, I got it. So what'd this other guy do? You mentioned him before.

Namatame was involved in all of this because he had an affair with this TV announcer, Mayumi Yamano. She was the first victim in the serial murders. But…when we were first solving the case we thought he was the culprit. We confronted him when he was in the hospital last winter. His Shadow appeared to us in the TV and we all really thought that he was responsible for something really awful that we thought he'd done to Yu-senpai's family. [She frowns.] The boys wanted to push him into the TV. People who stay in the Midnight Channel and aren't rescued or can't fight will die in there. But we had to stop and think about it…

[And from there she explains what she knows about Namatame, about his diary, about how the first victim by his hands was Yukiko, about how Namatame thought he was saving his victims, how he had seen Mayumi and Saki on the Midnight Channel and how he became so desperate to try and save people and thought that the TV world would be safer but realized how dangerous it was in the end. In a way, it's pretty sad…]

All of it was just a set-up by Adachi, but even he wasn't the final person we had to face in order to make sure the Midnight Channel didn't harm anyone else. [And then, casually:] …I never told you that we fought a god before, did I?

S . . . seriously? I mean, after all that, I guess I ain't even surprised that was the last step . . . no, I'm still totally surprised! I'm not that far gone yet! That's crazy!

But—damn. That's really cool. Not that you had to do all that, but you did it, right? You actually pulled that off . . .

[Rise-chan . . .

is awesome. He already knew that. All of this is just—it's hard to believe these things can happen to normal people, people he knows and likes and interacts with on a normal level. How is that even possible?

But on the other hand, how is anything else happening to them right now possible, either?]

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[open] And as you know I have a gigantic heart

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