it's been a long day without you my friend [OPEN]

[covenantal]

Who: covenantal & you!
When: IC 9/13 to 9/20, OOC 8/29 to 9/05 (the duration of event 33!)
Where: Pinesona apartment and elsewhere.
What: Relying on others is hard. Relying on others is necessary when your left arm and leg stop working, though. With bonus memory loss!
Rating/Warning: None right now.

---

[ i. closed to the pinesona apartment ]
[ Ever since the shutdown of the city's robots - and the uprising of all their appliances - Yu has been on a mission to replace as much as he can. It's taken a lot of scouring of the city, but he managed to find things like another refrigerator and microwave. Replacing their stove was probably the hardest thing, but more than anything, wanting to get the apartment in some semblance of working order so he could cook again had been high on his list of priorities.

So sue him, he finds all the cooking he does soothing, even if it's the most domestic.

He's in the kitchen the evening of the 13th, not yet realizing anything is amiss. Puttering around and deciding what to make so that everyone can pick at it at their leisure as they get in is leading him to decide on maybe oyakodon or gyudon, either one would be simple and the twins would probably like it--

--but as he goes to take a step, his leg just ... doesn't work.

With a yelp and a pretty loud crash he falls to the floor, where he stays for a moment in a painful heap. When he instinctively tries to push himself up, his arm won't respond, either. Struck dumb by confusion and a slow creeping sense of dread, Yu stares at the arm that won't move and gasps: ]

What?

[ Throughout the rest of the week smaller scale incidents of this nature will happen. His roommates can find him sometimes sitting in the middle of the living room floor, or pressed up against a piece of furniture or a wall leaning heavily on his right leg. The paralysis comes and goes seemingly at random, and probably despite all wisdom, he keeps pushing himself to do things anyway despite knowing he might get stranded somewhere. He could use a hand ... or a stern talking to. ]

[ ii. open ]

[ More than anything, it's a sort of stubbornness that keeps pushing him out the door.

The idea of being incapable is so foreign to him. Not being able to help himself, much less other people, makes the hollows of his chest feel shivery in ways he doesn't want to acknowledge. It's alien and unnerving and not right.

So he can still be found running errands around the Residential and Shopping districts, though it's in these places that you'll also find him .... stopped. Leaning against a wall, or awkwardly splayed on a bench, looking like he fell onto it more than sat on it. Each time he'll be thin-lipped and tapping slowly at his CereVice with one hand, his left hand strangely limp or tucked away in his pocket. Definitely at least once his leg gives out on him again, and though he falls, it's not as hard or bad as the first time. He'll tumble somehow into a sitting position, looking almost like he meant to do that (in the middle of a sidewalk?), though with a terribly annoyed expression on his face.

Should he not see you as these moments happen, he can be overheard mumbling this is ridiculous or a similar sentiment. However, should he accidentally, say, crash into you (what were you doing there, anyway?), he'll start apologizing profusely. ]

[ iii. wild card ]

(ooc: if you'd like to plan something else hit me up via pm or at izanagis!

Comments

[moribound]

[The changes around the city haven't gone unnoticed by Minato and it's a rather depressing sight when a large part of Cerealia still isn't up to form but with Koromaru being here he's been feeling much better than he has in the past few weeks and it helps that he hasn't been affected at all, aside from a short spell of vertigo that had left him taking refuge in his bedroom only for it to pass a few seconds later.

He thinks nothing of seeing Yu sitting on the bench while staring at his CereVice at first, assuming that Yu is about to send a particularly difficult message to someone. It's only when Yu sighs and Koromaru nudges him that he realizes there's something more going on and approaches the bench, stopping beside it as he doesn't have the intention of taking a seat.]

You were sighing just now...is something wrong?

[covenantal]

[ With a soft questioning noise, Yu glances up at his visitor. A boy... no one he knows. Yu lets his eyes briefly search the stranger's face before he shakes his head, taking care to gentle his expression. It wouldn't do to worry someone he doesn't know. ]

Sorry about that. I'm alright. I need to call one of my friends to come get me, that's all.

[ Rise could get to him, but she couldn't handle his weight... and obviously Yosuke is out of the question. He'd kill himself trying to get down here. He'll have to contact someone else...

(Here's where he'd think to call Merlin. He buries the twinge he feels over the thought.) ]

The city's up to something strange again, [ he offers, by way of conversation. ]

[moribound]

That sounds like something strange to be sighing about...you're right about the city though. [It's said lightly, but he's looking over Yu with more care than might be normal of a stranger.

Just what had Koromaru noticed?]

It's kind of strange that I haven't been affected by whatever's affecting the people here, now that you mention it. Is it the same for you too? [There's really nothing about Yu's demeanour that suggests anything off about him, but people don't normally sigh when asking for someone to pick them up and that he looks well enough to walk on his own is a pretty concrete implication that something is preventing him from doing so.]

[covenantal]

[ It's been hard enough admitting to his friends what's wrong, and needing their help hobbling around... he hardly wants to bring a stranger into his troubles.

Still, he knows it must seem strange to simply be sitting here and seem oddly distressed about that fact. His expression gains a faint wry edge. ]

Not exactly.

[ He doesn't elaborate, but the mildness in his demeanor and tone seem to suggest he isn't too bothered by it - whatever "it" is. ]

[moribound]

['Not exactly' is exactly the kind of phrase Minato uses often to draw attention away from himself, and Yu will be able to see from his thoughtful frown he's pretty unconvinced that everything's fine.]

If that's so, do you mind if I sit with you? I can keep you company until your friends are here. [There's something about this stranger's situation that intrigues him, and Koromaru's already taken to lying down so it's not like he has much say.]

[covenantal]

[ ... ]

Go ahead, [ he says with a quiet smile. ] I don't mind company.

[ It's a bit of a hedge answer, not as warm as what he'd normally give. Rather, his tone is as warm as always; but normally he'd say something like "I'd like that." The idea that this boy will be here when someone turns up to pick him up, and see that he's been handicapped the way he has... it's a little uncomfortable.

But somehow he gets the sense the other boy already knows something's amiss.

He can't shift on the bench to give Minato more room to sit, but thankfully he doesn't really need to.

Yu nods in Koromaru's direction. ]

That's not a CyBuddy, is it?

[ Most of those went down, after the recent fiasco with CERES technology. ]

[moribound]

Arf! [Koromaru looks up when he sees Yu nodding in his direction, ears perked and tongue hanging out. He's only seen Yu once before and he didn't hear what Minato had talked about to him, but he does think they should stick together right now.

Minato smiles faintly when Koromaru is brought up, though he's also vaguely glad that this other boy isn't just waving him off even though he could. He settles down at the other side so they can both have some personal space, sliding his hands into his pockets as he rests his back against the bench.]

He's my friend, actually. I'm not sure how Koromaru even appeared after everything that's been happening or why he was chewing on my friend's shoe when he appeared, but I'm happy about it.

[covenantal]

[ Yu's shoulders jump very slightly with silent laughter as he watches Koromaru, his expression warming a little.

His gaze returns to Minato as the other boy sits down, and there's a polite sort of curiosity on his face. It's genuine, though, obvious in the way he tilts his head slightly in a gesture of actual interest. ]

A friend? [ He doesn't seem to find that strange. In fact, the corners of his mouth quirk up in the ghost of a grin. ] That's great. It must be nice to have a little good news with everything that's been going on.

[ Chewing on a friend's shoe... ] Do you live with your friends?

[moribound]

[Minato's looking back curiously too, but only because Yu's apparent lack of surprise at Koromaru being called a friend is...interesting, if he had to use one word for it. All his friends were unusual in their own way, but they were also so immediately distinct that Yu stands out even more as he looks like any other guy.]

I guess so. It could be because ViViD isn't a robot...only those seem to be broken, but it's still made things hard as of late. [People have been trying their best to keep the city maintained, but there's still rubble in some places and garbage piling up, which gives him a feeling of uneasiness at times.]

And yeah, I'm staying with Shiho-san, Kaoru-san and Kaz. Least Kaz didn't mind Koromaru chewing on his shoe...they're all really nice, though.

[covenantal]

[ That list of names makes Yu pause. Shiho is vaguely familiar, but Kaz definitely rings a bell ... in a way he just can't place. He remembers running into the other in the Labyrinth most clearly, but they've spoken other times, haven't they? In fact ... a memory swims to the surface of his mind of Kaz breaking into his room in the middle of the night, none too happy with him.

But he can't for the life of him remember why, or what they talked about.

A frown flickers over his features, but it's gone as quick as it comes. More than likely it's another side effect of what's going on right now, and he just hadn't realized it sooner. Memories? Hmm...

Composing himself, he smiles again, bobbing his head in a nod. ] I'm glad. It's good to have friends you can rely on, whether or not they're from home or people you've met here.

[moribound]

[Minato might be missing a huge part of his memories right now, but he's still as sharp as ever and catches the frown just before it disappears. Strange...did this guy know his friends?

He's not about to call it out right now though, settling for smiling himself when Yu does.]

I agree. None of my friends from home are here, but the friends I've made here are close to me. [Now it's his turn to pause. Something about that line feels a little sentimental but Minato can't put a name to it, and he instead draws attention away from himself by asking Yu a question.] Is everything okay though? You were frowning just now.

[covenantal]

[ Yu nods his understanding. ]

For a while I had my best friend here, but eventually he left. Still, another of my friends from home arrived, and my best friend eventually returned, not long before another friend arrived as well. I've been very lucky to have them with me.

[ His expression softens. ]

Yeah, everything's fine. I actually know Kazuya-san, though not very well. I was just thinking some of my memories regarding him seem to be a little hazy... it might be related to what's going on right now.

[moribound]

[Minato's just about to say it must be nice having his friend here, but then Yu mentions knowing Kaz and it gets his attention immediately, shown by a thoughtful frown and an awkward stare in Yu's direction.]

Really? Now that you mentioned it, it seems I might have forgotten something too... [His frown deepens and his eyes narrow, making his stare look more intense.] Have we met before?

[covenantal]

[ Yu stares at him in surprise before his features settle into a more thoughtful frown. ]

To be honest, you did feel familiar, somehow... I couldn't place it. Do you really think we could be in each other's missing memories?

[moribound]

We could be. I don't think there's anything else wrong with me besides that. [Pause. What do people in movies usually do when they forget each other again?] I'm Minato. What's your name?

[covenantal]

Ah ...

[ Yu pauses for a beat, then dips his chin. ]

Yu Narukami.

[ Minato ... it feels familiar in a way he can't place. ]

Well ... it's nice to meet you again, anyway.

[moribound]

Nice to meet you again too, Narukami-san. [Minato's expression doesn't betray anything but he did consider that he might have called Yu by his first name if they knew each other, only to decide against it since he doesn't remember if they were close at all.]

...Say, if we knew each other before this, it should be alright if you tell me if you need some help, right? [If not back to his apartment, at least some of the way.]