compnetwork | Text: This is a public service announcement

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Text: This is a public service announcement

[After he wakes up from that weird dream, it takes him a few more hours to realize that Eikichi is, somehow, missing. And...that was it! That was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back! Because by mid-morning, there is an angry-looking text post from Tatsuya on the network, with only these words of warning.]

ATTN: HINOTO-RI

PHILEMON WILL RUIN YOUR LIFE

[That's....it. Maybe he should elaborate.]

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[Maya's video feed comes on in turn, her fingers lightly hovering against her lips as she takes in the all-too-familiar face on the feed.

Oh. She had seen the name, and yet at home, he had hardly been the only Tatsuya... not to mention she had hardly known his name long enough for it to register. Yet something nagged at her now. She should have known.]

It's you.

[..."It's you"? That's it!? What did she mean "it's you"? Did she not...remember or...?]

...Maya-nee?

[He looks like he's about to cry.]

[It was the same way Eikichi had addressed her when she had first arrived. She fought the urge to frown, instead offering him a hesitant nod.]

You're Tatsuya.

[No longer just Deja Vu Boy, thanks to Katsuya confirming the name for her.]

Katsuya's brother. You've been helping me, haven't you? Or you were before I came here.

[What is she talking about, Eikichi never mentioned anything about this!]

I don't...[Tatsuya sighs and shakes his head, looking at the screen again.]

Where are you? Can I...talk to you about it face to face? [Why is she acting like she doesn't remember, what happened?]

...That's okay, right?

Edited 2013-02-11 03:13 (UTC)

[She tilts her head slightly, peering curiously into the comp unit. He seems upset -- and that alone is triggering a similar reaction in her. It feels appropriate. Something about this situation tells her she should be upset, and yet she can't explain why.]

Of course. I'd... I'd like that. I'm in Libra, but there's a coffee place right near the teleporter in Virgo if you'd like to meet there?

[It might get a little emotional for being in a public place, but...]

All right. [He nods, not even knowing what he's going to say to her, or even ask.] I'll be there as soon as I can.

[The video feed cuts off.]

[She actually second-guesses having chosen to meet in a public place more than once on her way there, all the way up until she claims an obscure table tucked away in the far corner. It should offer them some degree of privacy. Even more private might have been better, but she didn't exactly feel comfortable inviting him to her apartment. She didn't really know him, after all. He had bailed her out a few times, shown an interest in her welfare, and yet he had never managed to stick around long enough to hold a conversation with.

Some people were just like that, she supposed.

Legs crossed, she nervously taps her fingernails against the table as she watches the door, waiting to glimpse the first sign of him. Something about this was just so disquieting, beyond what seemed to be the norm for Hinoto-Ri.]

Edited 2013-02-12 19:53 (UTC)

[It takes a little while, mostly getting a little bit...lost (shut up), but about 15 minutes after she begins waiting, a motorcycle can be heard pulling up to the building. The engine dies, but...for some reason, it takes five more minutes until the teenager actually comes inside, his bike helmet dangling from one hand as he looks around. Shock of all shocks, he's actually wearing his Sevens uniform.

He totally didn't just spend the past five minutes hemming and hawing about whether or not to go in! Of course not. That would be weird and also stupid!

And then he sees Maya, takes a deep breath and...slowly walks over to where she's sitting, looking like he's just swallowed a bug and remaining eerily silent.]

[She recognizes the uniform as belonging to Seven Sisters, but it's nothing like what she's used to seeing him wear. Still, he's obviously Deja Vu Boy all the same.

No, Tatsuya. She had a name to go with the face now. He wasn't Deja Vu Boy any longer.

She tilted her head curiously as he approached, offering him the tiniest smile by way of a greeting when he pauses beside her table. Clearly, they're both nervous, but she's always been good about taking the first step. 'Shy' wasn't exactly in her repertoire, although occasionally, she was good at pretending.]

Hi.

[It was simple, but accompanied by a restrained wave.]

It's good to see you again.

[The 'swallowed a bug' look starts cracking like a broken windshield, his mouth trying to stay in a flat line while he winces and tries not to break down in the middle of a public place. Come on, Tatsuya, you can do this. Don't wanna scare her....

So for now, he quietly sits down, nodding and covering his mouth so she doesn't see it contort all over the place because he doesn't know what his emotions are doing.]

Yeah, I...[Nods again, takes a deep breath.] It's really great to...see you...

It's been awhile, hasn't it?

[There's something careful about her words, as though she, too, is afraid to come on too strong. The look on his face, his hesitance... it's making her more nervous than she already was.]

Since you last helped me, I mean. Thank you for that, by the way. I don't know what I would have done if you didn't keep turning up right when I needed you.

[Well, it's good that she's talking because it's calming him down. If only because he's trying to think of what, specifically, she's talking about. If she's not remembering him, then he can't really think of...

Now he looks less pained and more...confused.]

I'm, uh...kinda lost? Like, what're you talking about specifically?

[She frowns a little bit. Okay, now she's confused, too.]

You don't remember any of it? The clock tower at Sevens, or the fire at the Sky Museum?

...Yes? We fought Hanya in the clock tower and rescued those kids at the Sky Museum.

[...Wait, unless she's talking about...?]

Are you... [He leans closer and lowers his voice so no one else hears this.]

Are you talking about when you almost fell from the third story and I caught you?

[Because that is seriously the only thing that's coming up for those two places right now.]

Hanya? No, it was JOKER waiting for us in the tower.

[She bows her head slightly, touching her fingers to her lips. It's familiar, it sounds like something she should remember, but... that's not quite how it happened, was it?

Now she's not so sure.]

There was a man there, at the Sky Museum. JOKER. No, Tatsuya Sudou? He asked me if I remembered the flames. Said it was just like the "other side."

[She looks up again, peering at him curiously.]

Do you remember that? Or does that name mean anything to you?

Sudou? [The tone of his voice clearly stated that yes, he recognized Sudou, but something wasn't right.]

Sudou wasn't the Joker, he... [...Wait a minute.

Apparently she doesn't remember Jun being the Joker and Sudou was talking about an "other side"...

Tatsuya leans back a little and stares as a spot on the wall, like he's thinking deeply about something.]

...Can I ask a weird question?

Edited 2013-02-25 19:05 (UTC)

[She tilts her head, studying him for a moment before nodding. Of course. How can things get any stranger, after all? Their memories don't quite seem to match up, much like her brief conversations with Eikichi.]

Of course, go ahead.

[Takes a deep breath. Alright, here...goes.]

Do you know if the Araya Shrine ever...burned down awhile back?

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Text: This is a public service announcement

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