eachdraidh | first hour ❦ video; both courts

[Don't mind the young high school, still dressed up in her uniform, appearing in the locket where she's wearing a pout, rubbing fiercely at her cheek, where a slight bruise might be forming.]

Hey! Watch out for fairies who apparently are pretty stingy about the cake. Some don't know the meaning of the word "share" here. [There's a slight squinted, accusing look towards the side off-screen where a group of fairies zoom by, carrying bits and pieces of a dessert Minako had her eyes on.

But never holding a grudge, she sighs before turning towards the locket again, glare easily being replaced with a growing smile.]

Actually, I had a favor to ask. Sushi! Where can I get some? Cause I've this wild craving, but it's not really a thing here. Not that the rest of the food isn't good! Whew! [She leans back, rubbing her belly a bit before chuckling.] Everything's pretty amazing here and definitely nothing like back home, so if you want to keep recommending other goodies, that's okay too.

[She shrugs lightly.] But sushi's kind of a favorite, so if you manage to locate any, I'll owe you a huge favor. I promise.

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[ okay so at first yukari thinks this is a little odd. she has a pretty good memory for faces and considering she's popular back at gekko high, yukari's seen a lot of them. she's "friends" with a lot of them... but yukari doesn't recognize this girl.

still, someone else from gekkoukan high's not a bad thing! so she'll try and stay positive. ]

You're from Gekkoukan? Are you a first year?

[That voice. She's heard it countless times every day for months, so there's no way she wouldn't recognize it. But why was it here? And if it was, why was she asking that ... ?]

Uh, no. Second year. Just like you! I mean ... [She's hesitant for a second before continuing.] Yukari, that's you, isn't it?

[ second year? that's even odder... but her name from the other girl catches her attention, shaking her out of her thoughts. it's no surprise that a second year would know her name because of aforementioned popularity, but something in her voice sounds.. off. ]

Yyyyeah? That's me.

I knew it! [Of course she would. Who else could it have been?]

But how'd you get here? I thought I was the only one they brought.

[ ??? okay, this is... not really funny anymore. ]

Do I know you?

Huh? [Okay, that's odd. Especially if she had still been in her uniform in that first video, she shouldn't be hard to recognize even with the different backdrop.]

Oh, come on. It's Minako! Who else would it be?

[ in another universe, yukari would be over the moon to see minako here, and she'd waste no time running to her side. unfortunately for all parties involved, yukari never met this leader and because of that, she feels a wall crash upon her by way of irritability and a desire for defense, for control. ]

Yeah? Well, I don't know anybody by that name, so let's try this again. Who are you?

[It doesn't occur to Minako for there to be any other Yukari besides the one she knows. The one she's fought beside for months, sat with in the same class, and spent time with after school at shops and cafes. This couldn't be a different Yukari.]

Wh-what do you mean you don't ... ? Yukari, it's — it's me.

[ no. no, this is wrong. she promised herself — she promised her father — that she'd never forget. she'd never turn her back on the past. running away from your problems is the worst thing you can do in yukari's eyes, so she always chooses to face her problems head-on. that's why she chose not to kill ryoji, to face the avatar of nyx on the thirty-first of january.

but having this girl here saying stuff like "it's me," all but begging yukari to remember someone she's absolutely positive she never knew in the first place, is starting to freak her out. this is not right, and all at once yukari doesn't feel in control of her own mind. her breathing shortens but she doesn't panic. ]

That doesn't tell me anything! Minako, second year? Acting like you know me? [ snapping won't solve anything and she knows that, but the adrenaline under her skin makes her hands shake. what makes all of this so much worse is the fact that her name... it's too familiar, too close to home. ] What sort of game are you trying to play?

Edited 2015-02-04 18:23 (UTC)

[They had forgotten. That was the only explanation. Not just Junpei, but Yukari too, both of them not having a clue who she was despite having been face to face with them just days earlier. It's not the path she had thought they would have decided, but it was apparently the one who they chose.

She's glad the video of the locket isn't on. It makes it easier to hide her quivering lip in the midst of trying to compose herself again, making sure the hurt isn't shown in her voice.]

Oh, I'm ... sorry about that! You see, we're in the same class, so I thought you knew me, but ... Well, I'm kind of quiet so I guess you never — you never saw me. [Breathe.] Sorry for the confusion, I guess I kind of jumped the gun with excitement since I recognized you.

[ there's a long silence on yukari's end that says she doesn't exactly buy that story, but... since she has no proof to prove otherwise, yukari can't fight it. so, for the moment, she'll let it go. ]

It's fine, [ she finally says, albeit a little wary. ] It is pretty exciting to know you're not alone here.

[This feels so odd. Talking like strangers. But she should have been better prepared for this. She can handle this. She can.]

Y-yeah. I saw Junpei here too. Have you guys been together here long?

A couple months, yeah.

[ she saw that reply to junpei, so: ]

We're up north for now, but we'll be heading to the Station soon.

[ an offering, of sorts, to meet up and chat. since they're from the same world and all, it's the least yukari can do. ]

[Up north. Well, that was that. She had to get there. Even if they didn't know who she was, she had to go check on her friends and make sure they were okay.]

Oh! I haven't been outside of the castle yet, but I probably won't stay here too long. The map makes it seem like it's a pretty huge place so it'd be a total bummer if I didn't check it out, so I might head up there sometime.