1473/Catching Up

Catching Up
Date of Scene:	06 May 2016
Location:	Mitakihara/Pikarigaoka - King Penguin Park
Synopsis:	Their enemy has finally shown his hand, and Seishi and Shiori have some catching up to do.
Cast of Characters:	Seishi Tamashige, Shiori Sato

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Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi has been out of touch for a while. Since December, in fact.

If by any chance Shiori attempted to call or text her, the reason would have been quickly explained when the call or text in question got answered by Seishi's father, who tersely explained that Seishi was grounded for the foreseeable future and that he'd pass on a message if it was school-related or similarly important. If Shiori hasn't tried reaching her, though, it's just been radio silence.

So it's probably something of a surprise when she texts him on a Friday afternoon after school and club hours.

    TXT: Um, hi. Have you got some time?

Shiori Sato has posed:
It's quite likely Shiori's tried at least once to contact Seishi. Probably sometime in January. Though after the mention that Seishi's grounded, he wouldn't have been calling unless it was indeed regarding school-related or other thusly important situations.

That doesn't mean he wouldn't be growing more and more worried though, as January stretched into May... as winter stretched into spring and Seishi STILL seemed grounded. That seems unnaturally harsh as far as groundings go. Months-long groundings are reserved for breaking family heirlooms and situations that would result in jail time, aren't they? Though to be fair Shiori's been out of touch for a while too, due to an impromptu visit to the States a while back to see to the health of a distant family member.

So it's with no little bit of surprise that Shiori realizes that the text is from Seishi. So he can't help a little bit of gentle teasing when he replies back.

    TXT: Yeah, I'm free. Did the warden let you out yet?

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
    TXT: Haha, yeah, finally. >_<
    TXT: Sorry. My dad's... kind of uptight.

No further explanation seems to be forthcoming about what she did to earn a good four months on lockdown. Instead, after a brief pause between texts, Seishi picks up where her initial text left off:

    TXT: At least it's been quiet, dream-wise. Looks like that's changing, though.
    TXT: If you have time, could you meet me at the fountain at King Penguin Park?
    TXT: The enemy's made a move.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    TXT: omw now

It's a surprisingly shorthand way of wording it. Shiori only uses shorthand in texts when he's doing other things while texting. In this case? He's half-running down the stairs towards the front door where his shoes are sitting beside!

It won't take too long 'till he'll show up at the park, jogging towards the fountain. He's dressed in that t-shirt he's got with the picture of the black tie printed on it, a black blazer over it, black pants, and checked shoes.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
He'll find Seishi sitting on the edge of the fountain, dressed in her absurdly pink Verone high school uniform and watching for passers-by. Things seem peaceful enough, for the moment - but as soon as she sees Shiori heading toward her, Seishi is on her feet, hand lifting in a little wave.

"Hey," she says when he's in earshot, the words accompanied by an embarrassed smile. "How've you been? I feel like I'm completely out of touch with anything that isn't classes."

Shiori Sato has posed:
Shiori offers a broad smile to Seishi as he catches sight of her. When she stands, he slows and puts his hands into his pockets. "Hey there," he greets in return. The question of how he's been gets a chuckle. "Eh, you know. About the same. We had to make a flying trip to the States to see to a cousin of mine, so I've been a little out of touch myself. You? Other than feeling like you just walked out fo your room and a century had passed?" He chuckles.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
The description gets an expressive eyeroll of agreement from Seishi, and as Shiori laughs she's nodding, mouth turned up ruefully at one corner. "Tell me about it. At least you got to visit another country in the deal; that must've been interesting."

The wry humor doesn't last long, though, before Seishi lets out a sigh and reaches up to absently tuck a stray bit of her hair behind her ear. "I wish I could say I just wanted to catch up, but - have you had a chance to hear any rumors recently? About people having recurring nightmares, or coming down with sleeping sickness?"

Shiori Sato has posed:
Shiori smirks at the mention of the visit to the States. "The US is weird, that about sums it up," he says, with a helpless shrug. It is, rather humorously, a similar statement to what the Americans say about Japan-- 'because Japan'. But there are more important things to talk about right now... like those rumours.

He nods to the question, slowly, a frown pulling at his brow. "I've heard about it, yeah. I want to say it's a complete surprise, but... I had a feeling. I was hoping really hard that wasn't what the problem was, though..."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi can only shake her head to that, her expression grave and faintly regretful. "It's a dream-stealer," she says flatly. "He went after a girl not far from here the other day. I saw him in the Nightmare, chasing her."

She looks down, frowning at her empty hands. "There were a few other magical fighters in the area, and they helped me save the dreamer and end the Nightmare - that time. But the dream-thief got away. I haven't been able to track him down so far."

Shiori Sato has posed:
Shiori is quiet as listens to Seishi explain what's happened. His frown deepens. "So that's what's going on?" he asks. "There's a dream-stealer on the loose?" Pause. "You think... it's connected to that one?" He speaks, of course, of their enemy.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"I don't have any way to know for sure," Seishi replies quietly, "but I think so. We haven't run into them up until now, but we knew he'd have to have some servants out there creating Nightmares and stealing dreams for him."

She looks up from staring at her hands to meet Shiori's eyes again, direct and unwavering. "Even if it's not connected, we can't allow him to go free. If the dreams he's stolen so far have already been devoured, there might not be anything we can do to help his victims - but we can stop him from going after anyone else."

Shiori Sato has posed:
Shiori nods at the mention of servants. "That makes sense," he agrees. "And if you've tangled with them, that means he knows we're active again. Well, at least that you're active again. We both need to be careful."

His expression firms up at her words of not letting any more get stolen. His eyes are hard as diamonds-- for a moment, those are not his eyes. He nods once, firmly. "Right," he agrees. The 'attitudes' of Akahana are integrating into his mannerisms a little easier. Then his expression returns to normal. "What are we going to do about it, though? It's easy to say 'go after him', but where is he?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
At that question, the breath goes out of Seishi again, and the determination of her expression slips into uncertainty. "I'm not sure," she admits. "I've been dream-riding - it's the one thing my father can't ground me from - but it's like a needle in a haystack. The only other thing I can think of is to just keep my ears open for people talking about recurring nightmares, try and figure out from the cases of 'sleeping sickness' if there's some kind of area he likes to hunt."

Frustration creeps into her voice as she says it - she knows it's not enough, but she has no other ideas.

Shiori Sato has posed:
Shiori thinks while Seishi sets out her methods of searching for the dream-stealer. This brings a frown to his face; it's not very pro-active. He rubs his chin thoughtfully, keeping quiet for a moment more. Then he suggests, "Couldn't we try to dream-ride with some of the people that are sick? Stands to reason that, if the dream-stealer took their dream, then looking for their dream should lead us right to him, wouldn't it?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi is quiet for a few moments, considering the suggestion. "..I hadn't thought of that," she says at last. "If their dreams haven't been eaten yet, it's possible that there'd be enough of a connection remaining. It's worth a try."

Suddenly she's thinking hard, lips pressing into a line as her mind works. "We'd need to be able to home in on them somehow, though. Like we did with Chiba-san that time."

Shiori Sato has posed:
"Why not go to their house?" Shiori suggests further. "You know, under the pretense of bringing work for them just in case they do wake up? So we know where they live. We can go there in disguise. The proximity should help with homing in on them, shouldn't it?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"Better than just waiting around for him to strike again," Seishi acknowledges, and her head dips in a firm little nod. "I think a few of the victims are students at one or the other of our schools - that'll be the most convenient excuse. Maybe not even an excuse, if they're Verone students I might actually be able to collect classwork to take them."

Shiori Sato has posed:
Shiori nods. "I was going to suggest that too," he notes. "Ask around Seiyou, see if anybody's been out for more than a few days, offer to take some schoolwork to them. I'll go ahead and do that-- even if we can't catch him, we might be able to get their dreams back anyway." Pause, and he's silent a moment. "Actually that might be a good idea too. Maybe it'd be worth it to try to free the other kids first. Because if we can, that's that many fewer dreams he can use to power himself."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"It might not be possible," Seishi says slowly. "But we won't know until we try. Okay," she says, and nods again with the brisk energy of a decision reached. "It's a plan. I'll ask around at school, and we'll go from there. There's another student at Verone who might be able to help us, too - Hokuto Minase. She was one of the ones who was there when the Nightmare hit, and she's from a whole family of exorcists."

Shiori Sato has posed:
Shiori nods. "An exorcist? That'll definitely help. Akahana's seals will probably be of use, too," he replies. "Even more than just helping the kids, too... We could try to lure the dream-sealer to an area, and have them seal it, keep the dream-stealer from leaving until we fight it. Even if we have to do that in the dream world."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"Right," Seishi agrees animatedly. "I think she did something like that when we fought the dream-stealer. He broke free, but it seemed like she was able to pin him down temporarily. You two working together might be able to trap him for longer."

Shiori Sato has posed:
"It's possible," Shiori replies. "Even if all I do is contribute my energy to it. That might involve 'keep the dream-stealer from ganking the human spirit-batteries', though, so. Just as a warning." He smirks a little. "We might also be able to prepare the seal in advance, but not activate it until he's weak and about to retreat. Having to maintain it while fighting is a sure way to weaken it."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
The gears are whirring behind Seishi's eyes as she takes in what Shiori's saying; she nods again, a few times, acknowledgement and agreement. "Got it," she says. "It's something to keep in mind, anyway. Some things will have to depend on what he does when we find him - but at least now we've got a start to work from."

A beat, and then Sei cracks a grateful smile. "Thanks," she says with all sincerity. "If all the planning were up to me, I have a feeling it'd be a disaster."

Shiori Sato has posed:
Shiori nods. His background in video games has to be worth something. All those silly tropes in some of those games he plays wouldn't be so popular if they didn't happen-- and didn't usually lead to the downfall of whoever it was that invoked them! He chuckles a little at the statement of plans being a disaster. "Maybe not. You think a lot bigger than I do. I just think of small ways that might help. Besides, if it was all up to me, I'd end up getting beat down pretty hard." A grin. Yes, he knows she's stronger than he is.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
She ducks her head, draws in a breath and lets it out again expansively. "All right," Seishi says in a tone of decision, as she looks up again. "I think we've got a pretty good plan now, at least for the next step or two. I've got to get home, but I'll call you as soon as we've both had the chance to ask around at school, and we can go from there. Sound good?"

Shiori Sato has posed:
Once more, Shiori nods. "Sounds good. Feel free to give anybody else looking into it my number too," he offers. "That way everyone's on the same page with everything."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"Okay," Seishi replies immediately, seeming to brighten a little at the suggestion. "I'll do that. Hopefully we can make a move on this before anybody else gets their dreams stolen."

She straightens a little, a small shake of her shoulders as she prepares to set off. "Thanks again, Sato-kun. Really. I'll talk to you soon."

Shiori Sato has posed:
Shiori gives a reassuring smile. He doesn't really know it's going to be OK... but he knows that he really doesn't need to let anyone else know that. Particularly not Seishi, on whose shoulders rest most of the responsibility. Not only because of her greater strength, but because of her ancestor... because of Akashimaru. That driving force to make things right is pretty strong! "I'm just a phone call or text away. Be careful, Tamashige-kun."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi just waves, a quick short gesture not unlike a salute. Then she's off, striding away briskly across the part towards home, until soon she's out of sight and lost to view.

She's got work to do.