2398/Last Game

Last Game
Date of Scene:	24 January 2017
Location:	Mitakihara - Mitakihara General
Synopsis:	SACHIKO'S AWAKE.
Cast of Characters:	Kukai Souma, Amu Hinamori, Norie Okana, Sachiko Hayakawa

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Kukai Souma has posed:
It's evening when Amu recieves a text from Kukai.

A text from Kukai Souma: AMU I need you get to Mitakihara General right now FLY IF YOU HAVE TO will explain there!

Usually Kukai uses punctuation and better grammar. Whatever is going on must have him in a figurative panic.

There is a small 'thump' in the distance, the sound of something attempting to reach the sound barrier. A green figure drops into the parking lot near Mitakihara General, shadowed and shaded from view, and there is a flash of light. A few moments later there is the sound of running footsteps, as Kukai Souma comes tearing around a corner, climbing up the stairs, racing towards the door pell-mell and looking for Amu. If she isn't there, well, he doesn't appear like he intends to wait for her.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu Hinamori is, in fact, there. she got there as fast as she could. Well, she was on her knees, panting, covered in sweat, Ran looked exhausted too. Su and miki had @.@ eyes because they had to hide in her chest pocket. "I-I... I'm here... what... what... is it? X-xegg... is... is everyone okay? Did... did anyone... oh I feel light headed..."

Kersplat.

Norie Okana has posed:
Lacrima is here. Walking down the hall away from a coffee machine. She has. Four coffees in a little carry caddy.

They are all for here. She likes coffee. And she can drink as much as she wants. She tries to hide the cinnamon flavor sweetner she used.

She figures it's like the Splenda of Sachiko energy at this point in time.

She sees Kukai race around the corner. She stays perfectly still.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Kukai looks over at Amu, then in at the hospital. "It's Sachiko. Sachi-chan's awake. At least that's what..." He stops as the pink-haired girl plops onto the ground, and then leans down, scooping her up in his arms, holding her up with one arm. "C'mon, c'mon, we don't have time for this. I'll drag you if I have to."

Kukai carries Amu in through the door, moving towards the elevator to the children's ward, just in time to see Lacrima in the distance. He stops, staring at her, then nods, in that 'we're cool' sort of move, before he moves to the elevator, pressing the button to go to the children's ward floor. He's been here before. He knows where Sachiko is. Or where she should be.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu Hinamori lets out a yelp. Doesnt even get a chance to enjoy the fact Kukai is holding her, instead is dragged off, shrieking, flailing. "K-kukai-kun! Whoo? What? WHY?!" Oh my gosh she thought she was done with this kind of training! Why did he do this to her?

"Hey Lacr-- AGHH!" and off again. "BYE!" she called back. WHYYYYY?!

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
The Children's Ward is a lovely place, full of bright colors and toys. If one can ignore the sick children, it's a pleasant and happy place. But there are sick children, and Sachiko Hayakawa is still one of them.

The doctors allow Kukai and his friend in readily enough, but with stern warnings not to expect much, and not to tire poor Sachiko out. "She's only just come around. She has a lot of recovering to do, and if you exhaust her it won't make things better for the girl."

Sachiko's room is small, with bright colors everywhere. There's a small collection of books on the shelves by her monitoring suite, and a chair near the bed like someone's been using it to read to her. Sachiko herself is currently half sitting up, the bed angle raised just enough so that she can. Her eyes are open, but half-lidded. She's looking around here and there, but not aggressively, and not with much purpose.

She certainly doesn't notice when the door is opened.

Norie Okana has posed:
Lacrima has no actually gone in that room since Sachiko has woken up. She is afraid. She doesn't want to upset her. She doesn't want to find out she may be at fault for something. She has been here. Drinking coffee. In a hospital. The hospital staff are calling her 'Maria' because that's the name she gave them,

But Kukai is here. She feels better now about going in. Kukai can calm her. Amu can calm her. If she does something stupid. Both can stop her.

She doesn't quite enter with the group. She does stay at the edges of the door's threshold.

She doesn't consume her coffee while she watches for now.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Kukai slows when he and Amu reach the Children's Ward and the eyes of the nurses and doctors. This gives her time to rest and calm down, even as Kukai nods impatiently to the doctors. "No, no, we won't. I won't. I just have to see her." When he starts tugging Amu along, he's much gentler and slower.

Kukai knows Sachiko's room pretty well. He spent a solid week in here, reading to her and wishing she could hear him, trying not to be angry at Lacrima and terrified for Sachiko. Even the sight of the room stirs up old memories, ones Kukai does his best to stamp down.

As he enters, he releases Amu's hand, stepping inside and looking at Sachiko. "....Sachi-chan? Are you really awake?" Noticing Lacrima, trailing behind them, seems to be the last thing on his mind as he approaches the bed, a bad dream lightly flitting about his head and keeping him from reaching for Sachiko just yet...

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu Hinamori gulped and then glanced back to Lacrima. She took a deep breath and... "H-hi," she practically whispered, lifting a hand. So this was the girl that was the reason Kukai hated Lacrima. Had hated her. She seemed nice, at least.

"Nice to meet you." She wanted to go out and grab Lacrima. But. Slowly, at first. Let her meet the girl. THEN she could drag Lacrima in. Once she was sure they wouldn't try to kill each other or make the girl spasm out. Or Lacrima spasm out. Lacrima did that a lot.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Sachiko doesn't respond to Kukai's call, right away. Instead she just blinks, the silent sound of her heart monitor beeping in the background. After a moment, her head seems to loll to one side, looking towards Kukai. She never quite reaches looking directly at him. Her eyes struggle to hold focus; they struggle to stay open.

"An...sh..?" she asks, her voice cracking and squeaking as she tries to use it again for the first time in months.

Norie Okana has posed:
Lacrima stays at the door. She'll resist attempts to drag her in. She doesn't want to make this worse- and right now, Sachiko doesn't sound all there. She does walk back out to place her coffee caddy somewhere besides in her hands. She sighs and takes a deep breath.

If Amu and/or Kukai are going to be so insistent... if...

She closes her eyes and channels energy into herself in a purple aura. When she emereges from this. Her hair is a little shorter and black. Her eyes are blue. Her skin is a color that looks healthier than the paleness she usually wears.

Norie Okana steps lightly into the room. Carefully, hands out in front of her and clasped tightly.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Kukai hears Amu talking to someone behind him - probably Lacrima - but it falls off his mind, like water off a duck's back, as he moves in over towards Sachiko. "...No. No, honey.. It's Kukai. It's..." Kukai searches his mind for a moment. Had she ever seen him out of henshin? "It's Jack."

He watches Sachiko's head wobble as if nearly drunk or dead, then moves in, trying to take Sachiko's hand. "It's ok. You're ok now. You need to rest more. You'll be ok now. I just.. had to come see you." He stares at Sachiko, wanting to put his arm around her and hold her, but scared that if he moved too fast, she might panic. Amu and Lacrima/Norie are almost forgotten now.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu Hinamori took a step back and watched. This wasn't her friend, this wasn't her thing. She had to meet this girl but... well, for now, they were having a moment. Oh my gosh was he going to kiss her? Her cheeks were red. Was he--

"Are you going to kiss her?" Ran asked. And Amu quickly caught her in between both hands, her cheeks burning red. Gosh. Darn. CHARAS

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Sachiko's response to Kukai's truthful response is a whimper of unhappiness. "An...shi," she begs him, as if hoping he'll fetch her long lost sister.

She already looks near to tears, and they've only been in here a minute.

When Kukai takes her hand and explains who he is, Sachiko looks even more confused. But Kukai quickly figures out the problem. "J...Jack?" she asks, distant memories only barely flickering through her mind.

She looks away, head lolling now towards the window. "Last ... game," she mumbles. "Save her."

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana blinks. Are you going to kiss her? This tiny young girl? That is like half his age?

This does give her an odd reaction of an eye twitch.

She stops from saying something snarky. She keeps quiet for a moment as she looks to Kukai and then blinks.

"What's she talking about?" she asks Kukai softly.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Kukai hasn't even looked back yet to pay attention to the two girls behind him, and obviously his mind is elsewhere. "If you two are going to smooch go do it in the hallway, please?"

Kukai holds Sachiko's hand, looking at her, his other hand coming up to support her back, her body weighing nearly nothing. "It's ok, Sachi-chan.. lie back and rest. Yeah, it's me. I.."

Then she says that last sentence and Kukai jerks his hand from hers, the other almost doing the same before Kukai can think to support her back onto the pillow, staring down at her with wide eyes. "Last... game? I..." He knows what she's talking about, but... "I.. I can't, alone. I don't know how. I'll.. I can find someone to help. I..."

He looks back at Amu and Norie, then to Sachiko. "Lie down and rest, Sachi-chan. I'll be back soon. I'll.." He's backing towards the door. He hates the idea of saying 'he'll save Anshi' - it won't happen, it can't - but he hates the idea of leaving Sachiko to cry just as much. So he backs out past the girls and heads into the hallway, head spinning.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu Hinamori blinks. Blinks a few times. "W-WHAT?! Me, KISS LACRIMA-CHAN? No no no! No! There's no way that we, what? No! Ran was just being dumb and thought you two were going to, but she's dumb, she's just a kid and..."

And then that. She blinks, looks to Lacrima and... "Just... just be her friend. Okay?" And then she runs out after Kukai. She... doesn't say a word. Doesn't do anything like that. She just gives him a hug. A comforting hug to try to... cement him. Here. Even as the world shook.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Sachiko doesn't turn to watch Kukai run. Her head lolls back down onto her chest, and her eyes slowly slip closed. "Anshi," she whispers quietly. "Dance." A sigh, then she grimaces as she tries to raise her chin. It's a lot of effort, but the little girl gets her head to lay back against the pillow. When she opens her eyes again, Sachiko is staring at the ceiling through those half-lidded eyes.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana blinks. "W--wha!?" kiss AMU!? What!? She has a girlfriend! She won't kiss Amu! She isn't a serial kisser like her! HUFF!

Oh then Kukai leaves. Then Amu leaves. And then she is alone.

Alone with Sachiko. SHE WENT IN WITH THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE GOING TO BE IN THERE TOO. What if she goes crazy and tries to eat her or something! She sort of twitches a bit. No..

Calm down. Just... you're full. You have control. You were sorry. You felt bad. You have control. You have control. She says again and again in her head. She swallows.

"Sachi-chan?" she asks. "It's me. Norie-chan." she says silently.

"We used to dance." she says. It's all she can say.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Kukai looks back at Amu as she gets louder and growls. "Can you stop that? Both of you?" Then he's out the door and Amu has her arms around him. He appreciates the hug, even as he tries to pull free from it, opening up his phone for a moment and staring at it before beginning to send out a text. Maybe he could figure something out.

He back to Amu as she stares at him and sort of half-shrugs, half-shakes his head. "I saw Sachiko and her older sister Anshi in a dream the other night. Sachiko said I took her last game away from her and now she wants me to save her because obviously if she mentioned it we had the same dream." He rubs his head. "Or something. Or... or something. I don't even know right now. I have this sick feeling that I'm going to fail this... whatever this is. But I've gotta get in touch with somebody. Naru or ... somebody."

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu Hinamori nodded, staring at him. "I... I see. Kukai-kun. I don't... know... really. Any of what's going on here. I really... really don't. I'm sorry. But... you're my friend. And by extension, so is she. So anything that you need, no matter what, let me know. Even if it's dangerous or scary. After all, we're both guardians, right? We look out for each other."

Yes. Guardians always look out for each other. But vampires? Oh, no, they get to suffer on their own. With the girl they almost killed. Priorities and, alas, Lacrima isn't one of them.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Sachiko whimpers just faintly. Her head lolls towards Norie, as she tries to focus on the girl. She fails at it, and instead her eyes shift closed again. "Dance," she whispers quietly. "Vam...pire." She takes a deep breath, then opens her eyes slowly. "Why?"

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana blinks and looks out the door. Dreams...? She has ideas but she looks back to Sachiko. "Y-yes! Dance..." she says with a slightly more higher tone than usual, but then her usual more deadpan. "Yes. Vampire." she says.

Why?

She knows what this question is.

"Because I'm an idiot. And because I couldn't control myself under those circumstances. and I'm sorry. and I'm glad you're awake. Because I'm an idiot. And I don't deserve friends." she says quietly.

"Definitly ones that don't think I'm a monster. and Definitly not ones that tried to help me." she says quietly.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Kukai stares at his phone, the text sent, and then looks back to Amu, still sort of processing things. "I.. yeah, yes. I will. I.. what we have to do is look out for her and I... gotta figure out what she meant by saving her sister. When she's.. you know, dead. I don't know what or how to do this so I have to have help."

He rubs his head, then winces. "Oh gods above, I left Lacrima in there with her, alone." Kukai steps back into the hospital room just after Norie finishes talking and coughs. "Norie, we need to go. C'mon. Please. Sachi-chan? We'll be back soon. OK?"

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Sachiko tilts her head just a little. "Mon...ster?" she squeaks out softly, then lets her eyes slowly close. "Monster," she repeats softly. Then one more time, "Monster." She shivers, though whether from cold or fear it's not obvious.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana frowns. "Sachi-chan... just relax...okay? We'll talk. When you're better... if you want. Please... I promise." she says quietly. She's obviously causing distress so she leaves and Kukai gives a good escape so she follows along.

"I heard...something about dreams? You want to talk to Ariel-chan." she says quietly. "She does 'dreams'. And she knows others that does 'dreams'." she says softly. "At least one more. At least." she says quietly.

"Where are we going...?" she softly asks.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Kukai shakes his head, leaning against the opposite wall. "I dunno. I don't know, I don't - I mean I feel like I'm so unprepared for all of this. Like I should be an occult expert and a dream expert and half a dozen other things so I understand what the hell is going on."

He stares at Norie as she mentions someone, a familiar name. He closes his eyes, rubbing his head, racking his brain. "Ariel... Ariel, Ariel... That's the unicorn girl, isn't it. She does 'dreams'? OK. I'll talk to her. Or something." He groans, suddenly exhausted. "I.. I have to try to get in touch with somebody who knows what's going on. And then I have to get some sleep. I'm sorry."

He looks back up at Norie, then sighs. "It's ok. We're ok. Thank you for being here and watching over her. Just... no draining, right now, ok? You know that." He pushes off the wall and looks around. "I was about to go to sleep."

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana looks down. "I hadn't been visiting her since that night because I knew you and Momo wouldn't approve or be upset." she says quietly. "I noticed that visits got sparser..." be she has been watching from afar occasionally. "So I came to visit her." she says quietly.

"Ariel is the unicorn girl, yes." she says quietly.

"Yes..I know. I..."

"I may be... unreachable. For the next few days." she says quietly.

"There's something I need to do." she says as she turns and begins to walk away. She isn't in a super hurry, if Kukai had parting statements. Or something else happend.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Kukai nods. "We probably wouldn't have been very happy, no. But.. you seem to be doing better now. Maybe we can start over." He yawns and then nods. "OK. Ariel. I might have her number or you can give it to me or something."

He nods at Norie, and then sighs. "Ok. Long as I can get in touch with Ariel. You just don't go somewhere and mope or anything, ok?" He reaches over and pats her shoulder. "Maybe we can all start making up for things." He watches her walk away, then nods. "Stay in touch. Don't eat anybody you don't have to."

He sighs, then looks back to Amu. "I'm going home. Thank you Amu. I'll talk to you later." He turns and begins making his way to the alleyway to transform and fly home, tapping his pocket to awaken the exhausted Daichi therein.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu Hinamori nodded and... once he was gone, she quickly walked up besides Norie. She took her hand and then... "Norie-chan?" Oh, not Lacrima this time. "... I... know you might want to be alone, but... if you don't. I'm here for you. If... you want to hang out or... if you need a shoulder to cry on or..." She trailed off for a second. "If you just need someone to sit there with and just... watch movies or something. I'm here. Because we're friends, okay?"

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana softly nods at Kukai and is continuing to leave when Amu calls her 'Norie-chan'. It's still not a name she's heard in a long time. She turns and she blinks a little softly. "Alright..." she says quietly. "I'm not. Going to mope. Or be alone. There's just something I need to do." she says quietly as she turns around. "But.. you need to call. I'm not going to be at the manor." she says.

She gives a final nod. "I'll.. see you in school, soon. Alright?" she says silently.

Norie has not been in school since she ran away.