298/Defenders of Dreams

Defenders of Dreams
Date of Scene:	15 August 2015
Location:	Pikarigaoka - Seiyou Public School
Synopsis:	Seishi and Shiori meet on the rooftops of Seiyou.
Cast of Characters:	Shiori Sato, Seishi Tamashige

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Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori really shouldn't be here at school. But there's just so much on his mind. He's been trying to think through what happened to him not long ago. He's... a ninja? All those weird dreams he's always had about doing ninja stuff... are those real? He's been seeing then more plainly now, more clearly, and he knows it's not himself in those dreams. So... who was it? And how does she have a connection to him?

    He's been so lost in thought that he's been here on the roof of Seiyou for a couple hours at least-- it's the first place he could think of that was quiet. His parents would probably have asked weird questions if he didn't come out of his room for several hours and had the door shut. So there's really nowhere else he could go...

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
It's a strange feeling for Seishi, coming back to the Seiyou grounds as a visitor. She spent so much time here as a student, and although she wouldn't change her decision to transfer to Verone for high school, Seiyou's fairytale castle architecture holds a sense of wistful nostalgia as she approaches the building and makes her way through the quiet, empty hallways toward the roof.

It feels like an appropriate place for this meeting.

She's not transformed when she steps out onto the roof where Shiori is waiting; just an ordinary Japanese teenager, dressed in blue jeans and a black v-neck tee-shirt, smooth black hair pulled back from her face in a half-ponytail tied with a slim red ribbon.

"Hey," she says, hoping it sounds casual instead of awkward. "Sorry if you were waiting long."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    The voice startles Shiori, and he jumps slightly, turning quickly to see who spoke. When he sees it's Seishi, a sheepish look comes over his face. "Ah. Hi there. Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." He shakes his head when Seishi apologizes. "It's OK. I'm just kind of... thinking about stuff."

    He smiles and turns to face her fully "A-anyway... do you have a few minutes to talk?" he inquires. "I'd like to ask some questions, if you do have time..."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
The breath that escapes Seishi sounds like a laugh; she nods, smiling rather ruefully, and reaches up to tuck a stray wisp of her hair behind her ear. "I'd be really surprised if you didn't," she admits. "That's why I came."

She spreads her hands a little to either side of her, as though to demonstrate herself open for questioning. "Where do you want to start?"

Shiori Sato has posed:
    "I... don't really know where TO start," Shiori admits. He raises a hand to rub at the back of his head. "I mean... what happened? What did we fight? What did I turn into? ...I mean, I know I turned into a ninja but... how? Why?" He pauses, still looking sheepish. "S-sorry, I'm still pretty confused..."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"I know what you mean," Seishi says wryly. "It was the same for me, too. I can't promise that it'll make a lot of sense even once I've explained what I can, but I'll try."

A beat passes while she pauses to think about where best to begin. "I guess, before I get started... my name's Seishi," she says. "Seishi Tamashige. You might remember, I used to go to school here - I'm sorry, I can't place your name, but I think I used to see you around sometimes."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori nods when Seishi says it was confusing for her too. "Yeah, I see why," he says wryly. "I'll try to understand it. I mean.. I know there's been stuff going on... I just don't get it myself."

    He nods when she introduces herself. "I think I remember hearing about you, yeah. Just second-hand, though." When she asks for his name? He chuckles. "I'm not surprised. I'm pretty ordinary. Hence why all this is so incomprehensible. Anyway. Shiori Sato. Pleased to finally meet you properly." He smiles.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
She winces visibly when Shiori mentions hearing about her, but he doesn't ask any of the usual questions and Seishi soon relaxes again. "Yeah," she says, "nice to meet you. Sorry about all of the crazy."

Seishi draws in a deep breath, lets it out again. "Let me ask you something, Sato-kun. You've been having weird dreams, right? Like you're somebody else, in a different time?"

Shiori Sato has posed:
    "Ah, don't worry about it," Shiori replies easily. "Part of being ordinary is being able to cope with crazy when it falls into your lap." He's... actually not sure that's how it works, but hey, whatever works. "Besides, he's been kinda fun, honestly."

    That's when Seishi asks the seemingly odd question. He blinks. "Well, uh... yeah," he admits. "They woke me up the night before... the thing happened." He means the nightmare. "I figured it was just my subconscious telling me something, but nothing I looked up shed any light on it. And not just that... I'm starting to see them clearer now," Shiori continues. "I thought it was me. But now I can see them, it's not me."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"It is and it isn't." Nonsensical as this statement may be, Seishi makes it in all earnestness, looking Shiori fully in the eye. "Those dreams are memories of a past life. That person - the one your dreams are about - when you transformed, you took on some of her abilities in order to fight the Nightmare."

Now she glances away, the corner of her mouth turning up wryly. "Now that you've awakened to that power, you might dream about meeting her. That's what happened to me."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori tilts his head to the nonsensical-sounding statement. And then he blinks. "So... it is me? Or well, it was?" He seems to take this reasonably well, actually... though he does look rather confused at the possibility. "...But she was a girl." He says this as if he thinks that should make it impossible that they're the same people.

    Then Seishi talks about him possibly meeting the ninja girl. He blinks. "Well, that... hasn't happened yet," he admits. "Should I expect a visit from Akahana, or is that something I have to go looking for myself?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi can only shrug, acknowledging the oddness of the whole situation with a lopsided smile. "That's reincarnation for you, I guess. Mine's a guy. I guess that kind of thing doesn't really matter very much."

Her head tilts slightly to the side as she thinks about how to answer his last question. "For me it just kind of happened, the first time. But if I really need to talk to Akashimaru about something, I usually dream about him before very long. I think it's kind of a subconscious thing - I mean, technically they're us, or a part of us. The part of our minds that remembers being them. Or something. There's a lot I still don't understand about how it all works." She pauses for a moment, then makes a very wry face. "Mine's kind of a jerk; I hope yours is nicer."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    "Oh. Yeah... guess not," Shiori agrees, at the news that Seishi's was male. "Maybe ours got switched or something?" He's mostly joking though. "But I guess I handle it pretty well... the whole ninja thing, I mean. I helped fight a cake golem... did pretty well." That, however, he's not joking about.

    He sighs a little. "Yeah... haven't quite learned to lucid dream yet," he says. "Been trying, but it's a process, and it's hard to master." And he IS just a kid. He snickers at the hope that Akahana is nicer. "I dunno. You know about the whole separation between ninja and samurai. I don't think she could afford to be nicer."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Blink. "A cake golem, seriously?" Seishi lets out an incredulous little laugh. It's clear that she's not doubting what he said really happened, it's just, well, how else do you respond to that? "Wow. Good going."

A moment later, though, she looks serious again. "You mean, you'd already been trying to lucid dream? That's good. Keep trying, it'll probably be useful. I mean, dreams are pretty much the reason all of this is happening."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    "Well... I just tripped it up and banished it when everyone else defeated it," Shiori admits. "Apparently cake doesn't like caltrops." A kind of sheepish smirk. But he does get a worried look. "...I wonder if Hannah's OK..."

    Though he does nod to Seishi's question. "I've been trying, but like I say, it's a process. I don't know when it's going to happen, if ever. But I guess... if she wants to get in touch with me, she will?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi nods slowly to that. "Pretty much," she says. "It's kind of like how they say dreams are where your mind sorts things out while you're asleep. When that part of your mind has something to tell you, she'll show up."

She stops there for a short space, looking off from the faux-turreted edge of the "castle" roof across the school's grounds while she organizes her thoughts. "There's a reason that all of this is happening now," she says presently, not looking back to Shiori just yet. "It has to do with something that happened to our past lives. An enemy they fought, who's coming back."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori nods. "My research seems to show that it's your subconscious tryig to tel you issues you have that you should work out. It just speaks in metaphors that aren't easily or readily understood. You might dream of tomatoes when you're on the mend from being sick, but really it's just saying you're recovering quickly."

    And there's the hammer! Shiori can almost feel it hanging over his head when Seishi talks about an enemy that's coming back. "...That's where that... thing came from, right? The thing that couldn't let you see it? And the spider?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"Sounds like you've studied this more than I have," Seishi says, a little hitch of laughter in her voice. "Not that I'm complaining."

Now, though, they're getting to the heart of the matter. The hint of laughter turns into a sigh as she turns to face Shiori again. "Right," she says. "Those were Nightmares - that's not a metaphor, they're actual nightmares that someone was having, that came out into the real world. That's how the enemy works. He - or it, I'm not really sure about that - is called the Eater of Dreams. That's not a metaphor, either."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    "Just a little. Got tired of not knowing what my dreams mean," Shiori replies. "So I started looking at it. The study has been pleasantly devoid of foreboding magical stuff." He chuckles. Though the amused sound fades when Seishi starts talkig about the Nightmares. he blinks. "You mean... actual nightmares made real? And this Eater of Dreams is making them real somehow?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi nods, the set of her mouth tightening into a faintly grim expression. "Yeah," she says. "Pretty much."

She hesitates for a moment before she elaborates further. "Most of this is stuff that I heard from O-Yasu - he's the baku, the creature you saw with me before. He really ought to be here right now, but... he kind of does his own thing a lot of the time." Her shoulders lift in a helpless little shrug; what can you do? "He was there before, when we fought the Eater of Dreams in our past lives. That was a long time ago, during the Warring States Era, so I guess it can't be helped that he's kind of a cranky old man."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    "...O-Yasu?" Shiori echoes. Yeah, that name sounds familiar somehow. It shouldn't but it does. Not that he doubts any of this is happening. Not when it happened literally right in front of him. He saw the creature, in fact he SPOKE to it. And that also makes sense, that it's a baku. It DID eat the shard... thingie.

    Though yeah, he nods. "Yeah, if I had to wait all that time for my warriors to come back, knowing there was a THING out there coming back, I'd probably be pretty cranky too," he reasons. "I hope he's not too upset with me that I'm slow at learning these things..."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
The smile that comes to Seishi's face is a somewhat awkward one. "Well..." she says, slowly. "He gets pretty impatient with me sometimes. It's probably best not to take it personally. Like you said, he's been waiting a long time."

After a moment's pause to breathe, she goes on. "What O-Yasu told me is that, in the past, we fought the Eater of Dreams but we weren't able to defeat him. Instead, he was sealed away, but now the seal is breaking down. The Eater of Dreams hasn't fully escaped yet, but because the seal has weakened, he's able to go into people's dreams and corrupt them into nightmares. That's what he eats, and eating people's dreams makes him stronger. If he gets strong enough, he'll be able to break through into the real world."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori nods. "I'll keep that in mind," he replies, chuckling. There is a serious component to this conversation though! And he listens intently as Seishi explains exactly what's going on. "I'm... not going to ask what happens if he gets free. I'm just going to assume that's a less-than-optimal ending. 'Really bad things', I'm betting."

    he frowns though. "...I dreamed a particularly disturbing dream the night before that... thing happened. The one that couldn't let you see it. I usually have dreams about leaping through trees, or fighting, or sometimes seeing a priestess. But that night I had another. I saw a samurai in red. And I... I think he killed me."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi nods her confirmation of Shiori's guess, grimacing, and is about to say something when he mentions his dreams. Whatever was on her lips is pulled back for now; she listens closely to what he says, a troubled frown growing on her face. "A samurai...?" she echoes.

"...the priestess must have been Renge-san," she decides after some moments of contemplation. "O-Yasu told me she was our leader, and the one who sealed the Eater of Dreams, although she died in the process. But a samurai in red... I don't know." Her frown deepens. "Akashimaru wore red - you've seen what I look like when I'm transformed. But we were on the same team."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    "Yeah. I fought him twice... er, well... Akahana did," Shiori replied. "The priestess saved her the first time... But... I don't know what happened the second time. I think Akahana died defending her..." Pause. He raises his hand and scratches his head. "...Maybe we could ask O-Yasu about it?" he suggests.

    As for Seishi transformed? "I thought so, but I didn't want to assume. I look a little different from Akahana as a ninja."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Despite the seriousness of the subject, Seishi laughs a little. "I'd hope so," she says, lightly teasing. then she shakes her head. "You're right, we can ask O-Yasu about it. It doesn't make any sense for it to be Akashimaru, anyway. O-Yasu told me that the Eater of Dreams has agents working for him... it was probably one of them."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    "Oh, then that makes sense," Shiori declares. "Akashimaru, you said? His face was all twisted and enraged. So likely it was either an illusion that was being cast so Akahana would see Akashimaru, or one of the Eater's agents disguised as him. Makes perfect sense." He is put at ease by this very likely possibility, though he doesn't say that. Of course he really doesn't have to. The tension that leaves his shoulders is proof enoguh of that.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
The faint crease in Seishi's forehead clears as well; Shiori's suggestion does, indeed, make perfect sense. "That sounds like something they'd do," she agrees. "They're not big on fair fights, from what O-Yasu's told me. I haven't actually run into any of them myself, although there's got to be at least one of them out there... they're the ones who set the Nightmares loose, trying to steal dreams for their master to eat."

Absently, she reaches up to tuck her hair behind her ear again. "It'd be better if I could stop them before it goes that far, but if they won't show themselves, I don't really know what else to do."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori smiles when he sees that Seishi also seems to be put more at ease by the possible explanation. Whew. he didn't want to suggest anything bad! It's just a weird dream, and since the rest have been kind fo prophetic-- well, in the sense of hindsight, anyway-- that seemed a likely explanation that wouldn't cast it as completely untrue.

    "So they don't fight fair? Good thing you have a ninja on your side then. Neither do we," he says. A smirk. He seems uncharacteristically serious and focused-- and terse-- as he says the next. "We should probably get as much information as possible about them. These Nightmares. Questioning them isn't going to be possible. O-Yasu may have our only answers. We may need to lay a trap instead."

    Then he pauses, blinking, and raises a hand to the back of his head. "Er, ah... s-something like that. Sorry. Th-that's going to take a lot of planning though, and we're going to need to find out more about them before anything else." He's back!"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
When he snaps back to himself he'll find Seishi staring at him, a little bit weirded out and a little bit impressed in equal measures. So that's what that looks like from the outside. "...heck of a thing, isn't it?" The grin that she manages is one of commiseration.

"You're right, though," she agrees. "We need to know more. To be honest, it's been as much as I could do just to clean up the Nightmares when I find them, but in the end that's just been a delaying action."

A pause, and Seishi cracks an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry that you've been dragged into all of this, Sato-kun, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a relief to not be in it on my own any more."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Seishi looks embarrassed suddenly. "Yeah, I've noticed myself... doing that a couple times since it happened. I generally don't realize it until people look at me like you just did." Still, he laughs. "Sorry about that. I think it's... her, you know? Or, other me, whichever?"

    When Seishi mentions having trouble with the Nightmares, he nods. "Tell you what." He reaches in his pocket. "You want my number? You can call me the next time, I'll try to get there and help you," he offers.

    He smiles at the mention of being dragged in versus her being alone. "Well... it's confusing, but I think it'll be OK," he says. "Besides, think of it this way. If we're her, the rest of them are. I know there are more. But I don't know how many. If we're around, they're got to be, somewhere."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"Ah, yeah." Shiori's suggestion has Seishi digging hastily for her own cell phone so that the both of them can exchange contact details. "We'll definitely need to be able to get in touch with each other. Especially while it's only the two of us, though you're right that the others should have been reborn as well. Looking for them is the other thing I've been doing."

Once he's given his number and she's programmed it into her phone, she puts the cell away into her pocket again. "O-Yasu taught me a way to do that, and to look for dreams that the enemy might have corrupted. You can probably do it too, once he shows you how. It's a bit dangerous, though."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori nods, putting Seishi's details into his phone too. "Thanks," he says, and then puts his phone away. "Yeah, it should just be a matter of time before the rest show. These things tend to take care of themselves. Not that we shouldn't look, of course. But we can't just approach random people and ask, 'Hey, are you the reincarnation of a sengoku-era warrior against evil?'. We'd get put in the mental hospital for that."

    And then Seishi's talking about finding corrupted dreams! "I should learn how to do that as quick as possible, yeah," he agrees. "I can't just wait to stumble into a Nightmare. Though I seem to have a habit of doing that..."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"I'll make sure O-Yasu shows you how as soon as possible," Seishi promises. "We might be able to find some of our teammates the same way, by their dreams. But for right now, keep your ears open for anybody talking about not sleeping well or having a lot of bad dreams lately. That's the first sign."

She falls quiet for a moment, biting her lip in contemplation. "I'm trying to think if there's anything else."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori nods, offering a smile. "Thanks." Though he does have a concern. "Not sleeping well and having bad dreams are pretty broad, though," he points out. "Is is there anything particularly wrong with the the dreams? You know, other than them being nightmares? Especially vivid, especially terrifying, something like that?" he inquires.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi shakes her head regretfully. "Not that they'd be able to tell you if you asked," she says. "Even riding into people's dreams, I don't really know what I'm looking for. I've just been kind of hoping that I'll know it when I see it."

She ducks her head a little, looking down. "Sorry," she says. "I know it's not much to go on. But at least if we know someone's been having more bad dreams than they're used to, we can try to keep an eye on them."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori nods. "Maybe the more we go into them, the more we'll be able to see patterns," he suggests. Then he pauses. "Wait. You can go into other people's dreams? Is it just when they're being tormented by a Nightmare, capital N, or is it anytime?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
The look on Seishi's face could possibly best be described as a slightly anxious 'eeeh...'. "Any time," she says. "But it's not as simple as picking someone specific and taking a look. It's more like... people's dreams make a landcape, and we can ride across it. If there's a way to go looking for the dream of a specific person, I haven't figured it out yet."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    "Oh, I see," Shiori replies. "Maybe you'll eventually figure out how to find specific people. It seems like this is all pretty recent to you too, so maybe you'll get more powerful if you work at it." It's encouragement too! "Couldn't come back with all the knowledge we had way back, I guess. So we have to learn it little by little."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"It's probably better that way," Seishi says, with a rueful smile at shiori's encouragement. "It's weird enough when it feels like I'm turning into someone else for a moment. Can you imagine getting a whole other lifetime's knowledge dumped into your head in one big rush? I don't think I'd still be me any more, after something like that."

In the next moment, she lets out a heavy sigh. "So, yeah, we get to figure it out as we go. No shortcuts."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    "There is that," Shiori agrees. Bad enough I feel like someone else is elbowing me out of the way in my own head sometimes now. Either way that would probably be a really big shock... probably one we'd rather avoid. This gives us time to acclimate to it all, I guess." He chuckles. "Yeah, no shortcuts. Though a push in the right direction would be good..." Ninjas and their 'get to the objective the fastest' thinking, right?

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Again, Seishi lets out a little hitch of an almost-laugh. "No kidding," she agrees ruefully. "We can't just go on waiting for the enemy to move first. But, well... one thing at a time, I guess?"

Hooking her thumbs into her pockets, she looks upward, thinking. "I think that's the important stuff, for now. Was there anything else that you wanted to ask about?"

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori nods. "We'll figure out what we're doing now, THEN go into the belly of the beast. So to speak." Pause. "...I hope we don't have to walk into something's innards, anyway. That'd be gross."

    ...What the heck is he on about?

    Regardless, Shiori passes over it quick enough, and turns to her other question. "Can't think of anything, no. But I can call you and ask later, if you're free. I'm going to keep trying to lucid dream, and try to find Akahana. Maybe she'll have more insight, if I can manage to find her."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi immediately makes the most appalled face. "Ew, don't even say that," she protests. "We fight people's actual nightmares, it could happen!"

She shakes her head vigorously, as though shaking off the mental image, before looking to Shiori again. "...sounds like a plan," she says. "Give me a call if there's anything you need, or if anything weird happens. I'll stay in touch, too."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori can't help but laugh, but he covers his mouth, trying to muffle it. Once he gets control of the laughter, he observes, "Yeah, that's true. Sorry about that, it didn't occur to me until you mentioned it." But he snickers when she Seishi shudders so. "Thanks," he offers. "If you need help you can call me anytime, OK? I'm pretty good at jumping when I 'flip out like a ninja'." Yes he knows what song.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
That gets a laugh out of Seishi in turn, though she tries to stifle it. "Got it," she says. "And same goes - well, except for the flipping out. But, I mean, we're pretty much teammates now, so..."

As her voice trails off, her phone buzzes in her pocket. She pulls it out to look at the screen and sighs. "That's my dad," she says, voice suddenly heavy. "I need to get going."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori nods once more. "Thanks for the explanation. We'll have to arrange a talk with O-Yasu soon."B He waves, and starts to head in the direction of the roof access hatch. He's tempted to show her the jumping he was talking about-- it'd be an easier way to get home, too. But no, that would be bad. Ther'es no need to use that power right now. "Ja ne!" he offers, before heading off.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi offers a wave as Shiori starts off, still holding her phone in the other hand. "Take care, Sato-kun!"

She waits a moment before following his example, taking a short space of time to text her father back, which conveniently allows her to put off actually leaving. Once that's done, though, she has no further excuse, and she, too, starts toward the roof access to head back down into the building.