Seishi wasted no time in calling Hokuto, though she elected not to go into a lot of detail over the phone. Some things are better explained in person.
So instead she just asked to meet up, with the vague explanation that there are some things they should talk about.
She got to the Crown early, and is taking up a corner table with a milkshake and some homework while she waits for Hokuto to arrive.
Hokuto had a fairly good idea what Seishi wanted to talk about. She had few qualms about having the conversation, so she suggested the Crown. It was nice, it was convenient to Verone, and it had food and drink, which might come in useful.
The fact that it was also a popular date spot for teens never entered her mind. Really.
About ten minutes after Seishi arrives, Hokuto makes it there, pausing at the counter to acquire a milkshake for herself before joining Seishi at her table.
"Good to see you again, sempai."
Seishi looks up and flashes a quick smile as Hokuto approaches the table. "Hey." As the other girl sits, she hastily closes the notebook that was open in front of her and pushes it a bit to the side - homework can wait a while. "How's it going?"
On the bright side, at least Hokuto already knows a fair bit about what she does, so she probably won't think Seishi is speaking crazy-talk. Probably. "So, um. Your dream the other night..."
Hokuto takes a sip of her milkshake while Seishi puts her homework away. "Yes. Quite ... interesting. I take it you were more than merely aware of it taking place."
She pauses, taking a sip of her milkshake, gathering her thought. "It was ... a powerful experience. You said that the wolf-thing was a hunter of dreams, yes?"
The face that Seishi makes is almost comically rueful and more than a little apologetic. "Right," she says heavily. "I'm not sure if that's what he was up to in your dream or not, but... part of what I do is ride across dreams looking for signs of the enemy."
She fiddles with the straw in her milkshake, not quite looking at Hokuto across the table. "I can't control where I end up, so mostly it hasn't been that useful, but sometimes I can do some good. I guess this time, we were both lucky."
"Lucky," Hokuto muses, "Or... fated. It's not impossible."
She leans back a bit in her seat, stretching out her legs. "Whatever it wanted, it didn't get it that time." Definitely a pleasant thought.
Nodding, Seishi breathes out a sigh that makes her shoulders drop. "That time," she agrees. "But it's possible it could try again. Now that you know what to expect, maybe you have the ability to protect yourself from it - but," and now she does look at Hokuto directly, brows drawn together, frowning a little. "There are some steps we could take, if you wanted."
"Maybe," Hokuto agrees. "I'd prefer a bit more certainty, myself." She stretches briefly, then sits up.
"What sort of steps? Lucid dreaming? I did a little ofthat a few years ago, but I was never very good at it."
"Well," Seishi replies, "that could help too, but it's not something I know much about how to teach. Sato-kun - my ally - he's studied it more."
The straw squeaks in the plastic lid of the cup as Seishi uses it to stir her milkshake around. "But he and I have managed to get into a specific person's dream by going to sleep near them," she says. "We were planning to try something like that with one of the people whose dreams have been stolen, to see if we could track down the thief that way. We could do the same for you, if it'd something you'd be okay with."
Hokuto drums her fingers on the table, then nods. "I think I still remember most of the early lessons... but yeah, it'd be good to work with someone who knows what they're doing."
She winces ever so slightly at the squeak of plastic on plastic, but it fades quickly. She covers her own cup with her hand, then rolls it from side to side on one edge.
"That'd be ... " A dozen things come to mind, and she finally stifles them all and comes up with the slightly lame "... nice."
"Okay." A firm nod from Seishi, and then she picks up her milkshake to take a long sip.
When she puts it down again, she's smiling crookedly. "I feel like I should apologize, too. Dreams are personal, so it's always awkward to just go barging into them... and more importantly, that thing came after you because you were helping me."
She draws in a breath. "But," she adds, "this might be a chance to turn the tables on it. Anyway, I'll let Sato-kun know what's going on. He's better at ideas than I am."
It's a worrying sort of thing, but Hokuto's had less pleasant days before. "It's ... from what I read, it's all about the subconscious trying to make sense of things. I... guess I still have a lot to work out with Suzuka."
The butterfly hairpin sparkles a bit, as if Suzumebachi wants to throw in her two cents, but it doesn't move or speak up.
"It came after me because it wanted to hurt me. Don't blame yourself for what happened." She wants to say more, but holds it back.
Seishi's head dips a little in acknowledgement, but the crooked smile of apology still lingers on her face. "It's not blame, exactly," she says. "I just... feel responsible. But thank you."
She looks at her milkshake, but doesn't pick it up again. Instead she sits back in her seat, looking back to Hokuto again. "Are you all right?" Seishi asks. "I know we drove the dream-stalker away, but still..."
Hokuto mmms softly, and looks down at her own shake. "You're no more responsible for that thing's actions than Suzuka is," she insists.
Eventually she looks back up, and sighs softly. "I... learned some uncomfortable things about myself, in there. You saw..."
What she did. What the dreameater wanted to make her into. What she chose to become, to drive it away.
"I saw," Seishi repeats quietly, nods a little in confirmation. "I don't know if I understand all of it... and I'm sure I'm not qualified to say much, either way. But if it's something you ever want to talk about, I don't mind listening."
She offers a smile, faint and fleeting. "I also saw that, in the end, you didn't let it control you. I think that's something important to remember."
"I almost did." Hokuto came so very close to losing herself in her revenge, in savagery. She reddens a bit at the praise, feeling it undeserved.
"Sometimes," she finally muses, "Family can be ... something you have to accept, and ... get accustomed to."
At those words, Seishi winces a little and looks down.
"Family problems are tough," she murmurs, studying the tabletop in front of her. "I know what that's like, a little. You can't really get away from it, huh?"
A shake of her head sets the long violet-sheened hair a-rustle. "Too many expectations. 'Destiny'. Inheritance."
She pushes the half-finished milkshake aside. "Ever wish you were just... normal?"
After a short wait for an answer, she shakes her head. "I did, once. Then ... well, I was reminded of duty."
'Normal.' Seishi contemplates the question for a little while. "...I'm not sure what 'normal' is any more," she admits after a moment. "But... yeah, probably. If there were such a thing as a normal life, it'd be nice to have one."
Sighing, she rests her hands on the table in front of her and looks up at Hokuto again, sympathy in her dark eyes. "Sounds like your family pushes you pretty hard."
Hokuto hasn't been normal for... well, ever, really. "I don't know what I'd do with normal. With being ... helpless." She's seen what happens to normal people in monster attacks. And she doesn't like it.
"If they wanted to push me harder, they'd need to put wheels on me. And I don't mean buy me a car."
After a beat, she adds, "I'd rather have a motorcycle anyway."
"That sucks," Seishi says, with another little wince. "My father and I don't really get along any more, but at least he doesn't have my life planned for me. I'm sorry."
A little shake of her head, and then she cracks a grin. "Motorcycles are pretty cool. Planning on getting a license, when you can?"
"I wish I'd had the chance to know my father," Hokuto mutters.
She does plan on getting a license. But she isn't terribly sure she'll wait that long to, er 'acquire' a bike. "Well, naturally, it would only be the right thing to do."
Sometimes, what isn't said is more important.
Seishi just barely catches those muttered words, and suddenly she looks stricken. Way to put your foot in it, Tamashige.
"--sorry," she murmurs, and is casting around for some way to leave that misstep behind when her cell phone buzzes. Pulling it out, she only glances at the screen before she's sighing. "...speaking of..."
When she looks up again, apology is written all over her face. "I've got to get going," she says. "I'm still on thin ice right now, if I don't get home when I'm supposed to I'll end up grounded for life. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"
A brief nod, and Hokuto reclaims her shake. "Sure. ... and thanks, again, for helping me that night."
She'd like to get up and hug Seishi, or something, but stifles the urge. It wouldn't seem appropriate.
"Maybe tomorrow, after class?"
"Sure," Seishi agrees, as she tucks her phone away and begins gathering her things. "Sounds good."
Once the books and notebook are slid securely into her bag, she stands up from the table, hefting her school bag with one hand and collecting her milkshake cop with the other. "Take care," she tells Hokuto. "I'll see you then."
In another moment, she's off, hurrying out of the arcade and on her way home.
Behind her, Hokuto slumps in her seat, watching Seishi depart. She takes a long drink of her milkshake, filling up her mouth with it.
"Crud," she says, softly. "Brain-freeze."
In more ways than one.