Reiko, currently Prism Keeper Orange, flies down in an akward spiral towards the Botanical Gardens. It's closed for the night. Snow's mostly covered everything, making for pretty scenery- not many flowers in the dead of winter.
The koi pond is kept warm with heaters- preventing the water from freezing and keeping the koi comfortable. She's mostly come to stare at koi in the nightime underwater lights.
She untransforms when she lands as gracefully as she can--- a little bit of a running land as she nearly trips and begins to walk to the middle of the bridge then hanging over the edge glumy and stare into the water.
Meh. She felt better- it's true. It no longer felt like her world was collapsing around her anymore! It still felt bad of course. She figured she just needed to occupy herself... try to stop more bad stuff from happening to her, for now.
Depending on how perceptive Reiko is, she might or might not see the tiny figure on the other side of the bridge. Well, it's actually sitting on the railing of the bridge, because it's about the size of a doll. Coincidentally it's sitting on the side of the railing that Reiko's leaning on. Closer examination would reveal... it's Yoru, actually. He's flopped down on the hand-railing of the bridge, and he is doing exactly what Reiko's doing, staring glumly into the water.
He doesn't notice Reiko at first, since his oversized head's down. His ears are drooping, he's sitting flat on his behind on the railing, and his tail dangles forlornly on the other side of the railing. He's small enough to be missed, but what might bring Reiko's attention to him is the sniffle.
Reiko Touyama watches a koi swim by. All warm and happy and orange. She's about to wave down and say something inane like 'hi koi~' but there's a sniffle. She blinks and leans up as she looks up and down and all around. One of her koi appear-- it grabs her ear and tugs it towards Yoru and points.
....Oh!
She takes a few cautious steps as she looks around. She doesn't...
See? Ikuto. Is it just the tinier of the two catboys?
She head tilts...
"Hey Yoru..." she says softly.
"...are you okay?" she head tilts a bit.
"You're not being smarmy or anything!" she insists.
Yoru raises a hand-paw, to rub at one eye. And then suddenly he hears Reiko. His ears perk up, and the turns to regard the girl. No, he doesn't look like he's being smarmy. He actually looks pretty sad, with his mouth drawn down in a pout. Can Charas get red eyes from crying? If they can, his probably are.
"Oh. Hiya, koigirl-nya," he greets Reiko. His voice is dull, but it's not because he's not pleased to see her. And then he answers her question, with a nod. "Yeah, I'm fine, just sad. Ikuto's having a rough time of it and it's making him upset-nya."
Reiko Touyama koigirl!? well, at least it's better than nothing. She doesn't know if it isn't an insult or not. "Oh.. well. Stealing Dreamy Eggs and koi and being a jerk will probably end up in that." she says crossing her arms a bit intently.
She huffs and looks back down at the water. "I guess lotsa people are having a bad time..." she mutters.
"Seems that way at least." she mehs and taps her chin.
"What's exactly making Ikuto's time so rough? He doesn't seem like a guy who'd take anyone's guff." she says softly.
She smooths out her long hair a bit as she gives a hairflip for a moment.
"I mean. That's how he comes off to me anyways..."
At least he didn't call her 'fishgirl'! That would have been mean. But Yoru's not really known for being truly mean. When Reiko mentions stealing the heart's eggs, Yoru's ears droop again. "He doesn't do that 'cause he wantsta-nya." This time, though, he doesn't spill so many beans. One thing he has in common with Ikuto, when he's feeling bad, he's surprisingly terse. At least compared to his normal talkativeness.
Reiko asks the question of what kind of a rough time Ikuto's having, and Yoru sighs. "...There's a lot more goin' on than anybody knows-nya," he says quietly. "That's why Ikuto's like that, because of that other stuff. I can't tell you much about it, 'cuase it'd be bad for a lot 'a people if it got out-nya."
Reiko Touyama head tilts. "Then why do it!? He's sure able to be a jerk when he wants to!" she says. It's true, afterall. He stole a koi and it almost died because he was a jerk! "Does he need them to survive or something..."
"Is Ikuto a dream vampire!?"
Smash cut to an image of Ikuto is a cape with fangs and there's a lighting strike and spooky castle shillouted against the moon. He may be evilly snickering almost in the picture.
She sort of shivers. "Is he doing it for that!? He's a dream vampire, isn't he!?" she says, almost pointing accusedly, but instead all you get is her leaning forward wide eyed at the tiny catboy.
Yoru looks at Reiko with wide eyes, a nonplussed look on his face as she asks if Ikuto is a dream vampire. The thought is just... so far-fetched. But then again, he supposes, people thinking kids had EGGS in their hearts is probably a stretch for most adults to believe.
However, Yoru just might be popping up in the corner of that picture. To laugh his feline butt off.
And it's true. When Reiko leans closer in that accusatory manner, Yoru flops down on the railing on his back, handpaws over his middle, kicking his footpaws as he laughs heartily. "Hahaha, you're funny, koigirl!"
But he does sit back up in a moment, wiping his eyes again. This time in amusement. "Oh man, I needed that-nya!"
Reiko Touyama softly head scratches. "But!?" she asks. "Why else would hr do that if he didn't had to!?" she asks. "Dream vampire!" she insists and crosses her arms matter of factly. It's almost like she knows someone that needs energy to survive! She crosses her arms with a hrmph.
"I mean, he dresses in all black and he's sneaky and plays a violin in the moonlight!" she insists.
She ohhhhhs.
"I think that's a good idea for an anime...."
She gets out her phone and opens a notepad on it, she types it in quick.
Yoru says quietly, as Reiko starts typing on her phone, "...His dad played the violin-nya. He was the one who taught Ikuto. I've never met Ikuto's dad before... he disappeared before I was born-nya." His voice is thoughtful. He sighs, and flops back on the railing, looking up at the sky. "I wish I could get a chance to meet him." A frown creases his feline features then. "...Maybe punch in him the nose for leavin' Ikuto like that. If he hadn't left Ikuto wouldn't be in this situation-nya..."
Reiko Touyama head tilts. "Oh, his dad dissapeared?" she huffs and sighs. "Yeah... your parents leaving you alone... suck." she mutters. "I guess mine haven't dissapeared but they might aswell have at this point." she mutters lowly. She sighs and leans off the edge of the bridge again to stare into the water.
"Just lotsa stuff going on..." she says. "...they want to force me to go to Infinity this upcoming school year after the third trimester. I keep telling them no, but..." she sighs miserably.
"I dunno what to do..." she sighs.
"Yeah. Not too long after Utau was born," Yoru replies. "I bet Utau doesn't even remember him-nya..." He's not thinking that he maybe shouldn't mention her name. Because she's got quite a few hits to her name. then again, Reiko may not be interested in her music.
Though something that Reiko says makes him sit up and look at her. "Your parents want you to go to a different school-nya?" Yoru inquires. "Why? Are you doin' bad in school? Gettin' bullied, somethin' like that-nya?"
Reiko Touyama thinks. Utau? A name familiar in passing but not something she's up to speed on. She probably doesn't listen to that kind of music. She thinks. "Who's Utau? Is that Ikuto's cousin or sister?" does Ikuto really have a sister? Huh.
She taps her chin, and sighs. "They say they want the best for me... but. I can't leave my friends behind. All my friends are at Seishou, all the people I care about are there. I don't...
"I don't even know anyone that attends Infinity University!" she huffs.
She sort of sighs and lets her body fall off the rail back to the bridge's wood with a small thump.
"So.. why'd you come here?..." she asks. "I don't see Ikuto anywbhere..."
"Oop!" Yoru claps his handpaws over his mouth. Yeah, he said something he shouldn't. "Uh..." Think, cat, THINK! You opened your mouth!
Though Reiko gives him something else to think about. So, he turns his attention to that. "Bleh. I've never known Ikuto's mom or stepdad to have his best interests in mind-nya," he says. "Can't imagine any of the rest of 'em do either. They want what they think is best for you, and don't wanna listen to anything else-nya."
Yoru thinks about it for a moment. "Though you could get your friends' e-mail addresses and stuff, and keep in touch that way-nya," he suggests. "You wouldn't lose track of 'em, and you could still talk on your phone and go over their houses 'n stuff. So it wouldn't be like leavin' forever-nya."
As for why he's here? Yoru sighs. "I just got Ikuto to sleep... he's been havin' nightmares-nya. An' then all this... this... STUFF happened. So it's been pretty bad."
Reiko Touyama sighs. "Well. In the end. It's my choice. They'll just... be upset at me. I have grandpa behind me at least..." she sighs a bit and crosses her arms and takes a deep breath. "Um...oh...." she says. "I had a bunch of really bad nightmares not too long ago myself, but they seemed to have passed..." she says.
She sighs and taps her chin. "Stuff happened?" she asks. "What kinda stuff?" she asks.
"Oh..um. When you see him tommrow.. can you... thank him for me? His advice helped me a bunch recently get over some stuff actually..." she mutters.
"They'll get over it-nya," Yoru replies, when Reiko says her parents will be upset. "If they really love you, anyway. Ikuto does things that tick me off all the time, an' he's a pain to take care of sometimes, but I still love 'im-nya!"
Then she asks him about what happened. Yoru sighs. "Dunno how much I should say," he begins. "He got hurt a few days ago, an' went to a secret place of friend of his-nya. It ended up a bunch 'a people there, an' Tadase was one of 'em." Here he pauses. "See... Ikuto an' Tadase don't get along too well-nya. There's a lotta bad blood between 'em. An' they said some really bad things to each other. Ikuto ended up takin' off, an' won't go see his friend. So he's all upset over that-nya."
And then Reiko mentions that Ikuto somehow... helped her. He tilts his head. "Thank 'im? How'd he help you-nya? Didn't you fight?"
Reiko Touyama nods nods nods, Tadase, nods nods--oh... Tadase...
Her face falters a bit and she sighs.
"I see..." she says softly as she sighs. "So.. stuff was said and what no. Why is there bad blood?" she asks curiously. She shakes her head. "Probably none of my bussiness..." and not like she's gonna go ask Tadase about it. At least. Not anytime in the next week.
"Oh..he said. I should talk my feelings out...so I did that and things went...okay. I did feel better in the end." she sighs a bit and looks down at the water, though she doesn't lean back up over the side again.