daybreakacademy | When You Made Wishes: start! (player plot)

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When You Made Wishes: start! (player plot)

Imagine Wist's surprise when April rolled around and their plan for a great prank was foiled on account of all those students just...leaving??? Truly, they have become the April fool... It's what they wanted, of course -- for the pitiful humans to find freedom -- and sure there are some stragglers around, but...in the end, they decide to take the win and enjoy a short break of their own. Good thing, too, or they might have pulled out all their hair in frustration when Spring Break comes to an end and the swarm of students and faculty willingly return to their prison.

While settling back into the academy and resigning themselves to a routine, the people of Daybreak will be soothed by a gentle tune rising up from the forest. It isn't a song they've heard before, and yet, somehow...it's nostalgic, isn't it? The soft notes of the pan flute stir up something in their hearts, tugging at old memories and drawing forth a feeling of dissatisfaction and longing out from under them. Let the song lull them into taking a moment to withdraw from the hustle and bustle -- hey, turns out they sort of need it. Maybe they're coming down with a cold, or just some quick little bug...
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>> user M3G4M4G1CH4XX posted on April 6th, 2019:
Why did you come back? You don't have to live like this.

Weren't things better back then? Try to remember what it used to be like.
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The odd message from an iris account that doesn't exist isn't up for long before the spell kicks into the next phase. However they manifest and from when differs from person to person, but those affected will all have the bizarre experience of watching some ghost of themselves from their past be born from their soul's memory. Don't think there are those that can escape this fate just by returning at a later time, either -- Wist can keep up this panpipe nonsense all day, every day if they have to. If that what it takes to get their point across...

Good luck trying to comprehend whatever point that may be, because now Daybreak is the new home to a bunch of familiar-looking rugrats and has to contend with whatever complications they may bring along with them.
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[For more information on this plot, please see this ooc infopost!]

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Here... I'm sorry. I know you don't want me to.

[He's so... nice. But it feels strange -- almost twisted around. Not wanting to get her jacket bloody, but also not wanting to speak, and trying to push her away. Trying to smile, despite how hurt he is. She hesitates because of that, but still reaches out -- and takes the jacket, adjusting it by the arms, and then ties it tight to staunch the bleeding.

She sits back, then, trying to invade his space more than she just did. Even if part of her just... wants to hug him still. Or cry. Or scream.

Or something more than she feels able to do.]

[ He hates it, but he bites down at his bottom lip so he wouldn't make a sound the entire time Nana's tying the jacket around his torso and secures it tight, arms out to the side and out of the way. Not even his mother helps him get dressed, or bandaged up when he needs it, so this is... weird, being helped is weird, like he's wasting her time and making trouble for her having to do this and he hates being that person who needs help.

This is enough. Doing this much for him is enough; taking the time to stop and pay attention to him is more than enough. ]

Um.

[ His voice is hoarse from crying, and grates in his throat. He coughs a little to clear it out, and tries again. ]

...Nee-chan. Thanks.

[She wants to tell him that he's being brave. It's worked with kids in town, when they skin their knees. Except, Nana finds, he's not like other kids. It feels like the things that'd put them at ease make him flinch. She feels off-center.

And it's a surprise, when he speaks and calls her that. Nana's surprise melts away, though, and she smiles back at him.]

You're welcome. I'm Nana Daiba.

[This is a strange feeling.] Does that help a little?

[ It takes a lot for him to speak up, apparently, the smile hanging on only as long as Nana starts speaking, and then he starts to clam up again, falling silent and worrying at his bottom lip that's starting to crack and bleed a little with how much he's biting down on it.

He doesn't offer his name back, because she doesn't ask, and instead answers her question with something of a shrug, shifting uncomfortably where he stands. He doesn't know if it helps; it certainly doesn't fix the problem, but the problem is also overshadowed by a much larger problem: Nana herself. What is he supposed to do about her? How is he supposed to get her to leave him alone, so he can... he doesn't even know what. He sort of just wants to find somewhere to sit and cry for a while, without anybody seeing. ]

[He's so nervous. Nana watches him shrug, then she hesitates more. What... what should she do? She needs to get him somewhere. Somewhere with medical attention. She can't do more for him here. She swallows, then:]

...Will you come with me, to get that looked at? I think a doctor could help more.

[ He hesitates a little, rocking forward on the balls of his feet like he's about to take a step towards her, but then she mentions a doctor and a flash of panic crosses his face and he shakes his head again.

He will absolutely not go with her, deciding that the thing to do here is to sit down right where he is and lie back down on the ground.

She can bring something or someone to him but he will be a stubborn brat about it, apparently. ]

[She realizes, slowly: he won't come with her. Even when he's smiling, it's because... she doesn't know. Nana can't really understand. This is a sort of trauma she has never experienced. She swallows, before she nods.]

...I'll get someone, okay? I, um--I'll be back as soon as possible. Please don't go anywhere.

[There's hesitation -- long enough for her to hear a reply -- before she gets up and sprints in the direction of the infirmary.

She will be back, though whether he'll be there is another question entirely.]

[ There's no reply from him, other than the way his lips press together and tremble like he's trying his best not to cry- or to cry only when she leaves and there's nobody around to hear or see him.

But he doesn't plan on going anywhere, with nowhere to go and no strength or energy to get up and wander aimlessly, so by the time she gets back, no matter how many minutes or hours it takes, he's still there.

His eyes are closed, tear marks tracked across his face and it looks like he'd exhausted himself and had cried himself to sleep, until either Nana speaks or her footsteps get close enough and Shuuya startles awake again, initial panic dipping down into confusion, and then back to panic. ]

[She's a little terrified when she sees his eyes closed. Her mind jumps to the worst case. Before it sinks in, though, he stirs -- and that dispels her fear of the worst.]

Sorry. [She feels bad, just seeing him panic, and even then: she sees that he cried himself to sleep and suddenly everything really hurts inside of her again. There's another person following after.]

...I brought a nurse, okay? I-I don't want you to be hurt any more than you are.

[ He's not dead yet, but he sure feels like it, nose stuffed up from having cried so long and his throat hurts and his side hurts and his leg feels numb with stiffness where he'd twisted it and has tried not to move it at all. And he's scared, shrinking back and trying to put Nana in between himself and the nurse, because the adults in his life are... complicated. Largely nonexistent, not very trustworthy, and the only person he was ever really comfortable around was his mother, and she's also... complicated.

He sits up without getting to his feet, but reaches for Nana's hand. ]

[She gets closer with the same hesitation as before. Nana reaches out and takes his hand, gently. She stays put and doesn't squeeze hard or try to keep it there. She smiles at him and it's... well... a little strained.

The nurse is coming over, too, and Nana's really not sure how this is going to go.

But she's also not really qualified to treat a wound that'd make that much blood.]

[ Holding her hand is enough, and Shuuya doesn't even see the smile because he's too busy bracing himself for whatever the nurse is planning to do with him. She's got a first aid kit, but is his wound really the sort of thing you can stitch up on the field?

He'll be alright. It'll be alright. It hurts, when the nurse unwraps the fabric from around his torso and pulls his shirt up to reveal the wound, and the handful of other bruises and scars on his sides and his hips. The antiseptic hurts, and the topical anesthetic doesn't help much either, and he clamps down on Nana's hand when the stitches go in, but if it's physical pain... he doesn't cry out at all. If it's physical pain, he can deal with it.

But the fear in his eyes don't go away, watching the nurse's face instead of her hands. ]

[He is brave, Nana thinks. She's resilient to pain, too; she keeps her hand there, even when the clamping down actually hurts. She squeezes his hand once as she watches him. She wonders, for a second. Maybe a distraction.]

What's your name?

[ He hears her voice but the comprehension takes a second to kick in and he tears his eyes away from what the bandages the nurse has in her hands, looking over at Nana and also loosening his grip on her hand at the same time.

His name? ] Um. [ For a moment, his mind is blank, because he never really talks to anybody and so never had to introduce himself. ]

It's Shuuya...

[ Which is a stupid name, he thinks, because it means a person who fixes things. And he's the opposite of that, isn't he? He tries and he tries, but all he does is make a mess of things no matter how hard he tries, and in the end, everybody else has got to fix things for him. ]

[Shuuya...

She knew Kano's first name, but only because she saw it the once on his door. She never really did for months. She never thought of calling him by a name he wouldn't use. Nana smiles at him.]

I like that name. I know I said earlier, but... I'm Daiba Nana. [Japanese ordering. She then bobs her finger, like she's showing him the rhythm of the joke:]

Dai-Ba Nana. Big Banana. [Then she flicks one of her banana-shaped twin tails.]

[ Dai... banana...

Oh my god.

It takes him a second, and he almost wouldn't have gotten it if Nana hadn't provided the translation, but then he laughs and it hurts his stomach to laugh and the nurse tsks at him for moving but he can't help it.

What a name. ]

You're joking? You have to be!

[ Why would your parents hate you so much they name you after a joke??? Even if it's funny. ]

[Nana laughs, too, when he does. Maybe at one point, she was a little annoyed. It felt like her parents made a name that's a joke...

Except it was so sweet, because the joke made her happy, and made people happy. And she loves bananas, too.

She grins, ear-to-ear.]

Nope. It's really my name! I like it a lot. I like bananas a lot, too... maybe it was fate?

That's silly!

[ He doesn't believe in fate, not at all. But the thought of it makes him laugh, and it cheers him up quite a lot that Nana's grown to like her name, and that she likes bananas too- he feels a little like she's just saying it to keep up with the joke, but it's still nice to think about.

Ah— it only catches up to him a second later that he might've said it a bit rudely. ]

Not- not that your name is silly! It's a good name! I like it. Not like Shuuya... [ And what mixed feelings he's having right now, hearing his own name. The only person who really ever called him was his mother, so the name now, makes his heart hurt a little. ] ...or Kano. It's okay to call me Kano, too.

It's silly, but I think that's why it's a good name. I like both of your names, too. But, if it's okay, I'll call you Shuuya-san for now.

[Because calling him Kano would feel weird. Kano's... the always smiling boy her age, who's so different. Except also is -- or was -- this kid. Nana looks thoughtful for a second, before she smiles.]

You don't like Shuuya?

[ The way she phrases it, it's like she's asking him if he likes himself. And even at this age, a mere six years old, he doesn't at all like himself, can't find anything redeemable about himself that he likes and so the weak smile on his face falters and drops altogether. ]

It's... well... the name Mother gave me, so...

[ So, it should be a name that he cherishes as much as he cherishes her. At the same time— and it's such a stupid unreasonable selfish thought and he can't help it anyways— he wants that name to only be used by her, to be called by her and nobody else, if he had to speak to nobody else in his entire life except for her, he would be okay with that. If only she would come back. ]

...I shouldn't have said my name at all. I shouldn't have talked to you in the first place.

[Her smile gets a little less bright, but... she doesn't let it fall the way it's tempting to. She keeps a calm smile on her face.]

I'm sorry. I won't tell, if that helps.

[Mother? Kano never mentioned a mother. Nana considers for a second, but... immediately asking more seems like the wrong thing to do. Besides, she can't really make his mother appear. Even if she is alive, she wouldn't be... here.]

Do you want me to call you something else? We could make a nickname up, if you'd prefer.

[ He shakes his head, because that's not the problem here. Nicknames, too, are something a little more personal that what he's comfortable with; in the future, he'll be secretly pleased every time Maverick calls him "cricket," but he can't imagine that sort of relationship with anybody at this moment, digging his heels in to the cardinal rule his mother had set for him:

Do not talk to strangers.

It's a reasonable rule. One meant to keep him safe. If he keeps his mouth shut, he won't accidentally say something wrong, either, and cause trouble for him or his mother. It's better if he just doesn't talk, he thinks, chewing at his bottom lip and using the pain to keep him from being tempted to speak.

He anxiously picks at a scab on his arm while he watches the nurse finish wrapping the bandages around his torso, eager to make a run for it as soon as he's able to.

[It's hard for Nana to understand the specifics... but easy to see that something made him clam up. It's still hard to believe this is Kano, in some ways. It's hard to imagine him choosing to be quiet. And yet, he seems to be determined here. Like every utterance is a brief mistake.

She looks at him for a second more, then smiles a little more.]

...It's okay, if you don't want to talk. You've had a hard day. We can just stay right here for as long as you want, okay?

[ There's a quick glance at Nana, like he has to wonder why she'd insist on staying by his side if he refuses to talk to her. She's still smiling too... and he can't help but look confused at that gesture of comfort and solidarity. Grateful. A little bit guilty. These sorts of emotions pass across his face in the way his eyes relax, brows knit up again, how he chews at his bottom lip and tries to keep himself from smiling but is doing a bad job of it, somehow more open and easier to read than Kano who orchestrates his expressions and reactions with purpose, heavy handed at times.

Later, when he grows up, Shuuya will learn how to lie and to pretend and to act, but for right now, he's just tired. It's been a long day, and a hard day, and he nods his head, pulling away from the nurse and shifting closer to Nana's side so he can lean against her and prop himself up against her side. ]

[She watches him, carefully -- like she might be worried about how his wound might hold up, along with everything else. Everything else is the thousand questions she's not sure she'll ever get answer to.

She thinks about putting her arm around him, but little gestures like that seem huge to him. So she stays still, glances down at him, and nods. She'll stay put; she doesn't even go for the phone yet. She'll let him drift off to sleep before she figures out how to cancel some plans and ask people what's up.]

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When You Made Wishes: start! (player plot)

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