[Sunday, February 15, 2004.] [Ciara and Grysar] Satoshi reads Haruko's reply to Wataru, which means he then reads Wataru's original e-mail, which means... "Oh shit," he says out loud. "I need to call Japan." In Japanese, because that's where his mind is right now. "What's that, Sato?" Liam says from where he's lying on his hotel bed, working on something. Satoshi looks at him. "I need to call home. More... stuff is going on." Liam sighs. "Need me to vacate the room?" Satoshi is surprised. "If you could go hang with Grant or Joshua for a bit... yeah." Liam is a bit disgruntled, but he grabs his books. "You know, Sato... you pulled through in Friday's game and it was very inspiring, but... there's only so much you can do from over here." "I know," Satoshi says, sighing. "But I just... things are really *weird*. Like... I don't know. Just... weird." "You do have a team here, you know," Liam says. "We're here to support each other." Satoshi closes his eyes for a second. "I know. I'm sorry. We can talk about this more later." Liam nods, apparently satisfied for the moment. "All right." He heads out. Satoshi dials Haruko and she picks up almost immediately. Before she can say anything, Satoshi blurts out, "Haruko, do you think Wataru's gone insane?" "I don't think so," Haruko says slowly. "Insane is a lot worse. This seems more like he's channeling someone else." "Channeling?" Satoshi asks. "Like sometimes when Katie had a dream of her past incarnation, it would stick with her for a bit. Not to the extent of sending e-mails as someone else, but similar." Haruko pauses. "Has he mentioned dreams before?" "Yeah... yeah, he has," Satoshi answers. "Does this sound in line with that?" Haruko asks. "I mean, Arcana are special in a range of different ways, but Kami know, if the Arcana Council still exists, it's not taking care of the children. It doesn't sound contemporary." "If the dreams he had were of his past self... it was a she, and she was a nurse, he thinks. Or something like that." Satoshi stands up and starts pacing. "That could fit..." Haruko sounds contemplative. "I don't know. It's not inconsistent." "Maybe that's what this is then." Satoshi pauses for a moment. "Haruko? You mentioned dreams of Isao before." "Only a couple," Haruko answers. "There was one where he was talking with Hideo-" Satoshi interrupts. "Yeah, that's what I'm getting at. Do your dreams influence you?" "Oh, well... I felt a bit more dignified after the one dream, and when I sought out his advice, but influenced is not controlled. Like when I'm a somewhat different person around my father," Haruko explains. "Is that... is that going to happen to me?" Satoshi asks, his voice trembling slightly. "Am I going to start dreaming of Hideo and then feel like Hideo for a while?" "It's different in your case, but even so." Haruko's voice is quiet. "Well, one, Wataru does things somewhat intensely. But I think he also... well, you said his past self was a nurse. It may be like me and Isao-sama. We seek out influence and guidance and then accept it. So no, I don't think you will. Not like this." "I hope to every god in existence that I don't," Satoshi says firmly. "I think you're underestimating yourself, Satoshi," Haruko replies. Satoshi is quiet for a few moments. "Well, I hope you're not overestimating me," he says. "But... this isn't about me. This is about Wataru. And I guess... if you're going to talk to him then you can gauge how he's doing." "I'm talking to him on Tuesday," Haruko says. "And I requested that he give me a call, hopefully subtly. I guess I could call him after class." "If he hasn't followed up on the e-mail, would you?" Satoshi asks. "All right," Haruko agrees. "Thanks. I'm sorry to keep bothering you guys. I just... things got weird all of a sudden and I'm not really there." He sighs. "Oh... I wrote to you because I thought you might have some insight. I'd be worried about him either way." Haruko's voice softens. "You're helping me work through the right thing to do." Satoshi smiles, even if Haruko can't see it. "You and Wataru, you keep reminding me that there are things I can do from here. I appreciate that." "I'm glad," Haruko answers. "Oh, and belated Happy Valentine's Day!" "Thanks," Satoshi says. "It's different here in America. I kind of miss our version. I didn't think I was going to, but... hey, more reason to think about fun things to do when I get back, right? So I have something to look forward to." "Mmm-hmm," Haruko says. "Of course you miss our version. You're a guy. But yes, when you get back I can give you your chocolates in person." "Hey, I will note that I never missed a White Day," Satoshi answers. "And you really have chocolates for me?" "Well, that's true, but you didn't say you missed White Day," Haruko replies with amusement in her voice. "You said you missed Valentine's Day. Also, patient, patient." "Okay, fine," Satoshi says. "That means you have to wait for yours, then." "That's only fair," Haruko agrees. "Okay, well... I'll wait and see if he answers either of us, and how he answers us. And I'm planning on checking in with him when I get back to the dorms, and we're supposed to talk at some point in the near future." "Cool," Haruko says. "That seems smart." "Let me know if you do end up calling him, please?" Satoshi asks. "All right, but you should be getting to sleep," Haruko says with a bit of a lecturing tone. "I'll send you a message. You'll see it in the morning." "Hey, it's not the middle of the night this time," Satoshi replies. "But yes, you have a point, and I shouldn't be keeping Liam up, either. So... good night, Haruko. Thank you." "Good night, Satoshi." Haruko's voice is more cheerful. "Always good talking with you." Satoshi hangs up and goes to let Liam know it's okay to come back. [Jihatsu] [Date: Februay 15th, 1 PM sharp.] Wataru's alarm goes off. He grunts, shifting, and his phone clatters to the floor. Tangled in blankets, it takes him a moment to get off the couch and retrieve it and turn off the alarm. He looks at the phone, chiming with its "Get Ready to Meet Kyon!" alarm. How can it be 1 already? He slept through half the day. You'd think he would feel groggy or something, but he just feels relaxed... Relaxed but starving. Turning off the chattering TV, he pads to the kitchen, thumbing through the messages on his phone. He pauses with his hand over the rice cooker, frowning at the messages from Haruko and Satoshi. What the hell? He opens up the cooker and stares, because instead of an empty pot there is a hot piping full dish of rice. That he definitely does not remember making. Last night he was scared there was someone else in his apartment. But there wasn't. There wasn't, right? Anyway, what kind of home intruder would cook him a pot of rice? His mom? His stomach groans and he serves himself some rice, eyeing it warily. He quickly throws two eggs and a bunch of kimchi into a frying pan and dumps the resulting goodness onto the rice, sprinkles cheese on top, and goes to sit on the floor in the living room, bowl on the coffee table. He looks at his messages again, and flips back to his sent items, and... Wataru sighs. He remembers the dream. But it looks like half of what he thought was a dream, well, wasn't. He sighs again, noisily. "I love you, Ayano, but you've made me look like a total weirdo," he says, a smile sinking into his features as he does. "Hokay. Time for some damage control." He starts with Satoshi, on the off chance that he's still awake. _Hey, yeah sorry for the total weirdness of that last message. My dreams got me all confused. It wasn't unpleasant though. But I kind of sleepwalked through the first half of my day... I think I even cooked myself some rice without realizing it. Here's hoping I didn't do anything incredibly dumb. I feel fine now, very much myself and very relaxed. Hope you weren't too weirded out! PS Congrats on away game success! Tie isn't the best but you get to come home undefeated, so yay!_ Then, he emails Haruko, (Encrypted e-mail) Date: Early afternoon of February 15, 2004 (Japan) Subject: Gah To: Kinsha Haruko GAH. I am so sorry! That must have been the weirdest email to get. Yeah, I dreamt... Well, have you ever had dreams where you kind of remember being someone else? It was one of those. And I was looking after some kids in the dream, well teenagers really, and ... Yeah. I'm sorry, I must seem like a total wack job. Anyway, it wore off, and I've got my head on right, now. What was it you wanted me to call you about? I've got something this afternoon but I can probably talk to you this evening. Or if it's urgent, you can give me a call whenever. Have a great day, and sorry again for the totally weird email! Definitely Wataru and not Ayano -_- PS: The chocolates were still lovely though! --- On his way to leave the empty bowl in the sink, Wataru notices a third message that somehow slipped by before, this one from Kaede. He reads it carefully, and then replies: (Encrypted email) Date: Early afternoon of February 15, 2004 (Japan) Subject: Re: Re: Online Security To: Takeuchi Kaede Thank you Takeuchi-san, internet cafes do indeed sound far from ideal, then. I may look into acquiring a second-hand laptop if that's a possibility. I can do early morning coffee. Give me a day and I can likely swing it. I'm glad that I'm not the only one troubled by Masaru's behaviour - especially coming from someone who is, if you'll allow the term, a senior partner in the "team", and who has more context on Masaru and his brother. I'm meeting with Sorata-san later today to talk about this matter and some other concerns related to those books. If you like, I can keep you informed of our conclusions. I thank you for your kind welcome. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Yamada --- He fusses a bit with the wording, but ends up fairly satisfied and hits send. Then he goes and takes a nice, long, hot shower, leaving his phone and all its associated people out in the hallway. [Ciara and Grysar] Satoshi's phone buzzes *just* as he's about to silence it and go to bed. He sends Wataru a quick reply: "Yeah, I was pretty confused and getting worried." He stops. Really, does he need to let Wataru know how worried? It'd probably make Wataru feel bad and he doesn't want to do that. He backspaces slightly "...and getting a bit worried." There. "Talk to you when I get back!" He follows it up with a quick message to Haruko: "Heard from Wataru; sounds like it *was* the thing we were theorizing about. He's doing better now. Let me know if you do talk? I'm going to sleep now, I promise." Satoshi silences his phone, locks it, and walks over to where Liam is lying on his hotel bed. "Hey. Things are going better." Liam nods. "Good to hear." "Do you want to hang onto this until we get back?" Satoshi holds out his phone. Liam looks at him. "Well, I'm not going to say no..." He takes the phone and puts it in the drawer of his nightstand, where his own phone is resting. "Night, Liam." Satoshi heads to his own bed and turns off the lamp. "Night, Sato." Liam turns off his own light. ***** In the morning, Liam holds out Satoshi's phone. "You got a call last night." Even though it's locked, the caller ID shows that there's a missed call from Elise at 1AM, and a voicemail. Satoshi looks at it, confused. "Did she call you?" "Nope." Liam rather emphasizes the "p." "Well, it must not have been an emergency... plus it's not like she didn't know where we were and what we were doing." Satoshi is still very confused. He holds the phone out to Liam. "Not going to listen to your voicemail?" Liam asks. Satoshi shakes his head. "I promised you could keep it until we got back." Liam takes the phone, wordlessly. ***** On the trip back, Satoshi attempts to start reading the first Council of Mysteries book, but he's really having trouble concentrating. Liam is unusually silent. When they get off the team bus, Liam returns the phone. Satoshi waits until he gets back to his dorm room to listen to the message (as well as deal with any texts he's gotten in the meantime - Haruko has sent a quick one saying he's already put together what she wanted to talk about and so not to worry). The message involves Elise saying something in rather slurred French, which Satoshi can't understand at all, and asking Liam to translate is a very bad idea, he thinks. [End!]