Distractions

pianobelt 

also

IneMiSol 

o

pianobelt

i feel like natsumi would check in on auran

given his absolute mess-ness at the show

IneMiSol

they are in the same room yeah so they'd see him looking, huh

kinda depressed

pianobelt 

yeah

IneMiSol

prob the day after, bc he crashed at davids room overnight

pianobelt 

so queue natsumi just staring, moves closer, stares, movers closer, stares, moves closer

poking him in the cheek

IneMiSol

jhfbgnsfdkj natsumi

pianobelt 

"auran-chan"

IneMiSol

blinks and looks up rly slowly in slight confusion

"huh??"

"oh"

"yeah?"

pianobelt 

stares for a second before grinning

"want to get ice cream?"

IneMiSol 

"... always down for ice cream"

hes gonna get full of ice cream bc wisty also got him that

JDSFGLSDFGH

pianobelt 

"yes, correct answer!"

aoerigjae natsumi may partly hope he can find his way back to the hotel and also help them order

but does grab his arm and starts dragging him with

IneMiSol 

jhasdgfajhd super fair yes he can do that

pianobelt

"oh oh! wait! what about.. crepe??"

definitely said 'creepy'

IneMiSol

he just loops their arms bc thats what he does by default

"creepy?"

"you want a creepy ice cream??"

"like.... like a halloween themed one??"

pianobelt 

"no no eh uh... its kurepu in japanese..."

IneMiSol 

"OH a crepe?"

pianobelt

"Yes!!"

IneMiSol 

"...... hell yeah we are in france"

"i found a really good crepes place the other day, we can go there!!"

"they have a bunch of stuff you can put on them"

pianobelt 

they nod very enthusiastically

"do they have matcha??"

IneMiSol

and off they go as auran drags them along

"maybe!! i dont remember the whole list"

"we can check when we get there"

"but they might??"

pianobelt 

"yessss!"

so they get their crepes

natsumi getting a large one with vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, chocolate curls, and matcha powder

IneMiSol

nice

pianobelt

has to use the small plastic spoon they're given to get through half

IneMiSol 

relatable

auran prob gets one with vanilla ice cream, caramel, cinnamon and sprinkles or something like that

sugar central

pianobelt 

probs sitting somewhere outside on a park bench or smth to eat

IneMiSol 

yee

pianobelt

natsumi offers him a taste

"wanna try??"

IneMiSol

"oh sure!"

"..... i never actually tried matcha"

concerned look at the green

"... is it good"

pianobelt 

time to find out if auran likes earthy tastes

"mm! traditional japanese flavor... very hmm.... bitter?"

IneMiSol

probably not honestly but hes not picky about food

"ah"

pianobelt 

tastes wet grass in powder form

IneMiSol

"well! try everything once"

sfghgtfjwsf

takes a bite

"... hm. well"

"... it goes nicely with the chocolate at least"

pianobelt 

"mm! very balanced"

IneMiSol 

"really the opposite of mine though"

chuckles

pianobelt 

"Oh?"

IneMiSol 

offers his crepe for natsumi to taste

pianobelt

takes a bite

makes a face

IneMiSol 

sdfghsfghj

pianobelt 

"mngh. auran chan...... are you a baby?? it's so... sweet"

IneMiSol 

"sugar for my woes"

giggles

"i dont normally eat stuff this sugary but god i deserve some sugar today"

pianobelt 

"mm.... so ne? you are... sad?"

IneMiSol 

".... yeah"

"a little"

pauses

"... a lot"

"well im doing better today at least"

pianobelt 

"why? because of bad guy??"

IneMiSol

"hmmmm, partially..."

"some of it is fear of that new group, yes"

"but most of it is just... feeling very... ah, inadequate"

pianobelt

blinks

stares

"in....innnnn....eh?"

IneMiSol 

"... like i dont belong, if that was too big a word"

pauses

pianobelt 

"Ah! soo ka.... eh? don't belong??"

"How?"

IneMiSol

"... well thats not really it, actually. its less not belonging and more just... feeling useless?"

"didnt land any attacks that could have neutralized the enemy, at least temporarily... friends got hurt and i couldnt do anything about it..."

pianobelt 

blinks and looks auran over

IneMiSol

"im not.. not a fighter"

pianobelt 

"you have ability to clone???"

IneMiSol 

blinks

"... no?"

"but... i failed both a confusion and an imprison..."

pianobelt 

looks up at him and tilts their head "then how would you be able to keep everyone from getting hurt??"

blinks and hums

"but isn't it normal to fail??"

"fails more common than success, ne?"

IneMiSol

"... yeah..."

stares at the sky

pianobelt

"ja, why is it big deal?"

IneMiSol

"david did say a lot of things i could do instead of fighting"

"that we dont all have to be fighters"

"but i just wish i didnt panic every time"

pianobelt 

"soo desune! we are not meant to fight"

"we are meant to understand"

IneMiSol 

"mmm" nods

pianobelt

"our strength is in our ability to connect... but if we run from that, of course we will panic, you know?"

"it is scary to feel so much"

IneMiSol

"yeah..."

pianobelt 

"but when we do not feel that connection... it is scarier, i think"

IneMiSol 

"yeah, i-- i really hate fighting and hurting others, but"

"those vitality guys, they're... a different level, i think"

"they dont care about connection"

"they only want to exterminate whats different from them"

pianobelt

"mmm but you know? they only punch!"

"they can only hurt us physically"

"you and me? we have different strength than punch"

IneMiSol

"..... physically still hurts and can very much kill!"

pianobelt 

"we have to learn to fight with our own strength!"

IneMiSol

"yeah..."

sighs and throws his head back

"god yeah you're right"

pianobelt 

"if we are sad because we cannot hurt them the same way, are we not thinking the same as them?"

"we are better!! we want to help, to protect, and to fight in our own ways."

throws a punch forward and grins

"we have to stay ready for that!! we have to be strong for our friends too, ne?"

"they will get hurt, and we cannot heal but we can help"

IneMiSol 

chuckles and finally gives them a smile

"yeah... help our own way"

pianobelt

"mm! like this kurepu"

"the matcha would be too much on its own, ne?"

IneMiSol 

".... bitterly?" snorts

pianobelt 

"but the choco helps balance it"

IneMiSol 

"mmhmm..."

pianobelt 

"ja, we are choco!"

IneMiSol

"we're chocolate............"

pianobelt 

"yessu"

IneMiSol 

"that's deep bro........"

pianobelt 

"hm? no, kurepu not that deep, see?" holds out their crepe

IneMiSol

JHADGKJHDRGK

auran just snort-laughing

pianobelt 

natsumi blinking

IneMiSol

he laughs like a fuckin nerd

pianobelt 

"eh? nandake?? what's funny??"

IneMiSol

"the not-deep crepe"

pianobelt

blinks and looks at their crepe

"my crepe is funny???"

IneMiSol 

"sorry sorry i think its a loss in translation"

"your crepe is fine"

pianobelt 

"oh!! good movie"

IneMiSol

dfgjetykjrytjwtr natsumi

pianobelt 

"that was in japan you know"

IneMiSol

"ooohh, was it?"

"whats the plot"

pianobelt 

"some romance stuff"

"mushy mushy"

IneMiSol

"damn, unexpected"

"wait you like romance movies??"

"thats unexpected"

pianobelt

blinks and hums "i don't really like them??? but i don't really hate them??"

"i like action! and mystery and especially scary!!"

IneMiSol 

"ah, thats more like it"

pianobelt 

they nod

"you?"

IneMiSol 

finally has a grin again while eating his crepe

"are you gonna call me weird for liking documentaries"

"well thats not really a movie genre"

pianobelt

blinks and gives him a face

"auran chan.... that is boring..."

IneMiSol

snorts

"hey they can be fun sometimes"

"but i also like action and sci-fi stuff!"

pianobelt 

"better" chomps their crepe

IneMiSol

"see? multi-taste....."

pianobelt 

"hm hm" nods while eating

IneMiSol 

".... say. how are you doing after that mess?"

pianobelt

blinks up at him, licking their lips "me?"

IneMiSol

"yeah, you"

"how are you feeling?"

pianobelt 

"mm i am all good! it is bad, yes, but i am okay"

IneMiSol 

"mmmhmm thats good at least..."

"strong in spirit...."

pianobelt 

"mm! i am good buddhist"

IneMiSol 

blinks

".... oh that makes so much sense but it somehow never occurred to me"

pianobelt 

blinks and tilts their head "hm?"

IneMiSol 

"that not everyone is, huh. following western religions. or none at all"

".... that was so incredibly white of me"

pianobelt

"....OH you mean jesusu?"

IneMiSol 

"well theres more but! i guess that yes my dumb white brain just defaulted everyone to christian"

"for some reason"

pianobelt 

"you know he was buried in japan?"

IneMiSol 

blinks

"..... no? wait"

"wh"

squints

"..... where...."

pianobelt

"mm! in Shigo!"

grabs their phone and pulls up a website

"see?"

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tomb-of-jesus-christ

and i'm not making it up on their behalf

IneMiSol

oh my g o d

auran makes such a face at the phone

pianobelt 

japan is so weird its great

IneMiSol

"................... what the f u c k??"

"oh my god wait"

pianobelt

natsumi just blinking

IneMiSol 

"what"

"oh what the hell thats"

"that changes so much"

pulls out a notebook from his pocket and starts furiously scribbling 

pianobelt 

natsumi just blinks "are?"

"what are you writing?"

IneMiSol

"theory board material"

"im SURE i can connect that to other theories"

"the bigger picture grows.................."

pianobelt

"eh? theory...?"

IneMiSol 

im so sorry natsumi

"yeah!! theory board"

"all the weird theories of the universe................... build a different truth than the one we're told....................."

"so much is hidden from us......................... the media doesnt want us to know............ but i know..........."

"i know the truth........................................."

pianobelt 

natsumi blinks

"...sooooo ne...."

IneMiSol

"ive connected the dots..............................................."

pianobelt 

has a singular thought

grins

"ja... you know about the zombies?"

IneMiSol 

blinks

"which kind"

"theres a few"

pianobelt

"the japanese ones"

IneMiSol

"... oh! no"

pianobelt 

"they were from radiation in fukushima"

"many people thought everyone who got sick died but really, they were undead"

"the government had to take care of it quietly"

"so they put them in big crates and sunk them to the bottom of ocean"

IneMiSol 

"holy shit"

writes it down

pianobelt

"japan paid looooots of money to keep it off news"

IneMiSol 

"yeah yeah thats how the big stuff is always hidden............ the government doesnt want us to know.............."

"but the truth always comes out............................. one way or another..........................."

pianobelt 

"they are still alive down there you know"

"sometimes a hand floats up"

IneMiSol 

makes a horrified face

"......................... oh thats horrible"

"gross"

pianobelt 

"mm. fisherman get them caught i nets aaaaall the time"

IneMiSol 

"............ are there sirens in japan?"

"do they have underwater fights........"

pianobelt 

"well they are still in crates... probably eat them, no?"

IneMiSol

"............ sirens are aliens and eat zombies................."

pianobelt 

"...so desu ne"

pianobelt 

eroigaj but they probably head back after that

IneMiSol

dfgjsrtj yeaahhh

pianobelt 

with natsumi humming on the way like "ykno if you get nervous you should try breathing technique..."

"...or! i have perfect technique"

"lick your wrist"

IneMiSol 

"oh i do, it just... doesnt always wor--"

"... l. lick. my wrist??"

pianobelt 

they nod

IneMiSol 

"ive... never heard that one"

pianobelt 

"just do it!"

IneMiSol

extremely confused

pulls bracelets away

confused lick

pianobelt

"good! now smell it"

IneMiSol 

makes a face at them

".... why....."

pianobelt 

"just do iiiiit"

IneMiSol 

very slowly and hesitantly does it

pianobelt

and it is just the weirdest smell

not bad. not good. damp? weird weird smell

IneMiSol 

natsumi what even is that technique

".... yep sure smells like spit!"

pianobelt 

oairjgaoie its a japanese thing they tell kids to do when they're nervous to like

get them to focus on something else

IneMiSol 

omg

pianobelt 

takes their mind off what's stressing them out to make them thing of other things

"mm! nerves begone!"

IneMiSol

"nerves begone..........................."

pianobelt 

"soyo! all better, ne?"

clearly proud of themself

IneMiSol

nods enthusiastically

"mhmm mhhmmm"

pianobelt

"mhmm!"

i hate them

IneMiSol 

dumbasses

fsjhetyrj

pianobelt

wisdom is a fucking 14 and yet

IneMiSol 

LMAO

pianobelt 

granted 90% of their stupid act is just an act but eoarigjaeoi

IneMiSol

its disguise stupid

pianobelt 

with a touch of language barrier

IneMiSol 

yes!