(no subject)

[julibahana]

"How do you feel?"

Juli felt anxious for Giorno, though she tried her best not to let it show. And true enough, her words came out sounding unworried and confident. Because even though she was concerned for Giorno, she knew that if there were anyone in this world who could help Jojo, it was him.

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[youre_the_sunflower]

Iris merely sighed dreamily, unbothered by the attention Yukari was getting.

“I’ll help!” The small girl announced, her braids whipping as she turned to rush for the pitcher of water at the front of the room on the desk. She only got halfway before tripping over her own feet in her rush to get there and slamming face-first into the floor.

“Ah! Oh, Ari…” Iris snapped out of her daze and rushed over, kneeling to help her up. Ari sniffed, putting on a brave face despite the giant scrape on her forehead.

[takeba]

Yukari wished she could summon her Persona and do something about it. Sure, it was just a scrape, but scrapes were a very big deal when you were young.

"You sure you're okay?"

[youre_the_sunflower]

“Y-yeah.” Ari was clearly trying to put on a brave face but her lip wibbling gave her away. “Sorry…I’ll get your water r-really soon…”

“No tears, no tears. Remember what we practiced earlier?” Caesar approached her and knelt in front of her. He touched her forehead lightly. “Nice even breaths. Four counts in, four counts out.”

Ari sniffed—hard. It was hard at first but she eventually managed to time her breathing with Caesar’s gentle coaching. When he took his hand away, the pain—and the mark—was gone. She wiped her eyes and touched her head. “…Wow!”

[takeba]

Had he just done what she thought he'd done? Yukari filed that away for the future because it was something she wanted to ask about.

"Wow, looks like it's better already! You feeling better too?"

[youre_the_sunflower]

Ari nodded vigorously and resumed her mission. Caesar got up after her and poured the cup—she wasn’t tall enough to reach it after all—before handing it to her. Ari carried it in both hands and walked back to Yukari with great focus.

“Here, Miss Yukari!” It swished in the cup as Ari raised it for the young woman to take.

[takeba]

"Thanks," Yukari said appreciatively, taking the cup in hand. She looked around for a place to sit before settling down.

[alteredfates_npc]

Ari followed her, her brown eyes sparkling in keen interest. “Where did you get your clothes? Where are you from? How many boyfriends do you have?”

[takeba]

"This?" Yukari looked down at herself. "Well, this is just my school uniform." Yukari never thought she would be wearing it outside of school, but it was what she was wearing when she wound up here. "I have other stuff, but somehow I feel most comfortable wearing this."

Yukari sidestepped the boyfriend question. It wasn't like she had any to begin with.

[youre_the_sunflower]

“What do you enjoy studying the most, bella?” Caesar began pouring several glasses for a few of the kids who were getting fidgety.

[takeba]

"It's not anything you learn at school. Well... I guess sort of, you do. I'm part of the archery club at my high school. Really, that's what interests me the most." It wasn't that her classes disinterested her -- they just didn't interest her in the same way archery did.

[alteredfates_npc]

“Archery?” Iris seemed surprised, trying to picture someone like Yukari holding a bow. “Wow! We should visit the training grounds next. Maybe you can show everyone a thing or two.”

[takeba]

"I'm not really sure how practical it would be, but it's not like it's practical at home, either."

At least not if you were fighting Shadows by night.

[alteredfates_npc]

Iris waved that off. “If nothing else, you might endear yourself to one of the biggest grouches around—councilman Chilchuck. He’s pretty good at that kind of thing…” She mimed notching an arrow.

[takeba]

"Oh, he's an archer too?"

[alteredfates_npc]

“Yeah, he’s really good. Not that he does it much lately…too busy helping mediate disputes and stuff. But he’s also like some crazy good adventurer, too. I think that’s where he learned how to shoot.”

[takeba]

"Huh. Is he as hard to pin down as Giorno?"

[alteredfates_npc]

“Nah, he’s easy to find. Especially when he’s yelling at someone.”

“Mr. Chilchuck is really cool!” One of the small boys with a front tooth missing shouted from the small table. “He taught me how to build a bridge by tyin’ knots.”

“I know. Just remember, use your skills for fun and not escaping from your bedroom at 3 in the morning, okay?” Iris laughed.

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar casually leaned over the back of the bench that Yukari was seated on, studying her a bit. “Forgive me for saying so, but you strike me as someone who has a few tricks up your sleeve.”

[takeba]

Yukari was surprised by Caesar's directness. "What do you mean?"

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar gestured in an easy-going manner. "How do I say it...you move with impressive symmetry. Balance. Even if you downplay it, I could tell you were trained in some kind of art as soon as you walked in. Archery makes perfect sense."

[takeba]

"Oh," Yukari said, relieved. "You're pretty athletic. If I were to guess, you'd be part of a martial arts club at school."

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar laughed. "Something like that. If you'd like, I can show you sometime."

[takeba]

Yukari smiled. "I'd like that."

[alteredfates_npc]

“Oh, hey, look at the time.” Iris suddenly said, squinting at one of the clocks on the wall. “If we wanna catch Chilchuck he probably won’t be around today much longer. Something something abyss assignment. Yukari, shall we?”

[takeba]

"Sure." Yukari stood up, still holding her drink. "Nice to meet you, Caesar."