fatealteration | (no subject)

"Hey, looks like there's a town up ahead."

Reigen obviously saw it --- he was the one driving, so he saw just about everything. But Max wasn't sure that the others in the back had. She looked over the shoulder of her seat as she said it, making sure that her voice wasn't drowned out by the sound of the 80s citypop CD they acquired at the last town they ran into.

Max turned back around and squinted her eyes, trying her best to filter out the rays of blinding light that seemed to reflect off of everything.

"I think it might be near a beach, too," she said. "That looks like a seagull, right?" Max pointed at the figure of a bird flying overhead.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

aoihitomi

Hitomi knitted her fingers together in front of her and looked down. She tried to put together a smile, to make it look like it didn't bother her.

"Yeah."

From:

espresso_doppio

"I had a feeling."

Silence. Doppio paused his meandering trot around the garden, gently kicking around a smooth stone that had gotten dislodged from the path between the beds.

"You've known met so many more people than me. You were separated from your home world...and now you're even separated from your friends you met afterwards." Except for Chid.

From:

aoihitomi

"Yeah, but none of them have been like you."

From:

espresso_doppio

"What do you mean?"

From:

aoihitomi

"You're very different." How could she even begin to explain? "You're kind and eager to help. You don't need to be thanked or complimented, but you like to be. And... there's just something quirky about you." That was the part that would be hardest to explain.

From:

espresso_doppio

"Oh."

'Quirky?'

"Is that...a good thing?" 'She didn't say it like it was a BAD thing...'

From:

aoihitomi

Hitomi smiled. "Yes. You're unique."

Edited Date: 2025-02-20 11:19 pm (UTC)

From:

espresso_doppio

"You're really kind...more than anyone else." After meeting plenty of people on the road, he was more sure of that than ever. "That's why I'm worried. Being separated from you all...the thought is unbearable for me. And you've had to suffer that over and over again."

From:

aoihitomi

Hitomi swallowed. "Do you... do you want to stay here, then?"

From:

espresso_doppio

"I don't know." Doppio fell back against the cradle of the oak tree, hugging himself. "There's so much I'm forgetting. I'm sure of it. It's scary. ...You and Reigen were the only people in my world for a long time. The thought of forgetting you...it's too painful for words. But then I think, did the person I was before feel the same way about people who I can't even remember now...?"

From:

aoihitomi

"Maybe we should stay here until you remember more." Hitomi wasn't sure if the others agreed, but maybe it would be easier for Doppio to make a decision if he knew more than he knows now.

From:

espresso_doppio

Doppio's breath hitched and his eyes began to burn. He was going to cry. His face started burning in embarrassment. He hadn't meant to cry in front of her but the tears were coming unbidden.

"I'm sorry." He wiped at his face with his hand, trying to avoid staining the sleeves of Max's shirt. There was something he was sure he was forgetting - something vitally important. He knew from the moment he was back in his own room and whatever it was hadn't returned to him yet.

From:

aoihitomi

"Doppio..." Hitomi placed a band on the back of his head and pulled him into a hug.

From:

espresso_doppio

This wasn't his first time being hugged by her, but it was the first time being hugged so tightly. Even just a few moments of her embrace calmed the crackling static in his head. He hugged her back, laying his chin on her shoulder. Slowly, his trembling sobs softened into harsh sniffs.

"...It's hard to not remember. It's really hard. But there is something I feel lucky about."

From:

aoihitomi

"What's that?"

From:

espresso_doppio

"Most people can't easily say what their first memory is. But I can." Doppio pulled back and gave Hitomi a sheepish grin. "It was you. You with your pendant."

From:

aoihitomi

"Was it?" It felt like so long ago... but Hitomi supposed it felt so long ago because it was. She had been with them for longer than she had been with even Van and the others.

"If you do decide to stay here... I can always find you with my pendant." Hitomi had her hesitations before, but now her thought were more steady. Maybe it was because Doppio was shaken up. She had to pull herself together.

From:

espresso_doppio

"You could." Doppio didn't say it in conciliatory manner - he said it with full confidence.

Doppio wiped at his eyes and let a few long moments pass before he spoke again. Reigen always told him to do a four-count when he was getting too worked up.

"Um...do you want to walk with me a little more? I'm not ready to go to bed yet."

From:

aoihitomi

"Let's. Maybe you'll remember something and you can give me a tour."

From:

espresso_doppio

Feeling steadier on his feet now, Doppio lead her on the walkway back to the main road with the rest of town not far off. Even in the darkness of night, the lamp lighting was warm and familiar.

“…Oh! Look.” Doppio gestured down at the path underfoot. There were white stones inlaid at the junctures of the pavement. Somehow they seemed to glow all their own. “These are called cat’s eyes. They reflect moonlight, you see? One time I wandered really far off where even the lamps stopped. I, um, got lost while trying to run wood for some repairs. But my father taught me about these. I was able to find my way back home.”

From:

aoihitomi

"Lead you home..." Hitomi repeated quietly. She reached up to grasp her pendant. "I guess that it's a little like my pendant. Leading you wherever you need to go."

From:

espresso_doppio

That was probably why he found watching her swing it back and forth so calming. "Ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku, nana, hachi, kyuu, juu...I thought you were casting a spell or something at first. I was afraid of crossing you for awhile."

From:

aoihitomi

"Really?" Hitomi was surprised to even think that Doppio might think that way. But... the girls at school were superstitious when it came to her readings. She probably shouldn't be surprised that something like dowsing might throw someone off.

"Well... I can't really hurt anyone with my powers. At least... not intentionally." A bad, but honest reading might upset someone, but she was just reading the cards.

From:

espresso_doppio

Doppio tried to imagine Hitomi hurting anyone now. It was impossible. He couldn't picture it at all.

"Yeah...at first, I really didn't know what you were doing. I didn't know if it was...like...something people just knew how to do, either, because of my missing memories. But then Reigen explained you were just speaking Japanese. ...Oh! I think I remember this street."

When they turned, it was into the village center. The street they walked followed a gentle ascent, and Doppio could the moon as it climbed over a tall rocky hill in the distance just beyond the bounds of the town. It was a pretty view during the day, but the moon above and the glimmering street below was even prettier to him. He ran his fingers idly over the textured limestone that comprised the buildings as he thought about what to point out.

"Yeah! Do you see that hill? When the sun rises, it rises that way, and if you follow the arc you can find some ru--" Doppio began to point but he was cut off by a door slamming open right into his face.