[semi-open] how many hugs will be in this log? place your bets

[thesettingsun]

WHO: Shuji Tsushima and all his friends who were out of the city and are back.
WHERE: Recolle, which is 100x safer than wherever everyone else was.
WHEN: February 15th.
WHAT: Shuji has one day to check on everyone he knows and he's not going to waste it.
WARNINGS: Nothing as of yet!

[A: text]
[As soon as Shuji learns that people who had volunteered to leave the city are back for a brief period, he wastes absolutely no time. Everyone he's friends who's back is getting a text, something to the tune of:]

Where are you? Can I come see you today?

[B: somewhere in Recolle]
[But if you don't want to thread that part, and just skip to the inevitability of Shuji getting his friend to agree to meet up - and it is inevitable, he has to make sure they're okay with his own eyes - this is the prompt where Shuji spots your character after arranging a meeting and rushes up to them.]

Welcome back!

[He looks like he could hug them at any second. This is probably only a little due to his heartstone's influence.]

[closed to Oda]
[Of course, he'd promised Oda curry, so his lunch date is Odasaku for sure. He's all smiles when he meets Oda outside a really, really nice curry place.]

Welcome home, Odasaku. I hope this place is okay?

[It's probably one of the more expensive places to get curry in Recolle, but sure, ask if it's 'okay'.]

[wildcard]
[You know me, I'm easy. Hit me at Misheard for anything else.]

Comments

B

[maidofmistakes]

[Kara's spent most of the day either at school or with her foster parents, nervously navigating the land of making up excuses. When she does step outside, she waves hesitantly at Shuji.]

Uh... hi? Brought you something...

[thesettingsun]

You didn't have to, I'm just glad you're okay.

[Why would he need souvenirs when knowing his friends are in one piece is the greatest gift of all?]

[maidofmistakes]

[sigh] I can't believe I'm doing this. Faking sick and saying I'm on some retreat for school... The Retrospec guy said we'd be fine, at least, but that's more terrifying than the dragons or weird shocks. But what about you?

B

[beneathmoonlight]

Shuji-kun!

[Atsushi beams at Shuji when he sees his friend pop into the bakery, and he immediately runs to greet him, throwing his arms around him in a big, warm hug.]

I’m so happy to see you!

[He’s wearing an adorable white apron with little tigers printed all over it, and there’s chocolate on his cheek, and he looks like he hasn’t slept well lately, but that doesn’t stop him from being excited to see his friend.]

Oh! Your eyes...

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji returns the hug, only pulling away when he's reminded of the state of his eyes. More specifically, his pupils.]

Oh - it's a thing that's been happening to people in the city. Don't worry about it, it's not harmful.

[...now that he's pulled away, he can take a better look at Atsushi, and...]

Have you been sleeping enough?

[beneathmoonlight]

Oh...

[The long piece of hair on Shuji’s head is a heart too...it’s kind of cute...

Oh. Does he look that bad? He hasn’t done much other than glance in a mirror since he’s been back...]

Ah...maybe. [He glances away.] A lot has happened...

[But he doesn’t want to make Shuji worry about him, so instead he hurries back to the kitchen to retrieve Shuji’s chocolates all nestled in a heart-shaped box and present them with a smile.]

These are for you.

B

[ohrlyeh]

[So he's back. Howard trudges along the street, aiming to get back home. He saw Shuji's text and only wrote him a quick "yes" before taking a detour near the place where Shuji lives. And sure enough, there's the man of the hour.]

...Shuji. [He only manages a half-hearted nod in greeting - he's obviously exhausted. His eye circles look like canyons in his face, at this point.]

How...how have you been?

[thesettingsun]

[Howard looks even worse than he normally does, and if Shuji weren't concerned over him before, he certainly is now.]

Worried, but alright. Come in? I'll make hot chocolate.

[Sometimes he just wants to wrap Howard in warm blankets and put a kitten on his lap. If anything could get him to relax...]

[ohrlyeh]

Okay...

[Even he doesn't seem as hyped about hot chocolate about he usually is - but he goes along with it, letting out a sigh.]

I'm sorry, Shuji...I won't be here for very long. They're only allowing us to visit the city for a day.

b! probably the inkwell tbh

[doublesmall]

[of course the first place chuuya went was home, to get a proper shower and new clothes and see his cat-- but he just doesn't feel like spending all his time there. he's missed the bar as much, and he needs to check up on it anyway, so that's where he'll be waiting for shuji.

he's already got a partly-drunk glass of wine in hand, but he sets it down to give shuji a little wave.]

Hey. How's it been around here, huh? Not too much trouble?

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji expected Chuuya to pick the Inkwell, and that's fine.]

Nothing too deadly. I've been picking up extra shifts to make up for my coworkers being gone, but since a lot of our customers are gone too, it's not too stressful.

I'm going to hug you now.

[It's fine if Chuuya doesn't mind being hugged in front of customers, because he's got about five seconds to protest.]

closed!

[odasaku]

[ when shuji said curry, oda imagined something like take out. at most, he would bring the ingredients and they would cook it together.

but when he saw the location, he's certain that he could hear his jaw hit the floor. is he serious?

it seems that he was because now they're both in front of the restaurant and sakutarou's trying his best not to act like a fish out of water. for now, it's going well. ]

This place is more than okay, Shuji. [ it's more than he feels he deserves for sure and his heart flutters despite himself. getting over his crush? haha how do you eat that? ] Thank you so much.

[thesettingsun]

[Somewhere in Recolle, right now, Howard is suffering.

But Shuji is not. He's just happy to see Oda alive and well.]

You can thank me by eating to your heart's content.

[odasaku]

[ howard will definitely be suffering, and odasaku's gonna have to be the one to apologize for his stupid feelings. especially when those stupid feelings are amplified by shuji's happiness.

oda chuckles, trying to ignore the fact that his cheeks are definitely a shade of red. calm down you idiot! ]

If you say so. [ odasaku thinks that's way less than he deserves. he's already thinking of how to repay him in the future...]

Then, uh, should we go in?

b.

[manufactured]

[Wesker is likely going to be meeting with Shuji on the morning of the 16th, rather than on the 15th proper; they have until noon, it's fine, whatever.

That said, he does want to meet with him, if for no better reason than the last time he spoke with Shuji the implication was that his health had taken a turn; he imagines verifying that he's in one piece is a good thing. So. Here he is, having arranged to meet with him later in the morning, at...oh, who knows. Let's say that café we all discussed sketch shit at that one time, that works.]

My apologies for leaving this so long; I was a bit occupied yesterday.

[thesettingsun]

[Ah, good memories of talking about sketch experiments and diseases. Shuji settles into a chair.]

Don't worry about it, I know you have more people than just me to check in with. I'm just glad to see you at all.

[manufactured]

I wasn't going to turn you down; you seemed concerned.

[Just saying.]

I was spending the holiday a bit belatedly with someone, is all.

b

[scythegun]

[This is probably sometime after Wesker's meeting with Shuji, but it's not like Jaeger was putting off meeting with Shuji or anything, he was just busy yesterday! We're probably meeting at a coffee shop or something, sure why not.

Anyway, he's looking just as cheerful as ever as he approaches Shuji.]

It's good to be back, even if it is only for a short while! How are you doing?

[thesettingsun]

I'm just fine. How about you?

[Jaeger certainly seems like the same old Jaeger, so that's a good sign, doing-well-wise.]

[scythegun]

I'm doing fine as well! I'm certainly glad to be back home, even if it is for only a little while.

[He's not really cut out for the outdoors life...]

b

[vitis]

[ john shows up at their appointed time via text, probably at the park or somesuch; he carries along with him a little bag of things (gee, wonder who that could be for). he's wearing his typical smile, perhaps a bit of a bounce in his step-- as lovely as the forest was, it was a relief to come back for a day to be able to get errands done.

upon spying shuji, he gives a wide wave. ]

Yo! Happy Valentine's Day.

[thesettingsun]

[I'm sorry, what bag of things? Because once John gets close enough-]

Happy Valentine's Day, I missed you so much!

[Shuji's going to practically tackle him in a hug. Sorry if your bag gets squished, it wasn't as important as Hugging John Right This Instant.]

[vitis]

[ oof

and there's a shuji flying right for him. thankfully, john has the two seconds of realizing what's going to happen here that he can catch him easily enough, laughing as he stumbles back a bit. ]

Missed you, too. [ admittedly. he resists ruffling shuji's hair. ] That's supposed to be yours, by the way.

[ you know, the bag of stuff he barely just managed to hold out of the way. ]

so laaate I'm sorry but a;

[complementing]

hi Shuji! I'm delivering Valentine's Day goodies right now, I can swing by wherever you are right now!

no worries!

[thesettingsun]

Working even on your day off?

I'm at Club Sunshine.