open || the irreplaceable people in our hearts

[complementing]

WHO: Minako Arisato and YOU
WHERE: Peach Beach and elsewhere
WHEN: August 26th and into September
WHAT: Grieving over the loss of a best friend. A ceremonial cremation at Peach Beach forward-dated to August 30th.
WARNINGS: Death. Message me at raynestorm if you'd like to work out a different scenario. Also a note: please feel free to create your own threads and/or threadjack for the cremation prompt, just write in the title if you'd prefer not to threadjack.

I. MISTIC
Gym, Utsuki Dojo, Hollingberry Field; August 26th to 29th

[The first thing Minako did after finding out Ryoji died was burst out of the hospital and beat up monsters with her bare hands. She's not quite as self-destructive now, but she's still pushing herself to the limits. You might encounter her either at: the gym, throwing her fists at a punching bag; the dojo, swinging a practice spear in shaky kata forms; or at Hollingberry Field, running on the track with sweat pouring down her face, but not stopping for a break at all.]

II. MEMORIES FROM 10 YEARS AGO
Expressive, Hollingberry Field, outside Minako's apartment; August 26th to 29th

[Otherwise...you might find her sitting at Expressive, nursing a cup of coffee, or at Hollingberry Field, sitting on the swing set. It's obvious that she's been crying, but it's in these moments, after she's physically exhausted her body, that she can truly start sorting through her thoughts and start the grieving process. Perhaps you'd like to join her. She wouldn't mind the company.

If you find her outside her apartment, she'll be sitting on the curb with her eyes closed, soaking up the sun with Koromaru beside her. An isopod plush is sitting in her lap, and if you're close enough, you might hear a quiet crinkle of paper beneath the sections of the isopod when she hugs it.]

III. KIMI NO KIOKU
Peach Beach; August 30th

[Minako has no idea how a real cremation is supposed to go, too young and traumatized at the time of her parents' death to remember. And honestly, she doesn't care. The ashes aren't from Ryoji's body anyways. That...will be for a later time. Today is instead her own personal good bye, and for anyone else coming. She's reserved one of the pits that's off to the side of the beach, relatively undisturbed by happy families spending one last summer day on the beach, and in it, she's burning a black kintsugi bowl. Its pair is sitting nearby.

Once the black bowl is completely burned, Minako scoops the ashes out and slides them into the white bowl before turning to the friends who have come to attend.]

There was a month a while back, when Retrospec was making our phones broadcast all of our deepest secrets and painful memories. Ryoji heard my secret that I...that I was afraid people don't like me unless I'm always smiling. That I hate burdening people with my thoughts for fear that they won't accept me anymore.

And what he did in answer...was to give me two bowls. In Japan, there's an art form of fixing broken pottery by fusing the pieces with gold-dusted lacquer. It's called kintsugi, and kintsugi pieces are considered to be more beautiful than the original, sometimes. He gave me them as a reminder that I...am perfect the way I am, broken pieces and all, because all of that, in the end, is still me. I am good enough. Me, simply being Minako Arisato, was enough for him.

[She's blinking rapidly now, tears forming and falling down her cheeks.]

I know now, seeing you all here, that he was right. That it's okay to rely on everyone else. Because everyone else is going through the same things I am. The same sadness and grief. I will-- [Her voice cracks, and she has to take a moment to collect herself.] I'll miss him so much. He was a part of me, and now that he's gone, I've become irreversibly broken again. But I'll be okay. He left me so many texts. [A watery laugh.] So many texts! And selfies, and notes, and little gifts. I won't ever be without reminders of him. But most of all, he left me the memories of his smiles and laughter. I'll use these to fuse myself together until I'm whole again.

I've burned the black bowl today...as my good bye to him. The two of us who were inseparable, now parted...but the friendship we shared can never be denied or forgotten.

[She turns to the ocean and walks to the edge, the tiny waves lapping at her sandaled feet. Scooping the ashes into her fingers, she gently blows them into the wind and whispers as they float away.]

Ryoji...are you listening? Thank you for putting me back together time and time again. Good bye.

[Anyone is free to come talk to her at any point after the ceremony. She is still nothing like the exuberant young woman she used to be, but she's more willing to respond now.]

IV. BECAUSE I WILL PROTECT YOU
Various; September onwards

[After the ceremonial cremation, Minako is...better. It's still so soon after Ryoji's passing, and there are many times where she'll suddenly hurry away, or hide her face as a bout of quiet crying starts. But she is Minako, and Minako wouldn't be herself if she wasn't helping others. She tells everyone at the cremation that she'll be available to talk to, if anyone else is seeking closure. Talking about her feelings has helped a lot in the past few days, and she wants to extend the same offer to others grieving.

She thinks...it's better to grieve together than alone.

So whether it's at her apartment, in a quiet bench at the park, or somewhere else-- if anyone asks, she'll come.

Or if you didn't want to ask...well. She made a note of who attended the cremation. She's going to check up on you eventually.]

Comments

III. ota

[belligerentwarrior]

A. [Freya couldn't not attend. She's too closely tied to this; too close to Minako, too close to the event that wounded Ryoji, too close to his death.]

[She's quiet for the ceremony, and uncharacteristically still. The tall woman stares at the sky the whole time, her expression stoic with only the briefest flickers into the something upset. As usual, her body language expresses more; she stands rigid and tense, her hands at her sides balled into white-knuckled fists.]

[The set is broken. It'll never be the same without the other half.]

[No matter what blame Minako places on or absolves Freya of, publicly and privately, Freya will always consider her to have a role in this. She will memorize this day, engrave its grief and pain into her bones as a reminder of failure, and spur herself with it to fight tooth and nail from ever letting this happen again. One broken set is more than enough to live with, and no apology will ever make it right, even if nothing was her fault.]

B. [Freya leaves soon after the ashes are scattered, nearly stalking further down the beach, opposite from the direction of home. She heads far from the gathering site, from the tourists and happy families, down between the dunes where she thinks no one can hear her.]

[And starts punching the first wooden signpost she finds with frustrated screams. Today was the catalyst to turn grief into determination and rage, something that would drive her instead of hold her back, but there was still too much roiling in Freya's chest to simply walk away back to her life silently. Her fists ignite with every punch, scorching spots on the brined wood, but not spreading. Freya doesn't stop until it feels like her hand's about to break, though her knuckles are swollen and bloody for what feels like the umpteenth time in too recent history.]

B

[mincingminuet]

[Throughout the ceremony, Penelope had stayed by Freya's side, quiet and supportive. It'd been hard, seeing her like that, and to someone as used to being around her as Pen it was startling. She had wanted to reach out, to say something, but she knew what loss and grieving looked like and it wouldn't be right to force herself onto her partner until it was over. They'd separated after the ceremony, Pen going to talk to Minako, but her eyes had lingered on Freya's departing back.

After what needed to be said had been said, she followed her girlfriend down the beach, already knowing what she'd find. Freya expressed anger and regret a lot like Frank, so the frustrated howl was no surprise. She held her distance, keeping well back until her partner finally seemed spent. As much as it pained her to see her like this, people had to grieve in their own way, and no matter how close one was to another person, you had to let them.

When Freya sagged a little, Pen approached with strips of white cloth held in her hands.]

Let me wrap those, Freya.

I, dojo

[cattack]

[She isn't the only one who felt the need to exhaust herself. Cleo has never been good at handling feelings, and so she's taken to the dojo, wooden sword in hand to beat the everloving shit out of some poor training dummy. The anger in her strikes is palpable, as her shouts and kiais sound more like roars of fury than anything else, and so everyone's giving her a wide berth.

Finally, she spots Minako, and approaches.]

Spar with me. Please.

[complementing]

[Minako turns but offers no smile of greeting. Only nods slightly and turns to face her friend, tucking her spear against her side in her fight-ready stance. Her voice is paper thin when she speaks.]

Whenever you're ready.

[esperimental]

iii. - ota
[ Ritsu was certain he was the one who deserved to attend this the least. He never had the heart to post the awful truth on the network, and he consciously avoided everyone who witnessed what happened in the mansion that day. They'd either tell him to not think it was his fault even if it was, or rightfully hate him. If he could only be certain of the latter, it wouldn't be so bad. What's calculated is always better than the unknown.

But really, he avoided being too close to anyone, no eye contact, and a fair distance away from everyone else, and like this he knew he should remain. But Ritsu pays attention to Minako's heartfelt goodbye speech, and feels the sand in his grip go underneath the nails he hasn't yet bothered to trim. Sending off a symbol of Ryoji to the ocean that they had just reclaimed, but at what cost?

He didn't see his ghost. There was so much more he needed to say. That everyone here needed to say.

Ritsu's eyes stare on, empty. Any attempt to touch him will result in a defensive reaction with a surprised yelp not unlike someone was about to hurt him. ]

iv.
[ The state of Ritsu Kageyama's appearance just keeps getting worse. He spends many nights lying in bed but not asleep, and has lessened if not all-out skipped eating whenever he could. When he does go out, it's the same colorless blur of the slow passing of days, except for the red he sees on his hands. So when he tires of fruitlessly trying to quiet the biting ants under his skin with the wringing of his fingers, he puts his hands in his pockets.

Why couldn't it have been him instead.

He sees a littered soda can on the road, instead of picking it up, Ritsu gives it a frustrated kick. Amplified by his emotional state, his telekinesis gives it an extra punch... knocking right into almost or actually hitting Minako. ]

O-oh my god I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to. I-- that was stupid of me.

[ And his day's only going to go more splendidly when he realizes who this was. ]

iii

[belligerentwarrior]

[Ritsu might have been avoiding them, but Freya attended today intent on spotting the kid, if he was in attendance. She's been worried about him, when she had the time for idle thoughts, and almost sent him a message or two over the network.]

[In the end, though, Freya felt she needed to see him in person. She watches his thousand yard stare for several quiet moments after approaching.]

Ritsu. [Quietly. Softly. Like she might scare him off speaking too loudly.]

[elevelvetor]

(this is a lot of set-up & flower stuff)
[ She was young when her parents died, but there are still things she remembers: the solemnity of the wake, the wetness of her immediate aunt's tears on her shoulder when she knelt down to hug her. The quiet realization as her cousins held hands with their mothers and fathers, the youngest asking if they could go home or play already while the older ones simply watched or made small talk about the deceased, that her own laid in matching coffins in front of her.

The beautiful sprays of white flowers she can't remember, encircling pictures of her parents at their most vibrant; the dark green of foliage wrapping between blossoms, making their color stand out. A sea of black clothing and the inevitable relief of being outside, away from death, and the twinge of guilt that comes with it. Muted discussions of what to do with assets and property, what to do with her, and volunteers to take her in that, as she found, never lasted.

Elizabeth isn't particularly close to Minako. She wasn't close to Ryoji either, or his mother. She brings the arrangement she promised regardless: several small, round baskets of criminally bright flowers, the blossoms popping against its black coloring. Green cypress forming a bed for the blooms, with white and pink carnations building the next layer—three of each color—and vibrant blue forget-me-nots surrounding three white casablanca lilies. Yellow dandelions are dispersed throughout, accompanied by a few pale pink gillyflowers.

For the exceptionally curious, there's a notecard attached to each basket with their names, meanings, and other facts:

"Cypress - Cupressus - mourning
Carnation - Dianthus caryophyllus - I will never forget you (pink); remembrance (white)
Casablanca lily - Lilium casa blanca - celebration; a type of oriental flower, whose meaning is generally "pure of heart"
Forget-me-not - Myosotis - remember me
Dandelion - Taraxacum officinale - happiness
Gillyflower - Cherianthus chieri - bonds of affection

Grieve, but never forget, nor forget to celebrate the joys and bonds found in life." ]

(and this is the actual part you can tag— iii, ota)
[ It feels strange to dress in black, so she's opted to match her arrangements instead: a pale pink blouse and a white flowing skirt, with a smaller basket of cypress sprigs on her arm. She stays standing, impassively watching the service, though as Minako's speech winds down, she'll approach any that've come to offer them one of the sprigs. ]

It's believed that they help to ease the mind after someone passes away. [ As way of explanation. Elizabeth smiles slightly, shifting the basket on her arm. ] It isn't necessary for you to take one, nor for you to believe such a superstition, but I thought it would be good to offer regardless.

III

[yamagishi]

[Fuuka never been to be a funeral before so to see the service before her was quite the experience. Although, knowing that Ryoji died was something difficult for her to swallow. Now that she remembered him from somewhere, it felt like she lost a connection. While it was nowhere near as much as Minako's, it was still something.

Just as she was about to go, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Elizabeth]

No, I think I would like one. Thank you, that's really nice of you to do this.

II Closed for Minako

[storytelleroftime]

[Her approach is quiet and stealthy. Minako, so wrapped up in her own emotions, might not even notice Maggie as she approached her, and in Maggie's mind, that was the best way to handle things. She strode over to the swing next to Minako, taking a seat in it. She looked over at her for a brief moment, then idly stared at the ground. Now, here came the hard part of all this.

[Finding the right words.

[She had hear about Ryoji's death, and that was why she had came. But she wasn't really her to comfort Minako, per se, but to help her. And she doubted her methods of help would be making Minako feel particularly comforted anyways. Nonetheless, she found them a necessary step, which is why when she had seen her here, she had approached. And so, she started things off perhaps not in the most eloquent or meaningful way, but just as a way of getting her attention, her words lacking Maggie's usual cheerful tone.]

"Hey, Mina."

[complementing]

[Minako dips her head in a small gesture of acknowledgement, but otherwise has nothing to offer for now. Magilou is...not one of the people she would put high up on her list of confidantes, but their time together in the past three weeks has made them comrades, at the very least. Even if Magilou is, at different turns, aggravating and confusing and in general too different from Minako for her to truly understand her.]

III closed for Minako.

[burningblossoms]

[Yukiko attended, of course, her normally red outfit muted in shade till it was as dark as blood. She couldn't not come, and not only to offer a goodbye to Ryoji. He'd been a friend, a good one, but there were also the living people around him that needed her support. None moreso than Minako.

Quietly, after the ceremony finishes, she approaches her friend and reaches tentatively for her hand.]

That was very touching, Minako.

[complementing]

[Minako turns to Yukiko and reaches back to squeeze their hands together, looking down at the white kintsugi bowl in the other.]

Thank you. [A little pause, and then she admits.] The idea to have the cremation came to me immediately. It's what he wanted. But I didn't think of what to actually burn until a couple days ago.

III closed for Minako.

[mincingminuet]

[Minako wasn't her closest friend, and she'd never met Ryoji, but Penelope could understand and empathize. She felt sorry for everyone involved, and she'd come mainly to support Freya should she need it, but leaving without saying a word to Minako felt wrong. After everything had been done, the ashes scattered, she gave people who were closer a chance for their words before approaching.

Head down, she bobbed in a half bow before offering a small envelope in both hands. Inside was a hundred dollar bill, along with a note that said To help alleviate some of the cost of moving forward. If you can't work for a while, I'll support you how I can.]

Minako. I...know we aren't particularly close, but if you ever need something, anything, please come to me okay?

[complementing]

[The envelope is a surprise, and Minako gingerly takes it into her hands before reaching out to hug Pen tightly. The generosity she's been offered these past few days. The concern and care. She is moved beyond words.]

I will. And I'd like to change that. All of this has-- [A soft, shaky sigh.] Losing Ryoji has shown me just how much more I need to appreciate everyone in my life. Like how he did.

[She's always so busy...always devoting so much time to ReVA. She needs to ease up.]

u kno what II

[matchbreaker]

[ Elda didn't really respond to the girl's PSA about the dead fellow, nor did she intend to go to the ceremony. She barely know the boy other than participating in that scavenger hunt he set up. That said... the fact that she can fairly concretely say that he was a boy (within a broad definition of it; far too young at least to die like this) and that she is a girl (far too young to be managing this) really put everything into context, her own fears about her own sons and how lucky she really was that in the aftermath of all of that no one she knew in ant real detail - on and off retrospec - suffered a fatality.

But weighing down people with her own thoughts, when at best she can manage sympathy for the young woman she sort of knew didn't seem particularly artful. Actually, it seemed somewhat gauche.

So it's when she sees the other girl sitting there on a swing on the park that she realizes that it must be... fate? Coincidence? Either way, the woman pushes up her sunglasses and makes her way over to the swing and... well she'll sit on the other swing. Sorry, actual children. ]

Hey, mind if I sit here?

[complementing]

[She looks up, and while her eyes are as red-rimmed as they have been the past week, she's not actively crying right now...which is an improvement. She nearly made a couple of kids on the playground cry a few days back, bursting into tears in public the way she did.]

Of course not.

[redarm]

[III. OTA]
[Noah went to the cremation ceremony. He'd been to funerals before, mostly just people who passed away in the circus from old age or disease. But all those were different from this, and none of them he'd really been close to the dead.

He's there in a dark suit, newly bought. During the ceremony itself, he stands in the back and is quiet. Timcanpy sits on his shoulder, also sad at the passing of Ryoji. After the ceremony itself is finished, he can be found being on his own for the most part. From the rest in his eyes, it's clear he's been crying off and on throughout the entire day.]

[IV. Closed to Minako]
[It's a few days after the funeral that he texts Minako, remembering her offer that she gave him about remembering Ryoji together]

hey.
do you want to get some ice cream?

[complementing]

I'd love to

should I meet you there, or would you like to take a walk somewhere first?

II - closed to minako

[reticence]

[This week has been something else all together, so when Faolan finally gets a chance to breathe, relax, and return to some semblance of normalcy, he grabs that bull by the horns. Even if it means that he's out for a walk with a bad ankle after the fighting the day before, so be it. He'll take it, over sitting in his apartment hiding away the rest of the day like he would otherwise be wont to do.

His charge, Laurent, has given him the day off, so at least he has the option, if not the means to go for a jog. As it is, it's more of a leisurely stroll. But fresh air and the atmosphere of the park are doing him well, and he might even be enjoying himself here. And then he sees her.

Not that Faolan can claim to know Minako all that well, but they'd been paired together a few times over the past month and he's gotten to know her well enough to know that something's off, as he spots her across the way on the swing. He doesn't know what's wrong but he knows that it's something as he steps forward towards her, slowing as he reaches her side. Her eyes seem a little red, the closer he gets. Has she been crying...?]

Hey. Long time, no see, yeah?

[complementing]

[It's because they still don't know each other well that her lips come up automatically in a shadow of a smile in greeting. But it's also because they've spent so much time together in the past few weeks that she doesn't feel bad about dropping it soon after, feeling that he'd understand.]

Feels like forever.

II, Expressive

[scarlet_devil]

[ That Émilie would encounter Minako here was all down to chance. She was trying to give Minako a little space until September.

She never knew Ryoji herself, after all. ]

Oh... I didn't see you, Minako. If you need to be alone, I can come back later... [ Coffee can wait for a bit. ]

[complementing]

[She looks up from her coffee, and while a flicker of surprise crosses her face, she only offers a little shake of her head.]

You can sit if you'd like. I can't promise that I'll be good company, though.

I, Gym

[lingeringwill]

[It's the kind of thing that happens in movies. The steady, rhythmic crunching, mimicking the fallen leaves of the oncoming autumn season. His yellow eyes narrow from across the room, watching her. How long has she been at it, anyway? Probably...too long, from the looks of her. As much as he's wanted to go over there, it probably isn't the best idea. Terra doesn't really want to try to interfere in her process of grief. She's blowing off steam, channeling how upset she is into something positive...well, relatively positive, he supposes.

He glances down at his set of bands--a symbol of his own personal struggle. So far, the therapy hasn't been going particularly well, and the strength in his arms hasn't returned. It's especially hard to focus given the recent loss. And while he and Ryoji weren't best friends--he was absolutely the nicest person he knew. Yeah, even more so than the girl over there, plunging her feelings into the heavy bag. Which is saying something, considering Minako is an angel of sorts in his eyes. He never texted him back, did he? Leaning his head back, Terra wonders if Ryoji was proud of him for telling her the truth.

And yet...it's hard not to feel like that wasn't just giving Minako even more baggage to deal with. Is that why it's so hard to go over there and talk to her? Hard to know--especially without talking to her. Bending one of the elastic bands forward with his heavily bandaged left arm, he peers over at her again. Face flushed, arms looking heavier by the second. Blowing up, but with no sign of stopping. That's Minako, working herself to the bone with no regard for herself...

Sighing, he lets the band drop to the floor and rises to his feet, sauntering over to the heavy bag slowly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. The sweat pouring down around her red hair and red hairs--yeah, the picture of frustration. He waits a bit for her punches to slow before he makes any concerted effort to attract her attention.]

Even the pros only do it for three minutes at a time, y'know. [He looks to her with a hesitant smile, running a hand through his messy brown hair. With his other hand, he offers a small face towel towards the tiring girl.]

Take a breather, yeah?

[complementing]

[When she finally deigns to stop, Minako turns and takes in the sight of her friend, her eyes meeting his for a moment before falling over the sight of his bandaged arm. Through her grief about Ryoji, bits and pieces of their phone conversation come back to her, and there's a sudden roar in her ears, all of her body tensing up for a moment.

She was really close to losing Terra, too.

And while losing Terra, dear friend that he is, wouldn't have hurt her as much as losing the Mochizukis has torn her apart, him standing here is proof that he's alive, and that she hasn't lost anyone else. She will gladly take that reminder.

Minako shucks off her gloves and throws her arms around him, burying her face in his chest, all of the adrenaline seeping out and returning back to sorrow and tears.]

Terra.

III

[destiny_key]

[a - ota]

[Sora's at the funeral, right up front, as close to Minako as he can possibly get without removing himself from from the crowd. He didn't know Ryoji, not really; he could count on one hand the amount of times they'd spoken. But he wants to be here for him, and wants to be here for Minako. They both deserved it.

It's easy to catch him after the funeral, if you'd like to speak with him.]

[b - closed to minako]

[When the service is over, and the people are beginning to scatter, Sora makes a beeline for his cousin, only getting stopped once or twice. He speaks kindly to them, but he's distracted, trying to keep an eye out.

Finally, he makes his way to Minako, and stops by her side. Slowly, he takes her hand to hold, but doesn't say anything. Much like the day before, there's not much he can say. But he wants to be here for her; she's always been there for him.]

[complementing]

[These past few days, any time anyone has touched her without her knowing, she jumps a bit, startled. It's because she finds herself just. Standing and staring off into the distance, sinking in and out of her tumultuous thoughts, to the point that she's usually in a daze when someone finds her. Now is no different, but seeing its him, she folds her fingers around his without hesitation, squeezing once.]

...do you think he heard me?

III Closed to Minako

[youraffection]

[ Losing a loved one is always tough, but it's not a pain that Yosuke knows all that intimately. His life thus far has been blessedly free of death, save his grandmother, but at her age its to be expected. Seeing someone he's always looked up to, so seemingly confident--unwavering in her optimism and conviction--holding herself together...

It hurts. He's not so selfish as to worry about that, but even though Yosuke didn't know Ryoji well, just seeing him as a pretty decent and easy going guy, it's the pain that his loss causes for Minako that means more than anything. She shouldn't have to cry, but she shouldn't have to smile to pretend she isn't, either.

Her words sit with him for a while. They were very candid, more honest than he allows himself to be on the best of days. Yosuke feels like maybe he doesn't know her as well as he thought.

So when the crowds have ebbed a bit, he'll approach her with a smile. ]

Hey, senpai...

[ He wants to put a hand on her shoulder, but hesitates. ]

[complementing]

[The smile she offers is nothing like the smiles she's worn before, barely there and quivering at the corners as she tries to swallow down more impending tears. But she's glad to see him. Glad to see that he's doing better from the day of the big fight, looking healthy and whole. Seeing his hesitation, she reaches out and takes his hand, lacing their fingers together and squeezing tight. The reminder that all of her friends are still okay, through that single motion, is enough for her.] Thank you for coming, Yosuke-kun.

[long_live_the_queen]

III. ota

[There was always something about beaches. Something happening on them, something to see there. With the ocean's return, it was almost—almost—normal again.

With a glaring omission.

Lucy didn't say anything during the ceremony. She didn't even say much that day. She only appeared, silently, when it was time to go. And she barely left Minako's side once they were at the beach, though she stayed more to the shadows during the speech.

After the ceremony, she gave Minako space. But she didn't go far, pacing an uneven, agitated line near the water's edge.]

IVish. (Closed to Minako)

[Lucy still didn't want to leave Minako's side, in the days afterwards. But she had other responsibilities, horribly pressing ones. She was already on thin ice at her job, for taking such a long hiatus. Asking for other days off was out of the question for months. But, whenever she could manage—breaks, split-shifts, trading hours—she was there again, hovering near her friend's shoulder.

This time was a park; quiet, mostly. There were people here, but mostly they were sticking to the pathways. Like Lucy was, following Minako like usual.

Quietly, she brushed her friend's elbow with her arm. She seemed to have slowed down for something.]

Are you okay, Minako?

[complementing]

[Minako doesn't mind Lucy following her around. While she loves all of her friends dearly, sometimes their hovering gets to be a little much, because she can tell that they're waiting for a sign-- a sob or her cracked voice, anything that will lead to her being set off, at which point they can jump in and be the supporting friends they are. And she is so grateful.

Lucy doesn't carry much of that expectation, though. Minako can tell she's only hovering just to make sure nobody else bothers her while she readjusts to living without Ryoji. So walking Koromaru like this is a quiet affair instead of the usual chatting with neighbors and such.

She glances to her roommate and dips her head in a small nod.]

Korochan just wanted to smell the flowers.

[Dandelions.]

Those were his favorite.

IVish, let me know if this is cool o/

[feistytrader]

[There are only so many clothes that Silver owns, and hardly any of them are appropriate for an occasion like this. The best he can do is a pair of dark jeans and a black button up. It's not like he particularly knew Ryoji well either, although he certainly grew fond of him over the few months he knew him, and a combination of that and how emotional this is for Minako leaves him feeling like he doesn't belong here, like he's intruding on something.

But this isn't about him. He can't just run away from everything. There's someone hurting much, much worse right in front of him that's laying her heart bare for all to see. Yet in the end, he can't bring himself to approach her and eventually slips away from the beach.

The decision eats at him for the next couple of days, to the point where he doesn't think the next time he sees her. It's by chance, and she's across the street, but he doesn't think much before dashing through traffic (and earning the ire and honks of a couple of rightfully angered people) and catching and catching himself on a stop sign to call out-]

-Minako, right?

[Something about this situation feels sort of familiar.]

it's all good! ovo)b

[complementing]

[Adjusting to life without her best friend and her mother figure means...well. Leaving the apartment, and not burrowing herself under the blankets like a hermit. Except she's been given time off at school, work, and the volunteer association, so she finds herself with an inordinate amount of free time on her hands and nothing to do.

Her knitting hobby answers that question for her, so when Silver flags her down, she's just left the arts and crafts store with a big bag of new supplies in her arms, peeking up over a ball of soft slate blue yarn at him.]

Yes. Hello, Silver. Were you looking for me?

II - Expressive

[totallynotanoni]

[Its been a long few days, and Katherine is definitely feeling the affects. Catching up on work, preparing for the upcoming college year, getting her apartment back together, the nightmares...Its been stressful, to say the least.

Now here she is in the coffee shop, bags under her eyes and a drag in her step. She's getting her third cup of coffee for the day, when she spots Minako on the other side of the shop. She's about to raise her voice in greeting, when she notices the look on her face. And is immediately reminded of her post from after the incident.

There's a slight hesitance in her, wondering if it would really be ok for someone that barely knew her to intrude....but there's no way she'd let herself do that.

So she walks up to the table, offering a small, empathetic smile.]

Hi, Minako.

[complementing]

[Minako glances up from her coffee and offers Katherine a weak smile. She doesn't know the other woman enough to feel as though she can drop it just yet, but the exhaustion and grief is definitely there in the lines of her face.]

Hello. I'm glad to see you're doing okay after that big fight.

III (OTA), IV

[frostythehitman]

[ III - ota ]

[ For all the songs he writes about it and all the gruesome memories he has of it, James has not actually had to directly experience death himself all that much. So he stands silently at the ceremony, watching Minako speak and try to hold himself together. When she blows his ashes into the wind, he has to look away, down at his shoes. It's too personal to watch, and too deeply messed up to think of that dusty pile as the guy who used to be his friend.

After the ceremony, he's sat right on the beach, dragging a finger through the sand idly and staring intently at the ground. He thinks if he looks up, he might cry.

He abruptly stops drawing and screws his eyes shut, covering his face with his hands. God, how do you even begin to deal with this stuff? ]


[ IV - minako ]

[ James has spent the last week trying to figure out how to process his emotions. It's been a lot of laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling while trying to swallow the miserable lump in his throat. A lot of holing himself away. A lot of sitting at the park with an open notebook, trying to write poetry to help him get the words out and instead staring into the distance morosely.

It's on one day at the park that Minako might catch him sitting there, hunched over the notebook like he's working hard but the page is completely empty. ]

[complementing]

[Koromaru's had a lot of walks, lately. His constant source of comfort has been a boon to Minako during her grieving process-- and little does she know that he's grieving with her too. She's very reluctant to let him stray too far.

But today, seeing James like that, she decides to make an exception, and takes the leash off his collar.]

Go on, Korochan.

[With a quiet whuff, the puppy trots over to James and sets his head against his knee.]

III. ota!

[livingdeadgirl]

[They're beautiful bowls, and it's a beautiful sendoff, the kind of artistic melancholy normally reserved for the end of a movie, after the beloved hero dies in the climax. Soon the movie will end, the lights will come up, and everyone will file out of the theater, quietly, some drying tears from their eyes. They'll go pick up a bite to eat, occasionally talking about what a good movie that was, even with such a bittersweet ending. Next week, they'll return to the theater for another one.

That's if this was a movie.

It's the first time Ami's been to a memorial service of any kind, the first time someone's passed away who she knew personally. Even her grandparents haven't kicked the bucket yet. She wears black, but then, she nearly always wears black. She wonders if that somehow cheapens it.

She knows some of the people gathered here today. Noah, his eyes red and puffy. Ritsu, with the thousand-yard stare. Lucy, stone-faced. Elizabeth, in pastels. Which of them does she belong with, though? What should she be feeling right now? Some of Minako's words don't resonate - everyone else is going through the same things I am. The same sadness and grief. But it's not the same sadness, is it? It's each of their individual sadnesses, accumulated, but distinct. Ami's sadness, that of someone who barely knew him, must be barely a drop in the bucket compared to Minako's.

Ryoji Mochizuki is dead.

And all of a sudden, she's someone else.

The light is almost blinding, and it's green. (Ami hasn't seen this shade of green in months.) His body is on the floor, oozing thick, yellow blood from every orifice. He's also standing next to it, not bleeding. Neither of him is Ryoji. She doesn't know anyone by that name.

Dave's there, and Karkat. They're younger. A few others. They talk about death, multiculturally. She makes a fool of herself, but no one's mad, and Dave and Karkat take it out on a high note with lampshading the absurdity of the Grim Reaper mythos and a long, loud swear, respectively, and it's just so them that she can't help but -

laugh.

She's Ami, at the beach. The ashes have been committed to the wind and surf. And she's laughing.]

Haha! Ha...

[... Oh god. Horrified, she clamps her hands over her mouth. It wasn't long or especially loud, but it was audible, and it was unmistakeable. Ami Aihara just laughed at a funeral.]

[complementing]

[The laugh definitely catches everyone's attention, but none so much as Minako's, who is off to the side, speaking in reserved tones with some of Ryoji's NPC friends. She turns to the source of the laughter, her expression flickering between bewilderment and hurt.

Catching Ami's eye, she bites her lip and beckons to her.]

iii

[admiringly]

[ Chiyo comes in appropriate funeral wear: a simple black dress. What is a little out of the ordinary is the bracelet made of forget-me-nots on her wrist. It's what she knows as one of Ryoji's favorite flowers, and it's symbolism for friendship. She'll remember him and their friendship despite death and despite time.

Her eyes were puffy but dry when she arrived, but Minako's speech set off a fresh wave of tears. She keeps as silent and quiet as possible because Minako's words are beautiful and impactful.

She waits until her tears have slowed and Minako's alone to approach. ]

Minako. Can I have a hug?

[complementing]

[Minako is starting to show fatigue, but she doesn't hesitate to step forward and wrap Chiyo up into her arms.]

Thank you for coming.

iv for mina-chan

[maskreant]

[ Akira has been hit pretty hard with Ryoji's passing, only finding fleeting instances of joy around his friends, but evidently listless when the day ends. Even if he thinks Ryoji is still around somehow, some way, it doesn't change the fact that he isn't here with them. Despite that, they have to move on and live life without another light in their day.

Actually, he's the one to contact Minako, asking if they can meet at his place. He's... worried about her. Once she arrives, he'll open the door only to be covered in flour from head to toe. ]

Hey... Thanks for coming.

[complementing]

[Minako arrives with a little housewarming gift, a set of knit cats, one for each roommate, because she'd missed helping out with moving in. And a big dish of homemade gyoza, because boys gotta eat and she's sure they've been exhausted after the aforementioned moving in.

Minako pauses at the door step, though, her brow furrowing a bit.]

Of course...um. You have a little something...

[She vaguely gestures to her face and then the rest of her body.]

late to the party, as always, but ota!

[loudmouths]

II.

[ being from a family as distant and lacking in connection as keigo was, the idea of "loss" wasn't something he could feasibly parse in a healthy way. older relatives died, there was an expectation to attend services, and then you left to continue on with your life. keigo had no real love lost for family he barely knew, family that saw him as a successor more than as an individual, so the tears of loss were a foreign concept to him. keigo's tears had always been superficial, spawned more from dramatics and histrionics than of any real, tangible feeling of hurt or pain. no, when he was truly in pain, tears were often far more hesitant to emerge.

because keigo was always happy. that was who he was; the guy that was smiling, the guy that was making people laugh at his overreacting, the guy that would always listen when someone was hurting. the guy that held himself at a much lower sense of importance than those around him.

so the news of ryoji's death... it hit him like a freight train. he couldn't process it. death wasn't anything new to him, but loss was. so those tears did come, but they didn't last. a wave of almost uncontrollable sobbing had hit him, terribly and suddenly, and then... he stopped. actually, everything sort of stopped. he forced himself along, daily routine long-since burned into his mind, and that was what lead him to the coffee shop. he liked coffee, he thought. in reality, he didn't feel much of anything.

but he saw her. the girl who'd posted about ryoji's death in the first place. minako, right?

he stared at her from across the room as he held his cup of coffee, almost blankly, like he hadn't seen an actual person before. slowly, he shuffled across the room, deftly weaving in between the chairs and tables and people, until he reached her. ]

Aah. [ his voice didn't feel, nor sound, like his own, but he continued, in an awkwardly unfettered manner. ] Can I sit here?

III.

[ days had passed. keigo still felt the uncomfortable aching in his chest of emotions he couldn't fully process. there were so many strange things going on in his life anymore, from ryoji's death to... more of those visions, that he couldn't keep up. shutting down mentally seemed to help for a while, and in between his daily tasks, keigo almost felt confident enough that he'd actually gotten over the worst of it. the moment the service had started, he realized that hadn't been the case.

minako's eulogy was moving, touching, and it truly spoke of how close the two of them must have been. it filled keigo's mind and heart with such a powerful empathy that he could barely stand it. once her voice cracked, he was done for; tears started to well in his eyes and he shut them, turning his head to one side. he gritted his teeth, a futile attempt to will them back to the recesses from which they came. anyone who might have looked his way could plainly see that he was crying, and though he was a veritable crybaby on any given day, this time it felt heavier, more shameful.

when minako was done, when the ashes were blown away by the wind, for the first time in years, keigo felt overwhelmed by the amount of people there. woodenly, he turned from the group, stepping past a few people to try and get some space between them. in reality, he wanted space between himself and the embodiment of overwhelming grief that the ceremony represented. it was still too much to come to grips with. he still couldn't believe that he was actually gone.

but trying to isolate himself never worked; he always wanted that contact, that tether of understanding. once he was a few yards away from the main congregation, keigo stopped, standing there in silence with his back turned. he wanted to say something, but he relented, instead opting to cover his face with his hands and breathe deeply, wishing for things he knew would never come to be. ]

never too late! ovo)/

[complementing]

[Minako glances up from her notes, blinking away some of the tiredness in her eyes. It's the day before the cremation, and she's working on her eulogy...or at least, trying to. There seem to be a hundred little notes scribbled on the two pages in front of her, and at least seventy percent of them are crossed out.

She doesn't recognize him, not really. Posting up the announcement, everything had passed in a blur. But she's not going to refuse a seat to someone looking as exhausted as she felt.]

Go ahead. Don't mind me.

III | ota but mostly yato is a ghost

[goen]

[ Yato shows up looking almost like he came on a whim, dressed as always in his black tracksuit with a katana sheathed at his side. He doesn't speak to anyone, just stands in the back with his arms crossed while Minako delivers her eulogy, his expression unreadable. Ryoji was an uncommonly good person, even if Yato didn't always agree with his way of life. His passing is a sadness. And -- yes, Yato can finally say without too much resistance that he's lost a friend.

Even so. The grieving attendees feel like a world apart. They find comfort in each other and give each other sympathetic looks, talk in low voices and reflect on what Ryoji meant to them. Yato watches them all and wonders if Ryoji's ghost is out there somewhere. Maybe that's the difference between so many of them and Yato: that certain knowledge of life after death.

And recently, his memories have introduced yet another concept to him: reincarnation. If gods can reincarnate, then Ryoji who was Thanatos who was a god of death...

Pharos can't be a coincidence.

Yato stares out over the crowd, lost in thought. As tempting as it is, he can't share his hypothesis with any human. When people die, the ones left behind have to learn to cope with their loss. It would be unfair of him to voice unsubstantiated possibilities and prolong that grieving process. And whoever Pharos is, Ryoji's memories are still lost...

Yato spends some time like this, watching and thinking and not looking as sad as he does spacy. After a while, once it starts to feel like he's loitering, he quietly leaves. ]

[complementing]

...Yato?

[She's finished the ceremony by now, listened to some people say "I'm sorry for your loss". She very badly wants to go home instead of speak to everyone, but she has to do this...at least seeing him gives her an excuse to pull away from one NPC friend of Ryoji's who is very insistently crying on her.]

Thank you for coming...

III OTA

[strawberrypunch]

[Tatsuma is here, and not in a hoodie for once. His clothes are dark and more befitting of a funeral, and he keeps his head tipped down throughout Minako's words. It isn't until she's finished that he dares speak up, and when he does, it's quiet - more like a thought to himself.]

...That's when I met him, too. Because of our secrets.

[It hurts a little to think about. To think of everyone left behind. But also, to think of just how many people Ryoji had touched here. There's some gratitude mixed in, that he had so many other friends, even if the sorrow of the loss continues to sting the most.

Sometimes, it still feels like he'll wake up and find out that Ryoji never died, and that all of this was just some long, unfortunate dream.

Logically, he knows that won't be the case. But a small part of him wishes for it even so.]

[complementing]

[She approaches him a little later, after she's spoken with a few other people who have gotten to her first.

Minako reaches out and lightly touches his shoulder.]

Hi. I heard what you said earlier.

[An opening to elaborate, if he wants to. He looks like he needs a hug more than that, though.]

iii. closed to minako

[covenantal]

[ There are tears rolling down his face despite his otherwise stoic expression by the time she's done. When he was a child, Yu used to wear his heart on his sleeve, crying just as easily as he laughed and expressive about everything he felt. His stoicism was learned, and in the past few months, is slowly being forgotten; gradually he's opened up to the world bit by bit. Minako and Ryoji were fundamental in making that happen for him. So maybe it's only right that he should be able to express the pain in his heart when it's them he's crying for. There's little point in hiding the endless depths of grief he feels.

When he thinks he can get her alone Yu will take Minako off to one side and pull her into his arms for a hug, not unlike the day he found her at the parking structure. He'll just hold onto her for a while, as long as she likes, before speaking. ]

I have something you should hear, senpai. If you want to.

[complementing]

[Of the many friends who have come to express their condolences, Yu is one of the few that she is willing to be completely open with. She doesn't have to hide her exhaustion or keep pasting on this smile that barely feels like a smile at all. No, with him, she doesn't have to hold back her grief in any capacity. Because Yu isn't like Freya, who bears the guilt of supposedly failing at her job; he isn't like Sora, who barely knew Ryoji but wants to comfort her all the same. Yu is like her and Noah-- intimately familiar with the warmth and comfort Ryoji brought into their lives where they had none before, and have become seemingly lost without it now.

They will bear this terrible loss and persevere. Minako will make sure of that. But for now, she lets herself have this: an embrace that she doesn't pull away from, a quiet voice that tells her he's still here. She weeps into his shirt without reservation.

Her eyes are as red as her hair when she pulls back, puffy and achingly swollen. But they are, as ever, watching him, making sure that Yu is taken care of as well. She is nodding before he even finishes asking, assuming it's a song he's composed for Ryoji.]

Of course, Yu-kun.