➵ hikaru

[riegan]

fun fact "random icon" kept trying to give me my sketchiest claude icons for this post

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WEEK 0, POST-INVESTIGATION

[riegan]

(It's not unusual to see Claude hanging around Caelum. After all, Hilda is his sort-of retainer. It's hard to tell if he's just hanging around because he wants to speak to Hilda again or if he just conveniently happens to be in the area but when he sees Hikaru, he gives her a soft smile,)

Hey. (Raising a hand to give her a salute,) Rough day, huh?

[heartablaze]

[She's pretty much dragging herself up the stairs towards their room, her hair an absolute mess, bits of grass and twigs stuck in her braid and on her outfit. In one hand is a broadsword, and in the other is a plushie of some sort, curled tightly against her body.]

Oh... Hi, Claude-san. [Her eyes are. Very obviously red. But she's doing her best to keep her chin level, even if she just wants to lie down for a minute.]

Um, did you need to talk to Hilda-chan? I can see if she's in the room, if you want.

WEEK 0, SATURDAY POST-TRIAL

[heartablaze]

[you ever just lie down in the grass and contemplate your life

well someone sure is lying down in the grass and contemplating their life

She's splayed out like a starfish in the grassy areas being the planetarium, staring up at the dusky clouds and pretending very hard that this is not a great way for bugs to crawl on your face. Which is exactly what happens when Claude might spot her, a full 0 to 100 as Hikaru sputters, scooting up to a sitting position as her fingers wipe frantically at her mouth. Blech.]

Gah-- ew, yuck...

[riegan]

Hah!

(He sure is going to laugh,)

People always told me if you keep your mouth open, a bug will fly in. I didn't think it really happened, though.

(Because Claude von Riegan talks a lot and he's never had a bug fly into his mouth.

Anyway, he's going to make his way over towards and just... take a seat right on the grass beside her. That's not very noble like of him. What kind of noble just sits in the grass!!)

You good? Need another minute?

(He can wait for her to get it together. He doesn't mind.)

WEEK ONE, THURSDAY AT WHATEVER TIME DOESN'T INTERFERE WITH UR IC CRISIS

[heartablaze]

[If Claude has been snooping, which he always is so I'm gonna give him this as a freebie, but a certain shorty's been a little less peppy since Tuesday night. Maybe she didn't sleep well? Who knows. She's at least somewhat energetic when they all meet for the events at the virtual rooms in the spaceship on Wednesday, but by the end of the day seems to be dragging her feet when they're all fluttering back to the inn.

Today? Today, you could probably guess the girl is either deeply depressed or practically sleepwalking. Her eyes stay down as she carefully walks through the town, gaze heavy, the pockets under her eyes turning dark. She looks like she's heading towards the Emporium from the Inn, not a far walk at all... but she's about halfway before her weight slowly starts to topple to the side, catching herself against the wall of whatever building she's against and sinking down to the street.

It's okay. It's okay, she just... maybe she can just spare a few minutes to close her eyes. It'll be okay.]

PROBABLY LATE MORNING/EARLY AFTERNOON

[riegan]

(Claude is coming back from... somewhere! Where ever that place might be, he has his bow and he's heading back towards the inn when he sees some poor girl staggering around. )

Hikaru? (Something's off with her and he becomes more alert and breaking into a jog to catch her when she slumps up against the building,) Hey!

(He kneels down next to her, reaching to grab her by her shoulders and trying to get a look at her face to see what's wrong,)

Hey, look at me. (Patting her lightly on the cheek,) What's wrong? What happened to you?

(DID....... something else.... happen today???)

WEEK ONE - SATURDAY - POST-TRIAL

[heartablaze]

[haha

Well, someone sure is beelining straight for the planetarium after trial, and then straight back to the inn where she slams her door shut and refuses to come out for a VERY long time. But much later in the evening, she can be found sneaking out of the kitchen with a glass of water and eyes that are red from crying, trying to sneak back up the steps like maybe people won't see her out in the open.]

[riegan]

(And she'll make it to the top of the stairs!!! But guess what? As soon as she turns to head down to her room, someone's gonna yank her by the ponytail (gently),)

Sneaking around, are you?

WEEK ONE - SUNDAY NIGHT

[heartablaze]

[She still looks tired as all shit, but Hikaru, for ONCE this week, has some determination back in her posture as she pushes her way into the inn and starts hunting people down.

Claude, wherever the fuck you are, she is slamming her hands on whatever piece of furniture is nearby out of some combination of frustration and a week of just pure Awful needing to get out of her body.

NOW THAT SHE HAS YOUR ATTENTIONT:]

Claude, I need to ask you something. This is important, okay?

[riegan]

(WHERE IS HE INDEED HMMM

Probably coming back to the inn, his bow slung over his shoulder. So she might be banging on the front desk or something which has him jumping almost out of instinct and staring at her with GUILTIEST expression,)

Huh?! (Oh, it's just Hikaru and not an angry academy professor or Seteth yelling at him to stop soliciting the kitchen staff to change their menu for him,) Oh, Hikaru.

(He relaxes, and gives her his usual smile,)

How can I say "no" when you ask like that? Alright, let's talk but not here.

(AND JUST GONNA LEAD HER TO HIS.... empty room.)

WEEK 2 - MONDAY

[heartablaze]

[from here--]

[Once she knows that they're by themselves, she pulls the slip away from the shrine and into her hands, pushing herself up to her feet with the slide of metal against wood as her sword comes up with her. She doesn't turn to face Claude, her eyes stuck on the slip in front of her.]

Nii-chan... do you... remember what Hajime-chan looked like?

[riegan]

Of course.

(It's not like she's been gone for a long time? He thinks, at least,)

She was a cute girl. She had black hair and... gray eyes?

(Actually, he isn't too certain but like, that's not a big deal, right? It's not like they were very close. But in a place like this, it's hard to tell. )

... Why are you asking?

WEEK 2 - FRIDAY

[heartablaze]

[She'll be absent for a good portion of the day after investigations, but by the time she's out looking for Claude, she's changed into some of the bare basics of her alternate outfit. It still looks a little ridiculous... but her hair is freshly damp instead of frizzed out, her burns all re-bandaged, the trim at the bottom of her coat now completely ripped off and wrapped around one hand.

She finds him out on the rooftops, staring up at the sky, and it seems so familiar.

She'll quietly break the space between them... and reach out to gently brush her hand against his arm, bracing for the shock that will follow.

Zap.]

[riegan]

Ow--!

(And guess who just... jumps! He pulls his arm back and turns to face her,)

Hikaru!

(What was that for!!)

WEEK 2 - SATURDAY

[heartablaze]

[It's late when Claude will get a steady knock on his bedroom door. Hope you are not sleeping or smooching because that's an awkward interruption.]

[riegan]

(OH BOY WHAT A TRIAL, he's beat and ready to sleep!! But of course, he's kind of popular tonight, isn't he? There's a knock on his door and he considers just ignoring it to catch some rest but he eventually gets up to open it.

Seeing it's Hikaru, he smiles,)

Isn't it past your bedtime?

WEEK TWO - SUNDAY NIGHT

[heartablaze]

[It's

actually really hard to knock on a door when you are very short and both of your hands have tea in them??? Hm yikes how to do this.

She is just awkwardly settling for knocking her foot against the door a couple times.]

[riegan]

(This time, it doesn't take as long for him to answer! When he hears a... strange knock? He opens the door and,)

It looks like someone was ready.

(With tea! How nice. He'll step to the side, holding the door open for her to come in.)

WEEK THREE - MONDAY

[heartablaze]

[Well, he won't be able to find her in the inn for some reason! But if Claude is actually willing to go outside today, Hikaru can be found wading through one of the streams near the village, plucking out rocks from the bottom. Her sword is settled within arm's reach, and she moves it whenever she migrates to a different part of the stream.

what rock crimes will she commit]

NOW ON TUESDAY FOR REASONS

[riegan]

(It's not his fault he woke up with no voice on Monday. Sometimes karma gets you for running your mouth. But now he's free and he's here to catch Hikaru just.... splashing around in the river.)

Watch out for the mermaids. (Are they still around? He'll stand over by the river for now, watching her,) Need help?

(He has no idea what she's doing but he'll help okay.)

WEEK THREE - WEDNESDAY NIGHT

[heartablaze]

[It's hard to find the person she's looking for... but at least, right now, it's easy to ignore everyone else. He's not answering his door, and she can't seem to spot him anywhere else in the town proper. So the night takes her to wandering out to the wild, checking through the abandoned buildings in the village, trying her best to spot the dark mop of hair above caramel skin.

Whether he spots her, or she spots him... one thing is very clear. Hikaru's normally long braid is missing, leaving the scruffy remains of a mop of pink behind.]

...Claude?

[riegan]

(And here he is, out by himself in the middle of the night trying to find peace in the quiet of the world around him. His face hurts-- it's red from where where someone has struck him but really, that pain is nothing compared to other things.

When he sees Hikaru, he's quick to pull himself together, standing up straight and tall once more and trying to greet her with a friendly smile that drops as soon as he sees her--)

What happened to you?

(Where? Is her hair?)

WEEK THREE - THURSDAY (curfew)

[heartablaze]

[It's just a short little while before the doors are set to lock that Hikaru wanders to Room 5 in her pajamas, a blanket around her shoulders and her PHS in hand, along with a little plushie of someone.

She knows she'll probably get stuck out here in the inn hallway if he doesn't answer... but it's fine. To be in the room with Shiro right now wasn't the worst, but...

...

She'll quietly knock against Claude's door, already working on typing a response while she's waiting for him to answer.]

[riegan]

(He really just wants to be left alone for a bit. This week has... definitely been something that he needs to think about and if tonight is going to be his last night alive, he might as well try to come to peace with it some how.

But there's a knock on his door and he looks at the clock, wondering if it's someone looking for Elsa or him. It's only because it's Thursday night and he doesn't want to leave anyone out in the hallway alone that he answers the door. He sees Hikaru and frowns...)

Come in.

(He steps aside, holding the door open for her. He's definitely not leaving Hikaru out,)

Elsa isn't here but I'm sure she won't mind.

WEEK THREE - FRIDAY LIKE MID AFTERNOON

[heartablaze]

[handwaves them being miserable and quiet all morning, its fine we discussed it

However, Hikaru's rolling back to Room 5 later, her expression a little colder, almost nauseous. If he isn't there, she's gonna go chabge out of her pajamas finally and go searching.]

[riegan]

(AND SHE'S BACK and is it possible for Claude to look worse? The answer is yes because for the most part, he's been keeping it together this week but when Hikaru finally gets him, he just looks exhausted, like someone who really, really needs to rest. Or cry. Or talk. Or all of the above. But who knows.

It's been a week, okay?)

Hikaru.

(He can't really... bring himself to turn her away, not after this morning and everything this week (and everything else) but...)

Hey, now might not be a good time...

Week 3, weekend?

[riegan]

(Anyway it's Sunday? Saturday? Nik I'll let you decide exactly when this happens but Claude will show up at Hikaru's door since she has a whole room to herself now (RIP).

Regardless of the time or day, he's definitely had better days and he'll just. Wait for her to answer her door or show up. Whichever needs to happen.)

Sunday so we aren't Extra Depressed

[heartablaze]

[She's on her way back, so enjoy the weirdest look of alarm from the staircase when she sees him just hanging outside her door...]

Claude...

Hold on, umm.... my PHS is here somewhere... [She can see that face, they should probably talk in private...

There we go, door open. She swings it open for him, hurrying him inside.]

WEEK FOUR - TUESDAY

[heartablaze]

[It might be odd, to see Hikaru knelt in the graveyard, hands carefully placed against her knees in front of one of the stones. She doesn't speak. Her only movements come to reach out to one of those odd distortions, to touch it whenever they appear and hope that something was still left in the static she was witnessing. She doesn't know how many she's gone through, now.

She doesn't know she has an audience, or perhaps she doesn't care. But two memories play in rapid succession (the final image for this one is displayed first please blame imgur), over the sight of an endless sea of blackened clouds and jagged, crumbling landscape, of lightning and rubble, and with a heart that ached all the while.

Hikaru just watches, almost impassive. She doesn't move. Her hands don't even fist into her clothing on those normal beats of anguish, of guilt and anger and determination.

Her weapon sits at her side, untouched. But as the memory slides to a close, she does regard it briefly with a tilt of her head, a reaching out of her fingers to the hilt, before returning her hand to her lap.]

[riegan]

(It's odd to see anyone hanging around in a graveyard. Normally, he would be one to let others grieve or pay their respects in peace but he's been to this graveyard. There are no names here. These graves don't belong to anyone that arrived with them. And he knows Hikaru must know that too.

He approaches her, watching her pick and poke at the different bubbles appear and he's barely two steps in when she taps two quickly and sends him to another world--

Ah, is this how she felt when she was brought to that world? It all seems to magical-- so fantastic. To arrive to a castle of some sort on the back of a flying fish. To meet a smith that has created weapons of misfortune. A secret prince, a wise sage, a tragic princess, three gentle heroes... he understands what he's seeing, even if he doesn't know all of the characters.

This is Hikaru's world. Her other world. The one she was brought to to do heavy, impossible things. The world she would love and change.

He wonders if she remembers them.

She's forgotten so much.

All he can do is commit the sighs to his own memory and he sits down next to her, ruffling her hair as he settles down,)

What have you remembered?

WEEK FOUR - WEDNESDAY NIGHT

[heartablaze]

[She's in the kitchen with a celebratory bowl of Or*o O's and her spoon already in her mouth when she practically walks right into Claude, barely seeing him on her return trip to the dining room.

There is currently a spoon in her mouth, so she just makes a surprised little yelp, clutching her bowl with both hands as she regains her balance. Noooo her cookie cereal.]

[riegan]

Hey, careful!

(He says like it isn't his fault for just jumping at her basically. But look, he's going to make sure she's okay first and then check in,)

Huh... a late night snack, huh?

(What is this?? Why is it BLACK??? Is it even good??)

WEEK SEVEN - FRIDAY

[heartablaze]

[Wow the crowds! Wow this has been a lot!

Whenever she can manage it, Hikaru's taking Claude by the hand and dragging him out to the grassy fields outside the castle, dropping down into the greenery with a tired plop and patting the ground until he does the same, before crawling up to wrap her arms around him again - far less desperate, far more gentle.

They aren't in front of the entire Realm, they don't have Raven blanketing them. It's her, and the boy she calls her brother by choice, and for just a minute, she wants to drink up the happiness she feels from it.]

[riegan]

(Really, Hikaru could lead him down a dark alley to get shanked and he'd probably follow her at this point so of course he goes along with her now.

He sits next to her and when she comes over towards, him, he'll pull her over, sitting her down in his lap and holding her, close and gentle. He gives a kiss to the top of her crown and just buries his face right there in here hair. He doesn't need to say anything. They don't need to say anything. Not right now.)

WEEK SEVEN - SATURDAY NIGHT

[heartablaze]

[She's taken a little time for herself to go hunt people down, but at some point she's waiting outside Claude's bedroom, her knees drawn to her chest and her brow furrowed in thought. Can't go inside without her brother, but she has enough on her mind that she might not even notice where Claude comes from. Everybody's off having slumber parties, what is she doing here???]

Um...

Can I come in to lie down for a little bit?

[riegan]

What's this?

(Someone's in a good mood. All of that catching up with people will do that, you know? But when he sees Hikaru, he brings himself in a bit. Something is clearly bothering her and he holds out both of his hands to her to help her up onto her feet,)

Of course. How long were you waiting?

(Not too long if she's tired?)