AUDIENCE: HIKARU

[retellers]

Comments

[retellers]

It's part of the Realm's rules... Maybe it had concerns about what might happen if people knew one another's teams? [ they don't sound completely certain, though. hikaru might later want to ask another leader. a smarter leader. ] For now, to avoid causing any instabilities, it may be best to follow along.

[heartablaze]

[thank you meta text for the handy advice. but unfortunately hikaru thinks goat is just fine the way they are and i cry every day]

Would instabilities be dangerous?

[retellers]

[ they nod. ]

We cannot predict exactly what would happen... It might be nothing, or it might damage everyone's memories further. Or it could interfere with the path to return everyone to their homes at the end...

[heartablaze]

...Okay.

If someone asks me, then until we find out something better... then that's what I'll tell them. We gotta take a risk at some point, but if it's gonna hurt people or trap them here right now...

I don't want that to happen, Goat-san.

[retellers]

Mmm... I don't think anything terrible will happen if you do it rarely, but it may be best not to push the limits too much right now.

[heartablaze]

Just rarely...

[She gives a nod.]

Okay. Will you tell me if something goes wrong, Goat-san? Or... do you think we'll notice if things are going bad?

[retellers]

I think that the Leaders, at least, will notice. I'm not sure if it will necessarily be clear to the participants...

[ their shoulders droop. ]

I'm sorry I can't be of more help.

[heartablaze]

Huh??

[Full-body stop. She blinks, confused, before just smiling brightly, her eyes soft.]

You don't have to say sorry! You're already helping a lot by telling me this stuff! And you're being really nice and answering all my questions.

It's not your fault you don't know all the answers! Even if I might feel a little frustrated or sad, it's because I wanna find the best way to help, and that's... that's really hard to do when no one knows what to do. But I'm not gonna get mad at you for something that the Realm did to all of us.

Okay?

[retellers]

[ well, now they seem a little awkward over the intensity of that shoujo smile. ]

H-Huh? All right...

"dear diary, made the npc squirm from shojou, 2/6 complete"

[heartablaze]

[suffer]

Yeah! We're a team, ok?

I'll bring you something else for snacks next time I come talk to you, okay? Something that you don't have to freeze too much.

Do you have a favorite that you remember?

i'm crying

[retellers]

A favourite...?

[ they think for a moment. ]

Bread is humanity's most treasured food. [ what. what does that mean. ] But I also like what... humans call "Oreo Os"?

[heartablaze]

Okay! Bread's easy. There's a lot of different kinds, too, so I'll see what's in the kitchen. I can bring you a different flavor every time I come see you and we can figure out which one you like best.

[As for that second one... I'm crying because 1993 was so long ago.]

Um... well, alright, I know Oreos! That's a cookie. It's like... bitter chocolate cookies, and they put a sweet creme between. But I dunno what the extra O is for.

[retellers]

[ fun fact: goat's favourite had in fact already been established so you mentioning it was purely a coincidence and i laughed. ]

It is poured into a bowl and milk is added, I believe.

[heartablaze]

[we pull off the mask at endgame and goat was nik all along]

So like... a cereal? But made of Oreos?

[:0]

That exists?????

[retellers]

I think so. [ a pause. ] Unless it's only my delusion... since I don't actually remember eating it...

[heartablaze]

[She has never looked so excited about anything up until this moment.]

I'll look! And if I can't find it, then I'll ask! Someone here has to know!

[retellers]

You don't have to go to such lengths... Er, I'll eat anything?

[heartablaze]

[She shakes her head fervently, turning on her heel to face Goat directly, taking up both their hands (and their ice cube cream cup) in her own.]

It's okay! I want to! That way, you can have a taste you can remember as important, and I can try it too, and I can see you smile!

If this place needs nova, then isn't making good memories with other people a good thing to do, too?

[retellers]

[ again, they seem taken aback by the gesture. ]

I... I suppose so...

[heartablaze]

[She'll squeeze those hands, her smile widening.]

I'll do my best, then!

[And just like that, she drops the touch, walking ahead to peer through the window of the Emporium.]

So, um, I've been asking you all these things... Do you have anything you wanna ask me?

[retellers]

[ they look up at the sky for a few moments, apparently in thought. ]

... Tell me about your life. Before you arrived here, that is.

[heartablaze]

[It seems like such a simple request, really. But after her talks with both Hansa and Xie Lian over the weekend, the importance of their memories grips her with a cold discomfort around her heart.

She still remembered everything now, or so she assumes. How soon would that change?

...

Quietly, she nods, her posture straightening.]

Okay.

I have two different places I call home. One is Tokyo, back on Earth. The other is Cefiro, which is a world that only three of us on Earth even know about.

On Earth, I'm just a student. I'm a second year in an all-girl school, and I practice kendo when I'm not studying - it's a martial art that uses swords. I have three older brothers, and we all help our family with taking care of our kendo dojo. I also have a doggy named Hikari. I love all of them a lot.

On Cefiro, though... I'm a Magic Knight. It's someone specifically called from a different world to save Cefiro, should something go really, really wrong. And even though I did what I was asked as a Magic Knight, and was part of a really important battle... something is still really, really wrong in Cefiro right now. It's falling apart.

[retellers]

[ they're silent, as they listen to her. and then, at the end, they simply say-- ]

But even so, you will continue to fight to protect it?

[heartablaze]

[Without hesitation:]

Yes. I have to.

If I don't fight for it now, with everything I have... If I don't make it back... Cefiro really will disappear forever, no matter what happens to the nova.

[retellers]

[ they reach out to place a hand on her head. ]

... May you never lose sight of that strength, then.