[X] Write-in: Purposefully moving to Sora, and saying cheerfully, "Ah I'm sorry Kazuya if you're confused, I'll give you time to figure it out then. Sora let me help you get your things."
[X] Just letting him go, Kazuya should be her focus now.
Miyako's urge was to just say anything to Sora, she didn't know what, just… anything! But all she felt was her throat seizing up, as she could only stare at Sora out from the ride's exit. She settled for waving goodbye, with him blushing, nodding, and doing the same back to her.
As Sora left, Kazuya began to say "Is something wrong? You were very vocal about wanting to be with me, and yet him going away has left you-"
"I'm fine!" Miyako sharply cut him off, before she mumbled, "It's fine, really. I shouldn't be getting hung up on him, and you're what matters to me now." Her mouth ceased up again after that, and when she did say something again she did so quite rapidly. "Hey, if you were concerned, that's good! Emotions and all. Anyway, you probably wanna check up on Reiji-kun again, and I was gonna get back to Arisugawa-sama. Okay, let's go!"
Her elbow now locked around Kazuya's, Miyako then took off with him in the opposite direction, with said elbow-locking keeping him from stumbling behind from her speed. "Is running fast like this also due to love?" he asked whenever he had enough balance.
"…Sometimes," Miyako just mumbled.
The sky darkening did little to make the crowds thin through the park, given the nighttime attractions the place was already offering this soon after reopening. Yet someone the two could still easily spot was Reiji of all people, walking around out of bed somehow. Kazuya was quick to ask "Reiji, are you alright?" while Miyako gasped and rushed over.
"I'm fine, entirely, absolutely fine!" Reiji insisted, much as his wincing face and unsteady gait said otherwise. "See, what I did tell you, Kazuya? You had, argh, no reason to fret over me at all," he tried to say.
Kazuya and Miyako's first instinct were still to help him to the nearest bench. Miyako's next instinct was to lighten things up, so she said, "Hey Reiji-kun, good news. While we were away, Kazuya-kun and I both confessed our love to each other!"
But good news was not how Reiji took that at all. "Wait, Kazuya-kun, is that what- what you really said to Nozawa-chan? And did you mean it?" he asked him, before he turned to her and gritted his teeth, "Nozawa, please don't tell me you've been leading Kazuya on."
"I said I cared for her, but also felt what's called anxiety around her at the same time. Nozawa said that feeling was natural for people in love, and…" Kazuya said, "I can see what she means."
"But I-" Reiji suddenly said then stopped, before he breathed and deep then told Miyako, "Look Nozawa, if you and Kazuya did confess to each other, and you're so ill-attuned to the norms of love that you start blurting it out immediately, then-" another deep breath "-I shall be keeping my eye on you, you hear? See what he sees in you," he said as if Miyako wasn't already his friend.
Hesitating over just how to respond, Miyako did tell him, "Oh come on, people blurt out their love all the time. Like we've moved way beyond 'The moon looks beautiful tonight' these days."
"Have we really?" Reiji asked, eyebrow cocked, "because it sounds to me what you're not specifying is 'people blurt out their love all the time… in fiction'." Miyako flinched and gave no verbal response.
Taking Miyako aside, Kazuya then whispered to her, "If love's a good emotion, then… why is Reiji getting this way? He's never been like this around me before."
"Well, er," Miyako began, then making extra sure Reiji wasn't hearing, though her side-glances may have got him suspecting, she whispered back, "It's 'cause love's such a good emotion that people feel another emotion around it, jealousy. Don't worry Kazuya-kun, since Reiji-kun's your friend, he'll be over this sorta thing quick." Not that she could quite tell which of them Reiji was jealous of. Then in a desperate attempt to make Kazuya feel better, she said, "Besides, it can be fun to make people jealous, er, sometimes," her stomach then squirming when she realised what she'd said.
"Wait, but jealousy is a bad emotion, isn't it?" Kazuya asked, clutching his head by now.
"There you are!" Ryoichi's voice suddenly shot out. Kazuya's brother then walked right up to him and said, "Well, I believe you've had fun, experienced your recommended dose of emotions, eh? About time we were off, doubt you're going to find any respectable job here by sticking around longer. Well, unless I can somehow convince mother and father to buy this whole place."
While those words left a sour frown on Miyako, she relaxed herself on realising Ryoichi had heard nothing of her and Kazuya's confessions, that undeniably would've made him say something. The thought of Ryoichi finding out making her squirm, she whispered to Kazuya, "Let's keep you-know-what a secret from Ryoichi-kun. Like Reiji-kun said, be more careful."
About to ask something back, Kazuya instead kept quiet as Miyako asked, though still shook his head.
Everyone tensed when Ryoichi cast his eyes on Reiji, but then said of all things, "…Sorry about that."
At a loss for how to react, Reiji just nodded his head as Ryoichi left with Kazuya. The latter still waved goodbye to the two of them, with Miyako waving back the hardest. Her new boyfriend now off home, Miyako then looked at Reiji and asked, "Hey, I was just gonna find Arisugawa-sama. Want me to help carry you?"
"Thank you, but I need no assistance," Reiji said back, only for him to groan and clench his teeth as he stood up. He then had to sigh, "Maybe I really should head back to that sick bay till its time to go, huh? Maybe they'll have somewhere I can watch that play you got me, who knows?"
Miyako smiled back at him, about to pat him hard on his shoulder before she realised that could cause him more pain. So she just gave two thumbs up and said, "Great, I know you'll like it!" even if she didn't really know.
She soon found Koyomi looking dumbstruck over by a candy-striped, swirl-columned pavilion. Balloons were bouncing under it, sparkling 'Happy Birthday!' streamers were hung up, and a densely frosted cake with four creamy layers and ten blazing candles was in the middle of it all.
"You seem caught off-guard, Arisugawa-san," Hachiro said, him one of a few gathered there. "Thought it'd be obvious we'd throw you a party, us inviting you here for your birthday."
As for the others, Emi was a given, and Hachiro's Kuramazov-loving daughter Shiori was no surprise either. The only one Miyako didn't recognise was an apron-clad man with a puffy hat and sleeves, his sharp and scraggly hair and stubble and sour face at odds with his outfit. No Sfira though, with it likely Koyomi had told them to stay away else RUNE try to capture them. Would've been fun to explain the whole idea of birthdays to them though, Miyako thought, already doubting they had them on Pathragada.
"Yes, I am well aware," Koyomi muttered, her eyes narrowing as they scrutinized her cake.
"What, you think we drugged your cake or something? Sheesh, picky eater aren't you?" the unknown man grumbled. "Spent hours on that thing, y'know." Notably, Koyomi said nothing to counter him.
"Really Koyomi, treat yourself for once," Yumemi said on appearing out of nowhere, nudging Koyomi towards the cake. "Far better than that green slop you normally eat too," she muttered, a line Miyako shamefully grinned at. The look on Koyomi's face told of even less of an appetite now.
"Ah, Kuramazov-sama, Miyako-san, this is Ueno Mikoto, Adzuki in Full Bloom. My other father," Shiori said, gesturing at him.
"Oh yeah, Hachiro-sama told me about you that, er, that one day," Miyako said. Er, you don't really look like I thought a dessert chef would, she kept to herself as she took in his aloof appearance. "Desserts huh? Sounds like a lot of fun!" she said instead.
"Well, it is on a good day," Mikoto muttered. "Y'know, Hachiro and Shiori told me about you. Heh, you're already annoying as they said you were."
As Miyako twitched at that, Hachiro bit his lower lip then came in to say, "Ah, Mikoto's just messing around, aren't ya? He's always been like that. Don't worry, no harm meant."
Shiori meanwhile sighed at her second Dad, before she pulled out a present and handed it to Koyomi with a deep bow. "I had to get my new favourite author something, I just wasn't sure what. So, er, I hope this is okay," she said. Shiori's voice did sound like a younger Hibiki, now Miyako thought of it. Of course, Hibiki was a versatile enough voice actress that lots of people would sound like her, or the other way around.
Unwrapping the gift, Koyomi found herself with a copy of Goethe's Sorrows of Young Werther. A book Miyako remembered Koyomi had already read, but regardless, Koyomi gave a modest smile back and said a simple, "Thank you."
"Oh yes, here," Emi then said, as she suddenly pulled out a large, patchwork stuffed animal of no determinate species, a horn up there, a hoof down there, a wing over there. "You've done so much to me, yet I still hadn't gotten you a present. So here, I won this in the arcade, just for you!"
Would've been cool if you'd drawn or written something, Miyako couldn't help thinking, though kept quiet.
Yumemi had to ruin it again as she prodded, "Oh, so is this the sort of woman you're into now, Koyomi? More subservient, less confident, hmm?"
Less authoritarian, Koyomi was about to hiss. But she worried if that word would still describe Emi, still recovering from her workplace and that cult, even if she was on the following end compared to Yumemi. Emi's own reaction to Yumemi's words was just to step back.
Fortunately, no better a distraction arrived than Maimi. Or not so fortunately, as she flapped her way over and dove headfirst into that cake, icing flying everywhere. "Oh c'mon, is this the thanks I get?" Mikoto exclaimed.
"Maimi, no! I shouldn't need to still tell you; you can't have human food!" Koyomi grunted as she tried to restrain Maimi. Yumemi was already jotting down notes, a bemused look on her face.
At first, Miyako was content to lick the icing off her face, but then both she and Emi saw something. Shiori's long bangs had been pushed back by the flapping of Maimi's wings, and they could see why she grew them out. For where one side of her face should've been, there was a miniature forest of vines growing out from her eye. Like the plants that grew inside Hanazakari except… different. Wrong.
Guilt on her mind, Miyako looked away again. But between Shiori's strange half-face and everything with that phantom sword, things were getting suspicious again. As a budding reporter Miyako should've been all over this, but instead, she just felt a spinal chill.
Integration and Corporate Entrepreneurship All a 'human' needs is a mountain of confidence, the right skin and a briefcase that holds all the answers. Three simple things that will arouse the two most fundamental emotions these creatures can have greed and fear.
These emotions function like smoke for lesser species. With some seeing the smoke being attracted to the possibility of carrion and others fleeing from the danger of the fire it conceals. "Sato" Mused that it was was fitting how his favorite humans tended to show off their status by surrounding themselves with the smoke from their expensive cigars. Those are the apes that can easily be deluded into thinking that their status would make them different in the eyes of the Great Frost Fair
Sato pulled out a cigar and offered it to the last year he had been working towards for the last year, the CEO of a certain Zaibatsu. The man was little more than a vessel for desperation which was barely held in check by years of practice and nicotine.
"It's an honor that Endou-sama is extending his trust in me to present you with this opportunity." He said bowing to the pawn that got him in, "The hard times for our company have been felt by everyone, but I think that this will change our future."
Sato slowly opened the briefcase while allowing himself a grin.
Soon the apes will eat out of his hands.
And he will be one step closer to the title of Frost King.
18 Years later
A familiar voice spoke up from behind him "Father."
Sato closed looked up from the contents of his favorite briefcase and turned from his desk to the splintered wall which had given way to a white figure in a purple dress with glistering silver on the base of her shoes with one of her legs lifted as if ready to deliver a kick. "Kokono? Your grandfather was not amused when the weeds had taken you and my wife from me. Have you come to join your dear old dad?"
"No father, It is my duty as your daughter and as Star Lotus to undo your crimes. You've always been there for me. We have this place surrounded father. Please surrender." She lowered lowering her foot and dismissed the silver flame, "The only reason RUNE hasn't killed you yet is because I still am the only one who believes that there is something good in you."
"I thought I taught you better than that," Sato started laughing as he dropped his disguise and calling up a ball of magic in his hand, "Only a fool lowers their weapon in front of their opponent."
He had never killed one of his own children before, maybe this could get him to feel something of his own again.
No matter how much greed or fear he called up, he couldn't get himself to move, he couldn't get himself to.
"Why?" Sato asked as he lowered his arms as everything seemed to become less important from his internal struggle.
"Because you need to pay for your crimes, dad." His daughter answered with a guilty look on her face.
Sato couldn't care less.
You wouldn't believe it, but I made this Omake in order to be able to make some minor edits I was talking about earlier here;
I think that I could try to make a more cannon version, if you want. Still a civilian front, but having one of the mega corps be his source of income shouldn't change that much. It might take some time though, I'm not a very fast writer.
While I've been taking a break before Arc 8, in the meantime I have good news. I commissioned art of Koyomi from my sister, and it's finally ready. What do you think?
For more art, I did my own sketch of (left to right) Miyako and Koyomi. I didn't have access to any references when I drew it in a cafe, so I wouldn't say this quite matches my mental image of both of them. Still, what do you think?
Last edited:
Koyomi atop the Cliff in the Moonlight - ArlequineLunaire
Another sketch from me. This is of the scene at the end of Arc 2, where Koyomi first transforms in decades atop the cliff, about to confront the Heart Leech:
They're a bit hard to make out, but I added some wrinkles and crow's feet to emphasise her age
[X] Emotional Intelligence - 250 XP
[X] Mind - 200 XP
[X] Technique - 50 XP
+ Heart - 100 Omake XP
[Miyako's Emotional Intelligence has reached the Rank of Baroness]
It was one of her first mornings as a forty-year-old, and Koyomi was already off to a slow start. Her eyes strained to get themselves fully open, her vision further blurred by the stinging morning sun blaring its way in. Morning sun? Wait, my bedroom curtains are far too thick to let that in, she tensed.
Her widening eyes then spied a sleek white wall on the other side of this room, which would never be permitted in her timber cottage. Her breathed grew as slow and heavy as if she'd had a ball and chain forced on her, and in a way it turned out she did. "Morning, dearie. I trust you slept well," an all too familiar voice purred in her ear.
Now wide awake, Koyomi bolted upright to see Yumemi in bed right beside her. "You! What the hell do you think you're pulling?!" Koyomi snapped. Her face remained beet red as she only now noticed, covers flung and warmth of the bed off her, that she along with Yumemi had no clothes on. "Why you… you piece of… you kidnapped me, didn't you?! So, you bastards at RUNE finally had enough of me?" she said, teeth clenched tight, both her hands covering every inch of her vagina.
Much as Koyomi was fuming, Yumemi simply sighed back. "Come now Koyomi, you're not still mad about having to sleep on the wet patch, are you?" she asked. Then she giggled with her slim hand on her mouth, "I am amused by your kidnapping idea though, a bit of roleplay might seriously spice things up." While Koyomi grew paler by the second, Yumemi suddenly stopped to think and said, "RUNE, where have I heard that name before, and not just from our trip to Scandinavia? Oh, that's right, it's the name of a faction from your manga, isn't it?"
"Don't try to play me, you're their Brigadier! And what do you mean 'manga'? You know the last time I thought to make one was all the way back in high school," Koyomi said. A crooked smile then grew across her face, "Oh, now I get it. You've trapped me in a dream with your Hanazakari powers, aren't you?"
The smirk on Yumemi's face started to drop. "A housewife like me, Brigadier? And on top of that, you suddenly claim not to be a mangaka yet accuse me of wielding powers lifted straight from your story-world," she said, then pointed to a bedside drawer. "Your own script's right in there, and didn't that Daimon woman email you last week with her art?" Her tone and gaze then softened with, "Oh Koyomi, I understand. You must still be recovering from one awful nightmare. Well, that or your smoking habit is somehow making you hallucinate," she went back to grumbling.
Hearing all that, Koyomi had gone from feeling exposed to utterly confused, though was still as deeply humiliated. More so by the bedside drawer being stuck shut, with Yumemi tossing her the key after she'd just realised it needed one.
Article:
Sure enough, there was an extensive bound manuscript already in there, several issues in, titled:
Flipping through, Koyomi's eyes felt like they could fall out of their sockets at what she read. It had everything she remembered about the Frost Fair invasion, about life as a Hanazakari, all described like it was pure fiction.
"Easily your magnum opus," Yumemi smiled at her, "and much needed course correction after that Ladder to Heaven idea of yours. Good thing I convinced you to drop that dreadful dirge, I can't see it having reached anywhere near as wide an audience. /Shame you won't allow an anime adaptation. I know, you've made your thoughts on studio working conditions quite clear, but that Daimon could sure use the royalties," she muttered, voice lowering, "Not to mention you and I, this Minato apartment won't pay its own rent."
As if Koyomi's mind hadn't melted enough, the slightest mention of a Tokyo district made her rush to the window, since it didn't sound like Yumemi was talking about any old harbour. Being greeted with the sight of Tokyo Tower just a few blocks away, it took all her strength to not lose consciousness right there. Well, that and the reminder to close the curtains, as all these revelations had made her forget to get dressed yet.
"…I need a shower," she groaned, rubbing her temples. That alone wouldn't likely mend her mind after it had been smashed to smithereens, but it'd be a start. And before Yumemi got any ideas, she told her, "Alone. If you don't mind."
Well, not that part of Koyomi wasn't tempted to have Yumemi join her though, as she couldn't help noticing that Yumemi's skin had stayed silky smooth with age, while hers sagged in several places. When was the last time I even saw Yumemi like this? Would've been decades ago…
But alone she went, into a cramped little bathroom that was just as white and featureless as the apartment overall. She couldn't tell whether that was due to the landlord being a jerk or Yumemi's own spartan preferences, or both.
It took some time to get the shower to a reasonable temperature. But once she was in, she started to think, Okay, I can rule out asking Yumemi what the hell's happening. If she's behind this, no way will she tell me any truth that isn't infested with omissions. In the rare case she's innocent, then I doubt she'd know any more than I do anyway.
Can't be Blue Lotus or Kamizono behind this either, at least not directly. Nothing like… whatever the hell's going on is in their powersets. True, both certainly have their contacts, but I can't see either having the humility to arrange a world where the Frost Fair and Hanazakari don't exist.
Also, Yumemi calling herself a housewife has to be a joke, her ambition would never allow that, Koyomi also thought, but then considered, though she has a real authoritarian streak, and their kind balks at the very notion of women being anywhere but the home.
Skipping the shampoo, it and her hair had never gotten along, Koyomi got to drying herself when, in the thankful privacy of the bathroom, she figured she could test something. Well, if Yumemi didn't have a secret peephole or hearing funnel around.
"Henshin," Koyomi said, adding "Blossom, Black Rose," for good measure. As always, a swarm of spirit vines from within her heart spread out and surrounded her, her standing once again in a regal flowing cloak pinned by a rose the shade of midnight. Alright, at least something's the same. Though how can I still even transform if, apparently, I just made the Hanazakari up? Even if it gave her a set of clothes free, she transformed back anyway, not trusting Yumemi or at least this version of her with the Hanazakari bombshell. She then found a cupboard to get dressed the normal way, but had to stop and ask, "Yumemi, where's my old coat?"
"What, that thing?" Yumemi said back, arms folded. "I threw it out, like I'd told you to do for ages. I picked out a more modern wardrobe for you, now aren't you lucky to have me to steer you clear of any fashion blunders?" she had to smile saying that.
Scowling at that, Koyomi deliberately chose the most mismatched outfit from what was available. The best she come up with though was a checkered scarf over a bluish-grey coat with beige trousers, a bucket hat and thick gloves to top it off. Oh, and socks with sandals, that'd get her. Only now though was she reminded that she hadn't even checked what today's forecast was, but like she'd ever cared much for heat or cold.
Also only then did Koyomi notice a little vase atop a steel-rimmed table, holding a dark rose and… white egret. "Beautiful, aren't they? Your research on the language of flowers for your manga inspired me," Yumemi said. "The black rose, or the closest thing there is to one, has a multitude of meanings, but the white egret orchid is much more to the point. 'I'll follow you into your dreams', a beautiful sentiment is it not?"
Not when you're on the receiving end of said following, Koyomi thought. Wait, Yumemi picking our chosen flowers can't be a coincidence, so she must be at least subconsciously aware. Though if I'm to find out what madness this is, I'm gonna need a bigger sample size than her.
Article:
She'd prioritise tracking down:
[ ] Emi Daimon, who she was apparently still in contact with. She'd be free of that Cultivar, but not the manga industry.
[ ] Hibiki Izumi. Was there a chance she was alive and not utterly scarred from Shin Sekigahara in this world?
[ ] Mariya Kamizono. The lack of Hanazakari was highly unlikely to mean no more cults, but no need for a Resurrection should mean no need for the Earthly Purified.
[ ] Maimi Tobi. Let's see fate stick in her swan form in this reality.
[ ] Hirasaka Namie. Would… would she be alive?
[ ] Asahi Higashi. A world without Hanazakari, without her being overshadowed and needing rescue. She'd be the living the dream.
[ ] The Kai family. No Frost fair would mean Kazuya's, and in turn Ryoichi's, lives would've turned out completely differently.
[ ] Miyako Nozawa. She couldn't imagine any non-Hanazakari's life being more changed by the lack of them than hers.
[ ] Nobody in particular, she'd just go about her day and figure things out as they came.
[X] A library. How detailed is this imaginary world? Does its fabricated history hint at the possible motives - or even personality - of whoever created it? (GardenerBriareus write-in)
[ ] Write-in
[X] A library. How detailed is this imaginary world? Does its fabricated history hint at the possible motives - or even personality - of whoever created it?
[X] Generation Frost
[X] Blood Orange
[X] A library. How detailed is this imaginary world? Does its fabricated history hint at the possible motives - or even personality - of whoever created it?
"Since you mentioned story research, I'll be heading down to the library," Koyomi said, before trying to find wherever her wallet and cards were in this reality. I should get the lowdown on whatever this world is first before I meet with anyone specific, talking with Yumemi's been disjointed enough already, she thought.
"Really, so soon, and on your own? You haven't even had breakfast yet," Yumemi said, narrowing her eyes. "Wait, is this a way of leaving me to deal with your mother if she calls?"
The very thought of Yumemi having to put up with her mother amused Koyomi to no end. But she only said, "I'll get something on the way," until she somehow got the urge to add on something she'd likely regret, "Unless, er, you wouldn't mind coming with me." Purely for practical reasons. I haven't been this far into Tokyo for decades, and the city from memory it was hardly that navigable, so a 'local' might help, she thought but couldn't say.
"Oh, so now you want me?" Yumemi said, with a frown and hands on her hips. But then her frown turned upside down into a smirk with, "Of course. We'll stop by the usual along the way," her not bothering to ask Koyomi first.
Koyomi took the stairs down to familiarise herself with this place. When Yumemi pointed at the elevator, Koyomi told her, "I could use the extra walk." As she expected, the corridors and stairs were as coldly vanilla as her apartment had been. For anyone else, the window going all the way down to let in the most light would've been an attraction, but Koyomi just found herself hissing at it.
Upon walking out the front door, Koyomi came to a halt and could've collapsed. There it was, inner-city Tokyo, about as she had remembered it with adjustments for the decade and very much not encased in alien ice. Even seeing Tokyo again from the window earlier couldn't prepare her for setting her foot down on its pavement again. The whole experience felt more like a dream than most of her actual dreams, which did not bode well for escaping Yumemi's clutches. And speaking of her…
"Honestly, what is with you today?" Yumemi stepped out muttered, taking hold of the paralysed Koyomi's shoulder to drag her along. The Brigadier in another world had dressed herself in a Parisian trenchcoat and broad sunhat, both unsurprisingly coloured a stark white, with a green scarf and dark yellow leggings for contrast. Perhaps not as eye-catching as her black dress, but seeing Yumemi's fashion sense still intact made Koyomi more amused to think of her own thrown-together outfit embarrassing her.
Though Koyomi had her concerns about the streetscape now being a faded memory to her, it turned out her past knowledge of Minato's layout came back to her quickly, almost eerily so. It may not have been her neighbourhood, but she'd passed through this district enough all the way back then, as a civilian as well as in response to Frost Fair schemes, for déjà vu to strike her every other second. Beyond just the looming presence of Tokyo Tower, even things like intersections or bike racks stirred chills in her.
The bakery, or perhaps patisserie was the more fitting word given its classy ambience, that Yumemi led her to was all brand new though. But despite how fluffy and creamy its pastries may have been, Koyomi still insisted on "Just a coffee. Black."
Yumemi immediately looked down on her. "Koyomi, I am not letting you leave here until you've eaten a proper breakfast," she said, pressing closer.
"What, you know that stuff about it being the most important meal of the day is made up, right?" Koyomi said. But then not having an actual source for that handy, she instead sighed and went, "Alright, fine, I'll take a couple of croissants or something."
Only then did Koyomi stop to consider if she was being too harsh on Yumemi, or at least this Yumemi. True, Yumemi was treating her like she was still a schoolgirl, instead of the now forty-year-old woman she was, but it seemed like she meant well so far. Of course, this was assuming this was a separate RUNE-free Yumemi and not some elaborate dream act, and her slighting Ladder to Heaven still stung. But if the former really was the case, then being married to Yumemi as she was… it was everything Koyomi wanted, wasn't it?
Or married unofficially at least. Koyomi hadn't spotted a marriage certificate anywhere in their apartment, and if they had one Yumemi certainly would've mentioned it by now. Rather than wait till the library, Koyomi just used her phone to check if Japanese marriage equality had become a thing in this reality; said phone sleek whiteness suggesting Yumemi had also picked it out for her. Sure enough, marriage rights hadn't gotten any further here than they had in her own Japan. She suspected they'd be further behind if anything, as LBGT+ people were one of the main Japanese minorities the Dandelionhearts made Hanazakari.
"Your coffee and croissants will get cold, Koyomi," Yumemi said to snap her out of her musings.
Spying the creamy, caramel-studded éclair Yumemi had gotten, Koyomi smirked as she took the chance to nag back with, "Y'know, treating yourself to those can't be good for your weight." Not that weight was something Koyomi cared about, how stick-thin she was made her privileged like that, but anything to get under Yumemi's nerves for once.
It looked like it was working for a second, as Yumemi shot her a dark glare. But then, as if she'd caught on, she slowly relaxed herself, smiled, and said, "Thank you for your concern," in a tone you'd used for a disappointed customer and not your beloved, "but my figure has remained perfectly consistent, so really you fret over nothing." Koyomi starting to seethe in response just made the smile grow wider.
After breakfast, Koyomi was left embarrassed once again when, for as much as she surprisingly remembered about Tokyo, Yumemi still had to show her exactly where the nearest library was. And she was the author, not her. At least the library was a decent size, with rows of light brown shelves atop freshly vacuumed carpeting arranged around a central circle, hopefully enough for Koyomi to find out the basics of this other world if not more.
"I spotted you on your phone earlier. Is there any reason you couldn't have done your research on it?" Yumemi had to ask.
Given how well Yumemi knew her, Koyomi had to suspect that once again, she'd just asked her that to rile her up. "You know me, I'd sooner trust information written down than found somewhere online. And no paywalls either," she told her anyway.
But those words would come back to bite her, as after spending most of the morning looking up pre-Frost Decade history, Koyomi would find out everything was identical in this world till then. Nothing her phone couldn't have easily told her.
As for the Frost Decade and beyond, she first narrowed her search by focusing on Tokyo itself. A list of mayors the metropolis had had since was easy to find, Tokyo Tower had since been outclassed by the new Skytree over in Sumida, and the population had grown even further as more people fled the countryside. And sure enough, no mention of anything alien, unless one of those mayors had one serious secret. She also winced to see the LDP very much in power, and that the Sarin Gas Attacks and Fukushima meltdown further afield had still happened. Not that RUNE had been that quick to respond to the latter in her own timeline.
The flight from the countryside got her to look up Hinodeharu, but all even this library had on it was that it was a small town relatively near Nagoya. The last entry on it was from a while ago too, though naturally it mentioned the Kai family. And as for cults, she sighed with relief to find not a single mention of the Earthly Purified, or anything with Kamizono as the head, and of course no RUNE either. Well, unless they were even more secretive in this timeline.
For people she knew, Vasilisa Mirova was cited on a list of astronauts, and this world's Hibiki Izumi was not only alive but mainly a physical actress instead of just voice, without war wounds to put an end to her Takarazuka training. Any mention of Chigusa Kagamino though stopped years ago, which made sense now that she couldn't just send an image of her younger self in her place.
Drama queen, she wasn't that much older than I am, Koyomi instinctively thought, but had to consider that authors had an easier time looking however than singers and actresses did. Well, if she wanted me to sympathise, she should've thought of that before she pulled that plot with Sfira… wait, I'm thinking of my world's Kagamino again. My world's Sfira too, as would they have any reason to come to Earth without Hanazakari? Oh no, what would Miyako even be without Hanazakari, but still with those parents of hers?
And if Izumi's still alive, wait, could this be what the Dandelionhearts meant by the Resurrection? She quickly shut down that thought with, no, it couldn't have been. An alternate yourself still isn't really you, no matter what some quantum physicists would say.
All in all, this seemed to be a more detailed world than she expected, so either Yumemi or Blue Lotus or whoever had really thought through their setting… or this was no dream. But as for this being an alternate reality, then it made even less sense how she'd be here. There was only one Hanazakari Koyomi even knew of that had power over those, Padma in Full Bloom, and why would she, let alone the Pathragadan clan her powers came from, single out her of all people?
Oh yes, Pathragadans. Frustratingly there was no way of knowing whether they and the Frost Fair existed in this reality, or if they simply hadn't come to Earth, and travelling whole light years would be the only way she knew of finding out. Though if a Pathragadan clan was behind this, then from what she knew of their society, she highly doubted they'd send her to a world where they didn't exist. Unless they didn't want to deal with rival alternate Pathragadans.
Article:
The chance that this was something more than a dreamworld got Koyomi thinking that checking up on others might be a good idea, but whom?
[ ] Go check on Emi, she's the closest and has contact already established.
[ ] See how Hinodeharu's faring, with Tokyo sucking up the rural population.
[ ] Try to find Miyako, even if she had nearly no leads.
[ ] Any less famous Hanazakari, like Palmira or Maimi, that the library didn't cover.
[ ] Test Yumemi more to see if she's really behind this, or if she's just another alternate.
[ ] Write-in
