Shards of a Broken Sun [Megaten/Shugo Chara/Exalted]
- Thread starter Baughn
- Start date
- Crossover
I'm guessing this was supposed to mean checking the time on her phone, but I can't help but imagine Amu lugging a clock around like Flavor Flav.
I'm surprised there's a lid.
Bemusement is confusion.
- Location
- Laniakea
She kinda does, except without the 'c'.
Lock, not clock.
.....Or at least she did up until about a week ago.
Su would probably like to lug a kitchen timer around though.
Speedrunner flaws - missing the plot and now wondering why you're here.
Probably less speedrunning and more a pathological fear of going with the default options presented due to Baughn's QMing style? 
(This is not a complaint, to be clear)
(This is not a complaint, to be clear)
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
To the point that I have to point out they're not traps, apparently.Probably less speedrunning and more a pathological fear of going with the default options presented due to Baughn's QMing style?
(This is not a complaint, to be clear)
They're never traps. They also may not be optimal, but that is always a question of goals.
Baughn somehow accidentally stumbles into something other QMs struggle to get their players to do a lot of the time.
Actually Think.
Baughn, stop bullying the other QMs.
Actually Think.
Baughn, stop bullying the other QMs.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Of course, mine is to write an interesting story.
Right, I guess realizing that is the QMs goal helped focus the questors minds.
Nero200
High Priest of Eito, Part Time Nyar.
The existence of a Shadow means this was at least somewhat a natural split.
Forcing them back together would require mind controlling Kana into not having that split, and at that point you've pretty much killed both Shadow and 'Real' Kana to make a new one from the parts, without Kana doing the self realisations needed to make that a positive thing.
Or they get force merged and just immediately split again because the rejection is still there.
Interlude: Kana
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Years earlier.
(Content warning: Implications of harm.)
"But I'm hungry, and I'm tired, and- and I want to see my sister!"
Kana couldn't help but plead her case, even though she knew it wouldn't do any good. Kana was hungry. She was tired and lonely and hot and- and bored. She'd been stuck in this empty, rural train station all day every day for—how long had it been? Weeks? Months? Days? It felt like years. Years upon years upon years.
"I'm sorry," her mother repeated through the phone, "but I can't just pick you up whenever you want me to, Kana. This can happen if you miss the train."
Kana glared at the phone, trying to get her breathing under control—in and out, in and out. Her cheeks were hot with anger and frustration and the sheer unfairness of it all; Mom had been the one who insisted she should go to summer camp. Now she wasn't allowed to come home? What was the point? Sweat dripped down her forehead, sticking strands of hair to her face. Kana shoved them aside in annoyance.
"It's only another hour to wait," her mother added after a moment or so—hearing her daughter's angry silence for what it was. "You can buy a snack, can't you? I gave you money for that."
"I spent it at the camp," Kana said sullenly. "On postcards." She had thirty-two, now; all stacked neatly in a folder, stamped and addressed and ready to post in a few days—though it had been three hours since they'd left the camp and she still had no idea when she would write on them. Kana didn't want to send postcards to anyone right now. She wished she'd bought a new sketchbook instead.
"Then ask the stationmaster to lend you an onigiri or two," her mom replied patiently—giving no indication of any sympathy for Kana's plight at all. "You're adorable, I'm sure they'll agree."
Kana didn't have the energy to protest the suggestion. She'd already considered and rejected that approach. Talking to adults made her uncomfortable at the best of times. Talking to strangers to beg for food was worse, and Kana definitely wasn't going to do that. There had to be something else-
A train chugged past, belching out smoke as it did so—a testament to how far into the boonies she was—and Kana glared at it angrily. They came through the station about every ten minutes or so; roaring past like a giant monster in the process of devouring the station whole. None of them ever stopped. Why had she ever let her mother convince her to go to summer camp?
She ignored and stomped down on the memories; a smiling Yui, eager to hear tales of her sister's adventures; the excited chatter of all the other girls in her cabin as they bounced around from activity to activity; excited hollering as she paddled down a stream…
None of it had been worth it, none of it.
"Dear," her mother said, a note of concern finally entering her voice. "Are you alright?"
"I'm hungry!" Kana repeated, not caring that she was whining now. "I don't have any more money and- and there's nowhere to buy food! And you haven't said how Yui's doing! Is she okay?"
Silence answered her.
"...Mom?" she said after a second or so, dread clawing its way up her chest; her heart thumping loudly in her ears. "Is Yui okay?"
"Kana..." her mom began. "You know she just broke her leg, right?"
"Yes!" Kana snapped; gripping the phone tight enough to hurt. "I was there! I helped carry her to the nurse!"
Yui had been crying! She was worried!
"Kana-chan, they took the cast off last week," her mom said with a laugh. "She wanted to surprise you once you got home."
Kana's grip tightened further—but relief was washing over her, filling up her insides like ice-cream—and she slumped against the wall, feeling utterly drained.
"She's okay?" Kana asked in a small voice; barely audible even to herself.
"Of course she's okay," her mother reassured her. "They took it off last week. She's at Yuna's place right now, in fact."
"Okay," Kana whispered, smiling despite herself. "Okay. I... okay."
Yui was okay. She was okay and had tried to surprise Kana by being around when she came home from camp; and Kana was too relieved to be angry about being tricked, because Yui was okay and would be at home when she got there, and then Kana could hug her big sister and...
She shook her head slightly, swallowing hard to suppress the urge to cry—she'd done enough of that.
"Thanks," Kana said quietly, leaning her head against the wall. She didn't trust herself to speak properly yet.
"Kana, when was the last time you ate?"
"For breakfast," Kana replied sullenly—glaring at the wall. "Before we left. But it wasn't enough!"
Her mother was silent for a few seconds at that—probably making some face at the phone as she thought about that.
"Didn't you get lunch on the train?" her mom finally asked, her tone curious.
Kana scowled again, thumping her head gently against the wall. "No," she replied bitterly. "They were out when they got to my wagon."
She remembered it clearly; it had been about one hour into the trip, just when Kana had started getting hungry. The girls she'd been sitting with had made noises of disappointment; and one of them had brought out a box of cookies to share around, but they'd been hungrier than she had. Like, really hungry, the sort of hungry that felt like a gnawing pit in your stomach; not like Kana's usual 'I skipped second lunch' level of hunger.
So she'd pretended like she wasn't also hungry and only took one. And- they'd been grateful, even if they hadn't said so. She'd wound up with a few more phone numbers.
But now she was really hungry.
"That's awful," her mom replied—sounding genuinely sympathetic for the first time during their conversation. "Are you okay?"
"No," Kana grumbled into the phone, rolling her head sideways to stare a hole through the trains. "Please come get me."
Her mom was silent for a few seconds longer.
"Work is at a crucial point right now," she said finally, apologetic but firm. "But I'll send one of the interns instead. Can you hold out for half an hour?"
"I guess," Kana replied, letting out a sigh of defeat. "I'm okay," she added after a moment or so, softer—knowing it would disappoint her mother if she didn't say it.
"You're a good girl," her mom agreed affectionately. "I love you, Kana-chan."
"Love you too," Kana replied quietly, feeling a little better now that someone was coming to pick her up. "Bye."
She ended the call without waiting for a response; putting the phone back in her pocket as she stood up off the barrier and stretched. A half an hour—that was plenty of time! Maybe she'd write one of those postcards after all, to help pass the time.
And with that in mind she dug out her pen and sat down on the barrier, trying to remember where her address book was. The folders were in her bag, and the bag was- she'd left it on the stairs of the platform.
Five minutes and an embarrassing amount of running later, she had her postcards and her address book. The first card she was writing was addressed to Sakura, a brown-haired, green-eyed girl she'd met on the bus—who'd helped her figure out what she wanted to do at summer camp, and had gotten lost twice already on the first day.
The girl had an infectious smile and was energetic and talked a lot, and Kana's stomach felt like it was doing funny flips whenever they were together. Which was weird and confusing, and Kana kind of liked it but not really?
Maybe the hunger was making her brain weird.
'Dear Sakura' she wrote, carefully shaping each character with a steady hand.
⁂
Half an hour later the promised intern had still not arrived, and Kana had finished her postcards—now stacked neatly in their folder—and had moved onto drawing flowers on her arms with a glittery purple pen; it was the closest thing to art she had on hand at the moment.
Her stomach was complaining loudly about her lack of food. She had been hungry for far too long, and Kana was starting to regret not taking that girl up on her offer of cookies. It wasn't like there'd be more cookies tomorrow!
Well, there might be. But tomorrow wasn't today, which was the problem. Kana's stomach gurgled unhappily at that thought.
Then it rumbled loudly enough that Kana could hear it—and a voice spoke from just behind her shoulder.
"Excuse me? Miss?"
Kana yelped, nearly falling off her seat as she flinched away from the voice—a voice that belonged to a man with long hair, standing less than an inch behind her with his hands in his pockets.
"Sorry," he added quickly, radiating sheepishness and sounding honestly apologetic for startling her. He stepped backwards to give her some space. "Are you Nanami Yui? The daughter of Nanami Asahi?"
"What? No!" Kana stared at him. "I'm her younger sister. Nanami Akane." She stared at him a bit harder. Didn't he know anything?
"Apologies," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "Your mother asked me to pick up her daughter. Um." He glanced around, seeing the lack of other people around. "It's just you, right?"
Kana rolled her eyes and hopped off the barrier.
"Do you see any other kids here?" she asked him drily, looking pointedly around at the empty station. "Yes, it's me." She folded her arms across her chest, scowling at him. "I don't have any other siblings. You know my big sister?"
"Only by reputation," he replied, smiling a little at her reaction.
"Okay," Kana said, frowning at him. "Fine. So you know my mom?"
The man shrugged, rubbing at the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Nope," he replied, popping the p sound in an oddly familiar way. "She's my manager's boss. So I've seen her at work a few times." He paused. "She's very scary."
Kana frowned at that. Her mom? Scary? Was this guy nuts?
"Well, it doesn't matter," he continued after a second or so. "Let's get going. Is this all your luggage?" He gestured vaguely at the bag on her shoulder and the folder in her hands.
Kana nodded silently at him, still eyeing him with suspicion—but he was an adult, and he didn't feel evil. Which was a weird thing to think, but Kana just knew—his aura felt good, even if it was really turbulent. It reminded her of Sakura a little, and she felt her mood improve slightly.
"Okay then," the man said; clapping his hands together once in apparent satisfaction. Then he held out a bag of onigiri. "Here's lunch."
Kana's stomach roared at her—and she snatched the bag off him almost before she knew what she was doing; opening it up and sticking her face inside, inhaling deeply as she did so. Rice! Umeboshi! Tuna! Eel!
She took a bite, chewing down and swallowing quickly.
Bliss.
⁂
"So you work for my mother's company?" she asked after he'd pulled out into traffic, unable to keep the curiosity from her voice. Her entire mouth tasted of rice and salt—she'd inhaled the onigiri like a vacuum cleaner. But it had been food and delicious and enough to tide her over until dinner.
"Yeah," the man replied after a second or so; driving with a careless ease that spoke of a long experience behind the wheel. "I'm an assistant to one of the section heads. Doing odd jobs, mostly. Stocking the coffee machine. Filing papers. That sort of thing." He hesitated slightly, glancing at her in the mirror. "Fetching lost kittens, on occasion."
Kana went faintly red at that comment, sinking down in her chair and huddling her shoulders up high. Stupid embarrassing interns.
"Shut up," she mumbled quietly, folding her arms across her chest and pouting into her sleeve.
The man laughed quietly at that—a good-natured laugh that helped lift her mood again. He didn't feel mean-spirited about teasing her at all; in fact, he felt kinda relieved about something.
"It's a bit of a drive. Your mother asked me to bring you to work until she's done for the day."
Kana sighed—she didn't mind visiting her mother's workplace, exactly. She just had to go there with an escort and stay in the waiting room. Which wasn't horrible, but it was boring and... dark. Well, not dark dark, but it felt… weird? Scrapey? And it was small, with nothing to do. It wasn't a very fun place to spend the afternoon.
At least they'd finally fixed the AC, so she wouldn't swelter in the heat like the train station.
"That's fine," she said finally, kicking her feet back and forth lightly. "I don't mind."
He was silent for a few seconds as the car veered slightly right; as they passed through an underpass and sped up a little as he resumed.
"I could lend you a book," he offered finally, the feeling of amusement growing stronger with every passing second. "If you like."
Kana stared at the back of his head for a few seconds. "Is it for kids?" she asked flatly.
"Not particularly," he replied. "I mostly read science fiction. Look in the seat to your right, there might be something that could interest you?"
Kana peered around, and found a few books face-down on the backseat—half buried under a pile of clothes and a small carton of orange juice. She picked the top one off the pile and turned it over, squinting at the title—then flipped it over again to read the summary on the back, squinting at the small text.
"What's a 'battlement'?" she asked finally.
"Ah," he said—the feeling of amusement becoming tinged with something else now, like chocolate on ice-cream. "It's a fortification thingy," he replied after a second or so. "A wall with cannons on top."
Kana rolled her eyes and dropped the book back into its seat—muttering a quiet "boring" under her breath.
"Mmm," the man hummed noncommittally, and didn't say anything more until they reached her mom's workplace. Kana was put through the usual motions—asking for permission to enter, waiting around while he sorted it out—and then being shown to a small, beige waiting room on the second floor, where she spent most of her time staring out the window.
The waiting room had a small TV and a table with a few magazines and some books, but they were boring and old and had no pictures, and the TV was on the fritz today. "Remote needs batteries," the man said—and then didn't go get batteries.
So Kana stared out at the park beyond the windows—at the little kids playing on the swings—and wished that she'd taken her sketchbook with her on the camp trip. Kana was good at sketches, if she said so herself. She mostly drew cute animals, and cute places were good too; not boy stuff like fighting robots. She really wasn't any good at that at all.
She spent a good chunk of time watching the kids play, their cheerful voices filtering through the window. It was calming, in an odd way.
Maybe she could go and join them?
When was mom getting here?
Was it dinner time yet?
"Bored," she muttered quietly to herself, leaning forward against the windowsill and letting her cheek rest against the cold glass. The park beyond was filled with people. Going on walks or strolling with friends, playing in the shade or exercising in the sun. And here she was stuck indoors in Manticore, watching them from a distance—and unable to draw or read or do much of anything besides watch. This was dumb. She was being dumb for letting it happen.
She still had an onigiri left, didn't she?
Digging into her pocket, Kana fished out the remaining onigiri and unwrapped it from its clingfilm. The plastic rustled loudly as she did so—and she took a deep whiff of the smell of seaweed and rice; then, finally, took a bite of it and chewed thoughtfully. The flavours were delicious; spicy and salty and sour all at once.
"Isn't mom getting here yet?" she whined, unable to keep the frustration from her voice as she thumped her head against the glass.
"I'm sure she is," the intern replied, laughing quietly as he looked up from the book. "Time can feel like it's going very slowly when you're bored."
Kana glared at the back of his head. She was not 'bored'. She was hungry and annoyed and wishing that she'd stayed with Yui instead of doing this stupid summer camp thing! At least there'd be plenty of food at home, even if...
A glimpse of a brown-haired girl with green eyes cut through her thoughts, and Kana couldn't help but sag against the glass. Fine. Fine, Mom, you win this round! She was just bored, okay? Happy now? She was super duper bored and wanted to go home and eat a ton of yakitori.
"I don't have anything to do," she complained sullenly, letting out a sigh as she tried to think of a way to escape.
"Well, you're free to play in the park if you like," the intern replied blandly; not bothering to look at her as he fiddled with the TV remote. "So long as you stay in sight."
"I can?" Kana asked, perking up at that thought.
He waved her off with one hand. "Sure," he replied absently; his tone suggesting he didn't much care either way. "We're just waiting around for the director anyway. You can play, and I can get some work done. So long as you stay in view of the building. Do I need to show you out?"
Kana jumped out of her chair and hurried towards the door, pausing only to make sure she had her phone on hand before saying "No" and leaving without another word. She could find the way on her own, no problem! She wasn't a baby or anything!
The door closed behind her with a loud click—and Kana practically skipped down the hallways as she made her way towards the elevator. The hallway was almost empty; some cleaning guy mopping up near a doorway, and a middle-aged woman walking towards Kana with a sheaf of paper in her hands, but other than that nothing. The elevator had a lot of buttons. Her thumb hovered over the 'ground' one for a second or so—and then she noticed the keycard still stuck in the slot near the bottom of the panel!
That looked like the one her mother carried, didn't it? The one that let her go into the building without asking? It probably wasn't meant to be here. Kana eyed it curiously, not quite daring to pull it out, and considered her actions.
Well, she coooould go down to the lobby and give it to security on the way out, but...
Her thumb hit the basement button with a loud ding, and Kana couldn't help but grin triumphantly as the doors closed and the elevator started moving. Just a look. She'd take a peek at what was right outside the elevator, and then go to the park. Since no one was watching her, no one would be any the wiser! And even if someone was watching, well, she was sure they wouldn't get too mad. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully?
But there'd be no harm done, so that was fine!
The elevator rumbled and shuddered as it slowed down to a stop; and the doors opened up onto a dull grey corridor with a 'NO ENTRY' sign right outside the elevator. Kana hesitated for a second or so—shifting her weight from one foot to another as she worried her lower lip—and then poked her head out of the elevator before she could talk herself out of it.
The hallway went to the left and right; both ways were the same; dim lighting and concrete walls that didn't really allow any sort of airflow. Kana sniffed and immediately regretted it, wrinkling her nose in disgust. The place smelled gross!
Well, not gross, exactly. Not bad smelling, anyway. It was just- it made her skin crawl? Like something was scraping away at it. She wasn't sure what the actual smell was. Old socks, maybe? Or incense? Something smoky and old; something that smelled like sweat and dust and... and black?
Black wasn't a smell. Kana dismissed the thought almost immediately after it had formed, and let her eyes wander to the ceiling, where she could see a few vents lining the roof. Air conditioning?
"Heeeey," she said, so softly she was basically whispering. "Anybody here?"
Nothing answered her, so Kana hesitantly stepped out of the elevator. Her feet echoed in the empty space; in the hollow of a concrete hallway that was more like a sewer than anything else—dark and empty and wrong in ways that were hard to articulate. She wasn't a scaredy-cat, but this place made her skin crawl. It was just wrong. She wanted to leave.
...but she hadn't seen anything interesting yet?
She walked for a few steps, hoping to catch sight of something, anything—and then paused, as a thought occurred to her. A quick retreat to the elevator, where the keycard made its way to her pocket. The elevator doors closed with a 'ding' after she stepped out, and the elevator left.
That was good. She wouldn't want anyone walking in on her down here. That would be embarrassing. And scary? The air in the corridor felt bad, almost like...
Kana shook her head, dismissing the thought.
⁂
The corridor was long and straight and dark, lit only by naked lightbulbs hanging off the ceiling. A lot of it was dusty. It wasn't abandoned. There weren't any broken bulbs, the dust wasn't everywhere—but it was like they didn't clean it very often. There were alcoves every dozen metres, but nothing in them besides some wiring.
There was no one in sight, and there were no doors or intersections for what felt like miles, just blank concrete and a smooth floor that gave her no traction when she skidded on it—her sneakers slipping out from underneath her when she tried to kick off on an idle whim.
"Ow," Kana complained quietly, rubbing at her hip as she got back to her feet and walked on.
It made her feel uneasy, but she told herself that it was probably normal for offices to have creepy basements, and walked on—allowing her imagination to run wild as she did so; wondering if this was some kind of secret ninja base, or if this was where the time police stored their time-travel equipment, or-
Or maybe just cleaning supplies?
Kana slowed down slightly at that thought, before picking up the pace again a few moments later. Yes, of course, but that thought was no fun. So she kept on walking; listening to the echoes of her footsteps fade into nothingness as the corridor went on and on and on without end. It was very... um...
Long. Behind her the elevator was nearly out of view, just a vague light in the distance. She'd been walking for ages already, but it didn't feel like she'd moved at all!
Kana hugged herself, taking a deep breath.
"This is silly," she said quietly to herself, looking around at the nothingness around her. "This is dumb."
Her heart thumped loudly in her ears. It didn't make her feel any braver. She knew there wouldn't be monsters, because this was real life and not an anime or something, but...
What if she got lost?
...walking in a straight line?
One more minute. If she hadn't found anything by then, then she'd go back. Okay? Okay.
And so Kana kept walking, occasionally pausing to peek into a nearby alcove to see if there was anything hiding there, before resuming her exploration with a determined frown—a determined frown that faded and got replaced by something smaller and less certain with every step she took down the hallway. Something was wrong. She could feel it; her nerves were thrumming with anxiety; her hands trembled slightly as she stared around for something—for anything at all that would explain the eerie feeling she had about this place.
But there was nothing, nothing at all to see beyond the unending length of the corridor. Nothing-
Except a greyish, metal door, set inside an alcove and nearly invisible until Kana had all but walked past it. A plaque on the door read 'AN1079'. The letters were faint, almost invisible, but the door—unlike most of this place—had been kept meticulously clean. There was a card reader next to the door, with a blinking red light on it; the only light Kana had seen so far besides the flickering bulbs on the ceiling.
Hesitantly, Kana stepped inside the alcove, shuffling to one side to get a better look at the card reader. The air in there was odd. It made her skin itch—and the keycard she'd 'borrowed' felt warm, almost biting to the touch. She eyed it nervously for a second or two, but then shook her head and stuck it into the card reader.
She wasn't going to go in. She'd just look through the door. Maybe.
The lights on the card reader flashed—once green, twice red—and then a loud click rang through the corridor, as the door slid open silently—the smooth metal slipping into the wall without resistance. Kana blinked at the sight; resisting the urge to rub at her eyes in case it was a mirage or something, or in case it would disappear. But no, the door was real. Through the door, Kana could see-
A long row of bunkbeds, all made from metal. At the back of the room was a closet, and at the front—on the opposite end of the door—a large television was mounted on the wall; playing some sort of news broadcast, but silent.
The door started scraping closed. Panicking, Kana threw herself in before it could close fully, sprawling to the floor as she did so—one hand instinctively reaching out to catch herself as she tumbled forward.
Clang!
"Ow!"
She'd landed on a bucket. Her ankle was throbbing painfully—she'd trod on its side as she fell—but Kana bit her lip and suppressed the urge to cry out for help, instead letting out a quiet whine as she rubbed at it. She'd gotten inside, which maybe wasn't the best idea, but she'd found something she wasn't supposed to. Something creepy! The beds were all small, sized for children rather than adults, and all unmade. The closet at the back of the room was half-open, revealing stacks of blankets and folded clothes on one side, and empty hangers on the other. The news broadcast was silent, but...
Kana pushed herself up off the ground and winced, limping as she turned to look at the door. Time to leave, if she said so herself. She'd ask Mom what this was all about once she was safely home.
She looked for a handle or crash-bar on the inside of the door—she'd need those to get out—but there was nothing but smooth, seamless metal.
Panic flared in Kana's chest.
'Calm down,' she thought firmly to herself, forcing her breathing into a slow, even rhythm as she looked for the controls. They didn't take her long to find. On the side of the door, at the same location as the outside, there was a card reader similar to the one on the outside of the door.
The keycard-
Was on the outside. Still in the card reader.
'Don't panic,' Kana thought desperately to herself, a high-pitched whine escaping from her lips as her thoughts scattered in every direction—and her hands scrabbled frantically at her pockets. Her phone! Her phone was-!
She was underground. It wouldn't-
She pulled it out and stared at the screen, which was showing three bars of reception. "Yes," she breathed quietly, hope flaring in her chest like a beacon—and then swallowed, as her thumbs danced across the numberpad. She hit the fast-call shortcut for her mom, the one she'd said never to use except in emergencies.
The phone rang for what felt like an eternity. Kana's breathing quickened with every moment it took for her mother to pick up, her heart thumping loudly in her ears—and then-
Click.
"Kana?"
(Content warning: Implications of harm.)
"But I'm hungry, and I'm tired, and- and I want to see my sister!"
Kana couldn't help but plead her case, even though she knew it wouldn't do any good. Kana was hungry. She was tired and lonely and hot and- and bored. She'd been stuck in this empty, rural train station all day every day for—how long had it been? Weeks? Months? Days? It felt like years. Years upon years upon years.
"I'm sorry," her mother repeated through the phone, "but I can't just pick you up whenever you want me to, Kana. This can happen if you miss the train."
Kana glared at the phone, trying to get her breathing under control—in and out, in and out. Her cheeks were hot with anger and frustration and the sheer unfairness of it all; Mom had been the one who insisted she should go to summer camp. Now she wasn't allowed to come home? What was the point? Sweat dripped down her forehead, sticking strands of hair to her face. Kana shoved them aside in annoyance.
"It's only another hour to wait," her mother added after a moment or so—hearing her daughter's angry silence for what it was. "You can buy a snack, can't you? I gave you money for that."
"I spent it at the camp," Kana said sullenly. "On postcards." She had thirty-two, now; all stacked neatly in a folder, stamped and addressed and ready to post in a few days—though it had been three hours since they'd left the camp and she still had no idea when she would write on them. Kana didn't want to send postcards to anyone right now. She wished she'd bought a new sketchbook instead.
"Then ask the stationmaster to lend you an onigiri or two," her mom replied patiently—giving no indication of any sympathy for Kana's plight at all. "You're adorable, I'm sure they'll agree."
Kana didn't have the energy to protest the suggestion. She'd already considered and rejected that approach. Talking to adults made her uncomfortable at the best of times. Talking to strangers to beg for food was worse, and Kana definitely wasn't going to do that. There had to be something else-
A train chugged past, belching out smoke as it did so—a testament to how far into the boonies she was—and Kana glared at it angrily. They came through the station about every ten minutes or so; roaring past like a giant monster in the process of devouring the station whole. None of them ever stopped. Why had she ever let her mother convince her to go to summer camp?
She ignored and stomped down on the memories; a smiling Yui, eager to hear tales of her sister's adventures; the excited chatter of all the other girls in her cabin as they bounced around from activity to activity; excited hollering as she paddled down a stream…
None of it had been worth it, none of it.
"Dear," her mother said, a note of concern finally entering her voice. "Are you alright?"
"I'm hungry!" Kana repeated, not caring that she was whining now. "I don't have any more money and- and there's nowhere to buy food! And you haven't said how Yui's doing! Is she okay?"
Silence answered her.
"...Mom?" she said after a second or so, dread clawing its way up her chest; her heart thumping loudly in her ears. "Is Yui okay?"
"Kana..." her mom began. "You know she just broke her leg, right?"
"Yes!" Kana snapped; gripping the phone tight enough to hurt. "I was there! I helped carry her to the nurse!"
Yui had been crying! She was worried!
"Kana-chan, they took the cast off last week," her mom said with a laugh. "She wanted to surprise you once you got home."
Kana's grip tightened further—but relief was washing over her, filling up her insides like ice-cream—and she slumped against the wall, feeling utterly drained.
"She's okay?" Kana asked in a small voice; barely audible even to herself.
"Of course she's okay," her mother reassured her. "They took it off last week. She's at Yuna's place right now, in fact."
"Okay," Kana whispered, smiling despite herself. "Okay. I... okay."
Yui was okay. She was okay and had tried to surprise Kana by being around when she came home from camp; and Kana was too relieved to be angry about being tricked, because Yui was okay and would be at home when she got there, and then Kana could hug her big sister and...
She shook her head slightly, swallowing hard to suppress the urge to cry—she'd done enough of that.
"Thanks," Kana said quietly, leaning her head against the wall. She didn't trust herself to speak properly yet.
"Kana, when was the last time you ate?"
"For breakfast," Kana replied sullenly—glaring at the wall. "Before we left. But it wasn't enough!"
Her mother was silent for a few seconds at that—probably making some face at the phone as she thought about that.
"Didn't you get lunch on the train?" her mom finally asked, her tone curious.
Kana scowled again, thumping her head gently against the wall. "No," she replied bitterly. "They were out when they got to my wagon."
She remembered it clearly; it had been about one hour into the trip, just when Kana had started getting hungry. The girls she'd been sitting with had made noises of disappointment; and one of them had brought out a box of cookies to share around, but they'd been hungrier than she had. Like, really hungry, the sort of hungry that felt like a gnawing pit in your stomach; not like Kana's usual 'I skipped second lunch' level of hunger.
So she'd pretended like she wasn't also hungry and only took one. And- they'd been grateful, even if they hadn't said so. She'd wound up with a few more phone numbers.
But now she was really hungry.
"That's awful," her mom replied—sounding genuinely sympathetic for the first time during their conversation. "Are you okay?"
"No," Kana grumbled into the phone, rolling her head sideways to stare a hole through the trains. "Please come get me."
Her mom was silent for a few seconds longer.
"Work is at a crucial point right now," she said finally, apologetic but firm. "But I'll send one of the interns instead. Can you hold out for half an hour?"
"I guess," Kana replied, letting out a sigh of defeat. "I'm okay," she added after a moment or so, softer—knowing it would disappoint her mother if she didn't say it.
"You're a good girl," her mom agreed affectionately. "I love you, Kana-chan."
"Love you too," Kana replied quietly, feeling a little better now that someone was coming to pick her up. "Bye."
She ended the call without waiting for a response; putting the phone back in her pocket as she stood up off the barrier and stretched. A half an hour—that was plenty of time! Maybe she'd write one of those postcards after all, to help pass the time.
And with that in mind she dug out her pen and sat down on the barrier, trying to remember where her address book was. The folders were in her bag, and the bag was- she'd left it on the stairs of the platform.
Five minutes and an embarrassing amount of running later, she had her postcards and her address book. The first card she was writing was addressed to Sakura, a brown-haired, green-eyed girl she'd met on the bus—who'd helped her figure out what she wanted to do at summer camp, and had gotten lost twice already on the first day.
The girl had an infectious smile and was energetic and talked a lot, and Kana's stomach felt like it was doing funny flips whenever they were together. Which was weird and confusing, and Kana kind of liked it but not really?
Maybe the hunger was making her brain weird.
'Dear Sakura' she wrote, carefully shaping each character with a steady hand.
⁂
Half an hour later the promised intern had still not arrived, and Kana had finished her postcards—now stacked neatly in their folder—and had moved onto drawing flowers on her arms with a glittery purple pen; it was the closest thing to art she had on hand at the moment.
Her stomach was complaining loudly about her lack of food. She had been hungry for far too long, and Kana was starting to regret not taking that girl up on her offer of cookies. It wasn't like there'd be more cookies tomorrow!
Well, there might be. But tomorrow wasn't today, which was the problem. Kana's stomach gurgled unhappily at that thought.
Then it rumbled loudly enough that Kana could hear it—and a voice spoke from just behind her shoulder.
"Excuse me? Miss?"
Kana yelped, nearly falling off her seat as she flinched away from the voice—a voice that belonged to a man with long hair, standing less than an inch behind her with his hands in his pockets.
"Sorry," he added quickly, radiating sheepishness and sounding honestly apologetic for startling her. He stepped backwards to give her some space. "Are you Nanami Yui? The daughter of Nanami Asahi?"
"What? No!" Kana stared at him. "I'm her younger sister. Nanami Akane." She stared at him a bit harder. Didn't he know anything?
"Apologies," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "Your mother asked me to pick up her daughter. Um." He glanced around, seeing the lack of other people around. "It's just you, right?"
Kana rolled her eyes and hopped off the barrier.
"Do you see any other kids here?" she asked him drily, looking pointedly around at the empty station. "Yes, it's me." She folded her arms across her chest, scowling at him. "I don't have any other siblings. You know my big sister?"
"Only by reputation," he replied, smiling a little at her reaction.
"Okay," Kana said, frowning at him. "Fine. So you know my mom?"
The man shrugged, rubbing at the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Nope," he replied, popping the p sound in an oddly familiar way. "She's my manager's boss. So I've seen her at work a few times." He paused. "She's very scary."
Kana frowned at that. Her mom? Scary? Was this guy nuts?
"Well, it doesn't matter," he continued after a second or so. "Let's get going. Is this all your luggage?" He gestured vaguely at the bag on her shoulder and the folder in her hands.
Kana nodded silently at him, still eyeing him with suspicion—but he was an adult, and he didn't feel evil. Which was a weird thing to think, but Kana just knew—his aura felt good, even if it was really turbulent. It reminded her of Sakura a little, and she felt her mood improve slightly.
"Okay then," the man said; clapping his hands together once in apparent satisfaction. Then he held out a bag of onigiri. "Here's lunch."
Kana's stomach roared at her—and she snatched the bag off him almost before she knew what she was doing; opening it up and sticking her face inside, inhaling deeply as she did so. Rice! Umeboshi! Tuna! Eel!
She took a bite, chewing down and swallowing quickly.
Bliss.
⁂
"So you work for my mother's company?" she asked after he'd pulled out into traffic, unable to keep the curiosity from her voice. Her entire mouth tasted of rice and salt—she'd inhaled the onigiri like a vacuum cleaner. But it had been food and delicious and enough to tide her over until dinner.
"Yeah," the man replied after a second or so; driving with a careless ease that spoke of a long experience behind the wheel. "I'm an assistant to one of the section heads. Doing odd jobs, mostly. Stocking the coffee machine. Filing papers. That sort of thing." He hesitated slightly, glancing at her in the mirror. "Fetching lost kittens, on occasion."
Kana went faintly red at that comment, sinking down in her chair and huddling her shoulders up high. Stupid embarrassing interns.
"Shut up," she mumbled quietly, folding her arms across her chest and pouting into her sleeve.
The man laughed quietly at that—a good-natured laugh that helped lift her mood again. He didn't feel mean-spirited about teasing her at all; in fact, he felt kinda relieved about something.
"It's a bit of a drive. Your mother asked me to bring you to work until she's done for the day."
Kana sighed—she didn't mind visiting her mother's workplace, exactly. She just had to go there with an escort and stay in the waiting room. Which wasn't horrible, but it was boring and... dark. Well, not dark dark, but it felt… weird? Scrapey? And it was small, with nothing to do. It wasn't a very fun place to spend the afternoon.
At least they'd finally fixed the AC, so she wouldn't swelter in the heat like the train station.
"That's fine," she said finally, kicking her feet back and forth lightly. "I don't mind."
He was silent for a few seconds as the car veered slightly right; as they passed through an underpass and sped up a little as he resumed.
"I could lend you a book," he offered finally, the feeling of amusement growing stronger with every passing second. "If you like."
Kana stared at the back of his head for a few seconds. "Is it for kids?" she asked flatly.
"Not particularly," he replied. "I mostly read science fiction. Look in the seat to your right, there might be something that could interest you?"
Kana peered around, and found a few books face-down on the backseat—half buried under a pile of clothes and a small carton of orange juice. She picked the top one off the pile and turned it over, squinting at the title—then flipped it over again to read the summary on the back, squinting at the small text.
"What's a 'battlement'?" she asked finally.
"Ah," he said—the feeling of amusement becoming tinged with something else now, like chocolate on ice-cream. "It's a fortification thingy," he replied after a second or so. "A wall with cannons on top."
Kana rolled her eyes and dropped the book back into its seat—muttering a quiet "boring" under her breath.
"Mmm," the man hummed noncommittally, and didn't say anything more until they reached her mom's workplace. Kana was put through the usual motions—asking for permission to enter, waiting around while he sorted it out—and then being shown to a small, beige waiting room on the second floor, where she spent most of her time staring out the window.
The waiting room had a small TV and a table with a few magazines and some books, but they were boring and old and had no pictures, and the TV was on the fritz today. "Remote needs batteries," the man said—and then didn't go get batteries.
So Kana stared out at the park beyond the windows—at the little kids playing on the swings—and wished that she'd taken her sketchbook with her on the camp trip. Kana was good at sketches, if she said so herself. She mostly drew cute animals, and cute places were good too; not boy stuff like fighting robots. She really wasn't any good at that at all.
She spent a good chunk of time watching the kids play, their cheerful voices filtering through the window. It was calming, in an odd way.
Maybe she could go and join them?
When was mom getting here?
Was it dinner time yet?
"Bored," she muttered quietly to herself, leaning forward against the windowsill and letting her cheek rest against the cold glass. The park beyond was filled with people. Going on walks or strolling with friends, playing in the shade or exercising in the sun. And here she was stuck indoors in Manticore, watching them from a distance—and unable to draw or read or do much of anything besides watch. This was dumb. She was being dumb for letting it happen.
She still had an onigiri left, didn't she?
Digging into her pocket, Kana fished out the remaining onigiri and unwrapped it from its clingfilm. The plastic rustled loudly as she did so—and she took a deep whiff of the smell of seaweed and rice; then, finally, took a bite of it and chewed thoughtfully. The flavours were delicious; spicy and salty and sour all at once.
"Isn't mom getting here yet?" she whined, unable to keep the frustration from her voice as she thumped her head against the glass.
"I'm sure she is," the intern replied, laughing quietly as he looked up from the book. "Time can feel like it's going very slowly when you're bored."
Kana glared at the back of his head. She was not 'bored'. She was hungry and annoyed and wishing that she'd stayed with Yui instead of doing this stupid summer camp thing! At least there'd be plenty of food at home, even if...
A glimpse of a brown-haired girl with green eyes cut through her thoughts, and Kana couldn't help but sag against the glass. Fine. Fine, Mom, you win this round! She was just bored, okay? Happy now? She was super duper bored and wanted to go home and eat a ton of yakitori.
"I don't have anything to do," she complained sullenly, letting out a sigh as she tried to think of a way to escape.
"Well, you're free to play in the park if you like," the intern replied blandly; not bothering to look at her as he fiddled with the TV remote. "So long as you stay in sight."
"I can?" Kana asked, perking up at that thought.
He waved her off with one hand. "Sure," he replied absently; his tone suggesting he didn't much care either way. "We're just waiting around for the director anyway. You can play, and I can get some work done. So long as you stay in view of the building. Do I need to show you out?"
Kana jumped out of her chair and hurried towards the door, pausing only to make sure she had her phone on hand before saying "No" and leaving without another word. She could find the way on her own, no problem! She wasn't a baby or anything!
The door closed behind her with a loud click—and Kana practically skipped down the hallways as she made her way towards the elevator. The hallway was almost empty; some cleaning guy mopping up near a doorway, and a middle-aged woman walking towards Kana with a sheaf of paper in her hands, but other than that nothing. The elevator had a lot of buttons. Her thumb hovered over the 'ground' one for a second or so—and then she noticed the keycard still stuck in the slot near the bottom of the panel!
That looked like the one her mother carried, didn't it? The one that let her go into the building without asking? It probably wasn't meant to be here. Kana eyed it curiously, not quite daring to pull it out, and considered her actions.
Well, she coooould go down to the lobby and give it to security on the way out, but...
Her thumb hit the basement button with a loud ding, and Kana couldn't help but grin triumphantly as the doors closed and the elevator started moving. Just a look. She'd take a peek at what was right outside the elevator, and then go to the park. Since no one was watching her, no one would be any the wiser! And even if someone was watching, well, she was sure they wouldn't get too mad. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully?
But there'd be no harm done, so that was fine!
The elevator rumbled and shuddered as it slowed down to a stop; and the doors opened up onto a dull grey corridor with a 'NO ENTRY' sign right outside the elevator. Kana hesitated for a second or so—shifting her weight from one foot to another as she worried her lower lip—and then poked her head out of the elevator before she could talk herself out of it.
The hallway went to the left and right; both ways were the same; dim lighting and concrete walls that didn't really allow any sort of airflow. Kana sniffed and immediately regretted it, wrinkling her nose in disgust. The place smelled gross!
Well, not gross, exactly. Not bad smelling, anyway. It was just- it made her skin crawl? Like something was scraping away at it. She wasn't sure what the actual smell was. Old socks, maybe? Or incense? Something smoky and old; something that smelled like sweat and dust and... and black?
Black wasn't a smell. Kana dismissed the thought almost immediately after it had formed, and let her eyes wander to the ceiling, where she could see a few vents lining the roof. Air conditioning?
"Heeeey," she said, so softly she was basically whispering. "Anybody here?"
Nothing answered her, so Kana hesitantly stepped out of the elevator. Her feet echoed in the empty space; in the hollow of a concrete hallway that was more like a sewer than anything else—dark and empty and wrong in ways that were hard to articulate. She wasn't a scaredy-cat, but this place made her skin crawl. It was just wrong. She wanted to leave.
...but she hadn't seen anything interesting yet?
She walked for a few steps, hoping to catch sight of something, anything—and then paused, as a thought occurred to her. A quick retreat to the elevator, where the keycard made its way to her pocket. The elevator doors closed with a 'ding' after she stepped out, and the elevator left.
That was good. She wouldn't want anyone walking in on her down here. That would be embarrassing. And scary? The air in the corridor felt bad, almost like...
Kana shook her head, dismissing the thought.
⁂
The corridor was long and straight and dark, lit only by naked lightbulbs hanging off the ceiling. A lot of it was dusty. It wasn't abandoned. There weren't any broken bulbs, the dust wasn't everywhere—but it was like they didn't clean it very often. There were alcoves every dozen metres, but nothing in them besides some wiring.
There was no one in sight, and there were no doors or intersections for what felt like miles, just blank concrete and a smooth floor that gave her no traction when she skidded on it—her sneakers slipping out from underneath her when she tried to kick off on an idle whim.
"Ow," Kana complained quietly, rubbing at her hip as she got back to her feet and walked on.
It made her feel uneasy, but she told herself that it was probably normal for offices to have creepy basements, and walked on—allowing her imagination to run wild as she did so; wondering if this was some kind of secret ninja base, or if this was where the time police stored their time-travel equipment, or-
Or maybe just cleaning supplies?
Kana slowed down slightly at that thought, before picking up the pace again a few moments later. Yes, of course, but that thought was no fun. So she kept on walking; listening to the echoes of her footsteps fade into nothingness as the corridor went on and on and on without end. It was very... um...
Long. Behind her the elevator was nearly out of view, just a vague light in the distance. She'd been walking for ages already, but it didn't feel like she'd moved at all!
Kana hugged herself, taking a deep breath.
"This is silly," she said quietly to herself, looking around at the nothingness around her. "This is dumb."
Her heart thumped loudly in her ears. It didn't make her feel any braver. She knew there wouldn't be monsters, because this was real life and not an anime or something, but...
What if she got lost?
...walking in a straight line?
One more minute. If she hadn't found anything by then, then she'd go back. Okay? Okay.
And so Kana kept walking, occasionally pausing to peek into a nearby alcove to see if there was anything hiding there, before resuming her exploration with a determined frown—a determined frown that faded and got replaced by something smaller and less certain with every step she took down the hallway. Something was wrong. She could feel it; her nerves were thrumming with anxiety; her hands trembled slightly as she stared around for something—for anything at all that would explain the eerie feeling she had about this place.
But there was nothing, nothing at all to see beyond the unending length of the corridor. Nothing-
Except a greyish, metal door, set inside an alcove and nearly invisible until Kana had all but walked past it. A plaque on the door read 'AN1079'. The letters were faint, almost invisible, but the door—unlike most of this place—had been kept meticulously clean. There was a card reader next to the door, with a blinking red light on it; the only light Kana had seen so far besides the flickering bulbs on the ceiling.
Hesitantly, Kana stepped inside the alcove, shuffling to one side to get a better look at the card reader. The air in there was odd. It made her skin itch—and the keycard she'd 'borrowed' felt warm, almost biting to the touch. She eyed it nervously for a second or two, but then shook her head and stuck it into the card reader.
She wasn't going to go in. She'd just look through the door. Maybe.
The lights on the card reader flashed—once green, twice red—and then a loud click rang through the corridor, as the door slid open silently—the smooth metal slipping into the wall without resistance. Kana blinked at the sight; resisting the urge to rub at her eyes in case it was a mirage or something, or in case it would disappear. But no, the door was real. Through the door, Kana could see-
A long row of bunkbeds, all made from metal. At the back of the room was a closet, and at the front—on the opposite end of the door—a large television was mounted on the wall; playing some sort of news broadcast, but silent.
The door started scraping closed. Panicking, Kana threw herself in before it could close fully, sprawling to the floor as she did so—one hand instinctively reaching out to catch herself as she tumbled forward.
Clang!
"Ow!"
She'd landed on a bucket. Her ankle was throbbing painfully—she'd trod on its side as she fell—but Kana bit her lip and suppressed the urge to cry out for help, instead letting out a quiet whine as she rubbed at it. She'd gotten inside, which maybe wasn't the best idea, but she'd found something she wasn't supposed to. Something creepy! The beds were all small, sized for children rather than adults, and all unmade. The closet at the back of the room was half-open, revealing stacks of blankets and folded clothes on one side, and empty hangers on the other. The news broadcast was silent, but...
Kana pushed herself up off the ground and winced, limping as she turned to look at the door. Time to leave, if she said so herself. She'd ask Mom what this was all about once she was safely home.
She looked for a handle or crash-bar on the inside of the door—she'd need those to get out—but there was nothing but smooth, seamless metal.
Panic flared in Kana's chest.
'Calm down,' she thought firmly to herself, forcing her breathing into a slow, even rhythm as she looked for the controls. They didn't take her long to find. On the side of the door, at the same location as the outside, there was a card reader similar to the one on the outside of the door.
The keycard-
Was on the outside. Still in the card reader.
'Don't panic,' Kana thought desperately to herself, a high-pitched whine escaping from her lips as her thoughts scattered in every direction—and her hands scrabbled frantically at her pockets. Her phone! Her phone was-!
She was underground. It wouldn't-
She pulled it out and stared at the screen, which was showing three bars of reception. "Yes," she breathed quietly, hope flaring in her chest like a beacon—and then swallowed, as her thumbs danced across the numberpad. She hit the fast-call shortcut for her mom, the one she'd said never to use except in emergencies.
The phone rang for what felt like an eternity. Kana's breathing quickened with every moment it took for her mother to pick up, her heart thumping loudly in her ears—and then-
Click.
"Kana?"
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Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Thanks go to @Quickshot, @ShadowAngelBeta and @Nero200 for beta work. Chapter 2.11 should be up soon; perhaps tomorrow.
It's a thoughtful sort of confusion, as opposed to e.g. bewildered, befuddled or bejeweled.
... Ok, I genuinely can't read this. Reading about kids (actual kids not chibi protagonists) in dangerous situations where they're in over their head and fuck up in ways that are completely understandable for a child but still end up with them in serious trouble is... not something I'm comfortable with. At all.
Please tell me there's nothing super super plot-relevant in here that I can't miss, because I really can't bring myself to read this. This sort of thing is just viscerally disturbing to me.
(Please don't take this as any form of criticism, by the way, this is just... it's the kind of horror that disturbs me enough that I can't bear to read it. Kind of like anything that involves animals being beaten to death, especially after my dog died last year.)
Please tell me there's nothing super super plot-relevant in here that I can't miss, because I really can't bring myself to read this. This sort of thing is just viscerally disturbing to me.
(Please don't take this as any form of criticism, by the way, this is just... it's the kind of horror that disturbs me enough that I can't bear to read it. Kind of like anything that involves animals being beaten to death, especially after my dog died last year.)
The only really relevant part to actually trying to diplomance Kana and Kana is, uh, her mother is a member of Manticore.
And Kana ended up in Manticore labs after she stumbled her way down into it by accident.
She still ended up as one of their test subjects.
Also she had/has a big sister named Yui who she named Smol-Yui after.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
This bit is a horror story.
But for what it's worth, nothing terrible happens in this chapter. It's in the implications. I don't know if that changes anything -- but it cuts to black well prior to, um, the parts that Amu will be summarizing in the next chapter.
Sakura has the same hair color, eye color, and personality as the "Kana" we know. Strange.
Not sure if this is Kana's reflection in the glass, or her thinking about someone else (like Sakura).
I get the feeling this chapter might not actually be following the "Kana" we're familiar with. Maybe this is actually the person we know as "Yui".
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
It's not meant as-
Let me just head that one off. It's Kinomoto Sakura, or at least a lookalike. She does not have the same personality as Kana... but they did click somewhat, yes, and there is a resemblance.
She's just there as a set-piece.
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- Location
- Laniakea
Had another theory in my mind that came hand-in-hand as a partner to the Yui-Is-Kana's-Projection one which was: It could be the inverse.
Akane is Yui's projection.
If we took the girl from the memory of "Yui" back in Chapter 1.2 that was in the pool and then later hugging Kana to actually look like Akane's 10-year old self, there's a question of who the "Akane" running to rescue her and being hugged was. Since it's a memory, once would assume it was from first-person point of view and Amu couldn't actually see who the "Akane" that was being hugged or fighting the dark figures was. Meaning said person could have had black hair and looked like what the Yui who Amu later met would have looked like younger.
I didn't think that theory was as likely as the reverse.
Seems a bit more possible now, if we assume that Akane somehow swapped the names of herself and her older sister around in her head and the Scavengers never knew it was the younger one named Akane/Kana by birth instead of the older.
Still a bit iffy as a theory, as it requires the above condition for it to make sense.
But at least this interlude gives some idea of why Akane was getting special treatment in a sunshine room separate from the others - she was the actual daughter of one of the staff there.
Something tells me the mother is no longer there.
Akane is Yui's projection.
If we took the girl from the memory of "Yui" back in Chapter 1.2 that was in the pool and then later hugging Kana to actually look like Akane's 10-year old self, there's a question of who the "Akane" running to rescue her and being hugged was. Since it's a memory, once would assume it was from first-person point of view and Amu couldn't actually see who the "Akane" that was being hugged or fighting the dark figures was. Meaning said person could have had black hair and looked like what the Yui who Amu later met would have looked like younger.
I didn't think that theory was as likely as the reverse.
Seems a bit more possible now, if we assume that Akane somehow swapped the names of herself and her older sister around in her head and the Scavengers never knew it was the younger one named Akane/Kana by birth instead of the older.
Still a bit iffy as a theory, as it requires the above condition for it to make sense.
But at least this interlude gives some idea of why Akane was getting special treatment in a sunshine room separate from the others - she was the actual daughter of one of the staff there.
Something tells me the mother is no longer there.
......Does she happen to be part of a magical family here too?
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Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
If I ever have reason to bring her up again... perhaps.
I wonder why her big sister has such a reputation, and broke her leg again? Mundane stuff, or not-so-mundane stuff?
Latent Psionic powers?
That this is actually a kid he was facing, and that said kid can be teased without adverse reactions?
Inference: Kana (who may or may not be the same individual in spirit to the Kana we know)'s mother is the director of this place?
Furthermore, this place has good enough OpSec that it has a exterior that looks reasonable to observers.
Extrapolation: Might her mother have wanted her gone so that she didn't detect anything really off during the critical part of whatever she was doing??
I wonder what this could correspond to in the Psionic system? Precog/Clairvoyance?
I think that's probably not referring to her mom given she seems to love Kana, but could it be a feeling of betrayal on Kana's end?
(lol)
I think my reading of this is that Kana wasn't ever a test subject. After she finds Manticore's secret underground prison her mother actually does come and rescue her, but Kana is unable to ignore what she saw. She maybe learns more with her budding psionic powers - she's a mind reader, and I think Manticore doesn't actually have defences against that at this point (and maybe even in the present). Eventually she tries to do something, maybe mount some kind of rescue mission, and ends up where she is today. The picture is about her mother trying to keep her in a "safe" world, while she knows about the horrors going on nearby and can't ignore them.
...Is Kana the only Scavenger we know who doesn't have some kind of medical or psionic issue? Naomi is taking some kind of psionic suppressant, Yui has her dream issues, Aoi is... blind? I guess that could be pre-existing. But Kana just seems to be a normal girl with psionic powers, which I think is consistent with her not being an experimental subject.
Edit: Oh, there's also the fifth member that Amu has somehow not met or learned anything about despite visiting them regularly at their house.
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- Location
- Laniakea
I'm thinking that the one from the Chapter 1.2 memory of "Yui" was Big Yui, the real one. And the PoV Akane who Amu wouldn't have seen the face of during those memories was Smol Akane.
That the memory of Yui hugging her chronologically happened before the "rescue" one at the pool.... and the "rescue" did not go as planned, which is why the "Yui" currently with the Scavengers seems, from current evidence, to not be the same person as Big Yui. That the teddy bear that was confirmed to be Kana's by Utau was given to her by Big Yui and she didn't feel worthy of it after failing to rescue her.
Under this interpretation, it is possible that Akane/Kana, the younger sister, was not a test subject of Manticore.... but Big Yui was.
And that Asahi sent her youngest daughter away to summer camp in the first place, because she needed Big Yui for an experiment that would take an extended period of time and didn't want her youngest daughter noticing that Yui wasn't actually at the hospital (or else the hospital was in Manticore facilities and she didn't want her daughter to see the kind of "treatment" her sister was undergoing).
That was quite the pregnant pause her mother had when Akane asked if her sister was OK.
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For some reason I'm getting a headache while trying to understand your post, do you mind simplifying it and grabbing relevant quotes for easier reference? Thanks.
Though. Doesn't seem like the case, because Mind Control likely can bypass Socialise (and her mom would likely need a warped mindset to be able to laugh then if what you say is true), especially when her mother doesn't seem fully aware of her daughter having it and they don't have dedicated mental protection?