pslplz | Futureverse

That was an invitation Rasu did not see coming, a fact that made it all the more warming to hear.

"Sure, I'd love to! Lemme know when would be a good time for you... I know how busy you are." Briefly, Rasu felt a fleeting worry about completely embarrassing himself again on the tennis court, like he did with the glass of water, but excitement over the chance to try something new with a friend buried the thought within seconds.

"Oh."

Honestly, Mizuki is somewhat surprised by Rasu's enthusiasm. Maybe they can forget about the awkward blind date situation after all?

"Very well. There is a court not too far from the studio. Perhaps some time after work?"

(Also, let us assume that he has directed them to the rail station platform by now, having added both of their fares onto his account).

"Sounds good! Anything I should bring? Like, do I need my own racket?"

(Agreed!)

"I have a spare. Just wear good running shoes. I assume you have some?" Mizuki has a feeling that athletic wear is quite common in Rasu's wardrobe.

The monorail pulls up with a swoosh, and they step on. The city lights whizz by with lightning speed as they accelerate to the rail's maximum speed.

When Goku was a child, he had two brothers. Then stuff happened, his parents wanted to live away from each other, and he suddenly had only one brother. He remembers being real sad for a long time, wondering whether his brother thought he didn't love him anymore for going away.

Years passed, Goku grew up (more or less...he wouldn't mind having a few more centimeters), and he spend his childhood running around with Hak Nii, who was fun and a great fighter and kind of awesome even though sometimes was an annoying idiot.

He never forgot his other brother though, sweet and warm, or so he recalled him to be, in that vague way that children create their earliest memories. As he entered his teenage years, he began to wonder more and more what had become of him. So one day he decided to just look him up.

But what do you say to a long lost brother after so many years of not being in his life?

Goku thinks about it for a long time before he sends him a message:

gogogoku>> hey!

Best to keep it short and to the point?

Mamoru's eyes burn from exhaustion as he heads back to his room. Tutoring, much like its professional counterpart of teaching, does not pay nearly enough. It's not that the work is grueling or frustrating or particularly stressful. It's that there simply aren't enough hours in the week to work at that rate and earn what would make a comfortable buffer for emergencies and surprise expenses like the dishwasher failure last month and the water damage it caused the flooring. Not while he's still in school himself with assignments of his own. Speaking of which...

He casts a forlorn look at his bed before settling at his desk and pulling out the essay notes he made between pupils. He makes it five minutes before getting notification of a new message from 'gogogoku.' He furrows his eyebrows. All of the sudden, his stomach feels as though it may have dropped out from under him.

"Rex: identify Real Name of gogogoku."

"Real Name: Son Goku."

Goku... Mamoru stares at his schoolwork as though it's morphed into some unconquerable beast. He scoots away from it and puts on his VR headset.

"Select String: Avatar Real Me; Environment City Park; Time Local; Set."

"Avatar, Environment, Time Selected."

"Send invitation to Screen Name gogogoku."

"Invitation Sent."

The scenery around him changes. His room disappears. Instead of his desk chair, he sits on a park bench along a walking trail. A moth circles one of the lamp posts and the song of cicadas hums around him. Stars hover overhead in a melancholy blanket of dark blue broken only by the last wisps of twilight encircling the horizon.

Maybe he should have sent something a little more interesting than 'hey,' but it's too late now. Besides, it's a very Goku sort of greeting, free of any lengthy introductions or explanations. And it apparently worked, because he gets a ping back before long, in the form of an VR call up. Goku perks up and quickly accepts the invite with a blink. He'd been strolling around the construct already, taking a break from schoolwork.

He doesn't usually bother with made-up avatars when he's not in-game, so there's no need to adjust his appearance before he enters the private space.

Goku materializes in the middle of a park at night, on some trail. He's arrived from a bright day-time forest setting, so the sudden dimming of light makes him blink a couple times before he can adjust. He glances around and sees a lamppost and bench. Someone's sitting on it. Goku jogs over, nervous but excited.

"Hello?"

Mamoru rises from the bench perhaps too anxiously when he sees the approaching figure. He's short, like him... like their mother. Big eyes, round face - he can sort of see the resemblance. The muscular build he can only guess to be something Goku got from his father's side, though it's hard for Mamoru to know for sure, having no solid memory of his own for comparison.

The same mix of nervousness and excitement that Goku feels is evident in Mamoru's smile. It's a little overwhelming to suddenly see his brother so much older and bigger than he remembers him being.

"It's been a long time."

It's not until he approaches the bench and really sees him that it hits Goku. It's him. When he was a kid, things weren't quite as clear, even if he did have a rather active imagination. He has the same face and feeling about him, though he's not sure if that makes a lot of sense at all. Maybe at five years old, that was all Goku really had. A feeling. And as he comes to stand closer to him, even in the VR, he can tell.

Goku breaks into a bright smile.

"Momo-Niichan!"

Mamoru is torn between humor and embarrassment hearing that old moniker again. He laughs.

"I'd almost forgotten you used to call me that! This is such a great surprise - it's so good to see you again! What inspired this?"

Mamoru doesn't mean it in a bad way, but he's a little surprised that Goku even remembers him at all. He was so young when their parents split.

The name just kind of slipped out. Of course he knows now that it's not his real name, but it feels weird calling him anything else. His brother doesn't seem to mind too much?

"Hmm, I dunno. Were we doing projects about genetics and stuff in bio. But that's not all of it, really. I always wondered what happened to you after we moved away. I thought I could ping you, and there you were."

He tilts his head and looks at him curiously and with some wonder. It's not everyday you find your brother.

It's pretty touching Goku wondered, though in a way it seems natural, too. He did lose his mother along with his brother. Mamoru wonders if Goku's dad found another partner quickly - or at all for that matter.

"You had good timing! I just got home. I tutor people after school for extra money. Tell me what's going on! What's life like for you now?"

"Life's okay, just school and friends and gaming. And Hak-Nii and Dad. We moved around lots for a few years, but we've been in New Osaka for a couple years now. I like it. What about you? How's Mom?"

It's strange to ask about his own mom. Most of Goku's own friends have both their parents, or at least keep in touch with them, if not. But Goku's not really mad about that. It would be nice to know them better, though. Especially now that they've finally settled somewhere and don't have to get going again any time soon.

It sounds like Goku's life is nice and normal. School, friends, gaming. The moving around sounds disruptive though. Mamoru's sort of glad that he's been able to stay in the same city.

"Mom's--" Mom's what? The answer waits on the tip of his tongue for half a second. "Mom's good. She misses you."

'Good' might not be the best descriptor, but that wasn't baggage to be bringing up as the first thing Goku heard about her. Mamoru doesn't know if he's seen her truly happy in years, and he's certain that not having one of her kids in her life at all is a big factor in that.

"Ooh."

His brother doesn't tell him much at all, so Goku only has the last bit to think about. He suddenly feels a bit guilty, having waited so long to look them up.

"I should call her, huh?"

Edited 2018-08-14 00:59 (UTC)

>>Day 3 of recon.
>>Target: Doolittle. Affiliation: SSK.
>>Field: N.U.
>>Tech support: N.N.
>>Target acquired.

>>tracking......

The hours go by slowly when there is not much happening, but that doesn't mean Nagi is any less alert. He sits at his work desk, which is basically a giant holo projection monitor that covers the entire wall, updating location, surveillance, audio capture, social media, news feeds, everything in real time. One slip of information that he misses could have consequences, even if it doesn't look like anything exciting is about to occur any time soon. Criminals don't always have the most predictable patterns, or else Nagi could've written a program to do his job.

That doesn't mean he's got to put his eyeballs on everything, though. He's written a program to alert him to any anomalies that should trigger further investigation, like a phone call made to any particular numbers, or avatars that sign in to certain locations on the VR. Meanwhile, Nagi himself keeps most of his attention on the map that lights up half the wall, which can pinpoint the location of a mouse within a meter radius of that neighborhood, in three dimensions. Nagi created this map himself, based off of one he once programmed back in high school of their academy.

His gaze pauses on the dot that signifies the location of his partner, who is currently following a lead on the streets.

"Ever wish you were the one sitting behind a desk at midnight?" he muses thoughtfully. The rainy weather has finally let up today, at least. A damp stakeout can be messy.

Edited 2018-08-14 02:15 (UTC)

It's a relatively quiet night, at least for them. No opera music blasting through the dormitories at 3 am, no water fountains spewing glitter and lemonade in the courtyard. And no explosions, for which Nagi's parents are probably quite relieved. Instead, Naru has snuck out at 1 am to go clubbing, because why not, and he's managed to convince Omi to go with him. Nagi isn't much of a clubber, and Ken has an exam tomorrow morning. (So does Naru, but oh well).

Oceana is the coolest club in the city right now, and they'll let you in if you have the right credentials. They're easy enough to program. After a couple beers, some enthusiastic dancing, and a lipstick stain on his neck that he's not exactly sure how it got there, Naru takes a break. He knows a place on the balcony just above the dance floor, where you get a great view of the place and the music is just muffled enough to take a breather. Naru sits there now, legs hanging off the edge while he drapes his arms over the railing.

"So are you traveling with your family for spring break this year?" he asks as he takes a sip of his beer.

"Sit down, Honjou."

"Take it back!"

"You can sit in the class or you can stand in the hall. Those are your options; I suggest you choose carefully."

"...No contest."

45 minutes later, Omi can still hear the eruption of whispers from the moment he walked for the door. The bell finally rings, classroom doors open and the whispering in his ears becomes a clamour in the halls. Ken won't be among the faces filing out; he's already gone. Omi saw him march out a few minutes after he did and Omi isn't sure he's ever seen him that pissed off while still that silent-- scary. The other students start to spill out, several of them exchanging glances with him but none of them saying a word. It doesn't matter. He's not waiting to talk with any of them. He's waiting for Nagi.

Omi doesn't know what to expect out of his friend the moment he crosses into the daylight side of that abuse chamber. He doesn't know what else that asshole teacher proceeded to say to or about him, only this time without anyone in a position to stand up and defend him. Will he be angry, or just humiliated? Will he show any of it? Nagi's always been remarkably good at hiding his feelings. Times like these, maybe it's advantageous for him to be. He didn't get sent out to stand in the hall, at least. Even so, Omi knows how upset he is, and he wasn't even the target of the teacher's degradation. He's sort of worried about Nagi. Maybe more than sort of.

Omi will admit to this much: he hadn't meant to send the guy to the hospital.

He sits slumped in the chair outside the headmaster's office waiting to be seen, avoiding his brother's eyes as much as he possibly can. He doesn't need to be reminded how disappointed Yuushi must be. In fact, he'd rather not be reminded Yuushi is even there.

He wonders how badly Naru caught it. Naru's parents didn't have the same influence his do; it sort of worries Omi. What if this was a line too far, and Naru wasn't going to be able to come back? Their pranks had always just been fun and giggles in the past... maybe occasionally retaliatory, but never anything serious. Never anything like this.

The door glides open. A smooth, automated voice chimes an invitation to enter the office. Omi takes a breath and crosses the threshold, then takes one of the chairs facing the desk. He sits up straighter here. He can't decide if he's lucky or not that his parents are out of town right now.

--

The headmaster's sharp gaze on Omi softens as she looks to Yuushi, reserving a rueful and quiet but genuine smile for him. He's growing into quite the young man; it's evident in the way he carries himself as well as in the local news. Recently graduated, moving into an executive role in the family business, everything society would expect from someone of his upbringing. And he deserved it. He was diligent, studious, intelligent and well-mannered.

This was really quite a regrettable conversation to have to have. The door glides shut and seals them in privacy.

"Good evening, gentlemen. Yuushi, thank you for taking the time and effort to visit on behalf of your parents. I understand the unfortunate timing, however this is sadly not a situation I can allow to sit on hold until your parents return."

Omi stifles a yawn from his perch beside Naru, one leg tucked under him and the other dangling from the ledge. By his hip is the last few sips of a Midori Sour. They really ought to be looking at heading back soon... But Omi doesn't want to be the one to suggest it (he imagines Naru doesn't want to either. Oh well, it's a problem for Future Them).

"Yeah. We're going to Switzerland to ski. Well - they're going to ski. I'm going to eat snow," he clarifies with a wry, sleepy grin. He's always been a little bit clumsy even in normal shoes. But the only way to get better is to keep trying. He doesn't want to be bad at anything requiring balance forever.

Growing up poor and small was always going to be an invitation to be picked on, at least in the neighborhoods where Nagi grew up. Nagi has known this since he was old enough to remember. Showing up at school with faded hand-me-down clothes, not being able to fill out his family tree for those stupid grade school assignments, not having the latest gadget to show off in the playground: all these things were fodder for the ruthless idiots who had nothing better to do than push him around. Things got a little better after Nagi worked his way into one of the best private high schools in the city, gaining entrance via one of their merit scholarship programs funded by techy billionaires who had an eye for the next generation of programmers.

At least here, the kids are too rich to really care about the scholarship kids. Most of them are into clubbing or high tech VR or (the studious ones) have their eye on college and beyond. Of course, there used to be the occasional jerk, but most of them left him alone after he actually started making friends, like Omi and Ken and Naru.

What he hasn't escaped yet is the scrutiny of teachers like Gilmore, who felt it was beneath him to teach the likes of Nagi. Maybe he thinks his talents are wasted unless he's raising the next CEO or chief medical officer or senator. Whatever. Nagi just needs to endure one semester of this bastard's class before he moves on to better things. Thankfully, it's a mathematics class, so it's not as though he can be graded unfairly (unless he's accused of cheating).

Still, he silently dreads each Tuesday and Thursday, when he has to sit in his class and be berated again, just for existing. Nagi doesn't expect his friends to stand up for him, but maybe he should have? It's been a relatively new thing for him, people having his back. Certainly, no one has ever tried to challenge authority on his behalf.

He tries to stop him. But maybe he doesn't try hard enough? Or maybe Omi just has a mind of his own. Nagi sinks a bit in his chair when Gilmore kicks Omi out. Ken shortly follows, red-faced. Nagi just stares wide-eyed, unsure what to think. He certainly can't concentrate on the lessons. The class proceeds seemingly forever. Gilmore only shoots him nasty glances, which is easier to ignore than his tongue lashings. The hour is finally up and Nagi quickly heads to the door. He pauses in front of Omi awkwardly, glancing at him.

"...hi."

It's never a good thing when you receive a video call from your little brother's head master. Of course, the first thing that ran through his head was: is he okay?? By the end of that conversation, Yuushi felt a combination of relief, embarrassment, and disappointment. And hours later, as he sits next to him in the waiting area outside the head master's office, he feels awkwardness too, because this isn't how he expected to return to his alma mater, standing-in for his out-of-town parents. Maybe he does think that sometimes they let Omi get away with a lot, but he always figured that it wasn't up to him. What's he supposed to do now?

Omi clearly doesn't want to discuss things, which probably will make it difficult for Yuushi to see his point of view once they get in there. But then again, is there a point of view to be had that could possibly excuse exploding a teacher's toilet?

He sighs and gets up to enter the office when they're ushered in at last. He nods respectfully at head master Shimizu as he takes a seat.

"No, Professor Shimizu, I understand. A man is in the hospital. This isn't the sort of thing that can wait."

She nods in return.

"I should say that Professor Gilmore didn't sustain any physical injuries. But they're running some tests, just to be on the safe side."

"We will pay for those, and any additional medical expenses that result, of course," Yuushi says.

"I am sure the insurance will cover that, but that is much appreciated, nevertheless. What we do need to discuss further however, is how we can ensure that such a thing never happens here, again." She glances at Omi with a hard look.

"Of course. There is no excuse for such behavior."

"Ha. You need to get on some of these sporting sims in the VR. It'll sharpen up your coordination!" Naru says with a laugh. Naru himself is more a snowboarder than a skier, but he thinks he's fairly good at both.

"My parents are threatening to cancel our trip to Singapore if I don't finish that essay for Western Civ. Can you believe that?"

Naru always finishes his essays! So what if he's up all night the day before they're due? It'll get done, and that's what's important. Besides, a spring break trip is exactly what he needs to get his mind ready for the last push.

Mamoru works his jaw for half a second and almost manages a quick inner debate over whether that's a good idea or a bad one before answering:

"Yeah... I think she'd like that."

Maybe. She'll probably start crying, is Mamoru's guess. Emotional overload. Hm.

"--How about save it for this weekend? Friday night or Saturday?"

"Oh yeah," Rasu answers easily. Athletic shoes would not be a problem at all.

"What day should I plan for?"

Futureverse

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

[flashback] Goku and the Peach

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Chasing ghosts at midnight

[flashback] 'fess up already

[flashback] This doesn't bode well for the rest of the term

[flashback] The limits of retaliation

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject