[ The puppy dog ears and tail suffer the same fate as Sano's knapsack, gone in a single panel. ]
That's a great idea. Think of Maizuka-kun, and I'm sure you'll feel more centered and calm.
[ Haruaki glances back at the crystal, wondering if he ought to have a talk with it too, but– no, he'll save it for later. Doing it in front of Sano would be embarrassing... ]
Sano-kun. [ Eyes back on his dear friend, Haruaki smiles warm and wide. ] I'm so proud of you.
[For just the briefest moment, Sano feels his eyes widen, his heartbeat pick up in his chest. His face is warm. He glares and clicks his teeth at the ground.]
Don't say such sappy stuff. It's not a big deal.
[It's a huge deal. They both know that. Sano is terrified, blood awake, power radiating from the young god like an overcharged battery.
[Think of Mame...
[Sano is quiet. Quiet. Quiet, and then...]
It's fucked up, but... sometimes I wish he were here too.
I've told you before... sometimes I wish Miki-sensei and Hatanaka-sensei were here, too.
[ Now more so than ever, when he's so troubled by his interaction with Kurahashi that he wishes he could ask Rintarou's advice as a more seasoned teacher, when he has such complicated matters of love on his mind that he wishes he could have an honest conversation about them with Izuna. He misses them so much, it punches holes in his heart every day. Of course he wishes they were here with him. Of course. ]
And if Maizuka-kun was here without you, he'd wish for the same thing.
Yeah, you mentioned that we got lost in a kitsune town! Trust me, Sano-kun, the arc I've been dreaming about is really cute. Everyone has ears and tails~
How the hell am I supposed to know that? I was knocked out.
[And he barely remembers anything from the moments preceding. He's considered enough that he wasn't the only one. Every time he thinks about it, that ache for home heats to an unbearable burn. He feels it now.]
We have to get back. They might be in danger, Haruaki.
[ He knows. He knows, he's known since the moment he arrived that he has to get back, that his students need him– that danger hangs over their heads. He thought it was only Toubyou and Kashima, but even if that all worked out like he's been told it did, only days later even worse trouble would befall all of them...
Haruaki's quiet, not because he isn't taking in what Sano said. Only because he's thinking, stretching strings across the cork board of his mind, looping them around new pins. ]
[ He shouldn't tell Sano. Friends or not, he's still his student, and so is Kurahashi. They're peers, friends– roommates, in this strange world. Haruaki won't do anything to jeopardize a happy school life for either of them.
His heart twists painfully, gaze shifting over to the crystal for a moment. I wish I could talk to Rintarou is more or less always on his mind, but never stronger than in this moment.
Back to Sano, Haruaki shakes his head, squares his shoulders. ]
I don't know. It's just a feeling that I have.
[ He won't say that he's figured out Kurahashi isn't a kudan. How would Sano have felt, if Haruaki told someone else that he knew he wasn't a yakubyougami?
He may not be able to wait for Kurahashi to come to him with it first. Haruaki may have to force the issue with him directly. But the very least he can do is not betray his secret to anyone else. ]
I'm worried, but... whatever danger we're all in back home, I promise I'll get us through it.
[It's odd that Haruaki brings Kurahashi up at all. Sano hates to say that he's doubted his roommate as of late, but he has - not to any serious degree, but it was just so weird learning that he values Ebisu so much and that Ebisu values him too. It's been heavy on Sano's mind, making him watch Kurahashi more closely, feeling strange every time he sees him with his brother.
[But... that has nothing to do with this.
[Unless... ?]
Do you think... there's any chance he was with Ebisu?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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You can't really think that's going to work.
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[ Hit him. ]
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I'll think of Mame.
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That's a great idea. Think of Maizuka-kun, and I'm sure you'll feel more centered and calm.
[ Haruaki glances back at the crystal, wondering if he ought to have a talk with it too, but– no, he'll save it for later. Doing it in front of Sano would be embarrassing... ]
Sano-kun. [ Eyes back on his dear friend, Haruaki smiles warm and wide. ] I'm so proud of you.
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Don't say such sappy stuff. It's not a big deal.
[It's a huge deal. They both know that. Sano is terrified, blood awake, power radiating from the young god like an overcharged battery.
[Think of Mame...
[Sano is quiet. Quiet. Quiet, and then...]
It's fucked up, but... sometimes I wish he were here too.
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[ Really, it's not. Haruaki gets it. ]
I've told you before... sometimes I wish Miki-sensei and Hatanaka-sensei were here, too.
[ Now more so than ever, when he's so troubled by his interaction with Kurahashi that he wishes he could ask Rintarou's advice as a more seasoned teacher, when he has such complicated matters of love on his mind that he wishes he could have an honest conversation about them with Izuna. He misses them so much, it punches holes in his heart every day. Of course he wishes they were here with him. Of course. ]
And if Maizuka-kun was here without you, he'd wish for the same thing.
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I know. You're right. Because we're supposed to be together. We should be right now.
killing myself as i type this
[ Haruaki sounds certain of it, and then he brightens. ]
You will be, and then we'll all get to go on our field trip together! I can't wait, it's been on my mind lately...
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[The field trip... Sano's heart starts to race.]
Shit. I'd almost forgotten about all that...
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[ His cowlick wiggles as if it could take on the shape of a cartoon dream bubble. ]
It'll be the funniest chapter in a long time, I just know it!
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You remember what I told you, right?
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Well, the kitsune did...
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But then– ]
Ah! Wait!!
[ He reaches out to smack a palm into the middle of Sano's chest, as if they're both in a car that just came to a sudden stop. Wait! ]
You said you got knocked out!?
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[ Is... that how it works? Well, he's already changed the future once before. ]
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There was this kitsune... he had black eyes and black hair and...
[Sano puts his hand to his chin, glaring at the ground as he recalls...]
He had this really dorky asymmetrical haircut!
GET REKT TENSEI
[ Haruaki's sketching a mental image whose accuracy he won't be able to verify until whenever the hell he leaves this place.
Something tells him, though...
The face that forms in his mind must be close to whoever Sano is describing. Familiar and not, despite the fact that they've never met. ]
What about the rest of the class? Were they knocked out too?
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[And he barely remembers anything from the moments preceding. He's considered enough that he wasn't the only one. Every time he thinks about it, that ache for home heats to an unbearable burn. He feels it now.]
We have to get back. They might be in danger, Haruaki.
oh this might be taking a huge turn actually
Haruaki's quiet, not because he isn't taking in what Sano said. Only because he's thinking, stretching strings across the cork board of his mind, looping them around new pins. ]
Sano-kun...
[ ... ]
Was Kurahashi-kun with us in the kitsune town?
uh oh!!!
He wasn't.
[Come to think of it, Sano can't quite remember what Kurahashi last remembered from home when he asked.]
Why do you ask?
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His heart twists painfully, gaze shifting over to the crystal for a moment. I wish I could talk to Rintarou is more or less always on his mind, but never stronger than in this moment.
Back to Sano, Haruaki shakes his head, squares his shoulders. ]
I don't know. It's just a feeling that I have.
[ He won't say that he's figured out Kurahashi isn't a kudan. How would Sano have felt, if Haruaki told someone else that he knew he wasn't a yakubyougami?
He may not be able to wait for Kurahashi to come to him with it first. Haruaki may have to force the issue with him directly. But the very least he can do is not betray his secret to anyone else. ]
I'm worried, but... whatever danger we're all in back home, I promise I'll get us through it.
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[But... that has nothing to do with this.
[Unless... ?]
Do you think... there's any chance he was with Ebisu?
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Ebisu-sensei?
[ ... ]
He wasn't there either? Do kitsune have something against gods...?
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I don't know, but... no. He wasn't there either.
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ohhhhhh we can wrap i don't feel so good mr pans