action and text; @bacura

[mellowyellow]

[It's late on the seventh when Masaomi wakes up on a church pew. At first, he can't bring himself to do anything other than stare at his hands. Slowly he raises them above his head, takes in the palms, flips them over, hesitantly touches the backs, slides his fingers down his own arms.

He's whole.

Suddenly, he digs his nails in. It hurts, and he pulls back, leaving harsh red marks. Masaomi sits up then, still staring like he can't believe his own senses.

He's not crying. You're crying.]


[It's not until the eighth that he sends out another text. No ominous snapshots this time.]

Didn't cut it as a carny.

Comments

[mellowyellow]

Almost five months.

[He's counting. He doesn't know why, when he has nowhere else to go now anyway, but he's still counting. Call it a vain hope.

His hands slide into his pockets as he tries to banish the thought.]

And I still don't miss school.

[A lie. But it sounds funnier than the truth.]

[arsarcanum]

[ Sora puffs out his cheeks and laughs. Yeah, it is funny. Not the five months here - jeez, it's unbearable to think that he might be here for that long too - but. ]

Man, for like, one second I thought you were like, I don't miss school, like attendance? Don't scare me like that. I graduated years ago, I did my time.

[mellowyellow]

[Masaomi can't help but snort. Oh man, even during the year he was playing good student, he still skipped classes like rocks on the water. Perfect attendance has never been on his radar.]

Excuse me, good sir, you seem to have me confused with someone who learns.

[He chuckles dryly.]

I get the feeling a class in this backwards world wouldn't make much sense anyway though.

[arsarcanum]

[ Sora's attendance hadn't been bad! He just slept the entire time. Hey, warm body in a seat counts for a lot, apparently. ]

Ay, think about it this way. If I go to regular school on Earth and I suck at everything, if I go to school here, there's a chance that I'd suck even worse or kill it. [ He laughs. ] Spirit school, learning how to wear a mask and which weird holiday traditions are important. Maybe I'd even figure out how to sing.

[mellowyellow]

Nobody can teach you how to sing.

[I mean, they can. There's an entire profession based on doing just that. According to Masaomi, however, they're wasting their time.]

You just gotta go for it.

[arsarcanum]

Go for it, huh. [ Sora nods very seriously! That sounds right up his alley. ] What, like now? Right now?

[mellowyellow]

Sure!

[Don't mind him as he scoops a stick off the side of the path and hands it over to Sora. He's gonna need a microphone for this performance.]

Now serenade your loving audience.

[arsarcanum]

[ He takes it, grinning. He knows he sucks, but hot damn if he isn't a performer. ]

Okay, but remember, you asked for it.

[ And he'll dance along as they go, and the dancing is quite good, but this rendition of Journey's Streetlight People (Don't Stop Believing)? Barely on key, and that's about the only saving grace. This boy does NOT have pipes on him. ]

[mellowyellow]

[He sure did ask for this, and even after Sora proves that vocal teachers are indeed a necessity, he doesn't regret it the slightest bit. It's the only reason he can keep smiling all the way back to the Invincible.

Well played, Sora. Well played.]