Operation: Uncage the Sparrow!

[midnightmaiden]

Kasumi, now more than ever, is adamant about doing something right. She'll prove her worth. She'll go back to her roots as the Midnight Maiden, solving problems on behalf of the unfortunate!

Stocked up on Goho-M's, healing items, and other assorted odds and ends, she sends a message to Makoto to join her in Tartarus when the Dark Hour arrives. They're doing it tonight!

That'll prove she's not just some puppet.

And so she waits outside of Gekkoukan High School for the clock to strike midnight and for the Dark Hour to commence. She's got a rapier at the ready, though she doubts that she'll need it.

What could possibly go wrong?

Comments

[pheasantboy]

In fact, he starts to stir well before they reach the door, though not in any kind of obtrusive way. As you'd expect, really.

"Hah." Something's happening to him. He's not sure he likes it; he shifts in Kasumi's grip, over her shoulder.

[midnightmaiden]

"Akechi-senpai...?" Is he awake now? He's moving, so she tries to adjust her hold so it's a little more comfortable. At least they're close to the outside now, so she'll step out, perhaps a little awkwardly, considering she is carrying a very tall person, and she's considerably more petite.

[pheasantboy]

"Yoshizawa-san...?" It's very muffled, as much so as his thoughts. Fortunately, any cognitive clothes melt away, the moment they all pile into the Velvet Room.

"What's going on...? Why are you carrying me?" It's not quite that he doesn't remember—more that, well, he would not have predicted quite this situation.

"Wait, how are you carrying me?"

[rosemaudite]

"A little thing called upper body strength, I would imagine." Haru could haul him around pretty easily as well, if need be. Even Noir wouldn't struggle much.

She'd really just like to go to bed, at this point.

[midnightmaiden]

"I am a gymnast! It's important for me to stay in shape." Still, she'll place him down carefully, making sure to stand close enough in case he needs balance. "You were lost for a long time. I didn't want you to be left behind."

[pheasantboy]

"Of course. I didn't want to suggest..." But he trails off, blinking and confused, staring helplessly at Igor, then back at the Iwatodai door. He was... what happened in there?

[rosemaudite]

"You were caught in the sort of thing that makes you blank out. Yoshizawa took it upon herself to get you out of there." It's an extremely truncated version, but at least the explanation's likely to stick in Sparrow's head.

"If you plan on going back to Iwatodai, I don't recommend staying past midnight."

[midnightmaiden]

Oh, that's right! His Shadow even mentioned that he was stuck somewhere where he couldn't function, and the subject might've come up with her Akechi, too. Though the information at first makes her go wide-eyed, she relaxes soon after.

"It's okay. I got stuck in there before, too. All that really matters is that you're safe, anyway!"

[pheasantboy]

"Actually, I think I might remember." He pinches his nose, with a shy little laugh and a growing sense of wonder. "I remember the moon was green. That would be hard to forget, wouldn't it?"

[midnightmaiden]

"It was green. I'm still not sure what that was about. I guess... Crow might know?" That was his codename, wasn't it? Even here. She casts a curious glance at the door, catching Haru slip off. She must be tired, then.

[pheasantboy]

Yes, he calls after her. "Goodnight, Okumura-san. Thank you."

...what about Yoshizawa-san, though? "I need to thank you too. For coming to get me, and for, you know, carrying me. Everyone else seems to have run off."

[midnightmaiden]

"Yeah... To be honest, Haru-senpai came after me because she didn't want me to get hurt. I asked Makoto-san for help, but things got... dangerous in there, and I think he needs some space." She doesn't want to tempt fate by saying the wrong thing and causing him to forget. That's risky. "I'm sorry you were stuck in there for so long. It's especially sad that it took this long for someone to come find you, but I don't think anyone really knew what happened."

Still, she can't even fight the frown tugging at her lips.

"I think Crow will be happy, at least. He probably would have come, but I think I said something that upset him on accident."

[pheasantboy]

"I'm sure you didn't mean it." Aww, what a nice, reassuring thing to say. "And you never know. Perhaps he'll get over it."

Maybe it's a little off? It's just that, to Sparrow, Crow's determination to zero in and in on the same problems seems so remarkable. "Um... you don't mind if I ask how long I was in there? It could have been hours or days."

[midnightmaiden]

"Um, well... Hold on. Let me ask." Kasumi takes out her phone, sending a quick text.

Kasumi Yoshizawa: Hey, Senpai, sorry about my last few messages.
Kasumi Yoshizawa: How long was Sparrow missing? I never ran into him before, so I just want to make sure I have my facts straight.

[Goro Akechi is typing...]

Goro Akechi: At least a few months. I didn't see him at the Halloween Party, so that would make it a minimum of two months, if not longer.
Goro Akechi: It's good to hear that Sparrow is safe. Rose informed me of the details. If you have any pertinent information to share, now would be the time to do it.

Uh oh. That's... worrisome. Just how much did Haru tell him? Kasumi winces. "Um, sooo please don't freak out, but Crow-senpai says it's been... two months."

[pheasantboy]

"Two months?" He stares at her. Surely that can't be right?

Surely somebody would have come for him before two months had passed..?

He presses a curled finger to his lip, looking away. Maybe it seemed to them that he'd gone home. Or died. Nothing worth making too much of a fuss about. That must be it.

[midnightmaiden]

"I got lost for around the same amount of time, I think. It wasn't long after the party." So she understands, and she steps just a little bit closer as she fires off another text.

Kasumi Yoshizawa: Senpai, did anyone notice he was gone? Would anyone be happy to see him?

[Goro Akechi is typing...]

Goro Akechi: I had concerns. It seemed odd that he was absent for so long, and I know for a fact that Hawk will be relieved to see him.

Kasumi Yoshizawa: Okay, good. I'll pass it on.
Kasumi Yoshizawa: Oh! And can you keep an eye out for Makoto Yuki? Something happened in Tartarus, and I think he was pretty upset. I... might've had to use force to stop him and Sparrow's Shadow from hurting each other.

Goro Akechi: That aligns with what Rose told me.
Goro Akechi: Right now, all that matters is that Sparrow is alive.

Satisfied for now, she tucks her phone away. "Okay, so Crow was worried about you, and he said Hawk's gonna be happy to see you. I think what happened is that nobody knew where you went. I only found out because I heard about you from..."

Shoot. She can't say his Shadow.

"From somebody who could... feel that you were in danger? And then Crow confirmed it. I wouldn't have been able to help you if he hadn't helped me."

[pheasantboy]

"Ah." And just like that, relief swallows him and spits him out, seemingly suddenly, eerily whole. "It's good to hear Crow remembered me. Between you and me, I wouldn't have been surprised if he was a little glad I was gone. And it will be good to see Hawk again. I promised him another visit to the red pandas."

He considers her again, there in the Velvet Room, which he never saw. "You are Kasumi Yoshizawa-san, yes? It's just that, with all the excitement, I quite forgot we haven't been introduced."

1/2

[midnightmaiden]

Whew. Okay. He's looking happier now. That means she did her job! A great success for the Midnight Maiden. She's still got it!

In fact, she's straightened her posture and actually manages to smile again. "Yes, that's me! I think I might've shown up while you were missing, but I kiiinda got lost in Tartarus before I really got to meet anyone outside the party." But that was then. This is now, and...

Oh.

2/2

[midnightmaiden]

"...Well, there is another version of me you might want to watch out for." Kasumi hates that she's having to warn him like this. That... Is it really fair to the other-her? "She, um. Thinks I was... brainwashed? I hope you can hear this without forgetting. But she seems to think there's something wrong with me."

[pheasantboy]

No, he can hear that. He heard it every day before he vanished, annoying as it was.

"Do you think there's something wrong with you?" There it is, the big question—at least as far as he's concerned.

[midnightmaiden]

"I'm just me. I wish people could accept that. My therapist didn't do anything other than comfort me through a really tragic time in my life." But she still sounds a little uneasy. It's hard to be confident when even that Shadow got angry with her.

[pheasantboy]

... oh. The bottom falls out of his world. The boy he was would have pulled the red flags from her words and braided them five different ways by now. But Sparrow skips over the collisions, the coincidences, and offers her a smile. "Just me doesn't seem to be very good currency here, a lot of the time, does it?

"I'm Goro Akechi, by the way, known as Sparrow. Tweet, tweet?" It's a joke; maybe she'll cheer up? "I think the others have gone to bed, haven't they? Can I walk you home?"

Not that he thinks she needs it. But it seems like she might need to talk. And he doesn't want to be alone either; never has. Not even in the life he's forgotten.

[midnightmaiden]

Okay, the tweet, tweet comment gets a little giggle out of her. That's a good sign! Especially with how swiftly he's recovering. "To be honest, I'm still not sure where I want to stay. I've kinda just, um..."

How to put this...

"Well, there's my home, but it just doesn't feel the same without my parents, sooo... yeah. But I can still walk you home."

[pheasantboy]

The little blocks click into place around them, one after the next, as he laughs at her joke in turn; her mention of her parents bounces off him.

"I'll accept that. This place is a little dangerous, as I found—" it's actually far safer than any city, even Tokyo—"but you shouldn't come to too much harm."

But he blinks at her a little, interrupting his patter of chatter. "You do have somewhere to stay? You aren't sleeping in the parks, or some such?"

[midnightmaiden]

"Yeah, it's just a little lonely staying there, so I've considered finding somewhere else. Ideally around other people, but..."

Oof. She winces. Here comes the tough part. "Well, other than Ren-senpai and maybe Crow-senpai, I don't have a lot of friends here. And things've been... tense with Crow-senpai."