2026-03-03: Flowers for the Departed
- Log: 2026-03-03: Flowers for the Departed
- Cast: Ken Amada, Yukari Takeba, Shinjiro Aragaki, Reiya Aomori, Fuuka Yamagishi, Ririka Kawase
- Where: Naganaki Shrine, Iwatodai City
- OOC Date: March 03, 2026
- IC Date: October 04, 2012
- Summary: A storm is rolling in, and Ken Amada is nowhere to be found. Koromaru insists on going out with an umbrella, and when members of SEES follow him, they follow all the way to a graveyard...
<Pose Tracker> Ken Amada has posed.
The sky has grown dark and overcast outside as a storm rolls in. No big deal, right? Just make sure you've got your umbrella with you.
At the SEES dorm, Koromaru has been whining at the door, occasionally pawing at it and looking plaintively, and pointedly, at anyone who happens to be nearby. He's brought an umbrella to it--some might recognize it as Ken Amada's, though that isn't hard to guess since it's child-sized. It seems he must have forgotten it, and Koromaru wants to bring it to him.
The instant someone opens the door for him, he'll pluck up the umbrella in his mouth and trot smartly outside. People can follow him or not as they please; it won't keep Koromaru from his quest either way.
Say. Where is Ken, anyway?
~ * ~
One of the definitions of life is that it one day ends in death.
No one is happy about this.
Ken kneels in front of a grave at a certain cemetery, hands clasped in prayer. A bouquet of white flowers and a stick of burning incense sit atop the base of the grave. He came back to the SEES dorm after school to drop off his things, then left immediately after. He realized after he'd picked up the flowers and incense that he'd forgotten his umbrella; he did not bother to go back.
In many ways, he can never go back.
The wind howls through the trees; the first drops of rain are starting to splatter down on and around him. Ken pays it no mind. He wouldn't let anything keep him from his mother's grave today.
Today, October 4th. The anniversary of her death.
At length, he looks up, expression grim. "Mom..." he murmurs. "It's already been two years, huh... I know the truth about how you died. I killed the Shadow that killed you. I'm helping the people who're working to make sure no one else gets killed like you did ever again. Are you able to rest in peace now...?"
Even as he says it, something unsettled stirs within him. He doesn't understand why, but he doesn't feel happy about those facts. He doesn't even feel satisfied. He avenged his mother, so why can't he face her grave calmly?
...Maybe it doesn't matter if she's avenged or not. She's still gone, and he's... still here.
Ken leans back onto his behind and hugs his legs to his chest, eyes on his mother's grave. The raindrops are starting to fall faster and faster, but let them come. It doesn't change his dour mood.
It doesn't change anything at all.
~ * ~
"Burf." Barking around the umbrella in his mouth, Koromaru looks up at whatever companions have joined him to the entrance of the local cemetery. His fluffy tail wags, once, twice; then he trots up the stairway to the cemetery proper, confident in his path. The nose knows. It won't take him long to track Ken the rest of the way down and approach with his fellow SEES members in tow.
Reiya Aomori has arrived from Gekkoukan High School - Classroom Building.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
It wasn't that long ago that she went on a walk with Koro-chan with Minato, which is why when he's pawing at the door...
"Huh? You want to go on a walk now? It's going to be coming down like cats and- well you know what I mean."
However, then she sees the umbrella, "Wait..." She spies the Umbrella, "Isn't that Amada-kun's?"
-=-=-
Yukari Takeba has her own Umbrella in hand, as they walk... it's only once they make a turn towards a certain cemetary that she closes down. It's one she goes to as well.
Even though there was no body to bury.
Her Umbrella opens as the rain comes down, but she still walks quickly after Koromaru.
Her initial instinct of him being in trouble, now has changed once she stops. "If he's here... should we really bother him?" Yukari only then asks Koromaru, and anyone else from SEES that's there.
"I know it's going to really pour out here but, maybe it's best to give him some space."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro has not told either Koromaru nor Ken what's been going on with him. The first one is a dog, and also probably can tell already better than most people. He will never tell Ken Amada anything that'd hurt him for as long as he can help it, either.
But as Koromaru waits to get an umbrella out, he's one of the ones following him. If anyone is wondering where he's going...
It's not Shinjiro, who is absolutely aware of the significance of the date. He's been struggling himself, though he's mostly shown it by staying in his room and only coming out for food and chores. But if Ken's alone out in the rain...
"Koromaru, wait up!"
Shinjiro does grab an umbrella for himself, though he's slow even so. Is he going to be intruding? He's a shadow that should not touch that specific light, and he's going there anyway, perhaps because of the mutual tie of grief that binds them.
As he reaches the cemetary, though, he turns to Yukari at her question. "...Koromaru wants to do it. Besides, it wouldn't do if he caught a cold."
He's not planning to linger if he can help it, anyway.
"..." Shinjiro has a feeling he knows where it is. He'll let Koromaru lead, though he's silent on the way.
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"...?"
Reiya is on his way back into the door when he sees Koromaru at the door, having been walking as well. His umbrella is deep blue, protecting him fromt he rain. So when Koromaru and a few other SEES members go out...
In silence, Reiya joins the procession. His steps are inaudible even in the wet.
The cemetary...
Reiya comes to a stop by Yukari--and shakes his head.
"...We must," Reiya says.
"He's not in a position to care for himself, right now. ...His feelings... They'll overtake the needs of his body."
"And then he'll be sick and grieving both, and have nothing he wants."
His voice is quiet.
"...But..."
"I understand the impulse," he says.
"He may not thank us for the interruption. ...Or the intrusion."
Reiya will let Koromaru lead, too.
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
It's a gloomy day out, the sky dark and brooding. It's the perfect kind of weather to stay inside. Fuuka sits in the lobby with, as usual, her laptop open on her lap as she taps away at the keyboard. She might have engaged in whatever light chat is going on - but eventually, she's distracted by whining at the door.
"What's the matter, Koro-chan?" Fuuka asks. She looks toward Yukari as he asks if he wants to go on a walk now, and then back to Koromaru - and that's when she spots the small umbrella lying next to him. She recognizes it at about the same time as Yukari does. "Oh! That's Amada-kun's, isn't it...?"
She frowns. The weather is looking like it might rain soon... Does he want to bring it to him?
"Just a moment..." She says. She goes to gather her coat and her own umbrella, and hurries to join everyone.
And soon enough, they arrive... at a cemetery. She realises, after a moment, why he might be here.
"Amada-kun..." Fuuka murmurs quietly, and looks toward Yukari. She sees the logic behind that, and she doesn't necessarily thinks it's the wrong approach, but... "If we don't do anything, he might catch a cold out here, though..."
She'll follow Koromaru and the others - and when they find Ken she approaches, holding the umbrella out so that it covers both of them from the rain.
She doesn't say anything, yet - standing in quiet recognition.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka is dragging a bit today. There's been so much happening--including a very dire rescue--and it'd be really nice to curl up in her room with some tea or hot chocolate and just listen to the rain as she works on homework.
There's something about it, how it doesn't have a rhythm or a precise pitch, that's soothing to her.
But she's only just barely set her school things down when she hears Koromaru at the door. "Koro-chan...?" She comes down to look, and spots the umbrella. "Wait, isn't that... Oh, no."
She reaches down to give Koromaru a pet. "I'll be right back."
---
She's got a jacket on over her school uniform now (one meant for the rain, that is), and an umbrella in hand as she follows along.
She feels something tighten in her chest as she sees the cemetary. It was just a few weeks ago that... she has to stop a few moments to take a deep breath.
Be there for Amada-kun. He needs support. You don't have to think about Toshi-nii while you're helping him.
She looks to Yukari. "I... don't want to intrude either, but..." Shinjiro and Reiya point out Ken will catch a cold without an umbrella, and Ririka just nods in agreement. "We should at least see that he has that much..."
She'll let Koromaru lead the way and follow silently.
<Pose Tracker> Ken Amada has posed.
Yukari wonders if they really should be bothering Ken right now, rain or no rain. Koromaru gives her the most dour look a dog can give someone and whines before continuing further into the cemetery. He appreciates Shinjiro and Reiya's emotional support at least, probably.
(Definitely. Koromaru is a highly sensitive shibainu, even by shibainu standards.)
Shinjiro and Fuuka are both right; there's a chance Ken could catch a cold if he just sits out here in the rain. Reiya's even more right; he's too busy wallowing in his grief to even want to get to cover. Ken's needs are immediate, and Ririka understands that too.
He doesn't even look up as the group approaches. The sound of the falling rain covers it up, and he's too lost in his thoughts at this point. It's only when Fuuka gets close enough to move her umbrella over his head, stopping the sudden shower before it can get to the point of a downpour, that he blinks up at everyone.
"Fuuka-san? Everyone?" He turns to take everyone in with wide, confused eyes, until they settle on Koromaru. "Oh--my umbrella..." He hesitates a second, uncertain. Then he pushes himself upright and gently accepts it.
Koromaru barks once, a soft little 'boof,' and pants as he sits down and wags his tail.
Ken's smile is strained, but there's sincerity in it too. "Good boy," he says quietly, rubbing his head. Then he looks back up at the others, a hint of dismay and chagrin in his eyes. It's obvious why they're all here, and he's keenly aware that he could've avoided troubling them if he'd gone back for his umbrella after all.
"Um. Did I worry you all...? I'm sorry..." He bows his head, but says nothing further. He doesn't open his umbrella up just yet, either. ...It might look to some like he's expecting to get scolded; that's because he is. He's just waiting for it at this point.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
'Koromaru wants to do it. Besides, it wouldn't do if he caught a cold.'
'He's not in a position to care for himself, right now.'
'If we don't do anything, he might catch a cold out here, though...'
'I... don't want to intrude either, but...'
'Dour dog look and whine.'
The dour dog look and whine seals it, "Alright..." There's a sigh from Yukari, "...I guess we are responsible for him." But, she knows she would have hated it if anyone intruded on her those days.
The person who was responsible for her, shirked those responsibilities.
As they approach, Yukari stays a few steps back at first, until they deliver the umbrella.
"A little." Yukari eventually says, quietly at being worried, "But it's not like I don't understand why you'd forget something like that on your way here."
If there's to be a scolding, it won't be from her.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro hangs in the back as Fuuka approaches. He doesn't speak at first, just nodding as Ken takes the umbrella...
But he apologizes, and Shinjiro frowns. It shatters his heart... is this how an eleven year old should be, thinking he'll get scolded by the people watching over him on the anniversary of his mother's death?
"You're not in trouble or anything," Shinjiro just says plainly, though not unsympathetically. "Koromaru led, we followed."
He's otherwise still quiet, though it is easily read as 'taciturn guy who doesn't know what to say' instead of 'internal suffering over this entire situation'.
"...do you need anything?"
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Reiya is always glad to support Koromaru!
Reiya nods to Yukari. But even if they weren't repsonsible for him... Reiya would want to be his friend.
He approaches with the others and the umbrella, and when Ken looks to them, Reiya shakes his head.
"There's no need for that," he says.
"We didn't come because we're mad, or think you did wrong."
He nods to Shinjiro.
"But please, open the umbrella. It would be a shame not to use it, considering."
Koromaru led, and they followed...
"...I come here sometimes, too."
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
"Hello, Amada-kun." Fuuka greets with a polite nod. Koromaru approaches to give Ken his umbrella - but he doesn't open it just yet.
She'll continue to provide cover from the rain until he's ready to open his on his own.
He asks if he worried them, and Fuuka nods to agree with Yukari.
"Yes..." She murmurs.
There's a part of her that does want to worry and fuss over him - but that's not what he needs right now. It might come off as scolding when that's not what she intends.
"It's okay if you want to be alone," Fuuka assures. "...But we wanted to be here for you, if we could."
Shinjiro asks if he needs anything, and Fuuka listens. She considers Reiya for a moment, as he says he comes here sometimes. This must be difficult for him, too - and Ririka as well, she thinks.
Everyone here has lost someone. ...Everyone except for her. Does she have a right to be sympathetic, when she can't understand it like they do...?
The only thing she can do is try.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka nods to Yukari as she says they're responsible for him. "... yeah."
Ririka is a little relieved as Ken comes into view, and, at least, seems uninjured. "Good boy, Koro-chan," Ririka says softly. She looks to Ken and tries to offer him... something thta can resemble a reassuring smile, even as it's a bit subdued due to the context. "Hey, Amada-kun. I hope we're not bothering you."
It's obvious why they're here. And Ririka doesn't have it in her to chew Ken out in the least.
As much as she hates to admit it... it'd be all too easy for her to do something similar. Those days where she just sleeps in and can barely get out of bed...
Shinjiro and Reiya say that he's not in trouble, and that they're not mad.
"We were concerned, but that's because we care about you," Ririka says gently. "... not because we're mad."
Fuuka says it's okay if he wants to be alone, and Ririka nods in agreement. "If you want some space, just tell us, okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Ken Amada has posed.
"Yukari-san..." Ken looks up at her, a mournful understanding in his eye. After all, the two of them met because they kept coming to Naganaki Shrine to pray. Him for his mother, her for her father... If anyone here would understand how he feels, it'd be her, wouldn't it?
Shinjiro makes it clearer that the situation isn't going to be what he fears it is. Ken looks his way, and he even almost manages to smile. The question makes him visibly hesitate. What does he need? He's so used to not being in adults' way that he doesn't often think about that.
"Oh," he utters at Reiya, who points out that umbrellas are for opening--and also shares that he comes here too sometimes. Fuuka's still sharing hers with him, but Reiya's right, he should use it properly. He turns away so it can pop open away from her; then he steps away from her and under his own shelter.
This is just in time for it to start pouring. Ken's damp, but at least he won't be soaked, and he's got his usual orange hoodie on too. ...Koromaru might get a bit soaked once people start moving. He bears up well for now, though, and wags his tail again when Ririka praises him too. You love to hear it.
"You're not..." Ken tells Ririka, though it's hard to say if that's really true. Certainly the vibe he had going on was interrupted. When she says they're here because they care about him, though, color rises in his cheeks, and he ducks his head. For a moment, he's silent. Then:
"Thank you," he quietly tells her, and Fuuka, telling him they want to be here for him. "I'm not really... used to..." He looks back at his mother's grave. The rain has already doused the incense. "...I've always come here by myself."
This, notably, is not the same as wanting to be alone.
He looks back up at the others and hesitates. "...Do you all know what it is today?"
Shinjiro would know, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari meets Ken's gaze for a time, not in an authoritative way, just in that sense of mutual understanding from how they met in the first place. She knows if their positions were switched, she wouldn't want to be disturbed.
But she also knows there are no easy words to say, in this situation. Feelings of grief are messy. Even having been in a similar position, that doesn't mean one perfectly understands or knows what to say.
So she doesn't offer any. Just that look shared between them and at Reiya, in that moment he says he comes here too. She definitely knew that.
As they go back and forth, she waits, listens and then...
"If you want to say. It's not like you're not entitled to your privacy." She prompts, knowing she'd be the biggest hypocrite in the world if she tried to pry such a thing out of someone.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Ken's near-smile hurts Shinjiro worse, though it doesn't show on his face. He's trying his hardest not to show pain, or grief, or hurt, because this isn't his day. This is a day he created, a sin he can't take back, and he has no right to prioritize himself during it.
"You can think about it. If anything comes to mind, let us know," Shinjiro tells Ken as he hesitates.
But he also asks if they know what day it is. Shinjiro *does*, but he can't say that, even if he could easily pass it off as 'was told'.
So instead, he piggybacks off Yukari's answer to avoid either lying or telling the truth. "...yeah. It's not our place to guess."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Ken has always come here by himself. That makes sense. Grief is messy, and it's hard to share. He looks to Yukari, too, and understands too.
Shinjiro might know, but... 'guessing'. Reiya says, "I don't," as his simple answer.
"...It's the sort of thing that you want to share and don't, at the same time. That's what I think."
"...Visiting a place like this, that is. I mostly come alone... even though my sisters understand, too."
A pause. "But I would like to know, if you are willing."
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
Ken steps away, opening his umbrella. Fuuka offers him a small, encouraging smile. It's a good start. ...And just in time, too, as it begins to pour. She's glad she brought her coat before they left... She looks toward Koromaru. She raises her umbrella briefly, invitingly - but he's free to go where he pleases.
"Yes." She agrees with Ririka with a nod - they were worried because they were concerned, not mad.
Ken says that he isn't really used to - and she can complete the sentence in her mind, with what he says next. ...That response makes her heart hurt. He doesn't say he wants to be alone - so for now, she's glad to stay with him with everyone else.
Does she know what day it is today?
"...No, I don't." Fuuka replies with a shake of her head. She can guess. But she won't - she just nods, to agree with Yukari and Reiya. "However much you feel comfortable saying..."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
If it weren't for Koromaru, they might not have realized Ken was without his umbrella. Of course he deserves the credit.
It's clear they're interrupting, but... at least for Ririka, she didn't mean for that to happen. She stays quiet about the blush. "You're welcome," she says instead.
'I'm not really... used to... I've always come here by myself.'
"... that's a lot to carry by yourself, huh...?" That is a pain that she feels, and she's only just barely keeping that out of her voice. Like Reiya, she has family who would understnd, but... she still struggles to open up to them, even two years later.
Ririka nods back to Fuuka. She didn't think it was out of line to say, but it's still good to know that she's not alone in thinking that.
Do they know what day it is? Yukari says he's entitled to privacy, Shinjiro says it's not their place to guess, which Reiya agrees with. "We'll listen, if you want to talk. And if you don't feel like talking... we'll just be here with you."
<Pose Tracker> Ken Amada has posed.
This is why Fuuka's one of his favorite humans! When she holds her umbrella out towards him, Koromaru pads over to cozy up to her calf.
It's okay that Yukari doesn't say anything. Ken knows she understands too. Knowing that, and having her here... it does help. He's not familiar with everyone else's grief (or lack thereof, in Fuuka's case), but in this, he and Yukari have been companions for a while. It... makes him feel better, the longer the moment goes on.
It's nice to be give a choice whether to say or not. It's also nice to have his--teammates? informal guardians? Ken's still not sure how to think of his fellow members of SEES--explicitly show interest in knowing.
Reiya outright says he wants to say, while Ririka and Fuuka give him grace to only say as much as he wants to. As Reiya said, it's something you both want to share and don't want to share. And... it's better than them guessing, as Shinjiro says.
It is a lot to carry. Maybe... he's tired of carrying it all by himself. If everyone came here because they were worried, and they aren't mad he worried them, then... Maybe this is what he needs.
So Ken turns back towards the grave. "You all know my mom passed away. She was killed by a Shadow during the Dark Hour--that Shadow we fought when I Awakened." Ken pauses. "...That was two years ago today. It's the anniversary of her death."
...And so, he brought flowers for the departed. Those pure white lilies seem to almost glow in the rain--a contrast to the gloom, as if reflecting the light of Heaven, where Ken's mother surely must be.
"I saw it happen. Since it was the Dark Hour, though, I barely understood what I was seeing," Ken continues. "Afterwards, the police and the child psychologists said I made up the monsters in my head to explain away what actually happened, which they said was a car crashing into our house. After a while, I started to believe them. I didn't properly wake up to the Dark Hour until recently, after all." A pause. "I guess they didn't mean to lie to me, huh? If you don't know about the supernatural, that only makes sense..."
Another pause, longer this time. "...I thought it would feel better that I avenged my mom. And for a while, I did." He turns a small smile up towards Shinjiro. "That night at the summer festival made a lot of good memories for me." His face falls, and a darkness settles over his expression. "But... I still feel restless. And I don't know why."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari of course doesn't guess that Shinjiro is using her answer to omit the truth. I mean, how would she? She has no context for it.
Reiya's answer on 'sort of thing you want to share and don't, at the same time' causes her to look down and to the side, closing her eyes.
Ask her a few months back and she'd have never said she wants to share it. Now...
... well there's some people, maybe, she'd be willing to talk to about it.
Ken does start to explain, and Yukari doesn't say anything first, a Shadow during the Dark Hour - that she knew.
But what he says next, really gets to her, "A car accident?" She whispers at first, before, "They really said that!?" There's an outburst of anger from her for a moment.
It hits too close to home, it's like her own situation, with everyone believing a narrative that she knew in her heart to be false.
Even if it's true now, it feels like an injustice that another kid went through that.
"Even if they didn't... that's just horrible. They shouldn't have tried to explain it away into some comfortable little box."
Ken wasn't finished though, and in the end. Restless... she can relate.
"If you feel restless then... it means you're not really sure you've completed what you set yourself to do... right?"
Even getting new piece of information after new piece of information in SEES, even thinking she had a nearly complete picture...
... she still felt restless because she didn't have the whole picture. She didn't know everything.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
As the group encourages Ken to take his time, Shinjiro shifts his feet, trying not to appear restless. He starts explaining... his mother died two years ago today. Shinjiro frowns, exhaling a breath.
However, two things hurt worse during his explanation. One is the mention of what he was told - a car accident. It'd seem that way... wouldn't it? The sheer force of Castor shattering a house couldn't be explained away, and the Kirijo corporation wanted the answers shuffled away. Of course they lied to him. They just didn't know what they were lying about.
The other is when Ken manages to smile at him, because he made good memories for him.
Shinjiro is considering what to say, when Yukari's words strike him in the chest. A comfortable little box... if only they had let him take the blame, somehow, two years ago. Then maybe, things wouldn't be like they were now.
Shinjiro could probably sway away the truth here, try and encourage Ken to think it's over. But that'd be *cruel*, he decides. Even if Ken never finds out the truth, to make him believe a false lie... even if Shinjiro can't say anything for the sakes of Aki and Mitsuru...
"...Takeba's right. I've learned... the easiest-seeming answer isn't always the one we're looking for."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Reiya is trying his best; he's not always good at these social matters, certainly not at discussing grief. But he is trying. Ken needs support, after all. ...And Reiya knows some, but not all, of what that's like.
After all, he hasn't had hiss revenge. And his family didn't tell him it was something mundane, that he was making things up.
But Ken explains. Two years ago today...
Reiya nods. He listens, and does not immediately answer, turning to look at the pure white lilies that seem to glow, and then back to Ken. He remembered... And yet--
"I don't know them," he says. "I couldn't tell you what they meant, accordingly. But I think..."
"It is a 'sin', that we must keep this from people. They deserve to know the truth of their world. But what could they do, if they knew? It would only steal away their peace."
"It must have been hard, knowing the truth, and being told it was otherwise," he finishes.
Yukari seems angry. Maybe that's fair. But Reiya has stated his opinion on it. Restlessness, though...
"That's my thought, too. ...You feel the task is unfinished. So you can't rest on your accomplishment."
"I can't tell you why you feel as you do. ...But I believe I know that feeling."
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
Fuuka offers Koromaru a brief smile as he cozies up next to her, then turns her attention back to Ken. She and Ririka are both in agreement, on laying him say as much or as little as she wants. She'll give him as much time as he needs to figure out what to say and how. And so, he does.
Two years ago today - the anniversary of his mother's death...
"Oh, Amada-kun..." Fuuka murmurs sympathetically. It's no wonder. Who wouldn't feel this way, in his position?
He saw it all - but the police and the child psychologists said he made them up...
"...That must've been awful. I'm sorry you went through that." She replies, shaking her head. "They were only working with what they could know, but..."
She trails off. In their eyes, that must've been the truth. It's not like they could've known... but she's certain that doesn't make it feel better.
He thought he would feel better after avenging his mother... but he still feels restless. Is it really because things feel unfinished...?
She listens to Yukari, Shinjiro, and Reiya. She considers saying something... but it rings hollow, when she hasn't been through what they have. Anything she could've said dies on her lips as she pushes the thought back down, listening to the others instead.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka wouldn't know what the right term is, either, but she wouldn't leave Ken alone in any case.
Either way, given how much trouble knows she has talking about this stuff... she'd never force anyone else to talk. But Ken does talk.
Two years ago today. Ririka draws in a slow breath. This is... a bad time of year for these kinds of anniversaries, it feels like.
And he watched it happen. "... I can't imagine what that must have been like." But all of the adults who accidentally lied to him... Ririka understands how that happened, but she also understands why someone might be upset, like Yukari is.
Reiya speaks of the 'sin' of concealing the world from people. Stealing their happiness... "... and it could endanger them, too, to know too much," she comments quietly.
Shinjiro speaks of how the easiest answers aren't always the right ones. Yukari and Reiya suggest that he feels restless because he thinks the task isn't done.
Ririka is silent for a long moment. She wants to find those who killed her brother, but... would she feel like that was 'enough'? Would she think he owned him 'more' for a million other imaged reasons?
It's not like she felt she could do 'enough' before...
"I hope your task is finished, Amada-kun. If it's not... we'll support you, right?" She looks to her teammates for confirmation. "But... you've also been carrying these feelings for two years. Maybe... it's understandable if they don't just all go away at once. That's what I think, anyway."
<Pose Tracker> Ken Amada has posed.
It startles Ken when Yukari gets angry about the 'car accident.' He blinks over at her, and when she says that it was still wrong of them to try to explain away his experience, his heart aches. It's incredibly validating for her to get angry on his behalf. He's trying so hard to be mature about it, but sometimes he does want to scream and yell about it.
And on the flip side of that coin is Reiya, who points out that while it's a sin to lie to the populace, what can they really do about it? And because Ken tries so hard to be mature, he sees the sense in what he says. They all keep the secret of the Dark Hour. But then he remembers how Akechi told him the truth without hesitation, and his jaw sets. "...Maybe you're right. But being told a lie until I believed it didn't bring me any peace either," he mutters.
But then Ririka points out that knowing too much could put them in danger. Ken's shoulders slump. He knows she's right, but it's still frustrating. It's like acknowledging that he was too much of a child to be told the truth. (He is a child, of course, and he knows it, but he doesn't have to like it.)
If there's any peace, it's Fuuka commiserating with him, even as she acknowledges that surely no one meant him any harm. Ken nods once. "It was probably easier for them too," he murmurs gloomily. "Most adults don't want to think the world isn't actually under their control."
Yukari weighs in on his restlessness; so too does Reiya. Ken considers this as he looks back at his mother's grave. "...I think you're right," he says softly to them both. "That one Shadow is dead, but there's so many more still making victims of people." That is the easy answer.
But Shinjiro says that easy answers aren't always the correct ones. Ken reflects on this, until, helplessly, he murmurs, "But I don't know what else it could be."
Fortunately or unfortunately for Shinjiro, Ririka suggests a sensible solution. It's even his mother's death's anniversary. Why wouldn't he feel worse than usual on this day? He hesitates, though. Accepting this feels a lot like listening to everyone who told him his mind was playing tricks on him to protect his psyche. It feels wrong.
"Maybe you're right," he says anyway.
Maybe it's something Ririka needs to believe in herself. Though he doesn't know the details, he heard about that meeting where she discussed how her brother was murdered... Helping someone else like that makes Ken feel a little bit better, too. Like he's not just a little kid who needs to be taken care of.
With that thought in mind, he takes a deep breath and gives one last lingering look at his mother's grave. "...I'll be okay, Mom," he says aloud, more to convince himself than anything else. "I'll figure out what I still need to do. I just... miss you, that's all."
Then he turns away to face the others. "...Thanks for hearing me out. I'm... ready to head back to the dorm now."
As restless as he still is, he doesn't feel so alone right now. That counts for a lot.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari just keeps thinking over and over about Ken disbelieving his own experiences over the years. It conflates with all the people who told her that she was such a bad child because she shared blood with the father who caused a big disaster.
Sure it's not the same thing.
But it's still upsetting, the parallels. The belief that her reality was being challenged, the times when she struggled and nearly thought about giving up and accepting it...
Reiya's statement, Yukari looks at him for a time, before noting, "Maybe so, but that doesn't mean the way they handled it was right."
Just like with her own Father, just like with Ken's mother. Just not doing anything and letting them go on with their daily lives doesn't feel right either.
There must be some better answer for the people who don't have answers.
Ken's statement, well Yukari isn't certain how to give him closure. She definitely doesn't have it. Still, what can she say to the idea 'what else could it be'? After his statement on so many other Shadows.
"... Maybe you just won't consider her truly avenged until the Dark Hour is gone..."
Would he want vengeance on her Father, if he had lived? After all... he's the reason for so many deaths caused by countless Shadows that were unleashed in the first place.
She can't bring herself to say it right now though, not today. Not to tell him that which they all found out on Yakushima.
She'll tell him later. And let him be angry at her - at him if he wants. It's the least she can do. To give him a target to be angry at.
Even if it'll hurt a lot.
Her heart aches just watching him after, it's not unlike words she's said before to her Dad here. Even seeing them echoed, she's not sure she should be seeing them.
"... Okay, let's go back."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro is quiet. He listens to what Ken says, nodding. He doesn't *need* to know what else it could be. He was wrong to even say that, wasn't he?
But Ken is ready to return to the dorm. His goodbye to his mother causes him to turn his head, as if it was something he shouldn't see or hear.
He'll make sure Ken has something warm to eat, at least. It's the best he can do in his mission to do right by this kid.
"Lead the way."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"No, it didn't," Reiya says, hearing Ken's muttering. "...I think 'preserving their peace' is a nice idea, but when that peace is shattered, we can't just patch it over and pretend it never happened."
"That's what I think." He nods to Yukari. "It wasn't right."
He's not only thinking of Ken, of course. But being right about the next..
"That is how I feel," Reiya says of Ken's conclusion, but that's not the same as saying that that's how it is for Ken. Not when Shinjiro points out easy answers, when Ken has to consider it...
But he speaks to his mother...
Reiya looks to Yukari again. "That's how I feel," he says simply, and then back to Ken. "Right. You're welcome. If you ever want to talk..."
"I'm around."
"...And if you don't, I'm also around."
He'll walk with the others... but most importantly, with Ken.
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
"Yes..." Fuuka agrees with a quiet nod, as Ken agrees. How must it feel, to be faced with something they can't understand? It's no wonder they'd go for the easiest answer. They must've thought they were helping him by doing so. ...But the world isn't that simple.
She listens as the others provide their own views, their own sympathy and reassurances.
She listens quietly as he speaks to his mother - her heart hurting just a little more at the way he tries to convince himself - and when he looks back, she nods.
"Of course. Anytime, Amada-kun." Fuuka assures. "Yes, let's go back."
Their hearts might still be heavy... but at least they'll be somewhere warm.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka certainly didn't mean to make Ken feel worse--or like a child. She was thinking of her friend Tsubasa, who is now Aware but not Awakened, as far as she knows, and what a precarious situation that must be. Or the time she spent that way, before she Awakened.
And she doesn't mean to offer another lie, another way to sweep Ken's unease under the rug. But maybe that's the trap, when you try to help with incomplete information, like all those psychologists and other adults did to Ken.
'Maybe you're right.' Ririka nods quietly to that.
Ririka would accept the help--though it would certainly be... awkward, t explain things more fully. But helping others is how she treis to cope, too.
Yukari and Reiya discuss the coverups. "... I hate hiding the truth..." she offers. "... it makes me feel antsy."
She'll leave with the others when they go... though on the way back she'll try to catch Shinjiro's attention to make a quiet suggestion for when they get back to the dorm: a round of hot chocolate to warm everyone up.