2026-07-03: Walking Home
- Log: 2026-07-03: Walking Home
- Cast: Yuuki Hoshizora, Misato Fushihara
- Where: Renegdai, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: July 03, 2026
- IC Date: December 04, 2012
- Summary: Misato comes to Yuuki as she's preparing to leave for school. The two girls decide to walk home together, and talk about their lives. Friendship occurs!
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
It is Tuesday afternoon and the school bell rang not so long ago. Yuuki is at her locker as she gets ready to leave for the day. If Misato has checked, she usually leaves shortly after school; she has yet to join any clubs, she doesn't know that many people, and she most often goes home by herself.
People sometimes talk about it, too. 'The new transfer student must be lonely,' the rumors sometimes go.
The teal-haired girl has her bag on the floor. She pulls on her tennis shoe onto her right foot, with a yank -- and then she leans down to pick up the brown, faux leather shoes that she wears while indoors.
She yawns, too. And Misato might well know why she is tired -- after all, she sometimes is up after midnight. Even if it has been a couple of days since that eventful sparring session.
She hasn't left yet, though. And that, perhaps, presents an opportunity.
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
The bell rings the end of the school day. Some days, Misato wishes the ticking of the clock would slow down. She doesn't really look forward to going home at the end of the day... but none of the clubs really hold her attention, either, so she lacks a solid excuse.
And so, Misato is at her locker, too, readying herself to go home.
She pauses for a moment, though, considering Yuuki. She's heard the rumors, of course. Misato absorbs gossip like a sponge - it's good to know what her fellow students are talking about, if only to make it easier to blend in. It seems like Yuuki hasn't made much progress in getting to know people...
And so, as Yuuki yawns, Misato slips up behind her.
"Long day?" Misato asks brightly. She can hazard a guess what she was up doing - but Misato shouldn't know that, so she doesn't bring it up. "Are you heading home, Hoshizora-san?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
Suddenly, there is a Misato behind her.
Yuuki makes a squeak-like noise at the brightly asked question, then she does a quick turn around to look at her. Her eyes linger, for a moment, on that yellow ribbon. Her mouth opens, then closes again before she smiles.
"A... a little. I was up late, last night." She keeps herself from yawning again -- and then she remembers the last time she spoke to Misato one-on-one, when she... she got embarassed, and rambled in the bakery. She flushes a little.
"I--um. Yes," Yuuki says. "I was going to take off soon. I don't have a club today." A beat. "Or... or any day, actually... what about you, Fushihara-san?"
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
Misato beams as she's rewarded with a squeak. She offers Yuuki a smile, waiting for her train of thought to catch up.
"I know what that's like! Sometimes I stay up way too late reading..." Misato sympathises. ...It's not a lie, even if it is intentional misdirection - she really does do that, on the nights she doesn't go out to enjoy the Dark Hour atmosphere. ...Judging from that look, she guesses Yuuki remembers their last one-on-one encounter.
Yuuki doesn't have a club... That lines up with what she's gathered.
"Me either... I haven't really found one I liked." She admits with a shake of her head. "So, I'm just getting ready to head home. How about you, are you headed that way too?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
Is she enjoying that reaction? Yuuki looks just a little flustered at the beam. But, she smiles, too.
"Oh? Um... what do you read?" Yuuki asks, her head tilted to the side. And if she dodges the implied question -- why she stayed up late -- then all the better. She couldn't tell Misato about Personas, Shadows, and the like.
"Mm," she murmurs. "I was in Astronomy Club in Choju. But... I don't think we have one. And I... well, I can't start one." And Misato might know why -- even if Yuuki doesn't know that she knows that. She looks at her. "So just dance, for now--"
She hesitates, then. Her eyes blink once, then again. "Oh! Um--yes, I was planning to."
She leans over to pick her bag up off the floor. "You... are too?"
Does she want to walk with her? Yuuki isn't sure.
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
It's the obvious question, but Misato takes a second to think about it. She's just a little sheepish about her first answer - so she goes to her second instead.
"I like fantasy novels! Big, worldspanning adventures, heroes from meagre beginning toppling larger foes... Things like that." She replies. "Do you read?"
Astronomy Club... She thinks back to when they first met, and what she knows now... Yes, that makes sense.
"I see... It can be pretty difficult for a new student to get a club going, yeah... So we're both in the same boat." She replies consideringly. And she brightens once more when Yuuki confirms that she is, and asks if she is, too. "I am! In that case... Since we're going the same direction, do you want to walk home together?"
BBS: New BB message (9/5) posted to 'Character Announcements' by Pachinko Silver: OPEN: MAKI SONOMURA
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
"Oh, those sound fun. I like... um, science fiction. Especially hard science fiction. And books on science in general, too," Yuuki says. "I like manga too. My favorite..."
She hesitates for a second. She ends up giving her second favorite.
"...is Asteroeides. It's about a crew of debris removers in orbit, in the future."
There is a nod -- it is difficult for a new student to start a club. And so, Yuuki is happy to leave it at that. It is better than admitting to something painful. She spots the way that Misato brightens, which gets another small smile out of her. "Sure," she says. "That, um. That sounds nice. Do you need to stop by your locker, first?"
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
Science fiction - hard science fiction, especially, and books on science in general... Misato nods thoughtfully.
She doesn't actually know the difference. She'll have to look it up later, but she'll pretend she knows for now.
"Those sound really interesting, too!" Misato enthuses. "I do read some manga from time to time, too..."
'Asteroeides'... Misato combs her mind. Has she heard of that one before...? Either way, she makes note of it.
"Oh, that sounds interesting! I'll have to check it out sometime." She comments.
Yuuki agrees to walking home, though, and Misato looks pleased.
"Nope! I was just getting my stuff ready before I spotted you still here, so I'm already ready!" She replies, lifting up her bag.
...She finds she's actually kind of looking forward to this. It'll be nice to have something to do on the way home that isn't dreading it.
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
The difference between hard and soft science fiction, once Misato learns, will probably not surprise her in the slightest. Yuuki is the sort of person who would be particular about realistic physics and the like.
Yuuki brightens, this time, at the mention that Misato might check Asteroeides out. Though, she realizes, she might just be saying that. "What about you? Um. Favorite book. Or manga, I mean."
She scratches her cheek, and then she looks at Misato's bag as she lifts it. She nods, shouldering her own bag; it has the patches of various space missions lovingly adhered to it, with the images of rockets -- and mission names in English, Japanese, Russian, and Chinese. "Right. In that case..."
She turns with a slightly-too-forceful spin -- covering awkwardness with determination -- and then she takes a few steps forward, towards the school doors with a serious expression on her face. "...Onward!"
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
What is her favorite...? She has to think about that. These days, she doesn't think about her favorites much... and the first one that comes to mind, similarly, she avoids bringing up in favor of...
"Hm... my favorite manga is probably... Zweihander? It's about an order of monster-slaying women..." Misato comments. "Oh, but... I'd recommend avoiding it if you're squeamish."
...It really seems at odds with Misato's bright and sunny image - but maybe it's the cheeriest ones who are able to delve into the darkest stuff and come out the other side.
It's interesting, the difference between their bags - Yuuki's is coated in reminders and memoirs of her interests, whereas Misato's is completely plain, black with bright yellow stripes.
"Onward!" Misato echoes, cheering brightly.
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
"I've heard of it," Yuuki says. She is a little surprised -- it is rather dark, after all. She smiles, though. "It isn't quite what I expected, but... I heard it's really good. Maybe I'll check it out sometime. I'm not all that squeamish!"
She says it with that hint of stubborn pride that is a hallmark of everything Yuuki Hoshizora says and does.
She finds herself looking forward to it, too -- after all, even if that stubborn pride keeps her from admitting it, going home by herself on days without dance classes can feel lonely. Her bag sways behind her, next to the black-and-yellow bag of the other girl.
Onward!
Out the front doors and onto the sidewalk. Yuuki slows her march a little, and she glances sideways at Misato. She still doesn't know that much about her. "So, um..." She trails off, awkwardly. What should she say. "...where do you live, Fushihara-san? In... Renegdai, right...?"
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
"Oh, you have?" Misato remarks with interest. "I like it! You might, too."
She's quietly amused by Yuuki's stubbornness. She should have expected nothing less from her, really.
Shouldering her backpack Misato heads out the front doors with Yuuki. She meets her sideways glance, offering her a smile as Yuuki trails off.
"Mm-hm, I do!" Misato confirms. "I live on... Well, actually, maybe it'd be easier to show you..."
She doesn't know if Yuuki has all of the street names down yet so instead she pulls out her phone, navigating to a map.
"Right around... here!" She points it out. "How about you, Hoshizora-san?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
"Mm-hm. I've read some fantasy and the like, too. I do like it," she says. Even if Yuuki tends to prefer science fiction, sometimes a fantastical world is fun -- and sometimes, something violent and dark is fun, too. She has enjoyed some rather dark science fiction, after all; things with body horror and the like.
There is a blink when Misato offers to show her where she lives. It is a smart move; Yuuki doesn't have the streets memorized. So often, she needs to pull her phone out and let the map app guide her.
"Oh, I'm not too far from you. I'm..." She reaches over Misato's hand, without thinking -- and really without thinking, she points to a location on Misato's phone, to an apartment building that is only two blocks away.
"I live here," Yuuki says. "With, um, a friend of my parents. While I stay here. Hayabusa-san. He is away on business a lot, though, so..."
She falls quiet, her finger hovering a little over the other girl's phone. "...I have the place to myself a lot."
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
"I'm glad!" Misato beams. It is a nice change. Misato feels the same way. Even if it's something violent and dark... it only lasts for as long as she has her nose in the book. She can step away from that world whenever she wants.
Yuuki reaches over her hand and Misato is surprised at the sudden contact, but she doesn't flinch - instead, she looks over to take note of where she's pointing out.
"A friend of your parents?" Misato repeats. ...She knows Yuuki is looking for them. Ordinarily she'd want to avoid opening up that wound, though, but... someone who shouldn't know would ask that question. She looks toward Yuuki, considering her for a moment. The way she falls quiet... Her expression softens for a moment.
She can't help but feel sympathy for her - and a pang of guilt, too.
"...Well, if the house ever feels lonely... feel free to give me a call and I'll be right over! That's not a far walk." Misato offers with a bright smile. It might be notable that she offers to go over to her place rather than inviting her to her own.
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
Yuuki's hand stays over Misato's for a second, hovering over the phone. She catches the way Misato's expression softens a little -- the way that it's not the same bright smile that she is used to. She stares, for just a second, and then she brings her hand back quickly. She clasps them behind her back.
"Yeah," she says, a little quietly. "They're... um. They're overseas, for awhile. I miss them, but..."
The smile on her face is, for just a second, sad.
"...I hope I'll get to see them before long."
There is a moment of pause, then. Misato's bright smile is back -- and with an offer that takes her aback. "R-Really?" she asks. "I, um... thank you, Fushihara-san. I--um--I appreciate that..."
But she offered to come over, not to visit. Why is that?
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
Overseas... So that's what she's going with. It's smart, Misato supposes - that wouldn't really draw any suspicion toward her.
...She feels another pang of guilt when she sees that sad smile.
"Well..." Misato starts, before offering her a small smile of her own. "I hope you get to see them soon, too. That must be difficult... but hang in there, okay? I'm sure they miss you, too."
Yuuki accepts her offer, though - and with that, the melancholy is stuffed back down once more.
"Great! In that case... here's my number!" Misato offers, navigating to her phone number next for Yuuki.
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
The small smile gets Yuuki to look up, literally and metaphorically. Her eyes meet Misato's again. When she has transformed, they're a bright green, so bright that they almost sparkle. Like this, they're a dark green -- duller, but deeper, too. And the way her eyelids move, the way her cheeks scrunch up...
She is touched, and she can't quite hide it. She still tries.
But life in Sumaru has been lonely. Living in someone else's apartment, going to a new school, and being so focused on her parents has left her precious little time to make friends. She hasn't really tried, either, being so focused on it.
"Thanks, Fushihara-san." Her voice is quiet. "I... um."
Words fail her. And she feels a little well of shame in her stomach. She can't even express gratitude for this girl who seems steadfastly determined to not leave her alone. She swallows -- and then blinks. Then, she nods quickly, and fishes her phone out. She quickly starts adding Misato's information -- typing it out in hiragana. But then, true to form, she pauses.
"Can you give me the kanji for your name?" she asks. "I need my contacts to be listed in the right order. Oh, and I have to decide what categories to assign--"
Because, yes, Yuuki is that particular about how she organizes the contacts in her smartphone.
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
Yuuki's eyes meet Misato's. She doesn't mind them like this, either. She can see that Yuuki is touched... and a part of her is glad she feels that way.
"You're welcome." Misato replies, genuinely. And she waits as Yuuki works her way through her feelings, without pressuring her to continue any further... but then she pauses, as she asks a serious question.
...Oh, so she's that type of person. Maybe she should have expected her to be so meticulous...
"Oh, um... Sure! Here..." She says, listing it out.
'Misato', relating to truth and wisdom, and 'Fushihara', relating to hiding and investigating...
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
Yuuki absolutely is that sort of person. She looks up at Misato and blinks, before she nods -- then she tilts her head. "Your names go together really well," she says. "Ah--um--I hope that's okay to say..."
She keeps typing them out. Both names, making sure she has the kanji right for both. Then, she pauses for a second. She opens up a list of categories, and she starts selecting them:
1. 'Friend'
2. 'Class 2-C'
3. 'Dance Class'
4. 'Local'
5. ...
She flushes, her cheeks turning pink, and she turns a little. But not enough -- Misato can see what she types out next:
5. 'Cute Ribbon'
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
Yuuki compliments her name! Misato laughs.
"No no, it's fine! ...I think that's the first time someone's complimented by name, actually. So, thanks~!" She replies.
Yuuki inserts her name, and Misato takes note of the categories. 'Friend'...
...That's kind of nice, actually.
But then Yuuki turns. Misato does, of course, peek - and she beams privately as she sees the fifth category.
So, she really does think it's cute, huh...? She has enough mercy in her heart to pretend not to notice.
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
The first time someone has complimented her name? Yuuki blinks. For a moment, she worries that she was weird.
"W-Well... I think so!" she declares, a little lamely.
And she has no idea that Misato peeked at her entering the fifth category. So she slides her phone back into her bag, turns to look back at Misato, and she smiles.
"Um, you can text me, too," she says. "If you want to."
She shoulders her bag -- and then she keeps walking. "I don't mind. If that's okay."
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
"I'm glad. I like yours, too!" Misato replies. And Yuuki assures her that she can text her, too, that she doesn't mind. Misato giggles.
"Hmm, you don't mind? Are you sure? Then... I'll keep in touch! No takebacks!" She replies brightly. "...But,"
Misato follows after Yuuki.
"...I'll try not to blow up your phone too often~." She assures with a wink.
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
"You do?" Yuuki asks. "Hoshizora--" The name means 'Starry Skies,' as it happens. "--felt a little on point to me, given my hobbies..."
It's more than a hobby. And she doesn't reflect on whether her given name fits. Courage is something of a tricky concept for her, at the moment.
And besides, Misato is being cheerful and a lot. But, not in a bad way. She flusters and looks to the side. "G-Good grief!" she stammers out. But, then she looks back at her.
"I won't hold it against you," she says. She pauses. "...if you have a dog or a cat, I want to see pictures. I miss Goro-kun a lot."
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
"Maybe a little." Misato admits with a small laugh. "But it suits you! That's something to cherish."
Yuuki stammers out a good grief and Misato laughs again, offering her a smile.
"Good~!" She replies... and offers her a sympathetic look when she mentions how much she misses Goro-kun. A dog or a cat, huh... She hasn't really thought about pets before. If something happened, they'd be a potential weapon against her... She can't justify doing that to an animal. It's better that way, isn't it? "I see... I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't... I have a houseplant, though! ...Buuut I know that's not the same thing."
She's quiet for a moment.
"...Do you want to talk about him?" She asks.
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
"You think so...?"
It feeds that little conflict growing in Yuuki's heart. She needs to focus on saving her parents; she needs to keep the distractions away. But the way Misato likes it when she engages in those hobbies, the way she keeps poking her nose in, it makes her want to think of rockets and look up at the heavens again.
She looks ahead, thoughtfully. She listens, as Misato responds -- and she can't know the thought that goes through her mind. She turns to look at her. A smile crosses her face. "I'll still take pictures of your houseplant."
A beat, then Yuuki looks down. She nods -- she stops walking, to pull her phone back out.
She brings up a picture of a spotted, brown and white basset hound with floppy ears and drooping eyes. "This is Goro-kun," she says. "He couldn't come with me... Hayabusa-san wasn't sure he could have pets, and... and I didn't want to be a bother. So, he is staying with a friend of mom's, back in Choju."
She gets quiet, for a second. "He's a really sweet dog. I wish I could come home to him."
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
"Mm-hm, I do!" Misato replies with a decisive nod. She smiles back, as Yuuki says she'll accept pictures of her houseplant. "Then I'll be sure to send you one as soon as I get home!"
Yuuki does want to talk about Goro-kun, though, and when she stops Misato moves in closer to look at the picture she pulls up. She looks at it - and lets out a genuine 'aww'.
Even Misato's heart, guarded as it is, is vulnerable to cute dogs...
"I love him, he's adorable." She gushes, then looks up from the picture toward Yuuki herself. "...He looks like it. I'm sure you'll get to see him again soon..."
Yuuki... really is hurting, huh. Misato thinks about that quietly.
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
"I'll look forward to it," Yuuki says, with a smile.
She looks at Misato with a little surprise at the 'aww,' and she beams at her for a moment. Even if she does miss her dog, having someone think he is cute is really pleasing. She smiles, looking back at the photo of Goro-kun. "I hope so. Maybe I can go visit..."
Loneliness has a way of sticking with her -- and something she can't quite escape. Or, even, talk about with most people. She looks at the photo for a moment, before she sighs and slides her phone back into her bag.
"I'm glad you think so," she says.
She smiles -- and then she resumes walking. It's only a little more before they come to a T-intersection. Yuuki's apartment is to the left; Misato's house is to the right. This is where they will have to part ways.
Yuuki looks ahead at the intersection, falling quiet as she does. It came too soon, she thinks.
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
Misato smiles back at her, and then nods.
"Maybe. Winter break is only a few a few weeks away." She points out. ...That also means so are Finals, but she won't invoke that devil here. She smiles again as Yuuki remarks that she's glad - but soon, too soon, they're at the intersection. Misato looks to the right with a small frown. ...She's hesitant to end this here... and it looks like Yuuki isn't looking forward to it, either. ...But they can't put it off forever. Still...
"...Let's meet up again soon?" Misato suggests. Something for them both to look forward to, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
"That's true... maybe I can visit Choju then," Yuuki says, quietly and thoughtfully. Already, she is starting to consider the logistics of it.
She stops before the intersection. She glances towards Misato, noticing that small frown. She thinks of the frown in dance class. There is more to Misato Fushihara than Yuuki understands. There are things she doesn't talk about.
At the suggestion, she nods. "I'd like that. Soon." She smiles, then she lifts a hand up, in a little wave.
She turns left, walking a few steps. But she slows to a stop. Yuuki stands there, looking down. Her eyes shut as she considers. Does she really want to leave it at 'soon?'
She turns around, teal hair swaying to the side. Her fingers are tight around the strap of her bag, and there's a determined look on her face. "Fushihara-san!" she calls out, louder than before, so Misato can hear her down the street.
"I want--I want to walk home with you tomorrow, too!"
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
"Here's hoping!" Misato encourages. It seems like she could use it.
Misato doesn't realise that Yuuki has noticed her quiet frown, and it vanishes when Yuuki agrees to meet up again soon.
"Mm-hm!" She starts. "Well... Take care, Hoshizora-san."
She starts to turn and walk away - but then she hears Yuuki calling back to her. Surprise crosses her face. She turns, briefly overwhelmed by the force of her determination. That look on her face...
For a moment it's too overpowering - and then Misato smiles.
She still wants to meet up with her...
"...Okay! Then... I'll meet you at your locker again tomorrow, too." She replies.
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
Yuuki watches as Misato turns. Her expression is hard for Yuuki to read. There is a moment's pause, a moment of worry, where she isn't sure if she said the wrong thing -- or if she came on too strong. But then Misato smiles.
And Yuuki smiles, too.
"I'll see you there, tomorrow!" she calls back. "Take care, Fushihara-san!"
She lifts a hand from her bag, waving. Yuuki watches Misato for just a moment longer. Then, she turns, walking towards the apartment.
But this time, the smile doesn't leave her face.
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
Yuuki echoes her sentiments and when Yuuki waves, Misato waves back. She lingers for a moment, and then she turns to walk away.
Maybe she'll be able to face the rest of the night more easily... When was the last time she was genuinely looking forward to something, rather than doing it out of obligation...?
It... really is novel.