Until he heard something drop from his stand, anyways. The clanging of metal from the fallen steel contraption prompting the previously slumbering Laika to awaken, bonking her small, robotic head into Rinnosuke’s foot in surprise.

“Ack! Hey, just because I was distracted doesn’t mean you can grab anything you like!” Turning to whoever had dropped one of his merchandise with an exasperated tone, the man stood up... but paused, as he saw who it was. “... You’re...? ... Ah. Ion-san?”

“I almost didn’t recognize you. I didn’t realize you lived around these parts, either...”

     Looking down at the fallen object, and then looking over at her, Rinnosuke sat back down with arms now crossed, letting out a sigh. “You’re usually not this careless with my merchandise, so I’ll let you off easy this time. Just put it back where it was.”

     Recognizing her as well, Laika strode up to the teen— and begun circling around her legs in it’s usual silent, yet excited puppy-like fashion.

       ‘Ion’. Every time he took a turn, he thought about that name. ‘Ion’. Who was that? She sounded so important, but no matter how many times Takuya repeated the name to himself, he just couldn’t recall who she was. It felt kind of rude, in a way; she meant so much to the ‘him’ who wrote that journal, and he just didn’t remember anything about her. He couldn’t even remember her face. How messed up was that?

       Takuya didn’t count on running into her anytime soon, but...

“Ion-san?”

       It’d been just a stray word, overhead by chance. But it was enough to immediately snag his attention. He turned, seeing the two individuals talking--it seemed like there’d been some kind of misunderstanding, but the utterance of the name was enough. If that girl had been mistaken for Ion...

       ... Also, putting even that aside, she seemed... lost. Confused. Like she needed some help. Whether she was Ion, knew Ion, or was someone completely unrelated, he decided he was going to help her. He just needed to ask one question first, now that she’d finished her prior conversation--

Welcome!

You'll be staying in CONDO 401!

You can use your Overseeing The Third Dimension ability to view a location you’ve been to up to five times a day, for up to five minutes each use. You will not be able to move the view after you’ve started.

You'll also be given Tokikagura’s Magatama.

Enjoy your stay!

unfortunately for hau cheng, his peaceful moment is interrupted as someone else comes to enjoy the scenery. fortunately for the stranger, he’s in a good mood. when he looks over to see who has come, his expression is neither harsh, nor is is gentle. it’s merely neutral curiosity. after seeing it’s only a young girl, he returns his stare back to the city underneath him.

nonchalantly, he asks, “did you come for solitude?” he cants his head. “if so, i can go.” he doesn’t move, content with where he is and what he’s doing, but willing to listen to the will of the other if she wishes for him to move. he has places he can go to and things he can do. the break is a pleasant distraction and he doesn’t mind if her appearance signifies the end of it.

       It was sort of an informal meeting. Their first encounter on the island hadn’t exactly been ideal, being that it happened in the middle of an actual war zone. The most they’d really gotten to talk about had been their names, with both of them having to focus more on survival than any kind of conversation. It... didn’t exactly make ensuing conversations any more comfortable.

       That was why they’d ended up scheduling today. Maybe it was just a mutual agreement that the current state of things was kind of unbearable. Maybe they both saw it as a good chance to just communicate. To be honest, he just wanted to work through this feeling in his chest.

       As close as he felt to Ion, they’d only ever interacted through Earthes. They’d shared confessions with one another, he’d seen her deepest emotions and feelings, and she’d trusted him with that... As uncharacteristic as it seemed, he felt a little lacking. A tiny feeling like he wasn’t what she’d have expected crept into his mind.

       Shaking it off, once the doorbell rang, he responded promptly. 

“Uh,” Don’t ‘uh’ right now, you idiot! Act natural! It’s not like this is the first time the two of you have talked! “G-Good evening. Come on in?” 

Welcome back to beautiful Isola Radiale, Ionasal!

You’ll be staying in TOWNHOUSE 218.

You will retain everything you had during your previous stay.

Enjoy your stay!

My muse could use a hug right now. Send “♥” to give them one.

“♥” <-- @filamentstar​

       The last few weeks had been something of a violent, loud haze in his mind. From fights with the shadowy monsters the GPU had sent into the city, to momentary scuffles with enemies from other worlds, all the way up to his final fight with the person on the other Interdimend line...

       All of it left him rather high-strung, even after everything was settled and done. Maybe that was why, when he felt something warm suddenly wrap around him from behind, he subtly tensed up at first.

       All of that tensity faded out, however, when he realized who was wrapping around him. Gentle arms, caressing him warmly. A faint, sweet smell intertwined with scents as though she’d just gotten done doing mechanical work. A soft hum as she rested herself on him.

       Ah... They’d... never gotten the chance to do things like this until now, hadn’t they...?

       All this time, they’d only ever interacted through that screen; through that ‘terminal’. Whether it was a monitor or Earthes, she’d never gotten to see the real him. And likewise, he had no way of really knowing she was ‘real’, beyond the ‘feelings’ they shared through Interdimend.

       But now, feeling her touch, sensing her warmth...

       --He didn’t even notice how deep the hole in him was, until he was in her arms.

       Leaning back, he found himself gently matching her hum, little by little. 

       Their eyes closed, matching one another’s tune, leaning on one another.

       Even if it was someplace like this... Even if it was fleeting...