1203/Name

Name
Date of Scene:	28 February 2024
Location:	Dorms
Synopsis:	Comes after scene 1197/Procurement. Natsu and Kano meet back up to have an awkward conversation about where they each stand.
Cast of Characters:	Natsu Oukanno, Kano Watanabe

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Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Knock knock knock.

    Natsumi is wearing a black blouse with see-through lace around the neck (in an extremely modest amount, literally nothing showing but collarbone), a pair of black women's pants that stretch to fit, and a pair of her--of Natsu's shoes with three pairs of socks so that they will stay on her feet. She looks a fair bit different from how she looked last time she was in here. Not counting when she came tearing through to get her wallet, and then heading back out in a hurry.

    She is very much aware of this, even if her memories are all janky. This morning, she couldn't remember ever not being a girl. She crashed hard on Amy's bed, curled into a ball, and didn't wake up until late afternoon. And now her memories, which had seemed to be stabilizing, are becoming jumbled again. Hopefully this isn't going to be a recurring phenomenon. Realizing she may be trans or something is one thing, but not being able to nail down her own identity is another.

    ...Oh, God. I might be trans. THAT just clicked. No, let's not jump to conclusions. I don't even know what's entailed in being transgender. This could all be magic muckery that needs sorted.

    Even so, now she's even more nervous about what to say to Kano when he answers the door. ...Unless it's Jin. Which is a whole other can of worms.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    "Hey, uh... I think Jin is out." Kano calls out from behind Natsumi, as he steps off the elevator. He doesn't mention Natsu, because he isn't about to further complicate the cover story. It takes a few seconds of staring at the back of this girl's head, and trying to figure out why she's familiar, before Kano puts together the obvious. It has been a long two days, alright? "Natsu--err, Natsumi?" Kano calls out. His tone still has a bit of uncertainty to it. How many red-haired girls has he met in this country? But still... Somehow... That doesn't seem to be quite...

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Ah! He's behind her! Natsumi tries to figure out what she's going to say before turning around. That... Uncertainty in Kano's voice however has her red eyes going wide, and anxiety starting to rise. For a lot of reasons, including the confusion about her identity. Her determination wavers. However, she can't just stand there not responding. So, taking in a breath, she turns to look over her shoulder a bit embarrassedly. "Yeah."

    She turns all the way around to face Kano, a friend since childhood. He's so much taller than her now. In her head, she knows it's only a difference of like four inches, but having to look UP to someone who has been at eye level for almost their entire lives is... A bit surreal. It makes her spatial sense suddenly feel distorted. Enough to feel dizzy.

    Natsumi closes her eyes, her brow scrunching up as she tries to ward off the vertigo, and she puts one hand to her head. It's not a repeat of the pain from yesterday at least.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Looking down at Natsu is also pretty surreal, but the fact that this girl doesn't look like Kano's friend helps. Except the face. Isn't the face pretty much the same? Huh. That's weird. He didn't remember Natsu being someone he would call 'pretty' or 'cute'. And he totally would have if he'd noticed, because they're best friends, and teasing each other is a thing they can do with complete comfort without worrying that it somehow impacts their masculinity or lack thereof. They worse villainess cosplay to a con once, even. The laughter didn't bother them. It was great!
    Something they had agreed to do together. Things were always fun with Natsu, even when they had one of their many, many, many arguments.
    He finds himself smiling at Natsumi right up until the redhead suddenly closes her eyes like she's in pain and starts to hold her head. "Yo, dude, you okay?" he asks in mild alarm as he steps forwards and extends a hand.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsumi hears the concern in Kano's voice as he starts forwards. Not right now. Not right now. She can't deal with having Kano close by right now. It's going to make her depth perception go even more wild probably. She holds up her free hand and says a bit more loudly than intended. "I'm fine! Just... Still a bit tired. I'll take a nap and everything will be cool. Really." She cracks open an eye to squint at Kano and forces a smile. "Just getting used to... All of this."

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano pauses as Natsumi protests against his help. Then steps back again and puts his hands in his pockets. Awkward silence... Great. Kano's favorite thing. Not. He is trying to avoid looking at Natsumi too much, to avoid making her uncomfortable. "So... How are you holding up?" he ventures.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Didn't... Didn't Kano just ask that? Well, slightly different questions. 'Are you okay' versus 'How are you holding up'. "Been going through some mental shifts. I thought it was from magical hormones, but I guess I should have studied harder in biology because no, it's probably not that. Doesn't mean I know the explanation, but transforming and reverting hasn't fixed anything, and--" She decides not to mention her memories, or ask Kano if he remembers her being anything different, because even though she has accepted that is a 'Natsu Oukanno' who people seem to think is her... She doesn't remember it that way.

    But that probably isn't what Kano is asking about. Just be honest. This is Kano, dude.

    "...Honestly? Not great." She folds her arms across her chest, noticing Kano avoiding looking at her, and having a flurry of insecurities bubble up from the depths of her subconscious that she quickly kills and buries in the landfill of her nightmares. "I know it's only been, like... A day. But I missed you." Ugh, now it's her turn to look away. Hearing herself say that in a girl's voice does weird things to her emotions. As her mind continues to shift, the fact that 'Natsu' is coming closer to being how she sees herself moment by moment.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano looks at Natsumi when she says that she missed him. It was surprising. Not that they had ever hidden that kind of thing before, but... Saying it so directly was a bit new. Maybe Natsumi, just like Kano, was finally trying on honesty with herself for a change. Looking within and asking the big questions in life, about who they are, what they want to do, and who they will be in the future. It's a bit sad. Like acknowledging their childhood is over when they're both sixteen. In the perception of many, a teenager is still a child. But it's also a transitionary period. And that transition has been stalled for too long.
    Kano looks Natsumi up and down as his 'bro' is looking away from him. Those aren't the clothes she was wearing this morning, are they? "Did you buy those?" he gestures at the outfit. Then, before he can think about what he's saying, the words fall right out of his mouth. "You look nice."
    Brain still idling, give him a bit.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsumi freezes at those words. Eyes widening. She glances at Kano from her peripheral vision. He's looking right at her. She turns her head all the way to face him. 'You look nice.' Nothing she can ever remember him saying to her, either as a boy or as a girl. Her heart is beating quickly, and she raises a hand... Only to point at Kano and say, "There. That's the reason why you keep having girls falling for you. You carelessly say things like that, without consideration for the impact they have, and then act oblivious to their reaction. Y-you can't just blurt things like that out!" Actually, he can, it's not too far to just compliment someone, regardless of sex or gender. But when it's said with those intense blue eyes staring at you, and that unforgivingly handsome face laid out too-perfectly like an ice sculpture, and the statuesque built, all combined with a genuine boyish innocence and naivety...

    Natsumi has seen it happen over and over, back when she was Natsu. And she can remember being Natsu now, and also being Natsumi. And it isn't nearly as disorienting as it probably should have been. The two lives compliment each other, the paired memories intertwine. And she can, both from a male and female perspective, see now what it's like to be on the receiving end of one of Kano's sweet, well-meaning compliments that he distributes to those around him, like he doesn't understand the value of his words -- gold and pearls raining down upon those who would have settled for a 'hello'.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano stares as Natsumi points at him, lecturing him for complimenting girls too easily, showing kindness that pierces loneliness and invites affection, and other high-concepts that go completely over his head. He listens to the scolding, and then stares at the huffing red-haired girl and slowly, ever so slowly, he smiles a bit and asks, "Why would girls fall for me just because I was nice to them?" And he means it. To him, kindness is meant to be shown and shared with as many as possible. Holding back on such a thing... He can't understand it at all.
    Making somebody else smile can't possibly be wrong, can it?

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    He smiled at her, not in a mocking manner, but like he is honestly confused, and asked why any girl would fall for him just because he said something nice. Unaware of what he looks like. Unaware of what kindness can do to someone starved for attention. Because it's so normal for him to care. Though, strange that it always seems to be towards girls.

    Natsu's face reddens a bit before she lets out a 'pfft' from between puffed up cheeks, and then bursts out laughing. The sheer cluelessness, and the enormous amount of stress over the past 24 hours, and just being on speaking terms with his buddy again is too much. Natsu can't do anything but laugh and giggle, not recognizing his own laugh when it's so high-pitched, and not caring.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano is surprised when Natsumi starts laughing, but it's not long before he's laughing too. He has no idea what they're laughing about, but it's needed, and it feels good, and it's healing in some way. He has to walk over to the wall across the hall, and put a hand against it for support, from how hard he's laughing.
    Probably some people will poke their heads out of their doors to see what's going on if this continues, but Kano doesn't care. Right now, it's just him and Natsu there in the hallway. That's who he sees through his tear-filled eyes like he just heard the funniest joke in the world.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Eventually the sound of a boy and girl laughing hysterically in the hallway dies down a bit, as Natsu, with arms still wrapped around himself because his ribs are hurting, manages to settle into just giggling. "God. I have no idea what I'd do without you. I can't even imagine a life without both of us in it."

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano is lagging a bit behind in regaining self-control, but when he puts his back to the wall and slides down to sit on the floor, legs up so they aren't a tripping hazard, he's grinning like crazy. "I missed you too, by the way. Not even a day, right? Reminds me of all the time spent outside during summers, from morning until dusk. Later if we could manage it." He looks up at the ceiling, remembering the past. His smile dims a bit but it's still there. "Hey. I know we get into fights and arguments... Like, we've never shyed away from it at any point in our relationship. But let's never have a fight so bad that we can't still be best buds afterwards, you know?"

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsu moves to sit next to Kano against the wall, his own legs pulled up, though they are much less likely to be a tripping hazard at this height. "Of course, dude. You're like my brother. We'd both have to be crazy to do something so dumb we wouldn't want to be friends anymore." He closes his eyes, still adjusting to the physical changes and how they react to bouts of side-splitting laughter. He feels giddy, light-headed. More than just happy. That has to be a girl thing, right? All he knows is it feels great to be at Kano's side again. It always does. They're always so miserable after their arguments that they think are relationship-shattering after they've cooled off, only to be so afraid of losing the other from their life that they sometimes can't even last through the night without contacting the other to make up.

    A permanent divide? If nothing else has caused one by now, then it's probably impossible. They're too closely bound.

    Natsu holds up his right hand in a fist and holds it towards Kano. "Bros forever?" he asks, in his new voice, that harkens back to when he was a young child, even if Kano still looks and sounds like a big kid.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano is quick to grin and raise his own fist in return, to put their knuckles together. Even if one hand is now definitely smaller than the other, it doesn't matter. Natsu is Natsu. Kano isn't going to treat him any different, regardless of appearance. He'd have to be a real scumbag to do otherwise. "Bros forever." Then something occurs to him. "What name should I use for the cover story? Like, until you get this fixed or whatever?"

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    After the bro-fist, Natsu lowers his hand, foldings his arms across the tops of his knees, and leans his head back to thunk again the wall. He sat down on his hair. He'll have to move it before it gives him a headache. "For now, let's go with 'Natsumi'. Maybe 'Natsu' in private, but there's no telling who might overhear. You know, some random coincidence that spoils everything? I think I might be able to switch back and forth eventually..." Natsu closes his eyes. It's so soothing just being with Kano again. All this stress and anxiety melts away. When it's the two of them, they can handle anything the world throws at them.

    Still smiling, Natsumi says, "Mind if I sleep in your dorm? I don't feel like trying to explain to Jin, and I don't want to lie to him any more."

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    "Of course, man. Though if you can switch back and forth, maybe you should see if you can get a second dorm for yourself. I don't have a room mate yet, but as long as nobody makes it a problem, you're free to crash with me for as long as you need." Kano responds. His smile looks kind of sad now. "We'll have to tell him eventually. I can't keep lying forever. It feels the way lying to you would be. I feel dirty. I feel like a really shitty friend."

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsumi sighs. "I know, brother. I know. I feel the same way." But how is he going to explain it in a believable way? Should he just transform in front of Jin? That will expose his identity to yet another person, but... This is Jin we're talking about. Another big sigh from the small lady. "I feel the same way..." he says quietly, and then falls into silence.