1648/They Finally Admit It

They Finally Admit It
Date of Scene:	09 June 2024
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	A pair of heroes acknowledge their feelings.
Cast of Characters:	Ikuto Tsukiyomi, Yuki Hoshino

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Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto had eaten his food quickly. Being able to use his hand again felt good, and he just couldn't stop smiling. There was another reason he smiled as he gathered the WcDonalds bag and other trash up and deposited it in a nearby bin, though.

Yoru smiled up at him. "You're really excited to go see Yuki-chan, huh? You're shaking a bit...are you nervous?" Ikuto shrugged, and nodded slightly. "A bit. I mean she's, you know..." The Chara nodded, not saying anything more. In time, he figured the boy would become more comfortable talking about this.

The pair hopped from rooftop to rooftop headed towards the academy, specifically the girls' dorms. Reaching the building, Ikuto thought for a moment. "Oh, right. Nobody without magic can see me anyway when I'm in Chara Change." He jumped up, quickly climbing up the rest of the way and holding onto the sill of Yuki's window, tapping on it once, then three times quickly to try and get her attention. He wasn't entirely sure if she was inside, so he poked his head up and peeked in.

The catboy was wearing a plain t-shirt that had the statement "free hugs" printed on the front, and a pair of black pants. The burns on his shoulder and leg had healed entirely thanks to the magical healing of Mamoru and Usagi, and an inspection of his right hand would reveal that while it looked fine now, there was a mark on the top of it. A few inches lengthwise and a bit less in width, it looked like he'd been branded by an oddly-shaped iron. The skin would somehow feel no different from the rest of his hand, despite looking burnt.

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
Yuki was in her dorm, working on a bit of programming, typing away at her laptop and poking at bits of code on a holographic screen projected by her Device. She'd worried a lot about Ikuto when he was hurt, and after visiting him in the hospital she'd blamed herself - and thrown herself into this project to try to get better, to try to be sure it wouldn't happen again. "Okay, try adjusting the aleph value by plus-point-six and run the sim again," she says.

"Danmaku simulation nineteen point four underway, Master."

Yuki leans back in her chair, sighing, as she watches the simulation on the screen... and then there's a 'tock' at her window. She looks up, blinks, and... there's a very familiar face hovering there outside her window. "Well damn," she mutters, and leaps up to throw the window open. "Get in here before someone sees you," she snaps, grabbing at Ikuto's shoulder and giving it a tug.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto is tugged inside, grinning. "Nice to see you too, Yuki-chan. Before you ask...yes I escaped the hospital, and yes I know that was dumb. But I'm really about 90% better now!" He waves his right hand, last seen by Yuki covered in bloodied bandages. "Nurse Meiou and Mamoru-san worked together to fix the internal damage. It's a little sore, but it's otherwise back to normal aside from the uh...scorch mark I guess. Easy enough to cover that up, though."

Yoru taps Ikuto with a claw and the catboy flinches, but nods. "Ow. Right. Um. More important than that though, I wanted to see you. No...I -needed- to see you." The catboy is blushing, and not a small amount. "I wanted to show you that my hand has been fixed. That I'm, you know. Not like I was before. And that-"

Yoru interrupts. "And that I'm back nya!" Ikuto nods, smiling a bit. "That too. I didn't want you to worry anymore. Because it's all better now. Some others like us stopped that monster that was in Hinoiri-chan. I haven't seen her, but I was told that she's okay now. You ah...might have seen the sun stop being the sun for a bit a few days ago. That was Hinoiri-chan, or the monster controlling her anyway trying to er...destroy it I think."

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
Yuki takes in the flood of information, not really recognizing the names, but assuming Ikuto is referring to someone magical rather than normal doctors. "Hey, hey, slow down," she says. "Lemme take you up on that t-shirt first." Taking action to match her words, she wraps her arms around the cat-boy and hugs him tight.

"So glad to see you're alright," she continues. "I'm sorry, I couldn't keep her from hurting you so badly..." She sniffles and releases Ikuto, stepping back. "Wait. You said 'ninety percent'? So you're not fully healed yet?"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto hugs back just as tight, smiling. "Ah, sorry. Just...a lot happened. But none of what happened to me is your fault, Yuki-chan. Truth is, I knew it was dangerous. Maybe not exactly how much it would hurt to get power-drained by a demon, but. We've dealt with Sunbreaker before, and that was like. Super Sunbreaker. I got in her way because I wouldn't have been able to do anything but fight if I'd seen her hurt you."

He continues, "My hand is still a bit sore. I probably shouldn't push it too much for another day or two just to be safe. Nurse Meiou kinda...had to dig around in there to fix up the stuff that was all burned while Mamoru-san used his own powers to keep my hand numb and not have it bleed everywhere. Pretty cool to watch, really."

Yoru pokes him again and he keeps going. "I'm okay, and I'm going to keep being okay though. I promise, Yuki-chan. And I want to- ah...I mean. The two of us. We-" Yoru face-paws and speaks up. "Just hug her, Ikuto!" The catboy shrugs and does just that, blushing as he lifts the younger girl up in a tight hug. "I care about you so very much, Yuki-chan..."

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
Yuki releases Ikuto from the hug somewhat reluctantly, but steps back and resumes her seat. "Sit down, get comfortable. Your hand? You said it's going to be okay, right?" She starts to reach out to him again, but pulls herself back, letting him take a seat. Fortunately she has another chair, and a small box on the desk for Yoru.

"You're going to be good and not strain yourself, right?" she asks, insistent. "I don't want to see you back in the hospital again."

She stands up again to return the renewed embrace, leaning her head on Ikuto's shoulder. "You don't let yourself get hurt like that again, damnit. Promise me."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto nods, smiling. "I promise you, Yuki-chan. I..won't let either of us get hurt. I won't make you worry like that...and I'll make sure I'm 100% before I go doing anything dangerous." He doesn't let go, quite yet, holding on and letting her rest on his shoulder.

"Apparently the rumor around the academy is that we're dating. I..guess we are huh? Feels kinda strange, how things ended up working out. But I can't say I mind this in the slightest. Being with you always makes things feel easier."

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
Yuki nods, "Good," she says. She turns her head to look at Yoru. "You keep him safe, little cat, okay? And maybe I'll find a tin of sardines..." She winks slyly at the chara.

Then there's the question of dating. "Er," she muses. "Are we?" She's definitely surprised by the idea. She lets go of Ikuto and steps back from him, looking him up and down. "Do we -want- to be? I..."

She falls back into her seat with a little sigh. "I've never really thought about...."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto gives a slight shrug of his shoulders. "If it's not something that's comfortable to think about right now, that's okay. Rumors are just rumors, and there's nothing that says we have to pay any mind to them. I can avoid hanging around here so often if it becomes an issue, of course."

He smiles. "Sorry Yuki-chan. Bit of a strange topic for me to bring up so suddenly."

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
"Hey, hey, cat-boi," Yuki says, holding her hands up placatively. "Don't get yourself down. I'm not saying 'no', I'm saying 'I need to think about it'." She's never considered herself someone anyone would *want* to date, really.

"You're a great guy and I like you - and Yoru-chan - a lot. So it's definitely not off the table."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto tilts his head. "I'm not saying I'd just run off, you know...my days of doing that to people I care about are in the past. I just don't want you to feel any sort of pressure because of me hanging around a lot. You know, though. I've never really thought of myself as a 'great guy' Yuki-chan."

He sits, thinking back a bit. "It wasn't even a year ago that I was working for Easter Company. Bringing despair and heartbreak to people for them in search of the Embryo." He looks Yuki in the eyes, smiling. "Remember the museum? Getting between you and Utau, and knocking away her attack...that was the first time I'd ever done something truly -good- with my power. In a way, I owe trying to become a better person to you, Yuki-chan."

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
Yuki nods and looks up to meet Ikuto's eyes. "I think... I think we make a better team than we do apart, you know? We both want to be better than we were." She shrugs. "I like spending time with you, I like knowing that you're there for me... I had fun singing karaoke with you and your friends... was that a date? I guess it was..."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto grins. "It was supposed to be one. I was so afraid of making a fool of myself at the time that I got ahold of nearly everyone I knew back then to make sure I didn't. I suppose even then, I didn't want to disappoint you."

Yoru waves a paw. "You two would make an even better team if -someone- would quit being afraid to say what's on his mind nya." Ikuto groans. "Fine, I'll say it then. Thanks for visiting me so often at the hospital, Yuki-chan. My own sister didn't even show up, so it means a lot to me that you did."

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
In that case, there's only one thing to do. Yuki stands up again and waves a hand, beckoning Ikuto close so she can hug him again. "I don't care what -they- think. I care what -we- think. And I'm keeping you. So there." She grins and places a kiss on Ikuto's cheek.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto hugs back, nodding and blushing all over again when his cheek is kissed. If Yuki were to look at Ikuto's eyes in the moment she would see tears nearly flowing before the catboy blinks them back, holding her close to him. "What I think is that you're amazing, Yuki-chan. So many things have happened, the future is still uncertain, and yet right now I feel more hope than ever. I suppose that's the strength of the Knight of Dawn, huh? Even in darkness, you're there to bring the light."

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
"Then you're my Black Cat," Yuki says, still clinging tight. "Shadow to my Light. Dusk, to my Dawn." She runs her fingers through his hair, smiling now. "A team. Together."

"Simulation set completed, Master. Results displayed."

Yuki blinks. Turns her head to look at the computer and the Device hooked up to it. "Uhm... I should check this. Been working on re-coding some of my spells, y'know." If she'd had a better spell to use, maybe she could've stopped Ikuto from getting hurt... or at least hurt -less-.....

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto nods, smiling. "With the mess with Hinoiri-chan resolved, I actually have something I wanted to ask for your help with. An old friend, Michiru-chan, wanted to help me with this and since we're a team...I'd love for you to be there too. Easter Company has had my father's violin for a while, and another friend, Hinote-kun, found out where it's being held. Normally I'd just sneak in late at night when things are nice and quiet, and be gone before they even knew I was there."

"Thing is...I want to send a message to my step-father that he can't laugh off. That I'm taking back what he's stolen, starting with the instrument my father left behind when he disappeared. Don't worry, I'm not going to light the place on fire or anything. Just want to make a bit of a mess."

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
Yuki somewhat reluctantly disengages from the hug, turning to sit at her desk once more. "Of course I'll help," she answers, "We're a team." She's focusing on the data the computer is displaying, a series of animations of the spell - her blasting spell, by the look of it, just with a much larger number of projectiles - and several graphs and columns of numbers.

"mmm, still needs work, the mana throughput just isn't there... and they're not taking the homing component at all. Damnit, where did that go wrong..." She sighs and pulls up a listing of very complex computer code, then turns back to Ikuto.

"From all I've heard about that company, lighting it on fire would be an improvement."