455/Collecting Long Stories

Collecting Long Stories
Date of Scene:	18 September 2023
Location:	Tsukino-Osaka Dorm
Synopsis:	Koji stops by to visit Naru after both of them return from 'time away' and chat about magic, and life and a desire for normalacy.
Cast of Characters:	Naru Osaka, Koji Silvia

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Naru Osaka has posed:
It's not especially late, certainly not late enough to be untoward to receive visitors. Supper has been had, at least by which ever students did turn up to supper, and Naru did. She brought dessert back to her room, to nibble on while she finishes up some homework and revision. Clearly Usagi stayed behind to have what was probably second dessert and have an excellent reason to avoid getting back to homework.

Naru is not right this second at her desk, instead she is standing by the small bar fridge that functions as a 'kitchen' in their room. Aka the top of it holds a kettle and a few mugs, some canisters of tea and coffee and a few half empty packets that did hold cookies. She is attempting to add another data point to the age old query of 'do kettles really take longer to boil when you are watching them?'

So far the answer, at least subjectively, is yes.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Outside of the room stands a lone figure, one hand crowded with a bento box-like carrier and a bag from the conbini. A couple times the hand is raised up, causing a slightly discomforted face before finally...

*knock knock knock*

From outside, Naru can hear a slightly familiar voice as Koji says, "Are you in, Naru?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
The knock draws Naru's attention away from the kettle and she heads for the door. "Hey Koji." Clearly the voice was familiar as she provides the greeting as she opens the door.

"What brings you by? I'm the only one home right now." Naru smiles warmly, ushering him into the room. "Can I get you something to drink? The kettle's almost ready, and there's cold stuff in the fridge."

It is easy enough to spot whose desk is whose. One has neatly stacked notebooks and sketchbooks and the light on over in-progress homework. One has books and papers and chaos.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Looking around for a moment, you can tell immediately that this is an only child, as the thought of entering into a girl's room is a bit of anathema.

You can see that he looks a little more pale that usual, and he's holding the bag and box in his off-hand, the young man saying, "I wanted to say... I heard a little bit of what happened to you, and I..."

He stops again and looks back and forth on the hallway, "Would it be alright if I come in?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Of course!" Naru giggles softly. "Sorry, I didn't realize you were secretly a vampire, I figured offering you a drink was invitation enough. Please Koji, do come in. I promise we don't bite, and dorm monitors don't appear out of the aether to get us in trouble until at least 10 o clock." Her tone says she is entirely teasing him.

"I heard you were away as well." Naru considers him. "And it looks like you fared a whole lot worse than I did. Are you alright?" She gestures him towards the chair at Usagi's desk. The poor boy might die on the spot having to sit on /the bed/.

Koji Silvia has posed:
It can be compared to watching a cat let out of it's carrier and into a new place. There's a brief pause, and if he was any more aware of it, his nose might twitch in a certain Luna-like manner. Stepping inside, he stays just that first step in for a few seconds, and then makes the rest of the way in.

"Tea would be nice." Koji then says as he goes to Usagi's chair, picks a half dozen things off of it, and then turns it and leaves the plastic bag on it.

Instead he holds out the bento-box towards you, "I figured a lot of people would probably... well... be making worried faces or otherwise, or trying to give you advice or consolation. But none of them would consider this..."

There's a brief smile, "I bought a bunch of snacks I knew Usagi likes and I thought I would bring them to you just in case she'd already devoured all the stashes while I'm sure she was worried sick about you."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I get a lot of quietly concerned 'but how /are/ you?'" Naru admits with a wry little smile. "Generally mostly from those who know all of the niggly details, or .. any of the niggly details really."

Naru comes to get the bento box from him with a warm smile. "Thank you, that's very thoughtful of you. I am given to understand that Usagi was worried right past snacks and into not snacks, which is a state of worry I've not yet met in person." She smiles easily. "She's still at dinner, so clearly making up for lost time."

The kettle clicks off, auto shut off is a requirement for dorm living, and prompts Naru to set the bento box down in order to go make hot beverages. "You're welcome to have a seat at my desk if you want." Naru offers as she gets a mug for tea ready. "Or stand if that's less twiggy on whatever's making you pale."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Shaking his head, Koji moves over to where Usagi's seat, is, and after moving the bag seems to be postured almost like a perch, his back forward and off the pad.

"What you're seeing is my own stupid fault. As a LOT of people have been right to point out to me." He says with a faint and rueful grin.

"I got this in the bag for you. It's a GPS tag that you can click on if you're in trouble. There's instructions with the kit on how to set it up so other devices can download the app that it's on and they immediately send a message to those people telling them your current location. I'm not..."

He pauses...

"I'm not entirely sure if it would have helped before. This is the kind of thing worried parents get for their kids on vacations as a just in case... but... I figure you can give it to Darien... or Kazuo... or to Miss Inai..."

Trying to help... like everyone else.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I am super not in a position to throw shade about doing stupid stuff." Naru points out as she comes back to the desk to offer Koji a cup of tea. "Although this time, not actually stupid. Just getting coffee and it all went sort of sideways."

Naru sets her coffee down on her desk to look into the bag. "That's so thoughtful! And super useful. Thank you." She hunhs softly and then looks up at him. "I wonder how it would work through barriers and the like, but every extra layer of options is worth it."

Naru laughs softly. "I won't be able to sneak off and do anything all /that/ stupid if all of my friends are tracking me."

Koji Silvia has posed:
It's a box that looks second-hand and has been opened, but the site and company are probably still good, Koji saying, "It was heavily discounted as an old model and the battery was dead, but that was an easy fix. The parts we have available in Computer Club could make some tech stores jealous.

Still trying to smile, he then takes a breath, "I know I know what you mean by barriers, but you'll pardon me if I kind of... don't talk about it? I mean..."

Looking a bit troubled for a moment, he seems to let whatever it is go and move on, "I guess it's stupid and pointless. I'm just surprised Usagi doesn't know about this stuff either. Or that she got a hard education after this happened."

You have to love how Elephant-San manages to peek his head in at the oddest times...

Soldiering on, he looks back up at you, "So I guess... the big question for me? Is there anything you need? Even if it's just for people to leave you alone for a bit, fine. But... well... being a friend doesn't mean you duck out when things are hard."

(Footnote: Quote from 'Prince of High School, Vol 15, page 46.')

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Thank you, it's still very thoughtful." Naru comments as she sets the box on her desk before settling with her coffee to look at him.

Naru's expression is gentle. "I know that you're Aware, and yes. I can avoid any mention of the things that form a large part of both of our lives if you prefer. I cope with the Weird by talking about it, others .. clearly.. do not, and that's fine." She adds after a moment. "I am Naru all of the time, it makes things.. interesting."

Naru leaves it at that and considers his question. "I'm mostly healed, I'm mostly caught up on school. I'm generally coping." Her smile is a tough wry. "At some point I may all of a sudden stop coping, but so far so good." She gestures at him. "And the reverse is equally true. What do you need? Time to heal, clearly. It being your own stupid fault does not mean you have to suffer alone."

Koji Silvia has posed:
That last part does get a bit of a chuckle again, which also causes the pained look from Koji as he replies, "What I need is to see the School Nurse and apparently get cleared to return to classes and the like."

Sitting up a bit more, he seems to ponder a bit, "If you're aware, you're aware. I am just so used to not talking about it that sometimes it's hard to remember it's okay to talk about it. It's hard to know who's going to believe you, or who's going to laugh it off as some kind of 'oh it must be a video game he's talking about' or 'Oh he must be just stressed and imagining things' response."

After a moment he continues, "It's easier now, than say, six months ago... there's more people who are... Aware as you say it. Or at least we're all running into each other more often thanks to this school. Did you know Sailor V is one of us? It was a little mind-blowing when I first saw her. I don't know who she actually is, but I think everyone's played her game to death over at the arcade."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Or not cleared, cause sitting is not doing you any favours." Naru points out with a sympathetic shake of her head. "Cleared enough to get homework and stuff, hopefully so you don't get too far behind." She gestures with her mug. "We can get a homework group that isn't a RomCom plot and actually studies to catch both of us up on homework."

"My social circle of aware folks is approximately double what it should be, as I don't seek to out who matches with which alter ego without permission." Naru gestures. "So I might have already had this conversation with you, but based on your reactions, I probably have not? Hard to say. I don't need to know either way." She flickers a smile. "The school does seem to be clumping us all together, even those of us who are outliers."

Naru hunhs softly. "I know that Sailor V exists, but I've never met her. That's pretty awesome. I hope I get to meet her sometime." Seems really very likely, but in the interest of holding to the ID secrecy, Naru isn't sharing that bit.

"If you are curious about details of the kidnapping, in a more niggly detail way, you can ask. You are under no obligation to know, but I am not weirded out by talking about it." Naru notes in the spirit of open communcation.

Koji Silvia has posed:
For once, Koji freely admits, "I'm not sure I'm in the right space to know... mainly because that part of me that's mad about not being here to help, or doing enough, is going to push me to want to find this person and make sure they realize that kidnapping the Famous Naru Osaka is a Very Bad Idea."

The 'famous' bit does get you a little grin, and then he straightens and stands up, "Honestly, maybe what's needed is normal. We could do homework together, maybe actually talk beyond Darien and Usagi, and whatever horrible mess has happened this week. I could also talk to Chiyo and we could all do another group thing. Maybe this time at a buffet place with a nice big table so we can all just sit, talk, eat... pretend for an hour that we're all just a bunch of normal teenagers trying to enjoy it all before it's too late."

He shrugs, and there's a slight twitch, "No thanking people for helping, no bringing up... Awareness... just... normal. Personally, I could use all the normal I can get."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"That's totally fair." Naru nods at the self aware comment. "The person who kidnapped me has a pretty good idea that I'm unreasonably well loved and it was a poor life choice. At least I hope so, at this point."

Naru laughs softly. "We're going to tease Usagi and Darien, that's a given, cause omg, they are just too adorable not to. But that too.. is normal. We tease our friends for being solidly in bubble stage. We eat and chat and complain about homework." She nods firmly. "Sounds like a great idea." She smiles more gently. "We'll enjoy it now AND we'll enjoy it later, even if there's some challenges in the middle. But we should start with the enjoying it now."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Sniffing the air at the tea, the young man across from Naru says, "One of these day I should cook for you. I'm no chef but so far I've gotten nothing but good reviews for my spicy soba. I make it in a little instant pot and an electromagnetic plate cooker that Darien snuck into the room. Some nights we both get the munchies and we'll drop some ramen, play some games at each other on our phones, and then crash out after."

Koji considers again, and then asks, "What do you think of Miss Inai-san? I... have trust issues with adults. It's a thing... a bit long to explain right now, but... since I heard she leapt to your help, and I... I don't think I can trust my judgement about her. So after Darien told me, I thought I would ask you."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I remember Usagi trying to bake cookies." Naru eyes get a little wide at the memory. "A kettle is more than enough cooking for our room. I'll head down to the shared kitchen if I want to do more." Naru smiles warmly. "That sounds awesome, and delicious. Thank you."

Naru sips her coffee a moment and considers the question. "Inai-sensei has been nothing but supportive to me. Before I was aware, and even more so now." She quirks a smile. "She is at best an unconventional adult, for all that she's a teacher, she's pretty cool." Her smile fades a little, to a touch more serious again. "Even now, when it would not be unreasonable of me to be mad at her, or frustrated with her.." Naru holds up her hand. "Long story, and we're not going there right now.. But I would trust her. I trust her to train me."

Koji Silvia has posed:
"Sounds like we're all collecting long stories." Koji says, "And you've given me some to think about. I'm still worried about you, obviously, but I'm going to do my best to not let it get in the way of us trying to be friends. I want to respect your right to be okay until you don't feel okay, and then you let me... us... know what you need."

Standing up, he shifts his position just a little, and then adjusts his glasses, "In the meantime... I'm just glad we're both here to talk. But I should get back. I have a date with some smelly pain creams and the only person who should have to enjoy that stink is my roomie."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Of course we're collecting long stories, that is the reality of living interesting lives." Naru stands as he does and her smile follows him. "Thank you for visiting. I promise I'm doing alright, and contrary to the ample evidence to the contrary, I'm not actually utterly incapable of taking care of myself. So just don't assume I'm utterly fragile and we should manage just /fine/."

Naru grins brightly and then laughs softly as she moves towards the door. "So we should expect Darien in about half an hour? Forty five minutes?"

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji laughs as he gets to the door, and then winces, muttering, "That needs to stop... it's not fair..."

A faint wheeze and a smile later he adds, "Sadly, it's a work night for him... we just have to hope he's not having to do anything he doesn't want to."