[He's... not exactly wrong, but. She'll just try and skate around that for now.]
It's not exactly a secret... um, I don't know who she is. She was just in trouble, so I tried to help her. [By kicking a violent dude in the face. Good going, Yona.]
...merchants from another country have been smuggling a drug called Nadai into Kouka. Most of the people in this town... they've become addicted to it. We were trying to blend in and gather information to track down the suppliers, so we could stop them.
Sounds about right. [re: stepping in to help a stranger. But he's lifting his eyebrows because the rest of that sure doesn't sound great.] So that's where we are. Kouka. Who's "we" anyway? Have you found anything useful to stop the suppliers?
[The group's grown pretty big. Luckily, Lili is out cold, so they don't need to worry about her waking up anytime soon.]
Hak, my bodyguard. And then we met Yoon, who's back at the inn waiting for us... and Kija, Shin-ah, Jae-ha, and Zeno. We've all been traveling together for a few months now. ...we haven't found out anything about the suppliers yet, though. That was what we were in the tavern for, but then that fight broke out.
Are your friends going to be okay? Or do we have to go back and rescue them? That fight kinda looked like it was getting worse, but we should find somewhere to drop this girl off first.
...you have an actual bodyguard. [Yona's a princess, but also ????
...AND DOUBLE ALSO:] And wasn't Jae-Ha...? [Slutty dragon with a missing leggy one of the Editors bit off. That Jae-Ha?]
If anyone needs rescuing, it's going to be the people they're fighting.
[There was definitely a reason she asked Hak and the dragons to take it easy on the addicts. In another situation, she might be more worried, but... she's certain they can handle it.
She nods to answer both of his questions - but the one she clarifies is the second one.] Mm-hm, that's him. He doesn't remember anything about it, though... I'm not sure why. But, that's why he knew me back in that place. [...] He'd already experienced most of this.
[Her expression is pretty solemn for a few seconds there.]
...well. It's been five minutes and you haven't mentioned that, no. [There's a grin but it's equally hesitant.] You're taking on all kinds of stuff, aren't you? It's...sort of impressive.
[She reaches over to take his hands. She is taking on a lot of things, but it's the least she can do after her father's inattention to the tribes has basically caused all of this. If it's the price she has to pay for still being alive, so be it.]
...it's really good to see you again, Hiro. I missed you a lot.
[Oh. He holds her hands, looking at them before looking at Yona again. It's raining, they're cold, they're still not exactly safe, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because Yona's here and he grips her hands a little.]
I missed you, too. I can't say I thought this would be where we ended up, but until I figure out how to get back...guess this is it.
Don't worry. [She squeezes his hands lightly.] You're welcome to stay here for as long as you want. I won't lie... it's a little dangerous. But I'll protect you, no matter what. That's a promise.
[Hak picks that exact moment to appear, and, predictably, is immediately a little shit.
[He cuts her off, because of course he does. "Anyway, the fight's over. We should get back to Yoon and get that girl," he glances at Lili, "Somewhere safe." Predictably, Hak doesn't have a single scratch on him.
Yona glances to Hiro.]
...you'll come with us, right? I mean, that's okay with you?
[Yeah, hi. He's sizing up Hak and giving him a level stare because he's deciding what he wants to do. In the end, he makes a face before he glances back at Yona.]
I have no idea how to get back, so...if it's fine with you, yeah. I'll come with.
[When Hiro agrees, Yona beams. ...even if he is only staying because he doesn't know how to get home, at least she'll be able to spend some time with him. Hak doesn't look all that thrilled about this (then again, he never does), and she decides to distract him by, well...
...hefting Lili up to make him carry her.]
Make sure to take this girl somewhere safe, okay? I'm going to show Hiro around and get him caught up on everything. [She reaches for Hiro's hand, and ... sure as hell does pull him away, leaving Hak behind, holing one (1) unconscious Water Tribe noble and staring after them with an incredulous expression.
Yona doesn't seem to notice.]
...so, um... what were you doing before you came here? [Maybe it has something to do with how he got here, and maybe they can work out some way to get him back if they understand it.]
[He's also being a brat and making a face at Hak as they walk away, taking Yona's hand and quickly moving through the rain. He might be confident now, but Hak could also probably kick his ass, so.
Anyway...he doesn't let go of her hand and he thinks. The things he was doing before he came here....he wonders if she'd be upset he went alone.]
...I was trying to find somebody. But it kind of looks like I made a wrong turn here. [There's a frown.] Yona, what do you remember about alternate timelines? We talked about it a little when we were figuring out how we all got to that castle, but.
[He'd explained once. About alternate timelines, stasises, timelines where people did something different, pockets of dimensions that existed outside of reality. They were theories and he didn't have a lot of backing, but she always let him ramble anyway even if she didn't comment or really listen.]
[Hak's watching you, Hiro. Always watching you. But apparently deciding that Yona is capable of holding her own against him if he tries something, he does as Yona says and leaves to reunite Lili with her own bodyguards.
Yona, oblivious to all of that, keeps hold of Hiro's hand and gently swings their hands back and forth between them.]
...I remember a little bit about it. I'm not really sure I understood all of it, though. You said it was sort of like... if there was a you who studied something other than robotics, or if there was a me who got tired of the castle and ran away from home. Our timelines might be the same up until that point, but then it's kind of like... taking either the right or the left fork in a path, right?
Yeah, exactly. [He seems pleased she listened to him.] In this case, it's like...I kind of learned about a possibility of where I can find something really important, so I took that path. But that path led me here instead.
Are... Are you okay with the fact that you're here? [If this was a detour... Well, it's almost like being in the castle was. Something he has no choice but to put up with.] I've been traveling with a lot of very capable people, so if you want to go home, I'm sure we can figure something out fast.
[He shakes his head.] No. I think I was supposed to come here? It's hard to explain, but I know my coordinates were right when I opened the portal and jumped in.
[So yeah, he did a dumb thing. But he also considers her words for a moment.] ...besides, you're here. That makes it more than okay.
[The... portal? Kind of like how they got home after the castle, then. Yona nods slowly (though she looks very curious about what exactly he was opening a portal for), and smiles before squeezing his hand.]
...I'm glad you ended up here, if your path was always going to bring you to Kouka. It's really good to see you again.
[also lol can you imagine if he ended up in the capital and heard the rumors about her being dead first]
It's good to see you, too. [THANK GOD HE DIDN'T HEAR YONA WAS DEAD???] I don't know why it led me here, but I can't think of anybody else I'd like to run into here.
...I'll have to see what I can find while I'm here though. Recalibrate some stuff, see if I can get a better read on my target.
His brother - the one who had... died, in some kind of accident. But if Hiro is looking for him, then that means there's a reason he's looking. Portals are a thing in his world, and if they never found Tadashi's body, then...
...well, Yona can't think that it's impossible.
She brings Hiro's hand up and holds it between both of hers.]
If you were able to come here, he might have, too. [She definitely won't tell him it's impossible. If there's a chance, however small, she'll help him investigate it.] You chose a good time to come here. We're going all over the country... so, if you stay with us, you'll be able to look for him while we travel.
[From her very basic understanding of parallel universes and alternate worlds, something else occurs to her.]
...maybe that's why you and I both ended up in that place, you know? Our worlds might have already been connected.
You think? [It's something he's considered idly, something he's excited to pursue and there's relief in Yona's acceptance. His other hand comes to curl around hers, eyes wide and bright even as he blinks away the rain.]
What if we were always tied together? And we just didn't know it? That would explain everything. Why we were partners, why things worked out the way they did. If Tadashi's really here somewhere, I have to bring him home. How long do you guys usually stay in one place?
I think everything happens for a reason, even if we don't always understand what those reasons are. [It's a little bittersweet, saying that; she knows now that the night of her father's death played out for a reason, too. While she would do anything she could to bring him back, she also can't deny that there are people who have benefited form Soo-won's rule.] If he is here, we'll find him. And if we were connected because of him, I'm going to have to thank him when we do.
[Of that, she has no doubt.]
We don't usually stay in one place for very long... it would be dangerous if people figured out who I am. But we'll stay here for as long as we need to in order to solve the problem with the Nadai.
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It's not exactly a secret... um, I don't know who she is. She was just in trouble, so I tried to help her. [By kicking a violent dude in the face. Good going, Yona.]
...merchants from another country have been smuggling a drug called Nadai into Kouka. Most of the people in this town... they've become addicted to it. We were trying to blend in and gather information to track down the suppliers, so we could stop them.
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[Superhero mode? Superhero mode.]
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[The group's grown pretty big. Luckily, Lili is out cold, so they don't need to worry about her waking up anytime soon.]
Hak, my bodyguard. And then we met Yoon, who's back at the inn waiting for us... and Kija, Shin-ah, Jae-ha, and Zeno. We've all been traveling together for a few months now. ...we haven't found out anything about the suppliers yet, though. That was what we were in the tavern for, but then that fight broke out.
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...you have an actual bodyguard. [Yona's a princess, but also ????
...AND DOUBLE ALSO:] And wasn't Jae-Ha...? [Slutty dragon with a missing leggy one of the Editors bit off. That Jae-Ha?]
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[There was definitely a reason she asked Hak and the dragons to take it easy on the addicts. In another situation, she might be more worried, but... she's certain they can handle it.
She nods to answer both of his questions - but the one she clarifies is the second one.] Mm-hm, that's him. He doesn't remember anything about it, though... I'm not sure why. But, that's why he knew me back in that place. [...] He'd already experienced most of this.
[Her expression is pretty solemn for a few seconds there.]
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Did I tell you I got to become a pirate? Oh, and a bandit, too!
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[She reaches over to take his hands. She is taking on a lot of things, but it's the least she can do after her father's inattention to the tribes has basically caused all of this. If it's the price she has to pay for still being alive, so be it.]
...it's really good to see you again, Hiro. I missed you a lot.
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I missed you, too. I can't say I thought this would be where we ended up, but until I figure out how to get back...guess this is it.
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[Hak picks that exact moment to appear, and, predictably, is immediately a little shit.
"Who's going to be protecting who, Princess?"]
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Hak! That's not funny, you know I can--
[He cuts her off, because of course he does. "Anyway, the fight's over. We should get back to Yoon and get that girl," he glances at Lili, "Somewhere safe." Predictably, Hak doesn't have a single scratch on him.
Yona glances to Hiro.]
...you'll come with us, right? I mean, that's okay with you?
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I have no idea how to get back, so...if it's fine with you, yeah. I'll come with.
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[When Hiro agrees, Yona beams. ...even if he is only staying because he doesn't know how to get home, at least she'll be able to spend some time with him. Hak doesn't look all that thrilled about this (then again, he never does), and she decides to distract him by, well...
...hefting Lili up to make him carry her.]
Make sure to take this girl somewhere safe, okay? I'm going to show Hiro around and get him caught up on everything. [She reaches for Hiro's hand, and ... sure as hell does pull him away, leaving Hak behind, holing one (1) unconscious Water Tribe noble and staring after them with an incredulous expression.
Yona doesn't seem to notice.]
...so, um... what were you doing before you came here? [Maybe it has something to do with how he got here, and maybe they can work out some way to get him back if they understand it.]
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Anyway...he doesn't let go of her hand and he thinks. The things he was doing before he came here....he wonders if she'd be upset he went alone.]
...I was trying to find somebody. But it kind of looks like I made a wrong turn here. [There's a frown.] Yona, what do you remember about alternate timelines? We talked about it a little when we were figuring out how we all got to that castle, but.
[He'd explained once. About alternate timelines, stasises, timelines where people did something different, pockets of dimensions that existed outside of reality. They were theories and he didn't have a lot of backing, but she always let him ramble anyway even if she didn't comment or really listen.]
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Yona, oblivious to all of that, keeps hold of Hiro's hand and gently swings their hands back and forth between them.]
...I remember a little bit about it. I'm not really sure I understood all of it, though. You said it was sort of like... if there was a you who studied something other than robotics, or if there was a me who got tired of the castle and ran away from home. Our timelines might be the same up until that point, but then it's kind of like... taking either the right or the left fork in a path, right?
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Are... Are you okay with the fact that you're here? [If this was a detour... Well, it's almost like being in the castle was. Something he has no choice but to put up with.] I've been traveling with a lot of very capable people, so if you want to go home, I'm sure we can figure something out fast.
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[So yeah, he did a dumb thing. But he also considers her words for a moment.] ...besides, you're here. That makes it more than okay.
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...I'm glad you ended up here, if your path was always going to bring you to Kouka. It's really good to see you again.
[also lol can you imagine if he ended up in the capital and heard the rumors about her being dead first]
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...I'll have to see what I can find while I'm here though. Recalibrate some stuff, see if I can get a better read on my target.
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[Kouka seems like it's pretty off the beaten path for something he'd have been looking for in San Fransokyo...]
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...Tadashi.
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His brother - the one who had... died, in some kind of accident. But if Hiro is looking for him, then that means there's a reason he's looking. Portals are a thing in his world, and if they never found Tadashi's body, then...
...well, Yona can't think that it's impossible.
She brings Hiro's hand up and holds it between both of hers.]
If you were able to come here, he might have, too. [She definitely won't tell him it's impossible. If there's a chance, however small, she'll help him investigate it.] You chose a good time to come here. We're going all over the country... so, if you stay with us, you'll be able to look for him while we travel.
[From her very basic understanding of parallel universes and alternate worlds, something else occurs to her.]
...maybe that's why you and I both ended up in that place, you know? Our worlds might have already been connected.
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What if we were always tied together? And we just didn't know it? That would explain everything. Why we were partners, why things worked out the way they did. If Tadashi's really here somewhere, I have to bring him home. How long do you guys usually stay in one place?
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[Of that, she has no doubt.]
We don't usually stay in one place for very long... it would be dangerous if people figured out who I am. But we'll stay here for as long as we need to in order to solve the problem with the Nadai.
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