alicornparty | Test Drive Meme!

"...?"

Okay, he could tell someone was staring at him, so he paused at his attempts to find any live bait. Glancing up, he looked around and saw...

Whoa. That was a big pony. A big pony glaring at him...

...A big pony with a very familiar glare with a scar over on the left side of his forehead and silver piercing in his ears, and--

"Kanji-- ...er, I mean, Tatsumi... hrm. I'm not sure which one is better right now."

Right. They hadn't met yet-- it wouldn't be till, what, May? Before he'd get to really talk to his kohai. If he was overly familiar and Kanji was in a bad mood, that was suuuure to not lead good places. All the same though, he usually didn't dream about someone else unless he'd established a link...

Oh well! It was his dream, after all. Maybe his mind was being nice and letting him reconnect with one of his best friends early. Smiling at him, he nodded his head.

"This dream is pretty much perfect for you, huh? I'll need to tell you about it when I wake up."

"...Dude, what the hell're you talkin' about? You hit your head or somethin'?" Dreams? What, like when he first showed up and thought he was dreaming? How did that make sen--

Kanji paused, eyes widening.

"Wait, shit- where was the explosion!? I thought new people show up after a huge explosion and a tear in the fabric-of-whatever!" He paused, and-

"Did anybody else come with you? Did-" Kanji stopped, rethought himself, and silenced. Man, he wouldn't mind knowing if that letter crossed over with her okay. But it was weird to ask.

"Ah..."

Okay, that just went into a bunch of sentenses he couldn't quite follow. That wasn't unusual for dreams, of course, but... Kanji seemed agitated, and Souji wanted to take him seriously and figure it out. It would be best to answer sincerely; even in a dream, he didn't want to upset his friend anymore than he seemed to be.

"I did hit my head while doing the whole 'stick my hand into the tv for the first time' again-- fell right back and smacked my head against the table in my room."

A soft sigh, and the unicorn shook his head, making his way over to his kouhai-- his balance was still a bit off, but he seemed to be walking okay over all. He paused as he got closer, trying to think-- should he talk about all this? Even in a dream... but it would be kind of nice to talk to someone about the weirdness, to vent it out before things got too strange in the waking world.

"You'd think I'd know to be more careful about it, but my memory wasn't too great until after I summoned Izanagi for the first time... it's a thing you got to deal with when doing time loops to keep things stable, apparently."

He... sort of shrugged, as well as he could, before turning back to Kanji, raising his eyebrow.

"...So what's this about an explosion? I just went to sleep after checking out the Midnight Channel... Yukiko's showing up already. I figure this is just a weird dream of mine after everything that's happened."

Edited 2015-05-07 07:44 (UTC)

Nothing of what he was saying made any sense, but he got the feeling this unicorn was trying to tell him something about when and where he was from. Somehow, he was from a time where he was somehow aware he was doing everything again?

Time looping? Was that possible? But then again, was turning into a horse possible?

"Okay- lemme take it from the top, since it's clear you ain't the dick that's runnin' around here right now." Oh boy, where to start-

"This ain't a dream. Multiple universes are a thing. You were snatched up by a screwed up version of one of the princesses of this world for observation, and turned into one'a the ponies that live here to better fit in. You're awake, you're here now, and there ain't much of a way out. A, uh..."

He canted his head and made a face. "A version of everybody back home is here, if that makes any sense? Oh- except for Yosuke-senpai, your uncle n' Nanako-chan. There's also another you here... but sometimes doubles show up. It's really confusing, but your hair's a little different, and you got a horn, so it'll be easy to tell you guys apart."

"..."

This was a lot to take in. Listening to his Kouhai explain it all-- multiple universes, turn into a pony for observation, the dick who's running around here, another him here...?

He thought that time looping was bad enough, but he might have accidentally bitten off more than he could chew. Next time he went to the velvet room, he'd really need to question the Nose thoroughly...

After a long pause, Souji took a deep breath and gave his kouhai a serious look.

"Kanji? Hit me."

If there was anything that could wake him up and tell him if this was real or not, it was Kanji Tatsumi's punches... er. Well, he couldn't punch like this, could he...

"...What, to wake you up? I asked for one too, from Chie-senpai. She kicked me. My ribs still hurt and I've been here for months."

But he didn't see a reason to deny the guy's attempts to disprove a few things. Might as well show he's as awake as he was gonna be. Without warning, Kanji reared on his back legs and balanced - he'd been practicing - before he shot a right hook into the jaw of this poor unicorn.

Kanji Tatsumi never pulled his punches.

"N-nghn!"

And he's down! A stumble right on his ass as he was sure his jaw was probably dislocated now.

Well, probably not-- Kanji was good enough to know how to avoid that. The pain certainly was a wake up, and as he sat on his behind, stars of blinding pain dancing behind his eyelids, he reached up a Hoof to rub at the blast zone.

...A hoof. He was still a horse, wasn't he?

...Oh man, this was a real pisser. When he opened his eyes, he did not look pleased.

"Mngh... thanks, Kanji." He meant it in all seriousness, even as it was harder than it should be to talk, "Could... always depend on you for that..."

He mouthed his jaw a few times, trying to get it back in alignment. God, it was bad enough he had to sacrifice his bonds of friendship to go back and find the Truth-- restart and rebuild-- but now he was captured and transformed into a pony?! He had people to save! He had to help Yukiko, help Nanako and his Uncle, and everyone else...

But... focus. Ranting about that won't help anything.

"When... when are you from? Ngh--" Taste of blood? He must have cut the side of his mouth with his teeth...

They obviously knew one another, and were close... but he couldn't risk it, not like he already did.

Kanji's face fell flat, and he shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

But asking when he was from was a question he was used to around here. He knew people from the past, present and future. Even among his friends, they were from at least three different timelines to begin with.

"Ya took the train back to the big city 'bout a couple months back. We helped out Marie and beat some sense into Izanami-no-Okami." Good enough info. Some didn't even know who Marie was, and some still weren't aware of who controlled Ameno-sagiri.

"What about you?"

He couldn't help but notice that flat expression, Kanji. He wondered if he hit on some sort of sour note-- well, besides that of whoever looked like him here.

"...Marie and... Izanami-no-Okami...?"

Suddenly, things clicked in his head, his eyes going wide. He hadn't bonded completely with Marie (nor with a certain other person he wanted to punch repeatedly in the face still), but that she had something to do with the Truth, and...

He and Adachi had Izanagi. That Izanami, the god's spurned wife, would have something to do with everything... it just made so much sense.

"... We managed to chase down Adachi, in the end, but the fog was still in the TV would when I left. That's why I'm..."

He took a deep breath, rubbing his poor jaw still with his hoof... and not quite able to meet his kouhai's eyes.

"...That whole thing I told you, before, I shouldn't have said all that. You're not supposed to know I'm looping back to the start of it all."

Edited 2015-05-08 05:02 (UTC)

Kanji slowly blinked, but then he appeared disturbed. He'd gotten used to multiple universes, but never the idea that someone was looping back to the start. How... how did that even work?

What kinds of things would -he- change if he could go back and start over, knowing what he did now?

"Ah- don't worry! You're safe here when it comes to all that. I'm told whatever you were doin' before you left is frozen up. It won't continue 'til ya get back. But then you kinda forget you've been here the minute you're back... uhhh... I think? I dunno how it all works. I'm just goin' by what I'm told."

It's a Wild Card thing, Kanji. Don't worry too much about it. There wasn't much Souji actually planned on changing. Responses here and there, decisions about how he spent his days and nights... but his over all plan was the same. It had to be, for his own sake, and everyone elses.

Kanji's following words reassured the unicorn, and he turned back to look at his friend, feeling more at ease.

"...So more or less, I've just been pulled out of my place in space time, and will go back if I'm ever let go, huh?" So it was just like going into the Velvet room sometimes. No time really lost, usually. Well, he thought, anyway... there was no guarantees.

"...You're doing good, Kanji. I appreciate you being patient with me." Chuckling softly, the unicorn began to pull himself back to his feet.

"Sorry for confusing you at the start."

Edited 2015-05-08 05:27 (UTC)

He shook his head, but looked away. "...Don't worry about it. Just tellin' you what anybody else would."

He looked up, narrowed his eyes. "I'm gonna be blunt- I almost wanted to walk right past you. Part of me still wants to walk away right now. Something... happened that I don't wanna talk about, but what it boils down to is that you might not be treated all that warmly."

Clapping a hoof to his forehead, he continued, "But, okay, I gotta take this from a route that won't piss me off like this whole thing's been doin' for weeks. What do I even call you? I know when other-universe people show up, they try to find ways to make 'em stand out from the others. Your horn does enough, but... y'know what I mean."

...Something about what Kanji said made Souji's heart... sink. It was far more painfully than he'd want to admit. Walk right passed him? If...if it was before they'd met in his timeline, fine, he was expecting that, but this Kanji knew him. Knew everything they'd been through together. He nearly asked -what- could have happened, but, held it back. Kanji had just said that it was painful enough a lot of people didn't want to talk to him. He'd... just have to hope he could change their minds, if he was stuck here for a long while. He had to be Understanding about this.

"...I'm... sorry." Shaking his head, he looked down, his voice soft, "... To have made you this upset... I don't want to think about what I could have done. You're... a dear friend to me, Kanji." Mushy, maybe, but... it was the truth.

He looked back up as Kanji continued, tilting his head to the side. So since this other version of him was already here, he'd need to think up some sort of nickname. Hmm...

"Well, if you're already calling him Souji, you can call me Seta, to make it simple enough." Even if it wouldn't be as familar as they were before, it could work.

Kanji frowned deeper. An apology... nice, but misplaced. He had nothing to do with this, but it still felt nice nonetheless. It wasn't going to mend anything, however. Time was the only thing that could do that... for everyone else, anyway. Kanji'd made up his mind.

But the earth pony's harsh expression faltered briefly, and his ears stood upright. "...You..."

It was a name he hadn't heard in months, a name he knew, one that made his heart pound, then stop.

"Souji-senpai... Not- not Narukami Yu?" He'd grown used to the latter name, as it was the name of the one here. It was odd to him at first, but he supposed that was how the multiverse worked.

"Seta Souji's... the name of the guy that saved my life. From my timeline."

The way Kanji said his name... His eyes widened, hoping beyond hope, that... maybe, somehow...

And when Kanji confirmed-- yes, he was the same senpai, or something like the same senpai that Kanji had known from his own timeline, he felt a flood of relief. Maybe he could undo some of this pain his friend felt, maybe ease it somehow... and not lose his dear friend due to something beyond his control...

Souji smiled. He smiled widely, and... laughed, with relief and happiness. Okay, it was okay.

This would be okay.

"Y-yeah, that's my name. Been that way for 17 years now, heh. I'd have noticed if it changed on me, promise." Deep breath, Souji, no need to start tearing up from relief or something, "So I guess Souji-senpai's just fine, huh?"

He missed hearing that those nicknames. Souji-senpai, partner, sensei... when he'd heard Teddie call him that after summoning his persona, it was the weirdest relief. Just like this was too.

Kanji warily looked around him when this guy burst out laughing. Was it something he said? But he had to admit a sound like that was comforting, especially when a lot of the time his friends were rather reclusive and quiet in the wake of everything.

Caught off guard, Kanji shook his head to clear it after realizing he'd started staring. "Uh- yeah. There'd be Souji-senpai and Yu-Senpai, then."

He stood then, and for now stayed his hand- he wouldn't walk away. Not yet.

"So, uh... you figure out that horn yet?" He pointed. May as well change the topic a bit and help him out before he pulled trees out of the ground or made the stones in the river dance.

"Ah... sorry."

Ahh, that was weird, huh? Rubbing the back of his head (... his neck shape was so weird now, geez) he gave Kanji a sheepish look.

"I'm just... happy to hear you call me that. I wasn't expecting to hear that from you for a while, after all."

But, as Kanji pointed up to the horn that was now on his head... Souji's eyes followed it, trying to stare at it-- erh, it was like trying to stare at your own nose. Frowning, he reached up to touch it a few times.

"Honestly? No, not at all... I thought this was a dream, so I figured it was just for show. Does it actually do anything?"

Poke, poke, poke... this thing really was a horn, huh? He'd need to be careful with it...

"...Shit, seriously?" Oh boy, where to start.

"There's unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies here. Unicorns can use magic. According to Yukiko-senpai, you gotta 'will' somethin' to happen, and then it does. She's lifted me with her magic once, but I see lots of unicorns hold drink cups, scissors and all kinds'a things with their magic. Helps, when ya got no fingers."

He shrugged, but figured it was worth a warning: "Uh, but make sure it's clear? Or you'll drop stuff on your head or wind up with a mess of some kind."

"...So it's like telekinesis, then?"

Lifting things with his mind, huh... now, the easy way to start would be to try one of the rocks in front of them on the ground but, where was the fun in that?

"Let me try it out." He took a few steps forward so he'd be nearly next to Kanji, and then turn to face the pond itself. He could still make out the silhouettes of the fish below the surface from here, so...

Concentrate. Focus. He stared hard at one of the shadowy forms beneath the waters, and thought-- pick it up, lift it out the water. Pick it up, lift it out of the water...

His horn began to glow with a silvery aura, and soon the same glow formed around the shadowy fish below the waters edge-- and then it began to rise. The poor fish struggled, confused as to what was happening to it-- and then panicked as it breached the surface, flipping and wiggling all over the place. Souji's concentration continued until the fish was now eye level with the two ponies...

"...You weren't kidding about this--" Souji then frowned, looking a bit perturbed, "...kind of takes the fun out of fishing though, wouldn't you say?"

Annnd plop! Down goes the fishy back into the water.

He watched as he took to the task with gusto, blinked in surprise when a glowing fish neatly emerged from the water wriggling.

"...That was fast. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

But Kanji shrugged. "Lotta ponies got loads of magic in 'em, but it ain't like they just make life easy n' lazy for 'em. They still fish, walk... it's handy for stuff like holding food while ya eat it, or pickin' up a brush to go through your hair."

He wiggled a hoof. "Since it's kinduva pain in the ass. But I'm used to it."

"Was it?" Souji had no idea; he hadn't seen any ponies using magic yet "I can see what you mean by needing to focus though; I'll need to practice this."

Turning to look at his kouhai, Souji nodded, before looking at Kanji's hoofs... realization hit him again.

"Ah! That's right... you mean you've managed to knit and sew while like this...?"

He knew how much those hobbies meant to his friend; so much so it had been a big issue with his confidence in who he was as a person while facing his shadow.

He stiffly shrugged. It was strange, as nobody else asked how he was able to do it without fingers, and he assumed most thought he was like a unicorn who could just make things float and move. But he was an earth pony. His magic was in strength and having a green thumb, not stitching anything...

"It's slow going, but I've managed. I get some special needles for those without magic. Sometimes I grab the sewing needle with my mouth."

He grinned proudly. "Ain't poked myself yet!"

"That's really amazing, Kanji." Souji smiled sincerely at his friend, looking for him "I mean that-- I'm really impressed. I don't know how I'm going to get by with... well."

He lifted his hoof off, looking at it with mild concern "These. I've got a lot to learn," He managed a small smirk, glancing back at Kanji.

"Should I start calling you senpai, now, I wonder?"

Edited 2015-05-09 23:21 (UTC)

"Whuh? H-hey, the hell's with the sudden senpai stuff!?" Though he was blushing, despite jabbing a hoof in his direction.

"You got that horn, y'know! Make stuff move, hold stuff, break it or fix it! I just managed to figure out how to hold a needle, that's all!"

Hahah, that's his Kanji; blushing at compliments and fumbling endearingly. It was nice to know that hadn't changed.

"That's still impressive, you do realise, right? I bet your stuff looks just as good as it does back home, too." Reaching up to touch his horn, however, he nodded.

"If you need any help though, with holding fabric and the like while sewing, it could be good practice for me." And make sure he could help his friend with his hobbies. He liked being involved, after all...

Edited 2015-05-09 23:58 (UTC)

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