hippocarnival | Daybreak Academy

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YUYA SAKAKI UN: FUNDIRECTION

STATUS: Student Grade 9

ACCOLADES: (Here is a list of leading roles Yuya's has in school theater performances over the past two years, plus a glowing review of his familiar Odd-Eyes)

BIO: Hello! You can call me Yuya. I'm from Sendai, Japan. This is my second year in Daybreak Academy. I'm a Tamer, and Odd-Eyes is my familiar. He's the big red dragon that hangs out in the courtyards. He's friendly but he tries to steal food sometimes. I speak Japanese and English but not very good French. I'm also in the theater club. I'm in Lumiere 203. Let's be friends!

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[ With that confirmation, Kano steps away from the two of them, keeping alongside the river so that the rushing water is just to the side of him, but pulling enough space between Yuya and Odd-Eyes behind him, and the monster in front of him, to make it seem as if he's in neutral territory. ]

Ahaha~ I guess I'm a bit tired today. You too, Mom? [ He rubs a hand over the back of his head, sheepish, letting the monster walk over towards where he is, arms outstretched to receive him. Close. Very close. He could reach over just like this and shove her over and be done with it, but

in his hesitation, something strikes him across the face, and he's thrown down to the ground- the illusion breaks, river appearing suddenly by his side and so does the bright red across his face, a bloody, flowing nose, and a darker red across his arm and shoulder that he'd been hiding this entire time.

"—stupid! Gave me such a scare, Shuuya! Don't you dare to ever again—"

It's too late, he realizes, he'd failed his part of the plan, but he can still salvage it. By launching himself forward, wrapping his arms around the monster— a hug, the fleeting thought comes and goes— and throwing them both into the rushing, freezing water. ]

[Yuya just about holds his breath as he watches, waits, and trusts Kano to do it. They got this far, didn't they?

He doesn't expect the monster of his mother to lash out that quickly, either, and he flinches at the strike and bites hard on his tongue to keep from speaking out. The illusion shatters everywhere, and Yuya can just barely make out the wound on his shoulder--something Odd-Eyes had already picked up on from the stench of blood--and they both watch Kano put his arms around the hollow, teeter over...

and then they're both lost to the water. There's a second where Yuya hopes that's just an illusion, except there's no reason for Kano to fake throwing himself into the river with her.]

... Ka--KANO!

[Odd-Eyes follows quickly, diving under the water seconds after they've disappeared and swimming along the current. Yuya barely catches his breath before they're submerged, and he squints to keep an eye out for the both of them as he latches on tightly.

[ The water is numbing. He can feel his mind go blank and chest squeeze- but it means he can think clearly and calmly and remember not to breathe, letting go of the monster the moment he his the water but he can't tell whether it's gotten a hold of him or not, he can't really feel anything.

It's just numbness, darkness, nothing but his thoughts, and his first thought is that it's a comfort. The second is that he thinks he might have heard a sound, but whether that's the hollow or Yuya or Odd-Eyes, he can't distinguish the difference. But he can hope, and be glad that he hadn't come out here alone, he can kick towards the light and reach his arms out and hope. ]

[Odd-Eyes barrels towards Kano's form, and as he comes into view Yuya releases one of his horns and holds his arm out wide to catch him. Odd-Eyes dives under and up, so that Yuya can scoop Kano close, his fingers twisting into his shirt to keep his grip firm.

He tugs against the horn, and Odd-Eyes twists and starts to swim up at a diagonal. The rapids are hard for him to swim through, too, when he had nothing to brace on, and it takes a little longer to get to shore. But once Odd-Eyes gets close enough to dig his claws into the bank of the river, he hauls them back up the side that they came from.

Yuya gasps for air, his hold on both Odd-Eyes and Kano releasing as he tumbles onto his back in the snow, breathing deep.]

[ Kano hadn't lost consciousness, but it's very tempting to close his eyes and sleep, and that'd be near the same thing, pulling his soaked jacket more tightly over himself and wondering whether that's helping any or making it worse, it's like wearing a suit of ice. Everything is still numb, but the numbness means no pain and no pain means he can open his eyes and when he does, it's bright. Bright white from the snow, and Odd-Eyes in bold red, and Yuya in his everything and Kano lets out a mirthless laugh. ]

That fire would be pretty handy right about now, Odd-Eyes.

[ Did the monster wash away? Is it gone?? He doesn't care. He's just cold. ]

[Kano is going to get warm, smokey air blown over him by Odd-Eyes. Close enough, right?

Yuya shivers, only in his school shirt because he hadn't been expecting to take a run through the mountains and then dive into water when he first ran up to see what all the noise was about. His nose is pink.

Yuya props himself up in his arms.] That... wasn't what I thought you meant about knocking her in the water.

[He's staring at the river as he trembles from the cold, waiting and hoping the creature won't resurface.]

[ Warm air is good enough for him, a slow thaw instead of immediate heat that might make things worse in the long run, and even though he'd like nothing better than to sit or lie down and sleep for 2304986 years, he forces himself onto his feet and bounces on his heels so he can keep his blood going and not freeze. ]

Ah, well... That was plan B, you know? I thought you might come for me, so there wasn't a need to discuss it. I'm real glad you pulled through, too!

[Yuya's response is delayed, before he finally pulls his gaze away from the river and moves to stand.] So you were trusting me with your life, huh?

[His expression twists wryly, and then he wraps his arms around himself.] L-let's go back before we freeze to death. And see how many bandages you need.

[His gaze drifts to Kano's shoulder, briefly, before he walks beside Odd-Eyes. The dragon also rises, shaking off water in Yuya's face before crouching low enough for them to be able to climb on. It's a little slippery, but Yuya manages to swing himself over and sit with his legs dangling over Odd-Eyes' shoulders.]

[ As a last resort!!!! Kano doesn't say anything about that, just climbs up after Yuya and blows on his hands for a few seconds before hanging on again. ]

I think I'm going to take a three hour bath after this... I've got enough bandages stockpiled, though, so I can take care of it. You already did a lot!

[ And, for Yuya's sake, the bloodied nose and shirt and everything's carefully hidden away, leaving just wet clothes and wet hands, and it's really too bad his illusions don't extend to heat. ]

[Yuya snickers, wrapping his arms around Odd-Eyes neck as the dragon rises and starts taking them back down the mountain. At a slower pace this time, lest they fall off in their weariness.]

Okay, okay. [He glances over his shoulder.] How's everything else?

[Like, emotionally.]

[ lmao what emotions?

Kano briefly lets go so he can bring a hand to his face and touch his nose where he'd felt the monster strike him across the face. It's running a little, but that's just snot from the cold and no longer any blood, and the nose itself doesn't feel crooked or anything. It'll probably hurt once it defrosts a little, who knows, but cuts and bruises and all of that he's always been hiding, so nobody knows. ]

...It's all good! Nothing to worry about~

[Yuya's not sure he believes that, but Kano says it with a sureness he can't really argue, so he won't. He pauses, shifting his grip on Odd-Eyes as he considers a different question, one he can give a little more attention to now that they're no longer in danger.]

... What was your mom like?

Hm? My mother? Depends on her mood, I guess. Ha, we caught her in a bad mood... How unfortunate for us~

[ But when is she in a good mood? It'd seemed like he could barely go a few days without accidentally upsetting her, back then. And back then, he'd tried his best to be good, to be accommodating and kind and quiet and careful... He did his absolute best, and it was all for naught.

Still, he did his best for her, and if he could go back in time, he'd to it all over again. ]

Mother was a hard worker. She always had to work a lot, but she worked overnight too, so sometimes I would only see Mother for a couple hours a day, or she'd be at work or asleep. She had to raise me, and that's a tough job! So I'm very grateful for Mother!

[Yuya could relate to some of that description, if not for what he'd just seen. He doesn't think of himself as terrible astute, but it was obvious Kano knew how to navigate around the screaming, insults, hitting. He knows it's wasn't his mother, and yet he treated that monster like it was, like--that was normal.

Yuya feels a little sick in a way he can't quite explain, looking back forward. Kano speaks kindly of her, even when he's out of her hurtful hands. He's just not sure why.] I see. Can I... ask what happened to her?

About her dying? You don't have to tip-toe around it.

[ Since he'd already told Yuya that she's dead, got that meaningless "I'm sorry" for it and they'd since moved on because they had more pressing things to worry about back then- it feels like ages ago, that they'd been walking down the halls trying to find a bucket. ]

It was murder. I tried to get in the way, and got stabbed too. How stupid, huh? Mother wasn't as lucky as me. —ah, my room's a mess, isn't it? The window's wide open, and there's water all over the ground, we should hurry back so I can clean it up.

Ah--right. [It's still awkward asking about someone's dead parents, even if Kano says he doesn't have to be vague around it.]

Before your roommate sees? [Honestly, given the state they left it in that's a fair worry.] You're not going to fall off if Odd-Eyes goes faster?

Haha, yeah, I haven't told Ellie any of this, so she's going to think I'm super careless, making a mess and running away! I think I'm more scared of her than my mother...!

[ Mostly because he can deal with his mother; with Ellie, she just sort of goes at you until you're dead or close to it. But Ellie's always justified in her anger, so it's harder with her. ]

I'll hang onto you, so I won't fall if you don't fall! This whole "trusting you with my life" thing, let's give it another go~

You got to room with your sister? [Yuya smiles a touch.] That's really nice.

[Yuya leans over, tightening his grip on Odd-Eyes' neck.] Okay, let's go!

[His familiar growls in response before picking up speed, zipping back down to the school grounds. Does drying wet clothes with cold air make things worse? They're going to find out.]

[ It absolutely does make things worse, but it's worse for Yuya than it is for Kano, who gets to sit behind him and use him as a literal wind shield. Holy fuck, he's never leaving his room again, his feet are never leaving the ground, this is the worst. ]

[Chances of catching a cold have gone up 90%.

Yuya doesn't talk the rest of the trip by virtue of being too cold to function Odd-Eyes seems to be utterly impervious to the temperature, and carries them all the way to the Lumiere dorm.

Yuya releases a full body shudder.] O-okay, we're here! I'm--g-going inside.

[ RIP Yuya, thanks for your sacrifice. Kano doesn't need any prompting to get inside either, at least having the presence of mind to go full illusion- no wet clothes or shivering hands for him, so nobody will stop him on the way upstairs and to his room. ]

I'll see you later, 'kay? Take care of yourself!

[ LIKE NONE OF THIS EVERY HAPPENED
he's going to pretend none of this happened, he's never going to talk about it ]

[Yuya slides off of Odd-Eyes and hurries after Kano. They're both going the same direction up until the second floor. When Kano tries to disembark after, Yuya almost goes after. Almost, but he holds himself back and watches him at least until he gets halfway up the stairs. And then he starts.]

Ah--Kano! [He calls out from below, smiling warmly despite the chill.] I'm glad you're here.

[Alive. Surrounded by two sisters who seem good. Lucky.

He thinks... it wouldn't have been fair if Kano died with his mother that day, or today.]

Hm? Ah... Yeah.

[ Being called out to is confusing enough, but he doesn't really get what the comment means either. "I'm glad you're here." It's vague, and there's probably a deeper meaning to it that he isn't going to pry into and make Yuya clarify, so he settles with smiling and nodding. A softer one. A gentler one, the sort of smile that's unmasked and he's always felt a little self-conscious about, but there's nobody else to see. ]

I'm glad you were there too.

Anytime! [Yuya grins wider, unguarded, but before he can respond further his words get caught up in a loud sneeze that makes him stagger back in surprise.

He sniffs, rubbing his nose.]

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