hippocarnival | Daybreak Academy

because i don't trust him to

[That sounds bad but it's not wrong.]

i don't think he'd mean to but he lost interest in being responsible for her really quickly

and i don't want her to suffer because his problems mean he can't look after her properly

a cat's a lot more work

Have some faith~
He looked after Tsuyukusa all that time, didn't he?

[ Tsuyukusa looked after himself. He also looked after Toki. ]

[Yeah they both know what a fucking lie that is.]

you know that was different

maybe if he ever wants to but i think he needs help first

[Like, a lot of help. Maybe Kano really didn't see it, and that's why things got so bad between them. He couldn't tell how lost Toki was.]

want to make a blanket fort?

[ Maybe Kano couldn't see it because he's just a bit off-kilter inside as well, looking at Toki and understsanding what he can and accept what he can't. Toki is Toki just like he is himself, and they are both going to be fine.

"I'm not going to get involved," Kano said, like a liar. He's not giving up; things have already been in motion behind the scenes, and he needs some time too. So does Yuya. ]

Bring your blanket and all your pillows!!!!!!

[Kano isn't fine either, but even then Yuya doesn't have the same doubts that he isn't aware of what he's doing. He knows, and there's a difference between knowing it's a bad idea and doing it anyway, and not having any sense to question it at all. Or being unable to help himself from acting on his first idea.]

i only have one pillow

but two blankets i'll bring them

[Quick makes it an extra ten minutes, but he shows up at Kano's door with two blankets (one of which is a worn quilt from home that's usually left in the closet), a pillow, and some sweats to sleep in under one arm, and in the other a bag of mushroom popcorn (luckily, the cafeteria knew what he was talking about) and two bottles of apple juice.]

[ That's the kicker, isn't it? Having awareness, and the ability to compensate so nobody can tell anything is wrong at first glance. The cafeteria has probably been getting requests from Kano for mushroom popcorn for the past three years— nearly any weirdly specific thing Kano asks for can probably be found at the cafeteria, bless them for being accomodating.

Yuya gets to stand outside the door for two minutes before it swings open and Kano takes a step back- then a step forward to relieve Yuya of the juice and the popcorn. ]

Ahh, you brought drinks too! How good, now we don't have to drink tap water~ Can I keep the bottles after??

Yeah, sure. [Yuya smiles faintly as he steps in, closing the door behind him with his foot.] Since your beds are already pushed together, that'll make this easier.

[He drops his bundle at the corner of his before pulling both blankets off the top.]

Ah! Careful, careful...!

[ When Yuya pulls the blankets off the top of the bed, Nightmare comes tumbling down along with it, with Kano dumping the bottles onto the desk and jumping in just in time to grab her before Yuya gets smacked in the face.

Apparently, the bed is still Nightmare's domain. She gets lifted up and set in Kano's hoodie instead, where he can feel slightly choked by the weight. ]

Alright, so I've only really done this with a table with Toki, so you're going to have to walk me through it! Are the beds okay up against the wall, or do we need to bring 'em to the center of the room???

Ah--[Yuya jerks back, giving Kano room to thankfully catch her as he looks with mild alarm.] Sorry!

[Sorry Kano, sorry Nightmare... Yuya pulls the blankets more slowly this time.] No, against the wall is better because then we only need three blankets, so we can have one to sit on. Uh, the best way would be this.

[He shakes one of the blankets, holding it taut and then tucking one edge between the mattress and the frame--just enough to hold it while leaving most of it to dangle down as a cover.]

[ It's fine, they're fine, and Nightmare seems to not care enough to raise any more fuss now that she's somewhere warmer. Kano watches the process for a moment and then grabs one of the blankets to do the same with the other side. The third will go down on front side, and the last... ]

Think you can lift a mattress? Then we can set that on the ground under the bunk to sit on, instead of the ground!

I can, but they're holding the blankets in place. [The front side might be fine, but they'd lose half the edges unless Kano has another way to secure them.

Once the three blankets are up, Yuya collects the pillows from the top.]

[ He has a closet full of nails, but Nightmare shifts in his hood and chokes off that thought and Kano abandons the idea to slip in underneath the fort. Even with the curtains drawn open in his room, it's really dark under here, and he goes ahead and rolls up part of the blanket on his side so just a little light comes through under the gap. "For air," he'll say, if asked. ]

[Yuya tosses the pillows and his blanket from home in after Kano. The sweats are left outside on the floor to be dealt with later, and then Yuya crawls inside with his phone.] I haven't done this in forever...

You used to do this as a kid? With Bonbon?

[ Kano wouldn't have dared, needing to keep his room clean no matter what. Something like this would be fun, but too much trouble to clean up, and not very fun by himself anyways. ]

A couple times, when he'd come over to my house. And when I was really little, my dad would make it for me to play in.

[Yuya grabs one of the pillows, putting it between the wall and his head so he can lean against it comfortably. He waves his phone.] I have some movies on here if you want to watch something.

He~h, how nice of your dad! I'm kinda jealous!

[ Of having a good parent, or even somebody to play with when he was little. Bless Ellie for being in his life, tbh. Kano shuffles closer to Yuya until they're shoulder to shoulder, thankful for the light the phone gives off and starts to scroll through what's there.

It's going to be El Orfanato... ]

Something like... This one? I wonder if it's anything like the orphanage I lived in?

[Yuya feels a little bad after saying it because Kano's dad was never in his life, and his mom was... so Yuya moves right off the topic of parents.]

Eh? [Yuya leans closer and squints.] You... want to watch a horror movie?

[He hates horror... but he's also not about to admit he gets squeamish over a movie. He's a tough guy!!] Yeah, okay. If it is, you should say so.

[He's not clicking the play button.]

[ Maybe Kano's real dad is somewhere out there, and also a daemon, we'll never know.

Is it a horror movie? Whoops. ] Haha, yeah! That's the sorta stuff you watch in a blanket fort, right? Watching scary movies, telling ghost stories~

[ He presses play and is never making a blanket fort ever again. ]

I never did. Not that I won't. [He turns up the brightness and contemplates turning the flashlight on.

He grabs blindly for the popcorn to shove a whole fistful in his mouth before they're even out of the opening credits.]

[ No..... Turning up the brightness means there's more light, but it also means they can see the screen better and Kano's not sure if that's any better. He draws his knees up to his chest so he has something to hug.

The first part of the movie is nice, at least... Daylight, kids, it looks like a party.

He doesn't eat any popcorn. ]

[It's always the first part that puts you into a false sense of security. But it'll get worse, Yuya knows.

He glances aside to Kano and tenses up, determined to hold his ground. But by the time the unsettling atmosphere sets in he's pulled his pillow around to clutch it to him.]

[ Yuya can't win this battle, because as soon as the music shifts into something tenser, Kano immediately zones out and keeps this face on the entire time. Yuya absolutely won't catch him being afraid, there will be nothing but smiles from him. ]

[He refuses to admit weakness. It's fine, it's not real...

Which is why he's frozen right beside Kano, the pillow pressed to his face to only his eyes see over while his fingers dig deep grooves into it.

That mask is going to give him nightmares, like he doesn't have enough.]

[ Kano can close his eyes and cover his ears under the illusion, but that doesn't stop him from jumping every time Yuya so much as shifts next to him. It was a mistake sitting so close. This movie is too long.

Eventually, he can't stand it anymore, sneaks a hand over and pokes Yuya on the knee. ]

[Yuya yelps and jerks his legs up, curling into a ballas he stares at Kano with wide eyes.

Then he forces his legs back down, acting like he didn't just do that.] What?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject