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"Feel free to brag about it to your buddies~"
Yosuke’s face was tomato red.
What, how, what now, how what now how what, how why, how wha-
Before he knew it, his mind had decided that obviously, this must be a dream and set itself into the fitting sleep-mode. Yosuke Hanamura collapsed on the floor!
10YL Rise making faces at u
"Now, Yu, snap that photo~!"
The 10 years older crew ✿
A laugh rumbled in his throat as he watched the idol do a double take at her clothing. Hey, at least she had had the courage to step back and review what she could’ve done differently. He was amused, and relaxed at the notion that even Rise hadn’t gotten everything figured out yet.
Ah, but it was good that she was smiling again. No matter how much they frequently pushed each other’s buttons, he never wanted to be the one to make her upset. ‘Cause when girls started to cry…well…he was never quite sure how to fix it.
“Hey, no problem. And who knows? You might start trend of…dressin’ up like you’re…colorblind.” He being unhelpful, and he knew it. He seemed to be have developed a teasing streak as of late.
“Well, I should apologize for yelling back at you, then. I should’ve waited to hear an explanation before goin’ and shouting whatever comes to my head.” He pat her head. “—and I’m glad you consider me an expert opinion. But hey, don’t go talkin’ about who works harder, all right? That’s a debatable subject,” he said with a smirk.
"Color... blind?" she repeated, brows knitting in a small, thoughtful frown as one of her hands rose to rest on her lips, eyes darting side to side as she quite clearly mulled over something. After a few silent moments, only disturbed by hair nails ticking against each other, she gasped loudly, hands curled into fists.
"Kanji, you're a genius!!" she skidded closer to him and gave him a biiiiiiiiiiiig hug "This is great -- nobody's ever thought of THAT before I bet!! Hahaha!" she let go of him and joyfully skipped on her legs in place.
"Get this -- colorblind people perceive colors different, right? So! Why not make a clothing line that actually is adjusted with its pallete to how they see? Like, I've seen some games and stuff do that as an option, so why shouldn't clothes be this way? Huh? Huh?? Whaddaya think?" she was beaming, her face flushed gently with excitement, hands resting on her cheeks.
Only then did she address Kanji's apology and brushed the matter off with a wave of her hand. "Pshaw, don't worry about it! I needed a little thwacking over the head anyway for letting it get to me. And duh, 'course you are the expert! I mean, who else would I ever ask about something like that? My business consultants are scared to point out my mistakes sometimes, so, y'know, who better than a friend to do so?" she grinned, and poked him in the stomach playfully.
"Fiiiiine -- we both work just as hard! Good enough?"
Oh…so this really was about clothes?
He stepped back, hands still on her shoulders, so they were an arm/s length apart, giving the clothes a better look over. While all too aware her cooking skills left a lot to be desired, her sense of fashion was better, and Rise certainly knew how to dress herself. Granted, the color choices of the outfit were a little odd…very odd…but outfit design itself wasn’t unflattering. Kanji gave a little sigh.
“You are working hard. There almost isn’t a week that goes by where I don’t hear news on some big thing yer doin’. But you need to take it easy, or otherwise run the risk of workin’ yourself into the ground.” Like he was one to talk; he was too prideful and caught up in his own personal reasons to hire help around the store. “And the clothes look fine. Sometimes things that look good on mannequins or models don’t look good on other people. Doesn’t mean you won’t also get people who’ll come along and appreciate it.” He takes his hands off her shoulders and sticks them in his pockets. “…and Rise, you’re not helpless. You’re very capable of a lot of things. Except for pickin’ out matchin’ colors maybe, but…” he grinned, hoping to lighten up her mood.
Rise subconsciously pulled at the edges of her dress, giving it a very serious look, a small pout forming on her face as she thought very deeply about what Kanji had said.
"--...now that I look at it, this shade of green doesn't exactly go that great with... purple..." she mumbled, looking herself over as best as she could without a mirror. ...it was only then that she saw just how horrid the color choice was, and only because no one thought to tell her that before the projects were accepted! What, did they think she was gonna be upset over that? Well... maybe she would be, just a little, but sheesh!
She straightened herself, finally, dusting her clothes off a bit before looking up at Kanji again, a small smile on her face.
"...thanks. Can you believe no one even questioned this design for two seconds when I was submitting it? Guess they really trust me with what I'm doing... but even I wouldn't go as far as to say that uh, this choice of colors is going to be the new fad."
Not unless someone was blind.
"I didn't mean to yell at you... sorry." she tipped her head in apology, fingers lacing behind her back before she looked up on him again. "It means... a lot to me that my work is recognized, you know? Especially coming from someone who works even harder than I do." she grinned, too, giggling a little bit.
✿ thebearinthemoon ✿
"H-hey!!" Great, now Rise was crying. And squeezing him. "I-it’s not your fault!" Being treated like this by Rise was pretty embarrassing for him. Actually, he hated having to explain to his friends what’s happened in this world because this is exactly what happens when he does.
…The worst part was that they would think he was completely innocent. They haven’t seen how he really behaves. Shame washed over him. As much as he hated them thinking he was innocent, he also didn’t want them to know how much he’s changed. The ones who already do know are the reason why.
"Y-you don’t have to pity me! I’m fine! I mean, I’m not alone here." Teddie started squirming, hoping to break free of the hug.
"I know it's not!! But it doesn't make me feel any better about it!" she sniffed and pulled away, two hands at her eyes as she rubbed them, trying to calm herself down. "I'm not pitying you...! It's... it's something called empathy, y'know?"
She understood what he meant, though. She knew why it felt like she was pitying him, and, well... if this was the reaction he was getting from everyone, it sort of made sense that he'd be sick of it. With another long sniff, she fished out a tissue from her pocket and blew her nose. Not a very becoming sight of an idol, but she cared very little among her friends. It wasn't as if there were any paparazzis in the TV World, anyway, right?
"...you're not alone?" she asked, only then realizing that he had said something along those lines. "You mean, there's somebody who hasn't turned into a shadow?"
what are words? we just don’t know.
Kanji just stood there as Rise continued to shout at him, knowing better than to talk back. With the way she was making this a bigger deal then it should have been, it didn’t take a genius to figure out there was something else entirely that was upsetting her. The watery look in her eyes only added to his suspicions.
He let her finish before approaching her and lightly resting his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her and forcing eye contact. “Look, I dunno what happened, but you have always looked wonderful…been wonderful. Even right now, you’re a damn gorgeous woman. Whoever told you otherwise is kidding themselves.” He blushed a little at his own words, but said nothing else. This wasn’t about him right now.
"Kanji..."
It was when his hands rested on her shoulders that she seemed to have calmed down a little bit, her eyes locked with her friend's. Her expression softening a bit as she rubbed away a stray tear that managed to roll down her cheek, she mustered up a small smile.
"----I'm sorry." she sighed, lowering her head a bit "I just-- I've been working so hard on this, you know?" she gestured to the clothes she'd been wearing "It's my own line of clothes! I was so proud of it, but then... people have been messaging the company that the clothes are very unflattering to the figure and... I-I don't know, is that true? That's why I asked..."
"...I should've just come to you for help before I even thought to go through with this, huh."
Kanji jumped at the sudden slam of the door and stepped back a couple of steps away from the idol. “The hell?! You came all the way over here just to ask me that?” He looked her up and down and kept his hands up in defense, a little more than afraid of what she might do. His voice squeaked. “And you know that isn’t a fair question!”
"So what if I did!?" she huffed, pacing around for a moment before standing still again, stretching her arms out to give him a good view of her.
"Don't gimme that crap, I'm asking a legitimate question! I need to know, OK? It's not like I'll bite your head off if you say it DOES make me look fat!" she looked really upset, and if Kanji looked really closely he might have seen that she was trying really hard to blink back tears. "So!? Just tell me!!"
✿ thebearinthemoon ✿
Oh boy. He was going to have to explain this again, wasn’t he? At least it was easier with people from different worlds, but different timelines made it even more complicated. He let out an exasperated sigh.
"That’s because this place isn’t okay. This is what happens if you don’t stop Adachi.” Well, in his case it was because someone went and threw Namatame into the TV and they never got the opportunity to even find out Adachi was the culprit, but Teddie wasn’t about to tell Rise that. “The human world becomes covered in fog, everyone turns into Shadows. It’s been like this for years, I’m pretty sure. I haven’t bothered keeping track.”
The bear’s ears twitched slightly as he quickly started again. “But I’m in the process of trying to fix everything, so you don’t have to worry. I’ve got help.” He was reluctant to mention Aigis specifically, as he was sure Rise would pick up on his feelings for her.
The very first thing Teddie had said was enough for Rise's face to lose all color, and for her eyes to widen in terror of a mere idea of the scenario he proposed. He couldn't possibly have been serious, could he!? A reality where... they didn't stop Adachi...?
But that would explain everything, wouldn't it? The fog, the desolation of the area, and-- and the fact that her friend's eyes were tinted with that sickly shade of yellow that still left her cringing when she so much as thought about it. "Everyone... turns into Shadows because we... oh no..." The weight of the concept made something twist within her, tears welling up in her eyes as she held her hands to her face, her neatly done nails reflecting the dim light of the Electronic's Department. She never even considered such a thing, not even for a moment... but there it was, a world they didn't manage to save... and her sweet, dear Teddie was still there, all of this on his shoulders as he tried his best to patch up this broken reality. He said he had help, but--
Without giving it any more thought, Rise fell to her knees and pulled the bear into a close hug, pressing her face against his fur. It was horrible, so horrible...!!
"T-Teddie... I'm so sorry...!"
✿ thebearinthemoon ✿
Teddie edged back a little as Rise examined him. Was that really necessary? Well, it was obvious now she noticed what was different about him. Actually, she looked different too. Older, in fact.
"I’m fine. I’m a little… different, but I’m not dangerous or anything…" That was a lie. He was dangerous, but the last thing he wanted to do was scare Rise. “Anyways, it sounds like this is your first time wandering into a different timeline. As strange as it is, this is where I belong. You really shouldn’t worry about it.”
Rise couldn't help but to tip her head to the side, one eyebrow rising as she tried making sense of what he'd been saying. Her lips pursing into a mildly annoyed pout, she straightened herself and folder arms across her chest. This... wasn't something she'd come across every day, not only Teddie acting like this but also... the other side being so foggy. And this place looked like... it was Junes, wasn't it? So how come was it so broken and torn down...?
"Y'know, 's a little much to ask of me not to worry about my friend in such circumstances." she said finally, her fingers lacing together behind her back, her expression shadowed with concern. "I don't really get what you mean by timelines, but..." But didn't she, really? She did have a vague memory of some talk of different ways things could have gone, that every situation opens endless possibilites and roads that may or may not be taken... has she somehow wandered into a possibilty such as that?
"Aaanyway, this place doesn't really feel... OK."
✿ thebearinthemoon ✿
Was that…? “Rise? What are you doing here?” This wasn’t good. She shouldn’t be here, especially not by herself. “Look, you need to get out of here. It’s not safe. I’ll get you to Junes and you can leave through the TV there.” She was probably going to ask a lot of questions, such as why he wasn’t going to go back with her, but he couldn’t afford to have her stay here with Shadows prowling about.
Well, that wasn't what she had expected to hear from the bear, not one bit! She should know how dangerous the TV World could get, but it wasn't as if she couldn't take care of herself! Teddie knew better than that! Having walked closer to him she hunched over, hands resting on her knees as she looked into his face-- why were his eyes so----...
...wait, huh? That wasn't right at all!
"Teddie, are you OK?" she asked, uncertainty in her voice as her heightened senses picked up on something strange about both the bear and the area. Where in the world had she wandered off to...?
"Just a reminder that I'm a l s o here, everybody~"
loversidol said: "Oh gosh! That sucks. I’m sorry future me! Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Haha, nah, no need to be sorry! 'S just how that goes I guess. But just make sure to be 100% certain if a guy you're trying to hit on even likes girls before you set your eyes on him, OK?"