Do You Have Nightmares Too? [Ji-Soo/Yusuko K.]

[Ji-Soo]

Ice cream. Ice cream always made everything better. Ji-Soo thanked the man at the convenience store with a nod as he grabbed his fudgsicle ice cream from the counter. It was still the middle of spring and the cool breeze that brushed by when he stepped outside was reminder of that. However, chilly or not, after the week he'd had, the second year honestly needed the treat. The weekend had started out so normally, he wasn't sure where it had gone so wrong. The second year had only wanted to greet his friends and hang out with some classmates and then things had all gone fuzzy from there. Nothing good had come out of it.

Oh, wasn't that? Images of a vicious sneer fighting again Miuna, Junko and Daichi overlapped with the girl he saw walking one street over. Wasn't she the other one who- That was definitely her, the one who'd gotten corrupted as well. His memory during that portion of time was frighteningly clear and vivid; nightmares for the first few days was such a common thing. At least in the first few days after the incident, Ji-Soo'd had Takeo by his side to help him through it and take care of him. What about this girl, was anyone there for her? Without a second thought, the Korean boy scratched out a quick note and walked up to her holding the book out. "Are you okay?" was all the page said.

[Yasuko Kobayashi]

Her memory was fuzzy. Not at all really clear. Whatever happened at the library was something Yasuko couldn't quite remember. She certainly remembered grabbing the cool library door handles, wanting to scream at the assumed "students" doing a ghost prank, before they were flung open with force, spilling black smoke everywhere. And she remembered something about strange costumes and a couple of other Seiyo students before she had passed out on the floor. But anything else in between that...barely anything. Or rather, she couldn't get further into those memories without recoiling drastically, attempting to calm herself down from the feelings of fear, sadness and anger that overwhelmed her.

She remembered waking up in the infirmary sometime later, drowsy and disorientated, only to shoot bolt upright in panic as she wondered where and how she got there in the first place. Only to cower back with a headache, rubbing her temples as she waited for it to pass. It was only then she realised that there was someone else in the sickbay too; a female first-year with long dark hair. But she was covered in bruises and wounds everywhere, prompting Yasuko to wonder what in the world happened to her. With a sombre expression, she had told her what had happened down at the library.

Yasuko had been discharged rather quickly from the infirmary soon after, for she wasn't at all hurt and all her tests had come back normal. Tugging on her school uniform, she took one look back at the dormitories. Being at the infirmary wasn't the most pleasant of ideas, but as her eyes cast over the school, she had an immediate feeling of dread. Remembering all of the fear and sadness and anger that she felt...

Turning, she went off in the direction of town instead. Perhaps it was best if she stayed away from school for now. Scratching her head as she walked down the street, she pondered her options. Honestly, this was all on a whim and she had no idea where to go. Should she roam the mall or something? Or buy supplies? Not that she needed any really...

She would have continued thinking if not for realising that there was someone else walking up to her. A tall boy with a book. With a Seiyo uniform. She blinked, before she stared at the words on its page. Are you okay? it said. She stared at it silently, almost as if she didn't know what to say to it. She had just gotten out of the infirmary and suddenly someone came up to her asking how she was. In some ways, she was feeling a little panicky. Who was this boy? And how did he know? Was it because she looked sad?

But he seemed pretty familiar...And he was wearing his Seiyo Uniform. So he went to the same high school too? Was it possible...that he was present at the library at the same time she was? It sounded like a heck of a coincidence - almost like out of a typical high school novel - and Yasuko would have laughed at that if she wasn't feeling terrible since the whole thing happened. "I..." she started, before shaking her head. "I'm sorry I...were you..." there was a pause. "Were you there, too?"

[Ji-Soo]

The moment the girl’s critical glance caught his line of sight, it made Ji-Soo’s blood freeze. Had she known exactly who he had been? Panic made him stop in his tracks for a second, ready to bolt should she hold any hostile resentment towards him. Yet, it turned out to not be the case at all, she had simply been trying to see if she’d recognized him.

A smile of relief tugged at the corner of his lips, before being abruptly pulled into a line instead. It seemed like the girl didn’t have the same clarity of memories as he did for that day, and in some way, he was happy for her; but smiling when she looked dazed and lost didn’t seem appropriate. A quick nod in answer of her question and moments later, a new note appeared in front of the first year. “Yeah, I was there too. My name’s Kim, Ji-Soo,” the top line read. Better to introduce himself first so he didn’t seem like some nosey stranger from Seiyo. The next line directly below that read, “I was wondering if you’re okay… with everything that happened. Do you remember much about it at all?”

Maybe Ji-Soo was pushing the topic a bit more forcefully than he should have been, but the boy was determined to be there if the girl was ever going to remember the incident. Better someone who understood exactly how it felt and could sympathize with than to be alone and dismissed if she remembered on her own another time and place. Hopefully the saying that ignorance is bliss held true for the most part though.

[Yasuko Kobayashi]

Yasuko first stared at him before looking at the book in his hands as he started to write a new note on it. Why was he doing that? she wondered, an expression of confusion on her face. Was there a problem with talking? Or maybe he had some kind of throat infection that made it difficult to talk for a while? But he seemed to scribble pretty quickly on that book--

She would certainly have pondered on it more, if not for the next note that the boy had shown to her. And perhaps, she was less concerned about it because she was far more preoccupied with the fact that the tall male had asked her something related to the incident in the library. It was only then did she realised that if he was there, then that must mean he must know more about the whole thing than she did. But...what...what exactly did he know? There was a sudden swell of apprehension inside of her; anticipation over what he might possibly know and yet nervous at the same time of what exactly he did know. And she was...afraid of that.

Shaking her head, she realised she was being a little rude by not offering her name. "Oh, um...!" she finally said, a hand pushing the stray lock away from her face. "J...Ji-Soo...?" she inquired, not at all sure if she pronounced it right. That...didn't sound Japanese. Was that...Korean? Chinese? Though should she ask about that? The last two time she asked, the first had completely ignored the question and the next...well the next was a jerk so maybe he didn't count. But what was more pressing was...really about the incident rather than the Seiyo student's name. "I'm...Kobayashi Yasuko," she offered, a hand on her chest automatically. It was only polite to reciprocate with her own name after all.

His next question though, made her quiet. Honestly, she didn't remember much; most of what she knew was simply supplemented by Miuna's reiteration of the whole event. Assuming that she told her everything that is... "I...I'm not sure, I have to admit," she answered, her brow furrowing and her hand instinctively going up to her face as if doing so would help her remember what had happened. "I just...remember hearing those strange voices and I thought they were just, you know, one of those silly students playing a prank. So I went to the library to tell them off, but suddenly the doors just burst open and there was--" she stopped abruptly, before taking in a deep breath. This was where she had a problem remembering the incident; she would suddenly be overwhelmed by feelings of sadness, anger and fear...and she couldn't go past them.

"--there was...some kind of black smoke..." she continued, her voice becoming softer as she tried to explain without being overpowered by the negative emotions. "...And..." she stopped once more, before she shook her head and averted her gaze. "...I can't remember. I only remember something about people in funny costumes and some other Seiyo students before I passed out," she said, frustration evident in her voice. She hated when this happened; the fact that she couldn't remember a thing, but if it was something that affected her so much, certainly she should know why, shouldn't she? But if she couldn't even get past such emotions, she couldn't find out what was causing it, was it? And yet it was precisely those emotions that was preventing her from finding out - and that gave her great frustration. "Next thing I know, I woke up in the infirmary." Her hands were thrown up in the air, as if showing how frustrated she was.

[Ji-Soo]

Ji-Soo could see the girl's face twist in pain and frustration as she tried to pull out the memories of hate and despair. The way her eyebrows furrowed and mouth pressed a little firmer, every detail was caught in the few moment of hyper consciousness for the Korean. He knew that look way too well; he had seen it in the mirror every morning for a few days after the incident after all. It twisted a knot in the bottom of his stomach to realize that even though they these weren't his memories, the emotions that it evoked in him were no less dull or faded as one would think as time went on.

What could he honestly tell her. That she was a monster for a few minutes and that she tried to hurt people? How much could he tell her until it was decided that ignorance would be a better option? Ji-Soo started to write at a slow pace. "Those negative emotions you probably feel weren't you. There were some bad eggs and they tried to-" He paused for a second to pick his next words carefully before he continued to write, "hurt both of us, which is why you might not remember much."

It was hard, a lot more difficult to write out than he had anticipated. Why. The crinkling sound of plastic caught his attention. Casting his eyes away, Ji-Soo realized that in his hands was still the uneaten fudgsicle ice cream in white wrappings. Without a second thought, the boy broke the two-sticked frozen treat in half and pushed the other one forward to Yasuko. The second-year wasn't entirely sure why he was doing this. Was he trying to provide solace to her? Or maybe it was a form of showing empathy in a shared experience. The state his mind was in now didn't provide him with enough capacity of rationalize his reasons and actions, so he just settled with holding the stick out with a sad smile.

[Yasuko Kobayashi]

Instinctively, her hands reached up to hold herself, as if by doing so she could protect herself from the memories. Of hurt, of pain, of sadness, of fear...of emotions she didn't quite understand but that she had been overwhelmed by. The silence by the other student made her feel worse. She didn't know what the other boy was writing in his sketchbook, but hearing nothing but the sound of a pen scratching upon paper made her feel more acutely aware of what she had just said to him. That she had just spilled how she felt that day before, to a person whom she didn't recognise - only trusting him based on the fact that he said - or rather wrote - that he was present at the incident too.

Now she was second-guessing her quick decision. And regretting ever talking about it. Although it was likely that not much time had passed while the other teenager was writing, she felt that she was standing in silence for hours. And she averted her gaze, her eyes on the floor, wondering what the boy would say. Or write. What the other boy knew. What the other boy felt about it all. What the boy thought about it all.

What the boy thought about her.

But hearing the sound of a plastic wrap being opened, she looked up - and came face-to-face with a broken half of a fudgsicle. Ice-cream. Did he finish writing? Did he show the sketchbook to her? She didn't know, but she reached up to take the stick that he offered. Noticing the sad smile on his face as she did so. Staring at the frozen treat in her hand. Why was he doing this? What did he hope to achieve by giving her this?

But there it was, a fudgsicle in her hand. A dessert that would melt if she didn't eat it quickly. Her favourite treat. And she couldn't let it go to waste, even if she wasn't sure why the other was offering it. And so, she quickly bit into it.

It was cold - cold like she had expected - but also sweet, like how it should be. A simple frozen treat that had a tendency to be mostly sweet than the flavour of what it was advertised to be. But to taste something that was at first cold, and then sweet dissipated the feelings away. All of the hurt and pain; the fear and sadness; the memories - letting it flow away. The first time since she was out of the infirmary that she had tasted something so strongly like that. Something that she was familiar with; something that hadn't changed - a cold sweet popsicle. Yet, the taste felt bittersweet; melancholic, like it wasn't quite the same.

She wasn't quite the same.

The stick rested in her mouth, just as it did when she bit into the ice cream. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes, before the melting treat in her mouth prompted it to flow instead. Down her face. Crying.

[Ji-Soo]

He was quiet, not that he wasn't always, but more so than usual. The air hung with a heavy silence that almost made it seem like he was intruding on Kobasyashi's private moment. The background sounds of the lively downtown area just fluttered in and out of his hearing now, continuing around them ignorant about what was happening. Ji-Soo wasn't sure what to do at this point - standing there with a popsicle in one hand and a crying girl by his side. He knew this was coming, he had expected this to and a small part of him wanted this to happen in all honesty. A person couldn't go through something so traumatizing and not become emotional. At least the girl didn't seem to suffer from nightmares, yet anyways.

By now, the girl was too distraught to pay attention and focus on his writing, the boy was sure about that. That meant he couldn't 'talk' to her anymore. At times like this was when he cursed his inability to speak the most. How could he calm her down. She needed to be grounded right now and hear what he needed to say, but when she could hardly see past tears, how was that going to ever happen? How? HOW?

It only took moments before a determined look flashed onto Ji-Soo's face, realizing what he could do. Teeth gripped onto the cold popsicle suspending the treat. With hands now free, the Korean boy gently guided the girl to a low stone wall and had her sit in the shade of it and out of glaring sun. Finally digging into his pockets for his phone, untangling the chords and pressing a few buttons. Two white headphones were settled into the first year's ear a soft tune floating out. (This Song)

If Ji-Soo couldn't talk to her, he would borrow the words of others to do so.

[Yasuko Kobayashi]

It was difficult to stop. Her hand reached up instinctively, as if to try to wipe the salty droplets away. But her tears kept pouring out; trailing streaks of water down her cheeks; the sweetness of the popsicle no longer on her tongue. The bit that she had bitten off had dissolved away now, and all she could taste was the wooden sting of the stick - she didn't move to try to eat the other parts of the ice cream, taking the treat out of her mouth. Instead, she just stood there, the fudgicle now in her hand, crying rivers of tears. She couldn't hear the noise of the world around her - the jingle of shop doors, the tapping of shoes onto concrete, the incomprehensible voices of people talking. All she could hear was her own sobbing, and the feeling of her hands trying to rub away the tears that still flowed.

She didn't know what to do at this moment. She wanted to stop crying. An adult shouldn't cry right? No adult cries in the middle of a public street. But yet, here she was, doing that exact same thing. And in front of a stranger - not even just a stranger, but a student from Seiyo even. What was he going to think of all this? That she was a terrible crybaby? That she was a child?

Yet she couldn't stop crying.

But she was surprised to feel soft hands; hands that slowly took her out of the hot sun rays. Gently being guided to sit down. A cold, stony, irregular seat. It wasn't a bench, was it? She didn't know. But her mind was far too occupied; too chaotic with the feelings she felt; and the crying she kept on doing. She didn't register what the boy was doing. Not even barely a flinch as two headphones were placed in her ears.

The sound of the piano hit her first, bringing her mind out of the mangled state it was in. A tune that sounded terribly melancholic and sad. But strangely foreign to her ears. Music shouldn't be something that was strange, but perhaps she had grown used to the hustle and bustle of a busy infirmary, the sound of wheels on the floor; the plastic rings of curtains being drawn; the clanging of metal kidney dishes and the moans and groans of patients. The song felt new and yet so strange. Her sobbing slowly stopped; her tears reducing to single streaks; her hands stopping as she listened to the song.

The chorus hit her once more. She didn't quite understand these words; they were in a different language were they? but the notes, the emotion, the voice, the snapping of the fingers in the background - it drowned out the world around her. It made a different emotion well up; a feeling she didn't know how to describe, but it just made her cry again. Yet it wasn't the same sobbing cry; just a silent cry, of her tears quietly falling down her face.

The quiet, soft ending brought her back again, back to the world. Her eyes were still moistened with tears, but she had stopped crying now; her vision able to see the boy in front of her. The sounds of the world settled back in; though the volume was soft because of the headphones in her ears. She stared back at the male student, not really sure what to say, before averted her gaze down to her lap. Quiet. But calm.

[Ji-Soo]

Ji-Soo watched in wonder as the tiny flits of emotion over Kobayashi's face. The small scrunches of her eyebrows and twitch of her lips. All the small details that made up a whole as she slowly seemed to collect herself back to the present. He knew words always helped more; he himself had none to spar though, so music was the best he could offer.

From his crosslegged position on the ground, Ji-Soo tipped his head backwards to stare up a the stray clouds directly under the sun rays. The rare one crossed the sky in a slow crawl. It was unfair really; the world continued on peacefully like nothing ever happened while people around him were simply suffering in a bubble. It took about another moment before the younger girl in front of him collected herself enough to focus on his presence there. A sun bath smile was all that stared back as Kobayashi. A hint of melancholy marred it, but it was grown out of positive determination when the Korean student stood up and offered her a hand to start heading back to campus.

Ji-Soo had already suffered through and gotten past his scar from the event, but that didn't mean other people would too. Other people, students, friends might end up in the same position as the girl who sat in front of him. Kobayashi showed him exactly that today, and from that moment, Ji-Soo's original reasons for coming to Seiyo were completely forgotten as a new objective grew silently in the corners of his mind.

'I want to stop this pain.'

[Yasuko Kobayashi]

Her gaze still on her lap, a hand gently rolling the wire back and forth between her fingers. The other went up to her face, lightly brushing away the tears from her eyes, sniffing as she did so. She wasn't sure what to say at this moment. Now that she had cried her feelings out, all she felt now was simply embarrassment at the fact that she had cried in front of somebody. She was supposed to be an independent adult by now; an adult shouldn't cry after all. Would the boy judge her for that? Would he say something about it?

A hand in her vision made her look up. At the other boy's face. All there was, was a warm smile. Not a face of one who would judge her harshly.

She looked back at the hand offered to her. Slowly, she reached out, to take it. Quietly following the other boy without a word.