[01] a dream is a wish your heart makes

[judicialassistant]

Sender: Susato Mikotoba
To: Everyone
Subject: Passive dream recording
Notes: Based on an AU idea and thus deviates from canon. Susato "inherits" Kazuma's resolve upon his mysterious death and faces some opposition in trying to take his place in Great Britain.


* * * * *
"Preposterous." The words were practically spat as the scene hazily came into view. An older male voice spoke, voice nasaly and unpleasant, though his features were obscured.

"Why?" A second man, recognizable to those in Reverein as Yujin Mikotoba, responded. His tone was more polite than was deserved.

"You know our laws."

"I know that women are subject to the same laws as we men," Yujin argued, "and yet none are afforded the same right to even set foot inside the courtroom to aid in their own defense. Why do you suppose that is?"

"It matters not, professor." The first man, now with a pair of glasses and other recognizable features, shook his head grimly. "A boy is dead. Now is simply not the time for her childish fantasies."

"That boy was like her brother," Yujin said, unable to mask the offense and growing irritation in his voice. "Susato has studied all the same texts, the same laws. She learned a second language in order to be able to assist him. Who better to take his place in the exchange and finish what he started?"

"We have plenty students of law at Yumei who would qualify. Male students."

"None with his resolve." Yujin spoke immediately with confidence, as he looked to his daughter with pride. "Nor hers."

Susato didn't react, remaining stoic as she accepted judgement. She was angry. First at her loss, and then that her hard work would be reduced to this, a petty argument to prove her worth. The more she showed that anger, though, the worse it would be, so outwardly, she only clenches her fist, tugging the edge of her kimono.

"...That is okay, father. I understand." Susato spoke calmly, as someone who has already made her decision. "I understand that they do not wish for me to practice law in Japan--but the way I see it, I am leaving anyway, so this argument is irrelevant. I do not expect to be back until I find the truth he sought."

The voice. Follow the voice, to Great Britain. Susato turned to leave, with Yujin reaching for her moments after, but both stopped at the same nasaly voice.

"Our agreement for the exchange still requires that you have an assistant!"
.
Yujin sighed, sensing the older man's desperation at bringing up such a trivial matter.

"Ah... as it so happens, I know just the young man," Yujin said. "Kazuma's best friend, in fact. I believe he was caught trying to board the steamship already..."

His voice seems to trail off, vibrating as the scene flickers. In the final moment, an image of boy in a black student's uniform appears with his signature wide eyes; but the image statics as Susato stirs in the real world.

Then it fades away abruptly as she awakens with a start.

* * * * *


[ Susato's eyes spring open to the familiar darkness in her room. Even as memories of the dream start to fracture and fade, she tries to make sense of everything she just saw. None of that actually happened, right? Yet somehow, it didn't feel too far off the mark, and she can't seem to decide whether she is thankful for that, or woefully disappointed.

She's never had her dream recorded before, but rather than act embarrassed or ashamed, she just shuts her journal with an apologetic sigh to no one in particular.

Instead, she grabs another journal--a normal one--along with a quill, and starts writing down anything she can remember. ]

Comments

[Action]

[chippedsoul]

[...Well, that looked like something he wasn't meant to see. Indirectly it also involved him. Were these her desires during his absence...? When the dream ends abruptly, he closes his journal, leaning back in his seat. She must be awake. Would she want to see him after that? Well, he can at least check in on her. They don't need to talk about it.

He'll leave the guest room and make his way to Susato's, gently knocking at her door.] It's me.

[judicialassistant]

[ Susato isn't exactly paying attention to what time it may be. She doesn't exactly think it's a coincidence though that the knock comes after her dream recording. Even now, she's trying to capture it into words for her dream journal, but stops her quill when she recognizes the voice. ]

Kazuma-sama?

[ She'd been iffy about allowing boys into her personal living space in the past, but this is Kazuma. She doesn't really think much of it as she opens the door. She's still holding the quill in her hand when she does. ]

...Have the nightmares started again?

[ Said the girl who had the dream tonight. It feels so inconsequential by comparison, though; she can still imagine Kazuma's expression from when she found him in the garden. ]

[chippedsoul]

[He half expected for her to open the door to be honest.]

Ah, no...I was actually here to see how you're doing. [Let me talk about that dream without talking about the dream.]

[judicialassistant]

[ Oh. Right. So, that was definitely a thing that everyone saw then, Kazuma included... She blanks for a moment, staring at her quill, like it'd just occurred to her that she could just watch the journal playback of her own dream, rather than writing based on her imperfect memory.

(But what fun would that be?)

After a brief moment of brain fog, Susato steps back, opening the door to her room a little wider. A small inviting smile illuminated her face, knowing that he'd gone out of his way to come over. ]

Would you like to come in for a while?

[chippedsoul]

...If it's all right with you. [There was a slight bit of hesitance there. Even back home, he never ventured into her room, for understandable reasons. He takes another moment, to be sure it's really ok before taking a step inside. He tries not to look over her room too much, but knowing the kind of person she is, the setup is about as he imagined.]

Is there somewhere you would like me to sit?

[Action]

[professorbestie]

[Even through the haze of his own dreams, Yujin had still picked up on the one that was 'transmitted' by his daughter in the room next to his own. In fact, for a great portion of it, he'd mistaken it as one of his own. It wasn't until the dream was nearly over that he'd felt Susato's presence and understood what it meant. He'd considered going to see her now that she was awake, but decided not to when he heard the door to Kazuma's room open. Reassured that she was in good hands, he'd drifted back into a slumber of his own.

Now morning has dawned and it's time for breakfast. Fully dressed, he leaves his room to see whether she's awake yet. If not, he can always prepare some food for her.]

[judicialassistant]

[ Susato is an early riser on her best days, and the Wild Harvest certainly helped to keep that sense of responsibility alive. That said, she also had a really strange dream, which she also found kind of cool at the same time, and there was a part of her that didn't know what to do with that. She appreciated Kazuma's company for this, but them staying up and talking also meant... well, who knows when she went to sleep.

Like a teenager, she comes out of her room after Yujin. Her hair is still down; a little messy, but in that cute, typical Asian way. Already smelling breakfast, she winces, appearing in the doorway to the kitchen with an apologetic bow. ]

G, Good morning... would you like me to help? I didn't mean to oversleep.

[professorbestie]

[In truth, Yujin is relieved that Susato wakes after him, especially during such turbulent times. The more rest she gets, the better. And indeed, who knows how long she was up after that curious dream?

By the time she leaves her room, breakfast is already being finished. It's steamed rice (with mod approval!), a plate of pickled vegetables and another plate of fluffy tamagoyaki. Yujin just needs to scoop the rice into the bowls. He'll pause his actions to shoot a warm smile her way, though.]

Good morning. Please, don't worry about it. I'm almost done. I was just about to come wake you, as a matter of fact. Your timing is impeccable.

[judicialassistant]

[ Oh, father... you're making her rather homesick this morning. The typical Japanese breakfast makes her stomach grumble slightly, so of course she can't help but going to take a closer look. She also can't bring herself to just... sit, and wait for the food to be brought to her. She wasn't raised that way!

...So she'll totally be helping Yujin take the food to the table where they can eat. Before that though, she'll put up her hair up to keep it out of the way during breakfast, using the gorgeous hairpiece that Kazuma gifted her for Christmas. It's difficult to tell with the morning sun, but it glows faintly when she puts it in. ]

Thank you... but I can at least help you take some of this to the table. Have you been awake long?

[professorbestie]

[Yup, Susato's grandmother certainly raised her to be the perfect courteous young lady. Yujin still feels terrible guilt over the fact that he wasn't there for those first six years, but at the same time, he knows he wouldn't have done even half as good a job. Seeing how well Susato has turned out now, perhaps it was for the best. Or perhaps that's just meager justification.

Regardless, he continues scooping the rice into clean bowls for them. The vegetables and tamagoyaki are already served up and ready to be taken to the table, if Susato wants.]

Only about as long as it took to prepare breakfast. ...Did you sleep well last night?

Sender: Daley Vigil

[buriedvigil]

[He's trying to make sense of everything here. For once, he actually recognizes most of the people in this dream, but the context is definitely not something he's familiar with. A boy that died? Is it Mr. Asogi or someone else entirely?

Also, if it is Mr. Asogi, does Miss Mikotoba only see him as brother figure....]

Miss Mikotoba? I apologize if I'm overstepping here, but it seems like you were having a nightmare of sorts. Or perhaps a memory...?

[judicialassistant]

[ Speaking of Asogi... he sure did happen.

With her having set the journal aside, tidying up for an impromptu visit to her room, Vigil won't get an answer until later. She uses the light of the special bookmark Ryunosuke gave her, choosing to leave the lights in her room off. ]

You're up late, Mr Vigil! Not to worry, you haven't overstepped. I should be the one to apologize, if the recording disturbed you...

I'm still trying to make sense of it myself, but it is not a memory. I don't know that I would call it a nightmare, either. It was quite strange.

[buriedvigil]

[It's not too long after that Susato gets a message back, the writing neat as ever despite the time of night.]

Not at all, I was already awake when I've witnessed the recording. [He... won't get into that, because they're definitely talking about her!!]

If neither a memory or a nightmare, then was it simply a dream?

1/2

[judicialassistant]

[ Why must they talk about her!! She's still coming to terms with the fact that maybe just being an assistant wasn't enough for her anymore, but sometimes she truly wishes to just fade into obscurity. ]

I believe so. [ END OF DISCUSSION except now she's thinking about the differences between her dream and what she remembers of what actually happened... she should make notes on that, too. ] Kazuma-sama and I were already on the SS Burya, for one, when the unfortunate events unfolded.

[judicialassistant]

Also, he did not actually die.

[ Not sure that counts as a difference, though, considering no one knew it at the time. ]

[buriedvigil]

[Yes, he's certainly glad that Mr. Asogi did not actually die. That would make a lot of his conversations he's had with him suddenly awkward. Speaking with people that are about to die isn't something new to him, but knowing that they're actually dead? Very different.

...

He's getting off track here, in his own mind.

Although, it's very disappointing to hear that she only views Kazuma as a brother figure.....]

Mr. Asogi is quite healthy from what I've seen of him here, I'm glad that he's not in such peril back home. Although, was he hurt badly in some manner before?

action; 2/3

[ragingscoopaholic]

Hey, so what was up with that dream last night?

[She's waiting outside the cafe, after their shifts, the dream she saw of Susato's still on her mind. Though with how busy work has been, she's hardly had time to ask, and their breaks didn't really match up.

... Hopefully it's okay to ask. They've been taking Blossom on weekly walks and talking often, and now they work together, so it seems fine to ask? She's concerned, of course, and perhaps a little annoyed by what she saw in the dream with how her friend was treated.]

[judicialassistant]

Dream?

[ Susato takes one last look behind her as she leaves the Wild Harvest behind, a quick mental check in case she might've forgotten anything. She'd tossed on her purple shawl and clipped it like usual, because even though it wasn't really snowing anymore, it still feels chilly with the rain. She's just adjusting her hair piece when she joins Leia.

It takes that extra second, with the work day still on her mind, but then she remembers. ]

Oh, you mean mine. [ Damn. Everyone, huh? ] ...You saw it, did you?

[ragingscoopaholic]

[Susato's hair piece is so cute, and when she looks at it, she's reminded that she intended to bring up the whole Kazuma thing.]

I think most people did, unfortunately. But it's okay if you don't wanna talk about it. It sounded kinda rough.

[She pulls her own jacket tightly around her before they start walking.]

[judicialassistant]

[ It is the cutest goddamn hair piece, and she will wear it every day. Probably has. She shakes her head, though. ]

No, it's alright. It's not a time in my life I like to think about, but things didn't quite happen that way anyway. It's not a memory.

[ She'd like to dismiss it just based on that alone, but of course...... ]

Even so, I suppose my subconscious did get one thing right.

[ragingscoopaholic]

[She doesn't know enough about Susato to make any sort of educated guess, and considering the context of the dream... she's not sure if she wants to make the wrong guess.]

Which part?

sender: Ferran

[noblegarnet]

[That sure is some stuff that Ferran has no context for. But he does have some opinions, which he will be glad to share the next morning:]

That guy with the topknot needs to get with the times. Women make great lawyers.

[judicialassistant]

[ Ferran can't exactly see it, the message makes her smile. Unfortunately his response won't come 'til a bit later, since Susato has hardly the type to ignore her father during breakfast, aaand also the Wild Harvest is a thing. ]

Do we? Where I'm from, we wouldn't know. But it's... [ a pause, her quill seems to tap in place, waiting for further instructions. ] Let's just say it's something we're working on.

[ We? Who's we? She doesn't seem to specify, but she does seem apologetic as she continues. Trying out the new self-writing quills she picked up for herself has actually been a lot of fun! ]

I apologize that you had to see that. You'll be happy to know he doesn't have that topknot anymore.

[ Thanks, bro :') ]

[noblegarnet]

[Ferran is perfectly fine with being left on read for a while. He can be patient.]

Definitely. My mom was one.

[So he's confident that they'll indeed work on it! It's just a matter of time and letting the old patriarchy die off and etc.]

It wasn't a bother or anything, but now you've got me curious. It doesn't sound like it went willingly.

[judicialassistant]

[ His mom? Now there's something she never knew. She has so many questions just based on that alone, but she can't allow herself to be too distracted, peppering her responses in between customers, while waiting for things on the stove or in the oven, etc. ]

I never knew that about your mother. I wasn't allowed to become a lawyer, but I'm apparently the best judicial assistant in the world.

[ HIS WORDS, not hers. ]

As for the topknot... it was gone when I saw him. Cut down, stripping him of his honor. I don't say this lightly, but he deserved it.