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Post by Mirumoto Noboru on Apr 13, 2018 11:33:48 GMT -5
"The only ramifications are those which are right," Noboru muttered, sounding like a Lion for a moment. "If this is a dream, I'd rather wake up to reality. If that means my sister is still gone..."
He stopped to consider Hikari and how it would relieve his parents, how it would relieve him to know she isn't dead. Assuming, of course, this dream has gone on that long. But he had no way of knowing, and if this were a dream...?
He looked to Tsuki. To Fuyuko. To Kobushi and any other Crane student. It would be so easy to keep the dream going, that maybe his hatred would be sated by a Crane Clan that remained engulfed in a blood feud that was fabricated in this dream and possibly didn't even exist in reality. But then his eyes fell on his own clanmates and two others if they were present. Was it fair to them? Or to those he hated?
"If waking from this dream meant the feud between my clan and the Crane never existed?" Noboru closed his eyes and nodded slowly, "I'd give up everything I have gained here and hope that that I could find it again some day in Ningen-do." He then looked to Ayumu, adding, "I'd do it even if it meant the feud was still ongoing because it means we'd still have a chance to end it only this time it'd actually count for something and not simply be hopes and wishes fulfilled in someone's dream."
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Post by Asako Ryoko on Apr 13, 2018 11:53:27 GMT -5
Ryoko walked up to Ichiro Priya while the others discussed what was going on. The little Asako just squeezed her girlfriend's hand lightly, as if to say 'no matter what happens, I'll find you'. |
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Post by Moto Ayumu on Apr 13, 2018 12:01:22 GMT -5
Koshiro's eyes were open wide at this. He goes forward and bows towards the Moto. "Then please. Make it so. I wish for the Salty Goblin to be restored to its former glory." "You got it, Koshiro-san! One Salty Goblin it is! I'll make sure that it shows up for you, in its former glory," Ayumu said with a big smile. "That isn't as minor as you think it is, Moto-sama," Noboru offers with a suspicious glance. "Nor am I Kitsuki-trained. Plus you make it sound like these things go away when the Fortune of Heroes wakes." The Mirumoto just sighed, head shaking slowly, glancing to Hisui briefly, then looking to Ayumu. "Some of these things make us who we are, Moto-san. Others are what drive us, for better or worse. How..." He shook his head again, "How meaningless would it all be if we could wish certain things away or wish certain things happen and they just did? I mean, how would it sound to a magistrate or a local governor if I brought them testimony of a crime and when asked 'how did you come about this?' my answer is 'I wished for it.'?" "Well I can't say enough about being Kitsuki trained, but that's pretty minor. But I probably wouldn't say that if asked. Of course, it may never get asked. I'm sure you with your intelligence can say something better than that." She answered rather happily. "And whaf those who are not here? Are we absent from them? Asleep? How does the Fortune's slumber affect them. How does the fortunes slumber affect us. I am ...afraid that when I wake I will lose memory of what I have accomplished here, but I fear more that my selfishness may condemn the actual Rokugon to being without heroes." "Well the realms can be a bit weird in their way of how time works," Ayumu answered as honestly as she could, "But as for others they don't fully matter. This is sort of the epicenter, because it's focused around the fortune himself. If he woke up, then you would fade here, but wake up in Ningen-do. I'm not sure I can say exactly where or when, but It definitely won't be with any of your memories. As far as you'll be aware, it might have been a moment where you napped, slept, or even daydreamed with nothing specific. You know, those little moments in life where you sort of just... slip away and don't ever recall doing so." Yoshinobu shook his head; his word carried influence, but when dreams were mentioned and the warping of realities? They probably mattered little. After all, Ayumu had just confirmed he wasn't even himself. He wasn't Yoshinobu, just a dream. "Tetsuko-san, can't you see, that's just escapism though! You're not even you. Denying the Empire of Heroes and the Fortune who guides them? The ramifications that could come from such a selfish act?" He paused. "That's anathema. It is isn't who we are or who we should be. It is a path of dishonor. Mirumoto-san is right. Yoshi-san is right." "That might be right, Iweko-sama, but it was by the will of the heavens he ended up here in the first place. Or at least, his destiny brought him here anyway." Ayumu pointed out. It was a very real possibility. “However," he continues, "I worry I’m misunderstanding, and are you also saying there are no consequences for making that choice? Like Do... erm... Hida-san just said, I don’t want to lose everything I’ve gained here, but I don’t want to continue living trapped in a dream or, like Doji-sensei said, leave the Heavens or Ningen-do to suffer just for my own benefit.” He fights back the tears as he considers sacrificing his friendships, his love, and his own personal growth for the sake of a greater good. "Nope, no consequences, beyond Goemon staying where he is anyway, but I mean that's where life took him. Otherwise, you're pretty spot on when it comes to your deductions Yoshi-san. You got a keen mind." She grinned at him. He paused, then went bug eyed, suddenly looking terrified. "Do...do I only exist here?" "Haha, no you goofball, you don't exist just here, but you did get caught up in the dream. That's some crazy timing." "The only ramifications are those which are right," Noboru muttered, sounding like a Lion for a moment. "If this is a dream, I'd rather wake up to reality. If that means my sister is still gone..." "If waking from this dream meant the feud between my clan and the Crane never existed?" Noboru closed his eyes and nodded slowly, "I'd give up everything I have gained here and hope that that I could find it again some day in Ningen-do." He then looked to Ayumu, adding, "I'd do it even if it meant the feud was still ongoing because it means we'd still have a chance to end it only this time it'd actually count for something and not simply be hopes and wishes fulfilled in someone's dream." Ayumu smiled a sad smile at Noboru. "I am sorry for your loss you know. It's been hard on you, truly hard. I don't want to see you hurt even more but... reality is pretty cruel at times. The wrong can win, the good can lose, the strong can beat the weak even if they are wrong. This dream is an extension of reality. The feud exists, and your sister..." She paused and bit her lip, "She's dead. If you wake Goemon, then everything you learned, as fast as you learned it, would be gone, and this time you may never know the truth. You won't get the answer in four days time, if at all." |
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Post by Rodrigo Azerola on Apr 13, 2018 12:26:26 GMT -5
"Hm? So...I am real?"
Rodrigo blinked.
"...wait, we can't have been in a dream for very long then, huh?"
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Post by Mirumoto Noboru on Apr 13, 2018 12:26:27 GMT -5
"And if I wanted to wake up now?" He brought up his right hand to stop Ayumu from taking any actions on that, instead continuing. "Is even possible for us to wake up on our own and face reality or do we have to wake the Fortune of Heroes first?"
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Post by Bayushi Yokohime on Apr 13, 2018 12:58:25 GMT -5
The sleepy Yokohime spoke up with a yawn. "It not a dream... not in the sense we all..." She was so tired and sleepy that most of the rest of what she spoke about sounded more like gibberish. "Moto San should... return to Yume... do..."
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Post by Iweko Yoshinobu on Apr 13, 2018 13:09:43 GMT -5
As Hinata heard the gaijin boy speak, a realization hit her. A realization that she could not go back. Not after today, not after what happened. If she went back, Yori would be there again. She would be a danger to the Empire again. She would never meet the man who helped save her. She would be stuck with that monster, this time forever. The realization made her stand up involuntarily. Where she had been keeping her On before, now she was clearly terrified. "No, we cannot wake him. Yoshinobu, think of what will happen! Please!" "I think you'd take the same steps you might have taken here," he said, turning to face Hinata with an obviously pained expression. "We may actually know each other, in reality. Our real selves. We just don't know. And I... I can't live a lie, not a false one like this. I could never accept that. What if the real you is suffering, and you could take steps to actually fix it? There's no guaranteeing what Moto-san is suggesting will actually work or anything will go as she has said, whatever we do." He looked once more to Noburo - he didn't know him, but he deeply respected this Dragon's conviction. "I can only act as my heart leads me - to do what is best for the Empire. To do what is right. There is only one right choice, and it is to help Goemon back to the place he belongs." He looked back to Hinata. Part of him was hurt that he had to say it; that she didn't see things the way he did, or worried that she might not understand why he was acting this way. But he was the Prince, and he had an empire to protect. He'd always choose that over anything or anyone else, even himself. "I'm sorry, Hinata." "The natural order of things has brought about much, including this event yes. The Return of He Who Shall Not Be named, three times. And three times heroes rose up to defeat him. Heroes rose up to defeat the Lying Darkness, to defeat a foreign god, and stop the coils of madness from spreading throughout the Colonies. They acted because they had to, so I can do no less but follow in the footsteps of my Ancestors." |
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Post by Doji Fuyuko on Apr 13, 2018 13:21:44 GMT -5
Fuyuko frowns. "I have faith the fortunes will lead me to where I need to be if I act justly and rightly. I have faith that those I have come to love will be returned to me. But I do still have questions. Is the whole world asleep or only us? What happens to hose awake if he stays asleep. And what happens to a world with no heroes. A fortune has a responsibility, a duty to the cosmic order. That duty is going undone at the moment. More importantly, who gets to influence this dreams. If Mirumoto-san can find his evidence, perhaps others can cause it to be lost. The dishonorable and unjust can control this realm as well. It would have us all act as fortunes. That is...a troubling position."
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Post by Mirumoto Noboru on Apr 13, 2018 13:23:09 GMT -5
Noboru glanced at Rodrigo and Yokohime a moment. Something they said clicked with him. He then walked down to the front of the auditorium and bowed to Yoshinobu before looking to Ayumu.
"Could you repeat that, Bayushi-sensei?"
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Post by Kuni Hinata on Apr 13, 2018 13:28:18 GMT -5
Hinata stood there in silence for a moment, then collapsed back into her chair. Her expression was one of deep pain, as if Yoshinobu had just stabbed her in the heart. She saw his point; agreed with it, even. However, the risks involved were not ones she could take. If they were to wake Goemon, and return to reality...it was not a trip she could make. Not if the Empire was to remain safe.
"Yoshinobu...even if that's true, you know me coming back isn't a risk we can take."
If Yoshinobu said they were going to wake Goemon, they were going to wake Goemon. There was no point hiding her secret anymore. Everyone here would forget it once he was awoken, and it was something they needed to know now.
"Yes, we won this time, but if we return...we can't know we'll win again. If we do this...I...I need to die here."
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