[ yeah he didn't think she'd agree with him there ]
I don't, either. [ a pause. ] Something went wrong. After everything that happened, he was heading down a different path -- like me. Maybe it's because Eichi isn't here...
[ hikage, unfortunately, finds akechi very relatable... ]
It seems that way. He made it sound like he was an entirely different person from the one we knew... I guess that's another possibility. If other worlds like this one exist, there could be other versions of people.
You're friends with an alien with laser eyes? Why did you never mention that your world has that? I've spent all this time thinking you were just from America...
I love Gotham a lot. It's my home, and I don't think I can live elsewhere if it's not like, a temporary thing. But it is more dangerous than other cities. There's a high crime rate, and it's not that unusual to run into someone who wants to like, destroy the world or something.
[ admittedly that last part applies to places other than gotham, but gotham tends to get the weirdos. ]
It's probably not going to be as normal as you want it to be, but as long as you don't go running into trouble and also avoid areas that you know are more dangerous, you should be fine.
[ he listens with actual interest, which is a surefire sign that he truly likes her. (He knew that movies could be seen in movie theaters, though! Probably.) ]
That's fine. I wasn't born yesterday. [ he's not the sort to run blindly into danger, anyway. ] When I was a kid, I lived in the slums for a long time... I remember something like that, anyway. It was dangerous there, too. Although I don't remember anyone wanting to destroy the world there.
[ a beat. ]
... I guess that ended up being me, [ he mutters. ] Anyway, your home is probably like a paradise compared to the other places I've lived.
[ steph, thinking about people like the joker: hm.
but honestly, she has no plans in involving hikage with any of the actual dangerous parts of her job, especially with his sister there. and since she manages just fine with keeping her mom out of the way, that really shouldn't be too difficult. ]
... right. Well, it'll be easier to show you once we're there. We can find a tutor for your sister too, so that she can adjust to being there until maybe we can enroll her into an actual school afterwards.
[ there's an itch in the back of his mind again - a familiar one, but one he hasn't thought about in a long time. Hell, it might even be another piece of his memories that had been just vague enough for him to not remember until now. ]
Do you have enough money for all of this?
[ yes - he'd barely scraped by providing for himself and his sister before, and that had eventually ended with the both of them dying after Hikage ran out of funds, he recalls with some bitterness. Maybe the future is different. ]
That's where my book from the castle comes in, my friend. I'm at least going to get us started with the basics-- social security numbers, a college fund that is specifically for your sister's use only, things like that?
[ sometimes, magic is useful. ]
I don't want to lean on it too hard, so I'm not going to change anything drastically, like making us rich or anything. [ she does not want that at all. ] But it'll at least mean that we'll have a starting point to work from that's comfortable.
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[ she frowns, but then moves on. ]
They said that one of them was Akechi, right? I still don't understand why we couldn't her him.
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I don't, either. [ a pause. ] Something went wrong. After everything that happened, he was heading down a different path -- like me. Maybe it's because Eichi isn't here...
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... well. We'll see. Apparently that Akira guy is from his world?
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It seems that way. He made it sound like he was an entirely different person from the one we knew... I guess that's another possibility. If other worlds like this one exist, there could be other versions of people.
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Oh. No, that's definitely real. It's like that where I'm from.
[ sometimes alternate universes are normal in your life and that's fine ]
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[ did he hear that right??? ]
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... yeah. The multiverse is definitely a thing. Some people I know came from like, alternate Earths, or the future. Or just... space?
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[ HE GETS WHAT SHE'S SAYING HE'S JUST... DUMBFOUNDED
THIS WHOLE TIME HE THOUGHT HE WAS THE WEIRDEST ONE IN THEIR FRIEND GROUP ]
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[ sometimes you are besties with supergirl ]
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[ he's staring at her like she's the alien. ]
Are you making fun of me?
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[ she just looks him over ]
I see that there is going to be some culture shock.
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[ THIS IS REAL... ]
You're friends with an alien with laser eyes? Why did you never mention that your world has that? I've spent all this time thinking you were just from America...
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[ just, you know. not the america he was picturing. ]
You never asked.
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[ a beat. ]
-- The America where I'm from doesn't have any aliens!
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[ hell yeah ]
Not aliens.
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[ ... ]
I should probably tell you more about Gotham.
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[ jamjar emperor life. ]
You probably should.
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[ ... ]
... Well... seeing a "movie" wouldn't be so bad.
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[ ... ]
I love Gotham a lot. It's my home, and I don't think I can live elsewhere if it's not like, a temporary thing. But it is more dangerous than other cities. There's a high crime rate, and it's not that unusual to run into someone who wants to like, destroy the world or something.
[ admittedly that last part applies to places other than gotham, but gotham tends to get the weirdos. ]
It's probably not going to be as normal as you want it to be, but as long as you don't go running into trouble and also avoid areas that you know are more dangerous, you should be fine.
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That's fine. I wasn't born yesterday. [ he's not the sort to run blindly into danger, anyway. ] When I was a kid, I lived in the slums for a long time... I remember something like that, anyway. It was dangerous there, too. Although I don't remember anyone wanting to destroy the world there.
[ a beat. ]
... I guess that ended up being me, [ he mutters. ] Anyway, your home is probably like a paradise compared to the other places I've lived.
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but honestly, she has no plans in involving hikage with any of the actual dangerous parts of her job, especially with his sister there. and since she manages just fine with keeping her mom out of the way, that really shouldn't be too difficult. ]
... right. Well, it'll be easier to show you once we're there. We can find a tutor for your sister too, so that she can adjust to being there until maybe we can enroll her into an actual school afterwards.
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[ there's an itch in the back of his mind again - a familiar one, but one he hasn't thought about in a long time. Hell, it might even be another piece of his memories that had been just vague enough for him to not remember until now. ]
Do you have enough money for all of this?
[ yes - he'd barely scraped by providing for himself and his sister before, and that had eventually ended with the both of them dying after Hikage ran out of funds, he recalls with some bitterness. Maybe the future is different. ]
I'll help.
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[ sometimes, magic is useful. ]
I don't want to lean on it too hard, so I'm not going to change anything drastically, like making us rich or anything. [ she does not want that at all. ] But it'll at least mean that we'll have a starting point to work from that's comfortable.
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