synopsychic | ✿ Investigating time

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✿ Investigating time

[The voice that prods at everyone is so quiet and tentative, it's probably pretty easily ignored, even despite being a voice in everyone's heads. Mai's just that bad at this psychic network thing.

She's trying, though.]

U-um... excuse me, everyone... Er, everyone that can hear me...

[focus, Mai]

I-it's just...does anyone know what we're supposed to be doing? I mean, everyone's wearing such spectacular masks and costumes, but... it's a little lonely...not being able to tell who everyone is...

[You're rambling, Mai.]

Ah! I don't want to take up too much of your time, everyone...I was just wondering... and if there's anything I can do, I definitely want to do my best...! Is it important to figure out who's who...?

...Thank you...for listening.

[She just feels a little alone, with everyone masked and hidden as they are.

ooc: this is a totally open psychic network post, feel free to use it to communicate about identities or what-have-you!]

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[He doesn't think it's strange in the least, because it is a lot to handle. These jaunts usually were, and the masks... they probably only made it worse. There was a sort of feeling of isolation that came with all of this. If Saitou were capable of it, he'd probably feel nervous, too, honestly.

...hmm.]

Have you found anyone you know?

[Well, he doesn't sound irritated with her, though she doubts Saitou would if he was anyway, because that's just...how Saitou is.]

Not exactly... um, I'm not a very good dancer, so I didn't dance much. [and now she's hiding in some corner, great job, protag-chan]

But I do feel a little better hearing everyone's voices.

[Man, he is so with her on the dancing thing. He didn't want anything to do with it, but how successful he was at avoiding it... Well. That is debatable.

But nevermind that!]

Would it help if I were to find you?

[Anonymity might be important to all of this, but surely it would be fine if just one person knew who he was... Right?]

Eh...?

[She's legitimately so startled by this suggestion that she can't even think of a response for a long moment. So he just gets silence after that startled thought--

and then, slowly--]

Um... if it isn't too much trouble... [She's really glad blushes don't translate over the psychic network.] I would feel better if Saitou-san was nearby...

[He's just always been really dependable, from the time she met him. If she had him close by then...she wouldn't have to worry so much, right?]

[He doesn't really think much of her surprised silence (he doesn't quite get it, but he doesn't dwell too much on it, either), only waiting patiently for her response. And once she does answer—]

I understand. Where are you? I'll come find you.

[It shouldn't be too difficult, he thinks. He had known her long enough that recognizing her height and build should be easy, and if they had a specific place to meet, then it would be all the better.]

[You're going to give her a case of the dokidokis, Saitou.... so many dokidokis.

Regardless, she glances around to try to get a hint of where she is, before nodding to herself.]

I'm...here, by the north wall... Nobody else is around, so...

[It should be easy to spot her wallflowering.]

[That should be easy enough.]

I will be there momentarily.

[The ballroom is bustling, but once he makes it past the crowd, it isn't too hard to figure out which person might be Mai. He glances around once to be sure, but then he approaches her—clad in black, of course, with a silvery-black mask to go along with it. However, in order to keep the anonymity thing going in case he is mistaken, he sends her a psychic message rather than a verbal one.]

Mai?

[He's reasonably sure he's right, but if he wasn't, at least there'd be no harm done if he communicated this way.]

[He's definitely got the right person--she squeaks and jumps when she hears his mental voice, proving that she's not very good at this infiltrator business. Admittedly, in the fancy ball gown and multi-colored mask, she doesn't look much like herself, but...she turns to look at him, and then her mannerisms are all Mai, bowing quickly and sounding immensely relieved.]

Saitou-san...! Er--I mean-- Saitou-san...?

[Should she be speaking out loud, she has no idea... but she's sure coming closer, rather hastily.]

[She tried... All of that really gives him all the confirmation he needs, though, so he nods, and the next answer he gives is a verbal one.]

Yes. Sorry for making you wait.

[It hadn't been that long since he'd set out to find her, but she seemed so relieved now, he can't help but wonder just how long she'd been by herself.]

[...okay. Phew.

Verbal discussion is more comfortable and easier for her, that's for sure.

Mai is quick to shake her head at that, offering him a tentative smile.]

Oh, no... um, thank you for coming to be with me, Saitou-san. [She feels so relieved.] I hope I didn't pull you away from anything important.

It's nothing. [He shakes his head.] There is not much to be done until this celebration is over. Regardless, even watching from here could still be considered productive.

[He liked to be aware of everything that was happening, so even if it was just watching what was going on, that was plenty.

(There really wasn't a whole lot to do otherwise, anyway.)]

[Right...okay. He...can still work here.

Does Saitou ever...stop working? She's not sure at this point, honestly. It seems questionable. Still...she's hardly in the position of looking a gift horse in the mouth here.

He's still saving her from immense amounts of awkward and discomfort.]

Right... [...] What are you watching for...? Maybe I can help! [Still eager to be of use: the protag life.]

[Saitou stopped working once. It was terrible— wait, no, that's not true. But he really does prefer to be doing something, anything that's even remotely useful. Fortunately, all he can really do right now is something fairly simple, so he doesn't mind sharing with her at all.]

Simply anything out of the ordinary. It will help our understanding of this place, and might give us clues as to what we should be doing.

[...unless what they should be doing is dancing. He's doing his hardest to avoid dancing as much as possible.]

[gOTTA TAKE BREAKS SOMETIMES, SAITOU...!! But at the very least, she can do that too, nodding slowly.

Thoughtfully, she shifts her gaze back to the dance, uncomfortable in her own dress. She doesn't know why she ended up with a dress like this, but it certainly doesn't make her feel...okay... not with something so extravagant, and her shoulders bare like this. She's had a lot of things to be uncomfortable about--but at least she's relaxing a bit in Saitou's company.]

Um... a lot of the people who responded to me said that...they think the dances are really important. Um--like something political? ...Or something like that.

That would seem like a reasonable conclusion. [He nods.] They do appear to hold an incredible significance to these people, especially if they've gone so far as to invite us to participate.

[Saitou absolutely agrees with what's been said about the dancing, yet there is clearly something absent from his words. If dancing is so important, why isn't he doing it...?! He hasn't even bothered to give an excuse.]

I wonder if that is really all that is expected of us here.

[... when he says it like that, he makes it sound so easy.

She hesitates for a moment, watching the dance floor, and then she can't keep it in anymore--she blurts it out:]

I can't dance, Saitou-san!

[useless again]

[asldfkjh Mai...

Her sudden declaration takes him by surprise, but only for a moment. He instinctively reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder to help calm her down. It must really stress her out if she reacted in such a way, but the last thing he wanted to do was cause a scene.

When Saitou speaks, his voice is calm, but still level, like her outburst hadn't even happened at all.]

Have you ever tried?

[There's no signs of potential judgement or anything in his question—it's just genuine curiosity about what her problem might be.]

[She hesitates. And when he puts a hand on her shoulder, she does quiet down, shoulders slumping a little. But she drops her gaze as well, fingers twining together awkwardly.]

... I don't remember.

[But she doesn't want to try, and find out that she hadn't, and make a fool of herself on the dance floor when it's so important. She doesn't want to compromise everyone's identities.

Amnesia's a bitch.]

[Ah, of course. It isn't too difficult, then, for him to see why she might not have tried it here, either. If she was unfamiliar with it, she might fear trying and making a mistake. Saitou was the kind of person who preferred to be thoroughly familiar with things before he tried his hand at them, so something like that, he could understand.

That wasn't his only reason for not trying, though. He was also just plain stubborn.

He shakes his head.]

It's alright. You would not be the first to be unfamiliar with it. [Like, you know. Himself. But it's embarrassing to admit so his response is kind of vague.] I'm sure that it would not be difficult to find someone to teach you, if you are interested in learning. However, I doubt that one or two people being unable to participate will affect the ceremony as a whole.

[She takes a deep breath at that, nodding slowly. She doesn't want Saitou to think she isn't trying, because she's trying as hard as she possibly can, so she answers that with a tentative--]

Inigo-san is teaching me... but even so, it's really hard. [And she has no inherent grace, let's be real here.]

I don't think I'll be able to help very much in this Jaunt...b-but if you don't think it will cause problems for the others, I guess that's not so bad after all...

You can't expect to pick up a new art and become an expert overnight. Presumably, everyone here has spent months, if not years, perfecting their skills for this ceremony.

[In other words, he doesn't think it's her fault that she's finding it difficult. It might not be the most comforting way to say it, but that's what he means to say.]

Regardless, I would suggest you keep your head low. There are enough people here that if you are quiet, you should be able to move about unnoticed.

[And hopefully, no one would harass her.]

[...He's right, of course. It's not highly comforting, but it's all he has to offer. And...it'll have to be enough. Slowly, she nods, though she doesn't lift her gaze.

It is what it is, after all. She's trying, but there's only so much she can do here.]

...Okay. Then... I'll try really hard to stay out of the way...

[Even though that's kind of depressing.]

For what it's worth, I don't think you'll have too much trouble. You blend in rather well.

[Is that an attempt at comfort? It might be... It might be...]

[Whether it is or isn't, it sure takes her off guard. Between the dress she's wearing and the mask and everything, she feels like she sticks out like a sore thumb.]

E-eh? Really?

[Not that she doesn't believe him, because he's Saitou and probably wouldn't say anything he didn't mean, but...]

...It's just...everything here is so grand and beautiful... [And she is painfully normal.]

[Even for Saitou, the implication there is pretty clear: she doesn't feel like she belongs here. He can sort of understand—he wasn't especially normal himself, but he did consider himself a simple person. Despite being born a samurai, he generally didn't care for extravagant things. They were nice, of course, but he didn't need them.

Maybe she was a simple person, too, just like him. But he also thought she looked quite nice.

...unfortunately, there isn't enough alcohol in him to say that. Saying that she fits in is really the best he can do.]

Perhaps it is because it's a situation you are unused to. But you do not stand out quite as much as you think.

[...except for that part where she exclaimed that she couldn't dance. If this place wasn't so busy, she absolutely would have stood out then.]

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