Some Legends Are Told, Some Turn To Dust Or To Gold [CEREALIA INBOX]

[zerotohiro]

'Busy, leave a message!
...oh, you've reached Hiro Hamada. Whatever. Still busy!'

Hamada art by D-Joel, found on tumblr

Comments

[zerotohiro]

Dude please don't say that before they actually string you up and take you with them. Traveling carnival, remember? We'll keep everybody safe.

I'm always open to theories. ...do you maybe wanna do this in person instead though?

[covenantal]

I know. I'm just irritated. We'll keep doing our best.

Sure. My place or yours? We just moved, I should give you the new address anyway.

[zerotohiro]

Are you allergic to cats?

1/2

[covenantal]

[ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ]

[covenantal]

Nah.

[zerotohiro]

[Goddamn Persona protags.]

Come here then, Tadashi's still out.

[He shoots him the address in another text.] See you in a bit?

[covenantal]

[ Cats, okay. ]

See you soon.

[ It takes him about 20 minutes, all told, just because he's not in a rush. It's nice to be back in normal clothes, even if he didn't mind his earlier outfit...

He'll knock on the door once he arrives. (He's brought food.) ]

[zerotohiro]

[He doesn't respond to that text and while he could use that 20 minutes to clean up a little...he doesn't. He just goes right back to what he was doing and when Yu knocks on the door he answers it wearing a pair of black thicker-framed glasses and holding an un-open cup of noodles.]

Hey. [His eyes immediately move to the items in Yu's hands, lifting an eyebrow.] You always bring food when you come to see me or what?

[covenantal]

I just happened to have some extra food prepared, that's all.

[ He smiles in a way that warms his eyes. He sees that cup-o-noodles, bro. He knows you. He's also totally lying and he knows Hiro will know that. This time, be brought tonkatsu.

Yu will step in the door, his eyes searching Hiro's face. ]

I didn't know you had vision problems.

[ What's with the glasses, bro?????? ]

[zerotohiro]

And you just so happened to have that extra food prepared and packaged up in a container that's enough to feed me. Got it. [But he's grateful and it shows in his expression as he waves Yu further into the apartment. He disappears into the kitchen to put the cup noodles back, leaving Yu to his own devices.

And the cat. The fat lump of a cat is on the back of the couch sleeping.]

Don't we all technically have vision problems in this place? I know you saw Rojo's post.

1/3

[covenantal]

[ THAT'S A CAT.

A bit fat fluffy perfect precious pettable wonderful furry cat. ]

[covenantal]

[ ]

[covenantal]

[ ... he should get a CyBuddy ...

For now, he's still holding a bag of food, so he resists any immediate pet-the-cat urges, instead answering Hiro's question. ]

Yeah. I was talking to Dipper about that, actually. It wasn't surprising, but it gives us more to think about. [ A beat, as he seems to put two and two together. ] Ah. So what do they do?

you stupid shit omfg

[zerotohiro]

[Well, he does live with someone who makes them....just ask. When Hiro comes back out he's holding up an energy drink under one arm but he's also holding up a pitcher of tea in case Yu would like some.]

What makes you think they do anything at all? [Other than the smug-as-fuck smirk on his face.]

: D i was hoping that would make you laugh

[covenantal]

Because it's you.

[ Said simply and in a straightforward manner that has no hint of mockery or teasing in it. He'll nod at the pitcher, a barely-there smile playing about his lips in response to the smirk. ]

[zerotohiro]

I'm glad to know you have such faith in me. [It's hard to say if he's serious, but he disappears for a moment to grab a glass and get Yu some tea. Sometimes he can be considerate. Sometimes he's just a stupid shit. Regardless he'll take the food from him to set it on the kitchen counter so his friend isn't stuck holding it and returns with the full glass. He holds it out to Yu before he turns to scratch Mochi behind the ears and heads back to his messy desk work station.]

Anyway, I'll show you. [He's rummaging around in a drawer for a moment before pulling out a second pair of glasses, obviously a little less refined than the pair Hiro's wearing.] Put those on for a sec.

[covenantal]

[ When Hiro disappears with the food, Yu definitely takes a moment to pet the cat.

What a nice cat.

Then Hiro returns with his tea, and he follows his friend over to the work station. He can't possibly know what a pair of glasses like this might mean to him, but they make his lips twist upwards with nostalgia nonetheless. He slips them on, but they don't change his vision in any appreciable manner. ]

So, what's happening?

[zerotohiro]

[Mochi blinks up at Yu, large green eyes staring before he chirps with a quiet meow. With that out of the way and once the glasses are on, Hiro grabs what looks like a homemade radio out from under his desk and sets it on the tabletop. He flicks on the switches and the little monitor lights up to show a few frequency readings as Hiro looks at it. Not long after that, he holds up a scanner-like device and waves it in front of Yu's eyes.]

Look at the screen. [Yu will see a rather accurate set of readings based on frequency and what's being projected. Shortly after, Hiro takes off his own glasses and scans his eyes.]

Now look again. [The reading's changed. It's a different frequency and it's a stronger reading. He's curious if Yu will understand on his own even as he slips his glasses back on. ]

[covenantal]

[ Yu is pretty quick on the uptake, but this is a bit beyond him. Something with frequencies? He blinks at his tech genius friend as Hiro scans their eyes, and the frequency on the monitor changes. ]

The frequency changed when you scanned us...

[zerotohiro]

[He puts his glasses on, grinning broadly as he looks back at Yu again.]

As long as we're wearing these things? They can't see or hear anything.

[covenantal]

[ His eyes widen a little bit.

And then he smiles. ]

That's incredible. They can't hear us either? This is going to change everything. You've done a great job, Hiro.

[zerotohiro]

As far as I can tell they can't see or hear us at all. It's blocking the entire signal. [He's so excited about this accomplishment. Thank you for noticing, senpai.] I haven't been able to trace where the signal's coming from but it's enough to know that they've been interrupted. This is the project I was working on that I told you about. The one me and Dipper were going to do.

[covenantal]

[ Yu's never great at showing wide ranges of emotion, but really, he's incredibly pleased, subtle though it is. This is the edge they needed in making real progress. To finally have a way to make plans that CERES couldn't hear and can't have access to... this is it. He remembers discussing it with Dipper months ago. His best idea was Braille, which was wildly impractical. This is leaps and bounds better.

Senpai Has Noticed You, Hiro. ]

No wonder you couldn't tell me. This is what you two have been up to this whole time? [ There's the traces of a disbelieving laugh in his tone. ] You know, this makes it even easier for me to tell you what I was coming over to talk to you about.

[zerotohiro]

Yeah. Dipper wanted to create a cipher but he asked me if I knew a way to block the signal. This is the best thing I could come up with. [/insertshibetailwagemotehere] It takes some time to make each pair but I think I'm getting better at it.

[There's a pause then and he cants his head.] Oh yeah? Lay it on me. [His stomach chooses that moment to growl rather loudly though and there's a sheepish grin.] ...I'm going to grab the food you brought first but start talking anyway. What's up?

[covenantal]

He told me about that. But why create a cipher when they knew how to crack it in the first place? So we had to do this, first... [ There's a satisfied look on his face. He's very proud of both his kohais right now. ] Let me know if you need any help. I'm happy to pitch in with whatever it is you need.

Anyway... [ He breathes out, then leans back against the work station carefully, so as not to disturb anything, taking a drink of his tea before he starts. ]

I was talking to Rei-san at the carnival, and she helped me realize something. Think back to all the strange experiences we've been through thanks to CERES. Especially what those chips in the library books did to us. Rei-san also told me about an experience she had when Yosuke was here before where they saw twisted illusions of their best friends... [ A beat. Yosuke... he saw me. ] And that it was a source of despair. Can you think what all these things have in common?

[ He wonders if Hiro will pick up on it; he's being a little vague, and he doesn't mind explaining further. Still, Hiro's been here longer than he has, and they've both read Athena's timeline; there's enough here to tease out the thread. ]