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

5/16, evening

[covenantal]

It reformed.

[ That's all the text says. ]

5/16, evening

[zerotohiro]

Crap, seriously? Picture?

[covenantal]

[ He's glad Hiro immediately understands. And he sends a picture immediately, too, because he already had one available.

After their experiment had turned out to be a failure, Yu had put the leftover slivers of his mask in a pouch and brought them home, then hadn't thought much more of it. The next day he'd had a lot on his mind - Katsura, Minato, why his theory with the mask had been wrong - and he hadn't thought to check the pouch again even as he'd put it in his bag to bring with him to school.

Of course, then a lot of other things had happened, and he'd ended up being rather distracted from his classes.

It wasn't until that evening that he'd even opened his school bag again. That's when he'd noticed it. The pouch had been shredded, the seams ripped. The mask had, without his seeing it happen, rebuilt itself in perfect condition. Except for one thing.

In the picture of it that he shows Hiro, it's sitting on the desk in his room, free of the tatters of the pouch which he had to cut away. Running down the middle of the mask is one long, single, hairline crack.

When he'd first seen it, it had chilled him. ]

[zerotohiro]

[There's no response.

There's no response from Hiro for a good long while as he stares at that photo in absolute horror. That shouldn't be possible. He'd checked the mask himself when he made the cuts and pried the plaster apart with Yu. This goes against everything he's known about the physical objects in Cerealia.

Then there's the phone call. When Yu answers, it's just Hiro asking in a loud whisper:]

What the hell is going on?

[covenantal]

[ Yu only waits.

He's fairly certain he understands the kind of trouble they're in. His only regret, right now, is that he might have compromised Hiro as well. If he were the only one to take the fall for this experiment, that would be alright. He offered his mask; he accepted those consequences.

His voice is calm and a normal volume when he answers. ]

I don't know. Whatever is going on with these masks, it's a lot stranger and more powerful than we thought.

[zerotohiro]

It doesn't make any sense, Yu. [He's still unsure of what this means, but he agrees. It's a lot more powerful than they'd anticipated.] It's a mask. We didn't find anything, so why...? Are there any cracks or anything in the back?

[covenantal]

No. That crack is the only evidence we ever took it apart. [ He pauses for a beat. He's not even sure he wants to voice this, like saying it out loud will make it real... but there's no shying away from the truth. ]

I've been thinking. Could these masks be tied to our code, somehow?

[zerotohiro]

[Annnnd his voice ups an octave.]

Please don't tell me I just broke your code. [That was not what he meant to do!!! He pauses and clears his throat.] ...it would make sense why they keep returning to their owners even though they all look exactly the same.

[covenantal]

[ With that same, utterly immovable calm: ]

I feel fine, Hiro. [ A beat of his own. ] I think it's the best explanation, but there's still a lot we don't know.

[ Another beat, and he takes a breath. ] Hiro... if something happens to me--

[zerotohiro]

Shut up. [The words are hissed and maybe there's a slight whistle thanks to the gap between his teeth and the emphasis on his annunciation, but he's serious about that.] Nothing's going to happen, all right? And if it does I'll fix it but you're gonna be fine. We're both gonna be fine and we'll figure this out.

We should see if anybody else's masks are doing weird things, too.

[covenantal]

[ He dutifully stays quiet for a moment or two, and then sighs. ]

Hiro. [ His voice is firm. ] Stop trying to fix everything yourself. [ He caught that "I'll fix it," buster. ] We will figure this out. Together. And you're right, that's not a bad idea. We'll start checking in with everyone else and see if anything else strange is happening.

[ .... more gently: ] It's going to be alright.

[zerotohiro]

[There's a disgruntled noise but ultimately he stays quiet. It's his own way of agreeing with Yu that they'll do this together.]

Right...we know enough people between the two of us that we can start looking for patterns. And it's going to be fine. It's just a mask...what can it actually do to us? [Right? Right...]

[covenantal]

[ Quietly, somewhat thoughtfully: ]

Guess we'll find out.