dazlious | Where the stars are all broken, so are the ties. But the one thing remaining is you.

Current Location: Portland, Maine
Current Music: "Wonder", Megan McCauley

Entry tags:

Where the stars are all broken, so are the ties. But the one thing remaining is you.

WHO: Heather Mason (Silent Hill) and Kaito Kuroba (Detective Conan/Magic Kaito)
WHERE: A shabbily nondescript apartment building somewhere in Portland, Maine.
WHEN: Six months after Kaito returned home from Johto (

route_29)
WHAT: ~~And then Styx and Kit got really sad and needed sappy fluff~~ And then two friends were reunited.
RATING: DIABETES.

After the the warmth and color that bubbled up in every last corner of Johto's world, even in the dead of winter, good old planet Earth could seem like a very gray place.

That pine-covered chunk of land called Maine that sat at the top of New England like a precariously-placed hat seemed even grayer than most.

Or maybe that was just because it was winter here.

... And somewhere in the city, where there were fewer pines than there were telephone poles.

... And the very top floor of an ugly apartment building, a hideous product of some architectural dark age that looked more like what would happen if you filled a waffle-iron with concrete than anywhere that someone would actually want to LIVE in, nestled between a warehouse and a law firm.

It had taken awhile for the search to actually lead to this last destination, which was hours away from the place where it had actually begun.

The town of Silent Hill could be called a city only by the blind and perhaps those who had grown up there and knew nothing bigger. The place was different at first glance, perhaps, to anyone who'd heard of it only by a description from someone who'd seen its true face.

On the surface, the place was downright pleasant. A steadily-declining but still somewhat-known New England tourist trap, the old historical town sat in two halves around a large lake, nestled in by mountains and forests, with patches of farmland dotting its outskirts. It was tiny and remote-- hardly a blip on the radar to anyone who wasn't some newlywed looking for a Honeymoon spot.

Research would show that the place was rich with history, from the pre-European civilizations that once considered the land a sacred place, all the way through colonization, plagues, the industrial revolution, even the Civil War. The promotional material hyped it all up to the max, boasting historical buildings and artifacts-- a nice place to vacation with the whole family.
Needless to say, a look at more recent records told a slightly different story. Mysterious accidents and disappearances throughout the entire 20th century, a strange local religion, rampant drug abuse (the investigation of the supposed drug ring had been left dangling ever since the late eighties, ever since its key investigator had been murdered ...), and strange rumors coated the town's reputation like poison.

A visit would prove pleasant enough, but, well...

Kaito would know better, wouldn't he?

The town, as important as it was, would not yield what he was looking for.

Neither would the first apartment he found in a city rather far from Silent Hill, a shabby and depressing little downtown complex called Daisy Villa. Apart from ugly striped wallpaper, a few scraps of magazine cutouts that may once have been part of a collage, and an old armchair covered in a rust-stained sheet, there was nothing to be found there.

But this.

THIS was the place. Hopefully.

According to the superintendent, who had recognized the name 'Cheryl Mason' (as given, along with the address, by P.I. Douglas Cartland) and directed him to the top floor.

Where there was a door.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The ease and simplicity of Johto travel had spoiled Kaito completely, no doubt. Finding his way to the foggy, dreary New England region of the United States had taken him much longer and was much more difficult than he had originally anticipated. Life on Earth wasn't filled with hours upon hours of free time, nor were the routes between cities (countries) easy three-day-to-a-week treks through the wilderness. Plane tickets were expensive, almost too expensive for a Japanese teenager living by himself, and he had to scrounge up and save every last yen he could to make sure he could afford this trip.

And all of this hinged on whether he could actually find Heather Mason in the first place. On whether they truly did share a world, or if they were dimensions upon dimensions apart. But after a year and a half of friendship, there was no way he wasn't going to put forth the effort needed to confirm or deny her presence on his Earth.

... locating Heather Mason hadn't been an easy task, not even for one of the world's greatest criminals. But the sleepy tourist attraction of Silent Hill had been rather simple to find, and that have proven to be an incredibly starting place.

That was how Kaito Kuroba, while on his yearly winter break from his school studies, determinedly bought himself a plane ticket and crossed the globe to track down a girl he had met on a world that only existed in most people's imaginations.

Silent Hill had been his first stop, though he had been acutely aware of the low probability of finding her there. This town-- as he remembered-- was a nightmare for one of his closest Johto friends, and he didn't linger long enough to really see the damage beneath the sleepy town's service. His searches from there took him to Heather's old, abandoned apartment (appropriately hours and hours away from the town she called hell), and it was all he could do not to sink into crushing disappointment when that lead turned out to be a dead end. He wasn't about to give up just yet, however... that phrase wasn't in the Kuroba's vocabulary, and in a world where Heather Mason existed, one Douglas Cartland had to exist too, right? Acquiring her new address (and name?) from the friendly detective helped stave off any fears he may have had about her remembering him, and once that information was obtained... well.

Now there was only a door.

A door that Katio was currently staring at, half in disbelief, half in excited anticipation. Sixth months was an incredibly long time (and who knew how much longer she had stayed in Johto than he had)? His travel bag was slung loosely over his shoulder, his shirt wrinkled and untucked in all of his casual-slacker glory. The piece of paper with Heather's new address was clutched loosely in between his fingers, and with a deep breath, he finally allowed a hopeful smile to curl around the corners of his lips.

Sixth months is really too long.

There was no point in putting it off any longer. He had come this far. All that was left to do now was to knock.

He rapped his knuckles sharply against the door of her new home, and waited]

_{[For quite a long time, there was silence. Even if he knocked more than once. Once or twice a couple of other tenants who lived on the top floor would elbow their way past Kaito in the surprisingly-narrow hallway.]

[The superintendent had likely mentioned that whether or not the person he was looking for was HOME couldn't be guaranteed-- the girl came and went a lot. Was anyone even home? It was probably starting to look like there wasn't...]

[But then. Clunky footsteps approached from the stairwell behind him and stopped abruptly.]}

... All right. You must be pretty desperate if you climbed all the way up here to sell your shit, but I'm broke and I don't want whatever you're hawking. Leave.

_{[That voice, grumpy and slightly muffled, would undoubtedly sound familiar, even after six whole months.]

[But if the voice didn't do it, maybe the sight would.]

[Standing behind him in snow-caked boots (which had left a trail of slush down the hallway behind her), a heavy jacket, and a soaked winter hat, was the Mason formerly-known-as-Heather, and she was glaring dully at the back of his head over the tops of a couple paper grocery bags that were clamped to her chest with both arms.]

[>8( Dude get away from my front door it's cold and my arms are tired.]}

[BUT I LIKE YOUR FRONT DOOR. I'm staying :U

Her voice is definitely still familiar (how could he forget it), and it makes his shoulders tense as soon as it reaches his ears. He doesn't turn around right away, almost afraid that if he does she'll disappear, and then all of his work would have been for naught]

... ooooi. [He speaks before he turns to face her, the smile turning into something much softer, more relieved, and yet still slightly mischievous]

D'you know how difficult of a person you are to track down, Heather Mason? Leaving after all of that would just be a waste of time.

Edited 2012-01-21 22:18 (UTC)

_{[IT'S NOT EVEN A NICE DOOR, GOD.]

[The glare intensified momentarily as he turned. Most people who came around trying to sell Watchtower magazines or what have you were usually dispelled easily enough if you shot them a look like you wanted to see their head slow-roasting on a spit above a fire made from the bodies of their family, so that was what she was going for-- but when she saw who it was, her eyes widened, the glare melting instantly.]

[She stared.]

[After a second or so, the bags slipped from her arms and hit the floor with a clunk, several jars of something-or-other rolling past her feet. She did nothing to try and retrieve them.]}

... Kaito?

-- hey!

[Kaito didn't do much to stop the grocery bags slipped from Heather's arms and crashed onto the ground except take a a step backward. Despite the loud thunk of the jars and cans tumbling out of the bag, he kept his gaze trained on her, not once glancing away.

That had been the reaction he was hoping for.

Except now, despite the playful and light nature of his expression, he suddenly felt like he was rooted to his spot. Like he couldn't move, even though he wanted nothing more than to reach out to her.

It had been so long.]

Careful. [Still playful. Still teasing. But that relief, that gratefulness, that happiness at seeing her again was easily seeping into his words] You're gonna break your jars.

_{[For just a second or two, every particle of her mind was sure that he wasn't real.]

[That she was seeing things-- or maybe having a dream. She'd had lots of dreams after coming back from Johto, so it wouldn't have been new. Dreams of having her Pokemon back-- of Cujo especially. Dreams of her friends. They were a pleasant change of mood from the normal dreams that plagued her sleep, but even so, they almost always left an unshakable melancholy in their wake.]

[But the sound of the bags hitting the floor jerked her back to reality and she stared at him, jaw hanging slack.]

[She was rooted to the floor just like he was, only in her case it was a paralyzing fear that if she moved a muscle, it would wind up being a dream after all.]

[... But then the rest of her brain remembered that it didn't do that deer-in-the-headlights shit. Ignoring the word of caution (and in fact kicking one of the cans out of the way as she went), she stepped forward, crumpling one of the bags under one boot in her hurry to reach out and TOUCH. First it was a hand planted square on his chest, almost like she planned to shove him (she didn't, thankfully)-- and the solidness under her palm was enough proof for her.]}

Kaito!

_{[Unless he was about to fight her off or something, the hand-on-the-chest would quite suddenly be replaced by both-arms-around-the-torso. Because he was solid. He was there.]

[She didn't know how, but he was.]}

[Her movement is all he needs to close the gap between them. There's no struggling, no fighting or pushing away-- why would he? His bag immediately thuds to the ground as his arms go around her shoulders tightly, fingers curling into the fabric of her jacket in an attempt to pull her closer.

He could say he missed her. He could drop another playful and slightly snarky comment about how sappy this was, but the words wouldn't come, nor did they feel in any way appropriate.

For once, clinging was the preferable course of action. And cling he did]

_{[The power of sap overwhelms even the snarkiest from time to time.]

[Groceries completely forgotten, Heather squeezed him like she was worried he'd evaporate if she let go. You'd think a sensible person would know that was impossible, but... well, until twenty seconds ago, she'd thought it would be impossible that she would ever see him again, too.]

[But a lot could change in twenty seconds, apparently.]

[She didn't want to pull away to speak, so she didn't. Holding him just as tightly, she just twisted her head upwards with her chin on his breastbone so that she could SEE him. Hell, even with her arms wrapped around him, even with HIS around HER, she wasn't entirely sure her friend was really here.]

[The shocked surprise had twitched into a half-disbelieving grin as a low laugh escaped her.]}

I swear to god, if I'm just having one of those nostalgia dreams and I wake up and realize I'm hugging a pillow or something...

[a snort, half-amused]

Oi, don't say that, I'll start worrying about whether I'm imagining things or not too.

[and he'd much rather go on believing that this was real]

_{[She laughs again, a little clearer this time. Okay... he was real.]

[Drawing away at last but not letting go entirely, she looks up at him, gesturing blankly with one hand for lack of actual WORDS to describe the situation.]

[She remembered his farewell note, of course-- how could she forget? But that part about knowing they'd see each other again... she hadn't bought that. It'd made her bad, really-- for not being as hopeful as he was. But hope is hard to muster sometimes, especially when you don't have a whole lot of it to begin with.]}

When did... how did you get here?

I never thought-- ...

_{[And then, like she'd suddenly gotten tired of stammering like a fool, she points at him, almost accusingly.]}

I'm gonna unlock the door. You tell me what the hell you're doing here, and I swear to god if you disappear while my back is turned, I'll-- .... be totally pissed off and just sort of stomp around here in the hallway, I guess.

[... and that makes him snicker, because it's the very same Heather-brand humor he had come to miss over the past few months]

Geez, you're just as scary as I remember.

But 'm not going anywhere. I promise.

_{[Some things don't change, not even after six whole months.]

[Her sense of humor, apparently, was one of them. Luckily for him.]

[Finally letting go, she turned to the door, yanking the mittens she'd been wearing off so that she could dig her keys out of her pocket.]}

Good.

Wouldn't want to've gone soft or anything...

_{[After bullying the lock into clicking, she let the door drift open, keys still in the keyhole as she bent down to gather up the fallen groceries. Her words had a bit of a blustering quality to them-- she wasn't sure WHAT to say so when all else failed, reverting to the matter-of-fact seemed safe, and hunching over to yank cans off the ground was a fair way to hide just how much his words meant.]

[She could save the emotional outbursts for when they weren't standing in a public hallway...]}

[Kaito followed suit, crouching down to the ground to sling his travel bag back over his shoulder while he helped Heather collect the fallen groceries. Every so often his gaze would flick up toward her, just to make sure she was still there, but the disbelief that he had actually found her was already beginning to fade]

Can't imagine you going soft. [He commented as he handed her a jar of peanut butter] You're not really the type.

_{[Between them, they're able to gather up the supplies without much difficulty-- it's mostly the basics. Lots of canned soups. Coffee, bread, apples, a bunch of cheap microwavable junk...]

[A snort escaped her at his comment, as she straightened up with an armful of cup noodles.]}

Yeah, well... given that I'm not hiking through the countryside on a daily basis anymore, my rock-hard abs have started to fade. Remember my epic six-pack? It doesn't exist anymore.

_{[Heather you didn't have a six-pack. You NEVER had a six-pack.]

[But although she'd been wearing a bit of a grin, it faded when she was abruptly reminded that talking about Johto hurt. So it was with a slightly more subdued smile that she motioned towards the door.]}

C'mon in. Mi casa es tu casa.

[There was no way he was suppressing his amused snort at her mention of a six pack, and once the groceries were properly picked up, he straightened and adjusted the strap of his bag, shooting her a somewhat amused look]

You couldn't try hiking through the cityside instead to keep it in shape? I think that would've been an appropriate alternative.

[But his own joke muted when her grin faded slightly, and he nodded at the door, trying to keep the tone as lighthearted as he could]

I hope you plan on giving me a thorough tour of your humble home.

Eh.

_{[She kicks the door open a little wider as she heads in.]}

It's just not the same, you know?

_{[Not that she didn't do a lot of hiking around the city ANYWAY-- Heather had always been a restless person. But... well, it wasn't the same.]

[As soon as she was in the door, she set the groceries down on a low chair sitting by a mini-fridge and spread her arms.]}

No tour necessary-- this is the whole damn thing.

_{[It was a tiny, cluttered apartment-- just one room, if you didn't count the bathroom, which was off to the side through a narrow door.]

[It had a bed in one corner by the window, with a dresser, desk and a little TV nearby. Despite the cramped-ness, though, it looked lived in. There were some hanging mobiles and Christmas lights of varying brands strung around the room, and most of the walls were plastered with cutouts and pictures.]

[Sort of bright and homey-- although judging by the giant nest of blankets on the bed, the heat wasn't too good.]}

[Small... but very Heather. He grinned as he stepped inside, gaze darting across the walls, taking in every bit as he did so. It was a little surreal-- never in his life before Johto had he thought he'd be crashing in the house of a blonde, American girl who lived halfway across the world. But at the same time, it was completely believable]

'S nice. [He reached out to shut the door behind him, giving them both some much needed privacy]

A lot better than tents and sleeping bags in the middle of the woods, right?

_{[Hell, they're in the same boat, because Heather never thought she'd wind up with a teenage Japanese supercriminal popping by her apartment. She never even thought she'd see him again.]

[But here they are.]

[As he shuts the door, she bends down to shove some of the more perishable items into the fridge, whose door is covered in colorful magnets. Some are letters-- "THE FREEZE MACHINE" is spelled out in a wobbly line across the door.]}

Well, it's not much, but... s'home. More or less.

_{[Not really. Heather hadn't felt 'home' in a long time.]

[But even so, she'd clearly made it her own.]

[Kaito would likely notice that the decorations taped up all over the walls were just as varied as all the odds and ends hanging from the ceiling-- but most notably were a series of torn-out sketchpad pages with some familiar shapes on them... a tiger-striped dog in the center of a myriad of other creatures.]

[Heather had not forgotten Johto. Judging by the grin she has when she straightens up, as well.]}

Definitely better than tents.

... Gotta admit, though... I kinda miss camping.

[He stops at those sketches, feeling a sharp pang of nostalgia coursing through him as he reaches out to touch them gently, fingertips gliding across the paper. He hadn't forgotten either, and his grin falters every so slightly-- he may have tracked down Heather, but there were certain non-human friends he knew he'd never see again]

... only kinda. [He adds with a snort, withdrawing and turning back toward her] I miss everything surrounding the camping more.

_{[... Yeah.]

[For Heather, that had been ... probably the hardest part of coming back.]

[She'd been able to come to terms with most other things... even with her father. But her team... waking up without a warm wriggly mass of Growlithe next to her had left a cold, hollow feeling in her chest for the first few months, and it still did, sometimes...]

[She catches him looking at the drawings when she turns around, and smiles a little tiredly.]}

... Yeah.

Something tells me it wouldn't be the same if I tried it here.

_{[Without the others...]

[For a second or two, she just sort of... stares blankly in his direction, as though trying to COMPLETELY buy the fact that he's THERE, standing in her apartment. That awkward freeze-up that sometimes happens when you unexpectedly run into an old, too-long-unseen friend wasn't really at play here so much as... well. It's just a lot to take in.]}

... How'd you find me?

Good hunch.

[He takes a few steps toward her, hands resting in his pockets, and gives a little shrug]

Wasn't easy. I wasn't kidding when I said you were pretty difficult to find. Geez... I wasn't even sure we actually shared a world when I started.

But I looked up Silent Hill, and when I actually got something, I went from there.

_{[... So he'd started from the beginning.]

[The town's name gives Heather an uncomfortable twinge somewhere deep in her gut, but it's hardly important right now. He's HERE, not there.]

[A grin tugs at her mouth again and she nudges the fridge door shut with her foot and starts fiddling with her hem of her coat in preparation to pull it off.]}

I guess if Douglas could track me down with nothing but my dad's name, previous residence, and some kook saying that he'd kidnapped me, it's not too surprising that YOU'D be able to.

_{[Yanking the coat off abruptly with one hand and standing on one foot to pull one of her boots off with the other, she rolls her eyes.]}

Dude, I'm an awful host... Go ahead and take your coat and shoes off. I'm not lettin' you go anywhere so you're not gonna need them.

_{[WELCOME TO HEATHER'S APARTMENT you're not allowed to leave. :Ib]}

C'mon, you say that like I plan on going somewhere.

[Nevertheless, he follows suit, tugging off his own jacket and draping it across the nearest chair (his shoes had already been disposed of near the door)]

Hey, better safe than sorry, okay?

_{[After all, he hadn't planned on going anywhere back in Johto... not that the real world worked like Johto. ... It was so strange. Considering this place the 'real' one again.]

[She doesn't ask him to hang up his coat or anything-- judging by the 'organized clutter' status of the entire room, she doesn't much care about that. Instead she just shoves her own boots onto a pile of newspaper by the door and then dumps her own coat on top of his before flopping down onto one end of the bed/chaotic blanketnest.]

[She pats the spot next to her-- he can sit down if he wants. There's not many other places to sit apart from the floor and the chair at the desk-- well okay there's what looks like an old beanbag in the corner but it looks like it's composed more of duct tape than fabric at this point.]}

[softening his teasing tone, just a bit]

... haa. Maybe.

[And he flops onto the bed with her without hesitation, linking his hands behind his head and streeeetching a bit as he stares up at her ceiling. A few moments of silence pass before he speaks again, tone still soft and inquisitive... and maybe just apologetic]

'M sorry.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject