Part 26: Castor and Pollux
Nagi was lost in her own world. She didn't really choose to be – Tosai was still whirring away at her side, talking about this and that, but Nagi was busy trying to figure out something. She was trying to figure out why she did what she just did. It felt natural in the moment – an action as easy and natural as typing on a keyboard or pushing a button – but she was now questioning what compelled her to do it, to reach out and call someone 'partner' like that. It was just something that had seemed – did seem – so right. She looked to Toaai, who was nattering on about why he thought that Cony × Cony was growing on him, and he eventually tapered off, realising that she was staring intently at him.
"Something up?" He asked.
"No, I was simply just lost in thought." She replied.
"Abouttt..?"
"It needn't concern you. We all have our secrets to keep." Tosai shrugged in seeming compliance.
"Well, now I've got your attention, I've been meaning to ask," he began, taking out his phone and tapping the screen a few times, "just why do the über-rich guys who made EleStra decide to hold their events at… three-star hotels?!" Tosai squinted at his screen.
"Just how much did you know about this event before you decided to purchase tickets for it?" Nagi narrowed her eyes at him.
"Um… it had a name and tickets for sale?" Tosai laughed nervously and Nagi relented with the evil eye, sighing heavily as she did so.
"Very well, allow me to explain. The first round of tickets for EFest are for those superfans who want to get such valuable experiences such as Q&A panels with the devs and exclusive merch – thus, the custom for EFest is for this portion of the event to be held in smaller event spaces with smaller capacity. It weeds out us true Elestrainiacs from the common fan. That you secured those tickets is, put simply, nothing short of astounding."
"They make the tickets to the event about their gatcha game scarce? That's, like, too many levels of FOMO." Tosai sighed.
"Scarce, but truly worth it." She reminded him.
"Also, you're saying that it's only one portion of the ticket sales?" Tosai asked after a few more minutes of walking.
"Verily. The others will go on sale tonight, to guarantee access to the large convention venue tomorrow. I predict the venue will be A-EAST."
"Wait, they're holding a con in a concert hall? Aren't there like, better spaces for that stuff?" Tosai recoiled.
"Well, they've held the last few events in domes – I've personally visited the Nagoya Dome myself, thanks to it." Nagi recalled the vast floorspace swamped with merch stalls selling all manner of pins, props, art and doujinshi – one of which she still carried around with her, a fandom darling about Lord Tomonami and a princess.
"T-The baseball stadium? How're they gonna fit baseball-stadium sized crowds into A-EAST?" Tosai''s eyes suddenly shone a different shade of emotion "And, uh, are you gonna be alright?" Nagi chuckled, causing Tosai to turn a shade of pink.
"I can put my… discomforts aside when it comes to my fandom. Though I will be relying on you, partner." That caused him to brighten up a bit, breaking him back into his usual cocky demeanour.
"You got it, Nagirl!"
Nagi and Tosai approached the hotel. It was just behind PARCO, and Nagi could not help but notice how Tosai scanned his surroundings when they reached the top of Spain Hill, his eyes darting immediately to the stairway near the shop. She shared his elation to see the memorial still shining against the sun, catching its light and shimmering like a gaudy but wonderful beacon.
"Ahh," she said, airily, thinking back to EFests past, "to think this time I will not walk alone through the stalls, or attend the panels on my lonesome, or spectate the duels by myself."
"D-Duels?" Tosai was back to being surprised.
"Duels involving mastery of the blade, to be precise." As if to illustrate her point, she put her hand on the hilt of Tomonami's blade and drew it from behind her back, twirled it around, and then sheathed it once again. Tosai whistled.
"So you guys use real weapons, or…?" Nagi's brow furrowed.
"Indeed. At this con where anyone may participate within a duel, we use real weapons to eviscerate one another and ensure their demise." Her tone was strained and nasally.
"Had no idea you were capable of sarcasm, partner." Tosai laughed, "Maybe I should give it a shot, go all hwah! and hiyah! and hytatatata! on them! Show them the skills Iearned with those sword pins!" Nagi was amazed by how surprisingly not terrible Tosai's form was when he mimed slashing to those… whatever those noises were.
"I shan't stop you." She told him, as they entered into the lobby – a space doused in soothing yellow lighting, with a rustic look to it, soft wooden accents placed on otherwise harsh stone and marble furnishings such as tables and even the reception desk. Their footsetps rung out softly against the polished floor Nagi thought was granite. Shiki would probably tell her the exact rock it was, its mohs hardness and how they cut it and Tosai would probably tell her it was cool stone. "Though I do not expect you to reach the grand heights awarded to the victor, admittedly."
"Aw come on," Tosai lowered his voice as to not wake an exhausted concierge sprawled out on one of the black leather couches next to them, "I'm pretty good! You saw me in the UG."
"Very well, if you do claim victory I shall look forward to the new variant you design for the Lord or Lady of your choosing."
"Ooh, that's the prize?" She could almost see his ears perk up. She pulled out her phone whilst they waited for the queue in front of them to diminish. She tapped a few times through some menus and showed Tosai a variant of Tomonami in a (rather tight-fitting) school uniform, added. He whistled in approval. She tapped once more to reveal the designer of the skin – it bore her own name. Fret registered it and looked like he'd been shot.
"I'll admit, the variant is a bit anachronistic considering His Radiance's age and usual style of dress, but EleStra does take place in modernity and I was a simple high school student back when I proposed this following my successful campaign." Nagi looked over the design and mused on what she'd change – that green tie would be purple, first off. The uniform itself would be altered to resemble less of her own high school's garb and perhaps be given a more unique flair for the blazer – a floral pattern would suit His splendour felicitously.
"I don't care that he's an acrobatic or whatever, I just wanna know how you won." He said, in not-so-repressed awe.
"Ah, 'twas not much to be praised so. I simply practiced with my blade…" she went to draw it, but realised the people behind her would probably end up with a mouthful of His Radiance's literal edge, so instead settled for putting a hand on its hilt, "and let His hands guide my own."
"Wait, how come you barely used sword pins in the UG, then? I bet you could've kicked like, everyone's ass!" Tosai's mind clearly wandered to some battle-hardened image of her cleaving through waves of Plague Wolves.
"I can swing any sword I choose in reality. I would much rather launch Mach 2 kicks at Popguins or gargantuan bombs at Jellies than do what I spend nights in my room practising." Nagi's mind flash back to the catharsis of pelting the DRS with assorted junk after the ambush stunt they pulled, but quickly felt her mood drop when she remembered what had happened to them just days later. The thought made her head throb and she let out a nearly silent mewling groan.
"Huh. I can see the logic in that, I guess." The two approached the clerk, who greeted them with a weary smile. They explained who they were and Tosai presented his booking to her.
"Ah! Guests here for the… event." Nagi could see she was trying hard not say EFest, causing a bemused smiled to cross her lips. The clerk fumbled around in some drawers before pulling out a key.
"The key to your room. The keychain has a QR code you can use to check tomorrow's schedule and you'll allso to access the…" she stared at what seemed to be a notepad on her side of the counter, "…developer panels held here tomorrow and Sunday." The two thanked her and quickly scurried out of line, walking to the elevators.
Nagi fumbled with the doorknob for a brief few seconds before the door finally opened. The room was small – a small, charitably-bequeathed hallway with an ensuite led to a cosy room with a view out to the area surrounding Kitaya Park. Tosai was intently reading the schedule for tomorrow on his phone, to the point Nagi had to tug on his shirt to get him to enter the room. Nagi checked everything was in order in the room, slotting a charger into the port to ensure that it would be charged enough to last the rest of the day – she had so far managed to successfully avoid a forced shutdown during an EleStra play session and wasn't ready to have one just yet, either. Tosai flopped onto his bed, hugging the pillow.
"Feels so good after nights of just a futon…"
"There are certain charms to hotel beds, I find myself inclined to believe." Nagi neatly laid her boots by the door and hung her bag up.
"I could nap for like… a million years in this heat." Tosai snatched the beads in his hair loose and played around with it until it somewhat resembled his old cut. It was a lot messier and straighter in places, but it looked very familiar. Nagi smiled, thinking it an approval-worthy first attempt and Tosai grinned back. He seemed a lot more comfy even when back near enough to his old self.
"You look in your prime, partner." Nagi complimented him and watched him flush again. For some reason, this made her smile turn just a bit upwards some more.
"I feel it, Nagi," Tosai said, placing the beads down on the dark oak headboard behind him with a satisfying clatter. "I really feel it."
Nagi and Tosai played EleStra mostly in silence for a while, with occasional questions from Tosai promptly met with only the best advice from Nagi. She was impressed how fast he was making his way through Lugh's floors of the Dungeon, his team composition skills and strategic decision-making having been bolstered since last he'd attempted the dive.
"Yo, Nagi, I've been wondering something." Tosai didn't look away from his phone, his fingers gripping the screen as he focused on working his way out of a disadvantageous position on bad terrain.
"Hm?" She herself was too absorbed in PvP to answer further.
"You're, like, kinda well known in the EleStra community, right?"
"I would say that my name sometimes comes up amongst EleStrainiacs, yes." She was able to give him a more detailed response now that one of her enemy's stronger units was dispatched.
"How come you've only ever gone to one of these on your own?" Fret put the phone down and leaned over to look at her, though Nagi was determined to see this match through, so she could not meet his gaze.
"That enthralling, huh?" Tosai raised an eyebrow. She didn't want to let the silence ring out too long – and he was probably owed an explanation, anyway. No, it was more like she… wanted to answer him. It was a bizarre distinction she tried to think about. She didn't consider him a distraction from EleStra, but rather he took priority over it. It wasn't obligation that moved her hands to put the phone down and face him, it was… desire? Was that the word? It was the first that came to her mind and she didn't like how it felt oddly natural.
"Apologies, Tosai. I think it's best explained by my fandom making me… Intimidating to approach." She thought of the events she had been to where people sometimes whispered her name and pointed, looking like they wanted to come over and say hello, but ultimately backed down.
"Huh. Okay, I can kiiiinda understand that, but why didn't you just invite a friend?" Tosai posed the question clearly expecting Nagi to know an answer, but she couldn't find one. It was like the answer was just missing, no one explanation allowing her to fully provide a satisfying explanation as to her solo venture to these cons.
"Wait. You didn't have… no-one to invite, did you?" The revelation hit Nagi like a bat to the head, and the answer became clear, though she wasn't fond of it.
"I… didn't. I didn't have anyone." Nagi thought back to the times she'd spent wandering the streets of other cities alone. In Nagoya, Kyoto, Kobe, Yokohama, Hiroshima – where there was a con or fan event she could afford to attend as soon as the crowds dispersed she wandered into the night of the city with no-one by her side. She ate alone, took taxis, buses and trains alone, only talking to people on forums and social media or the occasional stranger on the train with her.
"It… would seem that the first friends I ever made in years were… the Wicked Twisters." She laughed weakly, before they turned quickly to resigned sobs. She didn't even have the energy to draw out a more than a handful of tears.
Tosai panicked, making quick jerky movements to stand up and resting a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, that doesn't matter, does it? I mean you enjoyed those events, right? Even if you spent them, y'know…" Tosai felt his panic rising as he tried to ensure the situation didn't worsen.
"I-I did, but…" Nagi coughed out, "why did I ever strive to un-un-understand others in the first– first place if it meant no-one could," she hiccuped, "make a g-genuine connection with me?" Tosai pat her shoulder.
"Hey, you're just letting the bad thoughts win. You told everyone, remember? That you just want to make everyone feel welcomed. Don't let your head trick your heart into thinking that just because no-one realised how awesome that made you it's your fault, partner." Nagi's sobs did not cease, their low staccato presence still continuing on.
"It's ju-just… what if they were using me-e?" She heaved, "What if I did everything just to ultimately f-find myself wi-with false friends? J-Just to end up surrounded wi-with people like… li-like you!"
Fret's hand froze. He tried his best to recover from it but all he could for a few moments was a low buzz and all he could feel was the inability to move his hand, to comfort her. When the feeling subsided, her sobbing was less frequent, but still audible, despairing mewling sent out to no-one.
"That c-c-came out wrong."
"I…" Fret didn't even try to find the words, "…yeah."
"I was just petrified that if you all ever left then… Then everyone would just drift i-in and out of my life, like you did with e-everyone. I ca-ca-cannot overstate how sorry I am."
"You don't have to," Fret shakily regained his mental footing, "I think everyone in the Twisters ended up like that to some degree. But hey, we found each other, right? Better late than never for us to realise how much each us of us needed one another."
"W-Why must you be the voice of reason in this scenario?" Nagi groaned through sniffles. Fret chuckled softly.
"Because we all have our weak moments. Mine happened to be a couple of years. You might think you're like me because you never made a true friend or whatever, but you always were kind. I know you'd never act out desire or to fill some heart-shaped hole. You'd just be kind. And if you wanted people to return that kindness, you've found 'em now. Your past and mine are night and day, Nagi. Mine's probably unalterably wrecked my own damn future. Your past made a path to yours."
"Ueeeghhhh…" she sniffled.
"So just… don't go worrying any of us'll ever leave without warning, okay? I don't even wanna. Partners, remember?"
"V-Verily. Partners." She suddenly pulled him into an erratic hug, hands digging into his back.
"I cannot recall when I last felt comfortable enough to do this." She whispered into his shirt. Fret seized up and everything went haywire.
"H-How does it feel?" He asked through teeth trying their hardest not to chatter.
"I just want it to last… a little bit longer." Fret finally could move his arm again, wrapping it around Nagi. He wanted to say it. To say he loved her. He could feel the words wrapped around his tongue, fighting to untangle themselves. But he knew he wouldn't hear them back. And he was fine with that. For now, all he wanted was for this to last a little longer too.