(no subject)

[singlefaith]

Ran Mouri rmzepar@applenet.net
Shared the following message below:

I had a few questions to ask, if anyone can help:

1. Has it ever happened before that someone hasn’t completely Awakened? I mean . . . they remember some of their memories, but not all of them, and they never made a pact and never had anything appear like everyone else?

Is there a way to get them to Awaken completely?

2. Has anyone seen someone named Shinichi? He's been on the app before. I don’t know how to contact him otherwise. I don’t even know who he’s supposed to be in this place. He told me a few days ago he’d talk to me, and he left the app abruptly, and I haven’t seen him since. Is there a way to find out where he is?

(Shinichi, if you see this, you’d better say something!! You’re making me worried.)

3. Not quite as serious, but still important –- I need a place to practice karate. I guess I never learned it here, but if things are going to happen like that last battle, I need to make sure I practice and keep getting better. Does anyone else practice too? Having a partner –- or partners –- would be good!

Thank you!

Comments

[beastfang]

There have been incidents where a person has appeared upon the app but then is never heard from again, some have even made it to awakening before,
as Luci aptly puts it, their hearts fold again and they supposedly scatter back into the city. If there is a way to bring them back around or awaken them fully we have yet to find it or be given a hint about such.

So unless they are just not responding to anything upon this app then they likely are considered lost at present time.

[singlefaith]

[Ran's insides give a sharp twist at that. That . . . can't really be what happened. Right?]

[She presses her lips together.]

Even if that's the truth, he's still in the city, right? Even if he doesn't remember anything.

Even if that's the case, I'd still want to find him.

[beastfang]

[If he isn't dead that is, but he's not going to say that as there is a chance he's alive. Genda just has little faith that many of the abrupt disappearances are just because of hearts folding but he doesn't want to cause hysterics voicing such an opinion.]

The consensus is they are, however, there is also a strong possibility whatever brought us all here may not allow you to actually find him.
Even those of use who awakened before could not actually recognize those we knew from home until they fully awakened if they were in the second group.

Something stops us from fully finding one another until that key moment.

[singlefaith]

[Thank you for not saying that aloud, Genda.]

I have to try. He

[Accidental return there, but it makes Ran pause anyway, not sure how to explain Shinichi. Whatever is between them . . . it's old, at least on her end, but it's also fledgling-new, wobbly, and delicate. She can't bring herself to say it aloud -- and not even sure how to define it if she did.]

I've known him since we were both little.

If something stops me, at least I know I've tried.

[Not that she would genuinely find peace with that, but.]

I'm just not sure where to start. The city is so big, and his name is probably even different.

[beastfang]

The only thing I know regarding such things is secondhand information. Sometimes the person just goes back to living their life as if nothing has changed and some have reported that those they knew who stopped remembering were gone, only for Luci to mention that they were 'scattered' back into the city. So there is a chance if you had any clue on who he was before the app appeared you could at least start there.

[possedere]

[Since the first two points don't interest him all that much just yet, going for the goods-]

My skills are woeful compared to what they once were, but I'd be more than happy to spar with you. If you're a student, there would be grounds we might be able to use, or if not, joining a local gym or class might be ideal.

[singlefaith]

[Ran expects there will be people who don't respond to the first two for whatever reason and doesn't think twice about it.]

Thank you! Working off someone else always helps more than just trying to do it all alone. Do you also do karate? Or something else?

I am a student, but I probably should stay off school grounds. I really shouldn't be raising suspicions; at least in this place, I didn't know karate at all, so it would be strange if someone ran into us. Makoto-san mentioned a dojo down below, though?

[possedere]

Something different, but it never hurts to learn another style.

[Also, ah, Makoto. What a pain, but it would be convenient.]

That sounds like it'd be the best course of action. Would before school or after school work better for you?

[singlefaith]

It doesn't. Dad -- at home, I mean -- taught me some judo as well, and it helps. What do you practice?

As far as timing, it really depends. Mom sometimes has me open in the mornings when the fresh stock comes in, but I also can have track practice after school. Probably later in the evening, if that works for you?

[She'll fit homework in there somewhere.]

[transient_specter]

I work at a dojo. You can train there.

[singlefaith]

[Normally Ran might be a little more effusive at this news. But there's still a little bit of weight from that previous conversation with Chikusa. Makoto had stopped his brother, but . . . where was he really on that debate? He hadn't sounded like he'd completely opposed it.]

[(In the back of her mind, she argues with herself about this reserve -- they can't really afford to be drawing lines like this, any of them; it will only cause problems.)]

[(But she can't help just a little of that uncertainty leaking in, either.)]

Thank you! Where is it?

[He did still reach out, and he is being kind. He didn't have to say anything, after all. Maybe this could still be okay.]

Do you also train?

[transient_specter]

[Insert directions here.]

I do. Before coming here I spent about half my life training in hand to hand combat.

[His personal feelings on whatever that conversation was aside, he can't let someone just wander around here without training.]

[singlefaith]

[She writes those directions down, resolving to check things out the next day she doesn't have practice after classes.]

[Meanwhile, she can't help but be impressed.]

Ah, wow! Did you train in any particular style?

[osakanpride]

[ Heiji checked the application frequently for a variety of reasons. His peers could be rather loose when it came to information regarding their situation overall. It was a good way to pull some details that would otherwise be difficult to seek. Secondly, it was a measure to see where the others stood in their complications and allowed him to get a vague idea of how they were as people, and even what their objectives were. Heiji had every reason to check on the application, so when this came up, a part of him sunk. It was expected, and Heiji knew Ran was going to seek answers eventually, but he didn't think it would be this soon.

The detective wasn't sure how to address this. Like Kudo, he really didn't want her to worry (reminiscing feels aside), but on the other hand, if they spoke too in depth then it would be an application-wide problem and not just theirs. Because there were people who would want to help and there were proactive people that supported others.

Heiji stared at the message for what felt like an eternity before buckling down and typing up a response. ]

Even the participants before us haven't been 'awakened' that much longer. I don't know if the answers you're looking for have been found out yet.

[ The fact of the matter was Heiji knew Conan was Kudo and he knew about the increased secrecy on how it was carried on the application. Heiji wasn't in a position where he could share that information, though. ]

[singlefaith]

[Unfortunately, Ran isn't going to make this any less complicated for the detectives. It'll only get worse.]

[Meanwhile, there are things she needs to talk to Heiji about -- a lot that they've left unspoken in between them. Though she feels some of the weight of that, that'll be for private conversation, and for now she lets it sit.]

We have to try, though, right? It feels like something must have gone wrong for Conan-kun. It's good that he remembers us, but we can't leave him that way. He doesn't even remember his family. I know he says it's okay, but . . . it's really not. How could it be?

Come to think of it, do you know if he's ever even been on this app?

[osakanpride]

[ To think this wasn't even the worst of it, either. There was still room for more things to go wrong, and neither of the detectives had preemptive measures set aside. ]

I've been working on it ever since we awoke.

[ Heiji ponders for a brief moment on how to respond to the second part. ]

He's the youngest participant of the application that I'm aware of and his technology use is minimal. Mostly for games.

[singlefaith]

[He has? Why hasn't he mentioned it?]

What have you done so far? I'd like to help.

[Conan is her little brother figure, after all. She can't -- and won't -- just sit by the sidelines.]

So you're saying he is on this app? Why haven't I ever seen him say anything?

[He's Conan, after all. Always full of questions, getting into the middle of everything. All of this is one big mystery; she could never see him opting out of it.]

Shinichi Kudo ☸ Andromalius

[spoilsfun]

[Not good. if Ran kept asking questions like this, it could lead other people to start asking questions. ]

Sorry about hanging up on you that other time. I'm still here.

[singlefaith]

[Relief. Immediate and absolute relief, flooding in like water from a broken dam.]

I'm glad you're okay. Why haven't you reached out? And what were you saying about a case?

I'll give you my information; maybe we can figure out a place to meet.

I need to see you.

[If only for her own benefit. She needs to see him for herself, needs to see he's safe. And Shinichi knows her best. She can give the fears she hasn't dared speak aloud to him -- things she can't voice to anyone else. If he's here, things will be okay. All of it will be okay.]

[spoilsfun]

Sorry about that. Some things came up.

[She wanted to meet? He panics a little. There was no way he'd be able to pull off a meeting as he was right now.]

Ah, today isn't a good time to meet. Maybe some other time?

[singlefaith]

Some things?

[It sounded so weak. Vague. Distant.]

[. . . The distant part might be the worst. She feels her heart flutter, tries to quell it.]

It doesn't have to be today. Tomorrow?

Chikusa Kakimoto ☸ Astaroth

[kokuyoyo]

Makoto already contacted you so I would recommend that.

[He almost typed "brother" like five times, god dammit]

You've gotten plenty of information already on your other two points it appears.

[singlefaith]

I'm up for other options too if they can help.

[Are you offering, Chikusa?]

And otherwise, not really on the first one. Only Hattori-kun has said anything about it. You've been here longer -- did anything like that happen before?

[kokuyoyo]

He's the best.

[....And you don't want to know how he deals with threats normally, Ran.]

Not that I can recall. Some people 'break' and that's all I know about so far.

[singlefaith]

You think really highly of him.

[Which is not refuting his claim, but instead making an observation. At least in her limited time knowing him, Chikusa hasn't seemed like the sort to make that kind of claim -- which means he must really mean it.]

[Meanwhile, it looks like he's not offering to help himself, though, which to be honest . . . is okay with her right now. She's not sure she's ready for that yet, given what she's learned about him.]

It's kind of concerning . . . A child shouldn't have been pulled into this already. It feels like it makes him more vulnerable somehow.