[OPEN] Unreasonable Excitement

In her excitement about leaving for the festival Ichiko almost forgets one last preparation. She has flung open her door and is halfway down the corridor before she remembers, skids to a halt and yelps, "Oh crap, the casing, I forgot the casing!" before sprinting back to her dorm room again.

Ichiko has put on a a white yukata with a blue plant pattern and a blue belt - a hand-me-down from her aunt - along with the traditional Japanese sandals. Her parents had insisted she wear them to any school festivals that required traditional dress, otherwise Ichiko would most likely turn up in a T-shirt, jeans and trainers, such was her disregard for convention and aesthetics. She had considered decorating her eyepatch to liven it up, or doing something with her short, boyish hair, but in the end she had done neither.

As a further concession for this "formal" occasion, Ichiko had decided to bolt the casing back onto her bionic arm, hiding the skeletal mechanics she so loved to show off. However, in her eagerness to get to the festival she had completely forgotten to do so. As she re-entered her room she picked up the pieces of flesh-coloured plastic from the bed and bolted them into place over the top of the bare metal mechanisms of her prosthetic. It felt like a shame to hide them, but there would be hundreds of people coming up from the city and not everyone appreciated seeing a girl walking around with a Terminator-style arm.

Somehow, thought Ichiko, it looks more fake when it's pretending to be real. Like if I had a glass eye instead of this eyepatch. With a shrug, Ichiko dismisses the thought from her mind and returns to her previous excited, energetic mood. Flexing her prosthetic a few times to make sure the casing is securely bolted on - which it is - Ichiko flings open the door, races out of the dorms, into the courtyard, and almost immediately runs straight into someone, knocking them both to the ground.

"Sorry!" Squeals Ichiko, picking herself up. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there!" She quickly adjusts her eyepatch to make sure it's properly covering her empty left eye socket. "I shouldn't have been running, I'm sorry!"

'Owwiiee...' Ellie moans out and rubs her bum a little with her hand. A little less than a minute ago, she had lost her uncle somewhere in the crowds and was wandering blindly (pun intended) for a little while before running into (pun intended) Ichiko. 'Oh, it's alright!' she responds with a wide smile once Ichiko apologizes. However, the little girl is hesitant to stand up. Instead, she simply turns around and stands on her knees, then begins feeling the ground around for her cane, which she dropped during the impact.

Ichiko spots the cane lying on the ground. "Oh, is this yours?" She picks it up and puts it in the girl's hand. "There you go! Sorry once again!"

Even though she realizes fully well that she's being handed the cane over, Ellie's blindness makes it a bit hard to just take it. She reaches towards the direction Ichiko's voice is coming from, but her tiny arm is way too short to even reach the cane. 'Um... Could you...' she says, feeling a little embarrassed.

Ichiko realizes that the young girl must be blind, hence the cane. "Oh...okay." She crouches down, getting closer so Ellie can properly take hold of the cane. "Is that better?"

After a few seconds, Ellie feels the cane on her palm. She smiles and takes hold of it firmly, then stands up and begins dusting her silk-red yukata off, not sure about whether or not she got it dirty. 'Um... Sorry, but have you seen my uncle around? We were together, and then I lost him... He's, um...' she rolls her white eyes, not exactly sure about how to describe him. Suddenly, she remembers something he had mentioned off-handedly on their way there. 'He's dressed in a green yukata, I think'

Ichiko rubs the back of her head nervously. "Well, to be honest, I only came outside.about a minute ago and I was running because I was so excited, so I haven't really seen that many people about or been paying that much attention to them, and am I bleeding? I think my leg is bleeding." Ichiko shuttles from one topic to the next without pausing for a second or even the slightest change in her voice. Without any shame, Ichiko hitches up her yukata to expose her knees. There's a small graze on her knee but no blood. "Oh, okay, I'm not bleeding, that's good." She drops the hem of her yukata and returns to the previous topic. "Anyway, I haven't seen him, but I can help you look for him!"

Ellie finds herself a bit confused by Ichiko's sudden change of subjects mid-sentence, but is ultimately relieved once she finds out that she's not bleeding after all. After she's offered help, the little girl smiles widely. 'Sure, that'd be great! Thank you!' she giggles. 'I'm Ellie, by the way!'

"My name is Ichiko! It's nice to meet you, Ellie! Okay, where should we start looking? Where was the last place you saw your uncle?"

'Um, well...' Ellie thinks for a few moments. That's the first time she's ever been near the high school building of Yamaku Academy, so she's not entirely sure about where anything could be. Not to mention, all the noise around her is disorienting her even more. 'Perhaps he's gone back to the entrance?' she suggests quietly. When people lose each other in a crowded place, they tend to rendezvous at some kind of landmark, and since the entrance is the only place Ellie was familiar with, she figures her uncle would be smart enough to wait for her there.

"Okay, we'll check there first then! Uhh...would you like to hold my hand, or something?" Ichiko offers her robotic arm to Ellie.

[I may not be able to post tomorrow because of circumstances beyond my control, so...yeah We'll see.]

'Oh, sure!' Ellie smiles widely and quickly retracts her cane, then reaches out towards the source of Ichiko's voice, only for her little hand to suddenly feel the cold metal of the cybernetic arm. The girl gasps and pulls away instinctively, not really sure about what exactly she just touched. 'Is... Is that your hand?' she asks carefully.

[Well, maybe we can finish this tonight, then. I don't see it going for longer than a couple more posts, anyway. Not to mention, I'll be right here for a few hours, so you can expect quick responses]

[My phone's also low on battery but I'll hold out as long as I can.]

"Well...yes and no." Ichiko replies. "I kinda lost my real arm when I was eight, so I had a prosthe-" She pauses, believing the six-year-old incapable of understanding the word "prosthetic". "-I had a fake one fitted instead. It's pretty cool, right?"

'Wow... Are those... Cybernetics?' Ellie asks curiously as her smalls fingers trace all over the metal surface of the arm. That's the first time the little girl had gotten to touch an actual cybernetic limb, so she wants to get a good feel of what they're like. 'It's so cool!'

'Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit... One job, Wade! You had one job!!!' he keeps talking to himself while making his way through the dense crowds at the festival. After a few minutes of searching, he finally finds his little niece talking to a strange, blue-haired girl. 'Ellie!' the boy yells out and approaches the two.

Ichiko breaks into a massive grin. "I know, isn't it awesome?" She knows what cybernetics are...this kid's kinda smart, huh?

Suddenly she hears a voice calling out Ellie's name. "Oh, I think that might be your uncle!" she says.

Ellie smiles widely once she hears the familiar voice. 'Yep, that's right!' she nods and quickly turns around. 'Uncle Wade! Over here!'

'Oh, thank God!' Wade speaks out as he falls on his knees and gives the little girl a firm hug. He didn't like the thought of losing his blind niece in a crowded place like that, especially during the first time he ever took her out. Feeling relieved, Wade stands up and turns towards Ichiko. 'Thanks for taking care of...' he says before noticing the girl's blue hair, cybernetic arm and eyepatch. He recognizes who she is instantly, even though he's never seen her before. 'Hey... Aren't you Nayumi's friend?'

Ichiko nods. "That's right, I am! Ichiko Asari at your service!" She salutes with her mechanical arm then giggles.

Ellie practically melts in her uncle's arms, even if she didn't exactly expect the hug. After all, she hasn't been hugged by him in over a year, and getting to feel his arms around her and to smell his "Black Rose" perfume up close again makes the little girl feel somewhat nostalgic. After she's let go, Ellie takes his hand gently, ready to go whenever he was.

Wade gasps a little. The traumatic events that had transpired mere days ago in his own world are still very fresh in his mind. He shakes his head, telling himself that whatever happened there didn't occur here. Ichiko didn't act like something had happened to Nayumi, so it was probably a safe bet that she's alive and well here, just like everyone else involved with the attack on Takeshi's in. After a relieved sigh, he smiles warmly. 'I see. And I'm Wade Wilson! I'm from Nayumi's class' he introduces himself. 'I believe you already met my niece'

"Indeed I have! She's a nice girl! Oh, since you're from Nayumi's class, do you by any chance know if Nayumi's doing anything for the festival, like working at one of the stalls or something? I haven't been able to talk to her since the festival was announced so I dunno what her plans are for today!"

Ichiko has no idea that a) Nayumi is ill and cannot attend the festival, and b) Wade wouldn't have the first idea what Nayumi would be doing.

Ellie blushes slightly when Ichiko compliments her. 'Thanks! You're not so bad yourself!' she giggles.

A nervous grin spreads across Wade's lips. 'Nayumi? Nah, I have no idea where she could be! To be honest, I thought she'd be with you!' he says and forces a chuckle out, getting slightly worried. Was this world's Nayumi alright? She had to be alive, but it was unnatural for her not to contact her best friend for days. 'Don't you have any idea where she might be?'

Ichiko thinks for a moment before jumping as though struck by lightning. "Oh! I think I know where she might be!" Ichiko suddenly races off again, then remembers what happened the first time she run and slows down. "I'll see you guys later!" She calls over her shoulder to Wade and Ellie.