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WHO: Sakuma & Open
WHERE: Heropa and Nonah
WHEN: All of April (except the 1st)
WHAT: Catch-all for the month
WARNINGS: TBD
NOTES: Brackets or prose, I'll match whatever you prefer. Closed starters in comments. Open prompts below the cut. Don't see a prompt that works for you? Feel free to write your own or hit me up so we can plot something specific together!

a. AFTER SCHOOL IS OVER
LATE AFTERNOON & EARLY EVENING DURING THE WEEK IN NONAH

[The irony of being exPorted for the entire duration of 'April Fool's Day' hadn't eluded Sakuma, but to say he found any amusement at all in the timing would have been a gross miscalculation of his patience. He recognized that he was fortunate not to have been absent any longer than he already was, and that he was more fortunate still to have made his way back to his friends' sides at all, but knowing the undue stress his disappearance would have caused both Kidou and Genda...

Well, he didn't feel very lucky. Instead, even though there was nothing he could do to change the past and there'd been no way he could have stopped the Porter from playing its tricks, he felt guilty. Like, somehow, he'd let down the two people who mattered most to him here in this world or even back home. They didn't see it that way, of course. Neither one would have ever blamed him for something that only the AI in the Porter could control, but it was a weight Sakuma nevertheless carried around with him the entire first day back. And yet, that same weight allowed him to appreciate the silver linings that miraculously still existed.

Having been Ported out on the weekend, he was given plenty of time to mentally readjust so that, by the time Monday rolled back around, he was no longer distracted at school and seemed, outwardly at least, as if everything was fine.

Which wasn't to say that his disappearance hadn't changed anything, because it had, but it was surprising to him that none of the ways that things were different were actually bad. They were simply...ways that he had to get used to, which seemed a common enough experience among imPorts, and one they each had to come to terms with on their own. And his method of accomplishing that was to keep busy and find ways to be productive in his spare time.

When he wasn't at school, working, or practicing his soccer, he had a brand new ability to get a handle on, and he couldn't think of a more discreet way to practice using it, or a better time, than on his way to the Porter in Nonah after school had finally let out.

He was cautious as he followed different people around, focused on keeping his distance and testing his range — perhaps even too focused. For he seemed almost to have forgotten that as an imPort, and as someone who's appearance wasn't 'ordinary' by any means, he still stood out more than he would have liked...]

b. SHOOT FOR YOUR GOALS
THROUGHOUT THE WEEK AND BEFORE DARK AROUND HEROPA

[For all the ways in which this world was awful, one of the most glaring and intolerable was its idea of soccer. The sport, insofar as Sakuma knew it, was teeming with life and energy, and while the soccer that people played here wasn't dead, it also wasn't alive in the same way, either. He was able to play with his peers at school, but he was constantly reminded of the differences in the levels of their abilities.

He had to be mindful of the strength of his kicks and, perhaps worst of all, he couldn't even use any hissatsu. The advantage his techniques would give him wouldn't be fair to the other players, for one. And for another, he didn't want to endanger anybody or ruin what fun everyone else found in such a simple activity.

Being forced to hold back wasn't simple, however. Especially when Sakuma remembered that he'd been about to take on the world with his team in the FFI tournament. Curricular soccer wasn't just a huge step down from that, it was a gigantic plummet into a pit that seemed bottomless, and not one he was convinced there was a way out of, either. At least, not as long as he remained here in this world. So few people from home were here, not even enough to make up half a team. But, depressing as that was, it wasn't any reason to let himself wither. Being unable to play his soccer at school didn't mean he couldn't play at all, or that he couldn't practice. And after the invasion of anachronisms last month, Sakuma realized now more than ever how important it would be to keep his skills sharp.

There were plenty of places to practice around Heropa, especially with its weather so much warmer than Nonah's had ever been. And so, when Sakuma couldn't be found in his own backyard at Heropa 032, he'd take to the park or to empty parking lots behind large plazas to practice individual skill and control, kicking around a ball summoned by a sound most people wouldn't ever expect to hear in the heart of Florida.]

c. OUT OF THE CONCRETE JUNGLE AND INTO THE ZOO
ANYTIME DURING THE DAY ON THE WEEKEND IN EITHER HEROPA OR NONAH

[Every now and again Sakuma behaved the way a teenage boy was expected, and while he never completely forgot about the things that worried him, he found it easier to give himself a temporary reprieve from worldly concerns when he visited the zoo. There, surrounded more by animals than people, or at least capable of tuning out the human ambiance, he seemed infinitely more at ease.

Unsurprisingly, he spent most of his time watching the penguins either from the indoor viewing area where their underwater antics could be watched more closely, or from a platform outside that allowed spectators to better take in the whole of the group as they waddled around or slid about on their bellies. When he wasn't there, however, he could be found observing any number of the sea life performances, contentedly watching puffins swim, polar bears play, or seeing precisely why everyone was making such a big fuss over watching animated movies on the new 4D theater.

He absolutely could not be found browsing through everything penguin that filled the souvenir shop, from mugs to postcards, key chains to hats, and t-shirts to plush stuffed animals.

...except he could totally be found there, quietly pondering to himself how much or how little he could afford to buy. At least, when he thought nobody he knew might be looking!]

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[Sakuma's quick to nod. Cloth bags are definitely ideal. Sturdier and more environmentally friendly, there really isn't any reason not to use them except ignorance or laziness, neither word of which can be used to describe either boy.]

We shouldn't need too many, but it couldn't hurt to have a couple extra just in case.

[They might be fortunate and find something the house could use on sale, after all.]

I'll meet you downstairs.

[With a polite nod, Sakuma turns away from Genda's door and starts downstairs, heading toward the front door where he can finish getting ready to go and, hopefully, do some more mental preparation for the discussion yet to come. It is by no means an easy thing to do, breaking bad news to a friend...and putting them in the position of needing to keep a secret, or help tell that secret to another friend who is certain to take the news much, much worse.]

[It doesn't take long for Genda to acquire the few things he would need to leave the house. Even if he had thought about lingering there was no way to do so without it looking like such, so it was hardly any time for him to also descend and quietly put his shoes on once at the front door.

Considering everything that needed to be said it isn't long once they both begin walking for him to state part of what likely will be a very lengthy discussion, by their standards at least.]

I made an assumption before gaining the necessary knowledge regarding this place and it's ability to pull people from the same world from different times or even from differing universes.

[Blunt much Genda. Though it likely is best to be so instead of hedging around just why there is that odd distance between him and Kidou.]

[Once they were out the door and away from the house, Sakuma intended to ease into things as best he could without beating around the bush too much. But then Genda mentioned varying time lines and without ever trying, rendered all his planning for naught.

It takes Sakuma a moment of mental jogging to catch back up, playing connect-the-dots with what little has been said and what little he knows. He's certain this has to do with Kidou. There could be no one else to whom such a concern was pertinent. Which only makes it all the more obvious to Sakuma how little he knows about his best friends' circumstances. They're far from being all on the same page right now. Will that show in the way they play soccer? Will it become a problem in other areas of their lives, as well? Or perhaps...it already has. They came together during the invasion, but they'd been divided first, knowing next to nothing about each other's new strengths or weaknesses.

Sakuma frowns, his attention focused directly ahead of them. Whatever, transpired...maybe that was the reason Kidou and Genda seemed so distant from one another.]

What assumption?

[There's no judgment in Sakuma's tone. He'll save that for someone he knows deserves it. Genda, at least, can be trusted not to deliberately make mistakes, and to want to make up for them whenever he does slip up. He's a good person. He's their teammate and friend. Hearing him out...that's the only course of action here.]

[There's no looking at the other or even a change in tone. Mostly because if he controls that much it's something else to focus on then what he actually has to relay and articulate to someone that was not there to witness the entire ordeal.]

I was unaware at the time that Kidou was from the selection process of InaJapan, thus my past, when I brought up the match between NeoJapan and InaJapan without using names.

[That already was Mistake number one and he's certain when he explains more it won't help in not keeping Sakuma from judging his actions as complete idiocy.]

I did not learn about such, or what had been mistranslated between myself and Kidou regarding such a statement until later.

[He's certain that much will easily lead Sakuma into thinking about what match was thought of by Kidou in regards to such that this was not just a simple misunderstanding.]

[If Kidou's truly from the selection process, then there can only be one other match Genda is referring to, and the hitch in Sakuma's steps reveals that he's made that connection.

They don't speak of that time. None of them do. It's...beyond difficult. Though he's certain it's never very far from any of their thoughts, a cautionary tale to keep them from ever leaning in such a dangerous direction again.]

Genda...

[Alright. There's a little why and how in his tone now, but none of it comes without a note of apology and understanding. When he'd arrived, he'd been housed with a space rock at first.

That time...it seems no matter what they do, they can't escape it.]

I'm assuming that Kidou knows differently now, though. You cleared up the misunderstanding.

[So, what was the problem?

Sakuma's first guess is that Genda is Genda and Kidou is Kidou, and neither of them are all that great at communicating. Which means this has been festering since before he arrived.

He'd sigh if he wasn't too tense.]

[The only indication of that sudden hitch was noted is a small decrease in his next stride in order to maintain the same distance between them. Mostly Genda is instead trying to figure out how exactly to word the next part.]

I was not thinking, there's no real excuse to cover such up.

[Sakuma also isn't wrong in that this entire issue has only gone on this long because no one knows how to talk to the other regarding this.]

The miscommunication regarding our timelines, yes. I then had to explain what exactly NeoJapan was.

I do not think such was a good idea knowing that a certain incident was fresh in Kidou's mind.

[Because Genda already knew what sort of conclusions such could be made from thinking of Shin and then being told Genda joined another team that opposed Kidou...it's partially why he had allowed the gap to remain and widen. It was better then possibly breaking what little regard Kidou may still have for him over all of that.]

I can't say I think it was wise, either.

[But...]

But, Genda, the alternative at that point would have been much worse. Withholding information from Kidou would only have allowed for greater confusion and conflict. You did the right thing, telling him about Neo Japan.

[Even if the way that information came to light ought to have been handled with more care.

Stopping at an intersection, Sakuma rests one hand upon his hip and watches the cars pass while waiting for the walk signal. In a way, Genda and he are both vehicles on an information highway. And disobeying the signals at the wrong time won't be at their peril, it'd be at Kidou's.

Genda's mistake means Sakuma doesn't have any room left for error. The bomb he's sitting on must be revealed, but done so in a way that minimizes its negative impact on Kidou. Minimizes...because avoiding a negative effect at all won't be possible.]

We can't afford to be divided...or dishonest.

[The signal changes, and the little walking man appears. Sakuma steps away from the curb and onto the crosswalk, expecting Genda to follow suit.]

There's something I have to tell you, too.

[There really isn't anything to say regarding what he had just been told. Deep down he had known what Sakuma said was correct, but it was still something he wasn't fully ready to forgive himself over in regards to his blundering regarding it.

Though by now there was nothing he could do about it, that was done and now at least Sakuma was aware of it.]

I'm listening.

[The statement isn't that great, but the tone is more important in regards to the fact Genda means that fully and the undercurrent is that of concern. Even as his stance remains rigid with arms folded and hands tucked slightly into long sleeves. His stride shortens to better remain in step with the other without seeming to actually slow down.]

[Forgiveness might be impossible for both of them, but acceptance wasn't. They could learn from their mistakes. In fact, learning from them was all they could do if they hoped to move forward. But when they began to add up, sometimes carrying that weight, especially carrying it alone, was too great a burden.

It's why Sakuma is glad that Genda has entrusted him with this. And why, in turn, he can entrust his own concerns with Genda.

There is some guilt, of course, in needing that help, but it's nothing not overcome by remembering they have always compensated for each other's weaknesses.]

The points you're both from are the past for me. [This is the first time he's admitted that aloud. The words sound strange to his ears, as they should. He and his friends should never exist this far apart. There's too much distance between them in need of closing.] I've joined Inazuma Japan.

I wish I could report that the FFI is everything we'd ever hoped, but...it isn't. Things aren't what they appear.

[Demonio hadn't been Kidou. Fudou was actually...not altogether terrible. He supposes. So long as he didn't open his mouth. But more importantly...]

Kageyama has reappeared.

[It's Genda's turn to misstep slightly at the last admission. Part of him had expected something like that, no one had known where Kageyama had gone after that match. Yet to hear that he appears at the FFI...]

What do you need me to do?

[He won't ask for details. If Sakuma feels he needs to know more then what that one sentence means regarding Kidou then he'll be told. Instead, he focuses on just what that implications means for them here and now. Whether it was to not mention such to Kidou until later or hold the secret for Sakuma. It's really the only thing any of them can do in this place regarding events back home.]

[Genda's question gives Sakuma pause and, coming to a stop, he stares down at the sidewalk beneath their feet.]

...I'm not sure.

[What can either of them really do except tell Kidou the truth? Allowing him to find out some other way isn't an option, but it's difficult to take a step in either direction knowing that whatever they decide to do, whatever they say or don't say, Kidou will wind up hurt. The lesser pain is still pain...and Sakuma, like Genda, wants to keep from hurting their captain ever again. There was enough of that in their past.]

It's complicated. There was another team. [Because of course there was. When did Kageyama ever do anything without manipulating people like playing pieces?] Their captain...

[They may have settled some things on that field, but Sakuma can't bury his anger at Kageyama for having stooped that low. Of all the dirty and underhanded things he'd ever done, of all the nasty tricks he'd pulled...doing that to Kidou was perhaps one of the worst.

His fists clench at his sides.]

Kageyama groomed Demonio to be Kidou's replacement. He was like some kind of...copy. We might have beat them, and Demonio might be free of Kageyama now, but Kidou was really shook up by what happened. He won't forget it.

[How could anyone forget staring down someone who looks so much like themselves? Who's meant to replace them? Who's existence is meant to be a testament to the original not being good enough?]

I have to tell him, Genda. [Finally, he lifts his chin and glances at the other boy.] But when I do, I need you to be there to stand by him.

[Which isn't to imply that Genda wouldn't, but rather to urge the other to do whatever he has to in order to close the distance between himself and Kidou. To tell him what he can do to help, if there is anything.]

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