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[IamanElfCollaborator]

Fire Emblem on Forums: Seven Wishes of Hanako Saihara
~~Game Theme~~

~~~~RULES~~~~

1. All non-IC stuff is to be posted at the OOC thread or on the Discord. Violators will be haunted by Hanako.

2. Post formatting mandatory. As such:
Colored normal text for PC speech!
Colored italized text for PC thinking.
_{*Colored small text or between asterisks for PC whispering*}
Normal text for generic descriptive text.
Bolded text for PC actions and orders!

3. Order of battle posts:
Players' actions -> GM resolves -> Player's actions -> GM resolves ... until all player actions have been posted -> GM posts Enemy/Ally Phase and new turn map -> Start again
If you need an action resolved before making another ask in the OOC thread.

4. Don't post until your character is properly introduced!

5. Be active if you can! I don't care if you don't want to RP, but try to post your action within a reasonable time. If you have to be warned several times your character may be automoved or put in the away list. If you can't post for personal reasons, try to warn the rest in the OOC thread. Delegating actions to other people is also allowed.
_{Definitely not ripped off from Solymr's posts, nope.}

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Prologue: The End of Summer

~~Summer, 2014~~

"You know, if I were mistaken, I'd say you were about to confess your feelings, Satoshi."

Hanako gazed out over the river, fallen leaves blowing over the dirt path leading to their base in the woods. She and Satoshi were alone, sitting on a rock overlooking the river, the only sounds being the wind blowing through the branches above them and, right behind them, the others gathered in their base in the woods, probably waiting for them to come back around.

"Hehe. What would you do if I was, Hana-chan?"

"....you know, you shouldn't joke about things like that, you idiot," Hanako gently chided him. "....what would you do if I was being serious about it?"

He paused. The river continued to bubble behind them.

"...what would you do, Hana-chan, if I was?"

The look on Hanako's face was something Satoshi had never seen before. Far from being coy and joking, it was a serious look, one he'd rarely seen from her. Only a few times before, in his life, had he ever seen her look so serious.

"Are you being serious, Satoshi?"

Hanako was suddenly staring directly at Satoshi, her gaze fixed right on him, her eyes boring right into his very soul.

"...I need to know, Satoshi."

The young man felt his heart beat a hundred beats a minute. He'd seen the trap, he'd known what it would be like, and yet he walked into it with open eyes.

" Do you feel that way, about me, Akamatsu Satoshi?"

[IamanElfCollaborator]

First Wish: The Speechless Singer

~~Summer, 2016~~

"I'm home!"

The sounds of cicadas chirping could be heard outside, the summer heat permeating everything. Once again, summer had taken hold of Iwatodai, as it had for years before, and as it would for years after. A car whistled past on the road outside, and the sun was high in the sky; it was just past midday. Satoshi's shift as a lifeguard at the town's pool had just ended uneventfully. Thankfully, too. It was a good day when nobody needed his help.

Satoshi barged into his empty home with a loud yell. It was a small home; a kitchen, small living room, two bathrooms and bedrooms upstairs. Usually, it held two people; Kirihiko Akamatsu, the father of the house, who spent most of his time working in the nearby Mishima Economic District for the Mishima Corporation, and Satoshi Akamatsu, a young man in his final year at Yadomi High, who'd taken whatever he could to fill his summer.

It had been a long time since it held more than two people. Longer still since it had held three.

Satoshi slumped down on his sofa, sighing as he stared at the table, his father's customary note on it telling him to be careful and eat well and that he'd be home late so not to wait up, perched atop a pre-prepared box of tofu steamed last night. He whipped out his phone; no calls, no new texts. He frowned as he scrolled down a bit.

Two years since Hanako's last text.

Do you feel that way, about me, Akamatsu Satoshi?

Immediately, Satoshi's attention flew towards the clock. It was about one in the afternoon. Good. He promised Miss Honda he'd help her and her son move their couch in thirty minutes. He'd come home just in time. He smiled to himself.

"A little extra help will do the trick. And tonight, some yakiniku!"

Satoshi pulled himself from the couch to get ready. A change of clothes and a quick shower, perhaps; him smelling like sweat when he went over was going to be somewhat embarrassing. As he stood up, however, his phone slipped from his hand, skittering across the floor.

"Oh!"

As he leant over to grab it, however...

"Here you go."

The hairs on the back of Satoshi's neck stood up.

A pale hand handed Satoshi's phone back to him. His eyes slowly traveled up across the person that had appeared in his living room. Up her jet-black dress, made of a material that looked as smooth as silk and translucent as clouds at night. Up her thin body, a few years older than he'd last seen her. Up her too-pale skin, almost ivory-white, only an approximation of life. A curtain of dark brown hair framed her smiling face, her deep brown eyes now a crimson shade.

Hanako Saihara was standing in his living room. Hanako Saihara, Satoshi's best friend. Hanako Saihara, the girl who'd helped him gather their old friend group.

Hanako Saihara, who had been dead for two years.

"Hi, Satoshi."
....
Around Iwatodai, a certain group's phones began to buzz with messages, from a number you may not have called, texted or heard from in years.

The same message, from Satoshi.

Come to my house. Hanako is here. Send help.

What are you doing now?
//Everyone may post.

[SeriousConcentrate]

Takeo was sitting in the wreckage of his latest brawl. He'd been beaten down, of course; he'd never won a fight and it wasn't going to start with him being somewhat malnourished, underweight, and running on maybe an hour of sleep. But he had still, in his own way, won. He'd gotten a couple of them pretty good, and he knew he had from how long it had taken the rest of them to stop kicking him while he was down. The pain was still as distant as ever. Nothing was broken this time at least, but he'd have some spectacular bruises to show for it.

"'Least they didn't break the damn smokes."

He took a crumpled packet of cigarettes and a metal flip lighter, the outside rusty with age, out of his back pocket. With a quiet flick, he opened the lighter, lit a cigarette, and started smoking.

"I wonder what their problem was, anyway. Maybe some old enemies or something."

He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, taking a deep drag that turned a quarter of the cigarette to ash and filled his lungs with nicotine-laced smoke. He exhaled it all slowly and deliberately - not forming smoke rings or anything of the sort, more... meditatively. He could have stayed there for hours - was planning to, actually - when his old flip-phone buzzed in his zipped coat pocket. He unzipped it and took the phone out, flipping it open. No one contacted him any more. He'd stopped replying months ago, but he'd kept the phone, kept it charged. He could still read her texts, see the handful of low-resolution pictures he'd taken of the group. It was the only proof he still had of her existence.

He opened the text.

Come to my house. Hanako is here. Send help.

"...Hanako?"

Why do you still have this number? This better not be some kind of sick joke, Akamatsu.

It'd be a hell of a coincidence... if she wasn't always so close to my thoughts. Akamatsu isn't the kind of guy to prank people like this, but there's no way in hell he can be telling the truth, either. But if he wasn't, why would he get in touch with me after all this time? Screw it, man. There's only one way to get the truth.

Takeo finished his cigarette, sent one last message, and left the junkyard.

I'm on my way.

[Smoke Mirrors]

Minato had been studying. It had been a long morning, starting with an early morning garbage cleanup at a local road, followed by a shift reading to kids at the local kindergarten's summer program, and then a mild workout, but now he was showered, fed, and working hard to make sure he could keep his spot among the school's best students. After all, any deficiency was something that could stop him from helping, and knowing the world, it would certainly poke at any weakness it could find.

He hadn't noticed the text when it came in, his phone placed to the side to make sure it didn't distract him. When he finished reading the chapter he was on, he glanced at it. The text from Satoshi caused him to furrow his brow. Sure, they still kept in contact, especially when either had something they had been asked to help with that was too much for one person, but they didn't text too much anymore. Looking at a text from Satoshi and not seeing another person immediately chime in... it was just better to call, or speak in person.

When he looked at the actual content of the text, his brow furrowed further. Hanako... a part of him wondered if this was some kind of poor excuse for a joke... but that wasn't something Satoshi of all people would do. That left the option that he was mistaken or... he sighed. They all dealt with their guilt in different ways, and maybe it had all finally become too much for Satoshi. After all, he'd been closest to her of all of them. They'd all been certain those two would end up growing old together one day.

Well, only one thing to really do.

Of course, I'll be right over.

[Gaterhyme]

"You've got to be kidding me."

She'd thought today was just another ordinary, lazy summer day. Her mother and father were out as usual. Ran had taken her morning jog, made lunch for herself. She had plans with friends later to hang out at the market, do some window shopping, talk about things that didn't matter, so she'd been sitting at the dining table, browsing the internet on her phone until then.

It felt like time stopped when she saw Satoshi's name pop up on the screen, her fingers moving on their own to open his text.

Of course he wouldn't just message her out of nowhere after this long. What he was saying was crazy, and seeing Hanako's name written out for the first time in ages made her heart feel like it had been tied into a knot. Ran was almost mad, almost disappointed at him and at herself because of how badly she suddenly wanted his unbelievable story to be true.

did you hit your head?
i'm just supposed to come because you're telling me to?

It had to be a trick. He must have heard about the stupid things she'd done, or known that this of all things would work on her. But this was Satoshi she was talking about, always genuine, straightforward, who used to say the sappiest things without being embarrassed at all.

"..." With one hand she began canceling her other plans as she tossed on her shoes, grabbed her bag and was out the door.

fine, just don't scare her off!!!

[notquitethere]

Kaya Hawa's purple cape flapped in the sulfuric winds. His silhouette stretching down the street by the light of a terrible flame. A foul demon towered above the teenage warrior, its malevolent maw twisted in mockery.

"Unhand the princess, you foul fiend, or face my Astral Blade!"

Kaya brandished a shining sword which glistened in the light of the demon's fiery shroud.

"By the four winds and the great beyond, I smite—"

His phone buzzed. What was it now? Probably his mother telling him to eat alone again. Kaya fumbled about in his pockets. The demon dissolved from his imagination, leaving only an apartment block lit up by the setting sun. The sword was a twig he'd picked up from the roadside. The lines from the end of year play were still fresh in his mind. What fun would summer be without rehearsals?

Kaya stared in disbelief at the text message, lost for words like he so rarely was these days. Was this a game? He hoped so. Oh what an intriguing game it could be! Time to play along.

I make haste!

He swooped his great purple cloak (that much was real), and strode off towards Satoshi's house.

[SirAston]

The second day of her holidays. Well, technically, the first one. Kogen arrived late yesterday due to flight issues, so she only had enough time and energy for dinner and to sleep on the futon. But now she was rested and full of energy.
Well, almost full. Helping her grandparents around the house came first. It was the least she could do for honoring their hospitality. Not only for now, but also during the time she and her parents were relying on them while in Iwatodai. Until two years ago.

Two years ago...

"Hanako-chan..."

Kogen shook her head. It was tragic, yes, but that's why she was here too. To find closure after having been suddenly ripped away when her friends needed support the most. There was not even time to visit her grave and pay her respects. But that will change this summer. She will pray, ask Hanako for forgiveness for not having been to the graveyard earlier and then she will try to get the gang back together. She held no illusions that things will be like in the past. A key member was tragically missing after all. But that is life. To find your way back into life and make the best out of it.

What is gone is gone, after all. She just hoped something else wasn't gone, something that has been her secret and remained unused, hidden under a loose floor panel, for the past two years. She was too tired to check yesterday and too busy to check now, but she had some time now. Maybe she should...
Her smartphone rang, playing the opening notes of her current favourite RPG's theme. A message.
"Eeeeh? Mother, I know it's only one day, but you don't need to miss me that much so soon, hehehe~"
The purple, lightly-decorated smartphone is taken from the desk and she checked it.

The message was not from her mother.

"... Ya gotta be..."

Her legs moved faster than her mind. Essentials were swiftly stored into her pockets. She hastily shouted she's out to her grandparents while she stumbled down the stairs, almost tripping. Her body mildly slammed against the door as she turned the knob to press it outward, one of her shoes almost flying forward as she sprinted through the front yard. Her left leg carried her entire weight as she hopped one-legged down the road while fixing her loose shoe before finally entering a sprinting state for a second, turning around on the spot as she remembered that her grandfather fixed up an old bike just for her when the holiday plans were announced. Kogen returned quickly to the front yard and grabbed the bike grandpa pointed to yesterday, swinging herself on top of it and furiously pedaling.
Her goal was clear: The Akamatsu residence.

[ctsun]

It was the start of another day for Yayoi. Climbing her way out of bed only to discover that her mother had long since left for work and had left her basically cereal for breakfast. The Magical Devil Warrior Lily Dusk sees every morning as the start of a new adventure. Even if her assigned Priestess could not attend to her needs in-person, it matters not! For the Magical Warrior Devil Lily Dusk derives her energies from the trails of stardust from the Dunkelsdammerung. Even if her offerings be greatly lacking, she shall not be deterred! For the Mag-

And it was way too early for her to be talking like this. This was really more Mi-someone else's thing. The fact she was doing it, well, uh, it was probably a sign of some sort. Most likely a sign of boredom. Well, whatever. She was pretty used to her mum being too busy for a proper breakfast. She'll make herself something - maybe some buttered toast to go along with the cereal. It'd give her something to prepare - she'd just have to slot the bread in the toaster, right? - while she, uh, marked herself with the symbols of magic freshened up.

She'd barely gotten her hair tied up when she'd gotten that telltale ping on her phone that told her that someone had sent a message. Now, who's be messaging her? If it was over two years ago, then there might have several someones. But, now? Well, uh, let's say Lily Dusk existed for a reason Might as well pick up her phone and have a look-see. Huh, apparently, it came from Satoshi and the contents were...clearly impossible.

Hanako was dead. They all knew that. The dead didn't come back to life, right? That wasn't how any of this worked. But what if it did? What if people could come back? What if they could all go back? Wasn't that a chance worth taking? All those thoughts ran through her mind as Yayoi dashed out a very hasty reply back to Satoshi.

wil b rght over!!!!!1!

Snatching up a (still-hot) slice of toast as she passed, Yayoi simply dash her way right out of the front door, slipping on a quick pair of shoes as she simply rushed her way towards the Akamatsu residence. Completely ignoring the fact that she hadn't bothered to change out of her pyjamas in her haste. Or the slice of toast currently caught in her mouth. Oh, wow. She was just the very image of manga stereotypes, wasn't she?

[IamanElfCollaborator]

As each person arrives at the Akamatsu residence, they arrive to see....
"....you're not really here, are you?"

Satoshi leapt away from Hanako, staring at her ethereal form. She was standing before him. He knew she should be dead, but she was here.

She couldn't be here. She shouldn't be.

Hanako frowned.
"Don't be an idiot. Of course I'm here, Satoshi. I handed you your phone, didn't I?"
"You're dead. You....how?"
"Don't ask me, Satoshi. Besides....I don't really know."
"What do you mean you don't know? You know what? I'm....I'm going to get some fresh air. You're not real. You're my summer beast. That's it! The heat's getting to me, at last."
"Oh, come on. Seriously, AnoHana? You can't be joking."
"Well, what am I supposed to say? This is LITERALLY what happened in that show! You and I both watched it....if you're even real."
"Yes, and as I recall, you cried really hard at the ending. I know, Ran told me, because she found out from Takeo that YOU watched it alone because you didn't want me to see you cry."
"If you're a hallucination I made up, you'd know that. Okay, tell me something only Hanako would know."
"I just did. You'd never admit that you cried about Menma. You know we'd tease you for it."
"Yeah, nice try. Try something else."

Hanako sighed.

"The night before the barbeque. I remember what you told me, Satoshi. You....promised me you wouldn't let me go."
"...."

Satoshi suddenly began typing in a text on his phone feverishly. Hanako tilted her head.

"....what are you doing?"
"I'm getting everyone over here. We can settle this. Either they can see you too, or you're not real! And if you're here....well....we can get the band back together, right?"
"That's.....surprisingly practical of you, Satoshi. Looks like they've been taking care of you."
"It's..."

Satoshi looked down at his phone. At the messages that hadn't been read for two years.

"...hard to explain. Shall we wait outside?"
.....as the others arrive, they see Satoshi, sitting by himself, outside his front door.

"Oh! Hey guys! Can you see Hanako? She's sitting right here! Next to me. I think."
"You do realise if they can't, you're going to look crazy, right? Besides, it's not like this is exactly like AnoHana. They can probably see me."

Of course, none of the arriving group hear Hanako's side of the conversation.

[Smoke Mirrors]

Right, he'd really hoped it wouldn't be this, but there weren't really any other options of why Satoshi would have sent out that text. If it were just the two of them, he might play along a bit, better to avoid worsening the trauma by immediately attempting to confront it. Unfortunately, they were not alone, and even if everyone else reacted well, which wasn't too likely, anyone who knew Takeo knew that, unless he'd become enlightened in the past few years, his reaction to getting his hopes up that Hanako was back, only for them to be crushed, would be to attempt to crush whoever crushed them.

He had to move quickly.


"Satoshi, can we talk real quick?" he asked, placing an arm over Satoshi's shoulder and attempting to lead him to another room, away from Takeo, "Just the two of us?"

He shot a kind smile to all the others, who he'd love to talk to more later assuming they don't all storm out in anger.


"Would you all mind staying here? We'll only be a moment."

[Gaterhyme]

It was bad enough that Satoshi had called all the others here, and that they had all arrived at about the same time.

She had wanted to believe him so badly. She had jogged here, barely overtaken by Kogen on her bike. Now seeing them all together once again - and no Hanako - and Satoshi alone talking to himself - and no Hanako - she felt like she was tipping over, losing her balance, falling down an endless hole.

So really, who was the crazy one here?

She was going to throw up if she didn't get rid of this bile in her throat.

"No," Ran said, her voice full of reproach. "None of that 'saint' business, I want him to- I want him to explain. Tell me why."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Is that you, Minato? When'd you get taller than me?"

Takeo looked up at his friend. It wasn't like Takeo wasn't damn near the shortest member of the group - he was definitely the shortest male, anyway - but he seemed to remember Date being on eye-level with him two years ago. He lit another cigarette.

"Anyway, Ran's right. Satoshi's not getting out of this shit without explaining himself, and you ain't dragging him out before I hear it."

Takeo turned to Akamatsu.

"There better be a good reason you would just..."

He released a deep breath through his nose.

"You know how much she meant to all of us."

"So start talking."

Takeo didn't make any verbal threats, but his balled fists at his side, his slightly leaned-forward stance, his narrowed eyes... everything said he was ready to start swinging.

[Smoke Mirrors]

Minato looked to Ran and Takeo. He couldn't disagree with them, they deserved answers. Truthfully, he wanted an answer too, but he was afraid of what they could be. He didn't want this to be some kind of bad joke, or a game made in poor taste, but the alternative to that would be... what? That Satoshi's grief had driven him insane so that he was hallucinating Hanako? The events of that morning had already taken so many things from them, he couldn't lose the one friend he'd managed to keep contact with too.


"...fine." Minato relented, moving himself so that he looked Satoshi in the eyes, his hand resting on his shoulder in comfort.


"No, we don't see Hanako." Minato replied, "Satoshi, are you feeling okay?"

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Hanako groans.
"Okay, they can't see me. It IS AnoHana rules. Right. Hate that. One second, I'll stop Takeo from killing you. It'd do you no good if we're both ghosts."
"Uh. I can....explain. Or...well, trust me. Hanako's about to-"

Takeo suddenly feels that his phone has gone missing.

Or, well, in this case, is now floating, between him, Minato and Ran, with the screen open to the text messaging screen.

Hi. It's Hanako. Please don't beat Satoshi up. He's not hallucinating.
Satoshi stares at Hanako, currently holding up Takeo's phone, standing between him, Takeo, Minato and Ran. He has a look of complete exasperation.
"Seriously?! That's your plan?!"
"Well, what was I supposed to do?! You're the planner, Satoshi!"