Event Ten.

[awashmods]

Little Willie, mean as hell, Pushed his sister in a well. Mother said, while drawing water, "My, it's hard to raise a daughter."

t's pretty dark and miserable down in the well. The cavernous area feels much larger than a well should be, bodies milling about in the darkness and knee deep, frigid water. So you're here -- and you're not alone, and the only way out appears to be the thin circle of sunlight from above, the opening of the well. (And elsewhere, in the Town, everyone's waking up to gifts of various usefulness, but hopefully they remember to check the well today even so!) What now? Welcome to Awash's tenth event log, and the intro log for this month, everyone! All new characters have found themselves waking in the well in the middle of the Town. Hopefully they can get a hand out! For more information, please go here! Meanwhile, the current characters have some new gifts. If there are any questions, please ask them here, and have fun! Thank you!

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[doublesharp]

[There's a moment, just a brief moment, that Riku's suddenly flooded with the worry that maybe Momo really is magically old. What with the things people have said about arriving here and suddenly having years between them and their friends, it's always a possibility... but Momo's smile is just as genial and youthful as ever, and every one of Riku's nonsensical worries vanishes just as quickly as they'd appeared as he sprints over.]

In the flesh! I can't believe you're really, actually here!

[He should probably, you know, maybe offer Momo one of those towels instead of immediately throwing his arms around him like a child would their parent. His body may be cold, thanks to the chill of wet clothes (they'll get to fixing that soon, hopefully), but Riku can't help feeling just a bit warm even after he pulls back. There's plenty of time to feel a touch guilty about this jovial reunion later.]

Oh, right! Here, I brought towels. You must be freezing! [It's about time he handed one of those over.]

[rerevale]

[ Here he is, Momo's sunshine child...! After everything that's happened with TsukumoPro, Momo is more protective of Riku than ever, but that goes without saying— when Riku waterfalls into his waiting arms, Momo is there to catch him and comb cold fingers through his hair.

How validating. His heart's done a full recharge, just through seeing Riku alone. ]

Haha, I can't believe it, either...! But I'm totally energized now, thanks to your cute face! ☆

[ He takes the proffered towel, and plops it around his shoulders. It's an immediate salve; he uses it to rub some heat back into his skin. ]

Did you just get here, too? I can't believe they tossed us into a well...!

[doublesharp]

[Ah... There's something so incredibly comforting about being in the arms of someone he trusts and looks up to. Riku is almost an adult now, yes, and he doesn't always want to be coddled and protected like he was as a child... but a hug like this is something to be treasured. It's comforting in a way that warms him in spite of the chill from Momo's damp clothes.]

Really? That's great! I think being around you makes me more energetic too!

[Of course, Momo isn't always smiling - Riku's seen at least a few of his rough times firsthand, after all - but he's naturally the kind of person that inspires a positive feedback loop of sunshine and smiles and... positivity, really.]

Uh, well... You might not believe me, since it's kind of hard to explain, but I've actually been here for a couple of months. But it's okay, since everyone is really nice.

[Just for good measure, he offers a second towel out. Not that they're terribly warm, but it's still something.]

And Yaotome-san and Tsunashi-san are here too! I bet they'd be as happy to see you as I am, so you should come dry your clothes at our place! It would be bad if you caught a cold.

[rerevale]

[ A couple of months??? That doesn't align at all with Momo's personal timeline, but he supposes that that's the least weird part of everything that's going on here, so he doesn't pursue that point further than he needs to; he has a feeling that plying Riku with questions isn't exactly going to be beneficial for either of them in the short or long term.

He takes the second towel and scrubs his damp hair with it this time around, using the few seconds of cover to furrow his brows just a millimeter in idle contemplation.

When he resurfaces, he's back to being easy and breezy. ]

—My head's about to explode, but I'm gonna take your word for it! You're a really bad liar, after all.

[ A teasing full-grin, as he ruffles Riku's long bangs. More than anything else, Momo is just glad that this place hasn't stolen his junior's smile from him. ]

Gaku and Ryuu are here, too? The tall duo...! [ He sits up, patting dirt off of his pants before getting back on his feet again. ] Come on, Riku! The 173 cm duo have to retaliate against those giants!

[doublesharp]

Ehehe! I wouldn't lie about something like that.

[Riku only grins more fully, gladly allowing his hair to be fluffed with a small laugh. Being a bad liar isn't a compliment, but it's fine (it's the truth, after all), since the simple fact that Momo is confused is enough to quell the worries that lurk in the back of his mind.

It's fine. He didn't disappear. Nobody's worried about him, and everyone at home is just fine. All of his friends and fans are fine!]

Huh? Are we staging an intervention?!

[Is there really anything to retaliate against? Of course, Riku's quick to step forward and gesture for Momo to follow, preparing to lead the way... But he turns his head away from his senpai a little too quickly, laughing a little weakly under his breath to hide his expression falling just a bit.]

If only Tenn-nii was still here! We'd have the advantage if we could outnumber them. [Because they aren't supposed to be the 173 cm duo. In truth, they should be a trio. ...But that's enough of that, and Riku forces a smile back to his face.] Come on, Momo-san! It's this way!

[rerevale]

[ Oh. A misstep— stupid. He should never use numbers to describe a situation that can be dampened by subtraction; more importantly, he should never have implied that Riku isn't a part of a septet or a duo.

It eats at him to see that little moment of hesitation, that split-second flash of hurt. ]

—We'd be way too strong if Tenn was here, too! [ The implication behind that one word, 'still', escapes Momo for now; he's too busy keeping pace with Riku, sticking close to him and hugging his shoulder from behind to fuss over logistics. ] Isn't it just like him, to make sure we have an even playing field?

[ Because Tenn is always like that: strict, strong, upright, and endlessly kind. Momo would rather Riku remember all the good things about his twin first and foremost, so he smiles throughout his smalltalk. ]

Let's do our best. So Tenn doesn't get mad at us when he shows up.

[ A little bump of his forehead against Riku's hair. He cares so much about this lionhearted kohai, he doesn't know where to begin. ]

[doublesharp]

[Momo may not realize it (or maybe he does), but his breezy comments and affectionate gestures always have a way of brightening Riku up. In seemingly no time at all, his forced smile is well on its way back to a real one, thanks to his senpai's brightness.

But all the same, as much as he would have liked to keep Momo from noticing, it figures that even the slightest falter wouldn't slip past him. Immediately, Riku's first instinct is to switch gears and feel awful for making someone else worry about him (again, and it's Momo, no less), but it's hard to continue feeling slightly down when faced with a smile like that.]

Yeah. [He's content to stop there, but the slight bump of Momo's forehead gets a genuine laugh out of him. A genuine one, at that.] Yeah, let's do our best together!

[Besides, Momo says it so frankly that it seems inevitable that he'll see Tenn in one way or another before long.

All of his brightness back in full swing, Riku switches gears once more.]

Momo-san, you should come live with us too! Wouldn't it be fun to live together? [...] I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, but living together with everyone is even more fun than I thought. And you wouldn't get lonely with all of us around!

[rerevale]

[ It's all fine, slipups or no. He doesn't mind worrying about his precious juniors, because it means that he's allowed the luxury of being there for them if they need it; he's lucky, really, that he's surrounded by so many people who take the time to let him occupy their space.

Besides, Riku more than makes up for everything by smiling at him like that. Bright and vibrant and unfiltered, like the breaking dawn.

Momo'd do a lot of things to make sure that this remains a constant. ]

Haha, really? You'd let me live with you guys?

[ Four seems like a crowd, but Momo laughs about it as he winds his way through the town, Riku in the lead. ]

Ooh, for once we'd be able to lounge around without cameras following us around, huh? We can have midnight boy's talks ☆