yogen | ( closed-ish ) you cried wolf, so i came running

( hmmmmmmmmmm right she wanted hot goss too. well- )

One: don't call me Nacchan. Two: absolutely NOT. It's none of your busiNESS.

( sorry not sorry )

Aw... don't be mean, Sacchan...

( bitch. )

Nothing with "chan" in IT, Kawai-chan.

( PLEASE............... and then a sigh. )

I'll tell you as long as you don't call me anything cuteSY.

Hmmm...

( trade offer... she drops the nicknames for hot goss... sounds fair, honestly. )

Fine, fine, nothing cutesy! Just Natsume! Sounds good to you?

You really are desperate for gosSIP, aren't YOU.

( not said in a mean way... just makin' an observation here... )

That's just fine to ME. Now — ( a pause... it's actually hard for him to talk about things like this, so give him a moment to steel himself to admit I Was An Asshole And I Feel Bad About It: ) Clamor-san asked me to ask her about Seki because he was scared of HER, so I went to do SO... She told me she didn't trust Seki and that we shouldn't eiTHER, which I thought was a little strong for all he did to her — ask her OUT, as far as I KNOW.

( ...this isn't actually a long story, it's a slightly complicated one, and the egg is on natsume's face anyway. he looks back down at his crystal ball, rubbing harder at an imaginary spot on it. )

AnyWAY, I asked a question that crossed the line for her and she told me to mind my own busiNESS, which was FAIR, and though I left an apology for her I haven't tried speaking with her SINCE. That was the end of last MONTH, so it's only been a week and some CHANGE... It isn't that big a DEAL. It isn't like we speak that often anyWAY, and it isn't like she enjoys having me aROUND. Her face even pinches when I call out to HER.

( and yet, it's troubling... the difference between just not chatting because there isn't anything to talk about and not chatting because one of you left a conversation understandably pissed, but he's waving dismissively with one hand after a moment, good bye good bye- )

It's more "slightly complicated" than "long" I supPOSE, but I don't like being the person in the WRONG. I was hoping it'd dissuade you from pressing for an anSWER.

( she doesn't know natsume well enough to make any real assumptions here, but... from what she can see of him, he does appear... regretful? about how things went, with maya. now, she doesn't know maya either, and to be honest, her opinion of her isn't very high, thanks to the whole... deathmatch-to-join-stuco fiasco, but well.

in the end, teenagers are just teenagers. )

Just a little! ( she confirms, but... it's more like, she's desperate for the illusion of normalcy these things provide, you know? back home, she thrived off of prying into other people's business; here, every thing that reminds her of the mundane stuff from the normal world makes her feel marginally better.

teenage drama, conflict, romance... it's lacking here, so she clings to every remnant of it, including the things that involve her directly. )

She seems like a tough cookie to crack, huh? ( humming, she leans back in her seat, a little thoughtful. from what she knows of maya, she gives nobody the time of day unless it's important, so... the mere fact she let him bother her might be a hint to how she really feels. ) I think... her expression never changes otherwise, so the fact she even makes a face at you is plenty to go off of, Natsume. ~

( a... vague fondness, maybe?! )

... what did you ask her? ( she's not dissuaded. )

( thinks about how many times she "makes a face" at something he says, thinks about what he asked, immediately decides this conversation is over )

That's all the information I have for YOU, unless you're going to start trading me for IT.

I don't know much, though! But if there's anything you're curious about...

( they can trade, sure? )

( oh my god )

I'm not telling you what I asked HER.

... 'cause... YOU ASKED HER OUT?!

Shut UP. ( WAIT, THAT SOUNDS INCRIMINATING— ) I did NOT, but if you yell stupid things like THAT, people are going to get the wrong iDEA.

( oh? OH??? OHHHH??? )

But it was love related!!! ( she presses on, undeterred!! )

( THIS IS THE WORST )

It was about her inteREST, or lack-there-OF. ( rika better be proud, getting this information out is literally like pulling teeth ) Not in ME, before you jump to any concluSIONS, but in Seki and in... men... in geneRAL.

( :/.............................................. )

I'm fully aware I was in the WRONG. ( can't just ask people you aren't friends with if they're gay yknow ) Are you hapPY, Little Viper?

( oh, wow. this is a lot? she had no idea about seki's and maya's supposed little tryst, or... lack thereof, so she's on the very edge of her seat, eyes wide.

this is so much better than she expected?! )

Ooooh... ( well, now she knows why he was so reluctant to talk of it. he must've asked a very crude question, huh? ) Better not to press on, huh? Give her time.

( if he already apologized, then there's nothing left to do but wait for when she decides she wants to see his little mug again. )

... — wah?! Viper?! At least call me something cute!!

( jokes on all of us he's giving what all girls want: a bomb, a set of perfume, and ghost tips )

I will when you start acting CUTE. ( can you believe this is still being nice to girls. ) Vipers aren't ugly little creatures anyWAY, and they're dangeROUS, clever little creaTURES. I'd consider it a compliMENT.

( A BOMB?? NATSUME!! )

... pfft— haha! I guess if it's meant to be a compliment, I'll accept it! ( vipers sure can be cute. she thinks about neiru's little, pink snake fondly and then quickly chases the thought away before she gets sad.

anyway!!! now that the hot goss part of this encounter is done: )

Well, I didn't come here to ask you to talk to Maya, though. I came to ask for a fortune telling!

( it's fine it's a dud )

...Then you should've said you were instead of asking me about HER. ( ugh. ) Tell me three things you've learned since our last little group meeTING. They don't have to be world-chanGING, but they're going to pay for your forTUNE.

Hmm... ~ But Natsume's the one who brought up Maya-chin first. So maybe he wanted to talk about her, just a little?

( she smiles, clasping her hands together, and hums. three things... ah. she can tell him about the gardener encounter. )

At the end of last month, I went out with Ran-tan to get snacks. It was like, the middle of the night, but anyway... we saw a weird man stand outside of the main entrance. He said his name's Kazuki, and to not speak your name in the night. Um... he also said something about a boundary between the inside and the outside... but he didn't tell us how to cross it.

I only brought her up because she's one of the only reasons in recent times that people seek me OUT. They're all afraid of her for some reaSON.

( she's intimidating, sure, and she did the whole . deathmatch for stuco thing

but she is NOT GOING TO BE THOUGHT ABOUT RIGHT NOW WE AREN'T EXPLORING THIS he's mentally kicking it aside to focus on rika's Actual good information. when she's done, he hums. )

You could hear HIM?

She doesn't scare me.

( she shrugs, leaning back in her seat. maya seems intimidating, but rika doesn't really care about any of that; if she had a reason to go to her, she would. shuichi told her to wait with any rash actions about that, though — considering they don't actually know much about who organized the deatchmatch and why it happened. )

... yeah, I was with Ran-tan, though I let him do all the talking.

( hmmmm. maybe he should go ahead and hang around the windows at night and see if he can see the gardener too, then. natsume matches her pose a little, crossing his arms. )

If we could figure out how to break that boundaRY, we could get outSIDE... ( musing. though: ) The reverse is also unfortunately TRUE. When you open a doorWAY, you're inviting in whatever might be on the other SIDE... That's why you have to be careful with ouija BOARDS.

( ...anyway, )

I think it'd be prudent to have nicknames to use during the NIGHT, so think of a good ONE, Little Viper. ( yknow, the "dont use names in the night thing" and all, so. ) RegardLESS, I'll accept all this as proper payMENT.

Yeah, I mean... there's always a possibility he's being kept out, right? But then, why are we stuck inside and the normal students aren't? ( they discussed the option of the gardener trying to keep them from seeing something, but... why aren't they allowed to, specifically? and, if he's being kept out, then... shouldn't he be kept away from normal students, too? it's very confusing. ) Oh!! See, this is why I gotta call you something other than Natsume!

( hmmm... hmmmmm... )

Sumesume? Saki-kyun? Sakkun? ( she's thinking really hard, okay.

anyway, regardless if he likes any of these or not, she's gonna find something to call him either way. that said: )

Oh, yay! ... do I have to do anything? Like, open my third eye, or something?!

( HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE NICKNAMED......... all of those have him pulling a face but if she uses it enough he'll have no choice but to acknowledge it. sakkun probably gets the least amount of face-pulling if it helps, he Really just prefers not to be called anything girly )

..Are you stuPID? ( the level of sass he usually reserves for boys, specially delivered to rika this time... he shakes his head and puts on his charm-girls smile, scooping up the crystal ball in his hand; it's one of those palm ball-types, it's not that heavy or big. ) No, nothing like THAT, though if it'd make you feel better you can do SO. Simply ask your question or state what you want to KNOW, and I shall gaze into my crystal ball and tell you what I SEE.

( sakkun it is. she's annoying, but her nicknames are meant to be cute, not traumatic? if he insists on no chans, then fine, no chans it is. )

Hey! ( huffing, she looks into the crystal ball, curious.

hmm... what to ask... clearly, the one question all people stuck in a life-or-death situation want to know: )

Then... will Senpai ask me out on a romantic date soon?!

( oh my god, rika is such a girl.

that's what he's thinking, too, but it's kind of nice to have a normal question posed to him — doing business outside of yumenosaki gets him a fair amount of those types of queries. sometimes inside of yumenosaki too, but he isn't here to expose anyone. )

Let's SEE... ( he lifts the ball to eye-height, gazing into it; his eyes unfocus a little as he looks into it... after a long moment, he sighs and lowers it. ) My apoloGIES, Little Viper.

You'll be asked out by Senpai, but the date won't be as half as romantic as you'd like it to BE... Of COURSE, that can change as long as you're willing to lower your stanDARDS.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject