yogen | heat-haze daze

( ~~he's so tsun they're rapidly approaching his self-sabotage, honestly. take a fuckin sip, ouma-kun.~~

nene hums in thought for a moment before shaking her head. the idea of being repaid for kindness- it felt like something in a storybook before yogen. now it just feels weird, especially when anything could happen at any time- people come and go like clouds in the sky. which is probably the gentlest way to put it. )

Just... continue to be good to others, too. That's all I want.

You don't have to ask for that.

( to the best of his abilities, that's his intention. looks like he'll have to figure something out himself though, but that'll be another time; no reason to push and make her uncomfortable or anything. thinking it over for a moment, he'll shift the topic some. )

By the way, do you want to see something interesting?

( he says that, but with this group sometimes it feels necessary. still, nene perks up curiously, leaning over a little. something interesting...? ...... if it wasn't amami, she might think it was part of a trap. it's happened before. )

What do you mean?

( which is basically a yes. )

It's a secret, 'kay? You can't tell anyone.

( because "don't touch" is written on this thing for a reason; this is his little good vibes tree and he doesn't need people thinking it's related to the things that go on in this place. anyhow, nene doesn't seem like the type who'd let him down on that, so for the show of interest, he reaches out one finger and gently touch the trunk of the little tree.

it takes a minute, but all those aerial roots hanging down from the branches? a couple of the nearer ones slowly begin to move, as if hesitant, and wrap around his finger. it's a friend. truth be told, amami's still not 100% about it, but friend. )

( nene watches curiously, eyes wide and unblinking because what if she misses something- and then the tree moves and holds his finger holy crap that's AMAIZNG. )

Aaaah! That's so--! I didn't think normal plants could do that!

( implying experience with abnormal plants. but with how weird she gets about the wisteria tree, is this really the first time? ... yes, verbally at least. )

What a good little friend, it must like you a lot since you take such good care of it!

Normal...?

( he caught that, nene, shooting her a glance as he pauses to let the tree hold.

it's cute though, her excitement — he figured she liked plants, to run the gardening club, but didn't think she'd be this excited about it. looks like it was a success though, and after a few moments, he'll gently pull his finger away. the roots return to their natural state, and he smiles. )

I hope that's it, because I'm not actually all that experienced with gardening.

Ehhh... back home there was a tree where if you confessed your love under it, it was sure to be a success! Turns out the tree itself was possessed by a hardcore shipper. He even threw a fit if someone was rejected... A lot of couples were actually only together because of his magic.

( she doesn't actually like talking about that time though, even if hanako-kun had let her cry about everything. )

... And I don't really think things here are actually normal, either? Hajime-nii's flytrap feels really, um... ... It really liked the blood water.

I guess flytraps are carnivorous...

( they do eat bugs... he's more visibly concerned about why she's got blood water, because the water here being contaminated isn't the first thing that phrase brings to mind. )

Possessed though, huh? How'd you figure that one out? I mean, it seems like it'd be pretty tough to prove something like that.

( the, uh, type of ghost they found sounds a bit eccentric too. though amami looks genuinely interested in knowing — wouldn't have asked at all if he was just gonna shut it down. )

Yeah, but I didn't think it was like this.....

( sir you thought we put a corpse in the water yOU CAN'T JUST PRETEND YOU FORGOT ABOUT IT )

Hanako-kun knows just about everything that happens at our real school. ( and it is both of theirs, in different ways. but... that doesn't mean he tells her everything. ) He had me work with him to try and draw it out- it was... I think, the second big thing I helped him with. But it did help that every couple who confessed there started dating immediately after, even if it didn't actually make sense- like when Akane-kun was practicing a confession with Lemon-kun standing in for Aoi-chan, and then they declared themselves a couple the next day. Everyone knows he's devoted to Aoi-chan, after all.

( don't say it like it's past-tense. he still thinks that, and i'm gonna make sure he tells all the newbies too. it's exactly why he doesn't put pouring even more blood directly into the water to feed their plants past them. )

Oh, right — Hanako-kun... ( asking some innocent to "draw out" supernatural phenomena sounds about on-brand. ) The boy with the knife, right?

( yes that's how amami knows him. they met with hanako holding that knife, and that class project they shared ended with that knife. not that it's, like, a bad thing, just... y'know. stands out. )

I didn't know the two of you were close, but I guess it makes sense in that case. He's pretty sharp on these things.

( gotta remember that he's in trapped in ghost murder school here, and there's literally a guy called lucifer who also seems to be a demon, so the ghost-half of the story isn't actually that weird. )

( WHY WOULD WE CONTAMINATE OUR OWN WATER WHEN WE'RE STUCK HERE AMAMI PLEASE also uh i forgot about the mokke that was a pretty big thing so the tree should be like, third or fourth maybe we're gonna lowkey retcon that line okay-- )

... Has he really just been walking around with that out still?

( she is so tired she loves him but she's tired- but then. it... is sort of the only way he was able to feel powerful in the beginning, when he was just as powerless as she is. so maybe she can't blame him for that. )

He's- ... back home, he's a powerful spirit who looks after both the living and the supernatural at the school, keeping the two in synch. The supernatural need to be remembered by the living to exist, and they do that through ghost stories- but if they hurt people, they need to be stopped. In return, humans tell their stories, however unwittingly... but if someone twists the story, they do harm to the supernatural being, because they have to match the major conception of the story to continue existing. Hanako-kun is the leader of the Seven Mysteries- the supernaturals that work together for the sake of this balance, and he's the strongest of them too.

I help him keep that balance, since I can see him! ... And, we hang out a lot other times too. He's my friend. ( given that little smile, though, it's pretty clear she feels a lot stronger about him than just 'friends'. ) He means a lot to me. And he always protects me...

( not all y'all are insane, but enough of you are. and there's a cult. whether lucifer himself is chill or not doesn't matter, it's still a cult bro.

it catches amami though, the way she seems so talkative today. he's patient and attentive listening to her story, offering a gentle smile towards the end. protects her, huh? he'll keep that one in mind... though, more importantly and easier to comment on: )

You can see him...?

( amami can see him too...? )

I can't say I really expected all of that though. ( he looks a bit sheepish, even as that smile stays across his lips. ) I can kinda see the living side, but he never really struck me as being a fan of anything supernatural.

( he's tried to stab every supernatural thing they've seen so far, so. )

( AMAMIIIIIIII leave nene's dad out of this tho jeeze )

Most people can't- or shouldn't be able to. It's... different, here, but this place is already super strange. It's...

...

He thinks it's because everyone here is slated to die. Since, um- back home, your ability to see the supernatural is tied to how close to the Far Shore you are, and this place is so dangerous- no one's really safe.

( yes that is the afterlife's name AND a euphemism, the land of the dead is talented like that. and yes, amami, she did just admit to being close to death even without hell school fun times. that being said... she doesn't necessarily agree. if that were the case, after all, people would be able to see kazuki-san every night like she can. )

Ah- that's only because it's here? He thinks the ones here are all dangerous, at best- and I know he believes that a supernatural entity is behind all of us being trapped here, and how we got here too. A-and I think he's right, but maybe not in the way he expects? But as far as he's concerned, everything here is an accomplice or something to be taken care of before it can get worse. He's much kinder back home. Even when spirits are going berserk, he only neutralizes them so they can't hurt anyone or themselves.

( oh, no, lucifer's an innocent. it's his children who are native to this school that are suspect. )

I can't really speak to knowing why we're here, but you said it's about balance for him, right? Accomplices or not, I guess it is true that things are pretty unbalanced right now. It makes sense why he's taking our side in that case.

( but... that's a nice detail to know about the other, the last bit. and while amami isn't about to call her out on the implications of her words for herself right now, giving only a concerned look and a grimace as he takes them in, she's probably right — if supernatural sight worked here the same way it did where she came from, amami can name at least one person who should have been able to see more than they can. there's a pause, and he exhales as he thinks through his approach. )

The Far Shore though, huh... I don't think seeing things here works like that. It's more like he's been an exception to the rule. I mean, even though I can't see anything else strange here, Hanako-kun was one of the first people I met when I "woke up."

Edited (MY ICON..) 2021-08-23 14:19 (UTC)

( unbalanced... and. uh. she's here and in danger. although nene doesn't really mention it, she's plenty aware that he's focused on her. )

That's what I think, too- but he's so stubborn! I know that a lot more should have been able to see Kazuki-san at first. And the girl in the library... ( nene sighs and shakes her head, resting her chin in her hands as she leans against one of the counters. ) I think because he's considered a student, he's rendered visible when he shouldn't be. He's on the class chart, isn't he?

The girl in the library...

( well, he sure expected that. too bad i was incapacitated in july and he suffered the consequences. mark it down for september, then. he spares a glance over to her at the sound of her sigh. )

Ah, but yeah, that would check out. He's actually in my class — he's the one who dealt with our flour sack project.

Yeah- a lot of nonhuman people were made, um. I don't want to say human, because they weren't, but they were brought to the same level as normal people? It's weird. Just... one more thing about this place.

( honestly, she's surprised the people who aren't human get to keep their normal bodies, though. but perhaps this place offers some small mercies... )

Ah... that... I wish I'd done the same. It grew the full month and Hajun-nii got hurt for it...

( but i, a gremlin, wanted to see what would happen. )

Were they? I'd have thought they'd still count. ( y'know, for whatever they were. )

It's good to know though. And yeah, he wasn't so interested at first, but as soon as it gave signs of being strange he wanted it gone. It was just me and him, so I didn't have any reason not to trust him on it. Did he not ask about yours?

( amami knows that he wasn't too interested in the imp scene with rokkun repeating, personally, so it's a little surprising to hear that nene's wasn't dealt with around the same time. )

( she's learned the hard way that "humanity" doesn't apply to anything capable of thought and feeling the same way humans are, with her many adventures with the supernatural- they feel and their emotions are valid, but their understanding of humanity and life is flawed at best. even hanako-kun. and she'll acknowledge that. ... but she'll still treat them the same. )

Sapient and human aren't the same thing- they weren't... lesser, just because they weren't like us. ... I wish they were still here. But honestly, that's a good thought to have. There's a few people who look down on me back home because I treat supernaturals kindly. ( minamoto-senpai is kind about it, at least. but akane-kun's never been subtle. ) They think I'm foolish. Maybe I am. But I'd rather be a fool who tries than turn people away.

You'd think but it's weird. I hadn't seen him a lot in the past few months- not until the June meeting, when I- I shut down really badly, after the reveals. He kept me grounded. But before that.. I think he was investigating on his own? And it kept him away a lot- maybe he assumed I wouldn't have done something stupid.

( he really should know better since she let him push her off a cliff once, honestly. )

heat-haze daze

wow i died for like two weeks my bad

you're good!! welcome back c:

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nene either says nothing or infodumps i am So sorry dkdsfalj

stop she is feeling bold today we love to see it actually

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