yogen | npc contact.2

...Yeah, I heard you.

[ makes mental notes to themselves: 1) Subaru likes them giving him attention, 2) Subaru likes their salesperson personality, 3) Subaru thinks rocks are cool
They're things they can maybe work with... Gotta practice more. ]

Is that all he said?

[ peers sadly at the blank screen, because they recall bright orange text and maybe it could have burned into the screen, but no luck ]

He said a lot of things, but that doesn't matter... does it? What does is what he says to you.

( because all of it was mocking komaeda for his own feelings and everything that he does, don't worry, he ignored it. he watches npckun for a moment, and he's quiet. )

What are you thinking?

( because when they look up at komaeda with innocent eyes, it doesn't normally bode well, and he feels like it should be nipped in the bud. his pda sits into his lap, face down do they don't have to search anymore. )

I don't know.

[ If it were up to him, nobody else would have seen that memory in the first place; he had it carefully locked up tight, so how did it get undone? ... ]

Sometimes things are hopeless. That's the harsh reality of the world. But you still tried, right? And that trying is important.

[ Even if you fail, and keep failing, the trying is important. It's something he believes in, anyways, but it doesn't answer the question about why other people were able to see it. Just as Hinata doesn't want to accept there was nothing they could do, Rokkun can't accept a past like that changing because somebody else was there. The future is built off the past, after all, and he's where he is right now because of it. ]

[oh, whoever their sister is? is a good cookie. definitely someone he wants to meet someone, since keigo loves her so much and he can tell she loves them right back... subaru thinks that maybe they could get along, actually!!!

(no one tell him.)]

I wanna meet her! She sounds like a ton of fun~. [...] But I guess she's not around a lot, huh? Otherwise, I definitely would've met her by now~.

[how often he goes to their shop, and stuff... maybe he should offer to take over for a day so they can do things that aren't peddle wares. would that be alright? he thinks he'd like to choose the rocks people get...]

[ It doesn't matter to npckun where the money comes from, but there's something sad about Komaeda giving Shin money to buy the study guides Komaeda wrote for him. ]

Ooh, that's smart. So he'll have to buy the extra credit and the study guide and his clothes back. As a package deal. And we'll close the door after he comes inside.

That would be wonderful...

[and she means it, there's much sincerity in her words.]

But, how? I have no sight - I'm afraid I'd make a rather poor job of tending them.

Isn't it? That way he can see how reliable you are too, and take you up on future offers.

( shin will have no choice, and maybe it is sad to give someone money like him, but komaeda will change his mind later down the road, don't worry. )

After we finish, we'll go by the art room... and we can cut out letters to leave him a note.

[ There was nothing at the window bc i meant to write mirror BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER we've moved on

He pulls the tab off the top of the can and takes a gulp of coffee for every hour he's not going to sleep tonight, before looking down at the pda in Komaeda's hands. This is appreciated, actually, because he can't guarantee coherent words if he were to say them out loud, but as text he's given the time to gather his thoughts and backspace as needed. ]

Talk
Doesn't matter where

[ And if Komaeda doesn't have a preference he's going to just sit down in front of the vending machine with his back to it, because it really is three-something in the morning. ]

( i got so excited about a window being in the bathroom, and this is how you do me.

vending machines is fine, they can use that if the conversation gets too long, they can eat something along the way. for a moment, he stares at the snacks they can choose from as if he wants something, but he closes his eyes before sitting down across from rokkun. he sets the pda on the floor between them, and slowly his fingers dance along the screen as they tap various letters. )

do you want the good news or bad news?
unless you want to start the conversation first.

( he turns it upside down for the other to read right side up. )

[ ...

... ]

I'm thinking that...

[ a lot of things, really, not and everything they want to voice aloud

... ]

...You said it's important to make friends. So I'm going to try really really hard to be friends.

[ Yeah... yeah. npckun would think so too. ]

Mmhm. [ is all they say about that, but more like a confirmation of fact. Of course they miss her too, but her voice is in their head all the time, different from a brother whose face and voice and everything they haven't known for years. ]

She lived with mama, while it was me and Aniki. And dad. [ like an afterthought ]

[ look... sometimes you're sitting at your desk and look to your side at the window and it's dark outside and bright inside and you can see your reflection and you go "yes, this is the word I'm looking for" and don't think any more about it

He looks down at the pda, squints a little, almost like he's considering which option to go for, but ends up getting up and sitting back down next to Komaeda, because turning the pda around every time is going to get annoying and this is easier. ]

Good news

[ This is how his interactions with Komaeda have gone lately, he thinks. It starts off okay, and then he gets upset for one reason or another, and if they don't start with the good news then he'll never hear it. ]

[ ? It's too bad Helena can't see the expression Kazuki makes at learning the person he's talking to is blind. Same hat... though he sincerely wishes her situation is vastly different from his own. ]

...You are not alone in not being able to see the world around you. But if that's the case, you know better than most how to feel the world, do you not? Plants are alive just as much as people are. You simply tend to them the same you would any person.

We're not going to handwrite him the note?

[ What's the point of being anonymous if they're directing him to the student store??? ]

( did he say that? yeah, that's how hope works, friendships and the memories they make with people is what makes up hope as a whole — without it, doing anything alone will be tedious. that's why they need people around them to share their light with others, to move forward is to have people by your side, and the path is wide enough for others to follow suit. if only komaeda could take his own advice, but he does manage a smile —

...
...
...

he laughs sheepishly, and then his lips turn up in the corner to a warmer smile. )

That way it won't be lonely, and you'll also have people to confide in... you have to take good care of them, okay?

( he hums, lifting a hand to tap his chin... ) Tell me about all the friends you made so far, and why you like them... I think it'd be nice.

( since npckun is going to sleep over. )

[like an afterthought. subaru doesn't need to hold up his smile anymore, natural and warm as ever, so he leans just on one hand and the other traces circles on the floor between them idly.]

So you guys were split, huh...? That's rough. But I'm glad you still got to see her, or hear from her at least -- having someone like that in your life feels like it'd make things a lot... easier.

[in a lot of different ways. someone you know will always be there, to talk to you and recognize you, to make sure you know you exist. whether it's a friend or a sibling, stuff like that is important.]

A lot less lonely, anyway~.

( you know what valid, why would i ever question it, but this means we need a window in one of the bathrooms... think of how easy the killing will be?

he doesn't expect rokkun to sit next to him, but here he is, making himself comfortable as he turns the pda for both of them to see. it's easier this way, actually, but he wonders if the other being on the opposite side would have worked in his favor, he can't really tell what he'll do by his side, because his eyes will focus on the screen below. as he chooses, komaeda finds himself grooming through his memories for what counts as good news. )

you came.

( he doesn't say much when he talks through text, does he? maybe its' easier to get straight to the point this way, but he adds on with what was written. )

we can talk about us as the good news.

( HE AIN'T GOT NO GOOD NEWS FR. I'M CRYINGGGGGG. )

Only if you write in all bubble letters.

( he's not taking anything else, and his handwriting is ugly so... shin probably can't even read it. )

Deal! I'm very good at bubble letters!

[ Presumably they can write normally too. Maybe this is a skill they picked up from Rokkun who forges things. ]

( NOT THEM PICKING UP THIS TOXIC ROKKUN TRAIT, sighs, how komaeda knows that rokkun does that, so he can watch npckun do it, and not tell them to stop.

sighs, aratas can do whatever they want. )

You might have to make a deal with Tsukimi-kun if he doesn't have money, maybe he can work for you...

I will.

[ That's what their shop is for, in the end. To help everybody out and keep them safe and happy, also to line their pockets. npckun tucks themselves beside Komaeda, thinking of all the people they've met so far, what they mean to them, how they can admit it's been really nice getting to play with other people and a lot of their fears have been unfounded so far but they're also not holding their breath—-

anyways, friendship. ]

Mm... There's one person who's very easy to talk to and get along with, so I like spending time with him. He's encouraging and tries to make me better, and he doesn't just go along with everything I say, so it's like he's paying attention. Playing games together is fun... just sitting around and talking about nothing is also fun... I like him a lot, so I try to show him every time so he knows.

Yeah.

[ It was a lot less lonely, especially after their brother died and it was just them in an empty house. A voice isn't really the same as the person being there, but if they close their eyes, they can feel her presence and it's good enough even if they can't remember her face. ]

You're an only child... but you had a lot of friends, right? There's always people following you around school.

[ WHY GIVE HIM THE CHOICE IN THE FIRST PLACE how is this good news, it just feels like the news is the discovery that Komaeda can get him out of bed at two in the morning to go back to school

...takes the pda back ]

What's the bad news?

[ IT'S A USEFUL TRAIT, OKAY, LOOK,,, ]

Hm. I already have a lot of indentured servants. [ can't call them employees when they literally only pay Akira, and it's a meager amount based off commission ]

What's he good for? He did buy a lot of rocks at the sleepover, so he's getting his merit points from somewhere other than class?

[... so we're gonna look at the ground! he's quiet, like he's trying to figure out what to say... if he should say... and his free hand finds the thread he'd picked at before on the ground this time, rolling it from side to side.

smiling! but keigo can't tell if it hits his eyes since he's got them firmly down. this is foolproof. even his voice won't falter, light and casual.]

Nope. Not until the past couple years, anyway. I moved around a lot, so I didn't really get to make any friends~.

[...]

npc contact.2

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