yogen | npc contact.2

[subaru watches both of their reactions, eyes flicking back and forth, and he bites back a grin at the gentle pink rising to rokuro's ears. that's fun.

and then komaeda does exactly what subaru thinks he'd do, even if he had egged it on just a bit, and he tilts his head. rokkun.... hope class... with crona?

... ... ...]

Sure! Sounds like fun~. I wanna get to know Go-chan better too.

[it'll be a nice way to pass the time anyway, and maybe he can do the homework in the store... the little shopkeep might be interested in it too.]

...You'll feel better if you cry. I always do.

[ And despite not wanting to be seen as a child, they do still cry a lot, whether it's from anger and frustration, or fear or sorrow, from when they were a baby to how they are now, there's just something about fat, hot tears rolling down your face that makes things better, like you're flushing out all your worries.

Big kids, adults, they don't cry. Especially not in front of somebody else. But it's just the two of them here, and for all the times they've cried... what they really wanted was somebody to hold them, soothe them, tell them everything's going to be okay. ]

Anego says that when you're sad, you should cry. When you're angry, you should yell. When you're happy, you should laugh... Because a person is like a tea kettle: you have to let out steam once in a while because otherwise you'll explode.

[ They lift their head a little, to look up at Amami. ]

Even when you think you're tough enough, and that you can hold out until the fire gets turned off and you can calm down on your own, sometimes you just keep boiling and boiling and boiling until there's nothing left inside. So she told me it's okay.

[ Also tea kettles eventually reach the point where they're at their limit and start whistling and it's very alarming, and Amami's kind of approaching that point right now. ]

( i forgot where hikaru sleeps, so i'm hoping they're on the bottom bunk so that komaeda can lean off his side of the bed, hang upside down to reach out towards the sleeping body. he first takes their pillow, trying to tug it from under their head, and if that doesn't work... he'll grab their covers instead. he's never really acquainted with this person, but he knows they were a solid favorite of saihara's while here. it's part of the reason why komaeda's so interested, now it's not like this person is the last thing that's left in relation of saihara, but he knows that the other did value the time he spent with others. )

Goto-kun?

( komaeda leans over a little more, his hair hanging down as he tries to get a better look without falling. )

Can we do things together, Goto-kun?

What...?

[ They look down at their chest, mistaking the gesture to mean their heart— emotions and feelings heart, even, rather than physical. Because it's that that colors every thought and action of theirs, it's the hurt and loss that drives them forward, one foot in front of the other but it's in leaps and bounds, as if trying to leave all of that behind them.

But loss isn't an endeavor. It's not something they did, but rather something that happened to them. Endeavor would be... making it to where they are now, in spite of loss, but they can't think of that as anything impressive. ]

I wouldn't call it an endeavor... I'm just doing what I can with what I have.

[ And with greed that knows no bounds, what they can achieve is a lot. ]

[ ANYWAYS box adventures

It's midnight and they'll have to suffer shovels of dirt that feel twice as heavy as they ought to be and the temperature outside several degrees colder than it ought to be, because a certain gardener is going /: at them digging up the dirt around his tree. Maybe this is why it's dying and shedding its petals.

Eventually they do come across the box Amami recalls seeing, heavy enough that it requires two people to lift out of the ground. They will see that the box contains three keyholes, and a close inspection will show that they will need all three keys to be inserted and turned at the same time in order to open the box. ]

( ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ )

Yes, it's my favoRITE.

( He's going to regret this. )

It's always been like that with you, P-kun... that's why I was very ecstatic when it came to your hope!

( someone who loses so much, komaeda understands their theme of loss, and how they wish they couldn't let go — it's why they hang so tight now, he thinks. also the reason they won't let him go in general, or anyone else that they've attached themselves to. )

What do you have? Can you tell me... because I hear that shapes a person, the good, the bad... the ugly... there's so many things a person can possess that helps their efforts.

( he winks again because ow, his eye... his hair in his eye. )

You didn't want me to look at you when you were changing... so I wonder if that scar is part of what makes your hope... the way it is.

[ Oh.

They place a hand over their heart, at the ugly scar that marred their chest...

... ]

No, I got this when I demanded too much in a drug deal and they stabbed me instead of paying up.

Oh! Is that how you died?

( well, that's one way to ask, but that doesn't mean he can't be curious... you know. )

Or did you live... until you died, either way... you should tell me about that drug run... it sounds exciting.

( bedtime story!! )

[ He has to wonder about that. He might have been the person who was always there for him, who raised and fed and cared for him, but even he knows there was somebody else who could lift that child up much higher than he ever could. If Kogamo was able to move on after he died, it would have been because of her.

But he can't help the smile that forms despite himself, when he hears that his brother still calls him Aniki, once he gets over the sheer audacity Komaeda has to have scared the kid on purpose, how dare he. ]

...I hope so. I barely have a tenth of that in my college fund. So that's the sort of person he grew up to be, huh?

[ Violent... greedy... Yeah, he sure did a great job raising that kid. ]

Hmm... okay.

[ Their luck is pretty shitty, so they take the dragon muffler back and wrap it around their neck even if they're staring to sweat a little, this is something that should be worn outside during the winter, maybe.

But okay, sitting on the floor again to carefully unwrap the other gift, what's inside this one... ]

Striving towards a goal, being able to communicate with people to sell what they do? Putting the people first because that's normally the thought process of that profession... They're warm, and have the softest cheeks, and they really, really love hugs... they have a bad temper when they don't get their way, but they're only

( might be pushing it a bit, actually, but komaeda can see a bit of that because that sort of job tells a lot about a person, and then given the fact they're at a younger age. though, it's when he looks up to see his smile that komaeda mimics it as best as he can, like his attempt to reassure him. )

...Amami-kun will talk to them, and you can confirm your decision after hearing them. They're honest when it comes to you, even I'm a little jealous.

( he's not, don't worry, but isn't this what people say when they have these discussions. )

( not anymore. okay, well, to be fair amami abandoned that plan the moment he walked out the student store, but they were gonna come back? still are. just a little bit delayed, that's all... )

What floor are we on? Maybe it's not too late.

( maybe they're walking really slow after that two steps at a time stunt, and they're still on the second floor — that totally justifies the elevator. or maybe they're on the third and kamo-kun's just tired, amami wouldn't argue either way, even as he looks to them expectantly. c'mon, it's their day, so they can decide! )

( not them hot... komaeda will reach out with his hand because he's cold as hell... places it on their head.

cold now.

legend of zelda opening chest sound:

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wood that needs assembling. )

( amami is still quiet, even as they try to reassure him. it... it's a difficult feeling to swallow, for him, if he's to be honest. as much as it touches his heart, makes him grateful that they care enough to want to comfort him... it really shouldn't be their responsibility to do so in the first place. it's supposed to be the opposite. with the way that failure compounds on top of failure, building up and looming over him, it's the very last thing he wants to do, to break down in front of them to top it all off.

but when they look up, it'll be pretty clear to see — his cheeks are already plenty wet again. tugging at his sleeve so he can pull it over the palm of his hand, he uses one hand to rub the tears away while the other stays wrapped around them. a weak imitation of a laugh passes his lips, coming out sounding a bit more miserable than humorous, but it's fine. he's fine. )

Yeah... She sounds as smart as ever, huh?

( ugh, crying feels gross... but with his cheeks kind of dry, he'll kind of look off to the side, the way he always does in this type of situation. there's still some tears that look ready to fall, but he can't just sit here crying on them for as long as he likes, right? so he'll hold his breath a bit, sigh it all out, and try to make a better attempt at steadying himself. )

Thanks, Kamo-kun. It's really nice of you to say that to someone like me.

Edited (my typos....) 2021-10-06 22:58 (UTC)

[ !!! ]

Mine too! Let's make you lots of chocolate pudding!

[ They're going to make a whole pot full and Natsume is going to have to eat all of it or find willing volunteers because Haruka is a ghost and only chews on fingernails for the fun of it. ]

[ What, his hope class homework?? He remembers passing off a sheet of paper to Crona because he didn't want anything to do with it. ]

Sorry, but I don't have anything for you in return, Nagito.

[ He would flunk hope class, he doesn't care, let him drop out. ]

[ It's the bottom bunk, yeah, and I'm going to assume this is early morning and not late at night, although I wouldn't put it past Komaeda to wake somebody up in the middle of the night and go "hey, I'm bored, entertain me"

Early morning on a Sunday, though, is the only day of the week they're allowed to sleep in, so while getting their pillow slid out from under their head is a mild annoyance, there's no way to keep sleeping when somebody's trying to steal your blankets. ]

Morning...

[ It sure is morning. ]

What time is it?

It's fine, you can partner up with Akehoshi-kun, it's never too late to get this.

( he pats the container in his lap, and he looks towards subaru like he can take part. it's fine, rokkun has trouble with teamwork so maybe this is a step in the right direction. )

The person in front of you is in desperate need of help. But it is not your job to save them. You view this person as a victim, but if you was to SEE WHAT I SEE, beneath the mask is a criminal undeserving of the life he leads. Your obsession tells you to save the victim. I tell you to walk away. What type of person do you think Saihara Shuichi-kun is?

( that's the question, answer it. )

It wasn't exciting. I didn't get any money.

[ It was a failure, they don't want to talk about it. ]

Go to sleep.

[ They are... in the stairwell halfway between the second and third floors, and going downstairs is easier than going upstairs, so they turn Amami around so they can retrace their steps and take the elevator from the second. ]

It's together time.

( that's what it is, because he doesn't care for the actual time as long as he can do something with them, and that's him still holding onto the cover to tug so that they'd get up. he lifts one hand to press his index finger against his lips, shushing them since everyone else in the room is asleep. )

We shouldn't wake the others.

( they have to get their sleep since this is the only day of the week they're allowed to sleep in. ) Put on something, and let's go outside the room.

Come on, come on... what happened...

( he wants to know, it's really like a bed time story... and he just hugs npckun closer, snuggling into them like it's going to help. )

Is that how you came here?

[ They close their eyes and pretend to be asleep. ]

( oh, perfect, amami's easy to turn around, and he'll follow their lead back down, clicking the elevator call button once they reach it. long stairs, maybe this is a good idea. )

npc contact.2

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