yogen | npc contact.2

( Technically, he should go to bed. He should sleep, properly, especially because he can feel the fact he hasn't sleep in a day and a half dragging on him, but instead of that he stands at his dormitory door, turns to look at the study hall literally not that far from it, and goes back to school instead.

It isn't really like he's particularly looking for anyone, or anything; most students have left already and he's almost sure the Arisu twins are the same, but he looks at the counselor's door and thinks about how sometimes, Hiro's still here, and sometimes Maya is patient enough or busy enough to wait for him so they can walk home together, and he goes to the student council room.

...Natsume knocks on the door, then leans on the wall beside it. Not busting in, not assuming she's there, but he's going to close his eyes and wait. If she's not in, then fine, no loss. If she is... then... also fine, no loss. )

[ There is no answer for a bit, no "I'll be right there" but it's not completely silent either; there's sounds of somebody purposely ignoring his knock. He can hear the scrape of a chair against hard wood floor, silence, then the scratching of pen on paper, a drawer being opened and closed and finally footsteps that approach to get the door.

Maya opens the door, only halfway before her hand stops and she stares at who's there.

...Door slowly closing, unless he has something to say first. ]

( Aw, at least she's slow about it, which is nice because he gives a small start and then smiles slightly.

But he looks very tired and there's none of his usual ?charm? to his voice. Also he has a small stack of those transparent projector sheets with him, I almost forgot he took them with him when he left because everyone has handouts so they don't need these. )

EveNING, Little Wolf. Mind if I steal a little bit of your TIME? I promise to beHAVE.

Edited 2021-10-03 10:17 (UTC)

[ She has to raise an eyebrow at what might be the admittance that he wasn't behaving during all their previous conversations if he has to promise her this now, but that's sort of a given. There's not much more time in the day for him to steal, especially given the slight turn of the head Maya does towards the room behind her. Lots to do... she won't be able to come back here until Monday. ]

What do you want?

[ But she does turn around and step back inside the room, leaving Natsume to follow and shut the door behind him. ]

( well, behaving in this case means that after he shuts the door behind him, he finds a chair near opposite or at least diagonal of her across the room and doesn't give the place a cursory glance, despite its newness to him.

instead, once he's settled, he puts aside his transparencies and cushions his head on his arms, watching her. )

To waste your TIME. ( nothing new. actually, ) Just kidding--I...

( ....... )

We had another of those meetings you're ever invited TO, should you choose to grace us with your preSENCE, but I'll say I'm glad you didn't come to this ONE. It was to get people on the same page with regards to things that have occured this school YEAR, since some people "woke up" later than most of US. ( good ideas, except: ) Things turned rather ugLY, and an argument broke out on whether or not we can trust people outside of "our GROUP".

( in essence. and he says it with semi-dryness, though he knows there is something different. that's true.

but none of that is going to really matter to her, and he thinks about it, and closes his eyes. being mad just turned into being done and tired, so natsume sighs. )

...Just let me rest my eyes for a little BIT. I'm not meant to have a starring role like THAT, so it's exhausted ME.

[ It's a pretty boring room, all things considered, especially at the end of a meeting day where the blackboard's already been wiped clean and everything is put away. There are plenty of chairs to choose from too, with Maya's school bag hung over the back of the president's seat at the head. It's this seat that she returns to, watching Natsume watch her, but a brief flicker of surprise is apparent on her face when Natsume puts his head down, given how he usually carries himself. ]

...You already know my thoughts about trust.

[ Essentially, trust no one, until they earn the right. Still, for there to be an argument about it, there must have been at least one person who thought they— all the other students in the school— could be trusted. And she's not entirely sure what to feel about that. ]

It sounds as if the dormitory is pretty noisy, but there are more comfortable places to sleep, Sakasaki. There's a bed in the nurse's office specifically for this reason.

I don't need comfortaBLE, I'm not planning on not sleeping in my own BED. I'd worry my roommates if I just up and disappeared all NIGHT.

( Admittedly, kind of like he's done now, but they're trapped handling the meeting. He'll be back over there before it ends and they go back to their room... maybe. That depends on when Maya kicks him out.

...Anyway, he can't just disappear on them like that considering last month, he might end up a murder victim. He might still, but he's going to fall to silence and ... not sleep, because despite his exhaustion he "trusts" Maya to either give him answers or give him a direction to get answers in, but he doesn't trust her enough to be able to doze off around her. It's complicated.

A lot of things are, and for once, he doesn't really want to sort it out with her. And while he's not bad at being quiet, eventually he'll pipe up, voice softened more by how he's laying than anything. )

Do you ( "like" but it isn't a matter of "like or dislike" he knows she'll say that, so he pauses briefly and goes with a different word ) enjoy being the Student Council PresiDENT?

[ Then he should have just gone to his room, put in ear plugs, and do his best to sleep, is Maya's honest opinion, especially if he insists on holding a conversation like this, with her, right now, so that she can neither work nor leave.

And that sort of question is one that, even if she felt any obligation to answer, finds that she can't so easily anyways. ]

Not particularly.

[ It's hard work. Thankless work. The sort of position you put effort into only to be scorned by the student body you serve. But it is a position that she wanted, and would say that she is glad she is the president— it's better than the alternative, anyways. ]

Our meetings are much like yours: full of arguments. Each person will bring up their thoughts and opinions and make a stand on their position, and we will debate the best course of action. Those who do not speak up have no room for complaint. The final decision is to be respected by all.

[ A meeting's a meeting, and nobody is allowed to get up and leave. Maybe there is some merit in locking a group of people in a room together until they come to some sort of agreement. ]

A leader is simply somebody who is willing. That's all.

[ Nothing to do with enjoying. ]

( Oh, she answered. She didn't need to; in fact, he wasn't expecting her to, outside of telling him it didn't matter or something like that. )

The position suits YOU... Or maybe it's more apt to say you suit the posiTION. ( There's some kind of nuance difference there. ) How long have you been on the council in geneRAL?

( how many fun murders has she gotten to see happen )

A while.

[ ...

So, anyways, yeah. She's going to go get her work out again so she can finish up what she needs to do before heading home. Presumably she was a first year member who continued into her second year, skipped some steps and now she's god I mean president.

How many fun murders has she gotten to see... How much blood is on her hands... Do not ask me bc I feel like I mentioned Arisu tallies somewhere at some point but did not write down what they were, presumably they never let anybody see. ]

( I'm crying, Ori, let me in on all of your Arisu lore, I will write them down.

Natsume's content to let that be for a while, listening to the gentle scrtchscrtch of whatever Maya uses to write, because he knows she won't answer what "a while" is. Even though she'd said the same thing for it being just her and her brother, and then he had to go find out through Hiro what she meant... )

Most people say since their first YEAR, but I suppose most people's "first year" is only a year or two BACK. ( do they have that guarantee here, where third years can repeat? hum.

which he won't say much else for, but a little out of nowhere, a conversation change— ) What day is good for YOU?

[ Looks at my notes for unimportant Arisu facts... Maya sometimes smells faintly of strawberry, there are stray cats that live outside their house that Hiro likes to draw, apparently Hiro has killed somebody outside of Kouji but past Ori did not expand on that ]

Good for what?

( my lore... thank u )

Our lunch DATE. ( don't break his heart by forgetting. jk he knew she'd have to ask, it was to trap her in conversation so he can continue to not think too hard. ) Or our "rooftop murder of me" DATE, whichever you'd prefer to call IT.

[ UGH she should never have opened the door ]

Don't be so eager to run into death's embrace, Sakasaki.

[ She's not going to shove him off the roof, and in extension that means she will not have to subject herself to a picnic date. ]

( "she's not going to shove him off the roof" this is the most disappointing sentence

he props up his head on his arms to look at her though, she is so... )

...You shook on IT, Miss Student Council PresiDENT. ( a half-there kind of smile ) Going back on your WORD? It's not unusual for politiCIANS, but I thought you were a different BREED.

It was a promise for "next time," and there isn't going to be one.

[ No more picnics with you, mister. Besides, there's nothing for her to gain from murdering Natsume right now, and she does not do things without reason. Again, there's the thought that opening the door was a mistake. ]

Why do you want to die?

[ Her gaze levels on his. If he says he doesn't, then he shouldn't be joking about it. If he does, then she'll be having more words with him. ]

( Ah, scary. Natsume matches her gaze, unblinking... then closes his eyes again. )

Do you dislike being treated to nice THINGS?

[ Natsume closing his eyes makes Maya feel like she won, a little. Win what? not important. ]

Is your death to be a "nice thing"?

The picnic is supposed to BE. ( .... ) Or WAS.

( Why do we have to talk about death? We just told a whole group of people they were already dead and it went really poorly. Let's just stay off that topic— )

You wouldn't consider getting rid of a nuisance a good THING? ( —he knows he pesters her, and he also knows if he could get rid of the annoyances in his life he would probably feel better. Maybe.

...If he had good reason, anyway. )

[ He's the one who brought it up in the first place ]

...There are ways to get rid of nuisances without killing them.

[ so yeah he's a nuisance. But if she'd wanted him dead, Hiro would've stabbed him by now ]

( STOP HE BROUGHT UP THEIR DATE. )

... ( she's not wrong, but there are some pests you can't get rid of without such extreme measures. like cockroaches or ants. bedbugs. mice.

he thinks about his words, rubbing the long sleeve of his left arm between his fingers, and )

I don't want to die; I just wanted to go on a date with YOU. Promsing you something as ridiculous as being able to push me off the roof was just an exCUSE. I didn't think you'd ever actually do IT.

( not because she can't, but )

You aren't the type of person who celebrates the loss of LIFE. ( ... ) This year must've been exhausting for you to deal with already, HM?

Do not make promises you have no intention of following through on.

[ If he had any thought the trade off might be worth it, she's going to have to stop him right here. She who led a student council election gladiator fight... but with her careful neutral expression and level tone, her thoughts on the matter can only be assumed. Most assume the worst from somebody decidedly closed off and who is in a position of power, but she thinks back to the last time she posted anything to the pda forums, a fleeting message minutes before the school year turned and the forum wiped clean once more.

So no, she doesn't celebrate loss of life. But she also has no choice but to accept death, the knowledge that she cannot save everyone. Sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war. ]

...I've seen worse years. This year has been comparably tame, so far.

[ Still exhausting, but she's in no position to complain. ]

( Natsume gives her a look that plainly reads take your own advice, he'd follow through with his half of the promise (picnic) she just isn't going to go through with hers (murder). Him admitting that he knows she wouldn't isn't any failing on his part; he likes getting the better end of deals.

...But putting that aside, a worse year would probably be last year. One student standing, and not even completely whole, either. How many third years this year have died in comparison? He can't remember all of their names or faces, but he feels like it's less than he thinks. )

Maybe we just want to be bad students for YOU, since from what I reCALL, there weren't many deaths over summer BREAK.

( There was that thing with Legion and all, which I think was during the break, and then there was everything that happened in the memory-dream-things, but those last ones don't count. Technically. Maybe. He's still on the fence on them and he doesn't really like thinking about them anyway. )

Murder doesn't impress a girl like YOU, though, so what DOES?

[ Coming back after summer break to an empty school building would have been something. Tomorrow, when there's going to be nine discovered deaths, Maya's going to stare up at the ceiling for a moment.

She kind of feels like it right now, with that sort of question. ]

...Somebody achieving the impossible, I suppose.

( The point of the impossible is that you can't achieve it, not without a miracle, or by being blessed. Not that it's a deterrent normally, but it's... nothing he's brushing off so easily now.

And then he remembers it's at the turn of the century here, and his mouth twitches slightly. )

Have you ever experienced virtual realiTY?

( Maybe she's not actually from wherever (whenever) this school is and the answer is yes, who hasn't, but maybe it isn't and he can tell her about something fun. )

10/01 maya......

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