yogen | npc contact.3

I—- what?

[ If he had luggage to carry out, he would've dropped it in his haste to step back away from the door when Sara appears there, keys jingling and drawing his gaze down to her hands, where it lingers without lifting to look Sara in the eyes. ]

Did you... open my PDA?

Y-you were a murder victim!?

[ It's kind of worse that instead of guessing his password or looking in his locker she just used his own fingerprint to do it. ]

It was only in my professional interest as an investigator? [ She says, like a lying liar who lies. ] U-um...I'm really sorry. I didn't read anything at the time. I just wanted to check your name and grades...

I didn't die...!

[ He lost his soul, maybe, and maybe... he rubs at his left wrist self-consciously, but not as self-conscious as when Sara brings up his grades. He has good grades, nothing to be embarrassed about, but they aren't perfect scores across the board when it could have been...

...he's missed so much school...

...kinda nervous for end of term exams now, ngl. ]

...You don't remember me, do you, Sara?

You were a slightly less dead murder victim!?

[ It's hard to say how incredibly close he was to dying. Would have been, without a lot of good luck and a lot of good people. A body without a soul, kept alive by magic...maybe thats like being in a coma, or maybe thats like being dead. Maybe even the tally system doesn't know, she see's Narumi tugging his wrist.]

Er...I looked after you this whole month, so I think I remember that. [ Unless... ] Um...but I've forgotten people before? Do we know each other, Narumi-senpai?

[ It doesn't feel quite the same. With Joe, she felt scared even looking at him, like the memory might come back any minute. Narumi doesn't scare her at all. ]

Edited 2021-11-28 07:07 (UTC)

[ What does slightly less dead mean............... I hope nobody told him in explicit detail what actually happened, so that from his point of view he'd simply gone back to school after hours and, you know. All That happened. Darkness. He thinks he might have been screaming, every inch of his nerves on fire, but not able to see or hear or think— and then he wakes up, head pounding, nauseous, fire put out but leaving the nerves frayed and brittle.

Even now, he looks like he'd be better off in bed. ]

I didn't know... Thanks for taking care of me. I mean it.

[ Thanks enough to forgive her transgressions of petty thievery? ...yeah, actually ]

...I guess I knew you better than you knew me. Since I'm pretty forgettable, and you... You stand out. In a good way. [ amended quickly, before she takes offence. ]

It was nothing. [ Quite literally. All she'd had to do was bully Akira into letting her use his bed, and keep ahold of the key so she could check up on him. Oh...and stop Komeada from flopping all over him like an oversized cat. ]

Stand...out? [ It's good he amended. Sara takes her image seriously.] I'm not sure about that. I'm not popular, and I don't do clubs. Aren't you everyone's beloved upperclassman? I should be the forgettable one.

[ Hikaru seems to adore him, and the unnamed murderous student...well Sara suspects he targetted Narumi because he knew him. ]

So now I'm curious...if you knew me, then who am I to you?

Edited (icon) 2021-11-28 07:38 (UTC)

[ Sara calling these herculean feats nothing, ]

I think you have the wrong impression of me...

[ Look at him. Unconscious in the dorms for a month, with nobody coming to check up on him or offer to take him or whatever you do with soulless bodies. Just charge nurse Sara and Komaeda the cat and Hikaru who is a close friend, who lives here and makes sense for them to stop by and see how he's doing on the way to the bathroom or kitchen or wherever.

As for Sara, she's... to him...

... ]

...you're just my kouhai now, I guess. [ Since she doesn't know him. Effectively, strangers. ]

...Well, I can change it. Talk a bit more about yourself, maybe it'll jog my memory.

[If she's forgotten something important, she'll confront it straight on. She takes a step forward to press the PDA and keys into his hands. Come on, up you get. If he's trying to move out, he needs these. ]

...And you're the upperclassman I owe a bowl of ramen. [ Which won't make any sense, if he doesn't remember their dream adventure, but Sara did say she'd treat him. ] But I'm stuck here, so when you go home, just buy one!

[ She is not offering money, she has none. But he should go eat some anyway, at that restaurant he likes. ]

How did you...

[ Huh. Maybe she knew him better than he thought, though he doesn't know what to think about his food preferences (carbs and sweets, mostly) being more memorable than his name. It feels like a long time since he's had ramen— a long time since he's had anything to eat, actually, so that explains part of the nausea even if he doesn't feel particularly hungry. ]

Aren't you the one I owe? I...

[ should have enough in his wallet? maybe. he can stretch things if need be, he's good at that ]

I'll treat you. If you're not busy tonight, or... any other night. Whatever works.

Don't tease me? I told you, I can't leave this school!

[ Now she's flustered, tapping her foot and clenching her fists. You don't understand her pain, Narumi! She wants to eat a hot meal she didn't prepare herself!

Weird, that he apparently remembers her but not this pretty straight forward fact. At this point, the idea of being able to leave the school grounds feels strange and foreign, after so many months. ]

Hmph! Look, just treat me by treating yourself? I don't need anything and you haven't eaten all month.

Still?

[ Doesn't Lucifer commandeer the kitchen in the dorms? his hot meals have got to be better than late night street ramen. ]

Okay...

[ Sure. He's going to... not get ramen, because he shouldn't be spending the money on it when there's no cause for eating out, and just pretend that he did.

...

He thumbs open his PDA, morbid curiosity trumping empty promises. ]

Eh...of course? You know, a few months ago I couldn't even go outside...

[ Lucifer does, but the appeal of street raman is unmatched. She's a nice rich girl, and she misses going to a restaurant! ]

No, no no! [ She lurches forward to try and snatch the PDA, pawing at Narumi's sleeve. He can't see those messages! ] Stop! It was Komeada's fault, not mine! I had to defeat him!

[ Sara goes for the PDA and Narumi throws his arm up to cover his face, almost reflexively, like he's used to being attacked from the front, taking a step back at the same time and raising the PDA above his head. ]

Komae— ...what? You beat him up with this?

[ Does it smell like blood... Is there dried blood between the buttons... He lowers the PDA just a little so he can see better. ]

[ Oof. Sara's grab goes sailing pass his flawless dodge. Off balence, waving her arms to straighten up, by the time she looks up the PDA is far out of reach.

Should she apologize for going at him so suddenly? Well, she can't get it now...he's taller then her. ]

What, no! Why would I use your PDA for that? [ Does she look like some kind of feral animal? ] If I wanted to beat Komeada up I'd use...er well nevermind. It's not important.

...I just wanted to prove a point about how you can impersonate people on the network.

[ "pistol-whip," a voice in his head supplies. He tells it to shush. ]

...I see.

[ Mmmmm. Okay. Slowly, he lowers that hand with the PDA, thumb still on the sensor and screen lit up to the home page showing just his school info. His grades are slipping... he still isn't caught up with all his make-up quizzes. ]

Were you able to prove your point?

[ He really does know her...smh. ]

I proved it...not sure if it mattered. Can you ever win an argument with a guy like that? He went on some rant, so I have no idea.

[ And even so, the allure of getting into arguments online beckons. ]

Are you looking at it? Please don't.

Huh.

[ Yeah, he can see that, idly tapping on the screen.

... ... ...

It's just 500 pages of Rokuro and Komaeda flirting with each other. Aha. So Sara was just trying to save him from this. ]

No, I didn't see anything.

[ The PDA get pocketed and he doesn't think he has the strength to read anything more on the forum in this lifetime. ]

Nobody else got ahold of my keys, right? Just you?

Just don't tell Hikaru, okay? I'm not sure if he noticed...but I don't want to get double murdered with magic.

[ cryin we all live humbled by the 500 pages of Rokuro and Komeada flirting being on the PDA system at any given moment. ]

Do I seem dumb? They were in my pocket all month! I didn't even tell anyone I had them. If your classmates want to rob you, they're going to have to pick your locks.

[ All like, twenty of them. She sadly looks down at the array of keys that are not for hobbies. ]

Hikaru?

[ For the first time in what feels like forever, Narumi feels a grin tug at the corner of his lips, which is as unbelievable as what he's hearing. ]

Hikaru won't kill you. Those days are in the past.

[ Past Hikaru, though? better watch your back. ]

Anyways, I wasn't doubting you or anything. I just wanted to be sure... Don't need you getting into trouble just 'cause you're holding onto my stuff.

[ Those days are past? What a vote of confidence! ]

Don't laugh? He was totally giving me a dirty look!

[ In between Lucifer and Komeada crashing the toyota carolla into every corner of Narumi's soul. ]

...Trouble... don't let yourself get bullied, senpai.

[ She pauses for a second, staring down at the keys with a thoughtful expression before her eyes widen and she puts a hand to her chest. ]

Wait, I forgot. One person saw me take them, the nurse. She doesn't count though, does she? I got her cookies as an apology.

[ The smile fades from his face at the mention of the nurse, somewhat troubled, but that also is his default expression, so. The nurse... ugh. She won't do anything, he's fairly certain of that, but that doesn't mean she won't talk. ]

Death threats more than bullying, but that's normal... Can I ask what happened? Do you know?

...You don't remember anything?

[ That's a bit...odd? ]

Er...well, what was the last thing you remember before waking up, senpai? I can start there. I know the gist, but the first time I saw you, you were pretty close to death. I wasn't even the one who found you, you can thank Sou for that?

[ Thinking back on that night is tough, with that nagging feeling of being scattered, memory full of gaps and little contradictions, as if he were pulled apart and brought back with all the pieces but not in the right places. But he remembers... ]

...I remember walking the halls after dark with Clamor. Talking about this and that... school, mostly. And then...

[ He closes his eyes, takes a moment, and opens them again. It still feels unreal, and the detachment makes it easy. ]

It was hot, and cold, at the same time. I couldn't move or breathe or see... sinking... floating too... I remember thinking this is where I would die, and hoping Clamor would make it quick.

It wasn't Clamor. A third year had stolen his body...and he wanted to steal yours next.

[ The next part is hard to explain, Sara barely understands magic herself. She puts her hands together in front of her trying to visualize what Clamor had described a month ago. ]

There was a spell in Clamor's notebook about separating a soul from a body. That student he...he lured you somewhere and- [ She pulls her hands apart suddenly. ] - ripped it out. Ripped it apart like...I'm not sure. Do you remember the shopkeeper at all? I think they got hit by some of it.

[ She knows its out now, but did that make Narumi and npckun siblings of a sort? A new Arata... ]

But your body wasn't dead! It just didn't have a soul in it, and Sou was investigating and he found you! There's a whole post of him freaking out on the network about it...I've almost never seen him so scared about anything. But him, and Lucifer, and I came later... [ And stole everything in Narumi's pockets. ] They got your body stable with more magic. So I took you to Akira-san's room and we eventually got enough of your soul back you woke up...

[ She'd said a lot, but she falls silent now, pressing her hands together while she looks up at Narumi. It's a quite fantastical story, full of magic and soul swapping. She wouldn't be suprised if he didn't believe her. ]

I'm...glad you're back now. Really. I know I don't remember you, but I didn't want you to die.

[ "A third year had stolen his body" It's fantastical from the start, but Narumi doesn't laugh or roll his eyes or give any indication that he doesn't believe her; sometimes you get to the point where you readily believe anything, because "what the fuck?" isn't productive, "what now?" is. ]

...I'm lucky Sou and the rest of you were there, huh? That'd be a first.

[ There's that idle rub of his wrist again, but then he pulls his hand away and runs it though his hair instead. Don't... ]

So... what am I? "Enough"? Torn apart and... [ he brings his hands together as if squashing something in between his palms, the visual representation of how he imagines they put him back together ]

I'm not all here.

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