yogen | npc contact.4

npc contact.4

As the game progresses, different npc faculty and students will become available for threading. To request a thread, please comment below with the name of the npc and the ic date in the subject header. Threads may be cut short due to mod availability, so please have a reason in mind for the interaction.

AVAILABLE

These NPCs are freely available to thread with at any time.

Students

✽ Yumemi Minazuki: A student in class 1-D. An earnest and straightforward girl who falls in love easily. She seems to attract odd occurrences. Computer Science is one of her electies, and it seems that she was one of the students who was saved by transfer students' efforts after failing her final.

AVAILABLE BY REQUEST

These NPCs are available after contacting a mod for specific interactions. Interactions will be handwaved, but should be discussed on this page.

Faculty

✽ "Kazuki": The gardener is a spirit which appears in the courtyard during the night. He can not normally be seen, unless a character has the ability to see spirits, owns an adderstone through which they can see spirits, or visits the courtyard during nights of the full moon. Those who have spirit sight or see him during the full moon will see him in his human form; through an adderstone or within the "void" version of the school, the gardener appears in his true form as a man-eating monster. The gardener is blind, and only darkness can be seen in the eye holes of his mask. Rumor has it that the gardener has used to be employed as a teacher before becoming the gardener, and has been around almost as long as the counselor. He is patient and understanding, and is fond of the students.
✽ "Mizuki" Arata: The counselor is available during school hours, answering to a knock on the door with permission to enter. While the counselor typically sits on top of his desk, there are a variety of chairs in the office to choose from, and he will always offer to share his snack bowl. All supernatural powers are nullified within his office. Rumor has it that the counselor founded the school and is aware of everything that goes on in the school at any given moment. He can be difficult to talk with, but always seems to be having fun.

Other

✽ "God": "God" can be visited at the shrine accessed from within the forest, and will introduce themselves as Jizo, the deity who guides souls through the afterlife, particularly those of children and travelers. They take on the appearance of a middle school child, and although their power is limited, they may grant a wish for a price, and otherwise seems to enjoy company.

UNAVAILABLE

These NPCs are unavailable for threading, but interactions may be freely handwaved for faculty members and the cats.

Faculty

✽ Principal: There is currently no principal. The principal's office is unlocked, but until the sub-zero temperature condition in the room is dealt with, normal students will quickly freeze to death upon entering. Rumor has it that historically, the principal monitors the school but does not have active involvement.
✽ Vice principal: There is currently no vice principal. The vice principal has a desk in the faculty office with the rest of the staff, and takes on the responsibilities of the principal if the principal is unavailable. Rumor has it that the vice principal's job involves a LOT of paperwork.
✽ Teachers: Teachers hold office hours in the faculty office from 4 PM to 6 PM and supplemental lessons are handwaved. Students of any age can apply for a teaching position, provided competency.
✽ Librarian: The librarian is available during school hours, and can help locate or otherwise order new books on specific topics upon request. Requests for books on specific topics are handwaved, as long as the book is not canon specific. Library materials are not to be removed from the library.
✽ Janitor: The janitor cleans the school at the end of each school day, of everything from trash in the bins to bodies and blood following a murder. They are never seen, but most students assume they exist. The janitor's closet, located between the faculty office and the bathroom, can be freely accessed.

Students

✽ Keigo Arata: The previous shopkeep of the student store. Unlike most students, they committed suicide to purposely arrive at the school, under contract with a "god." Through the efforts and sacrifice of their friends, this contract has since been nullified and they were killed in hopes of becoming an official student in the future.

Other

✽ A fluffy white cat: Very friendly and will come running seemingly out of nowhere when food is being offered. She can otherwise be found seeking out warm sunny spots within the school, and enjoys being kissed and petted but not held. She is called by many many names, including Lily Mayhemnaise, Lucy, Lucifer, Whitey, Yuki, Cygnus, Sweetheart, and Emerald Moon, but does not actually respond to any of them.
✽ A skinny black cat: Wary and skittish, and will occasionally come eat the leftovers after the fluffy white cat has eaten her share. He can otherwise be found perched up on high places out of reach, but will run away if approached. He appears to be small and skinny enough to squeeze through gaps underneath doors and other places, and is occasionally seen in the counselor's office or rooftop. He is called by many many names, including Beverage, Belphegor, Blacky, Yoru, Robbie, Crux, Sweetheart, and Citrine Blizzard, but does not actually respond to any of them.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Everyone else is disappearing. The nurse disappeared. The gardener disappeared. So Noah figures that the logical conclusion is that the counsellor will disappear, and that means he can do the normal thing of poking about the guy's office and looking at all of his stuff. Everyone says he's weird, after all.

So, about that little idea... turns out the man hasn't cleared out or moved on or anything.]

Why are you still here?

[Noah continues to be the most eloquent person in the room.]

[ Some days he questions this new open door policy that he's put into place. The black cat is sitting on the desk near a bowel of chocolate-covered potato chips, one of which he was just in the process of biting down on when his door opened. ]

... Hm?

[ He chews slowly, his eyes training on the black cat as it lifts itself up, stretches out, hops down. The black cat isn't quite as affectionate as the white cat, but it will trill in greeting and rub against his leg on its way out the room, having apparently decided it would rather not be trapped in a room with two noisy humans. ]

Why wouldn't I be here?

[ Said like he doesn't know exactly what Noah means. ]

I mean... everyone else seems to be leaving. "Graduating", I think. The nurse is gone, and Kazuki is gone... so how come you're not gone?

[It probably has something to do with what Alice told him, that Mizuki doesn't really want to leave for some reason? That he doesn't have a purpose in doing so? But that's so odd to Noah to think about. Why stay here — just because the chips are infinite?]

[ He chuckles. He seems to be taking it well at least, but... ]

If I leave, who will watch over you all? I owe it to my students.

[ There's a heaviness to the words despite the light tone. However much or little they've done, the founders have been the only consistent figures in the school. ]

...we'll do it?

[Noah sighs and leans against the door frame like he's about to scold a grown-ass adult.]

I don't know when I'll graduate, or when anyone else will. But people are slowly leaving, and eventually, you're not gonna have anyone to watch over. And maybe people don't need someone to watch over them, either.

[ He doesn't deter it; on the contrary, Mizuki gestures toward the chairs in the room. If they'll be here for a spell, he might as well make himself comfortable. ]

One day this place will be empty, [ He agrees, ] And I'll have no reason to be here.

[ In six hundred years the number of souls has only grown though; this school can only hold but the tiniest fraction of them. But he would follow the last one out. ]

What would you do different? Who will take responsibility for righting any wrongs that occur? Until now we have done penance for our mistakes.

[ The first had marked a turning point, yet none of them had prevented it; on the contrary, Kazuki was nothing more than a mindless monster by then. As for the other two, they watched without acting until nothing could be done even if they wished to.

As for the person who started it all, the six hundred years that followed might be thought of as their penance. They were allowed to leave only after paying for each and every life taken that day.

Still, it's not meant to be discouragement. He wants to hear the thoughts of his students, the ones that have grown so much in such a short amount of time. ]

[But he can't scold Mizuki if he's sitting in a comfy chair! Sighs... Noah makes his way there anyway and plops down, hitting Mizuki with perhaps the sassiest look a teenage boy can muster.]

No offense, but you didn't really help right any wrongs. We did. Me and my friends went into the void and fixed that. Clamor and everyone helped Kazuki and Narumi. Even Add and Komaeda helped people. There's a lot I'm forgetting, but you know them all, I'm sure.

But... [He leans forward in his chair a bit.] You helped me. And you helped a lot of people. And that's why I want to help you graduate, too. That's why I think it's stupid that you're gonna try to stay.

If it were up to me to choose... I would let people become self-governing. In a small place like this, it'll work. We had students become teachers and Ranger became the principal. And... For me, personally, I'd have more faith in people. Maybe not all people are good people, but all people have the capacity to do good things. I think it's okay to let people grow on their own, 'cause they will.

You have been. I haven't interfered with your choices more than necessary because I have faith in my students.

[ There's nothing that escapes his notice, but nor is there anything that occurs without his consent, and so he's seen every success and failure that has occurred over hundreds of cycles. He had granted them succor and sanctuary when they asked for it, and he had eased restrictions when they found the resolve to act. But he lists without judgment as much as ever.

He enjoys these conversations more than most, because for any question he asks he knows he'll be given a worthy answer ]

What of those who come after your group? Do you believe they'll all be as strong as you? God will not answer their prayers.

[ Or if they do it will come at too high of a cost. ]

Okay, then... why don't you have faith in the people who will come after?

[It seems so obvious to Noah, who, despite growing into a better person during his time here, still thinks in absolutes that a kid thinks in. If Mizuki has faith in this group, why stay to see where the others will go? They'll do the right things, even if there are bumps along the way.

Or so Noah decrees. Bangs gavel, let no one tell Noah he's wrong and that there's always a voice of dissent.]

Our group had its problems, yeah, but... it's nothing we didn't overcome. The next group will have their problems, but they'll overcome that too. It's in human nature to overcome. Um... Sentient creature nature, I mean. I don't want to exclude anyone.

[Lucifer is a demon, Clamor is a spirit, Maple is a robot, they had a whole-ass dog at one point. Et cetera, et cetera.]

If you had faith in us, have faith in others that will come after, and leave here knowing that everything's gonna be okay.

[ well maybe if somebody didn't burn the place down and then try to drop it into the void he would trust you more!!!

He places his elbows on the desk and laces his fingers together, letting his child rest atop them with an amused smile. ]

Am I not allowed to do both? I have faith in my students, and I want to see what they can do.

[ It's not unlike a parent that's not quite ready to let go of their child. They say that a parent will always worry, so perhaps the said can be said of the school's founders. It's difficult to give up one's identity and move on, and it's harder still when it feels like abandoning one's duties. ]

You've grown. [ Both as an individual and as a collective whole. He does relent a little. ] Though I'm sad to hear that I'm no longer wanted here... What future do you see for the school? What will it look like once I'm gone? I want to hear about the changes you'll all bring.

[That's fair, Noah will conveniently forget about all the crimes while he's trying to convince a man to leave.]

It's not that we don't want you here. It's that... I think you should join the people who are leaving and get another chance at life. It's... if Harque were here, he'd say the same thing, I think.

[Noah's brother has ever been a bastion in the darkness. More than that, that's how Harque felt about him when he gave Noah the Moonstone, he thinks. Living again used to be something that Noah felt was tiring. To be honest, he still does, but second chances are worth it in the end.]

If I could choose... I would make it a peaceful place. No killing games or murders or anything like that. I would... mm... make it a place where people can grow and discover themselves without being faced with atrocities like that. Without waking up thinking that a friend of theirs died.

You could call it a normal high school, not that I've been to one, [Noah nods to himself,] and maybe focus more of the classes around self-growth. I know I could've used something like that. An actual philosophy class, maybe, instead of just spewing whatever was in my head all the time. Math sure as hell didn't teach me how to get along with people who have other view points, that's for sure.

We shouldn't have had to deal with all the murders and the infighting and the random stabbings. We shouldn't have to learn to grow when faced with things that are just gonna continue to mess us up. You shouldn't have had to deal with a bunch of scared kids like me who were crying because someone tore the heart out of one of their friends.

My door has remained open for a reason. You've grown through that loss, but there are kinder ways to learn to deal with hardship than fumbling through it alone.

[ Whether it's big or small, good or bad, his door has remained open for those who need someone. If Noah's learned that lesson, then he's done his job well. ]

Your group has done well in reaching that goal... I thought you would one day, though I didn't think it would involve hiding hundreds of students in the dormitory or jumping on people in the hallway.

[ Maybe he did expect that second one, actually, considering it's happened multiple times just this year. Either way, he knows what you kids have been doing. He drums his fingers on the desk, thoughtful. ]

It's much harder to build something up than to break it down, isn't it? You've had to do all that and more, and it only gets harder from here on out if you decide to enact those plans. You'll have to teach the students here the value of a life again. There's too many of them that have forgotten it, and many more who will if they stay here long enough. Are you prepared to bear that burden?

[ The burden of preparing the next generation for their departure. There are those sorts in every group, but if they find themselves unable to do so then it becomes an anchor that pull them down, deeper and deeper into what seems to be a bottomless ocean. He pauses before changing the question, ]

Are you afraid?

[ Of what? He'll let Noah decide. ]

Ah— You knew about stasis jenga?

[It makes sense, and it's not entirely surprising, but also...]

If the rules of this place say people have to die when they fail exams, and all the staff hide hundreds of students and put them in stasis so that their lives aren't detected... but you knew it was happening, why didn't you try to stop it? Why didn't you... I don't know, kill Lucifer as punishment or fire all the staff?

[Lucifer specifically because he was the one stasis-ing, but there was also like a coffin involved? Shin was there? Everyone helped Lucifer make a corpse pile? No one was faultless in wanting to save lives.

To the latter questions, Noah shrugs, though he does put his hands together and grip them tightly in his lap.]

I'm not someone who should be explaining the value of life to anyone. It would be hypocritical. My entire life was... was swearing vengeance, and even when I died and came here, it's all I wanted. I still want that person who killed Clamor to suffer for it. [He shakes his head.] I live for only a few things, and sometimes people say that's enough, but sometimes I don't think it is.

But I'm not afraid of anything. I'm not afraid to go home and I'm not afraid to try and help people here. I have things I have to finish back home specifically. I can't just let Dantalion wear my brother's skin forever. I have to get Clamor his body back, because I know once we leave that he'll go back to being "just a sickle" again.

...

What about you? Are you scared?

[ He did but it was funny. ]

How can I watch you grow if I interfere with your choices? Though I must admit, it was amusing to watch you all.

[ There's a point in time when it was possible to prevent the school from becoming this way, but that time has since passed. It matched the image of the school's staff but not its founders. It's one more change that that this year has brought; the school has changed, the student before him is almost a symbolm of that growth - one that comes fast at times and slow at others.

He considers the question with care, as such an honest answer deserves one in return. ]

I wouldn't be a very good counselor if I wasn't, would I? This school is as fragile as any other, and the world outside can be a frightening place. I don't wish to see my students left to fend for themselves, nor to be trapped here should things go awry once more. Regrets and penitence can become an anchor that weigh you down.

[ Which is to say, they shouldn't fall into the same trap as the original three did. ]

But... your students are good at fending for themselves. Take the stasis thing, for example. If they weren't hellbent on surviving, no one would've done that. And... everything Clamor told me about Narumi's soul, and how people saved that. And how Senku saved Nao a long time ago, and how there's no more weird monster in the pool, and how there's no more void...

[Noah huffs.]

You get it. You've seen it. Sometimes... um. Sometimes, you have to let the bird fly from the nest. [Or something.] You know, when we all get out of here, we'll be fending for ourselves again, right?

...

Wanna come on a walk with me? I want to show you something. A memory, I guess you could say.

Are you saying I've kept you all in the nest for too long?

[ There's a touch of humor to his words, but no disagreement. He saw all of it, after all, and each time their efforts were rewarded in the end. ]

This last year has been more eventful than any other. You've exchanged blows and caused trouble, but you've supported each other and grown. The school is where it is now because of your efforts, and I've enjoyed going through it with all of you, [ He speaks as he pushes his chair back. It's almost like giving a progress report - the good, the bad, and the whole, ] And however long it lasts I'm certain I'll enjoy the remainder... Now then, lead the way.

Right.

[Noah stands and crams his hands into his pockets, heading outside. He makes sure Mizuki follows him, though; wouldn't want to lose the guy and have to start from square one. He doesn't think he's ever seen the man outside his office, but he doesn't deign to comment on it. It feels a little like an adult telling a child, "Gee, look who left his room today!" and Noah's always hated that sort of condescending language.

Still, these days, he can't quite stand silence, so he talks on the way to the destination.]

Alice-hyung told me about this. [He holds his PDA up and waves it around.] He gave me some coordinates when I said I wanted to help you. He said that he got a memory of you, of you asking if people would convince you to move on. I got a memory, too, but I can't really decipher too much about it, and it sure didn't involve you.

...

Here we are. [Noah stops in the clearing and puts his PDA away, then gestures with his now-free hand.] Do you recognize the place?

[ It's not often that he has the opportunity to go out with one of his students, but then his door was shut to those who hadn't committed a murder for some time before this most recent year. It's not quite a surprise to be led her in and of itself, but he can't quite mask the pang of nostalgia that comes with revisiting a place that he's visited only in his memories for so long. ]

Many of you have been here for a long time, [ He offers in explanation. ] You've both always been thoughtful people... I don't mind sharing this memory with you. It's been some time since I've been here, but I remember this place well.

To be honest, I'm not really sure what all of it is about.

[It's not like the message "DON'T FORGET" was ever intended for Noah. But when he came to investigate the coordinates for himself, he knew it would be important somehow. At the time, he just didn't know how.

He picks his way across the clearing, to where the disturbed patch of dirt is, and taps the edge of the hole with his foot.]

But whatever it is, you weren't supposed to forget. I'm not sure if it's... if it's something to do with the objects in the time capsule, or if it's a memory you have with your friends, or what.

Sorry, by the way... It sucks to have others dig up your time capsule. [Noah pauses, and then guiltily stares down at the hole.] ...I journal, too, about memories I don't want to forget. I used to lose mine so often... especially here, you know? There are still probably things I'm missing. Things I wrote down in old journals that I've found that I don't really remember doing.

...

I don't know if the answer to moving on is in here for you, or if this is just gonna make it worse. But your friends... they got to move on, and I think you should join them. They'd probably want that for you. In the meantime, I'm here to listen, if you just want a new friend to speak to about hard stuff. It's the least I can do for the guy who broke me out of my tunnel-vision stance on life.

Those who forget the past lose themselves.

[ It happens every two years. They're given a second chance at life, an erasure of their headache and regrets yet also those memories which they might cling to. The soul is a collection of memories bound together to create an identity, and those who allow them to fade will lose it. It's just two words, but it's a message to all who might view it. To the rest, well, ]

I'm not surprised that you found it. You all get into everything, but hidden treasures are meant to be found.

[ It's not unlike Abbé Faria's treasure, whom he offered up to so many only to see it rejected as lunacy. The counselor offered it to none and there is no endless wealth here, but there was a set of coordinates to be followed or thrown into the trash that led to a piece of history. His students have shared their memories, and so now has he. ]

... Then, let's review... I'll let you be my guide this time. You know the person I am now, and you know a bit about the person that I was when I wrote that journal. That person should have done more to avoid this, yet if they interfered too much then all of your choices would mean nothing.

[ A beat. ]

What can the me of now do to remedy the wounds that have been left? What is it that I should leave you all with so that you can heal?

[ Trusting them to do so is one thing, but throwing them into the ocean without so much as a raft is another. ]

[Noah scrunches his face up thoughtfully. Hums, thinks... blinks open his eyes and looks up at Mizuki with the most earnest look a boy can manage.]

I don't know. [Classic Noah. If he had all the answers, he wouldn't be here, would he?] What might heal me maybe won't heal someone else. Everyone is different, so it's not fair to speak for them all, but...

If you want an honest answer? I think, on the most basic level, that we need to know everything will be okay. For me, personally, I was never told that. Not just here, but back home, too. I don't remember the first time I heard it, but I think it might've been from Yuria... [For a momemt, he trails off. Then:] When everything is really bad, or when you're scared and lost and alone, sometimes having the reminder that things will work out in the end is the best thing to do.

On a more supernatural level, you made a wish with the God, didn't you? [He fishes around in his pocket and pulls out his Moonstone, holding it out. No doubt Mizuki has seen it a million times before.] If I give you this as payment to give to them... can you make a wish that this place will be a safe place forevermore? No more killing games allowed, no malicious entities in the woods. A beautiful afterlife. That would put my mind, and the minds of others, at ease... I think, anyway.

[ The moonstone is as freely given as any other offering. His fingers twitch before finally reaching out and taking it, but h does so not as any god but as a teacher. It's what he started this school as, and in his heart he shall forever be that. ]

... I's not payment, but a farewell gift that I can take with me. It's a tradition in some cultures for some to give that to their teachers.

[ There's a hesitance to those words. He's a sinful man, one who hadn't cared even for his own children, but not one that was born without a heart. He offered a place of sanctuary to those who had none, a place for lost souls to come to and leave as they so chose. ]

You are all my precious students, and my wish will never change.

[ It's a place where lost souls could come for respite, a home in which they could find respite and experience the lives they were so cruelly denied. His contracts had no price, for only gods need subsist themselves with such things, but he lacked the feather light touch to ensure their safety while they thought of him as doing nothing at all. That is the one thing left to the gods, who are so old and have hurt so many in their interference, as he continued to promise that they would correct themselves.

It might be cruel and it might be sinful, but his wish for his students and children alike was to see them raise each other up and grow. But he holds that precious stone in his hand, stroking it with his thumb, thinking of so much. If he really thinks on it, those with short lives might have experienced just as much, it simply hasn't been filtered and sorted in the same way as those who have lived with regrets for so long. ]

I can't promise that the dangers of this would will disappear forever. This school is the house you've built and the forest the nightmares you've dreamed of... I can only reset it so that you can start anew. You'll be able to build up the foundation anew and grow a forest full of life. You can heal each other's wounds and offer guidance in life if you choose to do so...

[ How frightening the future is, as even the long lived and apathetic are not immune to such fear of the future. But he takes in a breath and does what he had forgotten to do with even his own children, though their lives might have been changed if he had, and uses his free hand to offer him the slightest pat on the head. ]

My only regret is not being able to see the future you'll show me with my own eyes... [ There's a soft laugh. He's seen it in all of them, after all - from the stringent and considerate Shirogane to the wild and impulsive Komaeda, to those such as Noah who had exchanged their bitterness for such kindness - how much they had all changed in such a short amount of time. ] ... But I'm grateful to you for sharing it with me.

[ A beautiful future free of hardship, a place where souls can suffer yet grow without such pains being needed - ah, the wonderful vision that he had started with, brought back in full circle. There's a little laugh that bubbles up. ]

How much you've all grown...

Edited (hit enter too soon) 2022-09-03 05:31 (UTC)

[The head pat gets a light chuckle out of him. Nothing more than a little "heh", but a happy sound all the same.]

I was homeschooled originally, so I wouldn't know. I don't mind you having that, though. Harque... he wanted to give me a second chance. Or third, or forth, however many. But I don't want to be someone who needs second chances now. [His moonstone was ever a gesture of his brother's good will, even if the fact that a time-rewinding gem is a bit of an odd thing to give a child to preserve his life.] You can think of it as symbolic if you want. Of, uh... of getting to have a second chance at life.

...

Not that I'm implying you need a second chance! [Quick, backtrack before he sticks his foot in his mouth!] It's just... it's something I want you to have. Something I think Harque would want you to have, too, if he ever met you.

[A beat, and then Noah reaches out and flips the stone over in Mizuki's hands. It's resting in a gold filigree, beautiful and shiny despite all the death it has seen in its time with Noah.]

It's got this ornamental clip on it that it's embedded in, so you can wear it like a brooch, see? I used to clip it onto my collar. That way, you won't lose it so easily. Just be careful not to pinch your fingers. The clip is strong enough to secure it no matter how much thrashing about you do, so trust me when I say it'll leave a blister if you're not careful with it.

[Noah is helping...!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

npc contact.4

8/2 ish? mizuki there's a lil guy here to help you

please throw him out

come with noah he's gonna get your ass outta purgatory

i believe in him!! transfer students' school now

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