eleven reconnections ➱ open june catch-all;

[dereban]

Who: Himeko Inaba and YOU.
What: Catch-all log for June; might include event prompts when it drops.
When: Throughout June.
Where: Various locations as listed in the prompts below.
Warnings: Spoilers for the final volume of Kokoro Connect, unreality/dehumanization, memory loss, and mentions of human experimentation of the mental and soul kind. There will also be mentions of death as well as the potential for minor cursing. If anything else comes up, I will update this post to edit.

---

( all prompts in the replies below.
feel free to toss in a wildcard prompt or ask me for a custom prompt by messaging me on plurk at tsundereban or discord [Len#9692]
alternatively, also feel free to plot with me in june's plotting post! )

Comments

[starrypoint]

Huh.

[she took it with a compromise, sure, but she took it. and... it's not a bad plan, the rest of it -- he watches her from the corner of his eye, then rests his cheek against his arm as he turns his face more her direction.]

Not bad, Baachan~. I might just toss my vote in for you, depending on the competition. ♪ Balloons are a must, and if it's comin' on summer we oughta have fireworks too! It'll be unforgettable...☆

[dereban]

Well, I don't know how many spots there's going to be for the student council, but if the competition is going to be rough, I'm just going to have to bring out the best cards in the deck.

Although honestly, shouldn't we save all the big summer things for a summer festival or something, instead of just a party?

[starrypoint]

Nope, 'cause the more you got of something the better it is. No one's gonna get sick of fireworks goin' off.

[probably.]

What're your best cards? If one of 'ems about attendence being non-mandatory if your grades are good enough then I'm in for sure.

[not that. she can control that. even if she was president. let a boy hope.]

[dereban]

No, people will get tired after a while. Fireworks are loud and noisy for the most part. If you do too many of them on days where they're not scheduled, you'll just end up getting backlash.

And I can't say. Right now, those cards are a secret--if I said anything now, I'm sure to potentially get more distasteful rumors about me. But I can confirm it won't be about attendance. I have no control over that sort of thing, and I doubt the student council has that sort of power, either.

[starrypoint]

[no refuting that, though subaru just likes the thought of being able to play with fireworks as many days as he'd like; it'd be fun to shoot them off at people, harmlessly of course but shoot them off nonetheless. as long as his goody-two-shoe friends don't find out he's probably okay.]

Well, it was worth a shot. Guess I'll keep attendin' class, even though I don't think it really matters in this school. Are those rumors about you and Yuki-chan being an item still around?

[whether there's rumors or not or if it's even a rumor doesn't matter he likes poking fun]

[dereban]

I don't think it really matters either if I'm going to be entirely honest, but I can't say things that are impossible for me to enact. That's just going to cause more trouble than it's worth--

[ And then there's an obvious pause as she hears the second half of it all, her face turning a bright red. ]

W-W-Wait a second! Since when did that rumor go from "we did a murder together" to "us dating"?!

[starrypoint]

[...♪]

What~? You haven't heard~? Woooow, Baachan, you're really out of the loop...♪ Yeah, it's moved from one thing to another! You two're seeing each other now, and have been fooooor...

[he counts on his hand, thinking a bit before holding up two fingers.]

Two months. ♪ I wonder if Yuki-chan knows~? What a scheme, gettin' into the Student Council for your boooooyfrieeeeend. ♪

[dereban]

[ She can feel her face burning and she has to take a deep breath in and then out.

Calm down, Inaba Himeko!!

She fiddles with the pendant around her neck. ]

If he knows, I'm gonna die. If he doesn't, I'm taking the rumor to my second grave.

[ Morbid jokes allow her to cope. ]

--actually, no. That'd probably just make thing worse... ugh. What a pain in the ass. I'd never do something like that because I was dating someone.

[starrypoint]

[note to self: tease miyuki later about the rumor to see his reaction]

You two'd be a real power couple if you really were datin' and in the council together, but people do say you shouldn't date your coworkers or whatever.

[a wave of his hand... something like that.]

But the both of you have people back in your old lives, right? Pretty nice to stay so faithful to someone who's only got memories of you.

[... is that mean to say... he doesn't know, he sorta gets it but not. as fully as them.]

[dereban]

That saying's bullshit. If there's someone you really care about, it shouldn't matter if you're working with them or not. Just as long as you know each other very well.

[ Her hand around her pendant then goes back down to her side. ]

Well... yeah, but I already know I have to move on. It's not like I'm going to see him ever again.

[ She doesn't see it as cruel. She sees it as realistic, so it's fine. ]

[starrypoint]

Ooh~, what an adult view. ♪ You've really got a good head on your shoulders, Baachan, I think you'll be a good fit wherever you end up.

[on the student council or otherwise. at the latter part, though, subaru tilts his head more, watching her quietly before he turns to lay on the other cheek, looking away from her.

moving on... what a topic. what a topic he's definitely going to not press too hard into.]

You probably don't wanna see him here anyway. But I wouldn't say "ever again" either, y'know? Samsara works in a weird way, maybe your souls are all twisted up together. Not that you'll know, he won't be the same guy you remember, but it'll still feel nice to be around him — whatever the relationship is.

[... a topic he has some opinions about apparently,]

I don't think there's anythin' wrong with findin' happiness in the middle, though. Ever thought about datin' a bad boy?

[he isn't serious]

[dereban]

Even if I say that, I'm still immature enough.

[ She had to grow up fast because of her own issues, but at the end of the day, she's still just a kid. Just one that acts a lot more serious than most. ]

I absolutely don't want to see him here.

[...]

But I don't know. All this talk about that sort of thing... I'm not sure if I ever want to reincarnate.

[ Both her logic and emotions say that she's uncertain about the whole thing. She doesn't trust it. She doesn't want anything to do with it. That's why she had said those words before-- ]

And I'd never date a bad boy! Well. Unless we're counting "edgy" as bad boy material, now.

[starrypoint]

You're gonna have to sometime, y'know. You can't stay here forever.

[it's just a matter of when, not if. but that's enough chiding--]

Was Add your type of bad boy?

[dereban]

I wonder about that.

[ Not that she's going to talk about it. ]

No? Nobody in this hellhole is my type.

[starrypoint]

[OH PLEASE]

Not even Yuki-chan~? ♪

[dereban]

What makes you assume that he would ever possibly be my type?

[starrypoint]

How red your face gets. It's a reaaaal good color on you, Baachan. ♪

[dereban]

It's not like that!!

[ And now her face is even redder before she huffs even more, trying to cool herself off.

It doesn't work. ]

[starrypoint]

[YOU GOTTA TAKE THE SIMPLE PLEASURES IN LIFE IF YOU'VE BEEN DISSOCIATING AND DEPRESSED FOR THREE MONTHS AND THIS? THIS IS A SIMPLE PLEASURE.]

It's not~? Then why're you gettin' so embarrassed, Baa~chan? You know, Yuki-chan's a preeeetty great guy! He's handsome and honest, keeps to his word, won't cause ya trouble... Super faithful and positively gross about how in love he gets. ♪ It's super cute, don'tcha think? I mean, who wouldn't wanna go out with a guy like him? Open your mind, Baachan, maybe those rumors are seein' something you ain't...♪

[dereban]

Because this deals with my love life... w-why wouldn't I get embarrassed over something like that?

[ ... ]

Besides. If he's super faithful, then all the more reason for me to not. I'm not stupid.

[starrypoint]

Baa~chan.

[good thing she's got a sizeable forehead he's leaning over to flick it.]

You two're similar. He doesn't wanna see his girl here anymore than you wanna see your guy. Yuki-chan knows the value of movin' on too, so what's the harm in givin' it a shot? It's always gonna be a no if you don't try.

[...]

Give it some thought. Like, not right now or anything 'cause you're busy enough as is, but before you can't say anything anymore.

[dereban]

Even if I did have feelings towards anyone here - which I don't - it's not going to last. Sure, I have no plans on graduating any time soon.

[ Which makes it pretty ironic that she's a third year, really. ]

But that doesn't mean the same doesn't go for anyone else. Personally speaking? I don't trust graduation at all, or even this whole idea of reincarnation. You don't know 'who' or 'what' will happen. And in the end... in some aspects, you're erasing yourself.

[ She can't deal with that. ]

[starrypoint]

[back to this... it puts a heavy weight in his chest, too, and he doesn't look at her. he thinks how the old him might've reacted, teasing and then brushing away or changing the topic completely, and knows it's the easier way.

easier not to rub people wrong, easier to not think about it, easier to put his own worries aside.

he'd do the same thing now, with this life, he guesses. just because deep talk like this doesn't fit him. or would get him laughed out his old friend's group. but it doesn't feel right, knowing what he does and having gone through what he has.]

You can just say you're scared of losin' what you have, Inaba. Everythin' you've done, everyone you've met — good and bad, they made you who you are. But it's not like they'd hate you for moving on, either.

[he's sure she's got words for him about any of that, so he's quick to follow up—]

I'm not gonna convince you one way or the other, but there really ain't any reason to be so distrustful. It is what it is. No matter how the memories differ, the soul remains the same — the things that make you you, or anyone else, won't change.

[dereban]

"The soul remains the same"-- don't give me that bullshit!

[ It's an immediate, kneejerk response. She's angry, frustrated and she can practically feel her hands trembling. ]

I know that's not the case! The soul definitely-- definitely can change.

[starrypoint]

What makes you you, what makes me me, will always be there -- no matter what happens in your life.

[just as defensive, as confident, as her own assertion.]

Things will be different. They'll shape you differently. But in the end, you're always gonna be you at the heart of it all, your soul's always gonna be the same -- what proof've you got that says any different?