adsum | npc contact.1

( guess what, komaeda doesn't exactly know how to do a proper handshake — so his brow only raises as roku~n raises their already held hands and shake them. alright, he guesses if that's what he wants to do. so in a way, komaeda thinks he's free from any promises as he looks towards chiaki, and slow blinks at her comment — )

Kudo-san, do you want to kill me that bad? I don't mind, you know?

( that'll probably go unanswered (hopefully due to the change in location) until something more important comes up: students dressed suspiciously. their hangout only has one association to komaeda and it's the same with izumi being the spiders, and the only reason he knows that is because at one point he tried to clean them out with naegi. he doesn't recall anyone in cloaks when he visited the homeroom though, so maybe they frequent that place at different times and not the entire day. though, if it's a special stash, komaeda stares towards chiaki now slowly connecting the dots as in... she affiliates with them for it?

of course, he's going to let izumi ask the questions and if anything comes up odd, komaeda will stick his nose in. )

[ He knows that stare too... Someone else used to do it as well, every time he was silent or hesitated to draw his conclusions, and he almost expects the accompanying "Do you want to die?" to follow for a second. It doesn't though, of course, and he's only left with a stupid-looking half-expectant expression as the rest of the conversation moves on and he's forced to return to the present. ]

Ah... r-right. I do think so too, but that's assuming... the killer and the person who dropped her were the same.

[ He's been thinking about this for a while -- and it ties into what he wanted to ask; if he'd had more time, he'd thank Natsume for the cue but he doesn't right now so he only pulls something out from his pocket. As he holds it forward and his fingers part to show it... it turns out to be an armband, yellow and clearly marked with the words "student council". Sorry, Natsume, this is probably news to you too unless Izumi felt the need to mention it for some reason. ]

...I found this in my locker the day after the body turned up. And I suppose the most obvious thought is the person who murdered her tried to frame me, but... think about it for a minute.

[ Shuichi has his doubts about that. This is why he needed a student who isn't a transfer, someone with more insight of the school. ]

I don't have a connection with Okane-san, nor an obvious motive. And there wasn't any additional evidence set up either... So did this really come from her killer?

[ Matching icons... cute.

Roku~n wrinkles his nose a little at the mention of the spiders, trying not to think too hard about them and- no, a shudder runs down his spine despite himself, ugh. Chiaki just looks thoughtful, like what if she grabbed a handful of spiders and shoved them down Komaeda's throat, would he shut up then? ]

I'm talking about the... [ airquotes with his free hand ] "satanists," or whatever they call themselves.

[ Again he glances at Izumi, as if to gauge his reaction, but maybe he doesn't have to worry so much. I mean, Izumi hangs out with Komaeda, which can't be any worse for his reputation than being seen walking around with the cult. ]

We have something of an agreement with them, but it'll be dangerous if too many people got involved. Especially the other members of the club— the sacrifice isn't worth it.

[ It's a stupid system, but it's the circumstances they all have to work with. Competition is a bit much, but it comes much easier— much more naturally— than cooperation does amongst groups of people split by class, or by familiarity, or by grade, or by club, people banding together in small groups but never as a cohesive whole. That level of cooperation is simply impossible with so many people. ]

What note?

[ She asks the question sharply, staring at the armband same as the one pinned around her own sleeve. Her gaze flickers to Natsume for a split second, but then trains on Shuichi again. Does he think more than one person was involved? It's possible, but she can't say for sure without knowing all the details. It bothers her, though, to see the armband away from its owner. ]

...and why you? What makes you so special, Saihara?

[ If not to frame, then it must be to send a message. Something only Shuichi can figure out. ]

( To her credit, Natsume's staring at the armband too — Izumi never tells him anything because they're two pissy cats at each other 90% of the time, so he hadn't realized this is what Shuichi meant.

But why you? what makes you so special?

The only thing that does make them special: they're not supposed to be here, despite everyone's memories of them to the contrary, but how that makes sense with figuring out a mystery -

is it such a coincidence that it turned up in the hands of the so-called Ultimate Detective?

He purses his lips and answers her first question evenly, eyes narrowed at the armband. )

A note that said "donation" on IT. Either someone thinks of that doll on stage differently than the rest of YOU, or they know something you DON'T.

( not we. )

Yeah, well... they'll figure out magic is real eventually, or live in denial forever, I guess.

[Thanks, you little nihilist you!

Noah also isn't too familiar with this brand of magical bullshit, but... magic seals, huh? Okay, he knows one. Maybe it's not a magic seal as much as it is an emblem, specifically the one his elder brother used to use, but... it counts? Right? Let's not think of the trauma memories associated and move on.

Noah sketches that complicated thing from memory almost perfectly next to where the cats are playing and passes it back. Group art is fun, honestly.]

[ Oh... these all look a lot more complicated than what he's doing, and neither Stephanie or Noah are writing anything in their circles like Natsume had Hiro do. Maybe he's the one doing it wrong? Um, hm. His is supposed to be a summoning circle so he goes ahead and draws a cat jumping out of it, with the perspective of it jumping straight out the page since that's what makes sense with a circle. This seems a little more up his alley, drawing things from nature and not perfect circles.

He gives them a little nod as he busies himself with the drawing. Whether or not he thought magic was real, Natsume made candy appear out of thin air and how could you not be a believer after seeing that? ]

[she watches Hiro draw with a pleased expression for a few moments.

and then she turns to Noah. and while she is still smiling, it is definitely not reaching her eyes, which have a weirdly intense gleam in them.]

Too bad we don't have any magic that can help us figure out who killed the student body president for sure. If we don't find out soon, the vice principal might...

[dramatic sigh]

They won't care why it happened, the grownups. They just want someone to get in trouble so nobody has to think about it anymore.

[it's fucking game time noah let's rock and roll]

[wait what the fuck he thought they were all good now— is art therapy class over?]

Y-yeah, well... adults don't ever care.

[That's not... reaaaally something he thinks? But hey, if they're gonna do this, they're gonna do this.]

I was trying to find out who it was so that no one else dies. I'm not a detective, but...

[ Why... are they talking about this... oh my god.

Hiro pushes his chair back to stand up and leave, not even bothering to take his bento or any of his other belongings with him. ]

Hiro, please.

[she doesn't stand, just yet, but her feet are flat on the floor, her fists digging into the hem of her skirt, her eyes fixed on the ground.]

I... [she glances at Noah for a moment] We won't tell anyone. Not even one of ours. I just need to know. Please. It... hurts, it's hurting me, thinking about it, and how I just--

[her voice cracks on the word, and she lets out a slow, shaky breath.]

Please. I know you're sorry. I know you're good. Just... Nod. If you did it. Please.

[Noah turns in his seat to watch Hiro leave, frowning deeply.]

You don't have to be the bad guy, you know? No one... has to be that.

...This note.

[ If it's that slip of paper they want, then well... they're in luck since Shuichi was also the one who took it, when they were checking against the materials available in the art room. And so he has it on hand, able to pull that from his pocket to back Natsume as well. There's one more distinctive feature about it too, which he doesn't think he needs to mention for Maya to notice: the letters are cutouts, so whoever did it was trying to mask their handwriting in that manner. ]

Sakasaki-kun is right. I don't think the fact it was placed on the body was just coincidence. Not when you consider where it was dropped... The staff found the bloodstain, right?

[ And Maya's proven collected and smart in this conversation, so after Natsume's hint, he doubts there's more need to explain. But who of the transfer students... would even be qualified to discern what sort of message that's trying to give? They've been having a hard time even making sense of where they are, what with the fragmented memories that barely feel like they belong to them -- and don't even fully overwrite the ones that do. ]

As for why me...

[ This part's more difficult to say, and his voice ends up softer, more meek. ]

That might be... because of my job. I can't say for certain, but... it isn't exactly a secret I work at a detective's office. I'm only an apprentice... and I might not be any good at it, but even so... If this wasn't in my locker to frame me, then it's a clue. I'm sure of it. Someone trusted me to find something.

[ And he's already failing them... That does feel pretty bad. ]

[ He's standing but he doesn't take another step towards the door past where his hand is on the desk to steady himself, head bowed and staring down at his feet as if if he lifted his head, Stephanie might mistake it for a nod. It takes a lot not to move at all, to not respond to Stephanie's hurt, or her request, or Noah's attempt to understand but don't they realize this isn't that simple?

He opens his mouth but then closes it, biting down at his bottom lip, face scrunching a little- then he steels himself and tries again, no actual voice to be heard but he mouths:

"I'm sorry."

And pushes away from the desk and slips out the door. ]

Ugh.

[ Her distaste is immediate upon seeing that note, and there's no need to comment on how inappropriate that is, especially at the disgusted look she gives Natsume at calling the body a doll. ]

Don't be rude. That's a person in there, no matter what anybody else says, or wants to pretend otherwise.

[ Scrunching her nose a little, she leans in to look at the note, letting Shuichi keep holding onto it because that thing touched a dead body? she's not touching it. ]

Anyways, I don't know anything about you being a detective, unless you just picked up that job over spring break or sometime recent. Is that supposed to be common knowledge? It's obviously not as apparent as you believe, at least not outside your circle of friends.

[well. it went about the way she had been expecting, but not the way she had been hoping.

she just. puts her head in her hands. she's trying not to cry because she still has the second half of the day in class but it's not going great. sorry noah.]

[Noah will stay behind for a bit to give a hug and comforting back pats until Stephanie is able to get back on her feet, at least. He can do that much.]

[ Hiro doesn't return to class after the lunch hour is over, and after class is over he's busy doing ...things... So they'd better at least eat his lunch and not let it go to waste please ]

[EAT YOUR HAMBURGERS NOAH]

[ RECORD SCRATCH

FREEZE FRAME ]

Excuse me, satanists?

[ they don't mean guys like sakasaki, right? the ones who'd draw pentagrams all over the school among other things, right?? he's feeling a hollow pit forming at the bottom of his stomach, because this probably isn't some chuuni bullshit.

still, izumi just gives rokku~n an incredulous look, but doesn't make any notion for the other boy to stop right there. ]

...What was the agreement? The sacrifice? I didn't really know much about the guys you're talking about since I don't always go to the third-year classrooms, but--

[ aaaaaaaahhhh ]

( and you wonder how komaeda and izumi got into this situation... well, it all dates back to... )

Ah? How interesting, really! What do you think their hope is like to be such an important piece in this school?

( where izumi is having a hard time processing this, komaeda's more curious about what everything entails. every person in this school does something for hope, and he wants to see how it all plays out. he doesn't find the satanists as horrible people, no, everyone has the same goal and komaeda believes that without hesitation. )

... If it's to sacrifice someone to help others like this, then shouldn't we be grateful for their contribution. ( haha, he's a little flushed as his fingers tighten around roku~n's, yeah... he's excited. )

That's their hope, Sena-kun! Are they draining the sacrifices for their blood? Hey, what if because she — ( he's not going to say her name because everyone knows who he's talking about. ) died, that was also a sacrifice to the school... Do those even count... ( he's mumbling to himself. )

[ "God, you are soooo creepy!" Chiaki pipes up with what's on everybody's mind, although Roku~n has enough presence of mind to shush her ineffectively. ]

I'm not going into the full details— I don't want you two to get any more involved than this.

[ Komaeda... please... he's going to extract his hand now so he can open the door and get his PDA ready for vending machine purchases, which he's sure Chiaki won't let him forget with how this is what makes her peel away from Izumi's side finally so she can trot over to the machine and see what's in stock today. ]

On paper, all you need to know is that in collaboration with somebody in the science club to keep the, uh... paint... from oxidizing, they provide us with supplies and we help them out with little things sometimes. The ability to draw perfect circles is apparently a lucrative skill.

[ Among other things. It's fine. Little things, really. ]

( Oh, she's acknowledging it -

maybe she knows who it is, too. Natsume tilts his head back against the wall, thinking, and he doesn't look at Maya when he asks: )

Arisu-shi, how much do you actually know about US? Either of us - it doesn't matTER.

( This is kind of related, but it's also a bit of a tangent. Sorry. )

We're all in the same YEAR, so I assume we have some familiarity with each other thanks to last year at miniMUM, if not any time beFORE. Can you actually state any facts about us that you haven't discovered since this year starTED, and are they actually accuRATE?

Ugh, next time I should get a muzzle to shut you up for good.

[ that's directed at komaeda, btw. hope this, hope that - it's more far-fetched than leo's ramblings whenever he's being manic. it's disgusting. good thing izumi's all too used to this bullshit that he can safely tune out the other boy's spiels, though he wants to elaborate more on that other matter.

anyway, back to rokku~n: ]

It's fine, we've already gotten this far. If anything, you should be concerned about yourselves for getting into this in the first place. [ were they coerced into working together? ugh, before he gets any more sick he has to make sure -- ] Someone from the science club... does that mean Arisu have something to do with it?

As long as I can still talk...

( he leaves the subject alone though, and he focuses more on what izumi says instead. he's paying attention to the facts that come together through the other's fishing. it's bait, and he wonders if chiaki and roku~n will be able to say who's part of this and who's part of that. komaeda's too focused on the idea of cultists in their midst, which makes him pull his hand from his friend's as he contemplates the fact that it seems that the sacrifice is part of the mix. the students will go that far just to have a smear of red along their paintbrush, and it makes komaeda laugh to himself. )

Is it true, Roku~n, are you using that as a substitute?

( he already knows about chiaki, but she said it was her secret stash.. so is it only her going for it or.. is his childhood friend a menace to society himself? ) If you want, I'll give you what I have in exchange for proper information.

npc contact.1

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