adsum | npc contact.1

She shakes her head no, and says that student council meetings are on Mondays and Fridays. The last time she saw the student council president, aside from the library incident, was at the meeting after school on Monday the 12th, and the meeting after school today has been canceled due to not having a president to lead.

So she never saw the president leaving the library after the fire?

She denies seeing the president leave after the fire. To preemptively confirm Ritsuka's suspicions, if she asks the president's homeroom teacher or classmates, she will learn that the president hadn't been in school from the 14th onwards.

Something about Maya's reaction is a departure from her usual stoic self, and having dealt with a convoluted pseudo-twin murder case at the Kogetsukan before, Ritsuka decides to follow her hunch and ask the 2-E homeroom teacher whether Maya was behaving oddly during and after the day of the fire.

The teacher denies Maya behaving oddly, but says that if Ritsuka noticed her being off, isn't that because of the fire? Anybody would be shaken, even if they're used to hiding their emotions like Maya is.

Hm, fair.

Next, she's going to hit up some of the music club members, and ask them if any of their instruments have turned up missing or damaged.

There is just the one piano in the music club, and it is still there and doesn't appear damaged in any way!

( BUT HE CAN'T GO ON THE ROOF................

Natsume weighing the risk-reward between "complying with her wishes and she will probably be helpful" and "smashing my face into another door and having to explain that half of the doors in this stupid school don't work for transfer students"

He'll step out of the way and let her pass, though he isn't going to keep like creepily close to her. Close enough they can still talk quietly if they want to. Which, incidentally, he does. )

Not a fan of attenTION? Even if you had been interesTED, you and Seki-kun wouldn't have worked OUT... I suppose I'll tell him so the next time I see HIM.

( which he is so sure kouji will be happy to hear yep mmhmm )

Don't bother. He already knows.

[ Somewhere in the school Kouji feels very sad for some inexplicable reason and has to take a moment. Maya, though, is undeterred and takes brisk steps towards the stairs up to the roof. ]

If you're not going to talk about anything important, don't waste both our times by going all the way up to the roof. What did you want to know about my message? If you don't understand it, then it wasn't meant for you.

[ Get your question/answers out before they reach the roof and maybe he doesn't have to smash his face into another door. ]

( I'm going to let him smash his face into another door anyway just because he deserves it. I exist only for this one thing. )

It's been bothering ME, and I'm the type of person who appreciates a good night's REST. Besides, Arisu-shi, I'm a magician - and it's a magician's duty to help those who need IT.

And I believe you DO, even if you are ( a glance aside at her, to watch her expression ) hopeful for this YEAR. Isn't cooperation the magic that turns dreams into realiTY?

I don't need help.

[ Not even refusing Natsume's help, she's refusing help in general. Her expression doesn't change much, but her voice- quiet as her voice normally is- drops a little lower at this statement, although it picks right back up as if catching herself. ]

I can rely on my brother when I need him, and it's easier to work when it's just the two of us. It's not like I'm opposed to cooperation, though. Or could you not even understand that part of my message?

[ Work together. But, like... you guys work together... like she's not a part of it. ]

I'm sorRY, I was under the impression you'd be assisting whoever the message was meant FOR.

( He can't judge though; he prefers to work in smaller groups too. )

It would help to know what we were cooperating FOR, even if we're working towards the same goal as separate entiTIES. Don't tell me you're worried about graduaTING.

If they ask for it, perhaps.

[ Then maybe she'll help, although Natsume might get the impression that she's difficult to work with and there are better options to ask for, like eager Kouji.

She sort of breathes out as he talks, a deep sigh through her nose that may be exhaustion, may be exasperation, may be both, and her next words are a little more deliberate. ]

I'm more concerned about being held back than I am of graduating. You and I are both second years; it's too early for us. What are you worried about?

LeaVING.

( Just - plainly said, and he's not going to look at her while he talks, voice lowering. )

I hardly think you're going to believe me if I offer you the truth of my circumstances howeVER, so unless you're going to offer something just as unbelievable yet true - at least from your perspective - I'm not going to tell you anyTHING.

( She... is not the only one who's difficult to work with, and there are definitely better options than him. )

[ There a glance over his direction, before she resumes staring down the hallway. ]

I'm not that desperate to earn your trust. I don't particularly want to get involved in your circumstances either. But everybody is able to leave the school eventually- it's just a matter of time.

[ Considering the number of repeat students they have, sometimes it's a very very long time...

... ]

...Are you awake, Sakasaki?

( The answer to that is "If I wereN'T, could I be talking to you right NOW?"

But the fact that they are awake and talking, and she's still asking this... )

I'd hope SO, but I'm wondering if that's the TRUTH. It's easy enough to open your eyes and think that you are - dreams within dreams are not an uncommon occuRENCE, and until something goes truly awry you rarely know that you're in ONE.

But that isn't what you mean, is IT, Arisu-shi.

( Which... isn't a question, and it doesn't really sound like one, but he is more careful in saying it - like he's gauging something instead. )

No, it's not.

[ This Inception level bullshit is enough to make anybody's head hurt, though, and she definitely looks like she's on the verge of a headache. Tense. Guarded. But that's the usual. ]

But as a general rule of thumb, don't go through life daydreaming and sleepwalking, Sakasaki. Wake up, and keep your eyes open.

[ She pushes open the door to the stairwell, and starts the trek upstairs. ]

( Awake, then, means "awakened to the truth" of something rather than "awakened from a dream" - at least, that's the feeling he gets. Being able to truly see what's in front of you...

Natsume follows her after a moment, quiet as he considers her words - but she won't be blessed by silence for much longer, fortunately or unfortunately. )

I do my very best to remain completely aware of my surrounDINGS, ( though he is finding it harder without his multitude of bugs, as in, audio bugs, like, you bug a room and yes i'm so tired. ) I can't say the same for any of my PEERS, but I wouldn't be a very good magician if I wasN'T.

( Though it isn't like he hasn't had lapses of it -- no, he's guiltier than most of getting too wrapped up in something and not seeing what's in front of him, he supposes, and he counts the steps up to the fourth floor in his head. Supposing the door to the right wing of the floor is the way to the rooftop, he'll probably have to stop closer to the clock tower steps unless he wants to beat his face into the door again... )

...I don't want you to think I'm ungrateful for your assistance despite the fact I forced you into IT. ( Which he's — not going to say he didn't do, refusing to let her leave until she agreed to speak with him. That's textbook. ) Should there come a time when you require a magiCIAN, merely call for me and I shall apPEAR. It doesn't have to be for anything imporTANT, like whatever it is you don't want outside help ON.

( Her Important People Stuff She Can Do With Her Brother things )

I do birthday parties TOO.

( this is a joke, probably. )

[ Sometimes you work to the best of your abilities but the circumstances just don't allow for things to turn out. Like Maya and these stairs that she clearly isn't used to having to trek up all of them at once, though she soldiers on and only lets her fatigue show in how her pace slows significantly at each flight of stairs. Why are they still going up here if he doesn't sound like he wants to talk about the message anymore!! Why is she still helping him... makes no sense.

She stops at the stairs on the fourth floor, not because she needs a moment to catch her breath. ]

If you were a very good magician, you would solve your own problems first before others. You wouldn't be here.

[ He would use his magic to leave, to save himself at the first chance he got. She's not so disillusioned as to think he can do anything for her, when he's got to bully her into talking. ]

I told you before: it's a magician's duty to help those in NEED. Since time immemoriAL, magicians have been acting as guides and assistants to those in poWER, to those requiring a hand to achieve their iDEALS... whether they realized it or NOT. I simply choose to follow in the footsteps of my mommy dearEST, who helps those who are lost searching for happiness and shows them a path through the fog they've found themselves surrounded BY.

( It would be so much easier if he could just leave. It would be so, so much easier, but even if he could, could he live knowing he'd left everyone else?

Maybe, as long as no one ever found out. He's very "do as I say, not as I do," but he does believe in this magician business with all his heart -

his voice drops its characteristic inflection, his hand alighting on the railing beside her. )

≪Do you really think that magic can solve all of your problems, Maya Arisu?≫

[ Isn't he also somebody in need? To her, he seems more in need of help than she does— she has her brother, after all, a plan and a means.

She turns to face him in full, staring into his eyes for a moment, and sighing before answering. ]

I believe in solving my problems through my own means. But if I obtain results through magic, my own or somebody else's, requested or not, I would be a fool not to give my thanks. Rule number seven.

( Natsume stares down at her, unflinching, before a smile curls at the edges of his lips and he steps back slightly. It's a good answer! He likes it. )

My offer is always oPEN, at least for YOU ♪ ( His help, he means. While undoubtedly she has more she can do than he can, it's the least he can do in trade for putting up with his questions. ) But we got off TRACK. My apologies - that was my FAULT. A bad habit of mine and the school I went to previousLY.

( She's also just- unexpectedly fun to talk to. Like Kouji. )

The only part of your message I've been toiling over was THUS: "All we can do is keep trying, but I'm hopeful for this year." ( he remembers it because he just talked about it but also because it's been driving him nuts ) What were the past years LIKE, and what could make this one diffeRENT?

[ Unlike Kouji, she would take his offer for trading answers— as much as she's indulged him, she already feels like he owes her, especially when her patience runs thinner and thinner. The look she gives him is the same look Kouji has whenever Natsume asks him things he should already know— he's a second year, after all. Even though he transferred here, they had still spent all that time together... is the feeling, anyways. ]

You don't remember, do you...? Seriously, you need to wake up. Stay awake.

[ But the bite isn't there, and she indulges because that's what she does. ]

Last year, everybody fended for themselves, and only one student was able to graduate. This year is different because there's been a change of those in power. Likely, the rules are different this year as well.

( Ugh, that look again —. )

Thank you for being patient with ME. You're right - I don't rememBER. I hope that doesn't hurt your feelings aNY, should you have held any for ME.

( And even then, memories for here are... He dismisses it; not important right now, really. )

I assume the rules for this year are the ones posted on the school's bulletin BOARD. How severe are the punishments for breaking THEM, I wonDER... ( Should he test... Should he get someone else to test it? ...Hmmm. ) Never MIND, you needn't tell ME. I'm aware I've already asked more than enough of YOU, especially when you're uninterested in what I can ofFER. I'm overstepping the boundaries of equivalent exCHANGE...

( mmm. )

Anything you wish for recompenSE, Little Wolf?

( please don't be "never talk to me again" my heart would break maya is so fun )

Not those rules. But it would be smart to follow those as well.

[ Smart but not dire, seeing as most people unwittingly break them on a day to day basis, and even she breaks rule number one when she's not thinking about it. Either way, the rules she's talking about isn't anything boldly on display, and besides...

She huffs a sigh again. ]

Within your means, look after my brother. He means well, so... don't think too badly of the things that we do.

[ Is this equivalent exchange? She's asking a lot more than what might be owed for a short question/answer session, but when he's the one that owes her, she can ask for more. ]

npc contact.1

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