adsum | npc contact.1

i don't remember.

( dementia. )

oh, do i need to find you a notebook so you can start drawing?
let me look...

( should he leave his pda with hiro so he can get a snack again? )

[ Convenient

Hiro nods. Yes leave him with the unlocked pda ]

i'll be back.

( he's going to leave it unlocked for hiro, and then slide it in his direction because he remembers how this went last time. he'll get up from where he's sitting, and make his way out the library so he can... make his way towards the art club room, because that seems like the best place to get one.

that gives hiro enough time to buy stuff with the pda. )

[ Hiro reads that in the Terminator voice

He gives Komaeda a moment, and then also collects himself and leaves the library, but not to go to the vending machines. He makes his way upstairs, turns the corner and walks down the hall, opens the door to—-

...?!

He stares at Komaeda from the door to the art room. ]

( he was about to rob them blind... until the door opens... )

It's not what it looks like!

( he may be putting down a few paint brushes that he was moving out the way on a desk to see if he could find some notebooks, but his hands are messy to show he's been going through a lot since he got here. )

...Oh, Arisu-kun, it's you... why are you doing?

[ His mouth had been hanging open in surprise, and it snaps shut as he shakes his head quickly, with the guilt of somebody who'd been caught red handed, not unlike Komaeda himself.

He shuffles his feet at the entrance, rubbing his thumb over the PDA's surface so it doesn't go blank. ]

Come on in!

( he's going to make his way over to hiro, grabbing his wrist to pull him inside of the art room, and he shuts the door behind him gently. clicking off the lights in the room with his prosthetic, now with his organic one that holds onto hiro, he's searching for the pda in the one hand that he believes is his? should be his, he left it with him, to keep it on so they can use that light to look around. )

I didn't know you missed me that much...

( he says this quietly with a joking tone, because they're probably not supposed to be in here... huh. oh well, who is going to stop them? )

[ UH—-

Hiro is very easily pulled into the dark room, and the PDA is easily seen by the dim light from the screen. Maybe he's trying to say something, but it's impossible to read his lips with how dark it is inside (maybe the curtains are all closed today so the light doesn't bleach any paintings IDK whatever fits the narrative) but he does try to tug a little away from Komaeda and back out the door. Tugs a little harder, actually, his free hand coming up to Komaeda's wrist and try to get him to move his hand, somewhat frantic. ]

( he's letting go because he doesn't need to keep him in place, what he wants is the light of the pda, and voila — he thinks he sees something. )

There... aren't we lucky!

( he says that happily, clapping his hands together as he sees where the light is pointing at. he walks forward, kneeling down towards the floor as he tries to check this little cabinet space that he thinks might have a few books. keep the light steady, or rather, hiro can turn on the big light because komaeda thinks he's found what he was looking for.

unless this is a notebook with chiaki's... artistic pieces, then they're back to the drawing board and have to start all over again. )

[ The moment Komaeda lets go, he finds Hiro has reattached himself to Komaeda's shirt sleeve, letting his arms be lifted as Komaeda claps and walks around and kneels and god why does he have to move around so much.

The PDA light shines down on the open notebook.

Hiro takes one look at it, lets go of Komaeda's arm, and blindly stumbles for the door himself GOODBYE HE'S OUTTIE. ]

This is... ugly.

( that's all he has to say about that open notebook, he doesn't want to deal with it, it's probably cursed. that said, he's going to follow hiro out of the art room as well. )

Where do they keep all the fresh notebooks, I'll never be able to see Arisu-kun's great artwork like this...

( manipulative sigh... ok where did he go, komaeda's not going back in there alone. )

[ Hiro stays by the door, just standing in the doorframe holding the door open so some light filters into the room from the hallway, this is his contribution, he's not going back in there with Komaeda. ]

( he's going to have komaeda go back in there alone, huh? he sighs, looking towards hiro, and he'll bite, there he goes... going back in.

he'll get the haunted notebook that he found, and... how many can he steal out of here for hiro... )

Arisu-kun, do you want... pens or... paintbrushes.

( sometimes thieves collaborate. )

[ Yeah.

Can't Komaeda grab another notebook... why's he gotta go for the one he knows is haunted...

Hiro holds up one finger. ]

( stop... what if there's something in there... like a clue to infinite notebooks...

he's going to grab an entirely different one, and pluck hiro a pen as he makes his way out of the art room thanks to the light. )

Here... you were amazing, Arisu-kun!

( these are for him to have, and komaeda's holding out both items as he waits for hiro to take them. he doesn't care if he'll get in trouble for this, and he's kind of excited to do this with him. he didn't think of maya's brother to be sneaky, but hell, he stabbed the fuck out of kouji so... well deserved. )

We should get out of here before Kudo-san appears... Which classroom do we hide in?

[ There would only be more ugly paintings and Hiro's going to have nightmares for the rest of July

The confusion and uncertainty only grows between "amazing" and "Kudo-san" but... okay. There's so much I want to say but unfortunately Hiro can't out loud.

What classroom, though... He goes for the science lab initially, but the door is right by the student council room so maybe not there. The next closest door is the bathroom so this is where they're going to do art. ]

( he'll follow hiro's lead as they wander towards the bathroom, and komaeda settles his hands behind his back for peak innocence while accompanying him. he leans from side to side as he walks, looking over the other's shoulder to be annoying, and once they're inside of the bathroom — komaeda glances at the mirrors. ever since nene mentioned to him that the mirrors were different, he wonders if it's because of the reverse world now. it'd make sense, he guesses. )

Which stall do you want?

( he turns his head towards him, his brow raised, and then he chuckles as a hand lifts to dismiss his joke. )

I'm only kidding... ( he's going to take a seat on one of the sinks, and we're going to pray that the water doesn't go off because of his luck. this is practically the best seat in the house to see where hiro decides to go. )

[ Komaeda looks into the mirror. Despite everything, it's still him.

Hiro, on the other hand, takes a seat on the floor with his back against the wall so he can draw with the notebook open on his lap, except he does the thing where he angles the paper away from Komaeda and hunches over it so he can't be watched when he draws. ]

( it's still him, that almost feels too reassuring.

his eyes watch hiro while he's pressed up against the wall with the notebook, he's unable to see what he's doing, but he's smiling from his excitement. his legs kick back and forth as they dangle off the sink, his shoes scuffing against one another to make a little bit of sound. )

I think everyone's going to love it... your art bringing the people together to the fundraiser... that sort of hope is exciting.

( he claps his hands together gently as he thinks about it, the thought of having people from outside coming to them to enjoy what they have to offer... their happiness grouped up in one place. it makes his heart skip a beat with an innocent sort of love, and part of him can't wait. )

To have that... you should be ecstatic!

[ He peeks up at Komaeda to make sure he isn't looking, then looks a little uncertain because Komaeda can't say people will love it if he's not looking. Doesn't make sense. A pen drawing of cats isn't going to bring people together— it might bring one or two, but only in a physical sense, to stand in front of the paper and look for two seconds and then walk away. He's not sure. He's never sure. Ecstasy is just a word, not a feeling he's ever experienced, so it doesn't apply.

He lets Komaeda talk, and continues drawing. ]

( then he'll talk as he sits on the sink, delighted with what's to happen, the thought of seeing hiro's efforts like this. he may not be able to see, but komaeda can give some blind trust to an untalented, and he has maya's praise in mind as well. she wouldn't put her brother in a position to be a laughingstock to the entire school, but motivation is motivation, and if he believes then well... that'll bring about something.

ecstasy is the perfect word, especially when lifting a hand to settle over his heart. )

Hope is... everything I want to see from the people around us, how they come together after battling their inner darkness.

( he sighs wistfully, leaning back against the mirror to slowly close his eyes, making himself comfortable. as he thinks about it, hope is what he wants, and more. he can't imagine a world that lacks it, and he's too invested in everyone here to miss out on the chance of how they'll shape the future. ultimates, the brightest stars here than those who are untalented, guided by the help of ultimates. they have their own hope that could do something, mediocre enough to maybe lift a small pebble, but at least that's something. )

What's inside of you, Arisu-kun...? What type of hope do you have...? To do this for us, to enable the chance of a fundraiser, you want to see them all come as one... don't you?

( their happiness, together. it's what he wants. this may not make sense to hiro, but it comes off as good intentions, and means so much to komaeda.

also he doesn't have to answer, he's just doing that hope horny talk that's all. )

[ He doesn't answer because what do you even say to all of that? If he didn't know better, if he didn't know Komaeda, listening to a talk about hope would have almost been... nice. Something he would have liked to hear, something he needs to hear, something to latch onto and keep him going that's not simply his sister's sake.

Really, his hope is directed at one person and one person only. Hiro dips his head a little, letting his bangs hide his face. He doesn't care about everybody else. Komaeda would surely be disappointed to know. ]

( hiro doesn't answer and that's fine, he hasn't even stood up to walk away so komaeda finds this both a win and success. talking about hope, being able to have something like that in their life, it's why he asks what sort of hope hiro has — he can throw out anything, and that's probably not it. he can wait to be corrected, or he can think that having hiro doing this is part of it. either way, he's glad.

besides, even if hiro doesn't care about everyone else... komaeda can't fault him, because he too can ignore the people around him for that one person...

that's an unhealthy choice though. )

When it comes to hope...

( he claps his hands together again happily, and he looks down towards hiro as he sketches. he thinks about the differences between him and his sister, and what he finds is that he's more vocal than her. he may not speak, but the things he does helps draw people into him, and that's interesting from komaeda's perspective. )

I want to see yours grow as well, or maybe the seedling has already poked through the dirt.

( hiro did stab kouji, that's like fertilizer. )

[ Hiro had his reasons, which he won't ever talk about so I hope Kouji survives.

Anyways, Komaeda's talking about hope again and Hiro still doesn't really understand it, but to show that he's listening, he draws in the background as grass and wildflowers— he's good at wildflowers, looks happier drawing them than he does cats— and includes a little seedling pushing through the dirt between the white cat's paws. ]

( thinking about how if hiro admits why it happened to kouji, he dies, but if he doesn't admit it... he lives. that's power.

the seedling... whose hope does it represent, i hope it's hiro's because he's happier with the wildflowers than the white cat, so he pushes through the palls to bloom with the others. sadly, komaeda can't see it, and it's a shame that hiro's letting komaeda talk, but this is training for when he talks to minato... same head empty energy. )

You know... your sister has a lot of hope, between you two... I wonder what it looks like together.

( he's never seen them in the same room. )

How does it influence one another, how does it effect the untalented people here...?

( will he get a reaction out of him with that? he's smiling so he has to do something to see it too. )

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