adsum | npc contact.1

( knock knock knock

it's probably, like, 10:30 at night, dark outside and eerily quiet in the school now that nobody has to sleep in here anymore.

knock knock knock

there's a bit of a pause, and if the door's window isn't covered up, somebody might be trying to peek through. )

Kamo-kun, are you there?

( there's a flashlight in hand as komaeda squats down in front of the door, the bulb pointed underneath to try and flash the light inside of the room where the other is supposed to be. he flicks it on and off, some tries stay on longer than others which represents the dash, but any quick clicks would be the dot. what he's asking is "we've came to steal you away," which probably will be ignored if neither of them know — anyway, that's what he's doing with his ear pressed against the door to hear if someone is coming.

there's a blue cat tail (yes, the one) attached to komaeda's pants that glows and sparkles within the darkness. sometimes a few movements winds up with him hitting amami in the leg with it, but he doesn't notice so he doesn't end up apologizing to the other as he hunts out npc-kun. )

[ I was imagining Amami outside in the courtyard looking in and npc-kun would've lost their shit if he didn't speak up and use that name they've only ever given one person. The flickering lights is enough to give them pause, and they would never ever in a thousand years have opened the door even if it were a very rich ghost wanting to come shop, but if it's Tarou-nii...

...

They lift Yacchi off their lap and sets it on the counter on top of some sheets of paper and an open book next to it, crystals from the suncatchers set along the back edge to provide light. ]

Yeah! Did something happen? It's late.

[ tap tap tap over to the door to open it ]

( he's crouched, so he'll look up absolutely beaming. )

We're going to test the durability of your hope.

( the tail sways back and forth, glowing a teal-ish blue color within the air, and it sparkles every so often, and the light is slightly reflected on the floor. the door is open though, so komaeda crawls inside like the roach he is until he's standing right behind npc-kun — with his hands on the youth's shoulder, he slowly begins to push him forward so he can get him out the room.

if god is binding him to this room, then komaeda will just struggle. )

Hope shines the brightest when there's darkness everywhere, so let's go. You're the missing piece.

Ah, Komaeda-kun, you make it sound like we're doing something suspicious.

( amami, for his part, looks pretty sheepish about the whole thing. this is what he gets for coming over here with a freak like komaeda, but, well, they do seem to get along? so... he's just going to stand here while those two greet each other, offering up a wave when they acknowledge him. )

You should have said something if you were staying in the school too. We could've stopped by to visit earlier.

( he thought they were like the rest of the non-transfer students here — that they went home in the evening like a normal person. )

Wha- hey! My hope is just fine!

[ Imagine if all the bones in Komaeda's body shatter because he's stealing npc-kun away from their store

That doesn't happen, though, and the shopkeeper is easy to push out for all the initial confusion over the visit, although they do glance over their shoulder to see if Amami will close the door for them or if they have to double back and close it themselves. ]

Visit me lots during the day, but it's night now!

[ IT'S DARK OUT, STOP, even if Komaeda is decked out like he's going to a rave, and Amami is a comforting presence, it's still NIGHT and it's still DARK and they're still digging their heels into the ground trying to be as difficult as possible. ]

( should have killed him right here, right now. it's fine, because if the bones won't shatter, that can be a stroke of good luck for him! in return, getting npc-kun out successfully causes komaeda to feel something burn in his throat, clogging his airway, and he's quick to take a step back, cough into his hand, and a small amount of blood splatters onto his hand. the only light he has is the moonlight, flashlight, and his tail, and so he uses the bulb's light to glance into his palm, and quickly close his fingers together to keep any blood from slipping through. )

...

( anyway, he balls up his hand, pointing the light at npc-kun — )

It's just the dark, besides, you have the beacon of an Ultimate lighting your path, so we can follow behind him diligently. Don't embarrass him, especially when he's managed to bring us along...

( komaeda sighs as he looks towards amami, and then glances to npc-kun to look at the back of their head. he shuts the door behind him with the same hand that's holding the flashlight, and then back to amami. )

Lead the way.

Edited 2021-09-06 23:31 (UTC)

C'mon, don't put it like that. ( "embarrass him," like that's possible. it's amami, he can embarrass his own damn self.

looks like the whole stealing them away bit has been successful though. so he'll make his way over to npc-kun with a slightly concerned glance to komaeda, but ultimately just puts his flashlight in their hands. his eyes are more-or-less already adjusted to the dark, and he really only brought it for their sake anyway, so. )

It's fine. Tomorrow's Sunday, so everyone will probably be sleeping in. You won't have to worry about missing any customers.

( because clearly their job is their excuse for everything, so lets nip that one right in the bud. with that, he'll hold out a hand for them to take. )

Here, so we don't get split up.

[ "embarrass him," like that's possible, npc-kun is perfect in every way and could never

They clutch the flashlight in both hands like a lifeline, and is quick to take Amami's hand and hold on tight in the same way they reflexively return hugs, not really thinking about and is more preoccupied with staring at the flashlight. Glances over at Komaeda. Loops their flashlight arm around his hopefully non-bloody one so they can see and keep both people close. ]

So we don't get split up...

[ The light sweeps back and forth as they walk, a brisk pace to make the trip as short as possible, every corner and nook and cranny shone on to make sure there's nothing lurking there. ]

Ah— there's no need to pull, I would have followed, as long as hope is our guide.

( caught up in this loop that he can't possibly get himself out of, and he accepts it because...he'll have to unclip his arm to be freed, and he doesn't want to wake add to put it back on for him. they win this time! as they make their way through the dark, he closes his eyes as he lightly hums to himself.

mumble, mumble, i wish i meet the biggest hope glisten than other which mumble, mumble i want to see a desire that glistens more than anyone else...♪

he stops. )

Have you been to the beach before?

( he's looking at npc-kun to draw their attention from the darkness, and instead on the light of conversation. )

( oh, cute, they've got the spirit. amami will lead the way as requested in that case, laughing a bit at komaeda as the other gets added to their little chain, and gives their hand a little squeeze as they make their way to the door, to the courtyard, to trudge past the tree that amami gives as much space as he reasonably can, actually. )

Right, now that we can get past the courtyard, Komaeda-kun thought we should make the most of it.

( and, yeah, that means they're headed exactly where it sounds like. )

I haven't... why?

[ They look from Komaeda to Amami, successfully distracted, at the cost of squeezing their arm and hand respectively even tighter to make up for not paying attention to what's in front of them.

The tree gives off light as if reflecting the moonlight above, and it would be a comfort if npc-kun didn't feel so uneasy around it.

Their pace picks up a little more, trying to get Amami to walk faster too, so they can go somewhere indoors with every single light flipped on. ]

Once upon a time, during my school year, I stayed on an island... the palm trees they hung overhead, the way the sun peaked between their leaves. The waterfall's current running into the base, and did you know that applying it to your skin and hair is actually good, it's au natural.

( his words drift into silence as he catches his breath, heart thumping in his chest from the amount he's offered. pale green eyes look down towards npc-kun, not a thought behind that blank gaze of his, but he continues. )

But... The stars.

( he opts out on a few things, but what he's saying is that a stranded island can be exciting to some, but that's not where they're going. as the start of this mission, he had said that they would test the hope of npc-kun, and that's what they'll do. while there, he did find that the stars that reflected off the surface of the ocean was beautiful, even the sea out on jabberwock was able to swallow the moon, and the stars, any galaxy that was visible to everyone. )

Reflected on the surface of water... was a beautiful sight.

Sounds like your class must've had a pretty amazing trip.

( because that's... the natural conclusion, right? )

But you're not wrong, sights like that really are special. Is that why you wanted to go so badly?

( to the pool! which it will soon be clear they are headed to through process of elimination as they walk past everything else. all the way up to the front doors, to a building that's probably pitch-black inside. it's fine. they have two flashlights and a glowing cat tail, they'll be fine. )

[ It sounds pretty, they suppose, if you're seeing it in a photograph or in a movie, outside maybe if it's by a campfire. Maybe they're going to see a movie in the dor—

NO no no no no nonono ]

I can't—-

[ nope, they're turning around. At least on the rooftop there's some moonlight; in that building, they can't even see past the door unless a light's shining straight down it. ]

( with his arm linked to theirs, komaeda blinks a few times as he watches them. )

Can't... swim?

( ooOOOoooOOoooOOOo. his grip is tighter. )

( and see, amami kinda can't let go here. too much looked-away-for-two-seconds-and-they-disappeared trauma with younger siblings in his past to do anything but hold their hand tight even as they try to turn. )

Hold on, what's wrong?

( at least he sounds genuinely concerned. )

[ Oh I hate that if Amami and Komaeda are both holding on tighter, there's no way for npc-kun to even turn around, or get themselves out of their grips without dropping the flashlight and right now that flashlight is the only thing keeping them from losing it.

ugh... UGH!! They try to pull their hand and arm free, digging their heels into the ground as much as they can. ]

Let me go! I want to go back! Don't—

[ the flashlight drops from their grip, and a muffled whimper escapes ]

...don't... please don't...

( when they keep pulling at their hand, amami clues in that there's something wrong for real. he still doesn't let go, because the very last thing any of them needs right now is for kamo-kun to go running blind and alone across the campus in the middle of the night, but he'll turn to face them. drop down to their level at the same time as the flashlight. which, he's going to take a moment to grab that before anything else before he meets their eyes. )

Hey, hey, it's alright. You don't have to go in, we're not gonna make you. It's okay, Kamo-kun.

( he's obviously worried, but tries to keep his voice calm. holds the flashlight for them to take back with their free hand, if they can be calmed down enough to do so. )

( from their fretting, komaeda releases their arm so they can regain their composure as amami speaks with them on a similar eye level. he stares for a moment, looking back and forth between the two, and komaeda's mind reels back to the few warriors of hope who would cry for attention, or because one of them were a "fucking idiot" by breaking a "demon" they wanted to hunt. komeda's typical response to that whether they were real tears or crocodile — there, there.

the words are in his mind as he lifts his hand, setting it on top of npc-kun's head once, then a second soft pat, and keeping his words to himself since it's not his place to speak over an ultimate. )

...

[ They reach for the flashlight but fumbles with it, fingers shaking, shoulders doing the same, but it isn't until Komaeda pats their head that they jolt in surprise and the tears start to fall.

There's those words in the back of their mind: it's not crying if nobody sees. But the hitch in their breathing can still be heard in the darkness, and the whimper that escapes when they squeeze their eyes shut. The flashlight falls a second time, but this time, they didn't drop it; they let go of it to reach for Amami with both hands, to hold onto him instead, to choose him over the light. ]

( the flashlight drops, and amami doesn't hesitate as he wraps his arms around them in return, pulling them into a tight hug. one arm holds them close, the other gently rubbing their back to try and soothe them, even as he breathes out a bit of a sigh. )

Sorry, we should have asked if you were okay with it first, huh. That was my bad.

( can't go back in time to fix it though, even if the guilt tugs at his heartstrings pretty bad. over their shoulder, amami will peek up at komaeda — easy to identify since that little blue cat tail of his is still glowing and sparkling. )

Why don't we come back some other time, Komaeda-kun? If Kamo-kun is okay with that.

...Ah. It was my fault, scum like me shouldn't have said a thing.

( he pauses, eyes looking off to the side towards the ground, his arms cross as he can feel his lips purse into a straight line. why did he even think to subject himself to this when an ultimate was nearby, he's better off just doing what he's told and carrying on. )

Why don't I just go? It'd be better that way...

( he feels like a disgrace, like he's made an ultimate look bad by even going as far as to thinking he could bring some sort of hope from this. he clicks off his own flashlight, the glow dissipating into the darkness, and the only light left comes from the one on the ground, shining at their clothes and feet. it is pretty late, and he can't even sleep in his own dorm room because he doesn't want to wake up his roommates which one is an ultimate... so he'd feel wrong for that as well. )

[ Selfishly, self-indulgently, npc-kun thinks they'd be content just to stay like this for the rest of the night, held in the safety of somebody's arms until the sun comes back up, but,

Amami and Komaeda had wanted to surprise them with something. The two had gone out of their way in the middle of the night to come see them. They trust Amami, and don't want Komaeda to go. If the flashlights are all shut off, he'd be the only bright thing here. ]

No... We're here, so...

[ So let's get it over with, is the implication, because it being night must be important if they're all out this late, and they do NOT want to have to make another trip all the way out here again. ]

I'm okay. [ They say, not letting go of Amami. But to Komaeda, ] Don't leave me.

( it's not like komaeda knows npc-kun is talking to him, he works more directly, but how the scene looks before him — he could obviously be talking to amami. )

You heard the child, don't go anywhere, Amami-kun...

( how bold, and yet komaeda doesn't correct it at all, it's a very sensitive place he has with amami — ultimates who don't know their talents think of themselves differently from those that do. arguing would serve no purpose, and it's only them that can hear this conversation, so he'd rather not spoil this anymore than he already has. eyes glance towards the dormitories, wondering if hikaru will let him in if he knocks lightly enough. )

To be in the embrace of an Ultimate, it must be reassuring — ah, when you both return, tell me how it is.

9/4, shopkeep-kun (1/2)

pebble-kun (2/2)

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