adsum | npc contact.1

[ There's another thunk on the ceiling, more compact and consistent, like when you're the drunk neighbor in an apartment building and your downstairs neighbor is sick of your shit and has to knock on the ceiling with a broom handle to make you shut up, that's what it sounds and feels like.

There's some mumbling downstairs he can't quite make out, followed by a louder scolding voice saying, "Don't even joke about that! You're lucky it's..." before the person calms down and their voice drops below range of hearing again. ]

( what was that? oh no... what are they talking about, and here he is unable to laugh at the joke. that's disheartening, so he's scratching at the tile once again... contemplating if he should make a sound.

what sound, you might ask? "meow" seems applicable, but he's not sure if bev even makes sounds. so here's a bit of scuffling he's doing up there, shifting from left to right like a cat whose found something interesting up there.

scratch, scratch. you know, even though he's doing all this, he's taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. )

M...mr...

[ Is that... "Bev" meowing...? As quiet as it might have been, the fact that there's some sort of meow from the supposedly quiet cat is enough to cause the sound of chairs scraping to be heard from the room below, Maya's voice shouting "Hey! The meeting isn't—", doors slamming open and closed, and then a frustrated "Ugh!" as footsteps lead away from the room and presumably upstairs where the student council members are running to find this cat and why it's been spurred to speak for the first time since forever. ]

( well, that was not the right choice in response — but with everyone gone, he's trying his hardest to see if he can lift one of the panels and get inside. unfortunately, the mechanics of this school prevent komaeda since he needs gundham's key. well, that was useless.

you know, he's going to probably crawl within the pace and see if he can find a way to get down without being seen, is he allowed to drop down from the art room? listen, even though this is a dangerous game being seen with a cat tail on, he'll do what he must.

because... because... he wants to catch maya and follow her around for the kitty chasing escapade. )

[ He can drop down into the art room! And depending on whether he looks before he leaps, smash one of Chiaki's painting and if she finds out it was him she's going to shove modeling clay down his gullet.

Maya... is sitting in the student council room just staring into the far distance for a bit. ]

( sighs, you know for you? anything. he will be dropping down on chiaki's painting due to his bad luck — whoops :). damn if only he had someone's stuff so he could leave it here to make them look suspicious and chiaki could attack them... missed chances!! next time, though.

he's going to exit the art room once he's in the clear, and then with a little hop in his step — the blue tail bouncing along as well, he comes to the student council room and knocks a few times.

honey, he's home!! )

[ RIP Izumi's portrait... Chiaki's going to be spitting mad about it and she'll sock Komaeda on the arm the next time she sees him to vent I mean as a greeting

For Maya, though, this feels a lot like deja vu? Except she doesn't have an excuse of shooing unwanted guests away from the student council room when there is no meeting to interrupt, so while she ignores the first set of knocks, his persistence wins out and she eventually opens the door.

...

Sees the cat ears and makes the close the door again. ]

( who is he, her punching bag?? i mean yes, but!!

here goes komaeda setting his foot between the door in the threshold so she's unable to close it. listen, he just came to visit, and who wouldn't laugh at some guy in cat ears and a tail... )

Arisu-san! I came for the meeting.

( he's not even part of the council, but you know, it doesn't stop him from being annoying about it. she has won komaeda's company! )

[ She doesn't want it!! ]

The meeting's over.

[ She steps back, though, not getting out of the way but not crushing Komaeda's feet either. Shoes are tough to crush; if he were barefoot, that would've been a different story. The room is empty, the tables have been cleared, and Maya has her school bag with her ready to get out of here and not be president for a few days. ]

If you don't need anything from me, go bother somebody else.

That's not true, I heard you say the meeting wasn't over.

( or she was about to say it, until there was no one left in the council to even talk to. she should be glad that komaeda's here to fill in the gap, because since he has access, he's going to sit at one of the chairs that a previous member was. he settles his hands into his lap, his tail hanging to the side and i hope out the corner of her eye she sees that sneaky, little, blue cat as well. )

Meowya, what are we learning today?

( he's looking for the whiteboard, is there anything on there for him to use for a topic? )

[ It wasn't over but now it is!! There's nobody here to meet, and Komaeda doesn't count. She would place her foot on the edge of the chair and tip it over, but that wouldn't get him out of the room at large. ]

...Annoying.

[ But she turns to the chalkboard and stares at it anyways, because she is unfortunately indulgent. It's wiped clean, aside from the corner that lists the next meeting date- the following Monday or Friday. ]

We were discussing potential sites for our class trip later in the year, and when it might be warm enough to open the pool again. The meeting adjourned without coming to a consensus.

( so he should come every monday and friday, that makes sense. he doesn't really have an idea what their meetings are about, but he'll make sure to attend. he doesn't say that aloud though, but the way he looks at the weekdays, and then how he turns back to look at maya should be more than enough to show his interest. )

What are their options?

( "their," he says it like it doesn't involve him, and it probably doesn't. that's only because he's the type who pulls away from that sort of gathering, besides... trash like him wouldn't fit in a place where everyone is trying to enjoy themselves. the last thing he'd want to do is ruin the mood. )

We've been having bad storms, so it'd be awhile until the pool opens up.

( he heard a storm for one night, and he thinks there's a storm every time. smh. )

[ Can't believe the student council is going to have to shuffle around meeting days just to throw Komaeda off. ]

The popular vote was for the beach. [ So we can have our beach episode. ] But considering the storms, I don't know how plausible that will be either, never mind the pools that need some work getting set up again.

[ With a huff, she leans against the edge of the table and regards him. ]

It's administrative stuff like this. You don't want to be a part of the student council.

Is that a place for all of you to go, and for everyone else to be left behind?

( it's a genuine question since they can't even leave the school, and only a few transfer students can among them. that's not bad, but it doesn't help the case of others like maya and whoever else is able to leave. luckily for her, komaeda's not too pressed despite the curious expression that he wears as he cants his head to the side, acting as if his ears are twitching. ) Taking everyone with you would do great wonders in keeping them together.

( with a wave of his hand, he tries to dismiss the comment. )

It's fine, Arisu-san, you can say that you'd rather have someone other than me join.

[ She just shrugs, because she isn't going to police who goes and who stays behind— can't, anyways, because that sort of thing is up to the individual and their circumstances, monetary or otherwise. ]

That's a given, not something that needed to be said.

[ She doesn't want him to join. Never mind student council, she doesn't want to have to sit in the same room with him for an hour forty five twice a week. ]

Do you care about the hope of the students here?

( remember last time he didn't like something a school did so he tried to blow them up? yeah, he's thinking like that yet again. he doesn't look like he'd do anything, especially with the cat ears and tail on, but he he's kind of insane... or so, that's what everyone thinks. :/ )

Because I want to help you with that, seeing them prosper in a school like this would be the greatest achievement! ...I don't want to see any of them fail.

( so that means they really need their beach episode. )

...You can't save everybody, Komaeda. For some to prosper, others must fail.

[ Fact of life. She cares but... she can't care about everyone— her role as the student council president isn't to care, it's to lead and if people don't follow then that's their own business. ]

That said, if everybody gives up, that would be the worst case scenario. I absolutely will not let that happen. When it comes to hope, leave it alone, let it flourish naturally and it will. You don't have to provide something like that.

They'll all prosper, Arisu-san.

( that's true, even the ones that fail are doing their job, they're enabling the other students to become stronger in their own way. the thought brings a smile to his face, chuckling softly as he looks at the expression the female wears. )

The students who become the fertilizer for the soil will help hope's roots dig deeper into the earth, and there's nothing wrong with that. ( no matter who they lose, they'll always be remembered by the others who manage to move forward, and that's why he's happy enough to say this. for someone who loves hope the way he does, who would he be to forget their sacrifice. there's no worry in his voice as he says this, not even a speck of concern about what would happen if certain people failed. )

Even if you have to pluck off a few dead leaves... they served their purpose.

[ Komaeda is really out there calling people literal shit, huh? Well. She doesn't exactly argue, but she does stare at him and hold his gaze while she thinks something over. ]

Interesting.

[ She pushes away from the table and motions for Komaeda to get up too. ]

I will give you an audience, a platform, and five minutes at the assembly at the end of the month. The entire student body will be there. I want you to tell them what you told me.

( what's interesting about his logic? hello, she can call him insane because that's literally what he is. )

Telling them something they should already know won't mean much.

( besides, what does she get out of him going up there and acknowledging half of them? their hope is one thing, but komaeda's time is another. if she gets anything out of this, it's the unanimous decision of komaeda being hated by his peers, but he's pretty used to that already so it's not like he'll be upset. )

Their hope needs more than five minutes, there are other ways to encourage them... how are they taking her death?

( you know... you're so lucky he doesn't have poison, that's the best way to deal with a whole room filled with people. )

[ It's insane which makes it interesting. Komaeda is a train wreck. ]

You'd be surprised how much people know but don't realize, or perhaps subconsciously refuse to acknowledge.

[ Maya, constantly: open your damn eyeeeeeeess

Anyways, he's rejected her request and so she has no further reason to entertain him, heading for the door so she can go home and get out of here, make one of the teachers lock up before the school empties out. ]

If you want to bring up that death, ask them yourself.

( when she says that, even komaeda's a little... off-put, because isn't he the one who subconsciously ignores what he really wants — happiness, friends, a life without talent and hope. though, he'll never say something like that aloud because he knows that it isn't true, and it's even embarrassing to think about. for others though, that does make him curious. )

Arisu-san, you make me out to be a lot of trouble, and you'd really let me go on stage to speak with our peers?

( maybe he'll take it, maybe... besides, he looks like he's willing to go along with it. )

...What about you? I want to hear it from you, yourself.

( besides, only maya can tell him whether she's happy with what happened. )

[ She nods, because yes she would let him speak. Insane. ]

My thoughts on Okane's death? I'll tell you after you exit this room.

[ People overhearing in the halls is ...bad... but even more frustrating would be having to fight Komaeda to get out of the room so she can put this place behind her. It's almost impossible to bodily move a person when they don't want to move; she knows that by experience aka she has a brother who doesn't want to get out of bed most mornings ]

( what's wrong about having a discussion in this room? they can lock it, unless she's worried someone will listen from the other side. is the conversations that happen within the council room that important? with his tail moving from side to side — i guess the ghost cat has a mind of its own — he slowly gets to his feet as he stares at her. )

Is it bad to have a conversation here? I know how to keep an inside voice.

( he proves that too, speaking low with a small smile to reassure her. ) It'll be like a council meeting... just between us.

[ It's like working overtime when she's not even getting paid, why would she want to stay another second in this room. Especially one that's haunted by ghost cats. ]

By the nature of this room, yes it's bad. Now get out.

making good use of these regains

anything for the cats

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