adsum | npc contact.1

[ I only have so much icon space, eventually somebody's got to go.

He looks surprised, first at the box cutter and then when it transforms, but not to the point of freaking out or saying anything about it, just giving the weapon a critical look before boing back to looking at Rika. ]

Would you be able to? Normal, powerless human beings are no different from monsters when they need to survive.

( STOP THAT )

... ( she looks at him, then at her sword, thinking. would she be able to? probably not. earlier, when fighting hyde... she should've killed him, but still didn't have the strength to make that choice. 'you're still young,' hajun told her. 'if you were able to instinctively decide that you can kill a person, you'd lose yourself.'

she holds that close to her heart, even if this place keeps throwing curveballs at her feet. )

No. ( she says, easily, letting the box cutter return to its original form and shoving it into her pocket. ) I'm not a killer, so I wouldn't. But... there's a difference between lashing out like a wounded animal and becoming a monster. In the end, there's only so much you can do.

( she shrugs, reaching for him again. gently, this time, grabbing his face to force him to look at her. )

I don't think Senpai's a monster. Not yet. He still cares, and that's why he won't ask me out, right?

[ He stares down her sword, heart drumming in his chest and hands by his side, saved only because Rika is Rika but if it were anybody else...

He could kill a person. He knows he can. Even if he has nothing on his person, empty hands and wandering eyes, he could. That hesitation of her would be his weapon. ]

"Not yet," [ he repeats as she takes his face, as if feeling the words in his mouth, forcing himself to relax without a blade pointed at his face, knowing if their positions were switched, he could easily...

reach up and place his hands over hers, pressing the warmth to his cheeks. ]

You don't think I'm a monster. But you're not sure.

( if it were anyone else, anyone with less of a bleeding heart and more of a sense of justice, or even self-preservation, well... she sees no reason why they'd let someone who promised them a living nightmare off the hook. but she's her, and she has slain monsters before, huge and bizarre and terrifying, and he's nothing like them, nothing like the beasts she knows.

maybe if he lunged at her, with hands ready to wrap around her throat, she'd let him. she doesn't think she's strong enough to hurt people she cares for — not desperate enough to weigh her life against theirs and decide she's the one worthy of continuing it. )

I'm sure. ( she promises, resolute. ) I want Senpai to graduate from this hell of a school — but I don't want him to lose all of himself in the process.

( so if it means dragging him back from the brink of becoming a monster, then so be it. she's sure komaeda would do it for him, too. )

[ He finds it hard to smile when she does, when her confidence is pitted against him and his is desperation while hers is hope— there's no basis for it, no surety he can take comfort in, just stupid, stupid, wishes and hope, nothing of substance.

He can't imagine Komaeda subsiding off a feeling like this when for Rokkun, it scares him, just a little.

His turn to cup Rika's face with his hand, run a thumb across her cheek. ]

Help me pick up the pieces, okay? Don't forget that little boy in the river.

( subconsciously, she tips her head to the side, to nuzzle into his touch. she was scared of this talk, truth be told — there's so many things she doesn't yet know, so many things that feel so flimsy they'll fall right through the holes between her fingers, but... maybe she can pick them back up, after all.

maybe not everything is lost just yet. fate can be changed, right? it always can. )

I will! ( she nods, enthused. to hear him ask for help... it's all she could ask from this, honestly. even if he doesn't mean to let her in fully, it's some sort of progress. ) Ha... I can't even if I tried. I told you — Senpai was just too cute. And the stone... I think I finally know what to wish for!

[ ? ]</small? What is— no, don't tell me. Do you have it with you?

Oh... yeah, I do! I carry it around... ( she pats her pocket. ) Why?

I was just wondering, in case you wanted to make your wish now, since you have to give the rock away for it to work...

[ And look! Somebody is conveniently right here for her to pass the stone along to! No selfish ulterior motives here. ]

( does he want the rock back??? she looks at him curiously, and reaches into her pocket to take the wishing stone out. sure enough, it's the same one he gave her, and she carefully balances it on her palm, humming. )

How did it go again? Make a wish, and then... trace the lines?

[ It's a renewable resource, this is surely how it works. ]

Mmhm. Trace the lines all the way around, without lifting your finger from the surface, and when you give it away, your wish will surely come true.

( ... this is one of these "he's so stupid i can't not kiss him" moments )

Surely... huh? ( well, that'd be nice and convenient. ) How long have you looked for this stone, Senpai? ( because that's what he was looking for, right? )

[ STOP IF YOU BELIEVE IN SOMETHING THAT MAKES IT REAL ]

Hm... Since middle school, I guess? On the way home from school I have to cross a river, and if it isn't too cold, I'd walk along it until it's narrow and shallow enough to wade in and see what I could find.

( IF ONLY IT WERE THAT EASY!! )

And... have you found it only recently? That's a long time. ( she blinks, staring at the stone. he was pretty determined to find it, huh? ... well, guess that makes sense. you need all the help you can get around here. ) Hmm, okay! Then, here I go!

( she closes her eyes, imagining her wish coming true, then opens them back up, placing her finger on the line and tracing it carefully. what did she wish for? there's really nothing selfish she wants, right now; going back home is... not that big of a factor, when home doesn't feel like one at all, and it's not as if she can meet her father in this world. it's not as if she truly, honestly wants to find out the truth, either.

so she wishes for his safe graduation: for their safe graduation, him and everyone else, spared from bloodshed and cruelty of this place. it feels like a far-off dream, but... wishes are supposed to be a little bigger than life, right?

and, don't get her wrong, back in her own world, she wouldn't believe in any of this at all: it feels... too optimistic; too good to be true. but, well. spending some time here sure did impact her view on what's possible and what isn't, so... just maybe...

... anyway, she finishes and motions for him to extend his hand. she's being super lame and too kind for her own liking so she's ready to Hand This Over. )

Take it.

[ It's just a little stone, what's it supposed to do when imps are on the loose and you're better off cracking them over the heads with it.

He figures she'd wish for something personal— something trivial but practical, or something wholly impossible, there never seems to be a middle ground for wishes. Despite all the time he'd spent looking for this thing that weighs warm and heavy in the palm of his hand, his wish had been the former, in the end. Against the prospect of graduation, a more realistic wish was a single normal day in an abnormal world, something he can make happen with his own power instead of relying on hope. ]

Thanks, Rika. I'll keep it safe, until your wish comes true.

[ It goes into his back pocket. ]

( well, it granted him his first wish? so maybe there's something to it!! she thinks it's kinda cute, how resolutely he looked for it. super lame, too, but when you've got a crush on someone, that kinda takes the backseat. )

Weee ~ ll... I'm about to make my wish come true right now! ( she won't tell him what she wished for, cause that's also lame.

so she's just gonna reach up, drag him down by his collar and give him a smooch. totally valid for a stand-in wish, and she gets to kiss him, best of both worlds. )

[ asdflkhj This isn't what he expected at all, leaning in and returning the kiss, running the tip of his tongue over his bottom lip when he pulls back but then stopping because is that weird? like wanting to taste a kiss that's already done. ]

...You didn't need to use a wish to do that.

Hmmm... I did, cause that's only the start of it.

( and she smiles, coy and mischievous, because now he can wonder what deranged thing she wished for and never have her off his mind? it's a masterplan, thank you. )

[ It's a one wish per rock sort of thing but you know what? package deals exist and good on Rika for beating the system. ]

And when do we— [ ... ] When does it continue?

( look, it could've been something like, "i want to have a dramatic, steamy romance like in one of my dramas"? it still counts as one... and it's pretty open-ended, so she can make stuff up as she goes!! )

Hmm... ( she considers this for a moment. being stuck in school is so anti-climatic... none of the dramas in question involved that. ) Options are kinda limited, since I can't leave this place...

[ Both of them just "I saw this normal life event in a movie once and I too want to experience that" ]

Inside the school is no good?

( they're valid!!!! )

... ah... ( she brings both of her hands up to her face, as if scandalized, turning her head slightly. how embarrassing... well, not to her, but what is rika if not dramatic. ) Senpai... doesn't mind if we're seen... ?

( gasp... !! )

[ NOOOO IT'S EMBARRASSING TO HIM ]

We won't be seen!

[ Like that's the problem! He says it with the same confidence that he says he will not die, because the alternative is something he refuses to acknowledge. ]

( GOOD!!! )

... ( wow, THAT'S what he denies?!?!? she almost forgot how shameless he is... but well. )

Does Senpai know any good spots, then? Somewhere we will definitely not be seen?

[ Hmmm. He wants to say right here is good enough, but even if they block the entrance, the walls are still glass even if they're intermittently blocked by ticking clock hands. He's quiet as he stars out of the window, past the courtyard to the building way in the back with its boarded up windows. ]

The dorm would be too far, huh?

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