route_1065 | Everything we've loved has turned to stone

Entry tags:

Everything we've loved has turned to stone

Who: "Alice White"/Parker (

nostabbing); Kiyotaka Ishimaru (

ardent); Mondo Oowada (

diamondo)
Where: Route 36, en route to Goldenrod City
When: The evening of 8/21
Summary: What with so many new arrivals from Hope's Peak Academy, telling Alice what actually happened in the school is becoming a necessity, not an option. Contains spoilers for Dangan Ronpa.
Rating: Starting it at PG-13 due to swearing and discussion of dead teenagers; will adjust if necessary!
Log:

[They'd discussed it after they'd landed for the night.

The idea of going to pick up Celes was an uncomfortable one all around, but one that Ishimaru deemed completely necessary for his own well-being; he still wasn't sure how he should feel toward her in general, but for now he was doing a decent job of pushing through it. However, he couldn't trust her to not say something in front of Alice; even if it wasn't anything completely damning, she might say enough to make Alice ask questions that neither of them were prepared for. Just the same, he would have been willing to ask Celes to just remain quiet and actually pretend to be a decent person for two days and spend the next 48 hours running on sheer optimism alone if it weren't for Hagakure and Kuwata showing up.

Kuwata was angry beyond belief, something Ishimaru had inadvertantly not helped with (and in all honesty, he's still not sure what he did; he'll likely spend some time thinking on it, because that was...bad and he knows it, he's just not sure how to fix it and Kuwata is being stubborn as hell about answering his phone) but just the same couldn't fully blame him for; Hagakure meant well but tended to run his mouth without thinking about the consequences. The chances of someone saying something around Alice was suddenly much higher, then, if for no better reason than there were so many of them - she could overhear them talking or stumble into a sensitive topic conversationally (as she had with Naegi some time ago, apparently) - and in the end Ishimaru had pulled Oowada over and they'd decided that something needed to be said.

Of course, being the masters of conversational planning and general foresight that they are, they've only hashed out the most basic of guidelines by the time they go find her; there are some things that are Definitely Off-Limits, but the rest...they'll see how it goes. Ishimaru is less keyed-up than he was yesterday; it's hard to tell whether that's because he's genuinely calmed down or he's managed to overstimulate himself to the point of not feeling anything anymore - he seems to have spent the last damn he had to give on that fight with Kuwata and so he's been pretty comfortably numb for the better part of the day, which is a little confusing but not something he's going to question too much.]

Alice-san? We'd like to talk to you about something, if you have a moment - it's important.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Kirigiri, Togami, Celes, Hagakure, and Leon. Five people Mondo wasn't expecting to see so soon, and five people he'd almost rather not deal with. Kirigiri and Hagakure weren't so bad, but Togami was a nightmare to deal with and Celes had proven that she would be just as bad, if not worse. She had told him to keep some semblance of self-control; she hadn't wanted to end up dead like Fujisaki. Needless to say, the remark pissed him off so badly he'd hung up on her and had sparred with his Lucario to the point of exhaustion. That's what he's been doing most days, actually; sparring to the point of needing assistance to return to the hotel. His Pokémon can keep up, of course, but that only means that he's not as strong as they are. He has to get stronger.

Of course Mondo's self-destructive tendencies do tend to get worse when he's stressed, but this is a new level for him. He's been keyed up nonstop for a long time now and the arrival of more classmates really isn't helping. He's also wanted to talk about this, and not in the stilted way he laid the facts out for Rude. Hell, he's wanted to talk to Alice about this, if only because she's like a big sister; she may not know what to do, but he's certain she can at least be supportive. Naturally he hadn't come to her with any of this without discussing it with Ishimaru first, and it had been decided that they wouldn't worry her.

Well, so much for that. With five new members of their class, it was only a matter of time before someone said something and she put the pieces together.]

Yeah, really important.

[He'll let Ishimaru do the talking, if only because Ishimaru does know what to avoid better than he would.]

[So here's what Parker knows, going into this rendezvous: a whole new wave of classmates of Ishimaru's showed up (apparently), a bunch of them started off half a world away in New Bark Town (like Xiaoqiao had), one of them had popped up in Goldenrod City (which means she's probably a Rocket), and Ishimaru and Mondo are acting really weird. It's not that Parker's a master of social nuance so much as it just is that the way they're behaving is a deviation from the norm she's grown accustomed to; she knows Ishimaru is weird because he's gone from fidgety and finnicky to sort of dead, and she knows Mondo is something because he keeps coming home in bruises that she sees but never mentions.

And in a way, maybe the fact that she's no master of social nuance is going to come in handy for the boys here, because it likewise means she completely misses the implicit social significance to a statement like "There's something important we need to tell you" — and assumes, quite simply, that...well, there must be something important they need to tell her.

That's good. Talking is good. If it's important, she must need to know. She's all for that.]

Sure, what's up?

[She's got a stick in one hand and is jabbing absently at the fire with it, more fascinated by the stabby-poking motion than with actually keeping it lit or stoked, really. Stabbity stab stab. Snap crackle pop.]

[It's fortunate, really, that she's taking it that way, as that's how Ishimaru would want it to be taken - there's no need to panic over it, and it's not like it's anything bad about her. She's probably not going to like what they're discussing, but it's not like they're saying they don't want anything to do with her anymore or she's doing anything wrong. It's just something important that they need to tell her.

It's pretty straightforward, really.

Ishimaru isn't in his uniform today, just because it's not very practical for travelling; he's still wearing those knee-high combat boots, but otherwise he's got the black pants from the Rocket uniform on and that heather-grey hoodie from Goldenrod over it, way too soft and vaguely shiny with use and zipped clear up with the hood dropped back. He doesn't really see a need to worry about getting all of that dirty, as that's more or less the purpose of it; he settles himself on the ground, kneeling down and sitting back on his heels. Whatever it is she's doing with the fire gives him something to focus on; he's content to just sort of stare at it while he speaks.]

It's about our school - that incident I mentioned? I think we need to talk about what happened, because the situation was a bit...

[...a...bit...]

...it was unusual, to put it lightly, and with more of our classmates showing up, we think you should know.

[He glances at Mondo then, as though to make sure he's all right.]

[Mondo nods absently at Ishimaru's words, but doesn't voice his thoughts right away. Like his classmate, he's staring at the fire, but he's still standing, arms folded. He's wearing the usual tank top and black pants, but the coat has been folded and neatly tucked away with his belongings; it doesn't really do much for travelling, obviously. That, and he's riding with an Aerodactyl and the last thing he wants is for it to rip holes in that. Clearly it's perfectly fine if it rips holes in his arms, but oh no, it can't possibly ruin his jacket.

#priorities

Anyway, Mondo finally moves to sit, flopping down unceremoniously beside Ishimaru.]

Yeah. We... didn't really wanna mention it before now 'cause it's... it's really shitty. The whole situation back there. We didn't wanna worry you, y'know?

[They really are trying, bless them, but sometimes attempts at tact are completely lost on Parker, and at this point, the gradual lead-in is only giving her an uncomfortable combination of time and ambiguity — one that she's naturally going to attempt to fill in herself, and in doing so, seizes on what she assumes must be the logical explanation:

More people arrived, and they think she's going to say something stupid to upset them the way she did with, well. Pretty much everybody else.

It's logical, and she kind of can't blame them for being worried about it, even if it also sort of stings a little (she'd promised she'd be good about it, really — but maybe they were right, and maybe Eliot was right, and that something he always says is wrong with her is what's prompting their concerns now).

So she just kind of nods, gaze not quite averted, but working her lips in and out a bit as she briefly goes over everything she currently knows about their school, and calls up her existing mental list of Things We Can't Talk About in preparation to add more to the list.]

I wasn't going to ask anybody about it. I wasn't even going to talk about it, 'cause I know it was...bad. And I didn't want to say something. Bad.

[She flashes a sort of vaguely plaintive glance at Ishimaru, mostly because he's the one who tends to understand her without needing awkward explanations, and surely he knows that she's sorry, right? Of course he does.]

[Something shifts a bit in Ishimaru's gaze then, from mild confusion to sudden understanding - social nuances aren't really anything he does, but it's different with Alice, maybe because they tend to not really have any. They don't always say everything, but what they do say is what they mean and he just nods at that, the gesture firm.]

Ah, we didn't think you would! Everything's been all right with them - well, most of them, the one that isn't okay doesn't have anything to do with you, he's just really angry...

[Ishimaru trails off for a moment before shaking his head tightly, trying to get himself back on track.]

We just want you to know what happened, that's all - not because we don't trust you, but because we do. It's not something that we can tell most people, but we want to trust you with it!

We'd just prefer that it not be repeated to anyone! I mean, our classmates all know, but we would prefer that it be kept to them, not mentioned to anyone outside of that unless we say it's all right - is that fine?

[Mondo glances from Alice to Ishimaru and back again, a bit confused by the sudden understanding. This isn't exactly a new feeling for him. He doesn't question it though, and lets Ishimaru explain.]

Yeah. We feel you should know. I mean you're... a good friend and all that. It doesn't seem right to keep something like this from you, 'specially now that all our classmates are showing up. It's not that we thought you were gonna ask, more like we thought someone else would slip up and then you'd start wondering why we didn't tell you these things, y'know?

[He shrugs slightly and returns to Ishimaru's question.]

But yeah, this is... personal shit we don't really want getting around. So we'd prefer it if you talk about it with us, and our classmates, but no one else.

[They...want to tell her...about...

Oh.

Right.

This is something that friends do. Like Peggy the nutritionist spontaneously telling her she likes to eat ice cream — an offered bit of information that had completely thrown her up until she'd realized why it was being offered in the first place. They want to tell her about the school shooting because she's their friend and that's what friends do, is they share stuff like that with each other.

That's really the only reasonable explanation for it, as far as Parker can immediately tell. Nobody actually wants to recount the stories of horrible things like that. They either do it because they're asking for help (which they're not, or they would've said so), or because they're...being...friends.

She gives the fire another jab, perking up a little already.]

Okay.

[...She should probably say something more than that, she realizes, and considers what else that might be.]

At my...job, we...hear a lot of bad stuff. I listen to it. So it's okay if you...you can tell me whatever you want. I can keep a secret.

[Ishimaru nods, seeming to relax at that; despite the subject matter being horrendous, there isn't that long moment he usually takes where he needs to steel himself before he starts talking. It's almost a relief to be able to tell her, because he trusts her and something in him just wants her to know; he can't even begin to explain it and he suspects it's selfish, really, but it's there and that's how it is and it isn't something he's going to think about for too long.]

Hope's Peak Academy is a boarding school for people who are the best at what they do, the top of their particular field. So all of us who come here...we have something we excel at. ...Well, except for Naegi-kun, who was selected via lottery, but even for that he's considered Super High-School Level Good Luck.

[Tact. And. Social. Grace.]

We attended that school together for some time before something happened; I don't know what caused it or led up to it, and I don't think any of us do because we can't remember it - someone tampered with our memories. They erased that year we spent together, and...

[He hesitates for a moment before looking at Mondo. Hang on, wtf, the math isn't working here.]

...Two years, though, didn't they say? It was two years that was erased, not just one?

[Jeez, Ishimaru, tact is your friend...]

Yeah, Asahina said it was two years.

[Hang on, Ishimaru's lost.]

What is it?

[kyoudai are you really this dense or]

...what...exactly happened during that second year, then?

[...is this really a question, Ishimaru...?]

What do you mean?

[1000% lost.]

One year was spent in the school, the second year was...?

[............]

...Never mind, kyoudai, I'll explain it to you later.

A-Anyway - the point is that we've lost two years of our memories, because someone took them away. We don't remember anything that's happened for the last two years; the last thing we remember before everything started was arriving at the school and then blacking out. We woke up in various places around the first floor of the school - in classes and hallways, places like that; we soon found that whoever had done this to us had locked us in. Iron plates over the windows, a metal bulkhead sealing off the doors to the outside.

We were called to the gymnasium so the situation could be explained. We were told that we had two options - we could stay in the school and be reasonably safe, but if we chose to do that we would never be able to leave. Never see the outside world again, only have one another for company.

Or we could all play a...game. That's what they called it, a game. There were two rules you had to follow, in order to win.

[It's there that he falters a little. Come on, breathe, Ishimaru, you can do it.]

The first rule was "Only a student who's killed someone else can leave the school."

The second was "Once you've killed someone, you have to get away with the crime in order to win."

[His hands are shaking a bit; he clenches them a bit in his lap before continuing.]

We didn't think anyone would actually try to win. Not at first. We thought there was...that we could find another way out. But after a few days we started receiving motives, extra incentives to kill each other.

One time, we got DVDs showing the people most important to us having been harmed or killed. Another motive was money - ten billion yen. Yet another was having a deep secret of ours revealed to the world.

[He twitches a bit.]

...In other words, after a while, people started finding reasons to play. A girl was stabbed. Someone was hit with a heavy object and died due to blunt force trauma. Someone else was bludgeoned to death.

[...]

Every time someone died, the body and the crime scene was left untouched. We were given a few hours to investigate. Then we all had to go into a different room and stand in a circle so we could see each others' faces, and try to figure out what had happened. Once we thought we had worked it out, through debate and presenting the evidence we'd found, we had to vote for the person we thought was responsible.

If we voted correctly, the culprit would be handed over to the person in charge of the game. If we were wrong, we would all die and the murderer would get to leave the school as the winner of the game.

...they called it "graduating."

The culprits were executed right in front of us. This happened at least four times before the game eventually ended, because six of us managed to figure out how to beat the person who was making us play. Ten of us died, in total. Four culprits, five victims. And one of the girls committed suicide.

That's why we don't like it when people discuss death in front of our classmates.

[Mondo doesn't look at Ishimaru as he speaks, but there are certain words that get the gang leader to flinch involuntarily. The mention of the executions, the part about someone being bludgeoned, and the trial all earn winces. He almost asks about the suicide - that must have been Oogami - but he keeps his mouth shut on that subject.]

Yeah. It tends to set 'em off, y'know? 'Specially the ones who actually died.

[It's a lot to process, and even Parker with her lack of social aptitude is capable of reading the pain the two boys are experiencing as they recount these details. It's something she's seen before, countless times — the victims come, they talk to Nate, their lives have been destroyed. "Right now you are suffering under a tremendous weight," he once said. "We provide...leverage."

So when she listens, it's quiet and intent; if her team were here, they might remark that she does look eerily like Nate in that moment, stepping into his shoes to listen and process and plan.

There are other things that help distance her from the horror of it, too. There's the familiarity of the process, which adds a touch of distance. There's the fact that she's heard a lot of terrible stories before, and dealt with more than her fair share of legitimate monsters. There's even the fact that she has no firsthand experience with high school, or even much with school in general, and so there's a lack of expectation and assumption there that helps to remove it from her, to make it a little more secondhand, a little less real.

The problem with that distance, though, is that what follows is the space in which to think, and feelings might be difficult, but math isn't.]

There are ten of you here. But you said only six make it out.

[...Which means.]

The stuff I said...did I say it to somebody who's already dead?

[Ishimaru tenses a bit; he's not exactly liking where this is going, but as long as they don't start running through the list of who's here and who's dead, they should be okay.]

...No. No, Naegi-kun is all right, and he sees the end of it.

[Six. She knows five of them — the five that were already here. That leaves one more alive and four dead.

That's the easiest conclusion. She knows if Nate were here, or maybe Eliot, they would be the ones to point out that there's an inherent flaw in that assumption. She knows they would because she knows how this part tends to go.

She doesn't know what she would say in response, so she doesn't dwell on it.]

Are we going to pick up somebody who's dead?

[Ishimaru flinches sharply at that.]

...Celes-kun isn't dead, from the point in time she came from - but yes, she dies eventually.

[She narrows her eyes a little bit — not in anger, but because she caught that flinch and she knows...there's something. Sophie would know what the something was, and she doesn't. All she knows is that something she said did something, and something about the person they're going to get is what's making Ishimaru upset.]

But she's why you've been all fidgety. [She tips a glance toward Mondo.] And why you keep disappearing and coming home with bruises.

[She says it like a statement, but there is a question in there.]

[Mondo glances at Ishimaru for a moment before returning his gaze to Alice, quickly taking that question before Ishimaru has to worry about it. It's much easier to talk about how hard he's pushing himself than to deal with Ishimaru's murder.]

Yeah. She said some pretty nasty shit to me over the network. I'd rather keep an eye on her than let her wander around on her own though, y'know? She's one of us, even if she is a-- well, that's not important.

[It's not very nice to call women bitches after all. Even if Celes totally is one.]

I needed to get some of that anger out, so yeah, I've been training a little harder than I probably should be.

[Thank you, Mondo, for giving him something to work with.]

Celes-kun has a way of saying things that isn't always very kind or comfortable; we aren't fond of her, that's all, but I don't want anything to happen to her - she didn't deserve to be in that situation, either! She's one of ours, and I want to make sure she's all right, just like the others.

Friends close, enemies closer.

[She nods a little, then fixes her eyes on Ishimaru.]

She said something nasty to you, too, right?

[Ishimaru can feel himself freeze up a little at that; he shakes his head eventually, determined to power through it.]

Not...nasty, exactly, just unappreciated.

[Mondo is quick to jump in, trying to force the conversation back to the original topic.]

Point is, she's one of us and we wanna make sure she's safe here. 'Sides, she's not the sort to travel on the routes at all, so we've kinda gotta look out for her.

So she's a bitch but she's our bitch.

[And there's Parker, saying it so everybody else doesn't have to.]

...Okay.

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