Red-letter day, black heart

[divinitea]

Who: Celestia Ludenberg (divinitea) and Kiyotaka Ishimaru (ardent)
Where: Goldenrod City
When: Today.
Summary: Ishimaru has come to collect Celes from Goldenrod City - and to have a bit of a chat with her.
Rating: PG should be fine, but I'll edit if anything goes bad. Spoilers for Dangan Ronpa.
Log:


[It's quite a lovely day to be outside, really.

Well, not quite outside; Celestia isn't about to stand around in the sun, after all. But she's currently found herself standing in the shade in front of the Goldenrod Game Corner, watching the citizens of the city go about their daily lives. It was intriguing, really; having spent so long (or at least, it felt like so long....how long was it really?) locked up with the same group of people, the admittedly ordinary citizens of Johto were practically fascinating to her.

The Pokemon everywhere didn't exactly do anything to help.

She hadn't quite gotten used to the sight of the strange creatures wandering everywhere, and likely wouldn't for a while, but it was admittedly nice to have a pair of her own. Victoria the Gothita tended to literally trip over herself to help her, and Beatrice the Vulpix was so servile that it was almost frightening. Needless to say, they were getting along very well with their new trainer, and would continue to do so if they kept that behaviour up.

Celestia had no time for fools, after all.

As the thought ran through her head, she smiled slightly. No time for fools? What did she define this meeting as, then? For Ishimaru was a fool. He had always been a fool, what with his grandstanding and his dogged devotion to the rules...and his 'brother'.

That had ended well for all parties concerned, hadn't it? Honestly. It was any wonder why she tended to keep people at arms length. Most of them were idiots, and the ones that weren't usually ended up being disappointments. Maybe Ishimaru would finally learn that (although judging by the fact that Oowada and Fujisaki were also in Johto, she strongly doubted it).

Well, it didn't matter. As long as he turned up on time (and she knew he would - he was nothing if not punctual), she didn't really care what he did with himself. There had been one thing about their conversation that had bothered her, however - he knew he was dead, back home. So did that mean he knew....everything?

Hmm. Well, she would soon find out. Not that it mattered, anyway - she hadn't done anything to him. Hopefully he wouldn't be so much of a fool to insist she had.

The clock on her Pokegear ticked over, and almost as soon as it had, a familiar figure strode into view.

Celestia's smile widened.]

Ishimaru-kun.

[This was going to be interesting.]

Right on time.

Comments

[ardent]

[He studies her for a moment before continuing; he's never really been good at reading people, and even after months of improvement he's still not good at it, and he doesn't know what to do with what she's giving him simply because he can't be sure she's giving him anything. Reading into the nuances of things has always been Kirigiri's job.]

Some of the others told me about what happened; a blow to the head, right?

[He twitches a little.]

I was told...several things, actually. About what happened.

[divinitea]

Yes. You died as a result of a blow to your head by a hammer.

[There's no inflection in her voice; it's a report, a statement of fact. He was bludgeoned to death. That's what happened. There's nothing else to be said.

The truth hurts. Why do you think she lies so much?]

What else were you told?

[Since you're obviously so desperate to tell her. Over to the side, Victoria and Beatrice are huddled together, watching their trainer with almost fearful eyes.

That coldness is coming over her again, and it frightens them very much.]

[ardent]

Who killed me.

[He's quiet for a moment, reaching out to grip that railing running the length of the deck; he's shaking a little, but it's controllable, and the cold steel bar beneath his hands helps with that.]

...Don't worry, Celes-kun. I was told enough to know that it wasn't you.

[divinitea]

[......how interesting.]

Do I look worried?

[This conversation may be going the way she thought it was going to go, but that doesn't make it any more pleasant. He knows. He knows. Which means Kirigiri knows. It means the others know.

...

F u c k.]

I know I didn't kill you. What exactly do you want me to say to that?

[Despite her internal frustration, Celes is a master of the poker face, and her expression betrays nothing. Time to see where this little game will go.]

[ardent]

You don't have to say anything.

[He turns his head to look at her then - really look at her, not anywhere above her shoulder, but actually making eye contact.]

If anyone here tries to accuse you of doing anything like that to me, we both know they're wrong. And I'm not going to tolerate it, understood? No one deserves to suffer or take harassment like that, especially not for things they didn't do. So I won't let that happen.

1/2

[divinitea]

[.....that was unexpected. Celes meets Ishimaru's stare unblinking, eyes peering into his, and her face once again betrays nothing. But she's surprised.

...but then again...at the same time...there is something so typical of Ishimaru about all this, and it amuses her.

She can't quite tell just how much he knows - if he's aware that Yamada only killed him because she drove him to it - but she can guess that he must be aware of the fact. Although, it doesn't appear to matter to him.

He really is a fool...but admittedly? An endearing one.]

You needn't worry, Ishimaru-kun...

2/2

[divinitea]

...that makes two of us.

[ardent]

...I believe you. But I won't tolerate out-of-line behavior from either side, if it comes to that.

[If. You get. His drift.]

I wanted to ask you something, though. Based on what you know of the circumstances surrounding what happened, I mean - I was brought here shortly after I received our second motives, so I don't directly know how anything after that went. I know about Ishida and the like, but because I didn't experience it, I thought I would ask someone who did. Is it okay, if I ask you about it?

[divinitea]

[Oh, she understands - she doesn't really respect what he's saying, but she understands why he's saying it.

What are you going to do if she does something you don't like, Hall Monitor-kun; give her a detention?]

I see no problem with it, if you are curious. I should warn you though; it was rather embarrassing to observe.

[ardent]

[Let's put it this way: the police here are very incompetent. They often just assign community service to people who are turned in after breaking their rules.

Community service often involves working in the sewers.

That aside, however, he takes a moment to try to figure out how to word what he wants to ask; he knows better than to try to get her to admit guilt at all. So that's just going to continue this really awkward dance around it, and as Alice would put it, he's never been a grifter. It would be so much easier if he could just ask her without running the risk of her just shutting him out entirely, but she's been agreeable so far (if occasionally so backhanded that even he's noticing it) and he doesn't want to chance her going...weird on him.

So, fine. We'll try this on her terms. Probably badly, but again - bless his heart, he's trying.]

It's just one thing. Then as far as I'm concerned, we never have to discuss this again.

I'm not asking this to imply that you would know for sure and I'm not trying to accuse you of anything - I'm asking because your talent includes being able to read people and situations. That's a part of determining odds, right? Being able to do that?

So based on that skill, and what you personally know about the situation - I want to ask you about what you think caused everything to happen. If you had to assess it, would you say there was some sort of personal reason behind it, or was it more a matter of convenience?

[...Celes, for the love of god he is trying to do this such that you don't have to confess to anything at all

please humor him]

[divinitea]

[.....okay, this is getting a little confusing-]

...Ishimaru-kun...I honestly have no idea why you chose to turn into 'Ishida'. Perhaps I am not the best person to ask, regarding that event.

[No seriously, why are you asking her about Ishida that was weird and very uncomfortable for everyone involved...]

Your language was rather filthy, if that helps. Kuwata-kun would have blushed.

[Not that she's one to talk....]

[ardent]

[...uh.]

...well, I'm pretty sure that was because I went insane, though no one wants to word it like that.

[divinitea]

Oh there's no doubt about that. As I said, it was very embarrassing to watch.

[Well, it was!]

Frankly, I'd much rather you didn't do anything like that again, or I'll be forced to avoid you.

[ardent]

...right.

[look, at least

at least

there was no weirdness involving threatening to punch Yamada in the dick while clad in nothing but an embarrassingly short towel

small blessings, celes-kun

small blessings.]

A-At any rate - that wasn't what I was referring to! I...

[goddamn it Celes hang on]

...I'm aware that Yamada-kun is the one responsible for my death. I also know that Yamada-kun is dead, and there was manipulation of everyone involved by the actual guilty party. I'm referring to the motives of the culprit - not Yamada, but the one responsible for his actions. Would you say they had a personal reason for doing all of that, or was it opportunistic?

[divinitea]

[....well now that you mention it Ishimaru-kun, that certainly would've spiced things up a bit....]

A personal reason...?

[....where are you going with this

how fascinating]

Would it make a difference? Either way, you were still murdered.

[ardent]

Consider it an ethics thing.

1/4

[divinitea]

[wtf is an 'ethics']

Well, if you're sure....

2/4

[divinitea]

.........

3/4

[divinitea]

..........




..........

4/4

[divinitea]

It was absolutely nothing personal, Ishimaru-kun. Of that, I am sure.

[ardent]

[...and for some reason he doesn't even want to begin thinking about right now, that manages to placate him; he realizes, somewhere in there, how backwards that is - wouldn't most prefer to think someone had died because they actually deserved it, rather than it being a matter of convenience? - but for the time being, he's content to be self-centered and take solace in the knowledge that he hadn't legitimately hurt her. He knows that Naegi had said she'd lied about that, but it's different, actually hearing it from her. Granted, she might be lying about it, but even if she is, it's a lie that brings him comfort rather than doubt.

He'll take it for now.]

...Thank you, Celes-kun, it's appreciated. That's something that's been troubling me for quite some time; I'm glad you could clear it up.

Are you wanting to stay a little longer, or are you ready to leave?

[divinitea]

It's no problem, Ishimaru-kun.

[And really, it isn't - if this is enough to get him to drop the subject, she's made the right choice.

Oh, she'll still deny having anything to do with it if anyone accosts her, but there's something oddly satisfying about having Ishimaru placated. She didn't really want to deal with the potential tears, anyway.]

However, I would like you to answer something for me - in exchange. I believe that is fair.

[ardent]

Ah...really?

[Just...give him a moment to think that over, because he is really not sure that he wants to answer whatever might come out of her mouth, but...]

That does seem fair, yes - what is it?

1/2

[divinitea]

Despite arriving from before the second trial, you seem to know quite a bit about what happened afterwards.

[You might

want to brace yourself a bit here, Ishimaru-kun]

...

[divinitea]

After the third trial, am I going to die?