Boom Boom Boom Boomba

[freshprints]

Who: Kyouko Kirigiri (freshprints) and Kiyotaka Ishimaru (ardent)
Where: The Violet City Pokemon Center!
When: August 29
Summary: In which two super solvin' teenage crimebusters attempt to figure out what a Moomba is. Now contains SPOILERS for Dangan Ronpa.
Rating: G
Log:

[There is a Moomba in her PC.

That's the gist of the situation that Kirigiri's in right now, but while it's certainly the most significant detail of her current circumstances, it's also of course far from the only one. Some of those others include things like the fact that she's standing in the Violet City Pokemon Center at the moment — having finally made it to the city where her friends classmates friends have been waiting for her — or the fact that it's a rather nice day outside (albeit hot), or the fact that the tied-off end of her braid is brushing lightly against her leg as she unconsciously leans forward to examine this strange phenomenon she's been presented with. There's the chatter of the surrounding NPCs and other trainers filling the air, and the white noise of it all is doing its part to drown out the exhausting repetitiveness of the background music, which is assuredly appreciated by now. There's the faint beeping of machines, the clicking and clattering of shoes on flooring, and she is aware of all these things but it's not stopping her from fixating on the enigma that is the PC screen in front of her.

Or rather, the contents of her box that the PC screen is so helpfully indicating.

You see, it seems there is a Moomba in her PC. She is reasonably certain she did not put it there. She is likewise reasonably certain she has no idea what a Moomba is. Her PokeDex has been surprisingly unhelpful; presumably a Moomba would fall neatly between Monferno and Mothim, alphabetically speaking, and yet there is no sign of such a creature in the Dex at all.

Yet here in front of her, the PC is indicating that there is a Moomba inside.

She does not know what a Moomba is.

She does not know how it got there.

And therefore, this assuredly is a mystery, all right.

(Realistically speaking, it's one she might well stand there contemplating all day, should a timely intervention not arrive.) ]

Comments

[freshprints]

[She sees the name and quickly comprehends what it signifies, but as she's carefully advancing on Moomba and subjecting herself to his happy nuzzling and inadvertent facefuls of neck floof, that leaves questions open to ponder.]

I never spoke with him. Why would he leave one of his Pokemon to me?

[ardent]

[Hmmm.]

Isn't it possible that it wasn't intentionally left? After all, if they're all kept in the same system, perhaps it just redistributes some at random.

[freshprints]

That would explain where Togami-kun got his horse, despite having no real connections of his own to warrant it.

[Pet pet scritch scratch she is basically drowning in fur right now, okay.]

I wonder if Fujisaki...-san would be able to determine if that's true. If so, that knowledge might prove beneficial someday.

[ardent]

[Well, yes, but that means that the Moomba likes you. c:]

Well, it would be worth asking even if it doesn't turn out to be useful otherwise, simply because it would cut down on potential confusion!

[He hesitates for a moment once that's out there, though.]

For future reference, though, I had a discussion with Fujisaki-kun. Regarding, ah...secrets. So I know about. That.

[...well, while he still seems to be of the thought that tact is hard and no one understands, at least he's trying, and he seems to comprehend that it's likely not something that should be shrieked about in public.]

[freshprints]

[...Of course you know about it, you were there when she— oh, wait, timeline fuckery. Hmm. Maybe you're not there yet, after all. Okay, time to mentally regroup.]

I spoke with Asahina-san about it. I'm told there's a standing agreement with regard to Fujisaki-san — namely, that whatever Fujisaki-san feels is best is how we should...conduct ourselves. And Fujisaki-san is content with being Fujisaki-san for the moment, so that's what we're agreed upon as well.

[ardent]

[No, he isn't, and as such he's been kind of confused and needing to be filled in on a lot - at the same time, it's better that he's just mildly inconvenient as opposed to catatonic. Or, y'know. Ishida.]

Understood. I haven't spoken to Fujisaki-kun about it since; from what I've been told -

[...okay hang on how are we handling this, because 'he' is awkward given the conversation and 'they' isn't right either but at the same time neither is - ]

...she has spoken to my brother about it as well. For either of us to know, it was necessary for Fujisaki-kun to do that; neither of us have experienced the second trial, nor have we experienced what led to it.

[freshprints]

I see.

[Moomba, now fairly content with the steady stream of love and attention he's receiving, is obligingly all up in her business now, which means pretty much Kirigiri's whole arms are buried in fur, and there are little flashes of her visible from behind the mounds and tufts of orange-white dog.]

It's a fairly dispersed spectrum, among us. Kuwata-kun would be the earliest, I presume, though I haven't spoken with him myself to confirm that. You and Oowada-kun are from prior to the second trial; Fujisaki-san is from after that incident, I think. Naegi-kun is from further along but not as far as Togami-kun, Hakagure-kun, Asahina-san, and I.

[A pause. She's been avoiding this one, and for good reason.]

And Celes-san doesn't remember the third class trial.

[ardent]

[...ah. Ishimaru twitches a bit at that, more than slightly uncomfortable with the topic change; he steps forward, reaching out to join in the Moomba-petting just to give himself something to do with his hands.]

...I know. Celes-kun is in Violet City now; my brother and I were the ones to bring her here.

[freshprints]

Why did you do that?

[It's flat, but not...precisely accusatory. There's nothing to accuse Ishimaru of, really; he's welcome to do what he wants and to make his own choices, even with regard to topics like Celes. It's not her job to dictate what his feelings on that should be.

She just wants to know why, because it's an answer she'd have difficulty arriving at herself, and when it comes to Ishimaru's motives at times, sometimes it's better to just ask than to try to reason them out for yourself.]

[ardent]

It was due to the circumstances - namely, where she showed up.

[He hesitates for a moment after that, continuing to mess with Moomba's fur while he thinks.]

...I also wanted to speak to her alone, away from the others. Personal reasons, I guess.

[freshprints]

Because she's a member of Team Rocket.

[At least she has the decency to say it quietly, so we're not just bellowing that particular secret all over the streets of Violet City.]

And you knew that's what it meant, where she arrived.

[ardent]

I did, yes.

[freshprints]

How many of our classmates know?

[I.E. is this yet another secret we're keeping now, or...]

[ardent]

All but Togami-kun, Hagakure-kun and Kuwata-kun know about me. My brother also knows about Celes-kun; I haven't told the others anything regarding her.

[freshprints]

...If they find out, it'll be at your discretion.

[Which is to say, it won't be coming from her. Assuming he can read between the lines enough to pick up on that.]

[ardent]

[Don't worry, he can.]

...Consider it appreciated, Kirigiri-kun.

[freshprints]

I won't say the same for Celes-san. But provided exposing her never becomes a necessity, that's not something I intend to concern myself with, either.

[ardent]

That's how I intend to handle it as well.

[...]

We discussed the...incident; there isn't any animosity between us, and I would prefer it not be held over her head.

[freshprints]

It's not out of concern for you that I might hold that incident against her, Ishimaru-kun.

[Blunt as always, Kirigiri.]

You and Yamada-kun were her successful victims, but you weren't her only intended ones.

[ardent]

I understand that. However, from your current point on the timeline, you know how it ends - she's punished to the fullest extent that a human being can be.

[freshprints]

I don't want to see her punished further for that incident. I want to be sure that her capacity to commit subsequent ones has been mitigated.

[ardent]

She has no reason to commit such crimes here in the first place - her actions were situational, not personal!

[freshprints]

She sold us out for money, Ishimaru-kun. She would've seen all of us dead for money. Escape from the school was a factor, undoubtedly, but the riches were the incentive she needed to act. Did someone tell you that part?

[Her mouth flattens into a terse line, just for a moment.]

To consider the circumstances she's in now — the same as myself and Togami-kun and the others, with so few resources at our disposal — you don't think that's a choice she might be willing to make again, for the right price?

[ardent]

I don't!

[No hesitation whatsoever.]

I was told about the motive, yes, and she all but flat-out told me that much herself when I spoke to her later! But the fact remains that the circumstances here are completely different; surely you can see that!

[freshprints]

It's my obligation to consider the alternatives, Ishimaru-kun. That's my responsibility.

There's no doubt that these circumstances are different from the ones we left. However, having seen what Celes-san is capable of, don't think that I won't be cautious. It's the same for Kuwata-kun, and would be the same for Maizono-san if she were here as well. If it's the thought of mistrusting Celes-san that bothers you, then I'll say that it's the circumstances I mistrust — that I don't want to see them align again in such a way that she might have reason to act that way again.