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Who: The Dangans who happen to be in the area
Where: Goldenrod City
When: October 6th
Summary: Naegi finds out they have a house. Also it's Kirigiri's birthday. General house/birthday shenanigans happen.
Rating: Mondo's mouth is a thing so PG-13?
Log:

[ Needless to say, Naegi didn't expect any of this; who would expect finding a key and a note that indicated that an entire house had been left to Asahina - who wasn't with them anymore. Still, a house is a house and winter is drawing closer with each passing day and it would be nice to stay somewhere that isn't an inn or hotel room. Naegi's not going to look this gift Ponyta in the mouth.

Kirigiri and Naegi are the first to go there, to make sure it isn't some sort of trick or scam before informing the others. It looks nice despite the busted window on the first floor and the...door seems to have been left wide open.

Better start investigating, then. ]

[ Some time later, Naegi's encountered at least twenty-four Eeveelutions, a ton of food and pillows scattered all over the floor and he's concluded that no, it's not a trap. It just hasn't been taken care of and has been ruled by the Eevee Kingdom for some time. So he sends out the following text to the others: ]

Guys, I have good news! Come to the following address when you can, all right? It's the house next to the breeding center so it should be easy to find.

[ Pretend the address is included. :| Shortly afterwards, a second text message is sent out: ]

By the way, it's Kirigiri-san's birthday today.

[ ...Naegi has no idea why he knows this. He's pretty sure she hasn't mentioned it. At any rate, by the time the others get there there will pizza, cake and party hats but not much else because there's only so much you can do when you just remembered her birthday. Here's hoping the Eevees won't eat everything the second you turn around.

Also, floor plans for future reference. ]

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[It's a fairly suspicious thing, this prospect of a gift...house turning up for them out of seemingly nowhere, but fortunately Kirigiri's prior experiences with Johto have been just weird enough that she's not about to automatically write it off as a trick or a veritable impossibility; she's received Pokemon as unprecedented gifts in the PC before, of course, and those were from people she'd never even heard of. This one was from Asahina, which made things at least a bit more plausible, even if she'd never mentioned any mysterious benefactors leaving houses to her before. It was still improbable, but those considerations tipped it into the arena of "just improbable enough to be theoretically possible, and therefore absolutely worth checking out."

Despite the open door and the broken window, which are fairly sketchy, the house seems decent enough; despite being a little overgrown, the yard was obviously once well-kept, and there are clear signs that someone put care and thought into the upkeep of the place. The furniture and accoutrements are all on the nice side of sensible, and there are the usual signs that this really did belong to a group of children about their age — the pool table in the game room, the choice of food in the kitchen cupboards.

The big gaping hole in the upstairs bathroom door.

At the moment she's in the library, surveying the Very Nice Couch™ and the literature on the walls. There are a lot of detective novels, and she finds herself mildly approving of whoever it was that owned this place last.]

[ When Naegi realized that it's her birthday, he quickly excused himself and said he had to go to the Goldenrod department store and buy large quantities of Pokémon food for all the Eevees in the house; after all, they must have been on their own for a while so the sooner they're properly fed the better.

He buys a lot of food for the Pokémon, a cake and two pizzas for what's going to be the most awkwardly thrown together excuse for a party in the history of mankind. He tried, all right, and it's the thought that counts. Finding her a suitable gift takes time, but eventually he settles on something he hopes she will like.

When he returns to find finds Kirigiri in the library, he's carrying a box wrapped in brightly-coloured paper. Time to announce his presence with the most cheerful voice ever. ]

Happy birthday, Kirigiri-san!

[She hears the footsteps coming a few seconds before the voice rings out, so she's not startled by his arrival and return; rather, the advance warning leaves her content to finish up what she's doing, perusing the last few books on the shelf she's examining before beginning to replace the knickknacks she'd cleared aside to allow for a better look at them.

The remark on her birthday, however, does give her a start — not because it's not her birthday, of course, because it is, but she's certain she didn't tell anyone, and yet somehow...could he have guessed? — and she whirls, surprised, just in time to see —

Naegi-kun.

Cheerful paper.

A box.

His saving grace is that it's not nearly as big of a box as it could be (as she remembers), but all notions of rationality aside, a cacophony of memories hit her like a fire truck —

Try not to scream when you look in there, Naegi-kun.

Is she staring?

She doesn't even know if she's staring. Or if she's standing there looking like a deer in the headlights. Or much of anything, really.

She's a little preoccupied trying to fight down the inability to breathe with the plain and simple fact that there couldn't possibly be a skeleton in that box.]

[ Is Kirigiri staring?

Is Kirigiri staring at him like he grew a second head and a new set of arms?

What the gently caress is going on here. ]

...Kirigiri-san?

[ He's utterly clueless because he has no idea that glossy gift wrap with cyan and yellow dots could possibly cause any sort of distress or unpleasant feelings. So he just stands there, holding out the gift for her to take. ]

[If she were in a clearer state of mind right now, she'd probably have the presence of mind to remind herself of a few things, such as: Naegi-kun is from before they went into the Headmaster's secret room; Naegi-kun couldn't possibly know what was in there; Naegi-kun is not the mastermind; Naegi-kun is too much of a kind-hearted soul (and an open book) to ever gun to traumatize someone. These are all things she knows, rationally. They're all things that would steady her.

Unfortunately, none of them are really occurring to her because she's a bit preoccupied with shoving back against the rising horror of memories threatening to choke her, so all her presence of mind and self-control is already accounted for — holding steady, standing firm against her out-of-control emotions as she tries frantically (and silently) to lock them down.

She's always had remarkable levels of control; it's what ends up saving her now. She can't get that look off of her face and she can't take her eyes off the box she's being offered, but she can keep herself in one place and she can keep breathing and she can swallow back the urge to scream, herself.

Stop it, Kyouko. Get hold of yourself. Stop it!

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it.

In. Out.

There's nothing wrong. He doesn't know. There's nothing wrong.

Her arms feel heavy and tingling, like they've gone to sleep and are starting to wake up again, cold beneath her sleeves and prickling with pins and needles.

Pull yourself together!

Breathe.]

What is it?

[It's not, perhaps, the most intelligent thing she's ever said. But it's words, verbalized, and that's an admirable start, if nothing else.]

[Togami had not been window shopping at the Department Store. That would be absurd and ridiculous for a man of his good breeding to even enter a place so plebeian as a Department Store.

...But they had quite the impressive collection of TMs, and even if he was in the frugal stage of not spending anything more than he had to (even with the extra funds from his venture at the Azalea gym), if he was going to become a true contender he couldn't just rely on the moves that his pokemon learned naturally.

Then he got the text from Naegi, and while the factoid about Kirigiri's birthday wasn't particularly interesting, well. He was already in the department store, it wasn't like it was that big of an inconvenience for him to pick up something for her before heading to this alleged safe house.

Checking the address a second time, Sho at his side and The Complete Works of Nuzleaf Holmes (wrapped in simple lavender paper and tied with a black, curled ribbon - done at the department store) under his arm, he tried the door and opened it, rolling his eyes at Naegi having left it unlocked.

Stacked on top of each other, it would only take six Eevees to almost equal Togami's height.

He was not expecting twenty-four Eevees and their evolutions to stampede him upon entry, and he can only keep his balance wading through them for a few seconds before he topples with an indignant squawk and is buried under the fluffy horde of yipping fox-things. No amount of tsun-ing at them will deter them. They are determined little fluffballs.]

[ What on Arceus's green earth is even going on here anymore. Naegi heard the door opening and he leaves the kitchen just in time for...this. Twenty-four fluffballs are climbing on top of Togami and burying him in what can accurately be described as a giant ball of fluff; or perhaps a multi-coloured giant ball of fluff if we want to break out the adjectives to describe the different evolutions.

...At least it's only twenty-four. Naegi's pretty sure there are a few more somewhere in the house, but a headcount will be done later. ]

Togami-kun? Do you need help?

[And as per usual, here's Kirigiri being the most helpful person ever by standing quietly a short distance away and watching in silence as her classmate gets mauled by a stampede of adorable fuzzy things.

Happy Birthday, indeed.]

Persistent, aren't they?

[By this point, Sho is growling and holding one of the struggling Eevees by its waist, but given that she's only 8 inches taller than an Eevee, she isn't very effective at actually helping her trainer.]

Naegi, where did all these things come from?

[AUGH THEY'RE GIVING HIM KISSES THE INHUMANITY

He manages to get his head above Eevee-level, and braces himself to resist the assault of the bouncing fluffballs trying to continue bathing his face.]

Persistent isn't the word for it.

It looks like they've been in this house for quite some time. They must be glad to see humans again.

[STILL NOT HELPING, THOUGH. #schadenfreude.]

Did they give you or Naegi this treatme-- Get down!

[Sho bares her clawed paws, no longer messing around with the furry abominations.]

Wait, Sho. I can handle this.

[He picks up the Eevee currently climbing his chest by the scruff and gets to his feet, little fluff creature dangling limply from his grip. The Eevees and their evolutions go silent and stare up at him with big sad puppy dog eyes.

It's not very effective.

He sets the Eevee in his hand down among them and issues the stern order to "Sit!". Twenty-four butts hit the ground.]

I wouldn't suggest trying that with the Espeon that's been lurking around. She kicked one of them in the head and carried on her way without a second thought; I think that one's the ringleader.

[She surveys Togami and his momentarily-obedient fluff army.]

They seem to have claimed one of the bedrooms as their own. The bed is covered in hair.

If she stays out of my way, I will stay out of hers.

[Now that he's not buried under the swarm of Eevees, he looks upon their expectant faces with a condescending curiosity.

His hair is severely mussed and his suit is rumpled and covered in hair. He straightens his glasses.]

They've clearly been lacking in discipline in the absence of their original trainer. Have you determined who they belonged to?

I found the previous owner's diary. He wrote terrible poetry, but his finances and records of general upkeep were kept in meticulous order. At one point there were approximately ten people living here; over the years, they all ultimately left him, and he spent a great deal of his time alone.

[She shifts her weight slightly, absently folding her arms over her chest as she recites.]

As a consequence of the length of his stay and his lack of companionship, he also ended up becoming breathtakingly wealthy. He left behind an account with an established payment plan and directions on how to execute it; at the current rate and the apparent sum in the account, this house's rent has been paid off for the next four and a half years.

[You had his attention at 'finances' because secretly he is a big dumb nerd who loves things like account books and budgets.

Also because money.]

Have you examined the house for things which may have fallen into disrepair in the owner's absence? It's of no use to us how long the house is effectively paid off, if a strong breeze or winter snow will render it inhospitable.

It's a good thing we discovered it when we did, so that we can do maintenance before it gets too cold.

I'll need to take my own look at these accounting books.

There's at least one broken window and the interior of a few of the rooms are a mess, but it looks as though that's recent and superficial damage, probably caused by the animals. The coat of paint on the house is fresh — less than a year old — and aside from the man-eating plant in the garden, the yard likewise seems as though it was generally kept in good order. The furnishings are also...surprisingly nice. The previous resident had expensive taste.

They were already in the house when Kirigiri-san and I got here, so I guess they belonged to the person who previously owned this place.

[ He says, bending over to scoop up two of the Eevees in his arms. ]

They've probably been on their own for a while.

Was it just these... [He gestures to the Eevee horde, who wag their tails and follow the sweep of his hand with their eyes.] Or are there others I should be warned about?

That seems like nothing to complain about. Certainly better than our more recent accommodations.

[Sho tugs his pantleg and holds up the lavender-wrapped book that had been dropped in the eevee swarm. Tome though it may be, it's still smaller than a box. Togami refuses to meet Kirigiri's eyes, even though he takes it from his starter and holds it out to her.]

...This is yours, Kirigiri.

Evidently they lack discipline. Sit!

[His tone is commanding and holds no avenue of compromise. Uncertainly, butts wiggling too hard to keep still, the eevees and their evolutions sit and leave him room to sit up and fix his glasses.]

Did they give you the same greeting?

[You know, this is the second time today that someone's shoved a wrapped thing at her, and regardless of the fact that it's not in any way box-sized, that doesn't make it any more comforting. It helps that the setting is different and it's not Naegi there with her — differences that help distinguish, that minimize some of the flashbulb memory — but she's still in no great hurry to take the package, and fixes her eyes on Togami's face instead.]

Why.

[Yes, good job, way to come off like a complete dick about this, Kirigiri.]

[Because he even bought Ishimaru a present for his birthday and you are definitely closer to the very, very exclusive category of "people Togami likes" than he is, Kirigiri.

Because that's what you do on someone's birthday. Because giving someone a book is comparatively harmless, in this place, than is giving them, say, an egg or a TM that is effectively giving them an advantage over you.

Because it was only P600 and Togami wasn't going to be the only one not giving Kirigiri a present. He flushes indignantly at her reaction.]

Because I thought you would like it! If you don't want it, then I'll take it back.

A present. Kirigiri-san, what's wrong?

[ Naegi lowers his arm back to his side, still holding the present. Should he apologize? He thinks he should despite not knowing what to apologize for. He must've done something wrong and whatever it is must've been bad given her reaction; he doesn't need to be a mind reader or have good intuitions to pick up on the fact that things are not okay. ]

I'm sorry. D-did...did I make you upset?

[Put it aside. Shove it to the side. That's the easiest way to cope; don't try to eliminate anything she's feeling, but just deflect it awhile until the time comes when she's alone and she can address it on her own terms. Right now she has to function. Set it aside. Put it away.

That man was already gone from her life, anyway.]

...

[It occurs to her, almost as an afterthought, that her hands are balled into tight fists, and she has to take a minute to consciously unwind them at her sides.]

I'm fine.

[She's clearly not, but the words are like a shield. Something she can take refuge behind.

And gradually, as she thinks about it, something else occurs to her.]

I didn't tell you it was my birthday.

...

[This fucking guy.]

You spoke to Naegi-kun.

[Since when does Togami-kun do random acts of charity, after all.]

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HOUSE EXPLORING SHENANIGANS

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I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE WHEN YOU WALKED IIIIIIIIN

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