slowpoke_gif | (no subject)

[Well, it seems somebody's been told to get to know his classmates a little better; even now that they've been here together for some time, Ishimaru still has no idea how to social. Or how to girls. Or how to social at girls. It doesn't help that one of the girls turned out to be not a girl, and the other girl just kind of gets her social all over him and as such there's not much effort involved in initiating the conversation, it's just...keeping up with it.

BASICALLY GIRLS ARE WEIRD OVERWHELMING ALIENS THAT APPARENTLY SOMETIMES TURN OUT TO NOT EVEN BE GIRLS. And then we wonder why he's a mess.

However, even if he's been informed that Social Is Going To Happen Or So Help Me Ishimaru, that doesn't mean he's going to treat it as some sort of obligation; let's just get our free-time event on and see what comes of it, shall we?]

Kirigiri-kun!

[............................

okay look we have to get the obligatory shouting out of the way before we can do anything it's an unspoken rule and we know how he is with rules

...this is gonna suck.]

[Hey, asshole, isn't it against regulations to be that loud when you're dead—

no seriously

WHAT THE SHIT THO YOU'RE DEAD]

W-What?

[...this is going well already.]

...I-It's good to see you here! I hope you've been well!!

[You better have been well.

...look, the others seemed to take this in stride reasonably well, what is the problem here]

[Okay, SHSL Crimebuster, get your shit under control, here. That is a decidedly dead Ishimaru all up in your business right now. That is also a decidedly dead Ishimaru and not...you know...that other guy. Details, stick to details, details are easy and precise and logical and do not involve contemplating the fact that that is your dead classmate walking around acting like you just walked in to breakfast and as far as you know it's midafternoon sometime.

(Also you've considered the fact that by the way you're outside and also holy shit that sure is the sun but you're rapidly reassessing your conclusions at this point because before you thought you'd arrived at some semblance of explanation but now SHSL Dead Guy is here in front of you so apparently those were inaccurate on the grounds that you're just tripping balls.)

...and you've been staring like a robot all this time while you processed all that, too.

Man, is this ever going well already.]

Where is..."here"?

[Sir, she poked you, you are dead.

Did...

...did no one tell you that you are dead

did you miss that somehow

did you miss the social cue

are you too socially inept to remain dead]

[...Kirigiri, if anyone could conquer death through the power of sheer social failure, it would be this guy. However, that isn't the case! ...Fortunately!

...it's fortunate, right]

Ah...has no one explained this place to you yet? It's all a bit hard to believe, but we've been brought to another world entirely...and while I know it's likely not very comforting to awaken somewhere you're not familiar with, this place seems both real and safe - no one seems to want to kill us here, at least!

[ > Not very comforting
> Awaken somewhere you're not familiar with

HE SAYS, TO THE AMNESIAC

Not that he knows that but still. This is...this is a dead guy giving her a rundown on apparently being brought to another world that despite being described as both "real" and "safe", the first two conclusions she immediately arrives at are either "turns out we're all dead" or "she's in some kind of virtual reality simulation designed to keep her preoccupied and out of the way because she was too much of a threat to the mastermind's goals and had to be removed somehow, possibly through a Matrix-like state of suspended animation".

Facts, Kyouko. Facts. Don't jump to conclusions ahead of the game. Just get the facts. Consider all the possibilities.

All things considered, Ishimaru-kun's probably more than happy to explain what he thinks is going on, anyway.]

No. I've just been looking around on my own.

[...acknowledge him.]

...Ishimaru-kun.

[Look, any accidental insensitivity he may happen to throw at you because you decided to be some sort of mysterious princess instead of a team player is completely and utterly not his fault. This is why we need cooperation and order, Kirigiri. This is why.

...although really, the Matrix idea's a bit silly, don't you think? Who in the world would bother shoving sixteen kids in suspended animation like that?]

I...I see!

Anyway, several of the others are here as well - it seems several of us have been brought here! I'm sure they'd be glad to know you've arrived and that you seem to be all right!

[Yeah, seriously, who in the world would do a thing like that.

Seriously.]

Start from the beginning, please. How much have...you...learned about this place?

[She needs to add your testimony to her evidence bullets, obvs.]

[...Kirigiri-kun here is clearly just going to lineface her way through Johto, isn't she.]

Quite a bit, Kirigiri-kun! I've been here for three months - time seems to work a lot differently here than it does back in the school.

What...

[He falters a little then; judging by her reaction, she wasn't expecting to see him here - he could always assume that she wasn't expecting to see him here, as opposed to not expecting to see him at all, but that's a little optimistic even for him.]

What do you remember happening last? Before you came here.

[He says that like Kirigiri has any sort of range of facial expressions outside of "deducing shit", "smug asshole", and "drywall".]

There are six of us left. The mastermind broke the rules in attempting to execute Naegi-kun for a murder he wasn't responsible for, so we've gained the chance to repeat the school trial — on the condition that we solve all of the school's mysteries while we're at it, not just the murder.

...Asahina-kun is from a point just beyond that - she's named the six of you that are left, and she's told us what happened. As for Naegi-kun, he's just survived that execution attempt.

This place brings us in from different points in time, I think - that's the explanation we've been working with, anyway.

But all from the same timeline. Meaning, despite being dispersed across the spectrum of the narrative, we should all remember the same things; our testimonies should all coincide. Assuming that's the case, then Asahina-san's word should be reliable as evidence, even though none of us can corroborate the specific things she remembers.

[Not that it's most ideal to be Asahina — given the choice, she would've preferred Naegi over the others — but at least it's not, y'know. Togami. Then they'd all have to take into consideration the external motivation of "I did it for the lulz", which is just tiresome.]

Then we succeed? We...leave the school. That would seem to be the inevitable outcome.

Yes - all six of you, Kirigiri-kun. No one else dies, except for the Mastermind.

Did Asahina-san identify the mastermind?

She did, yes - it was Junko Enoshima.

Mm. That lends weight to the veracity of the rest of her statements, then.

[Wh...]

Of course it does!

[Kirigiri-kun why]

It's important to be certain, though, isn't it?

[...Okay, well, maybe not for you.

Being that you're, y'know.

Dead and all.]

Why would Asahina-kun lie about anything like that in the first place?!

There's another explanation besides lying, isn't there?

[And if Naegi were here, this would be her cue to say something like "You know what it is, don't you, Naegi-kun? The other explanation for why Asahina's memories might be inaccurate?"

But he's not, so fuck it, Ishimaru can just guess.]

[...well, he appreciates your not being condescending. Because surely you realize that that is really condescending.]

Something to do with whatever the Mastermind did to us, I'm guessing - that two year period we're missing. She told us about that as well.

[Wow, excuse you, Ishimaru, she is a flawless princess.

The narrative says so.]

But it seems that isn't the case. At least as far as these memories are concerned.

[What the gently caress, Kirigiri-kun.]

...You know I wouldn't tell you any of this if I weren't sure, don't you...

You have no way of knowing it either, Ishimaru-kun. You're dead.

[YOUR CORPSE IS AS STONE-COLD AS KYOUKO KIRIGIRI'S DEMEANOR, TBH.]

[...Kirigiri-kun.

Ishimaru doesn't believe in violence, and he wants to see the best in everyone.

Sometimes he really likes you.

And sometimes, despite having entirely too much self-control to act on it, he sort of wants to hit you with a chair.

Power of deduction time: Which is this?]

And sometimes trusting in others is your only option!