closed ❀ nekodamashi-hen divergence

[miirai]

[...to be honest, Furude Rika -

- if she can even be allowed to call herself that anymore, really -

her heart has basically... been torn to shreds to the point where she just wants to give up. If she can just get thrown back into Showa 58 - to 1983 - at any given moment, then what's the point?

Is it just her fate to experience these loops, over and over...?

That no matter what happens, she can't reach that happy ending?

Even in a world that was meant to be a perfect one, she died. That's why she suggested the game of hide and seek. Nobody would find her here, in the saiguden. It's a game of life and death. If even one of them finds her, then she'll reconsider. But if they don't...

...

It's not their fault.

She doesn't blame them in the slightest bit. But if they have to get hurt in each and every Fragment because of her - isn't it obvious what her choice should be?

Shouldn't she leave the stage early?

......It hurts so much, to make a choice like this. That is why she'll wait, and bide her time.

Because there's still a fragment of her that wants to still hope, in spite of her heart basically buckling under.

Come and find me, if you can, she thinks to herself, her eyes wet with tears, her voice breaking into hollow, broken laughter, alone. Because that what she truly is... right...?]

Comments

[keichan]

That's right. I'll need to come up with a good punishment, won't I? I think this might be my first one...

[ He strokes his chin thoughtfully, smiling to himself. ]

Ah, everyone's still looking hard for you. I wonder if I can surprise them.

[miirai]

[Keiichi, what are you thinking...]

Surprise them? How exactly do you mean?

[keichan]

Everyone's looking hard for you, Rika-chan. So, they might not notice if you were to sneak up on them and find them first.

[ He gives her a warm but very conspiratorial smile. She's the club's tanuki, after all. He's sure she can think of some fun ways to startle them with him... and she might even get to take her mind off of her troubles, at least for a few minutes. ]

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[miirai]

Fu...

[Give her a moment.]

Fufufu... I didn't expect something like that from you, Keiichi. I suppose that makes you my partner in crime, doesn't it?

[This is leading to terrible, terrible things.]

[miirai]

I wouldn't mind doing that at all. Nipah~☆

[Rika beams, a little confidence sliding back into her expression and voice.]

Are you going to distract them, Keiichi?

[keichan]

[ Ah, he gets chills hearing her sign on to his plan. He's completely willing to be lenient with Rika even on a normal day, but now, she's just earned herself the most trivial of punishments ever. ]

Of course! I think Satoko is looking for you at the shrine. Think you can sneak by her if I provide a distraction?

[miirai]

I know all the good sneaky hiding places at the shrine, Keiichi. Satoko definitely won't be able to find me. Nihahaha. ☆

[That is something that she has full confidence in, at the very least.]

[keichan]

Great! Then I think it's time Satoko fell into a little trap of our own, Rika-chan. ☆

[ He gets up, dusting off his legs, and goes to look out the storage shed door. Nobody is around, so they should be able to make the short trek to the shrine without raising any suspicion. ]

Alright, the coast is clear. Are you ready?

[miirai]

Mii. I'm ready, Keiichi. Good luck.

[And thankfully she knows her way around the shrine to find all the sneaky areas so that she can hide and watch where Satoko is, still searching for Rika and clearly not having fun.]

[keichan]

[ Alright, there's Satoko, right where he thought she'd be. Keiichi hasn't been noticed yet, but it doesn't matter if she sees him. It's Rika who is going to be part of the surprise.

He looks around for something he can use to his advantage to get Satoko's attention. Ah, wait... there are the steps leading up to the shrine. Those give him an idea...

He picks up a loose rock and tosses it up a couple of steps. It makes some noise as it rolls down, and Keiichi immediately plants himself on the ground, making it look like he fell and holding his knee as if he skinned it. ]

Yeowwwww!

[ Hear that, Satoko? That was clearly Keiichi falling down the shrine steps. ]

[moepcs]

[...That's a familiar voice. Or rather, a scream, which makes Satoko herself immediately rush over to where Keiichi is, trying not to show much concern in spite of herself.] Keiichi-san? What exactly are you doing? Don't you know that you should be more careful around the steps?

[keichan]

S-Sorry, Satoko... I slipped and fell...

[ He rubs his knee, which is now nice and red from him rubbing it, and stands up, looking a little shaky. He rises a step up the stairs to join her, then very purposefully stumbles, catching himself with his hands. ]

Ow! I think I twisted my knee or something...

[moepcs]

[Satoko sighs a little bit, shaking her head in exasperation.] Geez... shall we head to the clinic, then? It is not too far from here.

[keichan]

It's fine, really. I just need to sit down for a while.

[ He sits down on the steps, clearly favoring one leg. ]

Besides, I'd really like to find Rika-chan first. Have you had any luck?

[moepcs]

My! I know we are all most certainly worried about Rika, but she would be quite upset if you continued to get hurt trying to look for her like that. [There's a bit of a small huff -- Rika is still hiding in the background, but she doesn't think that it's her chance to surprise Satoko just yet.] ... Unfortunately, to answer your question, Keiichi-san, I have not. But it looks like you haven't found her either. I suppose it can't be helped, though. You're still new, and Rika chose the whole village to hide in.

[keichan]

Yeah, I guess I still don't know all the places where she could be hiding.

[ He rubs the back of his head, playing dumb for now. He wipes some of the dirt from his knee, which he put there himself of course, and smiles at Satoko sincerely. ]

But Rika-chan really means a lot to everyone, so of course they're looking their hardest. I'm sure we'll find her soon. She's really special to you, isn't she, Satoko?

[ Is he saying that so that Rika can hear him? Maybe. And he might be trying to get Satoko to say something nice about Rika, too. ]

[moepcs]

Naturally! Rika is my most important friend, after all. We've been living together for quite some time, naturally. She is much more important to me than anyone else. [This is not to say that her other friends are unimportant, though.] Anyway, if she is not here, I should probably be searching elsewhere.

[keichan]

I'm not going to give up on Rika-chan, either! If we don't find her, then we'll have let her down, and that's just not acceptable! Where else do you think she could be?

[ Now he's trying to make Rika's opening for her. Hopefully, she heard that bit Satoko said about her being more important to her than anyone else.

He'll need to give Satoko a headpat for that one later. ]

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[moepcs]

I wouldn't want to let Rika down like that... especially since I want to be the one to win. [Too bad Keiichi's already won, though.] Well, I suppose we haven't checked the clinic.

[miirai]

-- Boo!

[Rika rushes to hug Satoko from behind, from which Satoko gasps in surprise before frowning.]

"Rika?! Whatever was that for? Weren't you supposed to be hiding?"

Nihaha. Keiichi already found me a while ago.

"What?! Keiichi-san..."

[keichan]

Haha... sorry, Satoko. I couldn't resist the chance to surprise you all. Since Rika-chan did such a good job hiding, I figured we'd have a little bit of fun with everyone who lost.

[ He reaches out a hand to pat Satoko, then reaches behind her and pats Rika, too. ]

But that means you get to join in on our next victim. Rena should still be at the trash heap, right?

[miirai]

It's everyone's punishment game. Although Keiichi might come up with an even worse one as the winner later. Nipah~☆

"Rika..."

[There's a little frown of worry on Satoko's expression for a moment there before it breaks into a relaxed smile.]

"You seem to be doing quite better now, so I suppose I shouldn't be too mad. But if there is another victim to be found... I'll be there! Ohoho. It's quite unfortunate that I didn't find Rika first, but I'll have to concede here. But if there is anything that you need help with, Keiichi-san, I suppose I don't mind."

[#helping]

[keichan]

[ Rika definitely looks more like herself now, and that comes as a relief to Keiichi. She seems to be taking what he said to heart... and maybe hearing Satoko talk about how special she was to her lifted her spirits somewhat. ]

Right. [ He smiles at both of them, a smile that's full of warmth as well as mischief. ] Rena will probably be looking really hard at the junkyard. Rika-chan, Satoko... how do you think we should distract her?

[ He strokes his chin thoughtfully, contemplating the possibilities. ]

[miirai]

"Ohohoho~ A way to distract Rena-san, hm? It's too bad I don't have any traps set up over there, but I suppose we have to make do with what we got. Wouldn't the easiest way to distract Rena-san be with something cute?"

[Rika agrees, but considering the company she's got and their plan--]

Keiichi. I think you should use your super power to fluster Rena.

[RIKA YOU ARE AWFUL AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD]

[keichan]

[ He nods in agreement at Satoko's assessment. Something cute would easily hold Rena's attention, but that could be a double-edged sword. She might grab it, run off, and forget all about Rika.

And what he wants to do is make sure Rika hears Rena talking about how important she is to their club... to her personally. ]

My superpower, huh? I think I have an idea what you're saying, Rika-chan. But if you have something specific in mind, I'm listening.

[ He can think of one thing in his pocket that, while a little embarrassing to show off, might make Rena swoon. ]