[mostly open!] collecting friendship fragments: balance edition

[gotyourbach]

Who: Kaede Akamatsu (gotyourbach), Kokichi Oma (slieght), Maki Harukawa (erlebnisse), Shuichi Saihara (diffidentive), and YOU!

Where: assorted locations!

When: Within a few days of newbie arrival

What: a Dangan class trial meeting, and Kaede introducing her old friends to her new friends! Please let her introduce her friends

Content Warning: DRV3 spoilers likely in thread A below, others will be marked as needed!


A. Closed to Kokichi, Maki, and Shuichi

[Hardly anyone can be surprised that of all the places on the Moon she could have asked them to meet, it would be the Academy's music room. It's the place she feels the safest, after all! There's even a handwritten note on the door: CLOSED FOR A PRIVATE SESSION ♡♡♡

Kaede sits at the piano bench, because of couse she does, while she waits for the others to arrive. She pulled some chairs down from the stack for everybody to use when they get here, and she brought some safe-for-consumption snacks from Bender's café, just in case. Like the perpetually warm and soft chocolate-chip cookies! Everyone likes those.

After that, she just has to ward off the urge to play piano. It's like, right there. But she'll have time to play piano later! It's fine!]

B. Friendship Fragments - Shuichi (joint prompt with diffidentive)

[Kaede is walking with Shuichi toward the Artificer's office, chatting animatedly about -- something. Music, magic, regaling him with tales about her adventures in the Bureau, always with the most positive spin on it. But when she spots one of her friends, she grabs Shuichi's hand without warning and tugs him toward the new person.]

Hey, hey! Have you met Saihara-kun yet?

C. Friendship Fragments - Kokichi (joint prompt with slieght)

[It's nice that the Whomping Willow isn't so whomping anymore. Kaede remembers when it was literally attacking people on Maru. But it seems friendly enough now! She and a shorter boy are sitting under it, Kaede with some homework that she... hasn't started. She seems to be pouting at Kokichi for something he said until she spots someone she knows, then she's waving frantically, trying to gesture for them to come closer.]

Hey, over here! I have to introduce you to someone!

D. Friendship Fragments - Maki (joint prompt with erlebnisse

[Or, maybe, you've come to get yourself some dinner. Kaede's set up shop at a table with a rather severe-looking girl, and seems to be instructing her on Bender's rather... esoteric methods of making food. There's a dish of melting green tea ice cream in front of her that she seems to have forgetten in her animated explanation, and a few other assorted goodies that Kaede's just gotten in case Maki wants them.

She brightens when she spots a familiar face, though, waving for their attention. Maki tenses up as Kaede calls out, startled and uncomfortable. Her glare is intense, eyeing whoever approaches like she's sizing them up and judging them already.]

Hey, have you gotten to meet Harukawa-san yet? Do you have any recommendations for stuff she can order?

E. Wildcard! OTA [Wanna meet the kids somewhere else? Did we discuss another prompt on plurk? Feel free to use this log as a catch-all for that kind of thing!]

Comments

[erlebnisse]

[Maki looks up, only realizing after Shuichi's clarified that her words might've been taken in a bad light.] Oh. [She blinks, looks at Shuichi, looks at Kaede, and then nods.] Yeah, something like that. It's...comforting.

[Aand here's Kokichi setting out to ruin a good thing. Maki blows out a breath in a huff, a little too aggressive to be a sigh]

The Director's already doing that. [She's thinking of the stupid trial test thing they all went through.] But it's only been a couple days. If Akamatsu has changed, I'm sure we'll see it.

[And it'd be weirder if Kaede hasn't changed at all, so Maki isn't actually expecting her to be 100% the same.]

[gotyourbach]

Oh... thanks, Saihara-kun.

[Kaede gives Shuichi a grateful smile, relaxing a little into her seat. She doesn't know if she'd call it "strength of character" or anything as dramatic as that, but it's still nice to hear! She's giving Maki a smile, too, when Kokichi speaks up, and her smile fades. She's right here, you know!

But she hesitates, trying to figure out how she wants to put her feelings into words. If there were another situation like the Death Road of Despair, would she keep trying to encourage them forward? She knows she would. And while the circumstances might not be exactly the same, she can't say something like that wouldn't come up again in a different form, for different stakes.]

We're not... in that academy anymore, Oma-kun. Things are different now. I can't promise we won't be put in difficult situations, or that we won't have to fight, or that sometimes, things can seem really tough and hopeless, but... I promise I'll listen to you, and I'll try to be more considerate of your feelings. I mean... I know you'll tell me if I'm not, right? [She gives him a smile tinged with a sad kind of wry resignation.] And I'm sure we'll all listen to each other, too.

[She looks around to the other three, hoping for agreement.]

1/2

[slieght]

The Director isn't a friend we'll need to rely on in situations that could get us killed, and that wouldn't excuse Akamatsu-chan either way. Unless we're all suddenly so forgivable for what we did just because Monokuma was pushing us around?

[Who cares what the Director's doing, in his opinion. At the moment, her position is just a nicer Monokuma who asked for permission before dragging him somewhere else. Forcing them into difficult situations is par for the course for her.]

[slieght]

[He replaces the almost bored look on his face pretty quick with a smile as he turns from Maki to Kaede.]

Buuuut okay! If you really promise, then I guess I'll believe you! You'd never lie to us, after all, riiiiight?

[gotyourbach]

...

[She's silent for a long few seconds, hearing her own anxious heartbeat pounding in her ears. She knew not everyone would forgive her for what she did; she still can't truly forgive herself. She killed one of their dear friends and lied to them to try to catch a mastermind who didn't even really exist. What would Akechi say? Or Minato?

Well, Minato would probably just shrug and not say anything at all.

Finally, she answers quietly,] You don't have to say things like that, Oma-kun. I know... I lied to you in the past, but I'm not lying now. I don't expect you to follow me anywhere! But... I'll do my best to support all of you, so you can be the best of friends.

[She still earnestly believes that the three of them can be. She understands why they wouldn't want to be friends with her, a murderer, but surely they can still get along themselves.]

[diffidentive]

[Shuichi glances between Kokichi and Maki. He, on the other hand, is still not convinced that the two of them can be friends, let alone "the best of friends". There's just too much bad blood there.]

[He's silent for a moment, staring into his tea before speaking up in an even softer voice than usual:]

I wouldn't call it...an excuse but...I think both Akamatsu-san and Oma-kun can be forgiven for what they did during the killing game for that exact reason. That situation...was terrible to the extreme. Terrible enough to drive all of us to act in ways we normally wouldn't...to push us to do things we normally wouldn't. [Like murder! Or orchestrating several murders!] Some of us...were driven to more dire extremes than others but I don't think anyone acted in a way that's beyond forgiveness. Save for the mastermind who forced us into that situation in the first place...

[But that's just his two cents.]

[slieght]

[He clearly had a response to Kaede, but falls quiet to let Shuichi talk instead. And rather than say whatever it was he was going to, he stays quiet, gaze falling from the detective to his lap. He doesn't have anything to say to that. He disagrees, he's completely unforgivable. But...he doesn't want to argue. Because he does want to be forgiven...]

[erlebnisse]

I'm not forgiving Oma that easily. [She feels like this doesn't even have to be said. Akamatsu's shenanigans feel like so long ago that it doesn't even matter, but Oma's? His was personal and she was still feeling the raw effects of it. It was easier to brush off many of the others' crimes when they didn't shake her to the core nearly as much as Oma's did.]

Like he said before, he has to earn it.

[Sorry Kaede, Shuichi... The kids are being Unruly.] I'm agreeing to work together, but that's all.

[gotyourbach]

Saihara-kun...

[Kaede's hand goes to her heart as he speaks, a familiar guilt gnawing at her insides. It's the same guilt she's felt every time one of her friends in the Bureau learns the truth about what she did and accepts her as their friend all the same. She doesn't deserve it.

Is that what Kokichi thinks, too...? Is that why he's being so cruel? She can't help but glance to him; she can read between the lines. If Kokichi has to be forgiven for something, does that mean...]

Well... agreeing to work together is a good first step, don't you think?

[She draws her hand away from her heart and pumps a fist, trying to do something about all this tension in the room.]

I can't wait to show you guys around!

[diffidentive]

[Shuichi gives Maki a feeble, but understanding smile. All too plainly, he didn't expect her to forgive him. And he's okay with that. Shuichi is Shuichi and Maki is Maki. Just because he forgives him, doesn't mean she has to.]

Mmm...I think agreeing too cooperate as...peacefully as possible is enough for now. [He glances over at Kokichi, curious to see if he has anything to add or if he's just going to keep staring at his lap.]

[slieght]

[Maki's reaction is about what he was expecting. And he doesn't blame her in the least. But he doesn't keep staring at his lap, instead lifting his head with a smile again, looking towards Kaede and Shuichi.]

It can also just be good enough, y'know? Nobody has to forgive me, so this "for now" and "first step" stuff is silly.

[It's whatever!! He'll work hard to try and earn that forgiveness, but if he never can, then that's fine.]

But I'll work together with everyone as best as I can! This is a co-op game, after all.