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[gotyourbach]

un: akapassionata

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[napstar]

[ uuUuUuUUUUUUGGggGGGHHHHHHggHHhhh. The downside of being friends with someone so energetic is that they have so much energy that he doesn't. ]

I'd rather not.

[ Let him be lazy!! ]

[gotyourbach]

[She giggles at him. Exercise is probably good for him? She's pretty sure, anyway. That's what her teachers said whenever she had to sit on the bench during P.E. anyway.]

Well... if it starts really becoming a problem, I can cast Sleep on you again. I should probably practice keeping that going anyway, huh? In case we need to knock somebody out for a while.

[napstar]

If you have an instrument.

[ She was really tired after singing for a few hours last time. She doesn't need to wear herself out like that again. Though he imagines playing violin for hours like that would end up hurting his wrist.

Or, they're in a cabin full of bards... ]

Maybe get someone to take shifts with.

[gotyourbach]

If there's a piano, it's definitely no problem. When I was a kid, I used to get so caught up playing piano that I'd forget to eat and sleep...

[It's not the choice of instrument, it's the magical force of will to maintain the spell. She hasn't quite connected the two yet.

She trails off as he continues, mouth falling into a surprised O.]

Yeah, that's a good idea! I'll check with the others and see who else knows that spell!

[napstar]

... May I request neither of the boys?

[ Deku and Bokugo are so damn loud. He can't imagine anything they could play for him would put him to sleep even with magic. ]

[gotyourbach]

Huh? I guess so, but I don't see why...

[She tilts her head with some confusion, then her expression clears.]

Oh! Is it because a girl's voice is a lot nicer to listen to? I think so, too!

[napstar]

[ Sure, why not. ]

Yeah. That's it.

[gotyourbach]

Goro-kun and Komaeda-kun have nice voices, but there's just something sweeter about hearing a girl sing, right? Maybe I should take voice lessons when we get back...

[The last bit is said mostly to herself. Honoka is a real school idol, after all! Kaede will have to work hard to catch up!]

Oh, but I think you have a nice voice too, Arisato-kun, don't feel bad.

[napstar]

It'd suit you.

[ He doesn't know if his own voice is nice, or melodic, or anything a singer requires their voice to be. It works fine though, and that's enough for him. ]

[gotyourbach]

I don't know about that, but it would be pretty fun! I could sing while playing piano. I wonder if that would make a spell twice as powerful...

[She likes to listen to him talk... she just wishes there was, you know. More to listen to!

She picks up the folded poem with one hand, thumb rubbing against the outside again.]

Umm... is it okay if I keep this?

[napstar]

[ That's what chamomile tea is for!

Minato doesn't think it would make the music more powerful but it can't hurt either, right?

He nods at her request. ]

Yeah. It's for you.

[ He wrote it for her. And anyone else that wanted to grill him on how he died, technically, but mostly it was for Kaede. ]

[gotyourbach]

[If they ever get to go back to the moon again, maybe!!

She nods and slips the poem into her pocket for now. When they get back to the cabin, she'll add it to the memory scrapbook Akechi gave her for her birthday. It's not a happy memory, but it is something she wants to keep with her, no matter what.

Then she turns and wraps her arms around him in a hug, closing her eyes and resting her chin on his shoulder.]

Thank you... for listening to me. And... for explaining everything to me, too.

[napstar]

[ She can hug him for as long as she wants. He doesn't fuss about it. ]

... Is there... anything you want to know about me?

[ It seems fair to share something about himself, and he thinks she would like that, but he doesn't know what would be most interesting to her. He isn't a musical prodigy like she is. He hasn't murdered a person either, though he's sure that's more circumstantial than anything. ]

[gotyourbach]

[She laughs quietly, keeping her arms wrapped around him a little longer before drawing back. She doesn't go far, though, kneeling in the grass across from him so she can get a better look at his face than she could when she was sitting beside him.]

I said it before, didn't I...? I want to know all kinds of things about you. And... if you want to know anything about me, I don't... have anything else to keep secret.

[But hmm, a question. The most important one to her, even more important than knowing about Orpheus or SEES or any of that,] Well... why did you start playing violin?

[napstar]

[ This will probably disappoint her, but... ]

School club had a bunch of violins.

[ The ones available for free weren't in great shape, but it's not like he had parents that could buy him one. ]

People expected me to take a club... It was something to do.

[gotyourbach]

I see... that makes sense! When we met, you knew how to play, but not a lot about composers.

[She doesn't look disappointed! She just nods as if she's making a mental note, filling in a piece of the puzzle called Minato.]

It's different for me... I was pretty lucky, 'cause I've been playing the piano for, well, as long as I can remember! But... even though I love it, sometimes it's like... I wonder what kind of friends I could have made if I got to do normal clubs and stuff. I was always just the Piano Freak in school.

I wonder if we could have been friends back home?

[napstar]

[ That's why she's a prodigy and he just has a skill called Prodigy. And he was friends with a lot of different kinds of people, so he could easily imagine being friends with Kaede. ]

Probably.

[ Well... ]

Especially in the past year.

[gotyourbach]

[She hums, gaze drifting away from him for a moment as she tries to think about her time at school. She hasn't really thought about school in a while. Trying to think too much about stuff that happened before the killing game gives her a headache.

So she's grateful when Minato continues, pulling her out of her thoughts as she tilts her head with clear curiosity.]

What happened in the past year?

[napstar]

I put effort into making friends.

[ Because he got cool powers that relied on it... Yeah, that was his motivation. But over time he found he liked being with people. Mostly. ]

[gotyourbach]

But not before that...?

[Her brows furrow a little, a small, concerned frown curving her lips.]

Weren't you lonely?

[napstar]

[ Minato shrugs. ]

Sometimes. But it was better than dealing with people.

[gotyourbach]

[She hums again, not convinced. Even if people can be easy to misunderstand, or sometimes even mean, they're still good at heart! She has to believe that for everyone she meets.

But also...]

Ummm... I don't know if that means I should hang out with you more or less, you know! I don't want you to feel lonely, but I don't want you to get tired of me, either.

[napstar]

I'm not as bad now.

[ He's changed a bunch! Just. Not in the talking out loud part. ]

I've... learned to care.

[gotyourbach]

[Kaede opens her mouth. Closes it.

That's not usually something someone has to learn how to do, she's pretty sure?!]

Oh... that's good? [she says with more than a little uncertainty. She doesn't really know what to say to that, after all.

Time for a subject change!]

Oh, I have another question! [She holds up one finger.] What are your hobbies? If you didn't have a lot of friends, you must have had a lot of time to yourself, right?

[That's... really not the nicest way to put it, but she's just trying to get as far away from the concept of having to learn to care as quickly as she can.]

[napstar]

Whatever the caretakers wanted from me, mostly. Staying out of everyone's way... Sleeping... [ wow what an invigorating list ]

....I like music?