babermetrics | IC OVERFLOW AND MISC.

. . . Is it a good surprise?

[This is the problem with surprises! He only wants them if they're good! Though his curiosity has the better of him now anyway—still, it'd be ideal if it were a good surprise!

He laughs it off, waving his hand.]

I definitely wanna hear it if it is!

[She throws in a playful wink, but she's not verbally responding.]

Someday, okay? [She taps a finger to her chin.] You'll help me look for the others, won't you? I think you might like them.

'Course I will! They're not gonna get all defensive of you on me, right?

[But he's just kidding, and winks right back, heading down the hallway again—slowly, not exactly leading the way here. He's still not the navigator of this little party. But what would his Persona-thing be like, he can't help but wonder . . . ]

C'mon, we'll find 'em in no time if you can do all that!

I think you and Yosuke-senpai will have more in common than you think. [That is to say that Yosuke kind of acted like an idiot around her at first too before they actually became friends. It's still endearing and it's still fun to flirt with him, too. She follows along, already having a sense of where to go and she'll only summon Kanzeon when needed. They have a hallway and a few turns ahead that she can go solo.

It gives her enough time to turn her head to face him again.]

So...baseball? [Yeah, we're going back to that.]

[Oh man, he thought he'd gotten away with it! Whoops. It could be a lot worse than talking baseball shop, but he's still a bit embarrassed, laughing and rubbing the back of his neck.]

Yeah . . . I-I mean, I don't play anymore! I totally quit! But that was my talent, y'know? That's how I got into Hope's Peak in the first place! I was the best there was in Japan. If I'd stuck with it, I probably would've gone to America after school and raked in millions.

[If he'd lived to see that, along with not having turned his back on it before all that went down.]

Really? [It's not so much the fact that it's baseball that she's impressed by but more the notion that he was the best. She has to wonder what kind of school Hope's Peak was that it had that much talent, and yet killed its students.] But you quit because you wanted to start your band, huh?

[Yup. She sure does listen to him.] What changed?

Heh, you remembered!

[It's such a little thing, she remembers! she listened! but it means a lot to him; he can feel his cheeks flush pleasantly and his heart rate pick up just a little. She'd paid attention. Does that make him easy? Who cares? Everyone likes to be listened to, right?

These topics aren't easy for him to talk about anymore—even though he once spouted off about them at anyone who would listen, or even people who weren't—but she makes it easier. It's always easier with Rise. So despite everything, he's pretty much at ease, and grins over at her with obvious appreciation. Thanks.]

It's just, baseball's what I'm good at, yeah, but . . . it just ain't me! It's not my style! I'm not just some sweaty jock, right? Can you even imagine me standing out there on the pitcher's mound in some boring uniform with my head shaved, throwing balls at other sweaty dudes?

[Ha! Ridiculous! How silly!

And yet he keeps going, and the longer he talks, the more some fondness creeps into his tone:]

Not that they could ever hit them anyway. Not like I could hit theirs! Then they'd make me run the bases anyway even though it was just another homerun, like, what's the point when you send the ball flying out o' the park like that? There is no point! It's totally pointless! And it's always all hot out there in the summer, and your feet send up dust in your eyes, so you can't even see the whole stadium cheering for you . . .

[He's still smiling.]

Heh . . . so uncool.

[Wait, he was supposed to be complaining! That was definitely complaining! Right?! That was all one big complaint!]

[The look she gives him in return is enough to imply "I always listen" even if she rolls right over it. She's more than happy to listen to him, let him talk as they make their way through the first part of the castle.]

Your hair looks too good to imagine you with a shaved head. [It's just a brief comment before she allows him to continue, becoming less and less convinced that he's really that over it. Instead, she's content to hold his hand and let him talk even when he finally slows down. She still doesn't quite know enough about how baseball feels, but she kinda gets it.]

...but I don't know. It kind of sounds like fun? Being part of a team and having people cheer for you and people counting on you to be the best. Even if the lights--the sun is really hot and you can't see it, you hear it and you feel it more than anything.

But if you really think it's that uncool...

. . . I dunno, you think it's cool? Cooler than being a musician?

[She's not wrong about any of those things, and it gets to him a little—like he needed more getting to. Actually, baseball as a whole gets to him these days. He doesn't like to admit how much he misses it, but it's always somewhere in the back of his head. Hence little displays like earlier's ballway session . . .

But admitting that to someone else? Ah, it's her, though! And she's even being encouraging! She wouldn't be tricking him, right?

Damn, he's so easy. He can already feel himself crumpling.]

I—you don't think I'm a dumbass for missing it after I made a whole thing out o' quitting, right??

I don't know. You don't think I'm crazy for having an entire televised press conference announcing that I was quitting my idol career for a while only to come back a year later? [Think about it that way, Leon. Maybe she gets it a little more than she's letting on.]

Besides! I am a musician, remember? I think they're pretty cool but I've always thought it's even cooler when my friends do really different things, too.

Kujikawa . . . anyone ever told you before you always know exactly what to say?

[Heh. That whole press conference thing puts it in perspective a bit, yeah. He's the last person to judge her for it; it's nice not to feel so alone, even if he's still embarrassed.

He reaches over to gently tug the end of a lock of her hair; it's the safest place to touch when they're in this state of undress. (Sure, they full-on hugged earlier, but that was an emotionally charged moment!)]

[She doesn't mind that either, even going as far as to laugh a little instead.]

Maybe once or twice. [There's a wink. Is she serious? Is she not? Who even knows! But there's a genuine sort of fondness in her expression.] I want to be able to connect with people as best as I can. If that means knowing what to say, then...[She trails off.

They've reached the end of their route and there's a fork in the road in the castle.]

You coming with me? [Because if so, she'll need Kanzeon again to figure out where to go next. Rise didn't look much when she initially summoned the Persona.]

'Course I am! You're not getting rid of me now, Kujikawa.

[He winks back at her and takes her hand again to squeeze it. What could he possibly have better to do than spend time with her? And he's trusting her to know the way—but even if she didn't, he'd enjoy the journey.]

That's what you get for connecting with me.

You make it sound like I should regret that. [But she doesn't, not even in the slightest. Instead she's allowing him to squeeze her hand even as she pauses to call forth Kanzeon again, band slipping over her eyes as she scans the castle.]

That's weird. Looks like Yosuke-senpai and Teddie's readings are on the move again, but we're not far from the castle's exit either. Even weirder? The sand's...shifting.

[That's probably not good, is it?]

So . . . you mean the hallways are changing, or what? I'm pretty sure that one I was in wasn't always there, but I thought I might just be losing it!

[Well, not really losing it. Distracted, more like. But now it looks like even that might not be the explanation.]

No it's not that...it's like they're starting to fall apart and become something else. [Which totally isn't good either.] How stable do you think the walls are?

. . . I mean, I was just reaching into one and grabbing out handfuls of sand, soooo . . .

[So possibly not very. Oops. He gives the nearest wall a dubious, slightly alarmed look, eyes widening just a bit.]

You think it's gonna cave?

I don't know about that, but we should definitely get out of here as soon as we can. [It's not good. It's very subtle, but it's not good. There's a pause.] Ready to run?

[ . . . He glances down at what he's wearing.

Yikes.

But it's not like he's got a choice here, so he just nods, wincing a little.]

I'm not gonna get any more ready anytime soon, so let's go!

[There's little hesitation as she takes his hand, yanking him after her and proceeding to dash off just before the walls begin to crumble.

She can make fun of his state of dress later. All that matters is getting out of here alive right now. Everything else can come another time.]

IC OVERFLOW AND MISC.

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