pinocchio

[aspirings]

Comments

w1, monday

[aspirings]

[Okay, by this point, Tsukasa has realized from his dormmates that "intimacy" does not... necessarily mean, you know. Kissing. Or. More.

Phew.

He was Stressed for a bit there!!!

As it is, he's out in the rose gardens to get a bit of fresh air ("fresh air"...?), and straightens when he sees a familiar face.

Of course, he lifts an arm to wave exuberantly, despite the early hour. At least there aren't as many Extras to bother given the time.]

Ah, Pinocchio!

[heartstringless]

[Thankfully, Pinocchio is just naive enough to have read the missive given to them pretty straightforwardly: intimacy can be a lot of things, right? The term is wide-reaching, and so he is spared from being flustered in an equal way. He just needs to find a partner who'd be willing to do something "intimate" with him.

Did he wander this way in search of one? It's hard to say. He's busy examining an array of beautiful red roses—this is an easily distracted puppet sometimes, let him live—when he hears a familiar voice.

P straightens and turns to see Tsukasa at a distance. He smiles at him and draws closer.]

Tsukasa. Good morning. You're up early.

[aspirings]

[What a good boy. Tsukasa's at least gotten his freak out out of the way, so.

This is fine.

They meet up in the rose garden proper, and Tsukasa grins at the observation.]

So are you! But yes, I prefer to be up bright and early! Being here is no reason to change up our schedules, of course.

How are you this morning?

[heartstringless]

[He is, indeed, up early. But did P actually sleep? That is the mystery for the ages.

Either way, that doesn't matter.]

A little better. [After Everything had happened, it was a rough night or two.] I keep getting distracted by all the roses...

[At least he's aware of this. Why did he come up here...? Oh.] I was hoping to find someone to do my task with, but maybe it's too early in the day.

[aspirings]

[Yeah the Horrors. He's not thinking about the Horrors right now.]

Is that right?

Well then, look no further! You've found a willing and perfectly adept partner for your task!

[heartstringless]

[Blinks... then lights up a little.]

Oh, really? I guess I have. [Huffs gently.] To be honest, the nature of our task is kind of awkward with someone I don't know, so maybe... it's perfect that you ended up here, too.

[Not that he knows Tsukasa all that well, but even P would feel weird about doing this with someone he's not spoken with even once.]

[aspirings]

I was thinking much the same! Even if the task is ultimately only to put on some sort of performance that evokes strong emotions, it is a lot to ask of a stranger.

[It's... also a lot to ask of someone he barely knows, but we're forging right along anyway! Think of it as an acting challenge, Tsukasa...]

Do you feel up for giving that a try?

w1, post-body discovery

[aspirings]

[Hey Pinocchio, how's it going?

It took... Tsukasa some time after the announcement and investigation before he finally ventured out of the dorm. He had to have a bit of a panic moment, you know how it goes.

But anyway.

He finds himself wandering just to wander, avoiding groups of people for once and just kind of trying to get his thoughts in order about the whole situation. The library is where he ends up, and he steps in quietly, almost without even noticing that he is.

...

He definitely isn't noticing that someone else is already here.]

[heartstringless]

[He had hoped against hope that, somehow, no one would be killed. Even though they were told beforehand that someone would have to die, Pinocchio had held onto the naive possibility that it simply would not come to pass.

But it did. And it was awful — a terrible way to have died. A head put on display. It reminded him of how Arlecchino might have arranged a victim for the sake of twisted, artistic joy, and the comparison makes his heart feel as though it twists and sinks like stone.

But the thing is… he handles it the best one can expect. Perhaps a bit stoically, perhaps a bit in stride, maybe disappointed and uncertain as to the future… But not shaken. He has come from a world where one death is but a drop in the bucket, and though that doesn’t make it less tragic, it does make it easier to digest as reality.

Yet that clearly isn’t the case with everyone.

P is standing in a little book-swathed alcove, arms crossed and deep in thought, when he sees Tsukasa enter from the corner of his eye. He immediately notes the other’s more somber demeanor, his far away look, his energy seeming as though the sun itself was in low tide.]

Hey… Tsukasa.

[He calls out, gently, trying to get his attention.]

[aspirings]

[--!

He jumps, of course, and spins in surprise, a hand pressed to his chest. It'd be almost comically over-the-top, if not for... well. You know.

The fact that someone was killed, so maybe it's not that over-the-top after all.

He drags in a shaky breath, and slowly lets it out.]

Ah--Pinocchio! It's just you. [W...whew.]

[heartstringless]

[He’s really on edge, isn’t he?]

Yeah. Sorry to surprise you.

[He gestures around him, in his little alcove.]

You can sit here with me if you want. …If you want some company, I mean. I know things have been kind of scary lately.

[aspirings]

No, no, it isn't your fault!

[Whew...

He settles, and then comes closer obediently, glancing around the alcove with mild curiosity.]

I... would be happy for the company! Thank you very much.

[And... then he falls silent, unsure how to address the elephant in the room.]

[heartstringless]

[It’s a cozy little space, lined with books all around. A plush sofa to sit and a little end table beside it to stack books on.]

…

[P sits down. Looks up at Tsukasa, knowing that this mustn’t be easy for him. It’s a shame some of the brightness he saw before has receded, but… it’s not like anyone can blame him. It speaks for his character, to be affected so deeply.]

Are you feeling afraid…?

w2, monday

[aspirings]

[Well! With a new task comes Tsukasa seeking out Pinocchio wherever he may be, honestly!

He's gotten some sleep and is Focused On The Future (more or less, maybe), so even if he's not as loud and proud as ever, he's smiling. And Trying.]

Oh! Pinocchio, there you are!

[heartstringless]

[Perhaps unsurprisingly, Pinocchio can be found in one of the practice rooms today — the largest one, in fact, which houses a grand piano. He's adjusting the height of the bench when he hears Tsukasa's voice. He looks up, blinking.

Brightens a little-]

Oh, Tsukasa. Hi.

[aspirings]

[Ah!!! With the piano! Tsukasa brightens to see it, immediately getting distracted.]

Ah, that's right! We never did get the chance to play together!

[heartstringless]

[It's so easy to get distracted by the piano, P certainly can't blame him.]

I know. So much happens in this place...

[To say the least. It's easy to forget about small joys like playing the piano, but they'll make sure that isn't the case today.]

But now's our chance.

[aspirings]

[He's completely on the same page; Tsukasa immediately moves to the piano bench, sitting next to Pinocchio there.

It's a little more squished than when he used to do this with his little sister when they were young, but it's fine!]

I would still like to hear you play separately as well, of course, but perhaps we should start by playing together?

[He's pretty sure it's going to be chaotic. They're not even from the same world. What are the chances they'll have the same knowledge of music?

It's fine, the chaos will be fun too.]

[heartstringless]

Oh, a duet?

[Sure, it's not a piano bench made for two people to sit, but they can both manage. He bumps shoulders with Tsukasa playfully.]

I can't imagine what it'll sound like. [Someone from a wholly different world must have very different tastes in music. Right?] But that's all the more reason why we should. I'll show you just how advanced I am.

[As a puppet, or as individual. Both. Piano is a point of enjoyment for him, but also a small point of pride. A leftover inclination of Carlo's.]

w2, post-execution

[aspirings]

[Tsukasa's tired.

It feels like it dogs his steps as he walks through the school, barely able to even greet the Extras--not after the things some of them said about Annette.

And now--

...

He drags a shaky breath in, and meets Pinocchio where they agreed. The gravestones are ominous, stretching out in the courtyard. They're so much more ominous now--

But he takes a shaky breath in, and starts to stride amongst the graves anyway, looking for him.]

[heartstringless]

[Within the courtyard, Pinocchio is both easy and predictable to find. He stands in front of Noelle's grave, her student ID now greyed out and filled in with vague information that resembles rumor more than fact. Already, he can feel it: his memories of his interactions with her, fading, fading. Receding into shadow and silhouette, blurry around the edges.

When he hears Tsukasa approach, his gaze sweeps over to him. P looks... sad, to say the least.]

It didn't have to come to this. All this time, how she felt... She carried all that, and I never knew. I shared a dorm with her, if I had learned more about her sooner, then I...

[He trails off.]

[aspirings]

[... He looks so, so sad.

Tsukasa gets it, though. He's clinging to the memories of putting on that brief scene with Noelle on stage, of dancing with her, with all of his strength.

It's... unnerving that it feels like, given enough time, that won't be enough.]

... It seems like she didn't want anyone else to know any of that about her. I wonder if... she was enjoying acting like a normal girl for a little while.

[heartstringless]

But I still should have done… something. Maybe I could have. And then I wouldn’t need to feel…

[His fists clench at his sides, and then-]

I should say it before I even begin to forget her. But after the trial yesterday, and all that she had said, I spoke with Noelle in the greenhouse. She…

[ … ]

We learnt that we held each other’s secrets.

[aspirings]

[...

Oh.

Oh.

For a moment, Tsukasa just stares at him, lips parted, eyes wide.]

She...

[...]

So you found out... then. [Oh. That... couldn't be worse timing.]

Pinocchio, are you... are you alright? [Feel... what?]

[heartstringless]

[Is he alright? Is he…? He feels like some part has been hollowed out of him, and not only because a piece of himself had been tossed into that furnace along with Noelle’s corpse.]

I don’t know. I don’t-

[He feels. Awful. P glances back at Noelle’s grave.]

This is what… Father must have wanted me to feel. What it is to be empty — this kind of grief. How he felt, to lose his real son.

[A waver of pain in that, too. The piece of himself that was missing… the reveal of that, as well, was rather badly timed.]

It hurts.