for kumon WHAT IF FAMILY CYOA CR ROUND TWO

[nightchild]

Comments

[nightchild]

[...]

I'm worried too. [the goattening... what will happen next.... will it be a panda] Especially if we're all frozen in place again during it.

[is this a good conversation to have? still.... as fragile as kumon seems, itsuki knows for sure that he's not weak, in any sense of the word.]

[9mon]

[He'll keep going, he's not ready to give up just yet. But he's not in a good place either. This is all so far away from what he knows at home. The worst thing that ever happened there was him running a fever at the worst time possible.]

I wish there was more we could do. To prevent this.

[As if they had some way to stop each other from being refracted in the first place.]

[nightchild]

[he thinks back to the message at the meeting hall, the confirmation that isn't actually confirmation,]

...We're not the only ones trying, at least. There are answers out there -- we've just got to find them.

[9mon]

That purple note in the meeting hall, right?

[Who wrote that?]

[nightchild]

[he nods]

I was thinking that it was from the Dreamer and the animals, but... if they wanted to talk to us, then they'd have just sent those dreams. Or shown up.

[since they've already done that!!]

[9mon]

Maybe the animals can write better when we're not watching?

[He doesn't know?]

Dreamer left notes, but they didn't look like that. They were a lot less messy.

[nightchild]

You mean that piece of paper Percy-kun found, right?

[he hums... that's a good point, honestly]

It's either them or...

[he hasn't admitted this to anyone. mostly because he's afraid of admitting it, and having to be told that it's impossible, or that he shouldn't obsess.]

I wonder if it's Buzen and the others.

[9mon]

Uh huh. It matches the one Danny found in Party City too.

[He tilts his head and... considers this.]

You think they're still here somewhere? [He chews on his bottom lip, curious about it.] If the Prism kept Dreamer who's "here but not here" it could be keeping everybody else too...

[nightchild]

[for a moment Itsuki's not sure what to say, because he'd really expected Kumon to tell him to forget about it.

so it takes him a few seconds to reply, his emotions are full of relief -- and gratitude.]

...I do. No, it's more like... I want to believe that.

[because he has nothing more than hope and a few barely realized facts]

We were all brought here. I don't think it'll let us go that easily.

[9mon]

[Kumon takes a moment to reach out for Itsuki's hand. There's a flutter of hope.]

I wanna believe it too. Like... maybe we can find them again if we find the right archway or if we lean on the right spot.

[It might be ridiculous to hope, but he can't help himself. They've lost so many people from when they began. And those who died are usually just dead, but here... the Prism plays by different rules.]

[nightchild]

[...he'll take it in his own, grateful.]

It could be exactly that, honestly. It's not like we've been looking.

[how funny would it be if it was...

though Itsuki knows that it probably won't be that easy, but... there's a starting point, isn't there?]

[9mon]

So far we've just seen the archways that show up every Monday, the resident's, the ones from the trips, and what happens every Sunday.

I dunno how to look for it...

[nightchild]

It's okay. We can explore together.

[hm]

There'll be new places next week, right? Wanna explore one with me?

[9mon]

I promised to look with Danny. Wanna come with us?

[nightchild]

Sure. That should be fun.

[he likes both danny and kumon...]

I wonder what Danny would say about our theory. You think he'll believe it too?

[9mon]

[ Danny is part ghost so maybe he'll have better thoughts about the dead than Kumon. ]

Hmm... Maybe. It would be nice if we could figure out a way to get everybody back and out of here.

[nightchild]

It's something to work toward to, at least.

[he'll squeeze Kumon's hand once more,]

...Tomorrow will still come, but... we stil have all the days after.

[9mon]

Time doesn't stop. It keeps going.

[There's a certain sort of determination here.]

... We just have to keep going until we've found what we're looking for.

[nightchild]

['it keeps going'

feels like something Buzen would say, but the reminder doesn't bring Itsuki pain. instead it warms him]

Yeah. ...Feels like something At-chan would say.

[9mon]

At-chan?

[When you know people have nicknames, but you can't remember all the nicknames that people have.]

[nightchild]

[kumon is very valid]

Atsushi-kun. [their detective... damb they're just losing brain cells left and right] He's the type who doesn't give up, right?

[9mon]

Yeah.

We can't give up on him either.