ICHIRO;

[goalsides]

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weekend 0, saturday

[goalsides]

[today on misfired texts:]

dude, this guy keeps adding a bunch of leaves to the top bunk
are your roommates this weird?

[steelo]

had at least three people screaming on friday morning, two of them covered in blood, and denji ate an entire basket of pastries in five minutes
weird's a word for it lol

[goalsides]

which one's denji? and did he leave any pastries?
i'm still figuring out names and there, like, half a dorm i haven't even met yet
we let the lady living in our suite take the whole bedroom
but the bunkbed has a slide!

week 1, tuesday! sparkles

[steelo]

[ helloooo taichi

after all of the clusterfuck that was last weekend and everything else going on, it's kind of nice to do something easy, so. out on the athletic field, ichiro's got a soccer ball at his feet and he passes it easy back to taichi, providing the kickback for some footwork. he doesn't play himself, but jiro does, so he's used to getting the practice in. ]

Man, I can't believe everything here's still expecting us to act like it's normal after everything. [ as he passes the ball. ]

[goalsides]

[it helps to have someone to pass back and forth. he's not interested in fancy tricks at the moment, more content just to have something to do. it's a bonus that it's ichiro since the guy's pretty easy to get along with.]

I can and can't believe it, if you can believe that. [haha.] After what the bear said about this place having a legacy I'm not even surprised they don't take this seriously.

w1 friday

[steelo]

[ it's a text pc!

actually at first it's just a picture, a selfie angled kinda downwards. there is a goose in ichiro's lap. ]

dude
went out looking for stuff today
now this

[goalsides]

dude??

[taichi sends a picture back! the baby is resting on his sneaker. the mama looms ominously in the background but seems chill.]

are we new parents?

w2 monday

[goalsides]

[out on the farm today, taichi's busy exploring when he hears the sound of someone familiar? give him a moment to round the corner and suddenly there...is ichiro...with dogs.

his eyes light up immediately.]

Making new friends?

[steelo]

[ this dog is so cute and energetic and right as ichiro looks up and spots taichi, starting to say, it immediately slurps a big lick right up the side of his face. ]

Haha - uh, yeah, looks like it. I do a lot of dog walking at home.

[ ichiro yamada friend to all creatures but especially dogs ] Sup, man?

w2 post inves!

[steelo]

hey dude. you ok? just checkin in

[goalsides]

man
what are the chances that i pick this week to move
and both of our victims are from my old dorm and my new one?
oh. not to mention we have TWO?
we couldn't even find the killers for one person last week, how the hell are we supposed to find TWO?

[a few seconds later:]

i think i'm fine but this sucks.

week 3 monday! cartwheels in with a memshare for you

[steelo]

[ sometimes you just end up dumping your lore spaghetti all over the place. ichiro just happens to be passing by taichi on his way back from class, it looks like. he gives him a sup nod and a wave --

and there's suddenly a beeping noise, like a broadcast starting.

the memory closes out with the woman's voice saying, "From here on out, the Party of Words will be the leaders of this country." and then fades away.

ichiro blinks as if coming back to reality when he surfaces; slowly, his expression tightens, mouth pulling into a frown. ]

[goalsides]

[sup bro. the thing about ichiro is that they're friends (he thinks, he hopes) and he always takes his time to actually say hello whenever they pass each other around campus.

this is way more than saying hello? this is something that blindsides him and he jerks his head back as the memory fades away. there's a moment's pause as he stares at him, trying to interpret whatever the fuck he just saw.]

...you know. It's been a while since I've been to Ikebukuro, but...that's a little different than what I remember.

[the hell was that?]

week 3 post trial

[steelo]

[ ichiro's gonna go find taichi pretty quickly after trial, holding his bloody jacket over his arm and just sort of dying

i don't know where he is but does it matter? no. ichiro's just dropping sort of boneless, even if it hurts, onto the nearest soft-ish surface.]

...dude.

[ just

dude ]

[goalsides]

[yeah they're gonna sit somewhere soft and probably not outside but taichi's also sitting and just giving the fuck up.]

I know.

[there's just so much internal screaming? but...] ...the pattern still fit. Kinda crazy, right?

w3 sunday

[goalsides]

[sometime probably very very late:]

dude
ok first of all did you guys get the new documents from viola yet
second of all is she iris right now?

[steelo]

[ not long after the message is received! sometimes you're a teenager who doesnt sleep (sisi its 1 am and you're almost thirty) ]

👍

w4 post trial

[steelo]

[ lets hang out at like 2 am again

by which i mean ichiro's just kind of walking the campus, unable to sleep after all of that shit. he's at least like marginally less angry than he was a few hours ago, which means he's functional enough to talk to people, so spotting taichi being reclaimed by the earth...

... yeah.

he doesn't approach right away, but leaves. about ten minutes later, ichiro returns with a water bottle in his hands, and then comes and just drops to sit next to taichi. his emotions are just - exhausted, residually angry. grieving. ]


Fuck.

[goalsides]

[that sure is a mood. taichi's probably somewhere very far from where most people would be, but he's definitely laying on the ground and staring aimlessly into the void. when ichiro approaches, eventually, he'll get taichi's own emotions he's not fast enough to hide.

namely, guilt. grief. anger. pain. exhaustion. it's not a great mix.]

...how is it that we can keep being right and still feel like we're doing everything wrong?

w5 thursday

[goalsides]

[GOD WHY THE FUCK DOES THIS PLACE SUCK SO BAD!!!!

so. a little later, probably, when things have settled down a bit, taichi will make his way over to the infirmary and poke his head in the door to see if ichiro's there, and also, like, alive.]

...you up?

[bro?]

[steelo]

[ i cannot believe you just you up'd me

well he's alive! he's out of that bloody costume jacket and shirt, at least... it looks like hope's magic has done a pretty good job of helping him out. most of the minor injuries are healed, though he's still really bloodied. his arm is not in danger of being lost anymore, and even wrapped in bandages and placed in a sling.

he looks... super not great, and still just covered in dried blood, gaze a little far away. realizing he's got a visitor, h e glances over, though, and gives taichi a little sup nod in greeting. ]

...hey, man.

w5 sunday

[steelo]

Taichi did you guys get the clue for this week

[ ha ha ]

[goalsides]

please imagine i'm screaming at top volume rn
what the fuck man???

w6 sunday

[goalsides]

[here we are at the moat. when taichi approaches, it's with some degree of caution before he stops a few feet away, lifting his hand in a wave.]

...hey dude. [just...gauging the temperature here.]

[steelo]

[ the temperature is very bad. ichiro's sitting at the edge of the moat, sort of curled up in a ball, just staring off into space.

when taichi comes by, he looks over, briefly, and then back out into space. ]

Hey. [ phew ]