ic inbox ( ryslig )

[gitanes]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, ZHAR-PTITSA. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 66.234.111.217 *** ZHAR-PTITSA has joined 66.234.111.217 <ZHAR-PTITSA> Well? <ZHAR-PTITSA> Hurry up.

Comments

[gitanes]

[A normal person would hear this and adjust her read on the situation slightly.]

[Lila does not do this. She makes the conscious choice not to do this. Whether Komaeda said he was joking or not, somebody who mattered that much to him should know that when he backpedals like that, it's worth prying into. If she let him get away with it every time he tried to pretend something didn't matter, she wouldn't know jack or fuck about him. He did that like three times during their conversation about his past; she just didn't let it lie.]

[So, no. The inclusion of this detail doesn't matter to her. Lila has formed an opinion.]

at you? no. i trust you.

[Maybe not to take care of himself, but in general, she trusts him.]

but yeah, you're right. i don't like him. he sounds like a fucking tool.

[luckless]

[There's a weird queasiness in Komaeda's stomach, because he knows that Lila's opinions come from a place of caring for him... he knows this. But also, he knows that Hinata didn't mean anything ill in believing it all was a lie. It was a bed of his own making, wasn't it?]

But it still isn't Hinata-kun's fault what happened. I did it to myself, everything I did... I deserved his mistrust!

You and I got to meet here, not in some game that forces you to kill your friends and die if you're caught! When I had already plotted to kill before anyone else... Hinata-kun was one of the few who still wanted to believe in me. So yeah, maybe he is a tool... and maybe he's stupid... but in his own way, he still cared about me, you know?

[gitanes]

you think everything is your fault. like, literally everything all the time. i don't buy it.

i believe you when you say he cared about you, but he didn't trust you. that's fucked up.

[luckless]

[...It, maybe, takes a few minutes to get a response back.]

Would you trust a guy who set up an elaborate plan to kill you?

[gitanes]

i don't know. i wasn't there. in my world, no, but i wasn't there in the mindfuck you guys were in.

i know you've done a lot of shit that if somebody else tried it i'd be pissed and probably not trust them again, but my instincts tell me different when it comes to you. and i know i wouldn't go on a date with someone i ever distrusted that much. so badly i totally disregarded something like what you told him.

[luckless]

It's because things are different now than they were then... Hinata-kun didn't trust me during the killing game, but after I died and my conscious basically went into hibernation, he desperately tried to wake me up... I didn't have a chance to talk to him again until I met him here and... he's not the same guy, Lila.

But... if you really feel that strongly, maybe it would be good for you to talk to him, too? Even if my love for him goes no where, it would mean a lot to me if you two got along, because he's still my friend.

[gitanes]

[Too late, she thinks. It's like Komaeda said himself: things are different here. Back home, Hinata Hajime lost his chance. She holds that against him, and she probably always will. She's an unforgiving person. Which makes this point of view hypocritical. She knows, and she doesn't care.]

[People don't change, too. That's another thing she believes.]

if you want me to, i will. i'm not gonna get in your way regardless. i didn't with atem and i won't with him. but i'm not gonna pretend i like him if i don't.

[luckless]

No... the last thing I want is to force you to do anything...

[Not that he could. He knows he can't, but still—]

I guess I would just prefer it if you ignored him if you don't like him...? "Get along" is sort of loose here... I mostly would just like it if you didn't kill him!

[gitanes]

[They both know he couldn't. But still.]

i'm not gonna kill your boyfriend. i haven't killed riley yet and there's absolutely no way he's more annoying than riley.

1/2

[luckless]

He's not my boyfriend!

[The urgency of his response says that he might wish otherwise, but he quickly latches onto the next best thing—]

2/2

[luckless]

But I don't find Riley-san to be all that bad...! Just because she's closed minded, doesn't mean she's a bad person, right?

[ANYWAYS,]

Lila... [small pause,] thank you for always being so supportive of me... even if it's over something annoying.

[gitanes]

i really don't like her. she's doing better though i guess. anyway, she wants me to stay away from her so i stay away from her.

being supportive of you isn't annoying. you being happy isn't annoying. i just don't like most people, and i don't like people who don't treat my people right. and you're mine.

. . . can i ask you a question?

[luckless]

[Yeah, okay. His chest squeezes tight in a way that's nice instead of bad when she says he's hers... he missed that.]

Yes, of course you can ask me a question. I'll do my best to answer it!

[gitanes]

why the FUCK are you taking him to CLEAN THE ARCADE as a DATE

[luckless]

[Because Souda can't take care of anything for SHIT, Lila!!!]

I simply thought it would be a good way to clean up after Souda-kun, while also spending time together, and making use of Hinata-kun's multitude of useful talents!

Why? Is there something wrong with that...?

[gitanes]

cleaning isn't a date activity, it's a chore. cleaning up somebody else's crap is especially not a date activity.

i've clearly been negligent in doing normal couple shit with you because this is a mess. you can't represent me like this. okay, so i'm taking your ass on regular dates going forward so you don't do this again. and you're going to take him to do something fun. not cleaning. cleaning isn't fun.

[luckless]

What if we have lunch after the date...?

[This message sent to Lila before his mention of it to Hinata, in true backdating chronological fashion...!]

It's more date-like to include food, right?

[gitanes]

yeah i guess but why do you have to clean up somebody else's shit in the first place

[luckless]

Well the arcade is a special place for our class... it's dedicated to our friend's memory...

Souda-kun just let the dust collect and it's making me a little anxious. Plus Hinata-kun has a better body than I do... so he's better at lifting and moving heavier objects, too.

[gitanes]

ignoring the fact that souda should still be the one to clean up: this sounds like a good excuse to sit down and watch his better body lift and move heavy objects.

[luckless]

Are you accusing me of watching Hinata-kun as he puts his muscles to use?

[Because she's right, of course—]

[gitanes]

if you're smart, yeah.

[luckless]

I've always enjoyed watching Hinata-kun work, though I tell everyone it's because I have no stamina myself...

[Ah, that makes him think.]

Do you like guys with muscle, Lila?

[gitanes]

are you asking me if i want to ogle your boyfriend?

[luckless]

I'm sure he'd be easy to convince to work while we watch but... I wouldn't belittle the arcade like that.

[Any other venue is free range.]

I asked because, well... I'm a really lackluster guy, but you still seem to be attracted to me. So I was curious about why.