IC Contact/Voicemail

[ardent]

[VOICE/TEXT/VIDEO; OPEN TO ALL]

"You've reached Kiyotaka Ishimaru; I seem to have missed you! My sincerest apologies for that - but if you leave your name and state your business, firmly and concisely, I'll return your contact as soon as I can!

Until then, I look forward to speaking to you; do what you can to make your day pleasant and productive, and be sure to keep your head up!"

[Please state in the subject line if OOC planning is preferred and we can handwave like the wind, but otherwise IC will be assumed!]

Comments

[ardent]

That's true...but at the same time, she was in the same situation the rest of us were. None of us are innocent, Kuwata-kun; besides, she's going to be caught and punished for what she's done, to the fullest extent that a human being can be punished. Punishing her further would be vengeance, not justice, which I'm not interested in pursuing.

Don't misunderstand me, Kuwata-kun; I still find it unforgivable, and I'm angry with her.

[He cuts himself off abruptly for a moment; that...actually isn't anything that he's voiced aloud to anyone, and it takes him a moment to work out how he feels about that. It's cathartic, in a way, so much so that it almost seems wrong.

He kind of laughs a bit, the sound strange and awkward.]

I'm very angry with her, to be honest! But it wouldn't be right to hold it over her head like the Sword of Damocles, either - she's our classmate as well, and someone has to be responsible for her, right? And the way she acts, no one else is going to do it!

[...ISHIMARU. YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THINGS LIKE THAT.]

[struck_out]

[Ishimaru don't laugh like that. Leon already thinks you're socially maladjusted; now he's going to doubt your sanity. Just a tad.]

Umm, no. You don't have to be responsible for her. Nobody has to! If you wanna let her off the hook here then that's your decision, but all I'm sayin' is that you don't have to deal with her if you don't want to.

Besides, this so-called justice you're talkin' about...you're saying that she's gonna get caught, right? But she hasn't and it looks to me like she's not sorry at all. So have you really got your justice yet?

[ardent]

[...Well, in all fairness that might not be an unfounded doubt...

That said, however, there's no hesitation in Ishimaru's voice when he replies.]

Justice's role in our lives is to ensure safety and prosperity both - to make it so that we can be the best we can be, and to keep others from deciding that they have the right to choose who has a fighting chance in life. Once someone dies, though, I think the situation changes; people speak of finding justice for the dead, but I don't think that's what it is! For example, people like Fujisaki-kun wouldn't want harm to come to anyone; Fujisaki-kun would want to forgive, rather than destroy, anyone who had done wrong! Seeking justice on behalf of the dead makes no sense, then; doing so is a way of exacting vengeance, using the dead's name as an excuse. It's flawed logic from the start!

Once someone dies, the justice carried out is for the living, not the dead - to satisfy the punishment required by the breaking of the law, and to start the healing process on all sides. Those who survive past that trial have all come from a point where they've already seen Celes-kun executed, and therefore justice has been done.

It isn't my place to speak for the others, obviously, and if they want to decide that the way things are isn't enough, that's their choice! I won't argue with them about it, because it's not really my place to say, given the circumstances; in the end, it's theirs, I think, and I won't begrudge them their feelings one way or the other. At the same time, I won't stand for anything happening to Celes-kun, either, because that would be vengeance, not justice. Do you understand?

[struck_out]

[...that was a pretty long rant Ishimaru, but for once Leon's actually trying to follow what his classmate is saying.]

You talk about healing, but...I dunno, doesn't sound like you're doing much of that. And not everyone's like Fujisaki-san either. And...and what happened to her isn't the same as what went down for ya, even if it both ended the same way. I mean...nobody murdered Fujisaki-san for money. And the person who did it didn't mean it, right?

Has Celes even apologized to you yet?

[ardent]

Of course she hasn't - do you really think she's going to?

[It's a rhetorical question, rather than anything that's demanding an answer.]

I'm not interested in hearing any sort of apology from her, though; it likely wouldn't be genuine, even if she offered one.

[struck_out]

That's the point.

She's probably not feeling sorry, or bad, that she killed you. But you still want to look out for her. She's just taking advantage of you.

[ardent]

She's still one of ours, Kuwata-kun, regardless of what she's done!

[struck_out]

So? Enoshima was one of us too, and in case you forgot she fucked us up! You sayin' if she got here, you're gonna pick her up and throw her a fucking welcome party!? Fuck that, she might be a classmate but hell if I'm gonna pretend and play nice with her! No, I'd tell her to stay the fuck away and I'm not gonna give a shit even if she's eaten by a Gyrados. I'd be more worried if the snake gets a stomach ache from chewing on something with that kinda crazy!

[ardent]

What?! Celes-kun wasn't the one to put us in that position, and Enoshima and Ikusaba were the ones responsible for her actions - whether she's repentant about it or not, we have no reason to believe that Celes-kun would have acted as she did were it not for their interference and orchestrations! There's no comparison to be made there at all!

Enoshima and Ikusaba both deserved what happened to them, as far as I'm concerned, and if we find a way to bring our classmates here by our own will, I'm not going to allow either of them entrance to this place! I've already made the others aware of my stance on that; it's time you knew it as well!

[And he definitely has strong feelings on it, given that he almost never drops the honorifics; as far as he's concerned, those two aren't deserving of the acknowledgement.]

[struck_out]

Except for the fact that Celes tried to kill you for money. What part of that do you not fucking get?? She didn't kill you because she was scared, or forced. She wanted to kill you because she wanted to get rich!!

Look, I'm not saying you should try and get back at her. I'm just saying that she doesn't deserve to be given a second chance if she hasn't proven that she's sorry about what she did to you!

[ardent]

[He's quiet for a moment after that, though his breaths are quick, shallow, somewhat audible over the connection; he isn't crying, but it takes him a moment before he can say anything anyway.]

...Who told you about this? Was it Oowada-kun, or someone else?

[struck_out]

...does it matter?

[The reply takes a few seconds, and is much more subdued than his normal fervent argumentative tone. In truth, Leon's starting to worry; had he pushed Ishimaru pass some point of no return?

The only sound coming through the receiver, is Leon's own quiet breaths, before there's a soft curse.]

...shit.

Ishimaru, I...I'm sorry if what I said hurts, ok? I didn't mean it.

[ardent]

[He doesn't quite understand why Kuwata is backpedaling all of a sudden; it takes him a moment to reply again, but at least when he speaks it becomes clear through tone that he's a bit lost.]

No, no, it's...

[...um. Wait.]

Well, of course it...

[...okay, more than a bit lost. Mnnngh.]

It's all right, Kuwata-kun. I just want to know if you have the whole story or not. Oowada-kun doesn't know everything.

[struck_out]

[There's an incredibly audible sigh of relief as Leon slumps against the wall, running one hand through his hair.]

Y-yeah, well...sometimes I tend to just say shit without thinking it through.

...a-are you ok? I got really worried for a sec there.

[ardent]

Of course I am...?

[Well, now he's just confused.]

I mean, it's not a nice thing to hear, but it's true enough, I guess; it's nothing to worry about, at any rate.

[struck_out]

If you say so.

...man, we need to stop doing this huh? This is like, the third time in a row. Maybe we should just make a promise to never talk about what happened.

[ardent]

If that's what you would prefer. It's not that I...mind talking about it, exactly; in some ways I think it's good to not hide that sort of thing from one another. Sometimes...Sometimes it's something you just need to discuss; I don't know how to describe it very well.

[Bless him, though, he's trying.]

If you would prefer that we not, though, that's fine. I...I'll respect it either way.

[struck_out]

I mean, I don't not want to talk about it, eventhough I'd rather pretend none of that stuff ever happened. But we just keep fightin' over it. Doesn't it tire you out? An' you get those moments when you're super intense over stuff, an' I don't really know how to deal.

I dunno man, it's just hard for me to talk to you. I find Hagakure easier to hang out with, and that's really sayin' something.

[ardent]

That's just how I talk to people, Kuwata-kun; it's nothing personal! Although I have been told that I tend to sound angry with people...ah, but in most circumstances that isn't the case!

As for Hagakure-kun - he's a nice person, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to talk to him!

[struck_out]

...you obviously haven't hung out with Hagakure long enough then. Guy's nuts over aliens. I think that's why he likes all his Psychic Pokemon, they're all ET rejects.

Anyway, I should probably get back to work. Enjoy your fish Ishimaru; lemme know how you're doin' with him, huh? An' try not to stress too much about Celes. I'm pretty sure she can take care of herself.