ardent | 004. Action for Violet City/Video

004. Action for Violet City/Video

[ACTION]

[Perhaps strangely for the late evening hours on a Sunday, there are lights on in the school in Violet City tonight; Ishimaru usually avoids coming here in the evenings for that reason - surely it would look suspicious if someone were to come by and see that, or notice someone wandering around in there through the windows - but he has been coming by here once classes let out for the day once in a while, and tonight...well. It's been a long week.

It had taken him some time to convince himself that being here was okay (it is public property, as far as he can tell, so he's not in danger of trespassing, and surely it can't be breaking and entering if the door is unlocked); he'd run into a janitor yesterday who didn't seem fazed at his being there, and didn't seem to mind as long as he left things as he found them. It isn't as though he does much here, anyway; he mostly just wanders around, enjoying the feel of the place. Schools have always had very distinct feelings associated with them, as far as he goes; even his time in Hope's Peak hasn't managed to tarnish that.

About the only thing it's effected is the way he makes sure to leave the windows open and unblocked by shades while he's here.

So he's clearly visible to passersby, should there be any this evening, though he's got his back to the outside; he's got chalk in his hand, quickly adorning the chalkboard in front of him with words written briskly in steady, straight lines.

Live with simplicity, fortitude and vigor.

The foundation of hard work is the spirit to succeed.

Sacrifice is freely given, not yours to demand; give freely of yourself when possible.

Do what you can with your life; it's the only one you've been given.

Do not tear down when you can build up; do not destroy when you can create.

Respect all life as though it were your own.

They're simple phrases, really; things to be kept in mind, thoughts that he needs to remind himself from time to time. He thinks for a moment before scrawling one more down, and then he steps back, surveying his work.

We are not dead yet.

It had struck him as horribly morbid, when he'd first heard it; it's still painful, but it brings with it a dark sense of comfort. We are not dead yet.

That one gets underlined.]

[VIDEO]

[Well, judging from the background of the video, Ishimaru hasn't quite left the school building yet -

...all right, he's not even in the process of leaving, as several of those lines are still clearly visible on the board behind him, but still. He'll wipe them before he leaves, definitely.

However, for the time being, he has something of a question; it's been bothering him for quite some time now, actually.]

A lot of people seem to have been brought here during times of stress or conflict in their lives - in fact, almost everyone I've seen has been like that! Is there anyone here from a world that's actually peaceful and in order?

[It hasn't quite hit him that this isn't just something you ask people, good lord.]

Of course, even if things are dark for you now back home, the focus shouldn't be on futility, but rather on hope and possibilities! Even if your world is a dark one and your circumstances are unfortunate, it's still nice to hear about the positive times, so if you have any of those, they can be shared as well, if you like.

I hope that today was good to you, and if not, that tomorrow will be better - anything can be overcome with hard work, inner strength and cooperation!

[...again, it's been a long week, and he tends to solve issues with his own sense of spirit by screaming encouragement at others; it usually works, for the most part.]

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[It's curiosity and nostalgia that brings her past the schoolhouse on this particular occasion — in part because it's nice to see it in good condition after the attack Cobra Commander mounted on it over a year ago, and part for the more personal reason that it's also where she'd been hired at her first...legitimate salaried job in over ten years, if not ever.

(She'd had to provide a character reference, she remembers, and it makes her smile because she'd ended up asking for one from a man she'd never met, whose face she'd never seen.)

So it's memories that bring her to the schoolhouse, but it's the light that draws her in to the schoolroom in particular (and there are notions of teachers and moths and flames that flicker through her mind at that, but she makes it a point not to dwell on them), and if there's one thing she knows, it's how to open a door without letting the latch make a sound.

If there's a second thing she knows, it's how to make an entrance.]

"Work out your own salvation with diligence. Be lamps unto yourselves."

[She leans against the jamb of the now-open door, casual and effortless, like she belongs here, too.]

[He tenses immediately; the voice is unfamiliar, older, and for a moment he's concerned that despite the reference - he recognizes it, of course he recognizes it - he's about to be told to leave, that he has no right to be here. He allows the hand holding the chalk to drop to his side immediately, his body rigid, and he closes his eyes for a second as though waiting to be admonished; when that...doesn't happen, he turns to face the source, and whatever he was expecting, it clearly wasn't, uh...

It wasn't exactly Carmen, let's put it that way.]

"Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely."

[He keeps his hands down to his sides; he bows sharply after a moment.]

Good evening!

Good evening.

[It's not that she's amused to see him so...well, "keyed up" would be a mild way of putting it; still, there's a certain humor to the contrast between his tension and her nonchalance, and it keeps a smile playing at the corners of her lips.

What can she say? She can't help her fondness for brilliant children.]

What's got you hard at work so late, hm?

[...never mind that she's a grown woman approaching a teenager in an empty classroom after school hours without bothering to introduce herself and — well. "Carmen why" is probably enough to suffice, all told.]

[Ishimaru...still isn't entirely sure what to do with any of this or if he's in trouble of some sort; he straightens up anyway, though his posture is still incredibly tense.]

Ah...it's not really work; I was just ensuring that my thoughts are in order, that's all!

[...]

Do you need me to leave?

Oh, no, don't let me interrupt. I just saw the light on in my old classroom and thought I'd come see who was using it.

[Now, at last, her demeanor shifts from a given value of playful to something a little more disarming.]

Do you need me to leave?

[...is this a trick question]

You can stay, of course - you have more of a say over that than I do!

[W-Well, the shift in tone does seem to be promising. Relaxing isn't exactly a thing he does well, but he's trying, at least.]

You're a teacher, then?

[In fairness, it's not like she's making this easy on him, either.]

I was. But that was over a year ago, now — these days I mostly just travel.

[Not that "independently wealthy professional globetrotter" looks bad on a resume, either — though the verdict's still out on whether or not you can really call it globetrotting if the world might well not be, y'know, a globe.]

And you're a student?

I am, yes!

[...oh! Oh, wait. Wait, wait, wait.

He hesitates for a moment before continuing; he really doesn't like making assumptions, he prefers to say things only if he knows, but there's...really no harm in it this time, he thinks.]

...you wouldn't happen to be Miss Carmen, by any chance?

[She loves it when her reputation precedes her; granted, it's been a different sort of notoriety in Johto than it was back home, but the important part of the thrill has stayed the same — that moment of I know you reflected in a person's expression as it shifts in recognition.

She and Ishimaru have never used video themselves, of course, but he's made them to the network, and she's seen his face attached to his account. The fact that he knows her by name just confirms it.]

That depends. If I say yes, would that make you my very own Alexander?

[She pushes off from the doorjamb and comes to stand in the room proper, tipping her hat to him with a friendly air as she goes.]

[Oh, excellent - no words for how pleased you have made this kid, Carmen.]

It would, yes! It's good to meet you in person!

[Aww, just look at him smile. She comes in a little further, then, extending a black-gloved hand in offer of a shake.]

The pleasure is mine, Ishimaru. Have you managed to get your personal business in order since last we spoke?

[He will...accept that, after a moment of hesitation; after her words are out there, however, you can practically hear the record scratch because crap.]

Ah! I know I owe you writing assignments and they're incredibly late - it's completely inexcusable; I'll be sure to get them to you immediately!

[fretting fretting fretting fretting oh my god]

As for my personal business...it's been one thing after another, to be honest, but it seems to be working itself out, finally!

[Oh, lord, this kid. Somebody better get him an intervention because if he reacts like this all the time, she's not going to be able to keep herself from fucking with him nonstop.]

I told you, take your time. The only deadlines in your course of study are the ones you impose on yourself, remember?

[Don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh okay yeah she's just going to motion to the chalkboard instead.]

Besides, you've clearly been studious. Are these your wise words to live by?

[Clearly, this arrangement of theirs can only end well.]

...some of them, not all. I have many; these are just the ones that came most immediately to mind tonight.

Which suggests they're particularly significant to whatever mood you're in tonight, doesn't it?

[She's not even trying to be right; just to provoke him into an answer.]

...I guess so. I've been having a lot of thoughts about home, that's all.

Don't we all. But I see I'm the only one in...red shoes.

[She teases, clicking her heels once for emphasis.]

Have you been hoping to go back?

Never - not if I can help it!

[That's a bit too vehement to be natural, even for him; he's quick to rein it back in.]

I just miss my classmates sometimes, that's all.

Never?

[And up go her eyebrows; she's heard a lot of answers to that question before, but never one like that.

...

If he doesn't want to go back because he is dead and that means this brilliant teenage kid is dead — oh, Ishimaru's universe, she will flip tables.]

The ones who aren't here, you mean. You have your brother and a few of them here with you, if I'm remembering correctly, don't you?

My brother and two others, yes - I'm very glad to have them here with me, but there are several more that I think about from time to time!

[He's quiet for a moment before turning back to the board, darkening a few sections of words that aren't as firmly-written as the rest while he thinks.]

I'm sorry for complaining - it's deplorable, really, to do things like that during a first meeting.

[She just looks at him a moment, processing this in silence, ruminating on the possibilities and implications of the world this boy (this child, he can't be much older than Zack and Ivy, even) left behind, that it was his home and he never wants to see it again.

Then, as if possessed by some inexplicable compulsion, she heads to the board and finds a piece of chalk herself, searching out a free spot so that she can chalk down a set of lines of her own.

Hold to the point of most tension; the arrow will fall from you when it is right to do so.

It looks out of place next to his in a number of ways — in orientation, in handwriting. And perhaps most significantly, in content.

When she's finished, she stares at the letters a minute, like it wasn't just her own hand that put them there — like she's searching for an answer in them.]

You're not complaining.

[She's quiet again.]

How many of them are you hoping to see?

[He watches her in silence before shifting his grip on his own bit of chalk, beginning to write as he speaks.]

There are fifteen of us.

[We acquire the strength we have overcome.]

So eleven more, I guess.

There's a certain trend that seems to accompany people who are brought here. A sort of magnet effect, you could call it. When people from the same world arrive, it tends to be people who know each other, ones they're somehow closely entangled with. There's also a snowballing effect in corollary — the higher the concentration of people from a given world, the faster they seem to be brought here.

[She doesn't take her eyes off the chalk. Not yet.]

I've never been magnetic enough for it, myself. But I've known people who have.

[And now at last she glances at him, quiet.]

If there's four of you here already, you stand a good chance of seeing more of them again, too.

[...huh.]

The first of us arrived here about three months ago; my brother and I arrived two weeks after that. The fourth was about a month ago.

[He mulls that over for a moment.]

"More" of them isn't enough, though. We need all of them.

Determined to catch them all, are you?

[That gets a faint smile out of her.]

Good.

[Set your sights high and settle for nothing less. She likes him even more, for that.]

action;

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