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[Whenever he receives a text from Kaede, Ishida smiles, even when it's completely unexpected! As such, he doesn't think that anything is afoot, even though her message is serious.]

Of course, Kaede! Did you want to talk in person? I can meet you somewhere! ヽ(｡･ω･｡)ﾉ

[ She feels bad, since she knows he's probably happy to see her text. ]

Yeah, I think it's better if I tell you in person.

[ It might hurt more to read it over text. ]

Can we meet outside the dorms? I'm already on campus.

That's fine, I'll meet you there!

[As soon as he sends that message, Ishida hurries over to the dorms. He's not running, exactly, but he's definitely taking a brisk walk, so he gets there in a good amount of time.

Once he sees Kaede, he gives a large wave before making his way to her.]

I hope I didn't make you wait too long! [He's still smiling brightly, although it falters a little when he sees how serious she is about this.] ...What's wrong?

[ She wants to be strong, wants to tell him immediately. But the moment he asks her what's wrong, Kaede feels her eyes start to well up tears, and before long those tears are spilling over.

She wipes at her eyes, but it doesn't do much. ]

It's Leon... [ She clenches her fists, looking away from Ishida. ]

He... he died.

[ Kaede can't tell him exactly what happened, not just yet. It hurts too much. ]

K-Kaede...

[He's about to comfort her, place his hands on her shoulders, but the moment she says 'he died,' Ishida feels himself freeze completely. It doesn't even seem real, how can Leon be dead? That's not possible, nothing about that is right.]

Wh-what...? [His voice is quiet, disbelieving. He of course trusts Kaede, but the reality of the situation is not settling in.]

He was killed.

[ She says that quickly, in almost a rush, trying to get that horrible piece of information out while she still had the courage to say it aloud. Kaede looks at the ground, unable to look at Ishida. ]

I'm sorry. I... I thought it might be easier if I told you before you heard it from somewhere else.

[ Like the network or rumors or anything. That would probably hurt a lot more, right? ]

[Killed. Murdered. This is some sort of nightmare, something that should exist in that or his past life. Why is this happening now? It should never happen in this city. They should be free from any sort of killing-- sure, that sounds unrealistic, but Ishida hoped that things would be okay here.

He doesn't say anything, his mouth moves but nothing comes out. He just seems to be in shock still, his face becoming paler by the second.]

......Leon's dead.

[That all he's managed so far, his eyes staring wide eyed at the ground.]

[ Kaede finally looks up, and she hates seeing Ishida frozen in place and so pale from shock. She steps closer, putting a comforting hand on his arm.

She still needs to tell him what happened exactly, but there's something else she needs to say first, thoughts that have been going through her head since she spoke to Mio earlier. ]

We need to figure out what to do next. Leon... he wouldn't want us to be sad like this.

[ It feels a little hypocritical saying that, though, when there are still tears streaming down her face. ]

He wouldn't want to be dead either!

[Ishida snaps that at her, but flinches at his own words and turns his expression back to the ground. It's not her fault-- far from it, he shouldn't take his sorrow and anger out at Kaede. Especially not Kaede.

Tears begin to form in his eyes and he can't stop his voice from cracking as he speaks to her.]

I-I'm sorry, Kaede. Y-you're right...

[ Kaede wants to step back at that, but she knows she shouldn't. She needs to be strong. She lets out a small breath when Ishida says she's right. ]

It's okay. [ She wipes at her tears. ] I know Leon, and he would feel even worse if he saw us so sad.

[ Kaede hesitates, for just a moment. This isn't something she's shared with anyone else before, but with how open Ishida has been with her in the past, she owes openness to him as well. ]

When I was younger, my grandma would always tell me that my parents wouldn't want to see me so sad over them. Instead, they would want to see me be strong. I... I want to think that it's the same with Leon. He wouldn't want to be dead, but I think he'd want to see us like this even less.

Kaede...

[He wipes his eyes and looks at her, hesitating only a moment before placing a hand on her arm. She's always been the strong one between them, so maybe he can support her this time.

A part of Ishida still wants to scream and cry until he can't any longer. But he also knows that she's right, that the last thing Leon would want is for them to cry and be sad. No, he would want them to be productive, at least find the person that killed him. Right...! That person is still out there, they can't just let that go.

Clinging onto that, he finds some of his energy back, even though his eyes are red still.]

L-let's be strong together.

[ His hand on her arm makes her feel so much better, and that she's actually the strong person she wants to be. Although she can't smile, not now, she feels like maybe she can eventually.

She nods. ]

We have to be. We... need to keep going.

[ Kaede pauses now, knowing that in order to do what she says they need to do, she needs to tell him everything. ]

I... I know who killed him.

[That comment definitely alarms him. She already knows the culprit?! That's a good thing, right? That means they can get started on apprehending the killer in some way! There's still a couple of police right? That's connected to Retrospec... so it should be fine!

So, why does he feel almost afraid to ask? He has to push forward though...]

W-who's responsible?!

Promise me you'll listen to everything I have to say first, okay?

[ There's a lot more to everything than meets the eye, at least in Kaede's opinion. If she didn't stay and listen to Mio... Kaede wouldn't know what to do when she eventually found out who killed Leon. ]

Huh...?

[He looks confused, is there more to this murder than he initially thought? It should be as simple as bringing the culprit to justice. But if Kaede is asking this, Ishida is willing to go along with it.]

Okay, I promise!

[ She nods, feeling a sense of relief. It's hard to explain everything but he needs to know the whole story. ]

This morning, I went to go look for Mio because she made a post on Retrospec last night that was kinda worrying. She... told me a lot of things when we met up.

[ Kaede takes a breath, and it's a little shaky. ]

She's sick. The illness she has... it makes her hallucinate and feel paranoid, sometimes to the point of violence. Because of this illness she...

[ She's sure Ishida already knows where this is going, even if he doesn't want to accept it. Kaede had a hard time coming to terms with it herself. ]

She killed Leon.

[For a long time, Ishida doesn't say anything, just stunned and appalled to hear this from Kaede. It's the last thing he was expecting to hear.

Even though he knew what she was about to say, he can't help but flinch when Kaede says 'She killed Leon.' It just feels unreal, especially given how close they are. But despite all that, she still murdered him.

Sure, it's not entirely her fault and Ishida knows that she's sick, inflicted by a disease that makes her feel paranoid, a wave of anger passes through him as he glares at the ground. He almost wants to hate her, for doing something so terrible, but he can't. If he's this upset, he can only imagine how much she's suffering now.

Still, it's hard to just accept any of this.]

...Where is she now.

[ Kaede looks down at the ground while Ishida processes all of that, willing her tears to stop. But, no matter what she does, they just keep coming. Maybe she should stop trying to wipe them away.

She looks up when he finally speaks. ]

...I think she's in custody now. She told me she was going to turn herself in.

[ Kaede can't help but wonder if Ishida will ask her why she didn't turn Mio in herself. She still wonders if maybe forgiving Mio right then was a good idea, but Kaede couldn't find it in her to hate Mio. Not when she knew that Leon would forgive her for everything too. ]

[Well, he can't find fault in this result. She should still face some sort of consequence for what happened-- and at the very least, get help. He hopes that there's some sort of person that can help Mio.

Ishida suddenly frowns, however, as if he just realized something.]

Wait, did you talk to Mio in person?

[He also wonders why she didn't turn Mio in herself, but he's more alarmed by his first thought.]

Edited 2018-07-15 21:59 (UTC)

[ Kaede hesitates just a moment before nodding. ]

Yeah. I know it was dangerous to go see her but... I needed to make sure she was okay.

[ And she doesn't regret it either. ]

I probably should've turned her in too, but I couldn't do that. It didn't feel right.

But you could've gotten hurt!

[That's the only thing he's going to focus on now. His voice is louder than before and a mixture of emotions pass through his face, a combination of anger, concern, and relief.]

What if she hurt you too, Kaede?! [Tears begin to form in his eyes again, but he makes no movement to hide them.] Y-you could've been killed!

[ The concern in his voice has her eyes welling up with tears again. She only thought about how she would feel, not about anyone else. Looking back, it was selfish of her. ]

I know. I just thought that... if something happened, if Mio got hurt or something happened to her... I wouldn't be able to live with that. So I took a risk, even though she told me not to.

I wouldn't be able to live if something happened to you!

[Perhaps he's being melodramatic, maybe even selfish, but all he can think about is Kaede's lifeless body staring at him. Any energy or warmth from her eyes just gone as blood escapes her.

Just like his friend, just like Junko.]

She's the one that killed Leon! You should've stayed away!

[ That leaves Kaede stunned, frozen in place. Is she really that important to him? They've talked about being important to one another before, but hearing it like this is different. It's a momentary shock to her system, and Kaede doesn't know what to say.

She moves forward, taking a few steps until she can wrap her arms around his middle, squeezing tight. ]

I'm sorry. I was only thinking about myself. [ She was so worried that she couldn't sit back and do nothing, but at the same time she failed to really think about anyone else too. How others would have been affected if she got hurt. ]

[He's still upset and angry and he probably will be for a while, but Ishida returns the hug, holding her tightly in return. It's a reminder that she truly is okay, that she isn't injured or dead, but alive in his arms. He doesn't want this to ever disappear and he's willing to do almost anything to make sure that doesn't happen.]

That... that isn't true.

[And even though his emotions haven't died down, he doesn't want Kaede to think she's a bad person for worrying about someone. S-she wasn't only thinking about herself because she was concerned about Mio... it was just dangerous and reckless.]

You always think about others first...

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