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[ i can't believe that kiyotaka ishimaru is going to die once again. history repeats itself... but off they go to naegi's place! fastforward to standing outside the building and naegi grabbing the dinky old bicycle. it has... definitely seen better days. there's a dent here and there and the brakes aren't that great... one could absolutely see why this was thrown away but hey, at least it has two wheels and it's good enough for its purpose?? ]

Here it is. Sorry that it's kind of dirty...

[ naegi hasn't touched it for a while... with one hand on the bike, he holds out his other hand which is the helmet ]

If you adjust the straps, this should fit you.

[That bike is so sketchy. It's probably a good thing that Ishimaru doesn't know that Naegi found this bicycle in the trash, because he probably would be even uncertain than he already is.]

It'll do...! I'm not expecting much from a bike that you've described as old and rarely used!

[He's not wearing his nice suit, so it's fine! He begins to put his helmet on, which might be enough to save his life this time.]

So, I'll go down this hill and shout 'I'm a gang leader!!' I think that will suffice!

[ hahaha... would naegi ever tell ishimaru that he got this bike in the trash... maybe it's for the best if he says nothing... ]

Yeah, I think that should be good enough. Good luck, Kiyotaka. I'll watch from up here.

[ since standing at the bottom sounds like a disaster... what if they crash ]

[A part of Ishimaru wants to say 'I don't need luck,' but he's just going to accept it this time. Couldn't hurt, right? He takes one large breath and looks down the hill with a hint of uncertainty, before he begins to pedal down. It's either now or never.

T-this isn't so bad... yeah, he can do this! He just needs to maintain this control.

Once he begins to build up speed, a loud shout resounds throughout the area.]

I-I'M A GANG LEADERRRRRRR!

[How embarrassing.

Nonetheless, everything seems to be going smoothly... until the bike hits a rather sturdy rock. And that's it. Game Over. A large and almost ominous sound cracks through the air and Ishimaru goes sailing over the bike, before crashing in the ground and rolling a few feet before stopping in a slumped heap.

The bicycle is definitely trashed too.]

[ this is... like watching a viral video but in person. those kinds of viral videos where someone does something embarrassingly stupid and everyone laughs and then autotune remixes are made based on this. that is all naegi can think about when ishimaru goes screaming down the hill but everything comes to an end when ishimaru goes flying out of the bike and crashes into the floor. oh my god, everything goes in slow motion as naegi watches and after a stunned second, he goes running down the hill ]

K-K-Kiyotaka!!

[ oh my god oh my god oh my god a death finally happened in the dangan cast and ishimaru died oh my god this is the worst. once down the hill, he slides onto the ground onto his knees to check up on his dead friend ]

Are you all right?! Talk to me!

[Luckily, Ishimaru is not the first casualty of the dangan cast ~~at least not right now~~ because a small groan leaves him when Naegi begins to check up on him. He's definitely hurt, with scrapes and bruises already beginning to form on his person, but miraculously, there's no major sign of injury.

He slowly unbuckles the helmet from his head and plops it to the side, but Ishimaru doesn't make any other movement to get up. Just let him rest on the ground for a bit. It's a comfortable ground, really.]

...I-I'm okay, Makoto.

[He sounds somewhat pained, mostly winded from the crash.]

[ as long as ishimaru's not bleeding, maybe this is a success... naegi doesn't want him to bleed all over the place and for the cops to come and get the wrong idea. one of my characters is already in jail. i can't have naegi in jail as well ]

C-Can you stand? Let me take you back to my place and you can lie down...

[ and have more ice packs put on you ]

It's nothing big, don't worry.

[It seems that all of his prior energy is gone. Guess tumbling and almost seriously injuring himself has kinda snapped Ishimaru back to being a bit more reasonable.]

...I think I'm done trying this out. [He slowly sits up and rubs his arm, but he doesn't yet meet Naegi's eyes.] I'm sorry I dragged you into this and for worrying you. Knowing my talent isn't worth all this.

[He could still try and do the more easy ones back home, but... Ishimaru isn't planning on forcing it. It'll probably come to him naturally, just like the others.]

Edited (omg i'm sorry about all the edits) 2018-08-01 02:04 (UTC)

[ while naegi nearly killed ishimaru with this, sara tries to kill my inbox. it's only fair but oh, ishimaru... naegi takes a proper seat on the ground, going from awkwardly bending over to sitting crosslegged on the dirt. immediately after ishimaru finishes talking, he shakes his head ]

You don't have to apologize for this. I was more than glad to help.

[ he then takes a second to form his thoughts together in proper words but he looks at ishimaru as he speaks with certainty ]

Mm, yeah, I'll admit that I was a little worried since the stuff we were doing was kind of dangerous, but it never bothered me. I definitely don't think you "dragged" me into it because we're friends, right? Doing these kinds of things for each other isn't ever a chore when you're doing it with and for a friend.

[ it's embarrassing how easily he can say this ]

[Ishimaru finally looks up to meet Makoto's eyes, feeling encouraged by his friend's words. Even if it sounds embarrassing, it doesn't feel that way to him. Growing up, he's never had a close friend like this, so Ishimaru finds himself truly appreciating what he's saying.]

Thank you, Makoto. [He rubs his shoulder with a slight wince, but continues on.] ...If I wasn't the SHSL Gambler, I wanted to have a talent that might be able to help others here or at least make them happy! But... I shouldn't rely on a skill of my past self to do something like that, right?

Yeah. It'd be nice if we all had a skill or talent in our past lives that could help us in our current ones but it's not necessary. Who you are and what you can do now matters far more than something in another life.

[ that's the biggest takeaway anyone should have while being on retrospec, or at least naegi thinks so. with his hands on his knees, he smiles as he talks ]

I mean, look at my talent. SHSL Good Luck doesn't necessarily help anyone but I can't let that define me. I'll still try to help others with the abilities I have here.

[ he still recalls that kirigiri once told him that maybe he's better suited to be shsl hope but he doesn't quite believe that. that seems far too flattering for him ]

Right! I'm me and my past self is someone different!

[Even if they supposedly share the same soul, it doesn't mean they're going to be exactly the same. He already knows that some people on Retrospec are far different than the lives they've had in the past.]

... [Ishimaru would be lying if he said that he was truly impressed by Naegi's SHSL talent, but.] ...Don't you hold the title of SHSL Hope? I believe you mentioned it during one meeting! We discussed it after Kyoko lost the app, but apparently she once told you that your actual talent might be hope.

[He smiles and lets out a small laugh.]

I think that's very fitting for you! I always feel supported and more confident to do something when you're around!

[even if that involves riding a bicycle down a hill.]

Edited 2018-08-01 03:23 (UTC)

Ah, yeah, she did say that but... I think that's a little too much for me.

[ he takes one hand off his knee to rub the back of his neck sheepishly ]

Kyouko always gave me too much praise with this kind of stuff. I mean, being a little more optimistic and supportive than others isn't enough for a title like that.

[Didn't they just talk about talents not defining who they are now... but for something like Hope, it almost feels like they should try harder to reach something like that.]

That is a strange talent, I must admit! It's not really a skill you just obtain... but something you must work towards. [Come to think of it...]

Does it make you want to work harder to become the SHSL Hope? Especially since Good Luck is just something that happens without any effort of your own!

[Yep, he'll just throw some shade again.]

[ what is with this shade. why is it that he's always getting shade thrown at him even when he's trying to help... outrageous... ]

Of course. I'd love to live up to a title like that and be someone hopeful enough that I can be proud of but I guess I'm just... not sure if SHSL Hope is a real title. I don't remember reading it online in my memories and I feel like Kyouko just made that up.

[ granted, he didn't read about kirigiri's talent online either but she always seems to be a special case ]

Would she lie to you about something like this?

[He's not sure she would, but Ishimaru wasn't as close to her as Naegi or Byakuya. Maybe she has a hidden prankster side that he never knew about! Regardless, SHSL Hope doesn't sound any less fake than some of the other titles they know. Like Moral Compass--]

...

[For a moment, Ishimaru falls completely silent as a memory passes through him. He looks completely lost in thought and it takes a few seconds before he moves again, slowly blinking as he says two words without much context.]

Moral Compass.

[It comes out quietly, far lower than his normal volume.]

[ naegi was going to answer his question, say that it's probably not a lie but more of an exaggeration. she always praised him more than he thought he needed but he appreciated it. to see her faith in him, it was... nice. he obviously misses her but he hasn't said anything about it. no point in lingering about something that he can't change. ]

[ as he was about to open his mouth, he notices that ishimaru has completely gone frozen. wait, is he... going through a memory right now? he's seen this happen to a few people, including himself, so did this work? did they finally get back a memory back about ishimaru's talent? naegi patiently waits until ishimaru snaps out of it but when he does, naegi can only react with confusion. ]

Huh?

[He doesn't yet look at Naegi, still reeling from the memory. Nothing big actually happened in it, just him reading a letter of admission to Hope's Peak Academy, stating his name and SHSL talent. But... it's still a big revelation to him, not only because it's a memory that he actually wanted to remember, but because he's finally recalled his talent after all this time.

...But it's something he wasn't expecting at all.

Shouldn't he be happy? This was his goal and with Naegi's help, he reached it. And while a part of him is glad, another part of him just feels upset.]

Kiyotaka Ishimaru. [Ishimaru finally responds, but he's still subdued.] He-- my past self, is the Super High School Level Moral Compass. I just remembered.

[ naegi waits patiently for ishimaru to start talking, not wanting to push him until he feels comfortable. he stays silent until ishimaru begins and when he does hear from him, he puts on a thoughtful look. ]

"Moral Compass"...

[ naegi repeats, thinking to himself. yeah, that's definitely of the talents that he remembered and wrote in his phone but he was always confused by that one. some of the talents were pretty self-explanatory but this one was not so easy to figure out... ]

Do you remember what it means?

For achieving top honors in a famous high school and being dedicated to its public morals committee.

[So, an honors student that probably had a bright future ahead of him if the killing game didn't happen.]

It was vague other than that. [But either way, 'moral compass' is not an ability he's going to get. In fact, he's already past high school and while he did decently, it was nothing impressive. Not to mention, all he does is gamble, college hasn't been something he seriously considered.

And while he's proud of his gambling skills and he's been trying his hardest to prove that it's not just luck or filled with criminals, he would never argue that it's the most moral thing either.]

Ngh, I'm nothing like that.

[ being dedicated to the school's public morals committee... wow, that sure is specific and... also vague at the same time. naegi puts a hand to his chin as he thinks about this. when ishimaru says that he's nothing like his past talent, naegi looks up ]

... well, doesn't that also mean that you had a very strict moral code?

[ here comes your protag spew of positivity ]

That sounds a lot like you. Even when you're gambling, you always try to follow your moral code of never doing anything illegal or dishonest and you're always trying to make sure that others are the same. So... if we think of Moral Compass as someone who motivates and pushes people into being someone with good morals, I think that fits you a lot.

[As encouraging as Naegi is being, Ishimaru still doesn't fully agree with him. He rubs his arm, partly because of how sore it is and partly because of his uncertainty over all this.]

Maybe, but that doesn't make me the Super High School Level Moral Compass. There are plenty of other people that follow a strict moral code... and they don't gamble. They haven't caused other people to lose thousands of dollars in a matter of minutes.

Kiyotaka...

[ naegi stays silent a bit, just watching him and his movements ]

You can't put that on yourself. Remember what you said? We agree to the rules when we come to the table to play, including the consequences. You can't blame yourself for something like that.

I-I know...

[He definitely still believes in that philosophy, but it's hard to think of himself as the SHSL Moral Compass at the same time.]

It's just that someone with truly good morals, someone really worthy of that title, would be doing something else with his life. I feel like my past self would disapprove of me.

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