wizardmanor | Floor 1, Room 6

Of course I won't. That's your business to discuss, not mine. You kept mine secret, after all.

[ So, yeah. Secret's safe with him. ]

'Course, an' I'm still not gonna talk 'bout it. But thanks, I appreciate it. It's gettin' easier to talk 'bout it now, anyway.

[Though this one sort of forced his hand... Oh well, at least it worked out well enough.]

Oh right, you brought a book with you, what is it?

To be honest, I'm not sure. It just appeared in my room. Haven't opened it or anything just yet, but I was wondering if you've also been getting random gifts appearing.

[ It seems pretty sus... ]

Yeah, I have. That's what caused [gestures toward the window] all'a that. It was some kinda... ointment, I guess. So be careful 'round that if you get any.

[Though maybe it would be less distressing for you...? Eh, better be safe than sorry.]

Might as well see what that book's about though, yeah? Could be interestin'.

At least there's two of us, if something strange were to happen.

[ He looks at Malice before he opens the book. There's a flash of light that emits from it, and just like Malice's phantoms, some of Yamato's own appear as well.

Riku, Iori, Tamaki, Sougo, Nagi and Mitsuki. All of them are in the room now, looking at Yamato with warm smiles on their faces.

He's speechless for a moment...then he utters a word under his breath:

IDOLiSH7. ]

[Okay, why does the book do the same thing as the ointment?? That doesn't make sense!! Complaints aside, this is... definitely not great. He remembers what Yamato's told him about IDOLiSH7, so he recognizes the name and now he can put faces to the other members, but...]

You miss 'em, yeah?

Yeah. I do.

[ His voice gets shaky. Quiet. ]

A lot, actually.

[...]

Tell me 'bout 'em. If you wanna, I mean.

Yeah.

[ He points at each of them as he speaks: ]

Riku's our center. He's got the best singing voice, and he's passionate about singing and being an idol. Iori's the serious one, but he's a softie on the inside.

Tama and Iori are classmates. He loves pudding. Sou's got big dreams and he's extremely dedicated to music.

Nagi...he's the heart of the group. He believes in us more than anyone else in the world. And Mitsu– he knows me best. He wasn't necessarily the ideal idol at first, but he's worked hard and his charisma shines through.

[Malice looks them all over one by one as Yamato speaks. Each of them sound so vibrant and charming in their own ways, and hearing Yamato speak of them really does confirm what he already knew - that of course Yamato misses them dearly, because they're his close friends.]

They sound like great people. An' I'm sure they miss you too.

...I sure hope so.

[ When he first got here, he'd accepted that he'd lost his place. Now however, he sees things differently. He wants to return. He wants them to have a place for him again, despite everything. ]

If they didn't, I couldn't blame them. I hurt them. I...well, you know the story.

Yeah. But I think they'd want to hear you out, at least. Figure out why it happened the way it did. An' I wouldn't be surprised at all if they decided to forgive you.

[Both because humans seem to have a tendency to keep reaching out to others, and because they all seem like caring individuals. And also because it's Yamato, and who wouldn't like Yamato enough to forgive him??]

You wouldn't be surprised?

[ That gets a chuckle out of him. It's not mean-spirited, but he still has to know, even if his question's only half-serious: ]

You think that highly of me, huh?

'Course I do!

[He reaches over to gently sock Yamato in the arm. It's still a bit too strong of a hit, but he tried...]

You've been nothin' but good to me, an' I've no doubt you'd wanna do right by 'em when you get back. So why wouldn't they wanna give you another chance?

Ow-

[ Buddy....... One day, you'll learn.....

It doesn't wipe the smile off of his face, though! At least there's that. ]

Heh. I'm just an old man trying his best. [ To be a good friend and all that. He leans back in his seat. ] I didn't think befriending a vampire would be something I'd ever get to do, but here we are.

You ain't that old, are you?

[Unless his guess on human ages is completely off... how old are you, Yamato??? But anyway, that gets a laugh from him.]

It sure ain't common where I'm from! But I'm glad, gettin' a chance to meet y'all's been good for me.

Twenty-two.

[ See? That's plenty old. (My bones are creaking as I type this.) ]

You think you'd wanna stay away from home, even if we had the chance to go back?

Oh, that is not old.

[Because then you're calling him old??? He's around that age, probably???]

Mm, I gotta go back to take care of some things. I ain't leavin' for good 'til Lotisse an' Rosalie are dead. At least that way I'll help the humans... but really it's just 'cause they wronged me. After that, though? Think I'd rather go anywhere else. Maybe stick 'round in this world or somethin', if that's a possibility.

What, don't tell me you're much older?

[ Is Malice one of those 20000-year-old guys or. ]

But I understand needing to go back to take care of things. Seems like we were both taken here at pretty inconvenient times, weren't we.

[ Even if he was grateful for it, at first... Also, he's notably not commenting on the murder part. You do you, man. ]

Seems like it'll be a while until then, though, at this rate...

Nah? Somewhere in my twenties, but couldn't give you an exact number.

[Mid-twenties, to be specific, but his exact age is a big ???.]

Hah, that ain't a problem. I'm in no rush! Let's focus on fixin' things up here first, an' then we can get back home an' take care of things!

Yeah. I'm running on a tighter deadline, but we've got no choice but to do our best while we're here.

[ ... ]

It'll be hard to leave some people, though, when I go back. Even if it's only been a few weeks.

You can just say you're gonna miss me, y'know!

[...he was doing so well, but now it's back to this.]

[ ...

.....

................ ]

Did I say that?

That's definitely what you meant.

How are you so sure about that?

[ jiiiiiii ]

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