CHEER ♥ HEART

a cheer from me to you ! kimiko kita, shsl magical girl affliated with rewound circuit

[rewoundcircuit]

Awko-taco (bell) | Orpheus | Chapter 5 | ATTN: Kimiko

[cheerheart-blog1]

shslorpheus‌:

Sighing in relief as Kimiko accepted his apology, Orpheus came back to his full height, a small smile adorning his face. It was good to know that she didn’t hold his conduct during the previous trial against him - which meant that they were still on good terms, right? At least, Orpheus would like to think so…

Either way, he wasn’t allowed to ponder much further upon this topic, given that Kimiko essentially bombarded him with questions while he had moved behind the counter to get some coffee done. While he started to check whether there were enough coffee beans, water and anything else that was necessary for that sweet, sweet beverage, he also continued the conversation:

“I would be lying if I wasn’t at least a little bit tempted to explore my research laboratory right away. However, once I’m in there, I am not sure whether I’d be able to leaveit soon enough… Sitting down and reading a good book after a long day is quite relaxing for me.”

“As for the other two laboratories, I have actually visited them already. They are… interesting, but I do not think I will spend much time in either of them.”

He opened his mouth right afterwards, but then halted himself - there was no reason to mention that he didn’t find anything of note in these rooms. After all, it would only lead back to discussing their unfortunate circumstances and… it would be best to forget it for at least a little while, right?

Better to focus on her last inquiry, then!

“As for why I know how to make coffee… I’ve learnt to do so from a young age, along with other domestic duties. When– When I was young, I often helped out when it came to housework. Cooking, cleaning, you name it - I… was simply happy when I was able to help out. So I simply acquired these skills over time.“

Alright, the coffee machine was ready to go - he only needed to input what it should produce now, which meant it was his time to ask questions.

“On that note, how would you like your coffee?”

Seeing Orpheus take on her apology also prompted Kimiko to physically relax, even though she hadn’t realised she’d been quite as tense as she actually was- when he straightened back to his full height, Kimiko ended up doing the same herself, his smile prompting the girl’s shoulders to relax where they’d been as clenched in expectation of... what, exactly? Who knew. Kimiko wasn’t about to mentally dig into it, preferring to grin back at Orpheus instead as she hopped up onto a seat by the counter to watch him work. 

“Ohhhhh, I see- so it’s kinda like you feel like that one you DO go in there, you won’t wanna do anything else today? Hee, that’s pretty admirable planning... I get it, though..! I meaaaan... I only used to read in the car while we were travelling when I was a kid, and that was only a LITTLE bit, buuuuut I think I understand the feeling, hee.”

That complete near-lack of being able to relate to anything aside, Kimiko kicked her legs back and forth where she sat, tipping her head to watch Orpheus curiously as he answered her question. 

“Awwww, that’s sweet of baby Orphy..! Did you really do all this chore stuff just because you liked it, orrrrr was it more because you kept being told to though, hee.” At least she was clearly just teasing, going off her widened grin. “Coffee’s an interesting chore to pick up, though! Don’t tell me six year old Orphy felt so worn out by sweeping or whatever he needed to start knocking back the caffeine so early..!”

“But hmmmmm..!  Weeell, my normal go-to are frappuccinos, buuuuut that seems a LIL much to just put on you right away, hee... unless you know how to make one, of course! Though, ummmm, I’m not sure what I would have instead... ohhhhh, how about you make me what YOU would usually have annnnd I’ll try that! Or surprise me, I guess, hee.” 

Well, at least she’d perked back up again, huh. 

[rewoundcircuit]

Awko-taco (bell) | Orpheus | Chapter 5 | ATTN: Kimiko

[cheerheart-blog1]

shslorpheus‌:

“Ah, apologies for startling you. I should have been more mindful than that.”

A quick apology was given when he realized that she jumped a bit by his appearance, followed by a small bow. While he did that, he couldn’t help but notice that she’d busied herself over at the coffee machine - not that he could blame her. If one wanted to have coffee, they ought to do it by themself - or have someone else who could do it for them.

“No need to concern yourself with me. If you wish, I could make some coffee for the both of us, though. While I cannot hope to compete with Ainara-san’s skills, I would like to think that my coffee is still good nonetheless.”

He might say that, but he didn’t make any movements to get behind the counter as well. Then again, he was always someone who waited until it was clear what other people wanted or not, huh? Well, it would make it awkward to get behind the counter with Kimiko, only for her to possibly deny his offer.

The silence afterwards was certainly not something that he enjoyed, but also wasn’t sure how to break it - until Kimiko was kind enough to do just that. He gently shook his head, smiling at her amiably.

“It is quite alright, Kita-san. In fact, I am the one who owes you a proper apology. I may have been only searching for the truth, but I should have been more considerate of your state. My conduct was rather poor. Please, forgive me for treating a lady so unkindly.”

With that, another deep bow happened - one that he only dared to straighten up from once Kimiko steered the topic into the new labs, that is.

“Yes, that is correct. I haven’t been there yet, as I planned to visit it last. You could say that I wish to end this inspection on a good note, haha…”

“… And yes, the smell of coffee is quite alluring. I couldn’t resist it myself either.”

“Ohhhh, you actually know how to make coffee..? Sure! I mean, I’m preeeeeeetty sure I COULD get the hang of it, buuuuut... I think I’d kinda like a coffee now rather than working it out, you know? Hee... should I give you my normal Starbucks order or what-!”

There was a pause for a moment, before Kimiko decided to show Orpheus that the floor was his in a rather dramatic fashion, slamming both hands onto the counter and carefully vaulting herself back over to the customer side of the shop. She landed just in time for Orpheus to offer up his apology, which did an excellent job of sobering Kimiko up from the smug expression she’d settled into on completion of her jump- her eyes softened into a way that threatened tears if they went any further, and her smile slowly fell into a worried bite of her lip as her gaze fell from Orpheus’. For once it seemed like Kimiko didn’t know how to adjust to something in front of her, but to her credit, her reply came quick enough for the situation and without any tears.

“...I meaaaaaaan... I guess we were all kind of in a state, huh? Whatever was going on... like, you had... that going on second, right? Only a few hours between us, hee... but don’t worry about it, Orphy... apology accepted if you’re offering it, hee..!” 

Even though she wasn’t crying, Kimiko took the break in conversation as an opportunity to carefully dab at the corners of her eyes to push any possible chance for tears back in, before rolling right on ahead with the conversation by barraging Orpheus with questions. 

“Awww, fair enough! Not even the SLIGHTEST bit tempting, though? When my lab opened that was the ABSOLUTE first one I went into, hee. I guess there’s a preeeeeeeetty interesting mix of labs round here though that have gotta be kinda interesting, you know? Like Kuru-chan’s! Annnnnd... Yu Gi Oh or whatever... did you look in the rest yet? Hee... but uhhhhh, with this one, how come you know how to make coffee anyway? Though, maaaaaaaybe it helps you get through writing that much or something... I’ve heard that from a BUNCH of the show writers, hee...”

[rewoundcircuit]

Awko-taco (bell) | Orpheus | Chapter 5 | ATTN: Kimiko

Right now, Orpheus could absolutely go for a cup of coffee.

With Atsuko’s laboratory being part of the new area that ought to be explored, he had every reason to enter said place to begin with. From his first impression, it was a cozy shop that one could get comfortable in - something that they desperately needed after yesterday’s shenanigans.

Therefore, he wasn’t exactly surprised to see the place being occupied by someone else already.

On the other hand though, the atmosphere was immediately awkward as soon as Orpheus realized who it was that he ran into. After all, given his accusiations - that he couldn’t exactly withdraw as of now -, he wouldn’t be surprised if Kimiko wouldn’t want to talk to him.

(Not to mention that she probably suspected him of doing the deed as well, huh–)

Despite that, it would be rude of him to not greet her, at least. Just because their situation got more complicated, didn’t mean that they had to forego pleasantries and the likes, yes?

Therefore, he gave the resident magical girl a careful smile as he bowed - more deeply than usually, that is. Maybe, someone still felt guilty for making her cry like this.

“Good day, Kita-san. I hope I am not disturbing you with anything.”

[cheerheart-blog1]

Did Kimiko know how to make a cup of coffee from any starting point that wasn’t ‘go to a coffee shop and buy one’, or at a push, ‘get some out of an instant coffee jar or packet’? Not in the slightest. But apparently the SHSL Barista lab opening up was enough of a prompt for Kimiko to decide that it was time to try, even if it was the sort of morning that really probably would have been the most acceptable to just go to the food court and bother A30N for one. 

‘Try’ might perhaps have been the wrong term, however, as on Orpheus’ entry Kimiko was doing nothing more apart from trying to make head or tail of the instructions on a packet of coffee beans from where she stood behind the counter like an actual barista might. Even so, it was apparently still an action she was apparently that deep in focus for that the opening of the door jolted her to attention so immediately it was as though Orpheus had shouted to her- though thankfully for the both of them, Kimiko got over her deer in headlights look pretty fast, a small but noticeably sheepish smile coming onto her face. 

“Hi, Orphy..! Nah, not reaaaaaally... I would offer you a coffee while I’m behind here, buuuuut I didn’t... quite work that out yet, admittedly... turns out this is pretty do it yourself, hee. I’ll get there though-!”

Even with that decisive statement, Kimiko punctuated her sentence by dropping the bag of coffee beans onto the counter, moving into leaning on the counter in the same motion to watch her new companion. Though there was certainly still the air of Kimiko being rather tired, judging by her movements lacking their usual kind of deliberate grace, it was nothing like the tiredness she’d been plagued with the day before- but just before the silence between the two could become too awkward she let out a gentle sigh, briefly shutting her eyes before making the first move towards the elephant in the room.

“...Heeeeeey, Orphy... sorry for just crying at you so much... yesterday, you know? I’m normally WAY better at not crying, hee, annnnnd... I know you were just trying to solve it..?”

...

“...Ohhhhh, your lab must be open here too now, right? Mine’s been around for so long I’ve barely been thinking about it, hee. Have you been there yet? I’d have gone, buuuuuut I could kinda smell the coffee just on getting here already..!” 

Smooth!

[cheerheart-blog1]

thread track 5

braaaaaaap brap brap

public:

orpheus

private:

aki

unsorted:

takaku  

as i said in the ooc chat, i’m going to be gearing towards exams in late may pretty soon, but especially as this is the last free-time event and I would still like to stay sane with free-time, i’d still like to rp !

[rewoundcircuit]

a sob from me to you ✽ kimiko ✽ re: orpheus, alibi/motive stuff

“Hmmmmm… yeah, I guess the times don’t line up for that at all, right? Sor-ry, Orphy… I was just wondering if a split occurred so all this stuff could get done, you know? Since the times are getting SUPER tight around here..!”

But then talk drifted back to alibis - locations and motive effects and who knew what else - and the hints of a smile that Kimiko had been managing to piece together into her usual resting place all but fell apart. 

If this gets bolded it’ll be a mess, so just imagine it. 

“Aww, was no-one listening to me earlier..? I said I went round places I actually like today- were you thinking I spent all day in Area 2? There’s not that much in there, hee… and it just started… upsetting me with the motive too much… I’ve been trying to do basic survival too as well as relaxing, you know? I don’t wanna waste away because of this stupid stuff, hee… I just couldn’t stay in my room… I know I’m tired right now, but I don’t think I’m talking that much nonsense, hee… but I was the first to get the motive, and it… really didn’t make me the most sociable of people, like I said..! I wasn’t kidding about me just reading anything I got in the past few days as hate mail… it started off as me hearing people say awful stuff to me whenever we spoke - l-like they wished I wasn’t here and I was just r-ruining it for everyone else and I should just get lost  and shouldn’t be doing this - and… you know when you're reaaaaally sure SOMEONE is talking about you? That was… my paranoia stuff, hee… even just the party yesterday felt like no-one wanted me around… even Kuru-chan sounded mean… and it only just got… w-worse, hee…”

Number of inserted ‘hee’s aside in an attempt at being lighthearted and having fun as ever, there was no way to deny that Kimiko’s voice was starting to crack again just as it had earlier when discussing the motive. 

“I- I KNOW that my alibi is less checkable than some, but it’s like Aki-chan says- I’m not the ONLY one with that kind of story, you know..? People in their room’s could’ve gotten back there faster, and not everyone else was hanging out together-! And how would I have done any of the stuff that we’ve been putting in this timeline? People who hung out with me on day ONE would know I was already taking everything badly..! I wouldn’t have read that note to Umenoyakakutani like that if I passed it- it would have been an attack on me I would’ve just rolled over to and- and there’s no WAY I could’ve cleverly redirected Kubo’s plan like that by today- o-one or two words from him and I probably would’ve been killed right in that lab in that case- Aki-chan had enough getting me convincing me into the VR yesterday and- a-and…”

“…I’m s-sorry, I don’t- know how anyone would forge exact handwriting or know Kubo was close to Umenoyakakutani or why that would be the Umenoyakakutani impression to suggest, I- I just… I d-don’t wanna be disliked anymore…”

Great. 

[rewoundcircuit]

my icons really do not convey how tired this girl is ✽ kimiko ✽ re: mayura, orpheus, atsuko

“Nah, there’s no WAY that outfit is from my lab-! I mean, Koko-chan did once do some costumes for us, buuuuut… it’s a cheerleader theme, not a skating one, you know..! Besides, ever since Wei decided to steal loads of stuff from there just to spite me, I’ve been keeping more of an eye on it, hee…”

While it perhaps would have been nice if that clarification had come before Monokuma had to chime in to resolve the fact, at least Kimiko sounded suitably confident in this even in her still-slightly-shaky state to back up his vagueness. But that was all tossed out once again at Ryuu’s sudden yelling - normally easily coped with, but in her defence, it had been a very long few days - her expression recovering into one of confused thought a few moments later after Orpheus had finished up. 

“Hmmmm… do you think it's actually true that the killer and Kubo did actually leave Area 5 at the same time? What if theeeeeey… split up before Area 1 for some reason..? Like "Umenoyakakutani” running away..! Would that let one individual person get to Area 1 ahead of the other one taking the longer train back somehow? Splitting the journey up somehow? Ughhhh, I hate train timetables… Himari usually does them for us, hee…“

A huff of annoyance at train timetables for daring to exist, before Kimiko took to idly twirling a strand of hair instead of any more irritated actions. 

"Thouuuuuuugh… the mannequin was pretty dressed up with its ‘face’ hidden, right? Maybe motive-hit people just… didn’t think anything of it being there when they were getting into the VR? Ughhhh, what’s even the POINT of that thing..? Do you just need something sat in a seat to make an avatar show up?”

But even Kimiko Kita, champion of throwing out baseless statements left right and centre in trials, seemed to realise how stupid that concept sounded, dismissing it with a quick tired grin and a shake of her head. Her gaze flicked to Nezumi for a moment, lingering there on the back of Orpheus’ accusation- before Kimiko decided she probably shouldn’t try her luck with that area of debate again (especially when robotics seemed yet AGAIN involved!), quickly looking toward Atsuko instead after her retelling of “Mayura”’s appearance. 

“Sooooo… Kubo definitely went with "her” just on the idea that someone was looking to murder on the outside..? I GUESS that still fits what we were talking about… you know, heading out on his own to try and be helpful to us or save his plan or whatever..? Or maybe he just… didn’t want to take the chance that Umenoyakakutani had shown up in the VR where he was planning to kill someone..! You know, since he didn’t invite her and left that note of intent or whatever..?“ 

[rewoundcircuit]

cheer heart's no good very awkward day ✽ kimiko ✽ re: aki, nezumi, All Of That

It was a question that had often bared repeating occasionally throughout this whole murder game, but perhaps especially now- what was a magical girl meant to do in this kind of situation? 

Well. Okay, maybe back over that question with a pinch of salt. What Cheer Heart would do was the most obvious answer to Kimiko Kita right now. She’d know exactly how to settle the problem while making everyone feel acknowledged, while also still managing to see the positive side of everyone spitting whatever kinds of venom and doubts they were currently stewing on. Enable Mayura to cry it out or whatever healed her heart best, help Ryuu communicate what he wanted to without everyone and their dog taking it negatively, hell, maybe Takeru and all of the others wouldn’t have even died at all if there’d been a magical girl on the scene-!

Unfortunately for the class at hand, Kimiko had set her mind to not playing that magical girl role at school, and she didn’t actually possess any of that magical girl magic anyway. Though who knows how the class might have taken that, given the VR’s reality debates.

“…Ohhhh, right, yeah, I did mention a robot arm… I dunno if it was THROWN, though? We just found it laying on the ground near the grid, you know? It, ummmm… looked super burned and split though, I guess… especially towards the hand? So maybe whatever happened with it had the hand part reeeeeally against the electricity around there, you know..? Like…”

A motion with her hand flat in the air, like she was trying to push open a door.

Then Kimiko doubled back on herself, looking to Nezumi at her side to skip back to a point or two that she’d missed verbally running away from getting into… that entire grief debate. 

“I mean… maaaaaaybe he just wanted to get a bigger piece of paper than a notebook or a post-it, you know..? Just so people would definitely see that threat note and know it would all be over soon, or whatever… though that note would have to be there before "Umenoyakakutani” showed up to the party, right? Since that’s how “she” even knew to GO there, by seeing that..? And I dunno, maybe he felt he HAD to go along with “Umenoyakakutani” when they were in the real world, you know? Like I just said..! If he wanted to be helpful and he’d been training, maybe he… thought that was a fight he could or should win…“ 

…

Aw, dammit. She was going to have to touch on that entire mess a little, wasn’t she? Despite having one of the fewer obvious stakes in it all- maybe the magical girl persona was still trying to carry itself over even now. 

”…But yeaaaaaah, guys… I thought we were kiiiiiinda working on the assumption that we all just sorta knew everyone was suffering through this stuff, you know? Even if we don’t… remember knowing each other or whatever, hee… we’re still seeing people we’re getting to know or know get killed, right..? I didn’t think we were gonna just… give one person priority in running the show, hee… outside of when some of us start jumping on a killer for killing or whatever..!“ 

Well. At least she didn’t outright mention the singular person they might have been dropping everything for. Not bad for a very blunt girl. 

[rewoundcircuit]

vr stands for very real ✽ kimiko ✽ re: aki, atsuko

“…”

For someone who generally prided herself on being able to go along with just about anything and bragging about the fact just as much, Kimiko sure had absolutely no idea where to start when it came to her classmates bickering over a virtual party.

Mayura airing out… all of that! Yvon being forced back from… all of that! Even Aki stepping in to deal with all of that before addressing their main point of business!

…

Aki it was, then! 

“…Ohhhhh, so you think the whole power outage thing was to stop us moving around, Aki-chan? That prooooooobably makes sense, hee… I was just wondering if Kubo's possible m-”

A very quick glance to Mayura. 

“…Plan was to try and convince people suffering from the motive especially to come into the VR- since it stopped us feeling the effects, you know..? So THAT way when the power went out, he had way more chance of killing someone using it at the time or… something! Since we have those… headset things and I GUESS the electricity could’ve like… shocked us or something… buuuuuut you guys who were in the VR all seem okay, right..? I dunno how this stuff works, hee… but did it sound like everyone at the party had the motive?”

It’s not a trial without a baseless Kimiko idea of what happened!

“Thooooooough… who says "Umenoyakakutani”-“ Kimiko adopted the air quotes too, copying Atsuko. "Wasn't actually telling some kind of truth? Maybe "she” DID see that threat note on the platform annnnnnnnd figured “she” would actually go and try stop Kubo killing anyone first? Which… really wouldn’t have solved the problem of no-one dying over this, hee, buuuuuut… one person over maybe all of you in the VR..?“

Rather grey area topics aside. She’d just started to sound like she was properly back from that spaced out state the past couple of days appeared to have left her in, words straining to work up to their usual peppy pitch even though the light in her tired eyes didn't quite match any of those endeavours. But then the topic cycled back around to the very thing that had left her in this state, and the ghost of her usual content resting face disappeared faster than it had been built up. 

"I, um… weeeeeell, I already told my group this, buuuuut… if I’ve got the maths right, I think I was the… first to be hit by the motive… but… some people can say it- didn’t  help me be the best socially, hee… so even if I HAD been approached by Kubo to be given an invite, I… probably would’ve just seen it as him handing me hate mail or something-!”

Yikes. That was one heck of a crack in her voice, for Kimiko Kita.  

[rewoundcircuit]

we really gotta improve the party standard round here tbh ✽ kimiko ✽ re: party talk, mayura

“Yeaaaaah… about this whole party thing…”

Though Kimiko’s voice hadn’t quite returned to her usual level of peppy volume, and the time they’d spent on investigation was never going to be enough to wipe days worth of motive-induced lack of sleep from under her eyes no matter what concealer she put on them, it was certainly the most alive sounding anyone present would have heard her be in a little while. Her words came just after Nezumi had started questioning the entire concept of yet another party, Kimiko’s gaze briefly drifting to Takeru’s portrait as though to seek approval from the dead before going right at it. 

“When we were looking around Area 1, we found this… note, I guess? Around the train platforms, whiiiiich said…” A pause to recall the exact word order, Kimiko’s gaze flicking upward to the ceiling. “‘Don’t worry, will kill someone in the VR at the party, then it’ll be over’- which is SUPER bold, if you ask me..!" 

"The thiiiiing is… we checked the handwriting against those party invites some of you guys had been getting? And Kubo’s handwriting DEFINITELY matched that note, soooo… it sounds like he was the one planning to kill someone! And that was maybe the purpose of the party-!" 

Even in her worn-out state, the end of Kimiko’s brief bout of speech carried a lilting note, like she could quite easily rattle on further. But then Mayura started to speak up instead, and Kimiko wasn’t quite sure what to make of the other girl’s entire state- a fact which showed on her expression, gaze softening in the way it does when one is completely at a loss for how to respond. In the end, out of everything that Mayura laid out before them, Kimiko decided the safest mine to walk around on that particular emotional-looking field and jumped on it outright. As she did. 

"Ummmm, I didn’t really know Kubo, so I dunno exactly why he might have jumped on the thought of killing someone, buuuuuut… if he’d spent the entire night with someone I’m GUESSING was a friend who was suffering from the motive, do you think he’d wanna try help out… that way..?”

[rewoundcircuit]

disassociation station ✽ kimiko ✽ re: body discovery

It went without saying that there was a lot going on for anyone to process- surroundings being plunged into darkness and every other sense scrambling to pick up the slack in sight’s place. But for Kimiko there was only one feeling that mattered at the time, so attuned to the feel of it before she even realised as much that it would have been noticed even if the station had started collapsing around her: the quiet action of her stupid motive bracelet reversing its actions and allowing itself to be released, finally putting an end to the hell of the past few days.

It had been a moment long coming, and for the time it took their chaperones to pick her up for whatever their plan was, all that mattered was pulling the thing off her wrist and hurling it across the room, accompanied by the just-as-abrupt sound of a sob becoming a scream. 

She’d stopped finally releasing the rest of those motive-built sobs by the time their entire class had gathered in the main concourse and began their walk- their entire class minus one, of course. Whether Kimiko had even noticed that fact however was up for debate: her gaze was firmly fixed on the floor the entire way down the tunnel, or perhaps more on her now-bare wrist, a combination of the alien lack of pressure and suddenly cleared head prompting her to rub idly at the gap every few seconds. Any prompts that came from Monokuma or A30N did nothing to break her out of trying to sift any and all lingering motive-based thoughts from her head now chance finally allowed- that honour (?) was saved for when they finally reached Takeru’s body, certainly not aided by the fact her intent focus on the ground meant the first thing that shot into view was his expression. 

(Still surprises to be had even four dead classmates in then, clearly.) 

What was there even to say or do past then, apart from be doused with what seemed like only a fraction of the shock Takeru had gone through to get that look? Her gaze had shot up from the floor just as quickly as the body had been spotted, hands finally ignoring the ghost of her motive bracelet to cover her mouth as though it might help process the latest sequence of events, and with nothing but a quiet “Ohhh my god…” to offer Ryuu in his aid of Mayura. 

Kimiko Kita was a girl who could put her mind to go along with anything life threw at her, but the past few days had really seemed intent on setting up the perfect storm. 

[rewoundcircuit]

hey batter batter swing (properly) ✽ kimiko ✽ attn: ryuu

[cheerheart-blog1]

ultimateouendan‌:

There are times when the simplest explanations are the correct ones – although to say that all that the magical girl had postulated were true was… … well, she can see the results of her hypothesizing for herself.

“WH-WH-WHAT?! What makes you say that, Kita-san?! L-like.. joining the ouendan because you sustained some kind of … injury… and were suddenly unable to play baseball, but you wanted to support your former batterymate so you joined the ouendan instead to cheer him on?! That type of scenario?! It’s… - that’s ridiculous!”

He stops, suddenly, like a machine whose plug had been pulled before continuing in a much less frantic manner:

“And that’s not the reason I said I was, uh, bad at baseball AHAHA. I’m just lacking in, uh… what is it? Cooperation? No, no coordination! I used to be in the soccer club, actually, but it’s a team sport, and… with the way I was back then…”

He clears his throat. Though he was previously hesitant to answer questions of that nature, now that everyone knew about his previous delinquency, was there much of a point in keeping it a secret? It’s… pretty straightforward anyway-

“Right, well.. you’d definitely be right about me joining up with the cheer squad after my, ah, rough patch. It was actually my grandmother’s decision in a way. She wanted me to join clubs to meet new people and stay out of trouble and it just so happened that our ouendan was getting disbanded unless they could get another member so the principal set me up there!”

He nods before his gaze shifts towards his virtual counterpart, the sheepish look back on his face.

“A-ah no thank you. Well, maybe a little… Mm, how about this: I’m curious about you, too, Kita-san! How did you become a magical girl? Contract? Relation to intergalactic sovereignty? Chosen by the mascot character? You could tell me if you want while I try out the whole baseball thing AHAHA!”

There was certainly no doubt about the fact that Kimiko clearly noticed that her light guesswork had quite possibly prompted Ryuu to spill all the correct details and then some, given the cheeky grin that spread onto her face as she swayed a little back and forth in innocence. But thankfully she didn’t press the tease too much further, sounding genuine when she commented on it even in her amusement. 

“Hmmmmm, I dunno, Ryuu-chan! But awwww - if that DOES happen to be true, by any chance! - I think that’s all pretty sweet! I think it would be SUPER nice to be such good friends that you wanted to stay around them, even when you had some kind of setback! Ifffffff that WAS true again, of course! Hee.”

But moving on from Ryuu himself, she frowned in thought, bringing the bat back down from her shoulder and swinging it back and forth in front of her for consideration. 

“Ohhh, I guess I can see why you wouldn’t be pretty good at baseball if you didn’t have the coordination! This isn’t like, trying to hit a ball with a tennis racket or anything! These things have a SUPER thin area in comparison! I guess soccer would need totally different coordination, right?” 

For someone who possessed essentially zero knowledge about the sport of baseball, Kimiko sure did have an exceptionally confident tone in her voice and to her following action, twirling the bat in her hand once with all the ease of a cheerleading baton to hand it out to Ryuu for his turn. 

“Aww, you saved the club TOO? Ryuu-chan! Is there ANYTHING in your background that doesn’t sound like some kind of character redemption arc? I’m started to feel unworthy just being around you not hitting a baseball! Hee. Drama clubs have always been preeeeetty filled, so I’ve never had that problem, hee. I could probably carry the whole club by myself though if I had to!” 

Despite her apparent incredible interest in Ryuu’s anime-esque background, however, Kimiko seemed more than happy to fall back into an amused teasing air, moving aside to let her companion at the virtual baseball version of himself. Looked like she’d latched onto the small comment about him having a go at it, rather than... literally anything else he’d said. Thanks!

“Hee, keep up, Ryuu-chan! Miracle Cheer 101! OBVIOUSLY I was sought out by the mascot character as someone capable of building a TRUE bridge of friendship through the universe! Able to see the best in everyone and cheer them on! Hee! Whiiiiich is a WAY more exciting story than what really happened. I just got contacted about the audition for a pretty desperate show by my agent! I didn’t even REALLY know how I felt about the whole magical girl thing - I hadn’t even watched any before! - soooooo it’s kinda wild to think that’s MY title now!”

[rewoundcircuit]

hey batter batter swing (properly) ✽ kimiko ✽ attn: ryuu

[cheerheart-blog1]

ultimateouendan‌:

Of course, out of all the new areas it would have to be the baseball coach’s lab that piqued his interest the most. It was kind of given: baseball season was when he was busiest and he figured it wouldn’t hurt to check it out despite his surprisingly (?) limited knowledge of the sport.

“Kita-san don’t mind, don’t mind!”

Ah yes, he’s barely arrived and he’s already shifted into default ouen-mode, although he quickly clears his throat as if to shake off the urge to … well, do his job (read: it’s an appropriate environment, but not the most appropriate environment … also he recognizes that he’s been approached for a conversation thankfully). 

“Can’t say I have yet, actually AHAHA.. I’m actually pretty bad at baseball – does the program adjust the difficulty depending on who you’re up against? Maybe you should try yourself against ‘me’ and you’ll see what I mean!”

He’s mildly curious and definitely not attempting to weasel his way out of demonstrating his poor batting technique himself. If Ishii-san was a soccer coach on the other hand… 

No matter Ryuu’s concerns over accidentally sinking back into his usual job, Kimiko seemed more than happy to go along with it: his callback to her prompted a good giggle from the girl, and though she didn’t have any adequate verbal response, she gave two rhythmic claps before throwing her hands out in an arc as though she’d just shaken two pom-poms together. Close enough! The fact that she was holding a baseball bat didn’t even seem to affect the action whatsoever, Kimiko smoothly swinging the bat back onto her shoulders as she finished up. 

“Ohhhh, I didn’t have you down as being BAD at sport, actually! I mean, I GUESS it’s not your actual given talent or anything, but I dunno! You had to have gotten into ouendan SOMEHOW, right? Maaaaaaaybe it could’ve been through playing baseball and deciding you’d really rather be doing that!”

Ryuu’s suggestion to pass the baseball buck onto a virtual version of himself pulled up a thoughtful look from Kimiko, before she decided that actually, that was a pretty good idea! That didn’t get Ryuu off the conversation hook, however, Kimiko continuing to question him even as she turned her focus to returning to the board and trying to figure out how to swap Aki out. 

“How DID you get into ouendan stuff anyway? Liiiiike, I’m guessing it was AFTER all that stuff our second motive decided to tell us - if that was even TRUE, hee - buuuuut I dunno, actually! I’m kinda curious as to how people get into this cheering stuff for real, hee.” 

A cheeky grin over her shoulder as she finally placed a virtual Ryuu onto the field, glancing between him and the real version. 

“Are you suuuuuuuure you don’t want to try yourself out?”

[rewoundcircuit]

hey batter batter swing (properly) ✽ kimiko ✽ attn: ryuu

In one corner: Kimiko Kita, armed with a baseball bat held in her hand far enough upwards that it might as well have been a cheerleader baton. In another corner, a dubiously rendered version of one Aki Ishii that Kimiko had boldly chosen to play against in the endeavour, offering absolutely no helpful opinion on Kimiko’s poor stance in this. 

If this sounded like completely the wrong sporting description for the current scenario, it accurately matched Kimiko Kita’s current knowledge on the sport she seemed to have decided to try and play. 

A fact which became clear almost immediately, despite Kimiko’s gritted teeth and piercing squint towards the pitcher Aki opposite her that had nothing to do with trying to make out those PS1 graphics. Within mere seconds the whole build-up paid off with one fast ball, one high pitched squeak of surprise, and one bat tumbling out of Kimiko’s ‘hold’ with enough force to bounce off the ground a number of times before it rolled- right towards the person who had, of course, walked in quite possibly just in time to catch all this. 

…Oh well! Could be worse company! Grateful that she’d finally figured out how to change out of that default bear avatar, Kimiko turned towards Ryuu where she stood on the field and shot him a cheeky grin. 

“Hee, sor-ry, Ryuu-chan! THAT one juuuuuuust caught me off guard, you know! I’ve been doing PRETTY well with it, buuuuuut it turns out even a virtual Aki-chan is still really good at this!”

She closed the gap between the two of them a little bit to continue the conversation, quickly running over to come pick up the bat where it had fallen near Ryuu.

“Hey, have you had a go at this yet? It’s kinda weird! I’ve never tried ANYTHING like this before! We can pick ANYONE to play against! I could play against MYSELF if I wanted to, hee." 

[rewoundcircuit]

missed connections ✽ kimiko ✽ re: trial results

At the end of it all, Kimiko wasn’t quite sure of the exact reason why her hand drifted to the area of the screen that would confirm her vote for 🌠. Genuine belief that Yoshiko was the type to throw herself under the bus for someone else’s actions? Just a simple personal bias? Loyalty to the one person she’d known personally before arriving here? Who was to say! Not like ANYTHING made sense in this place if she thought on it too hard!

(Though really, all of those could be boiled down to the same simple fact, and fat lot of use she’d MADE of that fact, wasn’t it?)

(She wasn’t jealous of 🌠, not in that way, but… on some level of actually managing to get to know someone so well so fast, maybe…)

It was the first time that Kimiko had voted wrongly, but that fact didn’t seem to bother her as much as it might’ve been expected to hit such a self-satisfied girl- sure, Kimiko’s expression was briefly one that could only be described as ’Huh?!’ at the voting results, but otherwise? There really wasn’t much the girl would have had to offer on the entire scenario, simply picking up the baton she’d left on her podium for the remainder of the trial past her earlier mini tantrum and idly twirling it in her hands for most of the Yoshiko questioning and previous year contemplation that followed.

(Not that Kimiko Kita wasn’t one to be able to roll with the punches, but there was just… something oddly personal feeling about this one!)

Still, just before 🌠 and Yoshiko began to exchange words and a little bit more than an audience like them perhaps bargained for, Kimiko at least managed to find something to offer. 

“Aww, Koko-chan… I’m sorry for doubting you, I GUESS! It really wasn’t anything personal, you know? I just… weeeeell, you really DID blame yourself for being tasered! Buuuuuut… I’m sorry we never really got to know each properly around… everything, hee… I’ll still treasure the dress you made for me..!" 

Nailed it. 

As usual, there wasn’t much to say following the execution- one which Kimiko admittedly only watched out of a belief that she would soon see Yoshiko make it home free, but of course, that wasn’t the case. While continuing along with this was still possible, of course - especially with the ever present thought that apparently a camera was rolling somewhere - doing so right about now was… starting to leave something heavy in her heart, really..!

  ”…Sorry, Koko-chan…“ 

And without anything else that could be done, Kimiko let out a huff with a lightness that sounded forced, before decisively tossing the baton outwards a little in her hand and taking her leave. 

[rewoundcircuit]

(this is kimiko with no time for a full post) "But there was no blood trail, right? Apparently you stabbed her in the neck! If you dragged her to the ride from another one along the floor, AND she wasn't wearing the dress yet... wouldn't that leave blood?"

[rewoundcircuit]

welcome to the heck house ✽ kimiko ✽ re: aki, yoshiko attn: yoshiko

“You knoooooooow… how fast does that Snow White ride even MOVE, anyway?”

Giving almost no break for Aki’s half accusation of sorts to settle in the air, Kimiko piped back up with her usual peppiness- a little sheepish still, maybe, but certainly not adjacent to the tantrum she’d just basically been throwing. 

“Whaaaat? I’ve never been on it, honestly! Buuuuut think about it for a sec! If the killer DID ambush Wei while she was riding the ride, they would’ve had to catch up to that moving seat, right? So it makes WAY more sense if they were sitting on the ride together! Wei had some time to, uh, kill waiting around the park for 4am, you know? LOADS of time to be invited onto a ride!" 

But then before Kimiko can push the questioning any further, Yoshiko- reveals something she’d forgotten they were missing, actually. 

…

”…Kokoooooo… you know that showing off a piece of the dress DOESN’T prove you were the killer, right? Just that you altered the dress to put it on her maybe after the fact..! If it’s NOT Star, theeeeeen… how did you kill Wei and drag her allllll the way over to the other ride?“

Another pause, Kimiko actually looking apologetic for once in her life as she was being blunt. 

"And, um- weeeeeell, sorry! But you DID blame YOURSELF for getting TASERED, you know! I’m not gonna believe that you’re not blaming yourself for MURDER just for cutting a dress that easily! Hee…”

[rewoundcircuit]

miracle grump ✽ kimiko ✽ re: mayura, orpheus, yoko

“…Sooooo is that… what you consider pals or people who even just kiiiiinda seem to be getting along to do? NOT share any casual detail about what they do hanging out together? That’s an interesting one..!”

Kimiko’s response to Mayura’s scolding of her genuinely didn’t sound sarcastic or scathing in any fashion- if anything it just sounded confused, Kimiko’s usual smile taking on something of a sheepish look as she tried to process what, exactly, she had been in trouble for.

God, keeping a bridge built was REALLY hard when the other kept throwing matches-!

But whatever! There was much more to focus on than Mayura’s apparent rebuttal of her… whatever generous numbered attempt she was on, so Kimiko mentally tossed all of that out for now and turned to Orpheus.

“Oooooo, hold on, hold on! Wei DID have a white collar, didn’t she? Annnnnd it would’ve shown up blue! MAYBE the killer thought it was Monokuma on the ride and had the same kind of idea as Wei, and tried to take ‘him’ out!”

Wasn’t it you who literally just repeated the rule about violence against Monokuma word for word, Kimiko?

But perhaps luckily for that theory, the trial topic moved swiftly on- though maybe unlucky for everyone else, as Kimiko soon made her feelings on the note Yoko presented and all the conversation followed very clear in no other way than… stamping her foot. Yep.

“Ughhhh! Right! Okay! Stop EVERYTHING right there! This is just BEYOND a joke now, actually! And I thought it was bad enough that someone was using loads of Miracle Cheer stuff around the crime scene! Never mind trying to FRAME ME WITH IT!”

A loud huff.

“Wei’s had some weiiiiiird THING out for me ever since that first trial, you know? So much for this apparent MURDERER? Continually saying that she would NEVER go out and harm anyone in any way ever! This doesn’t make Umenoyakakutani the prime suspect at all, Robocop! It MEANS Wei was using all of this stuff from my show just to spite or frame ME! Weeeeell, I say go ahead and check me if you want! My handwriting is NOTHING like that, annnnnd my group can say I couldn’t fit through that structure that Aki talked about! So I couldn’t have!”

Another loud huff followed then, Kimiko picking up the prop baton she’d brought with her in both hands to hold to her chest almost protectively. Judging by the brief look of surprise that broke through her annoyed expression, it seemed to prompt her to finally break away from complaining and actually explain some of the items she’d been whining about.

“…Ohhhhhh, right, we didn’t talk about that yet. Yeaaaaah, you know that tower Aki was talking about just then? There were TWO of these batons out there - mine and Wave’s! - one stuck in the ride’s gears, and the other we found in the window in the structure! They both had some kind of long clear string on them? Buuuuut when I check where it went on THIS baton, it didn’t go anywhere except into the water, so maybe that’s how Wei hung up the bucket and stuff that fell down?”

“The OTHER stuff Wei decided to spite me with was a chain of ribbons she’d taken from our costumes! They were sort of… tied around the roof of the whole structure nearby, theeeeeeeen fed into the window and out the other side to get to the ground! That’s what Aki and I tried climbing up to see how the killer might’ve put the body up there, buuuuuut I think we must have been too tall, cause we couldn’t get through the window comfortably? Wei could’ve done it though to get all my stuff up there! She was shorter than us I think! Buuuut I guess the culprit must’ve been too, to actually get up there to adjust Wei too, right? Which also rules out Umenoyakakutani AGAIN, since she’s the tallest here now, hee.”