[In return, all Ken could do was just stare at her. He didn't know why she felt the need to address this but...]
You really are pushing me to be a leader, aren't you? But you are right, the only one who knows what I can do is myself. I just...never really thought about it.
[However, if that is something she really wants him to do?]
[And he wasn't surprised by her answer. All he could do was give a sigh as he started cutting up the pieces of fabric that he wanted. Let's see...it should be this much, right?
As he debated to himself on how much to use, he paused for a moment.]
You really are telling me to relive my childhood, aren't you?
[Which....wasn't too different from what he originally wanted to do. However, it's just going to be tough being in 'prison'.]
[She gives him another smile and a nod. Yeah. Him more than most, she thinks.]
You've been thinking about what we'd all want from you, right? I dunno about everyone else, but the thing that'd make me happiest is seeing you find what you wanna do.
I don't really know what I want to do as I'm still trying to figure that out for myself. But I know it'll take some time as I want to learn a lot of things out....
[She giggles a little. Yeah, that sounds like Junpei alright.]
He'll figure it out! Or he'll have fun doing a lot of different things until he does.
[If there's anything she's learned, there's no point planning things too far into the future, because everything can change in an instant. She smiles a little wistfully down at her pieces of soccer ball before reaching for her needle and thread.]
It's been a little while since you've gotten stuck here. Do you miss them...? The other guys from SEES, I mean.
[They're all adults now from Ken's perspective, aren't they?]
[Perhaps it was a bad idea to bring up the others. As he mumbled with the pieces of the petals, he narrowed his eyes hoping that the string would go through the needle. How do people do this on a daily basis? He doesn't know....]
...Sometimes, I do. It makes me wonder what they are doing right now and how long it take for them to notice that I'm gone.
[Especially when he already knew that they would go through the ends of the Earth to find him too.]
Put the string in your mouth! Like this. [She demonstrates with her own, twisting the end of the thread to make it a little easier to stick through the eye of a needle. It's maybe not the most sanitary thing but... eh.
But yeah, that's... something to worry about for Ken, isn't it. For her and Shinji, the idea of people noticing that they were gone or not hadn't really come up. Like, for sure no one would notice she was gone. But also-]
Mm, the way Dazai-san talked about it, time is kind of weird. It sounds like we're not actually gone? Not in a way anybody can notice. Fyodor-san was gone for a couple months, and when he came back, he couldn't remember anything from here. It was like his life just kept going from where he left off, I think.
[As he watched, he couldn't help but chuckle. He didn't mean to but he couldn't help it. With a smile, he tried his best to copy her and tried to lick the ends of the string. As he did so, he narrowed his eyes in hopes of trying to get the string through the hole once more.]
...What do you mean not in a way anybody can notice? You make it sound like time just goes on here but it doesn't change back home.
[Which...he didn't know how to feel about that. Knowing that time can freeze itself while they were here just seem so...strange.]
[That says a lot by itself, doesn't it? That she's still alive. Anyway, her smile doesn't falter as she focuses her attention on her sewing. Maybe she'll use some differently-colored thread...? No, black thread will really pop against all the other colors.]
I don't get how a lot of it works.
[She got used to getting little hints from Theo or Igor or Pharos or Ryoji, but here...? Nothing.]
[With that, he gave a pause. Not knowing what to say or do, he wondered if he should have said that or not. As he wondered to himself, all he could do was just continue to stare at the needle and then back at her.]
...Which is frustrating when all we can do is sit down and wait.
[Especially when he was usually on the sidelines. When everyone else was doing their jobs as the shadow operatives, he just waited until something just...happened.]
[She flashes a smile across at him. There's no point being sad or complaining, especially not to Ken. He already had to go through so much; she doesn't want to burden him with her problems.]
Things can be tough, but as long as we do our best every day, I think that will mean something.
[Ah, yes, this just served as a reminder just why Kotone did what she did to save everyone. She was someone who always tried to look on the brighter side of things. Now that he finally got the needle through the hole, a smile appeared.]
...I hope so because I would hate to disappoint people.
[She grins when he finally got the needle through the cloth and gives him a nod of approval before returning to her own sewing. She's content to sit in silence while they work unless Ken has other questions! She's here to help.]
[Again, she has way too much faith in him. But as a growing teenager, that was his own self esteem getting the better of him. However, as much as he wanted to argue it, he knew he can't. He couldn't win again her words.
With that, he began sewing said petals to the base. Although, that doesn't stop him from leaving a frustrated sigh or two at how difficult it was...!]
[It's okay to get frustrated! She glances up when he sighs, but doesn't interrupt. It's part of the learning process, she's pretty sure, and she trusts him to ask for help if he needs it. For this, anyway.
She'll give it another while, long enough that her own is nearly finished, before glancing up again.]
[Granted, the pieces could be a little better sewn. There were a few edges that could have been stitched closer but this was about the best he could make it. And yet...]
...Although, while it has seen better days, I think I wouldn't have it any other way!
[He couldn't help but laugh at how absurd it looked!]
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You really are pushing me to be a leader, aren't you? But you are right, the only one who knows what I can do is myself. I just...never really thought about it.
[However, if that is something she really wants him to do?]
...Although, I'll give it a try and see.
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[She laughs and gets up to start picking out which fabric she wants to use, humming a little to herself.]
Try being a leader. If you don't like it, do something else! Try lots of new things!
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As he debated to himself on how much to use, he paused for a moment.]
You really are telling me to relive my childhood, aren't you?
[Which....wasn't too different from what he originally wanted to do. However, it's just going to be tough being in 'prison'.]
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As long as you're enjoying yourself. That's the most important thing.
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...I guess I never really had the chance to until now, didn't I? How funny is that?
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You've been thinking about what we'd all want from you, right? I dunno about everyone else, but the thing that'd make me happiest is seeing you find what you wanna do.
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[He said with a sigh.]
I don't really know what I want to do as I'm still trying to figure that out for myself. But I know it'll take some time as I want to learn a lot of things out....
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[Kicking her feet idly under the desk, she keeps working on assembling the pieces she'll need to stitch together a soccer ball.]
Dazai-san says that's pretty normal, though.
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...I heard from Junpei-san and Yukari-san that is normal too. They said that it took them a while to realize what they wanted to do.
[Pause]
And I think Junpei-san doesn't even know what he wants to do yet.
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He'll figure it out! Or he'll have fun doing a lot of different things until he does.
[If there's anything she's learned, there's no point planning things too far into the future, because everything can change in an instant. She smiles a little wistfully down at her pieces of soccer ball before reaching for her needle and thread.]
It's been a little while since you've gotten stuck here. Do you miss them...? The other guys from SEES, I mean.
[They're all adults now from Ken's perspective, aren't they?]
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...Sometimes, I do. It makes me wonder what they are doing right now and how long it take for them to notice that I'm gone.
[Especially when he already knew that they would go through the ends of the Earth to find him too.]
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But yeah, that's... something to worry about for Ken, isn't it. For her and Shinji, the idea of people noticing that they were gone or not hadn't really come up. Like, for sure no one would notice she was gone. But also-]
Mm, the way Dazai-san talked about it, time is kind of weird. It sounds like we're not actually gone? Not in a way anybody can notice. Fyodor-san was gone for a couple months, and when he came back, he couldn't remember anything from here. It was like his life just kept going from where he left off, I think.
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...What do you mean not in a way anybody can notice? You make it sound like time just goes on here but it doesn't change back home.
[Which...he didn't know how to feel about that. Knowing that time can freeze itself while they were here just seem so...strange.]
Can the people here really do that?
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[That says a lot by itself, doesn't it? That she's still alive. Anyway, her smile doesn't falter as she focuses her attention on her sewing. Maybe she'll use some differently-colored thread...? No, black thread will really pop against all the other colors.]
I don't get how a lot of it works.
[She got used to getting little hints from Theo or Igor or Pharos or Ryoji, but here...? Nothing.]
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...Which is frustrating when all we can do is sit down and wait.
[Especially when he was usually on the sidelines. When everyone else was doing their jobs as the shadow operatives, he just waited until something just...happened.]
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[She flashes a smile across at him. There's no point being sad or complaining, especially not to Ken. He already had to go through so much; she doesn't want to burden him with her problems.]
Things can be tough, but as long as we do our best every day, I think that will mean something.
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...I hope so because I would hate to disappoint people.
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[She grins when he finally got the needle through the cloth and gives him a nod of approval before returning to her own sewing. She's content to sit in silence while they work unless Ken has other questions! She's here to help.]
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With that, he began sewing said petals to the base. Although, that doesn't stop him from leaving a frustrated sigh or two at how difficult it was...!]
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She'll give it another while, long enough that her own is nearly finished, before glancing up again.]
How's it going?
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[Granted, the pieces could be a little better sewn. There were a few edges that could have been stitched closer but this was about the best he could make it. And yet...]
...Although, while it has seen better days, I think I wouldn't have it any other way!
[He couldn't help but laugh at how absurd it looked!]