Audience: Hanako

[becomemod]

Comments

[hanaban]

So when are you working on Halloween?

[ ? goat can play the messenger ]

[becomemod]

[ More firmly. ]

The building is fine, they'll stock it when they're ready.

[hanaban]

So not until the actual day of, huh?

[ I'm trying so hard to remember what I wanted a pc about ]

—hey, are you super busy right now? Why don't you take a break? I've got something to ask you, but like. Alone. Indoors. [ where nobody can help you ]

[becomemod]

[ Sorry for the wait. ]

Uh... I guess I'm pretty free. Where are we going?

[hanaban]

[ no it's fine!!! ]

Um... The cafe, maybe? You can buy me a drink.

[becomemod]

Sure, but it's a pretty long walk over there from here.

What do you want to drink?

[hanaban]

Just water's fine. I want to be somewhere more crowded, where we'll be hard to overhear.

[becomemod]

You know you can get water for free, right?

[hanaban]

[ goat, please, ]

But I like cafe water? We're getting something for you too!

[becomemod]

It's basically the same water wherever you go.

[ why pay $6 for water you could get for $0. ]

[hanaban]

[ bc it's goat paying and not him ]

...This is the stubbornness off a goat, isn't it. Why can't you just indulge me like Mouse does?

[becomemod]

I'll pay for your water, but it's ridiculous to pay fifteen dollars for something you can get for free.

[hanaban]

Yeah, it really is!

[ but before goat gets the chance to dunk Hanako's face into the gutter and make him drink from there, he grabs ahold of their sleeve to tug them forwards towards the cafe ]

I bet Mouse would've bought us fifteen dollar glasses of water... But Tama says you're super responsible! She respects you a lot, y'know? So I figured I'd take her advice, and that you'd be my best bet to learn some things that Mouse doesn't take seriously.

[becomemod]

[ Hanako how dunkable are you? Like an oreo or a chocolate chip cookie? ]

Huh...? Why do I keep getting volunteered into this kinda stuff...

Glad Tama-san thinks I'm responsible though...

[hanaban]

[ Hmm... Danny demonstrated on our missing mingle that he's more of an oreo, you have to dunk him a couple times before he'll crumble ]

That's the curse of an older sibling! Besides, doesn't that mean you're doing a good job? Tama thinks so.

[becomemod]

I'm a middle child.

[ Redacted are all older than him. ]

I guess it's good to hear though.

[hanaban]

[ still counts ]

Middle still means you're an older sibling to someone! What's your family like? Do you miss them? Of course you do.

[becomemod]

Of course I miss them. I have my mom and dad, two older brothers and seven younger brothers.

[hanaban]

-—Seven?!

[ there's no way. goat is lying. ]

[becomemod]

Yeah. Two older brothers, seven younger brothers. My mom wanted to have as many kids as there are people on a football [ soccer ] team.

[hanaban]

[ closes his eyes for a second because how does Goat even stand that... Hanako can't even stand the one brother he has sometimes ]

...I guess that meant you always have somebody to play with, and don't get too lonely.

[ And that no matter how annoying younger siblings are, Goat loves them. that's how family is— should be ]

I'll be direct with you, then. I want to talk about going home.

[becomemod]

[ A good question that doesn't have an easy answer. ]

Okay. I'll answer whatever I can.

[ Because they would also really like to go home. Eight months of this weird work trip is way too long. ]

[hanaban]

...really?

[ He looks surprised, actually, at that "okay," clearly expecting more resistance from somebody in another team, but also reminds himself not to get his hopes up over Goat answering "whatever they can" ]

Then, I want to know more about that book you guys took from the moon back then. Mouse says they don't know where it is now.

[becomemod]

I'm actually not sure where exactly it went. I know Silver Horse had it with them when they died.

[hanaban]

[ his hopes...... ]

And Silver Horse... disappeared? I think that's what I heard, anyways. What about a dorm room?