???th rebuttal; 4th wall

[superordinary]

[ For some reason, these strange Eevees can be found around Goldenrod today. They're fairly affectionate (?), but the "Upupupupu" noises they make are...kind of unnerving, and there doesn't seem to be a shortage of them. More and more of them keep appearing and they all seem to come from the same place. That place being the Dangan house. ]

[ The door is wide open and a continuous stream of Monovees come out, making "Upupupu" noises in unison as they go their separate ways on their sacred mission to... spread despair or something, who knows. Naegi is standing outside as this this unfolds, and the look of confusion is evident on his face. What the gently caress, Johto. ]

What...am I supposed to do?

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There is literally no way this thread isn't going to involve spoilers

[unphotoshopped]

[Well, it seems like the normal occupants of Goldenrod aren't going to be the only ones noticing the oddly-colored Eevee flood wandering the streets.

It's been a while since she's been outside - actually been outside, because oh, she's seen it, but she's seen much more on the inside and for now that's where she has to stay, yes it is - and she's contenting herself with the slush the flurries have left in the streets, black boots with red laces kicking up white and the contrast pleases her because it's not perfect. It's slimy and slick, in that not-quite-sticking sort of way; it's grey and harsh and honestly kind of gross, and it's much, much better than any sort of picturesque white winter would be.

It's the sort of weather people look out their windows and sigh at. Perfect.

But then there's contrast on her right and a little thing just coming at her, and for a long moment she stares - not at the house she's stopped in front of, not at the boy standing near the house (because neither of those have caught her attention yet, they aren't as interesting as the rest) but rather at the fluffball bounding toward her, left eye shining red.]

Oh...?

[She manages to get down toward it in a way that's not going to expose her to the world, though exactly how is anyone's guess, that skirt's still embarrassingly short but she can't be bothered to wear anything else against the cold; she's got one knee on the ground (and the gravel crunches beneath her and she hopes it doesn't scrape but the bite is kind of nice she will admit) and she holds her hand out for the little thing to sniff, loose fist formed and her knuckles exposed so that it won't get the thought in its head to - ]

Bet you'd like to go for my fingers, hmmmm?

[She seems oddly, placidly blank when she says it, a light sing-song in her voice; vapid, vapid, vapid and she kind of hates it, and she loves how much she hates it, and somewhere in there she's hoping the thing will go for her fingers.]

[superordinary]

[ Naegi doesn't notice her presence immediately, his attention fixed in the black/white balls of fur that keep leaving the house. The Monovees are coming out at a constant speed with no signs of the flood getting thinner anytime soon. He wonders if he should go inside the house and see if he can find the source of this madness, but two things stop him - one, Explosion and Selfdestruction are moves he's seen before and knows exist and two, Monobears are explosive. Therefore common sense says he shouldn't rush in before thinking this through.

When he does notice her, his brain seems to come to a grinding halt. Junko Enoshima, is all he can think once his brain gets back to its normal functions long enough for him to register that she's wearing bear hairclips before stopping once more.

The little Monovee stops and tilts its head to the side, looking up at Enoshima with big round eyes that seem to be capable of staring through anything. It gives Enoshima's hand a curious sniff and, finding it of no particular interest, goes back to staring. Then, suddenly, a loud beep can be heard--

--One that Naegi immediately registers as a sign that things are going to get explosive because it's coming from the Monovee. Now, he could just stand back and let everything happen. Perhaps that would even be the just thing to do because Enoshima is not a good person. But Naegi doesn't even think about this and suddenly he's moving toward her as fast as he can, intending to tackle her out of the way. ]

[unphotoshopped]

[And she does register a few things happening, though it's in that strange cacophonous sort of way that implies that there's some sort of cause and effect there but like hell if she can tell where one stops and the other begins; she just knows that the fuzzball moves in the way an animal should and then it suddenly stops, and then there's a beep and her eyes widen because it's a very familiar beep, and then there's the sound of slush crunching off to her side somewhere, and she's just twisting a little to see what it is when she's hit by something.

Stupidly enough her hair takes the brunt of the fall (well, her hair and her shoulder but really, it's mostly hair), cushioning her head from just smacking into the ground at an impressive speed and ruining whatever attempt was just made to save her life; it takes her a moment to realize that's what it probably was, an attempt to save her life, and she's lying on her side on the ground, and there's someone on top of her. Not in a sexy sort of way, in an "I just knocked you out of the way of this surely fatal blast" sort of way.

And all she can think is "Why?"

She turns a bit, twisting underneath the whoever-it-is so she can get a better look at who she should be...thanking? ...pushing off? ...showing...some...reaction - look she wants to know how to play this, give her a break. And when she manages to turn over enough that she can see the person, her back grinding a bit against the ground, she discovers that what she's seeing is giving her no indication of how to play this.

Good job, everyone. Handshakes all around.]

...Naegi-kun.

[And her voice is breathless when she says it, and her eyes are wide; she squirms a little, as though to pull back a bit.]

It's so good to see you.

[How much do you know.]

[superordinary]

[ As they both fall to the ground, Naegi is all too aware of the explosion -- the sudden flash of light and the loud bang that echoes in his ears, a cloud of dust and pebbles and sand and other debris falling around him. The Monovee is out cold where the explosion just went off and seems to still be in one piece; even Monobear/Eeevee abominations have to obey the laws of Pokémon where no one dies from things when they logically should, it seems.

...Oh yeah, she's moving under him isn't she. And now she's actually addressing him and Naegi doesn't feel prepared at all because he has no idea how to actually handle the situation or how to deal with her. This isn't the final trial he has yet to experience and he doesn't know what to expect from someone so volatile as she is. ]

Junko Enoshima.

[ His tone is firm, but not without a slight shake to it. He rolls off her and then slowly rises to his feet, his knees shaking a bit but as far as he can tell he doesn't seem to have sustained any injuries. ]

[unphotoshopped]

[Hmm.

She didn't miss that shake, it's kind of hard not to, and it pleases her; she wonders what's behind it. Either way, she gathers herself a bit, as though preparing to get up, before she decides to push it a little. She tips her head back and reaches out toward him, the meaning of the gesture implicit but obvious.

See what he does with it.]

That'd be me.

[Her expression shifts into something placid and sweet and just a little simpering, her voice pitching upward just a bit; it doesn't hide how vivid her gaze is.]

Be a good man and help me up?

[superordinary]

[ ...She's asking him to help her up. Naegi just looks at her for a second when she does so, conflict tugging at him. There's no reason for him to help her any more than he already has and most people, were they in his shoes, would turn around and walk away right about know because this is Junko. But not doing anything seems... wrong, too. ]

S-sure...

[ And he, out of his Naegi-brand kindness that Junko actually doesn't deserve, extends his hand to her so he can help her get back up on her feet. ]

[unphotoshopped]

[And she'll just grab his wrist and with a light tug up she goes, bouncing a little on the balls of her feet before letting her heels click back down to the ground, simple-as.]

You're such a sweetheart - really too good for this sinful world!

[She kind of wriggles a bit on the spot, that sickeningly simpering expression still not leaving her.]

[superordinary]

[ Ugh, that expression. There's no way it's genuine, Naegi thinks. ]

...What are you doing here, Enoshima?

[unphotoshopped]

[And just like that she's shifted, the vapid, insipid nature replaced by something sharp and calculating, her voice sliding down into something equally cold and matter-of-fact.]

Unfortunately, that data seems to be classified to a point well beyond our current level of clearance; however, judging by our current situation, I believe the same question could be asked of you, Naegi-kun. Am I mistaken?

[superordinary]

[ Okay, uh. That's. Naegi really isn't sure what to make of this sudden change and he's left wondering what she's trying to pull. ]

N-no, you're not mistaken. This place isn't exactly good at explaining why we've been brought here.

[ ... ]

Look, can you just...go away or something?