Audience - Koharu

[holyspirits]

Comments

[holyspirits]

It's... interesting? [ they are trying to sound so polite ] The art is nice, but sci-fi horror isn't my genre of choice. But I'm not surprised he picked it up, it's the exact kind of thing you'd have expected him to read looking at him.

[cupidsammo]

Hahah... must be a guy thing, huh? What comics do you prefer?

[holyspirits]

"A guy thing"... [ they sound amused ] I liked regular sci-fi fine, though it's kind of lost its appeal to me. I guess fantasy now? Something like that anyway. I haven't read any in ages, which is why I picked this one up.

[cupidsammo]

No, that makes sense! I think it's a good idea to show some interest in your partners' own, even if it's not totally your thing.

[holyspirits]

Oh, no, I picked this up just to make fun of him for it.

[ RUTHLESS ]

[cupidsammo]

Right for the throat... Well, uh, I'm sure he'll appreciate that you read it anyway!

[holyspirits]

[ they shrug like they do not Care if he appreciates it. they only want bullying ]

What about you? Do you ever read stuff like this?

[cupidsammo]

There's some manga I kept up with, but none of them were about... that.

[holyspirits]

Oh, what kind of manga? [ thinks. about koharu ] Love stories?

[cupidsammo]

A lot of them have romance, but I like to read slice-of-life stories. Have you ever heard of Skip and Loafer? That one's my favorite!

[holyspirits]

I think I've heard of it... [ pensive ] What's it about? You said it was slice-of-life.

[cupidsammo]

Mmhm! It's about a girl from rural Japan who transfers to a new highschool in Tokyo, and all the new obstacles she has to face along the way. It's a very different lifestyle for her.

[holyspirits]

You don't get more slice of life than a girl moving to a different school. [ this isn't a complaint ] Are you more from the city or the countryside yourself?

[cupidsammo]

No, I'm from Tokyo! I don't think you get any more big city than that.

[holyspirits]

Oh, yeah, no kidding. No wonder you keep finding people to couple up, Tokyo's so packed with them. [ it's teasing ] Have you ever been outside of it? I hadn't gone outside California at your age.

[cupidsammo]

[ well. not untrue. ]

I've taken a few short trips out of the city with my parents before, but that's about it. I've never actually left the country.

[holyspirits]

I thought as much. Is it weird? Being someplace different?

[cupidsammo]

... Yeah. It's smaller, and quieter. Nothing really looks the same as it does back home.

[holyspirits]

I've felt like that a few times. The first was when we moved after my dad died. [ it's said casually ] You get used to it, but I guess you don't need to entirely. If things go well, you'll either choose to go back or you can probably find somewhere around here that looks closer to your home.

[cupidsammo]

[ ... ah. ]

It's not bad here, at least—just different. But I do plan on going back home after this.

[holyspirits]

Oh, that's good. You're young. You should.

[ gam is team GO BACK HOME to nearly everyone sorry ]

[cupidsammo]

[ This—actually visibly surprises her. ]

Wait, you want us to?

[holyspirits]

Why wouldn't I? [ genuine ] The thing I liked the most about this entire idea was that people could get a second chance at a future they would've missed otherwise.

[cupidsammo]

It's just... Ramiel talks a whole lot about how we should stay here, so I thought maybe all of you thought the same.

[holyspirits]

Ha. [ oh, that's humorless and a little bitter, and they shake their head before pressing their hand over their eyes ] Ha, no, Ramiel and I have--very different opinions on this kind of thing. I think Zuriel leans more towards my side of things, but I'm not out to debate it.

[ there's a pause ]

Ramiel's concept of a regular life is... skewed by their experience. They're always going to think heaven is better than any other option. And I think it's fine to choose that. But I wouldn't. And I'm more aware of the things and people left behind than Ramiel would be. [ clicking their tongue ] That makes it sound worse than I wanted it to. It's your choices, no matter what any of us say about it.