reverienet | text/video; un: hinatahajime

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text/video; un: hinatahajime

hey, did that pet directory ever get made? there are at least four hamsters running around the observation deck. so far they're staying kind of close to me, but if they're yours, please come get them.

[Briefly, a video feed turns on. There sure are three hamsters sitting in front of Hajime, almost posing for the camera. The camera pans to show Hajime's incredulous, perpetually tired face, showing one hamster asleep on his shoulder.]

Whoa-! Wait, wait!!

[The camera pans back quickly to the three hamsters, except now they're all running for him. He lets out a yelp and the video feed turns off.]

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Yeah. [No hesitation.] Digimon are made of data instead of matter, but otherwise, they're the same as living organisms. They perceive and respond to stimuli, and repair themselves, and grow and change shape over time. And they think. Not unlike those androids.

[y'know, 9S and shit]

That's what made them so useful for hackers. Managing them is difficult, but they're so sophisticated that not just anyone can manually imitate what they do. [...She's rambling out of confusion. Backtrack. Refocus.] Anyways...it looks exactly like it would in VR. I don't know what to make of it.

Huh...

[It feels real to him. It's obviously not a hologram, but something tangible and real. And soft.

...It's actually a little relaxing? Like petting an animal, if those animals were odd black blobs of... data. Or something.

He isn't going to interrupt her rambling explanation. Honestly, it's kind of nice, just letting her talk about something she's clearly knowledgeable about. He's always been a better listener than a talker.]

Well... I guess it makes about as much sense as anything else on this stupid station so far, huh?

[Botamon wiggles to encourage petting in multiple spots. Yes, just like that...

Hinata's taking it well, she thinks. Or, no, not just taking it well - he has a point. She gets caught up in her head and forgets to take a step back...]

I guess. [Mm, she hums, remembering something.] Way back when, Asuka was talking about the likelihood of all our parallel universes having the same types of matter and laws of physics. Maybe data that acts like matter is the same as any other type of matter here...

[She makes a befuddled noise and shrugs, frowning at the ground. That raises other worries that really aren't any of Hinata's business.]

Whatever. What's more important is that you'll need to look after Botamon now and then.

[He already met a cat that was more mouth than cat, this might as well happen. Hajime huffs a quiet laugh through his nose and gently wiggles Botamon back and forth between his hands. It's pretty weird alright.

That's a name he hasn't heard before.][...]

W-Wait, what? Why me?

Because that weird guy who was looking for the hamsters ambushed us after Botamon hatched, and I don't want him putting weird ideas in its head.

[Erika's opinions about Gundam are scrawled all over her face.]

So it's important to dilute his influence by exposing it to different people. [And Hajime is more social, ergo.] I can't look after it all the time, anyways. It could sneak off while I'm coding.

That weird guy... you're talking about Gundam Tanaka?

[Oh. Oh. Hajime's expression twists into something mildly uncomfortable, his hands stilling against Botamon's... head? Body? How do you tell what's what??]

You know he's a Super High School Level, right? The Super High School Level Animal Breeder. If anybody's qualified to look after an animal, even one like this, it's definitely him.

[Gundam would have been Hajime's first suggestion if Erika hadn't immediately shot him down as a candidate.]

[Erika is quiet for a moment, discontent clear on her face.]

Digimon aren't animals.

[A perfect and valid rebuttal that has nothing to do with her feelings.]

Maybe not, but... he'd still know what to do better than me, I think. Besides, he... seems like the type who'd really appreciate something like Botamon.

[Something, you know, fuckin weird. Hajime sighs quietly through his nose and rubs one of Botamon's ears.]

He's somebody talented, Mishima.

[Which is why he's more suitable than Hajime could ever be. Them's the rules.]

[This just - how do you not -]

I don't like him.

...Oh.

[Well, that's fair. He can't really argue with that, so he doesn't. Even if it would be a better idea to have someone talented with animals look after this weird little digital AI, if Erika doesn't like him, he can't expect her to give up something she likes to him.

In a roundabout way, it kind of makes him feel good that she trusts him to take care of it, instead.]

He is pretty, uh, eccentric, huh? Alright, I won't push it.

He insulted me. [and there will be NO MORE ELABORATION ON THAT FRONT, just stubbornness and seething.

She crosses her arms, somewhat placated.]

It's not like it's going to be that difficult. Digimon aren't fragile, especially after they grow up a little. I'd rather it bond to you if it's going to bond to anyone - and it will, they're like that.

[There's an angry beat where Hajime is furious on Erika's behalf -- who the hell gets away with insulting her?! -- but it's gone almost as quickly as he brings a hand to his head like he's massaging away the headache that is Gundam Tanaka.]

Yeah, he insulted me, too. I don't think he meant it, I'm pretty sure that's just the way he talks... like a chuunibyou, right?

[He said it...]

You say that it's not difficult, but the only pet I've ever had is the hermit crab we all passed around in elementary school...

[a judgmental] Hmm. [because he's not wrong but erika's still Big Mad.]

I've never had a real pet either, but this is a Digimon. Chitose kept tons of low-level ones and it was never a problem. [shrug?] This is kind of a rare opportunity, you know? Don't pass it up.

[He's not Chitose... but he relents, tapping a finger gently between Botamon's eyes. Boop. Hajime's never been good at saying no, much less where a girl is involved.]

Well... alright. I'll do my best. Just... give me some tips, if you can.

Mhm. [There will certainly be tips.

And with that...]

Back to the chuunibyou. You knew him?

...

[No, wait, let's not go back to the chuunibyou. Hajime's expression sours as he finally shifts to sit down on the floor rather than crouch. He has a feeling Erika won't just let it go, so...]

Sort of. I've... told you how Hope's Peak students are incredibly talented, right? They're scouted by the school, and if they manage to graduate, people say they're set for life. This guy is one of those people. But...

I've never met this guy in my life, but he was convinced I was his classmate. That we'd met before.

[He rakes a hand through his hair and sighs, obviously unsure of the entire thing.]

It doesn't make any sense.

He's so weird for someone with all of that going on. [speak for your FUCKING self. But she puts her hand to her chin and stares unblinkingly at Hinata, thinking.]

...The easiest explanation would be timeline interruption, right? That's how other people explain their memories not matching. But the circumstances wouldn't make sense... [Not if everything Hinata's said about Hope's Peak is true. And, like, she has no reason to believe it's not. Hmm. HMM.] Could someone be impersonating you?

Yeah... you'd think talented people would behave more like elites, right?

[There's a certain fondness to his smile, a kind of tired exasperation that Erika's probably seen before when he's talked about playing video games with Chiaki. Apparently eccentricity is just part of being talented, or something.

But it doesn't last, the smile fading almost as quickly as it had materialized.]

I can't imagine why anyone would want to impersonate me. And I have no idea what this guy would get from lying about something like this, either.

[He frowns, bringing a hand to his chin as he thinks about it a little more carefully.]

You know what is odd? From the way he was talking, it almost sounded like he couldn't remember his time at Hope's Peak Academy. Meaning... we'd have met somewhere else, but he still thought we were classmates?

[Less "someone talented" and more "someone attending a Big Goddamn Deal high school" but yeah whatever.]

Well, some identity theft is about pretending to be someone, and some is about pretending to not be yourself. For that, impersonating someone who's not associated with you and doesn't draw much attention makes the most sense.

[B u t.

Erika frowns, trying to reconcile that.]

Amnesia? [A few ideas pop to mind, but they're premature without deets.

[I could draw attention if I wanted to-! No. No he couldn't. He knows he's plain, but ouch, Erika, come on.]

Amnesia? That's... where you forget stuff, right? I thought about that. He did say something about his memories being sealed away... I think. He was surprised that I remembered stuff from being at Hope's Peak at all.

[It was kind of hard to parse, but when Hajime had asked if that's what he'd meant, he hadn't been refuted, so.]

It doesn't make sense, but... it could be worse. At least he doesn't seem like a bad guy.

[In that he isn't mocking Hajime for his lack of talent. Sure, he's insulting, but not genuinely nasty about it.]

[That's not what she means you dork!!!

Her frown deepens.]

In more than one person? [she mumbles, looking concerned.] How would that...

[...]

...It sounds like he and whoever was with him contracted amnesia and were then told details of their past. [Is the mystery man even a student of Hope's Peak to begin with?] It all sounds fishy. You've gotten into a fishy situation.

Is that something you can contract?

[It's not a question he's expecting her to give him an answer to. If anything, he just has more questions, and he shakes his head to forestall an answer.]

I guess... I'll have to talk to him again. He'd just showed up, it felt kind of cruel to just interrogate him when he seemed disoriented enough already.

[She opens her mouth to answer and looks kind of rumpled when he doesn't let her.]

I guess that's true. [darned ethics, getting in the way of deets.] Do you know what room he took?

[He groans at the reminder, rubbing both hands against his temples.]

Three-thirteen. The room right next to mine.

[He gestures vaguely as if to indicate the hall outside. They sure are neighbors!!]

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