[X] Momoka, she may be the easiest to get through to
[X] Warped Records, Cost: 6
{Current Birdcoins: 6}
The first person I thought to talk to was actually Momoka, I took it her being the first student here whose voice I heard helped her stick in my head a little. I didn't know whether to talk to her in person or maybe call in to her show, the former was faster but the second would hopefully see her in a better mood.
Hmm, on second (third?) thought I'd compromise by giving her one of the gifts lying around here first, then talk to her. I was running somewhat low on, well, whatever Birdcoin was, which was how I was even able to buy breakfast here. Given that last Trial that given my arguing skills quite a workout, maybe I could try haggling with Columbird over costs? Oh wait, forgot it was Columbird I'm talking about.
I went with the most musical items the school store had lying around at the time, a set of records that, ah, weren't in the best condition I admit. Till we found a dedicated music room (the ballroom being the closest we had right now), they were best around though.
I checked on both Momoka's Radio Lab and her nearby dorm, only to hear nothing from either room. She might have gone up to the ballroom I figured, being the only other place I could think of that reminded me of her. The thought of another trek through the caves up there did make me think it'd be easier to talk with someone else instead, until I saw that the previously blocked off stairs upwards had been cleared, I guess showing that Columbird wasn't without his mercies.
Birdcoin! x1
Sure enough, I found
Momoka right there in the ballroom, her having more sense I suppose than I did by remembering to bring a battery torch. I tried to approach her but, somewhat gracelessly, ended up startling her in the process, her panicked face shining her light right on me before she gasped with relief.
"Enoshima! I-I'm so sorry, I thought for a second it was- w-well, I don't who exactly-" she stuttered about, wiping sweat off her forehead... which might've also been due to the nearby magma vents.
"Hey, it's okay. I was, ah, just checking up on everyone after, you know, everything Columbird said," was what I told her. What I didn't tell her though was another reason I thought to check on her was, as much as I was firm in not trying to make the spy a target... Momoka was the most-versed here in long-distance communication, a skill any spy would practice imagine. Then again, I had little background in espionage, so who was I to say?
"Oh, thought you might also like these," I said, handing her the warped records, "Er, yeah, not the best quality vinyl... like at all, but at least the best I could find around here," that weren't all hoarded by Genpachi, anyway.
Despite their condition,
Momoka still looked the records over closely and said, "What? Oh no, Enoshima, you're too nice. Even these are too good for me, really..."
"Ah, maybe we should at least try them on a player first, see how well they work?" I offered, suggesting what I should've before, to try and keep this shaky conversation flowing.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwuHDOBTaYc
It was more than a little crackly and skipped once or twice, but other than that the warped record was thankfully in listenable condition. I saw
Momoka's head bobbing gently with the beat, and for a second she reached out her hand to me, only to promptly draw it back.
"Ah, er, I'm sorry," she then said and bowed to me, "I was about to ask you for a dance, since, well, this is a ballroom. B-but I thought no, I couldn't..."
"Hey, that's perfectly okay," I smiled at her and accepted her hand once she held it out again. Momoka didn't come across as any trained dancer, but was more than familiar with songs like these to match her steps to the music. She was doing better than me honestly, as I don't think I'd ever danced at all before... finding this ballroom, really. Her flashlight, being put down on the table, was even projecting our dancing shadows upon the wall.
"So... what was being a Radio Broadcaster like, I mean, before all this?" I asked, going with the first question that came to mind.
"I, w-well, I can only say so much. A lot of what we did during war is classified by the government,"
Momoka muttered and twitched a little.
"Er, is it okay if I ask who 'we' are?" I picked up on.
"We never had an official name, b-but..."
Momoka slowly began, "The Americans called us 'Tokyo Rose', even though there was more than one of us. I mean, I got into radio because I wanted to uplift people, since I was never much of a musician, but as the war went on, the authorities wanted me to broadcast news of 'dispiriting losses' to enemy troops, be a propagandist."
"Oh, I see," I said by default, not really sure how to best respond, "At least who were in a fairly tame role, compared to what I got drafted into."
"Hmm, I think you're underestimating the value of propaganda a little,"
Momoka said more clearly to me, "But you're right, it's... not at all like being a kamikaze pilot. Ah, anyway, I actually got quite a few fan-letters from the Americans, for... some reason, so I guess I kinda achieved what I set out to do."
"Fan letters? Wait, you can read English?" I asked, my eyes widening.
"Read yes, speak... not really,"
she admitted, "I've- I've always wanted to be talk with more people since I was little, so I started learning other languages. Still, I'm nowhere near as well-versed as Kanji is.
Uh, I'm sorry, I've been talking a lot about myself, haven't I?" she then winced.
"That's okay, I've been asking a lot about you," I smiled again at her.
"So, now that the war is over... will you, once w-we get out of here anyway, will you keep being a pilot?"
Momoka then asked me, "I mean, I've interviewed pilots, and there's a whole bunch of places I can imagine flying all over the world."
"Whether I'd still be a pilot?" I had to repeat those words to myself, before I had to sigh out, "I... I don't know. Piloting's really the only trade I have, but if I ever see a plane again, like if we find my Lab, it-it may only remind me of this whole war, of what m-my final mission was meant to be.
At the same time though, I've got no idea what I'd be if not a pilot..." I muttered. "I wanted Hope's Peak to give some positive experiences with flying again, but then, y'know, this happened."
"Hmm, oh I know, how about a detective?"
Momoka spoked up, her eyes widening, "You did pretty good in that last trial, w-well I think so anyway."
I nodded along with her on the outside, but one the inside... I could only think that was an even worse idea. When I got out, well,
if I got out of this Killing Game, constant reminders of it would be the last thing I want.
"Say, um, you're aware Sakamoto's Lab is right by here?" I had to change the topic.
"Why yes, I um, was just coming back from speaking with him,"
she then said.
"W-wait, hold on, speaking with Sakamoto?" I gasped, since I couldn't imagine Momoka being the one to initiate a talk with him.
"I was nervous, yes, really nervous, but I felt I would have to converse with him sooner or later,"
she explained then paused before she went on, "I-I don't believe music should be a competition, so I figured going over our common interests could open him up to everyone else, make him... not want to try whatever he did with Simeon again. But so far... it's what I feared, he just shot me down."
"I-I'm sorry," was all I said, even though I wasn't the least bit surprised. I thought for a second about turning my Birdbook onto Genpachi's program to see how he was reacting to Momoka, if at all, but that probably wouldn't be a good idea in her company.
"Ah, Enoshima, I have sort of a strange request,"
Momoka then said while fidgeting with her fingers, "Um, I do know that the stairway's open now, but I was wondering if you'd walk me with back to the dorms through the ice cave? It's, it's weird I know, but I feel it's a pretty place, somewhere I'd love to go skating if I could, I just wanted a better look at it."
I'd only been to the ice cave about once, and normally would have no wish to go again due to how freezing it was. But... maybe I was too quick to judge, and it might not be so bad given I'm expecting the level of cold this time?
"I... I guess I'm in no hurry at the moment, so sure, I can come," I said to her.
Momoka's Trust +1
It turned out the ice cave was even worse the second time around, but for a whole different reason that I still blamed myself not for not having seen coming.
Birdcoin! x1
View: https://youtu.be/GyfgTbtuAto
I saw the body of
Dejan Albini, our Novoselic transfer student, lying in a blood-stained heap up against a stone pillar, in the middle of a frozen solid lake. One of the few military personnel here other than me, though we'd thought on different sides of the war.
Momoka and I were both wordless, but someone who wasn't was
Genpachi, who was walking down through the tunnel behind us saying, "Hey, don't think I didn't hear you playing that kinda music on my turf... ooh boy, what have we here?"
As the three of us saw Dejan there, our Birdbooks all crackled in unison with
Columb
ird announcing, "Got ourselves a
Body Discovery, son!" We hadn't checked Dejan yet, but did this already confirm he was a corpse?
Although, how could we safely check, given that sliding, or rather being shoved, across the ice was probably what had killed Dejan?
[ ] I'd try heading across the ice anyway, I wouldn't be going at the same speed Dejan was, I didn't have to fear.
[ ] Find someone else to help recover his body.
[ ] Take Columbird's word, Dejan really is dead.
[ ] Wait and see how Momoka and/or Genpachi handle this scene.
[ ] Write-in
