2025-10-06: Catch-22
- Log: Catch-22
- Cast: Minato Arisato, Shinjiro Aragaki
- Where: Iwatodai Dormitory
- OOC Date: October 06, 2025
- IC Date: July 22, 2012
- Summary: As Minato studies for finals, Shinjiro offers him some breakfast, discussing Shinjiro's feelings of burdening his friends and the catch-22 inherent to such an idea.
(|============================ Iwatodai Dormitory ============================|) -================================================== Iwatodai City/Iwatodai ====- A large four-story dormitory used by the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, only five minutes from Iwatodai Station. Upon entering, one passes a desk with a sign-in book for guests to find a large carpeted common room that's well appointed for co-ed gatherings. A TV is usually on with the local news or a movie that's been loaded into the DVD player for a student to enjoy. A table for shared dinners, or more often study sessions, takes up the other half of the dorm, as well as a kitchen should one dare to show off their skills to their fellow students. There are two winding staircases on either side. The one on the left simply says 'Boys' while the other on the right states 'No Boys Except By Invitation.' The implicit threat of execution need not be written down for those who violate these rules. The second and third stories are living spaces divided by gender with common spaces that have study areas and bookshelves available. The fourth story is the command center with surveillance capabilities for not just different parts of the city but each room within the dorms. The Chairman has assured all who live here that this capability is strictly necessary. BGM - Dormitory Theme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj-FrFI0qnM <Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
DAWN OF THE FINAL DAY: 24 HOURS REMAIN.
Before finals, that is.
Minato's out at the table in the dorm room -- perhaps even before other people here are awake -- with his papers spread out everywhere. He's dressed in casual (for him) clothing, since it's a Sunday, but he's hard at work. "Focus," he tells himself, as he runs through his history homework.
... maybe he can just write in answers on the Sengoku period and get marks for that...
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro knows it's finals time, so he's planning to be out of the dorm for a bit today, not disturb the others. But, everyone needs to eat, and he wakes up early enough to catch Minato studying.
Stepping down the stairs in his red faux wolf fur-trimmed leather coat and wearing fingerless gloves, a new outfit Minato likely hasn't seen before, he's got his beanie firmly on his head as he steps past the table. After a moment, he turns back, looking over him.
"Morning, Arisato." As usual, it is GOOD that only one of them is in the room. He peers at the homework, and...
"History, huh? You seem pretty hard at work. Have you eaten yet?"
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"Morning," Minato says, as he scribbles out a line in his book. Seemingly without looking up at all, he adds: "Nice coat."
What kind of crazy peripheral vision powers does this guy have?!
Then Shinjiro leans over to peer at the homework, though, and that's when Minato looks up to meet his gaze. "Not yet," he admits. "I just woke up."
...
"Kirijo-senpai will be disappointed if I don't study hard."
Boom, there it is. Could Minato be slacking if it weren't for their venerable icy Empress?!
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro squints as he somehow makes out his coat without looking. This really is their fearless leader, huh... "Thanks. Got it from Peacock Silk."
He squints more as Minato says he hasn't eaten and mentions Mitsuru as his justification for studying. He sighs sympathetically, because it's a very familiar feeling. "Kirijo can wait. You're not going to get your homework done on an empty stomach, need brain fuel." He's glancing over to the fridge in the kitchen. "I made gyudon yesterday. I'll get us bowls." He might not be taking no for an answer, unless Minato has a very good argument.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"Peacock Silk..." Minato echoes.
"I got some good advice from a peacock, once."
Does he mean, like, metaphorically, or...
Nope, he's just not going to explain that one at all.
Instead, he nods, firmly, and stands when Shinjiro mentions his gyudon. "I'll help," he volunteers, because of course when one is working the kitchen another must follow. That's how you make light work!
And, indeed, he does grab the bowls from the cupboard for Shinjiro to dole out his gyudon, just as promised.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Pernelle, right?" Oh, Shinjiro's met him too, as marked by the fact he's not even a little surprised by that.
Instead, they're following into the kitchen, and Shinjiro's grabbing a large tupperware from the fridge. He moves to open it up, before grabbing a small thing of water in one of the cups and splashing some into the container. "This will make sure the rice doesn't dry out too much," he adds.
Sadly, he's not in a pan-heating mood, so he just moves to microwave the mixture, leaning against the counter as it heats up. "Won't be as good as fresh, but I think it's still fine."
A pause, as he puts a hand on his cheek. "So, how's school treating you? Besides finals, no one likes those." It sounds more interested than one might expect, not simply idle small talk.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"I didn't get his name," Minato says, "but that sounds like a name a peacock would have."
He just accepts this without a single question, instantaneously.
Shinjiro grabs some water, and Minato watches, carefully. "I see," he says, just as mild as before. "So the rice absorbs the water... instead of just absorbing the sauces." See? He's learning.
He leans against the fridge, lightly, hands in his pockets. "It's good," he says. "Though I ended up joining a lot of clubs... so exams snuck up on me." He pauses. "Aomori-kun assures me that they happen at the same time every year, so I oughtn't be surprised, but I guess last year just feels like it was forever ago."
You're still describing dissociation, Minato. Go see a therapist, Minato.
"It's been the first time you've seen everyone worrying about exams for a while too," he advances, glancing sidelong to Shinjiro, "right?"
He's just presuming that most punks in the alleyways don't care about that kind of thing.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Right?" Shinjiro says about Pernelle, and then about the rice... "Yeah, it's a common trick. You can also use broth, but I didn't have any extra."
As Minato describes dissociating, Shinjiro frowns, looking up to the microwave expectantly. "A lot of stress can cause that, too. Especially if you're having to juggle a bunch of clubs."
The microwave beeps after a bit, and Shinjiro opens it up, grabbing the warm container and splitting it into equal bowls. It smells really good, and probably smelled better fresh.
"Yeah, that's about right. I don't miss it, but it seems like the kind of thing you can't really miss unless you're weird. I mean, Kirijo might miss it someday, but I'd say she'd be an exception."
He's joking. He's friends with her! He can say this stuff.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"Right," Minato nods, firmly. Broth or water...
Microwaving skills: advance.
Still, Shinjiro says that stress can cause the same issue, and Minato tilts his head, thoughtfully. "I guess having a lot of responsibilities would be stressful," he says, because of course it must be the clubs. Perish the thought of any other reason he might be carrying cortisol in excess.
Beep! "Smells good," Minato says, blatantly just describing the narrative text in his usual laconic, mild tones. "Thanks, Aragaki-senpai."
He will wait to devour it until he gets a cue from Shinjiro on where he's supposed to do that, though. That's only polite.
"I don't think anyone misses exams," Minato points out. "But getting everyone together to strive for a common goal under pressure builds comraderie. I wondered if you missed that."
He pauses. "Well, I guess that's not so different to climbing Tartarus, though."
Exams aren't eldritch horrors, Minato.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Responsibility is stressful. You're not just doing something for yourself, anymore. SEES is one of those clubs, you know?" Shinjiro says softly, moving to grab his bowl and head over to the table, beckoning for Minato to follow with a nod of the head after grabbing chopsticks for both of them.
Once they're at the table, he starts thinking on how to respond thoughtfully. He tilts his head from where he's *aware* camera bugs are, even if he likely doesn't know all of them.
"...I'm thinking of giving it another try. I'm not sure. I... have to figure out if it's really worth it. But some people have put a thought in my head, to be more selfish, to try and live."
Shinjiro considers, before shaking his head. "Sorry, deep shit. Ignore it if you want." He takes a bite of the food. It's definitely professional level, if microwave reheated... Shinjiro knows how to cook.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"That's true," Minato nods. "Minako-chan and I are responsible for everyone's safety on the field." At least his sister gets a first-name basis.
He follows Shinjiro over to the table. And, chopsticks!! "Thank you," Minato says, again, politely, taking a pair and digging in while Shinjiro is busy thinking over his question.
(Man, that boy can put away food like he's a black hole.)
He at least pauses to listen when Shinjiro comes up with something, though. "No," he shakes his head. "Deep's fine. So, that's what they're saying..."
Beat. "This is really good gyudon, by the way."
After letting that completely inappropriate interjection hang for a moment, Minato asks: "But what do you think?" About the thoughts people put into his head, not the gyudon, presumably.
Well, he can tell him what he thinks of the gyudon, too, that's fine.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Yeah. I talked to her finally yesterday... she's sweet," Shinjiro nods about his sister. "Good to get to talk to both the field leaders, at least."
Shinjiro nods at the thanks, and then nods again at deep's fine. And then at the good gyudon... "Damn, you were hungry. Thanks. I used to work at Hagakure, so I've picked up some tricks."
what does he think, though...?
"...I think it's scary. When I had given up on life, to start desiring it again. I was just sitting in an alleyway all day everyday, avoiding the things I feared. But now... I wonder if that was just hurting the people around me worse, burdening them in an attempt to stop burdening them."
He takes another bite, to give Minato time to think or respond if he wants.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"It is," Minato replies. "Minako-chan won't lead you astray."
What? Did you expect him to say a harsh word about his little* sister??? Never.
"Hagakure..." Minato takes another bite. "... yeah, it does remind me of that place." He can tell just by the taste?!
Maybe Minato has a bright future as a food critic...
Most of the time, though, he's illuminating what changes might make someone else's future look like. Shinjiro shares his fears, and Minato watches, quietly. Running away... huh.
"We had to study a book for English," Minato says. "I don't know if you left before you got it. It's called 'Catch-22'. They had us reading it because it's also a saying in English... well, it's kind of hard to translate, but it's kind of like if you honour the rules of something, you can't opt out of it, even if you fight it, because you accept the premise to begin with. In the book, they said that anyone who wanted to get screened for mental illness so they could get out of combat duty -- since it was a book about World War Two -- those people couldn't be crazy, because they wanted to get out combat duty. I think it was something like... being concerned for your safety in the face of real and immediate danger was entirely rational. So you were crazy for wanting to fight more, but if you realised you were crazy, that meant you were sane, and you were still fit to fight."
He shrugs. "Anyway, that's what I think about when I hear you talking about burdening people to stop burdening them. It's a 'Catch-22'. If you try to stop burdening them, you're burdening them; if you elect to burden them, you're still burdening them. I wonder if that means there's something weird with the premise."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro tilts his head at Hagakure. "You got that off a few bites?"
But, about Catch-22... "I've never read it, but that makes sense." He tries to muse on it, but it's clearly going over his head a little bit in exacts, until Minato elaborates.
"...something weird, huh? I wonder what. Maybe it's the sense that you're burdening someone at all... but I can't understand that. I've definitely been a burden before. I've done some pretty bad things, Arisato." He doesn't look like he's going to elaborate, though. "Aki and Kirijo... still surprised sometimes that they put up with me with all the trouble I've caused them"
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"It's a distinctive flavour," Minato replies. A touch of curosity enters his mild tones, as he asks: "Should I not have?"
He has, at least, honed these skills with Kenji... even if his dating skills haven't improved a lick around his classmate's strange tastes in women.
"So that's how you feel," Minato accepts it, without demanding Shinjiro come to the light of friendship... not so blatantly, anyway.
(This conversation wasn't an accident, either.)
"I wonder how they view the situation," he says, instead. "... though I guess it's hard to talk with them, too."
Leaving that hanging, he chomps down another bite or three.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"No, it's fine. Just really impressive," Shinjiro says. "You must have a refined palate." He'd know, he has one too.
About feeling that way, Shinjiro tilts his head slightly... but accepts that he's being given at least a little bit of space on it. He still needs to sort out these feelings, even as he's been talking about that for a few days now.
"...it is. When you're *that* close to someone, been through the things we have... it's hard, you know? You're capable of being honest but you're so aware of their feelings that you just don't want to hurt them. Unless you're Aki, of course." A dig at the one person he has implicit rights to dig at any day of the week. Even if he feels a pang of guilt over not actually telling him anything wrong with him.
A pause, though. "If I had to guess... they're glad I'm back, but worried about some of the stuff that happened in-between. It's fine. We might yet figure it out." They have a year, after all... maybe it'll go well. Or maybe not. A meal isn't a place to worry about that, as he eats some more.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"I really like food," Minato explains.
Which, like, he's a teenage boy. He may as well have said 'the sky is blue'. What kind of teenage boy DOESN'T really love food?!
"Yeah," Minato agrees, mild as ever. "It's hard." And it might seem like vapid mirroring, except... "... it gets harder if you don't do it for long enough," Minato's got his own experience, "and you find you really did become different people."
Minato takes another bite. Munch, munch, swallow. "... but you can't go back," he adds. "You can only move forward. And we're pleased to be moving forward with you, Aragaki-senpai."
Chomp, munch, munch.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro nods once about liking food. Well, he can agree with that, at least.
But as Minato explains... "I've been hearing that a lot. Can only move forward... heh. Maybe I just need to start walking again, instead of staying put. Even if you take the wrong path, you're at least still taking a path."
He pauses, taking another bite, before turning to Minato with a nod. "Thanks for hearing me out. Having everyone's support... it's hard to swallow sometimes, but I guess I'm not alone."
It's still scary, but... maybe he can take another step forward with this.