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Celeste is… in a word, fascinated, with Kirigiri Kyoko.
It’s so rare for Celeste to meet girls as put-together as she is. Reserved isn’t a word that really captures the extent of Kirigiri’s demeanour; she’s cool and collected and when terrible things happen, she takes it into stride, sucking in a breath and proceeding objectively, prepared to be useful in any way that she can, rather than wallowing in her misery.
Whether or not Kirigiri actually wallows in her misery after the fact, Celeste thinks, is up to interpretation. She hasn’t actually been able to get close enough to Kirigiri yet to see that side of her, as much as she would like to. She considers it to be an honour and a privilege, and if someday she did get close enough to see what Kirigiri’s face looks like without that mask of hers, Celeste would think of it as a victory. For now, though, she’s happy enough to speculate on the matter, searching for hints of red in the corners of Kirigiri’s eyes after body discoveries and class trials.
As much as Celeste is enjoying seeing Kirigiri under duress, it’s a shame that they’ve met under these circumstances, where they’re all pitted against one another, set up to kill everyone else if they want to escape. It’s a shame in equal measure that everyone here aside from Kirigiri Kyoko herself is utterly insufferable; that big lug Yamada is obsessed with Celeste, and of course the only competent women here (Maizono and Enoshima) died right at the beginning.
Celeste is going to get out of here, and that’s a fact. In the end, that will involve killing Kirigiri, whether by her own hands, or by extension, by getting away with murder. In the meantime Celeste is content watching her for any hints of emotion, any tells. As a gambler she’s excellent at picking up on those. Her ability to do so can make or break a poker game, after all.
And Celeste isn’t sure whether it’s because they haven’t had enough time together yet, or because Kirigiri is simply Celeste’s match, but Kirigiri hasn’t actually shown any strong tells or weaknesses yet. She seems determined to get to the bottom of things, and of course she’s being very strict about limiting access to Alter Ego-- which Celeste thinks she’s going to use not against Kirigiri, but perhaps against Yamada, in the future, if his relationship with the AI keeps getting worse-- but aside from that, it’s difficult for Celeste to get a read on her.
Which is… exciting, and would present a challenge, under different, under better circumstances. As things are, though, Celeste knows that Kirigiri will likely be dead before she can truly figure out what makes her tick, and the thought of that is a bit sad, in a way. Celeste would really like to see more of her before she dies, but such is the way of life.
Today, Celeste comes into the dining hall, her hands clasped in front of her skirt, and does a sweep of the space for any one of her meddling inmates. She doesn’t find any of them, but she does locate Kirigiri, and the sight of the girl with the unknown talent makes her smile, unfolding her hands and walking steadily across the room over to her, her heels clicking against the tile floor. Kirigiri doesn’t move so much as an inch as Celeste sits down in front of her, not even to greet her, but Celeste doesn’t mind. That’s the way things are between them, after all-- actually, Celeste suspects that this aloofness might just come from a place of a lack of social skills, but she’d like to think it’s because they’re playing a mental game of chess against one another.
They certainly will be, when Celeste puts her plan into motion.
Celeste watches Kirigiri read for a moment, her expression smooth and clean as ever, her pale purple eyes darting over the page she’s looking at. She must have taken it from the library. Celeste doesn’t care much about Kirigiri’s reading materials, though.
…She’s really quite pretty, Kirigiri is, all pale lavenders and peaches, her eyelashes long and fair, brushing against the space beneath her eyes every time she blinks. Everything about her intrigues Celeste, from her careful composure to the way she dresses herself to the gloves that she’s never seen without. Celeste would like to know a bit more about Kirigiri, beyond what makes her tick, details about her past and where she came from, just… things, that you’d know, about any of your friends.
If Celeste can truly consider Kirigiri a friend, anyhow. It probably isn’t normal to know you’ll soon be killing your friend.
“Is there something you’d like to say to me, Celeste-san?” Kirigiri asks, after a while. Her expression remains neutral, but she looks up at Celeste, her eyebrows raised mildly, and Celeste smiles, polite and warm as she always does. Kirigiri’s face doesn’t even twitch.
“Well, of course, my dear,” Celeste says, and she pauses for dramatic effect before asking, “How are you?”
Kirigiri snorts, a soft, quick inhalation through her nostril, and Celeste thinks she sees amusement in those eyes before the emotion is squashed. “I’m fine. Is that really all you wanted to say? You’ve been staring at me since you sat down.” She seems proud of herself for this observation, or maybe Celeste is just imagining that. She leans forward a little regardless, tilting her head to the side, one of her corkscrew hair extensions flopping onto the table beside her.
“I cannot help it, you know, you are rather pretty. And perhaps I was wondering if you were going to greet me first. It is the polite thing to do, yes?”
“Is it?” Kirigiri asks. One of her eyebrows raises, and Celeste can’t tell whether she’s being genuine or not. “Well, good afternoon, then, Celeste-san.” She picks up her paper again and looks down at it. Celeste can’t help pouting slightly.
“Really, not even a response to my compliment? How improper,” she huffs, though how much of this is a bluff and how much she really means, even Celeste can’t tell, and she’s the one saying it. It’s a dangerous position to be in with a hand of cards, but at the same time… some of Celeste’s best games have been won betting with her eyes closed.
“What would you have me say?” Kirigiri’s lip twitches. “Thank you? Should I return the favour?”
“Either would be nice,” Celeste sniffs. “Though I would want any responses you give me to be from the heart, of course.”
Kirigiri’s eyes dart up to Celeste, just for a moment, and she laughs slightly, tucking her paper under her arm and standing up. “That’s a weird request, Celes, when you know that’s not how I operate,” she says, but she’s smiling. “You and I both know you’re very pretty.”
With that, Kirigiri leaves the dining hall, and Celeste doesn’t follow. There’s an odd pounding in her chest, her face oddly warm beneath her foundation, her stomach squeezing a little. It’s the most real emotion she’s ever gotten from Kirigiri, she thinks, and it’s…
Better, maybe, than genuine upset.
Celeste isn’t sure how she feels about that.