002 | Little Match Girl | Video

[dekochan]

[ A pouty girl appears once the video feed flips on. She's curled up on her bed, laying on a huge bearmon plush that she got from a certain green friend of hers. ]

Not that this matters much, considering everything that's been going on, but it was my birthday yesterday. I guess that means I'm sixteen now.

Back home I'm famous, so I would have gotten a few bags full of mail and presents from fans. I guess I just... miss that.

Whatever, I know it's stupid, okay? You don't have to tell me that. I know everyone has way more important things to deal with than my birthday.


[Private to Hibiki Ganaha]
Thanks for the meal yesterday. That was really nice of you.

Comments

[interspace]

I don't know, I never really counted. How much was—it...

[ She pauses. Right, ALFRED isn't here anymore. ]

We got more e-mail than physical mail, anyway. Those things clogged up servers so much my uncle had to start up a new one just for that.

[dekochan]

What did you do to get so famous anyway? I doubt you're an idol...

[interspace]

Hell no. I got... "lucky," but it's not really something that I got to bring with me here so it's all moot anyway.

[ Read: she lost her superpowers. ]

[dekochan]

You can come back when you earned your celebrity status by working your butt off everyday like I did.

[interspace]

Did I ever imply I wanted to be famous in the first place? Look, you realize the point of me bringing that up was so we wouldn't have some kind of show-off contest and could get back to the meat of the conversation, right? I don't give two craps if you're famous or not, I'd like to talk to the person behind that. The one who just had a birthday and has cool stuffed digital animals.

You're not getting fanmail maybe, but you're getting interest and people talking to you, which is totally better than that anyway.

[dekochan]

[ Iori looks like she might yell at Misha. But then she pauses, thinking for a bit, and pouts instead. ]

Y-You have a point... I don't usually let just anyone get to know me, but I do have an interesting opportunity to talk with people I wouldn't normally get to.

I'm Iori Minase. What's your name?

[interspace]

[ Thank God this girl is reasonable. Misha gives an inaudible sigh of relief, hiding one of her shaking hands in Bearmon's fur while they sit together watching the D-Terminal. ]

Misha Hunt. Is that Minase or Iori that's your given name?

[dekochan]

[ Iori doesn't catch any of that. She just continues on in her own self involved way. ]

Iori is my given name! You can call me that if you want, but that means I get to call you by your given name too. That's Misha, right?

[interspace]

You got it. I don't mind. Iori it is, then. You're sixteen now, Iori?

[dekochan]

I am. You seem older than me though, for some reason.

[interspace]

Yeah, that would be because I'm a third of your age older than you. Is it that obvious?

[dekochan]

Yeah, I kind of guessed that. It's sort of hard to tell when I can only hear your voice, okay?

[interspace]

Sorry about that. [ She doesn't really sound apologetic, but she isn't being flippant either. ] You wouldn't want to see my face right now, anyway.

[dekochan]

I don't need to see your face to talk to you. There's this thing called phones, if you hadn't heard? People use them all the time back home.

[interspace]

I just meant, sorry for making it hard to tell.

[dekochan]

It's fine! Don't tell me you're one of those people who apologizes too much...

[interspace]

That, my dear Iori, was a correction, not an apology.

[dekochan]

Good. I don't know if I could handle another one of those apologizing types.

[interspace]

Don't tell me they're the majority here. We're supposed to be world-savers!

[dekochan]

Don't shoot the messenger.

[interspace]

Don't worry, you're too cute to shoot. [ Compliment? Sarcasm? Teasing? Who the hell knows with Misha right now. ]

[dekochan]

W-What's up with you? Do you normally call little girls cute?

[interspace]

When the shoe fits. [ The shrug in her voice is extremely audible. ] I thought you'd be more used to a little compliment, Miss Famous.

[dekochan]

It's different when it's not from a fan! I mean, I do know I'm cute, but that was a little weird, okay?

[interspace]

You ever heard the phrase, "Making a mountain out of a mole hill"?