[center][h2][color=a2d39c]Franz Steiner[/color]
[color=FF0000]Higashiakemi Ryuuko (東明見 竜子)[/color]

[/h2]
[@Medili][/center]
[hr]


Academic pursuits, scouting opportunities, and an ever nagging curiosity. There was plenty of reason for Franz to dip his toes into the world of post-curfew Bermuda. He had already come to the conclusion that a portion of the students were like him, lobbying for national interest. That being the case in his mind, understanding the curfew was not an advantage he was going to give to anyone else. How does it work? Can he find a way around it? The thought of it all is what forced Franz out of bed and into this considerable cold.

Franz was somewhat prepared for the temperature. He was not wearing the pajamas he had on for bed and he didn’t return to the lavish but impractical suit from the party. Instead he wore his practical study clothing, which offered some protection against the cold but it's not like he had some hulking coat on. As some protection Franz also had a stiletto dagger snuck up his sleeve. It wouldn’t be much, but it's the most he could reliably sneak out with.

The idea of a rock garden was novel. Franz hadn’t taken the time to respect how good it all looked. Something about how alien the idea was to him caught his interest. Surely the caretakers wouldn’t mind a few footprints in it as he took a proper look around the place. It couldn’t take that long to fix it up again afterwards, right? But slowly his vision became obscured as the fog rolled in, the curfew must have set in.

The fog itself left Franz dissatisfied. [i]This[/i] was Bermuda’s big precaution to stop students from sneaking out at night. Some dynamicist’s pet project? Sure to a normal person, this would pose a problem. Even a regular student could have some issues with it, he imagined. But this was child’s play to Franz. If this was all Bermuda had to offer for an enforcement against sneaking out, Franz would be at an insurmountable advantage against the students who dare not break the rules. He was so far unaware of the Starsteel Formulization.

It was worth Franz staying out a bit longer to test the limits of this fog. He decided to walk out of the garden and down the road to the closest other student accommodation. Franz wondered if he would be able to travel between buildings during the night.

Nothing impeded his travels, and his memories guided him without problem to what could be presumed to be another student housing complex, this one taking inspiration more from the architecture of Abya Yalan meccas. With such limited sight, it was hard to make out the upper floors, but from the outside, the building looked wholly unoccupied, its windows dark and it's doors solidly shut. The effects of the Starsteel Formulization shone brightly up close though, a complex, chaotic web of connections that seemed to defy any simple answer in altering it. With time, perhaps, he could puzzle it out, but during that time, what else could happen?

Certainly, this would be better to figure out in the privacy of his own room, rather outside, slowly freezing up as the temperature continued to drop. Truly, the difference of warmth was night and day.

Franz had seen enough and it was cold out. There was virtually no threat to skipping the curfew. Although, the Starsteel Formulizations would certainly be a thorn in his side if he were to conduct devious business under the cover of night. For now, Franz was satisfied with what he had learnt. Now it was time to practice breaking into Starsteel Formulization by getting back into his own room. He began making the stroll back to the ryokan, a stroll that wasn’t uninterrupted.

Through the main gates and into the busted lobby, from where the fog had pervaded, Franz found himself impeded…by a humble, locked door. The construction of the ryokan was primarily of wood, after all, and while there was still an automatic locking mechanism that must have been put in place, Jeanne must have incinerated the main one, while the rest…weren’t designed to keep a Universal Genius stalled for long. It would be easy, indeed, for the Austrian student to slip inside the ryokan once more. It was a bigger question, in truth, where he would be able to [i]find[/i] any trace of the Starsteel Formulization inside such a building.

There was no reason why the ryokan would be any different from the Abya Yalan complex. If one student accommodation had night time Formulization around it, so must the other. They both must use Formulization. The only difference being that the ryokan was made of organic material, which made the inspection process significantly harder. In fact, it was impossible with the wood completely blocking his sight of Formulizations hidden beneath.

Franz was stopped at the lobby door leading to the stairs. Locked. He had left any tools that would help him pick the lock in his room. As thin a point as his dagger had, he wasn't going to risk the blade on some door. He didn't see a keyhole either, could he assume it was Formulization. No matter, the point was that the door was in the way of him getting a good night's sleep. Franz put his ear to the door and shook it, trying to determine the position and stability of the lock. Maybe a swift kick in the right place could break the lock with no issue.

Besides how much trouble could he really get in. He was just exploring the majesty of Bermuda and lost track of time. If he had to break a few locks to break back into his own room, they would presumably let him off with a slapped wrist just this once. Not as though Franz had any intention of being caught for this.

Franz stood back and gave a swift kick to the place where the door was locked. Ideally he would avoid damaging the door itself too much. Not out of a desire to be subtle, that option was out the window, but out of a simple respect for property.

Franz was surprised at how easily the lock broke. How bizarre that they would install locks in this place that could easily be broken through. The doors themselves were probably more flimsy, it was ridiculous that he had to worry about the safety of the door when breaking in. Security was going to be an issue here.

Opening the door, Franz looked for the mechanism that had looked at the door. A small reservoir of metal in this sea of organic building material. As he imagined, Starsteel Formulization. How fitting to see it in a traditional Japanese building.

Noticing the fog pouring into the lobby, Franz closed the door to the stairs behind him and proceeded back toward his room. Sure, the fog was seeping in a little to the stairway. But with the doors closed it wouldn't be much of an issue. 

Franz encountered the same issue when trying to return to his own suite. Franz wasn’t a technologist and he only had an understanding of metalworking from a few skimmed pages. If he broke a lock, there was no way he could repair it. Ryuuko wasn’t a technologist either. For tonight he could default to the excuse of losing track of time in the gardens. But in future he would need a way around it. 

One way was to break the locks of multiple suites, which wasn’t ideal because it hinged upon there not being enough evidence to differentiate him as the perpetrator. The other way was to get a highly skilled technologist to give him some method of doing the repairs. There was Lucy, but he doubted their alliance would accommodate her helping him break the rules of Bermuda.

Still, that was something to consider when he actually needed to sneak out. For now there was only one goal, get inside his suite and have a good night's sleep. Franz jokingly thought how breaking the door itself would impress Ryuuko. But she probably wouldn’t be happy with a destroyed front door, no matter her disposition to the place. Franz kicked the lock and opened the door. He stopped himself before entering and stood outside the doorway. [color=a2d39c]“Do not be alarmed. It's me, Franz. I got locked out.”[/color] Franz was not about to risk getting mistaken for an intruder considering the strength of his roommate.

[hr]

Ryuuko had been awakened when the bell of the clocktower loudly rang a good ten times to mark the beginning of the curfew. She had only been asleep for a little bit before that, and quickly became alert due to the noises. Add to that the clicking noises of the locks that had been triggered right after, it made her immediately rise up from her futon to look around. She quickly realized a few things. One, that the loud rings were indeed from the clocktower at the center of the island. Two, that Franz was nowhere to be seen within the room. And three, that one of the clicking noises had come from the door to the suite itself.

[color=FF0000]“Hmm…”[/color] She briefly wondered where Franz had gone too. Definitely not the bathroom and toilet, the door leading there had been left open and the lights were off. A quick look around confirmed that Franz was not inside the suite itself. This reminded Ryuuko of her own idea of possibly breaking the curfew out of curiosity… Had Franz gone to do just that? Regardless, first, she needed to check the front door. She tried to slide it open… And yet as she expected, it had somehow become locked.

[color=FF0000]“Well that’s cute.”[/color] She chuckled lightly. So it seemed that they really took this curfew thing very seriously… But then one thing didn’t really make any sense. Mainly, that locking a sliding door like this is an exercise in futility; it would be extremely easy to bypass it regardless. Which means that this whole lockup thing is probably not so much to prevent students from actually leaving… Conversely, it is also not to prevent people from entering, of course. Hmm… So this is either a very weird form of test or…

As she was contemplating things, she heard footsteps as it stopped in front of the door, which were then followed by someone kicking the door. She reflexively jumped back, venom sacks once more primed and claws retracted all in the span of less than a second as the door was then opened.

[color=FF0000]“Oh.”[/color] Turned out it was just her missing roommate returning to the room. It was good of him to stop before entering and announce himself. Ryuuko quickly undid the priming of the venom sacks and the retraction of her claws as quickly as she did them. She relaxed her posture, greeting Franz with a grin. [color=FF0000]“Heh. Got me surprised there, I was standing at the other side of the door. Haha… So where’d you been? Out for a little walk?”[/color]

Franz popped his head around the corner and gave a smile back when he realised he wasn't going to lose it. He began entering the suite as he responded. [color=a2d39c]"Yes actually. I went out for a stroll and lost track of time. The fog made it pretty hard to find my way back too. I think I may have kicked up the rock garden a bit."[/color] Franz said the last part in a sarcastic manner to imply the rock garden part was intentional.

Upon reaching his bag, Franz turned his back to Ryuuko as he slipped the dagger back inside. [color=a2d39c]"I can see your curiosity is somewhat peaked as well. Were you looking at the locking system?"[/color]

Ryuuko walked back to her futon as she listened to Franz talk. She then sat down on it, facing Franz as she replied. [color=FF0000]“Oh my, kicked up the rock garden a bit, hmmmm? Hehe… Eh, I’m sure fixing it is included in the list of duties of whoever’s in charge of it.”[/color] She chuckled and shrugged casually at that, approving of the fact that Franz did it. [color=FF0000]“In any case, yes, I was. It's quite curious isn’t it? After that bell rang ten times, there were a lot of clicking noises following it… Evidently, those noises were the doors automatically locking. Technologism formulation, obviously… Anyway, I’d expect the same thing had likely happened to every single door leading to each student’s room along with any other doors that would enforce the curfew…”[/color]

She then paused briefly before continuing, the tip of the pointer finger of her right hand touching her own chin. [color=FF0000]“Hmm… It wasn’t much as far as preventing students from leaving or entering though, so I suspect that’s not the actual objective… Anyway, did you see anything unusual while you’re outside, Franz? Aside from the thick fog, that is.”[/color]

Franz turned back to look at Ryuuko with his pajamas in hand. [color=a2d39c]"Curiosity is a good thing Ryuuko. You would be correct that all the other doors lock too, but maybe you didn't know it is a result of Starsteel Formulization."[/color] Franz got up from kneeling at his bag and walked off to the bathroom to get changed. [color=a2d39c]"Unfortunately, with my tourist's understanding of Technologism, I am only able to tell you what it is. I have little knowledge as to how it works."[/color]

Franz closed the bathroom door behind him and began changing back into his pajamas. He raised his voice a bit to keep talking as he did so. He thought about giving some ghost tale to scare away Ryuuko, but decided against it. Honesty is the best policy for a potential ally. [color=a2d39c]"Fog, fog, and more fog unfortunately. Which is strange because I didn't hear any guards. If I were taking bets, I would say they aren't enforcing this curfew very much at all. Although, unless you're a skilled metal worker and Technologist, they'll know one of us broke curfew on account of the broken lock."[/color]

Franz emerged again in navy blue and white pajamas. [color=a2d39c]"Do not worry though, I plan to take full responsibility for tonight."[/color] Franz got into his futon and turned to Ryuuko with a more confident smile. [color=a2d39c]"So, were you trying to skip curfew as well? Or just curious about the locks?"[/color]

Ryuuko nodded, a smile on her face. [color=FF0000]“Oh, I definitely agree with that. A mind that isn’t curious in some way doesn't fit a polymath if you ask me. That person will get stagnant real fast.”[/color] She then paused briefly as Franz mentioned the Starsteel Formulization.[color=FF0000] “Yes, I wasn’t aware of that. I see, so it was the Starsteel Formulization huh… Sukoro Jinga’s work… Heh, that made me wonder if he’s right here in Bermuda among us, wouldn’t be unreasonable for that to be the case…”[/color]

As Franz entered the bathroom, Ryuuko flopped back, laying on the futon with the palm of her hands placed under her neck. She continued listening as Franz talked louder from within the bathroom. She replied in kind, speaking louder as well. [color=FF0000]“Just fog, huh. interesting… Yeah, that sure sounds lax as far as enforcing the curfew goes. Just make it all the more certain that they aren’t really trying to keep people in or out with these meager locks. Anyway…”[/color]

She flopped to her side to look at Franz as he exited the bathroom. [color=FF0000]“Ah I’m sure it will be okay anyway. What’ll they do? You’re just a student that happened to be outside when the curfew started.”[/color] She giggled lightly at that, it’s just ridiculous in her mind if the academy is going to punish students for being a few minutes late about returning to their respective dorm. She turned around to continue looking at Franz as he got on his own futon, grinning as she answered him. [color=FF0000]“Oh I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have any thoughts of doing that. But that was during the tour, I had forgotten about it by the time we arrived here in this dorm. It happens when you’re enjoying your time I guess, haha! Anyway, yeah, just curious about the locks and about where you were.”[/color]

Franz took note of Sukuro Jinga being in Bermuda with them. If he wanted to get around the locks seamlessly, Franz would need the guy on his side. Of course, he knew other skilled Technologists who could get close. But to leave no trace of tampering would be quite difficult to complete, even for the caliber of genius at Bermuda.

[color=a2d39c]"I assume I'll just get a slap on the wrist for tonight. But I shouldn't make a habit of it until I can pick the locks seamlessly. Otherwise, they might strengthen security around this room. That would be bad for the both of us."[/color] Franz was taken back a bit in pleasant surprise by Ryuuko's response to his question. [color=a2d39c]"Either way, I'm happy you're enjoying your time here, despite the barren state of this room. As for where I was, my night life is far more boring than you would expect. I was just going for a stroll to see more of this place and I lost track of time. But as I said, curiosity is a good thing."[/color] He gave a cheeky smile back.

[color=FF0000]“Mmm, that’s true. Once is fine, but repeated offense might get us into trouble indeed. Oh well, it just means that we gotta find a way to leave no evidence.”[/color] Ryuuko winked playfully at Franz as she said so, followed with a brief laugh. [color=FF0000]“Well, the fact that we’re at a ryokan aside, everything’s been quite fine today, so I’m definitely enjoying it. In any case, yeah I see. Nothing but thick fog definitely sounds boring, haha.”[/color]

Franz gave a short chuckle back to Ryuuko's playful remark and pondered on what she had said. He doubted that she would approve of his intentions behind skipping curfew. But it sounded like fun to break the curfew with her. 

Franz turned up to look at the ceiling not long after. [color=a2d39c]"I believe we should head to sleep soon. As much as I enjoy the conversation, I don't think we can afford the lack of rest tomorrow."[/color]

Ryuuko nodded at Franz’s suggestion. [color=FF0000]“Agreed. It’ll be the real first day tomorrow… Best be at our, well, best… Alright then. Good night, Franz!”[/color] She started covering herself with the blanket after saying so, closing her eyes to return to sleep once more.

[hr]