[IC] Persona - Academic Akrasia

[Write]

@Plank Sinatra, @Krayzikk, @Kafka Komedy, @Alder

---

Hitomi heard the conversation everyone was having and sort of payed attention. Sort of. She was off in her usual head space as the bleeding subsided fairly quickly. She removed the napkin and removed her head from Commander-Chan’s shoulder to go and throw it out. After throwing it out she returned to their seats sitting down cross-legged looking fairly snug with her fair flexibility and comfy sweater. She felt a little at odds with herself, fidgeting with her hands often. She typically carried around a rather hefty guitar case so it was somewhat odd having nothing in her hands.

On her way back she passed by the boy who was waiting in line and staring at her. Gosh, when you’re with a hot tamale like the commander boys just can’t help themselves! She giggled a little and quietly said hello as she squeezed passed him towards her seat.
Kazou seemed a little awkward. Which felt relatable to Hitomi. After all, she sort of adopted whatever personality best suited her surroundings. It wasn’t uncommon for her during her formative years to rarely speak out of line for fear of physical repercussions. Still, he had to learn if he wanted to fit in with the crew she was running with now the most important thing he could have was a strong spine. Stick to your gut and the Commander will at least respect that.

She offered her Commander a sweet look and a welcoming smile butting in a little. “You should come by the Sacred Grounds too, we sell fried food I think you’d like it.” She said kindly turning back to Kazou.

“I agree with Daisuke, I believe it’d be difficult to explain – try looking at the scene and make sense of whatever the area tells you!” She said, replying to no one really, but rather simply offering her two cents on the matter.

[Bornlucky]

^{Patrice Building?}

The arrow struck true. But instead of a blood thirsty growl or a howl of a beast, Ryoma heard the scream of a human. A feminine scream at that, it stood out from the passive yet prevalavent screaming in the distance. Ryoma studied the shadow in a rising panic as he realized he gambled the safety of a person's safety. It made his already heavy stomach even heavier with guilt alongside his sense of dread and fear.

Ryoma ran towards the shadow, seeing in better detail that it's actions are too human to be a monster or ghost. When Ryoma was standing above the fallen shadow a few feet away, Ryoma realized it was a follow student, Ai Hanazawa, a follow third year. Once Ai seen that it was him, she calmed down slightly and asked if it was him her tone seemed to carry a hint of a plea in it as if asking if it was really him, that tone made him realized she might not be the real Ai Hanazawa. Nobody is ever happy to know he exist, maybe the demon is trying to trick him by pretending to be human. But for now Ryoma nodded his head, even with his worries of her being a demon in disguise, he still feels guilty for shooting an arrow so close since she's acting so human.

Her fearful energy started to die down and annoyance seems to takes its place, which he couldn't fault her in. He'd be mad too if somebody shot an arrow at him as well. "S-sorry." Ryoma meekly apologized. "I-I thought you were what was causing that screaming..." Ryoma added in, while it was an excuse he didn't expect to be forgiven so easily. Ryoma awkwardly shifted from foot to foot unsure of what to say next, "D-do you need help getting up?" He decided to ask if she needs help since he made her sprain her ankle from the looks of things. A demon would be easier to deal with than talking to a classmate he nearly shot, he underestimated his social anxiety.

[Crimmy]

@Bornlucky

Uchima Senior High - Practice Building -> Classroom Building????????

The girl breathed in. It was a deep breath, and as she released it, Ryoma could see Ai Hanazawa's entire body deflate in relief as the stress and panic died down. She was still trembling slightly, although whether it be from the pain or the growing chill wasn't obvious. Except it was clear she wasn't trying to let any of it affect her. Not now. A weak smile - so fragile, so wavering - was plastered onto her pale face.

"I-I'm not the type of girl who would scream like that!" she said in half-protest, half false-indignance. "You did this, so take responsibility like a man and help me up!"

It was played-up. Pretending that everything was okay and that there wasn't obvious worry and pain and fear making everything she said. That they weren't in a hall growing colder. The sight of Ryoma alive had her seem less jittery, reassured, but the undercurrent of fright and worry for him was still there.

It was so cold, so so do cold and who was that standing in the hall relief she would be okay frozen no no no couldn't be him? Cold, so cold the skin hurts a- a dream?

Her breaths were slower now. It was okay.

The breeze whispered.

[Bornlucky]

^{Class Room Building?}
@Crimmy

Ai has seemed to have calmed down. Which was a relief for Ryoma, he couldn't handle an angry or stressed out girl, he could barely handle his own stress. But Ryoma noticed the subtle fragility to her smile. It's a show, but Ryoma will not pry it off, a smile no matter how forced is better than dread.

"Y-your not the first person I made scream like that..." Ryoma quietly joked, but it was true he made classmates scream by surprising them and them assuming he was going to kill them, Ryoma hated it. Ryoma nodded at Ai's insistences of helping her up, Ryoma placed the bow over his shoulders and let it hang off him.

He gave Ai a firm yet gentle hand and helped her up. He was as slow as Ai needed him to be to get back up. Once she was up, Ryoma let go and awkwardly stood there as he waited for her to say something. But he decided he needed to talk first for once as a question arises from his mind which took awhile to filter from all the emotions he is feeling since he arrived here.

"How did we get here?" Ryoma asked Ai, "D-do you think it has anything to do with the robots people were talking about?"

[Crimmy]

@Bornlucky

Uchima Senior High - Practice Building -> Classroom Building????????

"T-thanks, eek!"

She held in the wince that accompanied the jolt of pain that lanced through her foot as she stumbled, gripping even more tightly onto Ryoma's frame to stop herself from falling (and taking him down with her). Her face was still pale with emotion, and her skin was cold and clammy to the touch against the heat of the other third-year's body. A muffled "sorry" left her mouth as she pulled back into a more stable position, still holding onto the tall boy's arm to reduce the pressure on her sprain.

"I ... I don't know," replied Ai hesitantly, eyes glancing towards the hallway where Ryoma had originated from for a second before returning to him. "I was just in the Drama Clubroom with Isami-chan, ah, she's a second-year, but then ..."

She trailed off, arms wrapping tighter around the boy. The air was getting colder and colder, as if an air conditioner had been left on for far too long.

"It's ... it's like a bad anime if robots were involved," she said, trying to make her grin larger. "That ... that'd be a super big leap for the plot to make, hah!"

Her laugh was forced. It faded into the background screams. Into the breeze that grew more and more intense.

She wished it was an anime.

[Plank Sinatra]

"That's dumb. Why would you return to the scene of the massacre? I'm starting to think that no one here watches horror movies at all, and that's gonna be one heck of an accusation to make at all your funerals," Kimiko said. That, and confessing to Hitomi's grave that she'd never been to Sacred Grounds. That would probably bite a big old Quarter Pounder. "If you wanna see a pizza robot, I own one. I need to buy a collar for him, but I do. He's just a-ways downtown."

Kimiko thought about it for a second. At least she and Daisuke had bikes outside to ride down there...

"You know what, yeah," said the charismatic airhead, pushing her food away, "let's go see DRU. I'm getting hungry anyway, and he's got food."

The only problem is that even with Kimiko's notoriously dynamic thinking, she just couldn't work out a way for them all to stay in perfect formation on the way to the detective's office and her pet robot. If she'd had a week or two to train them like she wanted, she was sure they would be in the Summer Olympics by 2024, maybe even 2020, but unfortunately everyone here had ignored her prior instructions and showed up not knowing how to bike alongside friends. Even Kazou. And he wanted to be part of the gang.

A dynamic enough thinker could find a way to fit them all on Daisuke's bike. It was the biggest and coolest of any transportation they owned, to fit his super-cool and edgy demeanor. And probably to imply he had a big penis. That's what her moms said.

Ooh, speaking of which, Bekah-sama liked to let Dana-sama sit on her face sometimes, according to the muffled yells from down the hall she heard late at night while making food. It seemed to be a pretty good space-saving maneuver for them whenever Bekah-sama tried to steal the covers. IF Daisuke was steering the bike, and she sat on his head and gave him directions...

Crap, he'd be a gold medalist in no time.

Not that Kimiko would make much of a helmet, and plus her hair would get all messed up, and plus Hitomi was gonna fall and crack her head open and then she'd end up speaking in Alemannic dialect - or worse, freaking Portuguese - forever and no one would ever be able to understand her again. There were too many potential calamities.

"Daisuke, I'll need to be carried to save space."

She'd seen him working that pole yesterday. Pretty good stuff, to her eye. She probably would've enjoyed watching it if she hadn't been busy stopping the apocalypse from coming with extra olives. But she could tell it had done a number on him, and a good pole worker needed to build his back and core strength. A girl of Kimiko's weight should be no sweat.

"Daisuke, I'm waiting to be carried."

Who would carry Hitomi was a more pressing question, because this Kazou kid looked pretty tiny and prone to trembling. Even a girl as frail as Hitomi was gonna send him tumbling over, and then they'd both hit their heads on the pavement and come up speaking Aramaic, or Osthinterpommersch - or worse, freaking Spanish - and no one would ever be able to understand them again.

More likely Hitomi was gonna jump up on Kimiko's back, though, honestly. The girl seemed to be attached to her a lot like DRU had been. Maybe she shouldn't have cast that magic spell that made everything look at her like Wonder Woman. Or maybe she should have, but in class, so that she could snooze through math forever. The only math she liked was done at the counter of a McDonald's - and adding up how many pounds Daisuke could shoulder.

"Daaaaiiiiiisuuukeeeeeee."

She'd let Daisuke figure it out. He had to contribute something to this tag team besides endowment.

[SMS]

Natsume; Saturday Morning - Newspaper Club Room?

---

Natsume's body tensed as Yuuhei's response felt like it was on instinct, before he met her gaze and seemed to have regained his consciousness. His forced smile certainly didn't help putting her at ease just yet. "I wish I had an answer for that, Y-Yuuhei-... senpai." Although he said that his first name would have worked fine, she still found it awkward for her to suddenly be on a first name basis with the upperclassman she just met not even five minutes ago and so tacked the honorific on at the end.

"Where did Oshino-senpai go?" For all the ridiculous rumors she had heard about the president and the newspaper club, a prank or whatever this was seemed too elaborate and too sudden just to welcome a new member. His response seemed to be genuine though, so she was able to discern that he probably wasn't behind this and relaxed a little. Natsume looked over her shoulder and found that the hallway was the same as the club room, empty and devoid of life. And shortly after peeked outside to see that it extended throughout the floor it seems. The screaming sounded like it was coming from somewhere, but she couldn't tell what or where it was coming from.

The girl stepped back inside and collected herself. Now that she has managed to take in some deep breaths, she noticed how suffocating the stagnant air felt for her. It wasn't restrictive, but the girl noted that it might make breathing difficult if they were to do something labor intensive to get out or something. At least her walking sessions were being useful for once.

A small idea popped into her head and she reached into her pocket to grab her smartphone and flipped it open. She didn't really use it much outside of calling and texting her parents and storing media she could listen to, so its simplicity was perfect for her. Her gut feeling was correct though, she didn't have any reception in this place. But that wouldn't stop her from trying at least. She sent a message to her mother that just read "test". After a few seconds later, and sure enough, the message failed to send. This feels like it's out of some horror film that her dad loves to watch during the weekends. The girl sighed as she rubbed her forehead for a few seconds before slipping the phone back into her pocket and turning back to Yuuhei.

"So uh, what should we do for now?" Natsume was hoping that he had something in mind besides sitting here and waiting for something to happen. Like the rest of the club reappearing. "Should we try looking for other people?" If she and the blonde were here, then there's a good chance that somebody else got caught in whatever this prank or situation was. Although she did wonder why the vice president and the other members of the newspaper club weren't here and only the two of them were present.

[Krayzikk]

"Aight."

The one-word-answer didn't bring out any of the thoughts going through the teen's head, but it said pretty much all it needed to. Daisuke downed what was left of his drink in a single motion while he looked Kimiko up and down a moment. The girl was just looking at him expectantly, but that wasn't new. It took just a second to decide he could do it. Protest wouldn't do any good, even if he felt like it, 'cause she wouldn't listen to any of the reasons. Best friend or not, girl was an odd duck and anything to do with a cute girl asking to be carried'd probably be lost on her. Maybe she'd listen if he said he couldn't, but.

Well.

That'd be a lie, for one, and for two he'd never hear the end of it.

So his coffee cup sailed underhanded into a trash bin and the delinquent stood, pushed in his chair, and casually scooped Kimiko up with his right hand. Picking her up by the scruff of the neck'd be impractical and weird, so one hand on the seat of her pants gave enough support to keep from dropping her. He leaned forward and twisted in the same motion, bringing his shoulder down and in so he could set her on his shoulders without any fuss. Dropping her wasn't a concern, she wasn't hard to lift and the girl had a good enough sense of balance. He straightened up as soon as he felt her on his shoulders, grabbing his backpack and sliding in her chair like the weight of a second person wasn't there.

He casually handed her makeshift fries up to her while she settled in. It only took him a second to find the keys to his bike lock in his pocket and spin them around a finger, eyeing the two others in thought a second.

"Hitomi, you're gonna have to use Kimiko's bike. Use her helmet, Kimiko'll use mine. Probably the only way she's gonna fit her hair in. I'll try not to go too quick, you're gonna have to follow me." He'd already turned and started for the exit, hunching over a little when he got to the door and adding to his passenger, "Duck your head."

"Gonna have to hang on tight," He commented to her, tapping one of her legs next to his head with a finger. His other hand was undoing the bike lock with a few deft twists, pocketing the key and looping the lock around his handlebars before glancing back to make sure Hitomi was following. Kazou kid, too, if he felt like coming.

"Not sure how we're gonna get beanpole on a bike."

[chukklehed]

Tsubaki, Practice Building, 2nd floor

Tsubaki tried to focus on what was happening while she walked, carefully picking her way through the corridor. Her guide had disappeared without a sound, and the world felt... wrong. She felt heavier, and the walls seemed to be covered in blood. Just as she thought she had made up her mind to look for a way out, she heard a scream from nowhere and panicked, running in the opposite direction, crashing through the door to the bathroom and trying to hide in one of the stalls.

"It's not real," She muttered to herself, trying to cover her eyes and ears at the same time, "This isn't real, this isn't happening."

[Mistress Dizzy]

Jin was halfway to the other building when everything got weird. Their initial thought was that this was some kind of nightmare. Jin had plenty in the past - still had recurring ones that were a nasty mix of real memory and childhood phobia. Muttering a hellish mix of Japanese and English curse words, Jin fiddled with their uniform jacket, and pulled something from the back.

They'd never actually had to use the knife they kept taped to the back of their jacket. Simply having it made Jin feel better and safer. Jin gave the blade a little poke, hissing at the pain slightly but keeping their thumb there until a tiny bead of blood welled up. The world stayed the same. Gray, and screaming, with fresh... fresh... no, this had to be some kind of joke.

"Fuck, this is bad. This is way bad..." With a nervous exhale, Jin made sure the knife was securely gripped, and started to make their way slowly down the hall. The trick was not to panic in the dark, to keep your head on swivel and not to believe you were safe unless there was a safe corner to put your back to.

Right now, there were no safe corners.

"Allright, whatever the fuck this nonsense is... I'm ready for it."

[Crimmy]

@chukklehed

Uchima Senior High - Practice Building????????

泣き面に蜂

Lurching noises.

Chipping of wood.

Enclosed in her fragile fortress, Tsubaki could only hear that which awaited outside.

The breeze grew.

A hiss, stretched out.

---

@Mistress Dizzy

Uchima Senior High - Practice Building -> Classroom Building????????

The hallway ended in an T-intersection. Jin would find herself face to face with a splattered, dripping mess of red against the monotone wall, the slow motions of the sickly crimson fluids crawling outwards from a central splotch. The classroom door - the copie of the classroom - occupants lacking, was inches away to the left. A chill swept through the hallway. Lights flickered.

Once.

Twice.

A line of lights, one-by-one, dimmed and jittered on the ceiling to her left. It was irregular. Frequency never constant. But the static, slowly brightening sources were there. Bright. Yet descending into a darkness far to the left that cared naught for the lights. And to the right ... steps.

One. Two. Three. Four.

One. Two. Three. Four.

A regular beat against the wooden floor.

Steps. Heavy. Unfamiliar. Unrecognisable.

Coming closer.

Which direction would Jin go?

[Suku]

Kagami Isami

---

@Crimmy@Savo@GarlandDaHero@JBRam2002

"First of all before we leave people are ready right?" Kagami asked she wouldn't mind leading but she wanted no one getting hurt due to them lacking a way to fight back. Taking assess of the situation she nodded to the others and opened the door to the drama room. "We should look for others right now so lets search the practice building before moving outwards agreed?" She said as she stepped out the uneasy feeling seemingly hitting her all at once she was nervous her hand clenching the bokken trembling as she look around. So far nothing but it seems everywhere was affected it was best to forge ahead and try to find others as shes stated. Heading out Kagami took lead her bokken at the ready clasped in trembling hands come hell or high water she would protect those who placed their faith in her. It was the least she could after all as she started to head towards the kendo room. The kendo room being on the far side of the building they were bound to run into someone.

[Kafka Komedy]

Kazou - McDonald's

Kazou frowned openly as the worker-boy admitted what had gone down wasn't on the news. He retracted his hand and slipped his phone back into his pocket. That was fishy. Maybe they wanted to be the originators of a new rumor; he hadn't heard anything about any pizza bots from anyone else so it was possible. Of course, he also hadn't talked to anyone in a few days so it was possible he was behind on the rumor mill. And as stated before, birdbrain wasn't capable of lying.

The both of them suggested he check it out for himself. But the firehead cut them off, insisting she instead had a pizza robot just chilling someways downtown. Like a fucking pet. All of this seemed wrong, these people he had never met before so casually talking about pepperoni AI machines and horror movies and- augh! Everything made no sense but... But there was an odd force compelling him to stay, to follow these people. They all seemed so honest, so out there, so unlike Kazou that frankly he couldn't help but sit here and be enraptured by these people.

"Uh, don't you have food here?" Kazou questioned during the lapse in conversation. It was the most honest sounding thing he'd said all morning; no fake smile, no laugh, just his slightly shaky voice bringing reason to the three insane students he'd been wrapped up in. "And uh, downtown? We're gonna go there? That's a pretty damn far walk... I don't have a bike so should we take the tram? I have enough cash for myself and someone else; I could meet you guys there maybe?"

Wait, was Kazou getting ahead of himself? He barely knew these people. Not even acquaintances really, and he was going to meet up with them? But before he could even get an answer, the worker-boy was already up and walking out the door, casually picking firehead up like it was nothing! Kazou, not even sure what he was doing now frankly, followed the group out the door, listening to "Daisuke" as he was called give orders. There were two bikes here, it seemed. Daisuke and Kimiko on one bike and...

Oh god. Was Kazou going to be riding with birdbrain? She'd peck his eyes out...

"Should I, um, just take the tram? Where are you guys headed maybe I could meet up I mean..." Kazou rambled. If push came to shove (and by that he meant one person telling him to; he craved human contact even if it was from the mentally ill) he'd ride with her, but he really couldn't stomach the thought of bringing the idea up himself, and he was 100% sure he couldn't reliably carry a girl even that tiny on his back without toppling from the speed of the bike. That meant one of them would be clinging to the other and Kazou just was not ready to say that aloud. For now he stood awkwardly, fidgeting near the other bike.

[AdmrlStalfos19]

All Etsu could hear on the other line was a whole mess of static. It seemed as though trying to contact the outside world was a no-go, so with that option completely void, she had no choice but to press on. She ultimately decided she'd best retrace her steps, walking back up the stairs and finding herself back outside the faculty office. She didn't want to try and open the door though; instead, she opted to do some more cautious exploring of this warped school itself, hoping her damnedest that someone would show up and actually help her out of this mess.

"Hello?!" Etsu called out as loud as she could, "Is anyone there?! Anyone at all?!"

None of this made any sense. The only thing Etsu could possibly hope for was for someone to still be out there.

[Crimmy]

@AdmrlStalfos19

Uchima Senior High - Main Building, 3rd Floor, Hallway outside Faculty Office

There was someone out there.

Something out there.

It had been waiting. It had been watching, and as she had climbed through the darkness of the stairwell back towards the faculty office, it had followed, quiet rumbling footsteps unnoticed by Etsu. Each heavy tap against the wood of each step. They drifted through the monotony of grey and crimson, the shifting noise growing closer and closer and closer. And as she opened her mouth, breathing her words into the stagnant dark air of the hall ...

It struck.

An oozing black appendage, made of the shadows itself, shot out from behind her to grab onto Etsu's left foot like a hand, the icy cold touch constricting her movements. A second followed, this one jabbing straight into her right thigh with four stinging, ivory-white claws into the flesh. No blood drew. Yet the pain lanced through, an eerie, excessive impact that could chill her veins. There was a wild hiss. Inhuman. Monstrous.

The right thigh pumped. Blood was being drawn.

No.

It was being drunk. Seeping into those claws.

In the darkness far behind, where the long, shadowy arms originated, a rounded shape, cobbled-together, mangled ... broke into the light.

Golden eyes.

Matted hair, colours impossible to determine, were frayed across its pockmarked brown skin. Golden eyes, obscured by dirt-covered strands, peered with madness at Etsu. Not madness. Hunger. Joy. Happiness. Relief. Its jaw, every inch covered by a disgusting beard, hung loosely from its head. Chittering. The bruised, purple tongue licked through a hole in its cheek. Chittering. Chattering.

It wanted.

It needed.

The blood continued to pump.

Its hunched-over body continued to pitter-patter along the wooden floor.

Closer.

Closer.

It would stop her from running.

And it would enjoy her.

If Etsu did not find a way to escape her constriction ...

The thing's blackened teeth grinded together.

[Sarcelle Renard]

Yuuhei Seiho

Saturday Morning – Newspaper Club Room?

---

The sad attempt at a smile fell a bit as Yuuhei realized that white haired girl seemed to be able to see right through him. It didn’t help that Natsumi then confirmed his suspicions that even she didn’t know what exactly was going on, but he didn’t have time to feel down about it. After all, he had to make sure that his cute new kouhai wasn’t left with a completely terrible first impression of him. So as Natsumi went to check out the hallway, Yuuhei started rummaging through his desk.

”I wouldn’t worry about Saika. If she was brought here with us, then we would be able to hear her raising all kinds of hell looking for the poor fool who thought they could get away with coming between her and club activities,” he replied, smirking a bit at the thought. While it was a bit of a half-truth, as he was genuinely concerned about what had happened to his vice president, worrying about her was unfortunately not going to accomplish much for any of them.

And while he was on the subject of accomplishing things, where had he put that damn box?

His amber eyes glanced over at Natsumi, who was currently on her phone, and wondered why he was stuck in this strange rendition of the school with her. The entire scenario felt like it had jumped straight out of a light novel, but there was usually more preamble to stories like that, wasn’t there? After all, Yuuhei had barely introduced himself to the girl before they were whisked off to an alternate world.

’Or maybe it’s just a bad idea to try and explain real life situations with light novel tropes in the first place,’ he concluded as Natsumi let out a tired sigh, telling him that she likely had struck out with getting a hold of anyone with her phone. It was almost funny how the fact that their cell phones were not working was what got the blond to feel any kind of real fear, while the red liquid dripping down the walls and disembodied screaming had only managed to unsettle him. Hopefully that was because it meant that they were truly cut off from the outside world and not because he was useless without it like so many adults liked to believe.

Yuuhei realized that he was distracting himself from the matter at hand, and now Natsumi was looking to him for direction. A sudden smile overtook him. Not the crappy one that he had tried just moments ago in some vain hope to comfort his underclassmen, but a genuine one that exuded perhaps a bit too much confidence. He had been letting himself overthink things again. That wasn't like him. Or at least he had put a lot of effort to make that no longer the case. Besides, he had already come up with a plan.

”Well first,” he began, pulling out the small box he had been looking for, ”We are going to arm ourselves with pointy things just in case this is indeed the set for a low budget horror movie.” Out from the box he produced one of his many steel tipped darts, which he still definitely did not own should a member of the discipline committee still be wondering, and held it up for the girl to see. Sure, it was only barely better than nothing, but the small weight in his hand provided him with some minuscule amount of comfort.

”Then I think we should make all sorts of noise and see what comes out to greet us,” he said far too simply, his eyes with a devious glint to them. Sure, he was definitely guilty of leaving out the key details that kept his plan from sounding so suicidal, but even in this situation Yuuhei simply couldn’t pass up a chance to get a rise out of his quiet companion.

---

@SMS

[Savo]

Alexander Furst

---

@Crimmy @JBRam2002 @GarlandDaHero @Suku

---

"I'm pretty sure we are more than ready," Alex mumbled as he turned to eye the other students as they began arming themselves with a variety of tools and props. He legitimately wanted to roll his eyes at some of the crap they decided to utilize for protection, but honestly, he couldn't argue. After all, those items were the best they were gonna get at the moment. Putting a hand on his hip, he stared at the exit of the room.

Did he really have to depart? Couldn't this be one whole horrible dream he's having. Sighing, he jammed his index fingers nail into his thumb as he exited the room. The howling of some disembodied voice reverberated a little louder as he followed the shorter girl out into the hallway.

At this point, he winced a little and stared at the indent. Yeah, cliche, but heck if it doesn't help decipher whether or not you are truly slumbering. Two hallways - one leading to the practice building, the other the front of the school. The choice was pretty obvious as to where they were going to go. Without a second thought, he pivoted to the side for about two seconds... before swinging back around to watch her walk in the opposing direction.

Ok, what. Was she actually serious about actually seeking other students out? For starters, no no no no nooooooo, that was plain suicidal at this point. To be quite frank, that selflessness was putting the entire group at stake already... makes one wonder if she ever learned what "self-preservation" was. As Alex looked back, he let out a little "tch" as he pivoted around and began following after little Ms. "I'm Gonna Be a Heroine," passing by the other members.

His teeth were laid bare, his brows furrowed as he reached out a hand... before stopping and just picking up the pace to jettison past the girl. Alex was going to play it safe and go with the facet that she stated she was unnerved. After all, he preferred not to get injured by a classmate nevertheless.

"Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah," he hissed under his breath as he obstructed Kagami-san's way. He held up the palm of his hand to her, hopefully halting her in her tracks. "I'm sorry but I am not lettin' you drag us on this stupid expedition to find other student's," he spat out under his fiery breath, staring down his shorter compatriot.

"None of us know where we've been truly dragged off too and we have no idea what we might encounter, aside from this oppressive atmosphere," he felt the daunting weight of the place continue to settle on him as he swore he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Oh good, a possibility of seeing things now as he inched his head back to survey the area behind him.

Nothing but the howling shrieks of a creepy, gray-scale school that was bleeding.

Turning back to eye the girl, he prayed that he would get his point across now, lest they were to end at an impasse. "Our first order of business should be to secure an escape route and leave as soon as possible, because lets be honest here..." Alex turned away from the kendo kid for a brief moment, pointing his baton to the ends of the darkness.

"If there is anyone else stuck here, they're probably trying to get outta dodge already, dead, or anything else you can think of." Setting a hand on his hip and turning back to eye the girl, he gave her a hardened frown with gaze that would shatter diamonds. "Get. Your. Priorities. Straight."

[SMS]

@Sarcelle Renard

Natsume; Saturday Morning - Newspaper Club Room?

---

From how the president talked about his right hand man, erm... woman, it seemed that Natsume was correct about them being close. They seemed familiar enough with each other to be able to bicker like they did earlier. "Childhood friends? Maybe freshman year?" Although she was curious, it wasn't that much of a priority right now.

Finding a way out would be the most logical thing to do-

"Wha-?" Yuuhei had other ideas apparently. As he pulled out one of the darts inside a box that he produced from somewhere, the girl raised an eyebrow. "Please don't tell me he plans on actually exploring this pla-", and subsequently mentally facepalmed as he immediately confirmed her worry.

It looked like this portion of the rumors really wasn't exaggerated one bit. The one where the president of the newspaper club wouldn't back down from something interesting. And in his eyes, this situation they were in was interesting. Although Natsume could see why, there was just far too many things she didn't know about the place and events that prevented her from sharing his bravery and enthusiasm.

After what felt like several seconds flying by, the girl finally blinked a few times and got a hold of herself as the blonde's suggestion sunk in. After shaking her head and clearing her throat, she gave his plan of action some serious thought. At the very least it was better than staying in this room and waiting for something to happen. Although she wasn't looking forward to actually executing it. Who knows what they'd run into in this place?

"I can't say I'm completely against it. But... darts?" An eyebrow was raised again. It'll probably hurt a lot if he jams it into somebody hard enough, but surely he wasn't planning on bringing the box too? They only have four hands available, and she can't dedicate her own just to hold it.

"Don't you have something else that I can use here?" She said as she looked around the almost empty club room. He mentioned arming themselves with pointy things, so the first thing that came to mind was a sword. Highly doubting she'd actually locate one here. Natsume, howeer, remembered that she couldn't even wield one properly due to her handedness. Though it was less about her own dexterity and more about nobody in her area having the experience to teach a southpaw how to even hold a sword properly.

Although she did spend some time sitting in her friend's training sessions on using a naginata many few years back. While she never got to use one herself, she did often play pretend with whatever long stick that she could grab and whack it a few times against pillar before she got caught. If she ever finds herself in possession of one in this situation, it would go a long way in making her feel a little more comfortable than she is right now.

[Crimmy]

God hath given you one face, and you make yourself another.

"You remember Mori-san? Who got fired six months ago?"

"Didn't he get hired by the, uh ... what was it called? The delivery company?"

The milkshake was cool to the touch, her fingers carelessly wrapped around its circumference as she sipped away at it with a bright pink straw, its colour almost as intense as her shockingly bright mane. Here, hunched over the counter of a small diner and finishing off the remains of her morning meal, it was remarkably easy for her to listen in on the conversations of other customers. Her ears tended to pick up every detail with astonishing accuracy no matter how unmindful her eavesdropping may have been, and the words being exchanged by the pair of salarymen in the booth near the back of the venue (beneath ceiling air vent) were no exception. They may have thought they were being quiet, but nothing they said had managed to escape her attention.

Nor did the awkward shuffling sounds of the teenage couple sitting closest to the entrance, clearly unsure of how to conduct a first date.

Nor the coughing of a mother with a pram who was clearly developing a cold from staying up too late to take care of her child.

Nor the mumbled, unconscious self-aggrandisements of an old man who had decided that the diner's sole toilet was a perfect place to take a nap.

If she were to wait a few minutes longer, she suspected she would be listening in on the cursing of a frustrated customer clearly wishing the (slightly premature) death of the toilet's occupant for stalling their stress relief.

"Yeah, bloke got a quick turnaround. Thought he'd be scrambling around for longer."

"Hah, he got lucky there. But if someone like him could jump into a new job so quickly, maybe we have a chance too if stuff gets bad."

Most of what she listened to, of course, was utterly uninteresting. She couldn't deny that everyone had a story to share, but her tastes were more tailored towards the works of the God of Novels or Arthur Conan Doyle. There was just an insurmountable distance between them, but she was still listening to them anyway. Even if she tried to ignore them, they were still far too audible to dismiss as background chatter.

Except, sometimes, there could be something worthwhile.

"Don't jump to conclusions there. He really isn't lucky. I hear he's been calling in sick a lot. Stress or something."

"And he hasn't been laid off?"

"Surprisingly forgiving bosses, I know. But I think the place's just bad. You know that some others there always feel drained, right?

"More tired than we usually get?"

"Definitely."

'Something' being that.

The sound of milkshake being consumed gave way to air being sucked through a straw. She glanced down at the milkshake bottle in her hands with blood red eyes. It was empty. Not a single drop of liquid remained inside. There was a sudden pang of disappoint in her chest; it would have been more prudent for her to order a larger milkshake if she wanted it to last longer.

That was probably a benefit of hindsight.

"You been calling around his place?"

"Yeah. Dropped by Kosho and everything. Must be a bug or something going around. That Fumihiro got hit with it."

"Guess we're lucky we're not him, eh?"

"Got that right!"

She gave her thanks to the girl at the counter before standing up, grabbing her folded jacket as she did. The black garb soon found itself donned over her crimson button-up shirt in one smooth motion, and a second later she was already out the door, the empty milkshake bottle successfully thrown into the bin at the edge of the sidewalk. She basked in the morning sunlight for a brief second, before turning right, the pitter-patter of her feet joining the chorus that was the city's sounds as she began to make her way to her destination.

It was really convenient, being able to stumble onto something that seemed off so early in the day. It usually took a bit more searching to find trouble, discounting any night time outings. And the conversation between the salarymen was definitely a 'something'. She could feel it singing in her blood. This Fumihiro Mori man they had been talking about ... she was doubtful that he was being hit by some bug or sickness. It felt off to her.

The fact that there seemed to be a link to their current "case" was a clue in that regard.

Maybe she could be wrong, but that wasn't something she was going to entertain.

She looked up at a road sign. Kosho was right near that large park, so it wouldn't be too far of a walk.

Giving the place a look would confirm her suspicions.

But first-

She rummaged through her pockets. Nothing.

She needed to drop by an office supplies store.

[vancexentan]

@Crimmy"What I do isn't for everyone really. I just really like running mister. It's no complicated, and you don't need to think about too much other then yourself. If you don't mind me saying so I believe you're wrong." Hans stated simply as he paced himself moving awkwardly waiting to see if this old man would dismiss him already. "The world is a big place with a lot of different view points, and sights. You can show a person a ball and they could point out two different things about it that the other wouldn't think of. Like it's color, or it's pattern. It's mundane but it's just an example. So uh...sir are you going to be leaving soon?"