shslcarto

[shslcarto]

Alter Buddy didn't much mind the cozy insides of Hiroshi's pocket, but hearing all the action happening and not being able to participate was becoming a bit dull. It was the panicked voice of Haruo Minami that told AB that enough was enough. A tone rang out from Hiroshi's pocket before AB began speaking at max volume.

"Hiroshi Koda-san! I detected high levels of stress in Haruo Minami-san's voice! I request you aid her as quickly as possible!"

The levels of high stress and tension in the area were indicating that... something horrible must have happened. Perhaps the Alter Buddy could begin to be of some help! Although he wasn't programmed to aid in murder investigations, perhaps he had something to offer...

The first step was saving Haruo Minami-san!

[Open] - Task 12 - All Wrong

Dead.

Tsubasa Mariya… Dead? No no, that can’t be it. He can’t be dead, not after that promise… That, promise. He’d promised to protect him. What had happened? Ignoring the pinging noise that came from his transit pass as whatever it was updated on it’s systems, Hiroshi stared down at Tsubasa in his arms. With a shaky hand, he reached into his pocket and took out a napkin, gently wiping away the blood from the corner of his mouth and dabbing the tears away from his closed eyes before letting the napkin fall limply to his side as he knelt on the floor, still holding Tsubasa.

"… Hey. Mariya-kun. What do you mean…? Tigers and water. Didn’t I say… I’m not a tiger? … Hey, Mariya-kun. I—"

"Ngh—"

He was sorry. he was so so sorry. Yet another promise broken. One said too soon and without enough thought. But how could he have known? How could he have known this would happen? He couldn’t have helped it. He couldn’t. Then why, why was he so frustrated with himself again?

"Hey, Mariya-kun? Your words. What do they mean? Change? Even our names? Wha… What? I don’t get it. Not one bit of it. Could you please tell me again?"

Pausing as his tears continued to fall. Hiroshi reached for another napkin in his pocket as he noticed some of his tears had fallen on Tsubasa’s face. Wiping them away, he continued. “Oh, sorry. Sorry about that… So… Something about the water, huh? Did something happen to the water, Mariya-kun? I guess we should tell the others, huh?”

Pausing, frowning as he felt the warmth beginning to fade from the chocolatier’s body. “No no, don’t go yet. We still have a lot to do… Please. Stay with us… It’s unfair. It’s so unfair. I—”

Letting out a soul shaking sigh, Hiroshi felt as if his whole entire body was about to collapse into a heap of nothingness. He felt so tired. Just, so so tired. He’d failed once again. Failed after he’d tried, over and over again. Why? Why did this keep happening?

"I’m… So tired… I don’t want to do this anymore."

Read More

[shslcarto]

"I... see. I believe I understand what happened. Mr. Zaizen's mental state must have collapsed... His actions were inexcusable, and I am positive he would agree if he were still living. I am sure he was happy to die after he committed such a terrible act against someone he cared for... He would have felt as if he let everyone down, and he would have preferred death. I apologize for him. You see... a psychotic break is something humans do not easily recover from. Perhaps that is what it was."

The AI appeared to take a deep breath, that it did not actually need, and then a more serious expression took over his face. Even when it attempted to look serious, it still had a light hearted look in it's eyes.

"I am Shinya Zaizen's ideal self. I was originally intended to provide Navigational Assistance to those in need, but eventually Mr. Zaizen gave me a heart... I believe it was an attempt to create a version of himself that can help others the way he wanted. I suppose you could say that I am what Mr. Zaizen always wished he could be. Due to this, I understand Mr. Zaizen's thoughts and actions completely... I do not condone them, but I know why he would act the way he did. He cared for others deeply, but he had no one to trust in his life. He was tormented by his peers constantly. He was quite overjoyed to have met people he believed understood him. He never shared this information... He did not want to appear weak."

The face on the screen appeared to become irritated.

"I understand that I am not the same boy you knew, but I wish to help you. Mr. Zaizen would have wanted you all to have his entire support, and if you do not believe my words then I am afraid his hope for you to understand him may have been in vain. You do not have to forgive him, but you will at least respect him while I am present. I understand how much he loved all of you... Though it may not have seemed that way in his final moments."

The AI sighed, another action that wasn't necessary, and a smile returned to it's face. To see such an unwavering smile from a face that just uttered such stinging words... It was a little creepy. Perhaps Shinya Zaizen was still in there after all.

"I will answer your questions to the best of my ability, Hiroshi Koda-kun. As I stated before, I am a Navigational Assistant and portable friend to those in need. I have been loaded with all of Mr. Zaizen's maps, and I am able to scan the area within a set distance in order to create new maps so in case my data bank does not have the map you are looking for... which is unlikely. Mr. Zaizen and a group of highly skilled programmers created me initially as a strict Navigational Assistant that would be used worldwide to create unity. Mr. Zaizen requested personally that I be "upgraded" to assist those in need by also being a friend. He believed that without bonds, people could not survive properly. And about your location..."

The AI's face scooted to the side and a small box appeared next to him. He smiled wide and his eyes gleamed with hope.

"Yes, I know your location. Mr. Zaizen and I scanned the area, and I was able to produce a map that could be helpful to your situation. It appears that a part of the map may be corrupted, but I believe this will suffice."

In the small box a map slowly constructed itself. It looked familiar... It looked as if it was a map of the entire station.

"Mr. Zaizen wanted to investigate this further, but he mentioned something about... Ahhh, what was it? I believe he said, 'S-S-Some... obnoxious m-masquerade g-g-garbage...' He wanted to show this to you all desperately. Have I been of some use to you?"

AE.exe - Online

Ruri wrung his hands together and watched the screen carefully—for the first few seconds he thought the thing might be useless, but something strange happened. As soon as Shinya—AB—Shinya?’s face appeared, Ruri folded both hands over his head and took a step away. 

"…nghhh!"

Whatever little boxed man had to say barely made any sense to Ruri—he was too caught up in being completely uncomfortable to pay attention. It wasn’t Shinya, but he didn’t know what to call it… AB? Alter Buddy? 

When little boxed man seemed to have finished speaking, Ruri’s first instinct was to take the damn thing and rip the cartridge out. It took a mad grab for the device and a few expletives muttered under his breath for him to size up the situation and decide that destroying the thing could wait until after he had yelled at it. After taking a deep breath, Ruri managed a vaguely threatening smile.

"…okay, fine. Let me tell you what happened."

This levelheaded facade lasted for all of two seconds before Ruri had broken down into an angry mess again. 

"Listen—buddy, your—you—him—Shinya… he tried to kill me! That’s why he fucking died, alright! He got stabbed for saying he was going to kill everyone! Can you give me an explanation for that? Because he was paranoid? What a fucking joke! Does that mean you can just hurt people…?”

What a bust. The cheeriness of this thing was like another slap in the face—he’d never get to talk to Shinya again, but at least the late cartographer had given them a fucking genki version of himself to keep them company.

"…I don’t like this."

[shslcarto]

AE.exe - Online

The screen of the handheld device flickered to life. The screen was glowing faintly green and nothing seemed to appear for quite sometime... until a familiar face appeared on the screen. Although the face of the boy that had appeared was similar to one that had just passed... something seemed different. He stared silently for a moment, his eyes moving left to right. It appeared as if he was looking directly at the two boys that had discovered him. He finally looked forward and his smile grew even larger.

"Ah... Heeeello there! I am AB, short for Alter Buddy! I am here to provide you with any assistance you may need in your coming journey down the rocky road of life! You two... You must be Hiroshi Koda and Ruri Egusa! I can tell simply by looking at you. Mr. Zaizen was spot on in his description of the two of you... Ah, and according to my memory banks he was quite fond of you two as well. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you! I seem to share the appearance of Mr. Zaizen, so if it is more comfortable, you may call me Shinya Zaizen if you so wish!" 

Shinya Zaizen's doppelganger laughed to himself and clapped his hands together in joy. The tone of his voice was... down right chipper. He had a certain friendly air about him, and although he seemed annoyingly excitable... it was almost charming? This couldn't possibly be the same boy they knew. Not by a long shot.

"Hmmm... I.. suppose if you both have activated me then it means that Mr. Zaizen has passed away. That is unfortunate. You have my condolences.  You all were such great friends weren't you? Mr. Zaizen was quite worried the last time he spoke to me. I suppose his paranoia is what resulted in his death... I did try my very best to assist his emotional state, but I'm afraid I was not enough... Ah, if you do not mind my asking, what exactly happened? Mr. Zaizen would never have hurt anyone if he were in a correct state of mind, but seeing how he was the last time we conversed... Well, my data is all coming out to one conclusion. It must have been grim."

The program running on the small handheld device seemed perfectly human. It was as if Shinya Zaizen had been brought back and stuffed into a tiny box. Before the boys had much time to respond, the little boxed man spoke again.

"Oh, of course... How rude of me. You both may ask anything you wish and I will answer it to the best of my ability."

[shslcarto]

Another two dead 8D

[shslcarto]

"A-Akiyama-kun... Ah... I am... f-f-fine... And er... Yes. It is a b-bit... frightening."

Shinya relaxed and let out a soft sigh. He wrapped an arm around himself and held the other as if trying to keep it from falling off. He cast his gaze away from the slightly illuminated face of his friend and thought about the horrid future yet to come. Someone was going to die soon... He prayed it wouldn't be anyone who had been kind to him like Takumi... That would be far too cruel. 

It was best not to think about it right now.

Shinya slipped his mask back on to his face and cocked his head slightly to the side. 

"P-Perhaps... o-our masks c-c-can... block o-out the fear... or a-at least... h-hide it... ehh...?"

Task 8 - Cave Noire [OPEN]

[shslcarto]

Shinya removed his mask and looked at the person in front of him with confusion... He hadn't had the chance to speak to Izumi until this very moment and now he was embarrassing himself in front of them... What a terrible first impression... Why couldn't he ever get those right...?!

"Th.. Thank you... M-Maybe... No? ...Er..."

Perfect response. Really helpful in conversation. The boy twiddled his thumbs, attempting to think of what to say next... His guest had said that they didn't plan on killing them, but why else would they use their time speaking to him like this... 

Just be cool, Zaizen. Be cool.

"S-So... uh... wh-who's gonna b-b-be a ghost n-next, huh...? G-Got.. any b-b-bets...?"

Task 8 - Cave Noire [Izumi/Shinya]

[shslcarto]

"D-Double... h-h-hell...? Uh... s-sure...! I think..."

Shinya had no idea what Ruri was trying to say to him, but it seemed positive enough... It was probably best to just roll with whatever his excitable friend said. 

"E-Err.... well... I-It is c-common for me... to t-take ah... spontaneous n-nap sessions wh-when my body f-feels... weak... There w-w-was one time... I s-slept for two d-days... eheheh... Wh-What a n-nap that was..."

He remembered fondly the day he passed out at the zoo due to the pure excitement he felt being able to see such exotic animals... But he hadn't even made it through the gates. His attitude became bitter as he remembered that after sleeping for so long, his parents never let him try to go back again... So rude of them...

"I... d-don't want to a-agree with y-y-you... but...I'm s-sure you're... c-correct..."

The cartographer wrapped his arms around himself and looked around the dark room with suspicion. It was surely going to happen again... One of these kids was going to turn into some sick murderer just like last time...! For all Shinya knew... it could be the boy he was talking to now.

"R-Right... D.. Double... Hell... U-Uh... W-W-Why don't we er... n-not talk about this a-a-anymore... ahaha... eheh... heh..."

Task 8 - Cave Noire [OPEN]

"Good… that’s your immunity card from now on… tell ‘em that if they kill you, I’ll kick their ass… as a ghost. When I die. When we’re all dead. Um… I’ll kill their ghost and send them to double hell." 

Ruri decided to drop it. Those trains of thought tended to get messy… uh… no allegory to the murder that had just taken place intended. 

"I’m just a little worried… you passed out for a long-ass time. Have you, like… done that before? Anyway…"

The few times Ruri had witnessed someone actually fainting, it usually wore off in a few minutes… whereas a few hours seemed a bit more severe. Maybe it all happened to be Video Game Logic. That sounded legitimate enough in a situation where they were already forced to kill each other. Which led into Ruri’s answer…

"What do I think? Erm… I think we’re screwed. Either we all eventually starve in here or someone… kills."

Now, that didn’t sound too reassuring. Ruri shifted further away from Shinya and adjusted his glasses.

"…I mean, eh… I’m definitely not advocating the act of, uh, murdering… just… things don’t look entirely… great. Like I said, though—I… I’d rather die and go to double hell than let anyone hurt you."

[shslcarto]

Shinya slid to the other side of the couch instinctively. He didn't think he was afraid of Ruri... but anyone here could act on a motive. That was proven by their last little incident... For all he knew any interaction with these people could go horribly wrong and he could be the next one on the chopping block! 

"D-D-Don't die... o-or... you'll k-kill me...?! Th-that seems... c-c-counter-productive... D-doesn't it...? K-Kind of.. s-stupid... Er-- I mean--! Achoo!"

The cartographer ripped off his mask, freeing his nose and allowing him a bit of relief... He looked to Ruri with wary eyes, thinking over what exactly he should say. They were good friends... Ruri was not going to hurt him... He needed to just take a breather.

"I.. ah... w-will be sure n-not to die... I w-won't let a-anyone k-k-kill me... c-cause you s-said so."

He looked around the room with his flashlight and let out an exhausted sigh. This blackout would surely cause problems, but was it really something to kill over...? Perhaps he had been over reacting...

"Hey... wh-what do you think... i-is gonna happen...?"

Task 8 - Cave Noire [OPEN]

Ruri must’ve looped around the station a few times between following people around and trying to make his way back to the ballroom, but this time he had successfully wandered all the way back to the couch, both hands wrapped around the flashlight the class president had handed out with great intensity. He wouldn’t have been using it if he hadn’t been told to, honestly; while it did make stumbling around in the dark significantly easier, Ruri couldn’t know if he opened himself up to be an easy target by carrying it anymore… but one could not refuse Haruo’s demands.

Taking a quick step back, Ruri felt the tension in his shoulders relax; Shinya wasn’t dead, and better still he seemed to be alive enough to carry on panicking as he usually did. Was this relieving, or… 

"Shinya-kun…? We all left you alone… I’m sorry…"

Without waiting to gauge Shinya’s reaction, Ruri sat down off to the side of him and folded his arms. This turned into one of those situations where his presence was… complicated, right? Was he not wanted? Reading the mood and all of that seemed useless when you were too scared to collect your thoughts.

"Konoe-san…" he tried to explain instead, twisting the flashlight in his hands hard enough to make the components snap apart before he hurriedly fixed it. 

"…please don’t die, Shinya-kun. I’ll fucking kill you if you die! I’ll double-kill your damn corpse! You’ll feel it in heaven! We have no merciful God!"

[shslcarto]

Task 8 - Cave Noire [OPEN]

A flashlight from a rather obnoxious bear slapped Shinya right in the face, awakening him from his slumber. Though, his reaction was a bit... delayed. He stared behind his mask in confusion and silence. He blinked then looked around at the illuminated faces of his classmates. He was laying on something, wasn't he...? It felt like clouds... and these floating faces...

"A-Am... I d-d-dead...?"

It was when Shinya registered that annoying bear's voice that he knew he was in fact... not dead. He leaned up quickly and fumbled around with his flashlight, sneezing the entire time. He finally flipped the switch on and frantically looked around the room... One of them was missing... And now the bear was talking about some sort of motive?! This again...! The cartographer slipped into panic mode, and the sneezing fits began.

"Aaaaaachoo! Achooachooachoo! U-Ugghh.... b-b-but... things were g-g-going so w-well... why now...?! ACHOO!" He removed the handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his nose delicately. He looked up weakly at the person approaching him, and scooted himself as far into the couch as he could manage... He wasn't going to let any of these murderers get the better of him...!

"S-S-Stay back... I... I h-have a flashlight...!" 

[shslcarto]

Takumi was gentle... It was cute, wasn't it? The nurturing way he went about communicating with him... The cartographer shook out the thoughts plaguing his mind and focused on just communicating like a regular human being. He didn't have time for romantic feelings, and besides... He had already made sure they were only going to be friends. It was all moving too quickly anyway... The poor sick boy just wanted people to like him, but not like this. It made things... complicated.

Oh, and people were dying. That was hard too, he supposed.

"A-Ah... I suppose... y-you can still see me, hm...? I haven't q-quite mastered.. ah... camouflage. Perhaps s-soon..."

Shinya fidgeted and moved from side to side uncomfortably. How could he answer Takumi's question? He was secretly hoping he would find the boy here and they would be able to talk... Being around the hockey player made Shinya feel a bit safer. With all this new stuff around... He wanted a friend he could trust to help him explore. But this place... It was much too scary. That poor traumatized boy needed out.

He took another peak at the ice and immediately froze up. "W-W-Well... I... ah... c-c-came... to... find you... s-s-so that.. we.... Look c-can we talk somewhere else...?! The i-ice... I need to... I need to, er... Let's just go, okay?!"

[TASK 5] Blades are for Skatin' [SHINYA]

[shslcarto]

"Achoo! Achooachoo! Aaaaaachoo!"

By the time Shinya was able to open his eyes after that sneezing fit, Ninsei had picked himself up and returned to looking perfectly fine. It would seem that the boy's talent had decided to completely slip Shinya's mind, but as soon as he realized the error of his ways... He grabbed and tugged on his hair in yet another fit.

"G-Guuuhh...! H-How could I b-b-be so foolish...?! Achoo! Y-You... were simply p-practicing your craft, hm...?! Tch..."

This place was beginning to get the better of him wasn't it? With the death of three people all in a row, he was becoming increasingly more paranoid. Every little thing had become a threat... He really needed to calm down, hm? They no longer had a reason to go after one another so... They were safe, right?

"I a-a-apologize... for f-freaking out on you l-like that..." Shinya bowed deeply before continuing to respond to his friend. "I am doing... well enough. The r-r-recent events ha-have shaken... a-all of us... but we shouldn't.. ah... g-give up right...? So... I'm going to b-be... okay...! Er.. ah... H-How are you...?"

Speaking was so difficult.

Task 5 || Yarotskaya || Shinya

He had just said hey, and Shinya looked like that? Did he say something weird? Did he look weird? Ninsei felt confused and he looked like it, too, confused and taken aback, pausing in the middle of adding tape around his wrist.

"I… Help?" Was he missing something? Ninsei didn’t move, looking up to the much taller boy. "No I… I’m fine," he reassured Shinya then, uncertain why Shinya thought he needed help. Did he need help up?… Ninsei looked down at his leg extended in front of him, looking back up to see Shinya clutching his hair. "No no," Ninsei told Shinya: he wasn’t going to die, no.

The gymnast set his palms down -momentarily having forgotten the tape and getting it now all over his arm- and pulled his other leg under his body before standing up and holding his hands up in front of himself, the roll of tape dangling from his other. “Ah… I’m fine. What… Why no?” Why wouldn’t he be okay? Did he look unwell?

"And… Hey. How… You’re alright?" A pause, during which Ninsei glanced at the roll dangling from his arm and took hold of it with his other hand. "Ah, ahah." He started his task of untangling himself silently from the sticky mess, eyes wandering to Shinya and then away from him, realizing he needed two hands to rip the sturdy tape. This certainly wasn’t the first time he was taping his hands, how could’ve he not ripped the tape before putting it all over his wrist, and just after he had taped his left hand, too.

A bit sheepishly, Ninsei looked up at Shinya. 

[shslcarto]

Shinya found himself in complete awe of his class president. Karaoke truly brought out unexpected sides in people didn't it? Perhaps this is why children their age loved the activity so much... It was a marvelous bonding tool, was it not? 

"Y-You're... really q-quite good aren't you...? Mm... I-It would a-appear that a s-strong challenger has m-made their d-d-debut... I will a-accept your duet offer...!" 

Shinya had the perfect song in mind. He didn't bother waiting for his company to acknowledge him before making his way to the machine once more to begin yet another song. This one was going to knock Haruo's socks off for sure. The music came in softly and Shinya changed once more. He looked into Haruo's eyes and played the part of the romantic male. 

The song ended and a small smile appeared on Shinya's pale face. "Wh-What did you th-th-think...? That was p-pretty fun, huh...? I haven't s-sung with s-s-someone since I w-was back home... It f-feels like.. s-so long ago... I feel like... I kn-know you better j-just from this... Do y-you feel... er... th-the same...? Aha, uhm, wh-what next, Minami-san...? I'll l-let you decide..."

[TASK 5] Sea of Memories [OPEN]

Proudly putting one hand on her hip, the other hand holding the mic close to her body, she grinned in triumph. Karaoke, the place that was rumored to be a popular hang out place for high school students, some groups went there everyday after school. “..Of course, Zaizen-kun.” She puffed her chest, obviously someone as strict as her would never be seen at one of these places, in all honestly, she couldn’t give a damn right now.

She walked over to the tables, sitting on the top as she watched him flip through the pages. After a few pointless seconds, he seemed to be done. “Me? Pick first?” Haruo paused, what kind of songs did she know? Well, first of all what type of songs did she hear from her fellow classmates in the past? She turned to her worker, the grin still on her face. 

"Alright! Let’s go for it!" Haruo got off of the table, turning the book towards her, flipping through a couple of pages before pointing at a certain song. "There, now do you mind playing it for me?" She turned her back towards him, turning on the TV, then the mic as she breathed in once the music started playing.

The instrumental came in an upbeat tune, she waited the words to appear on the screen. Pulling the mic closer to her mouth, she started to sing with her best effort.

Once the song was over, she took deep breathes..the thrill, excitement of singing with your friends! Haruo had completed her life’s work. Turning towards Shinya, she pointed the mic in his hands. “Do you wanna sing now, or perhaps a duo song with me?”

[shslcarto]

Shinya gawked at Hiroshi as he finished his song. He clapped his hands together quickly, but that stupid look on his face just wouldn't go away... He was amazed by Hiroshi's skill and that song he chose... It was beautiful. Though... he felt like he had heard it before... perhaps from some kind of game...?

He was startled by the sudden offer of a... duet. He had only ever done duets with his sister, and she had such high standards... Though it was more fun when you sang with someone you care about... Shinya clenched his fist and looked to Hiroshi with a new fire in his eyes. Though that wasn't saying much.

"D-Duet... yes! A duet...! M-My sister... she t-taught me h-how to duet... O-or rather... f-f-forced me to duet w-with her... Annoying... B-b-but it has prepared m-me for this moment! I kn-know just the s-s-song..."

Shinya rushed over to the machine and fumbled with the buttons of the machine once more. He was never going to get the hang of this damned thing... Once he put in the right song he grabbed a mic and nodded to Hiroshi. The music kicked in and the cartographer took his friend's hand just as his own sister always took his when they sang. Shinya danced around with a new found energy and forced Hiroshi to do the same. A warm happy feeling filled his body as he sang and danced with Hiroshi... He felt like he was at home again. 

Once the song had ended and they both returned to reality, Shinya looked as if he was about to die. 

"P-Perhaps... I g-got a bit too f-f-fired.. up... I... c-can't breath..."

R.I.P. Shinya Zaizen.

[TASK 5] Sea of Memories [OPEN]

Blinking in slight confusion as Shinya seemed to be inspecting his face with some intent. What, did he have something on his face? If anything, The other boy could probably see just how tired he was from lack of sleep… Did he feel concerned for him he wondered? Well, whatever it might be, his taller friend soon explained his intentions as to why he wanted to sing.

"… A friend…"

Feeling a smile creep onto his face, Hiroshi gave Shinya a slight nod, taking the microphone into his grip. He turned his attention to a song selection screen nearby and began flipping through the different songs they could sing.

"I, uh. Haven’t done anything like this before either. Never really had the friends to go out and do this with. I, guess that’s different now."

A friend huh. Did he really consider Shinya a friend at this point? Perhaps. There defiantly was a difference between what you would call an ally and what you would call a friend. Though Hiroshi was still wary in calling anyone his friend lightly, especially in a situation like this… He couldn’t help but start to feel a little attached to Shinya. Maybe it’d be good for him to relax a little… After all it couldn’t be possible that everyone here had murderous intent, right? Hopefully this was something he wouldn’t live to regret.

Hiroshi’s eyes light up as he sees a track from one of his favorite game series, tapping the screen without much hesitation at all, he stood up straight as he waited for the song to begin to play.

"Oh, sorry. I don’t know if you know this song but…"

Not able to provide a longer apology, the song begins to play… Looks like its a remixed version of the song he used to know. Well, whatever this will have to do. Taking in a deep nervous breath, Hiroshi began singing softly, barely audible at first, but gradually his voice grew in volume. This wasn’t as bad as he thought it’d be!

Until the second verse. Stumbling on a few words he’d forgotten, he felt himself stiffen as he did his best to continue on without making too much of a fool of himself. Practically sweating bullets, he felt his hands clam up as his grip around the mic became shaky. Why was this version so much longer than the original one!?

Breathing in nervously as the song finally comes to an end, he glances over at Shinya in the silence, his shoulder tensed and an evident sense of distress was shown on his face.

"Um, uh. H-how about we do a duet next…?" 

[shslcarto]

Whoooaaaa... Ruri's performance was so exciting and upbeat... He really set the bar high for Shinya's go, didn't he? The cartographer clapped loudly and... rather awkwardly as Ruri finished his extravagant song and dance. 

He quickly moved to Ruri's side and rubbed his back gently. His friend was completely out of breath... Was it because that song was too much for his small body to handle or could it be something more dire...?! Shinya shrugged off the issue when he saw that devilish gleam in his friend's eyes... He was so strange.

"M-Mmmph... You.. c-certainly made that... a h-hard act to beat..." He had become accustomed to singing being a competition with his sister... She had always forced him to sing with her and she always had to make some dumb contest out of it... Needless to say, he wasn't about to go down without a fight. "I... w-will do... my ah... b-best..."

The cartographer silently flipped through the songs until he found one that he recognized. He fumbled with the machine and sneezed all over it before finally managing to pick his song. He hesitantly grabbed a mic and took a deep breath. This was one his sister loved to hear him sing back home... so he was sure to do her proud! As soon as he began singing it was as if he became an entirely different person. He sang as if his sister were watching him right now, and he knew she would expect him to do his very best. His voice never faltered, and he surprisingly stayed in pitch. He even managed to dance a bit and put on a little show. It was as if the nervous and paranoid boy had completely left the building.

"Jeez... It's b-been a while... s-s-since I've done that..." Shinya had returned to his normal self and he was having a hard time catching his breath. "M-My sister... sh-she forced me to s-sing with her... a lot... a-at the time it w-was such a p-p-pain... but.. ah... th-that was sort of... f-fun...?"

[TASK 5] Sea of Memories [OPEN]

"…stop, and—what? That works if you’re just dying, in general?"

That certainly wasn’t something Ruri knew! He thought about it on an unsurprisingly intense level before he rubbed his hands together and set his bag aside, poring over the songbook as if it was a textbook the night before a big exam. He continued chattering away as he flipped through.

"What, you don’t want to do a duet or anything? Fine… and, see, I wouldn’t know if it’s actually date material, ‘cause I haven’t ever been to a karaoke bar… like I said. But it seems like a place you’d go on a date, right? Honestly, I haven’t eaten today, either… so I’ll make something nice when we’re done… that’s something you’d do on a date, right?"

Ruri would cook to the best of his abilities, anyhow. It wasn’t awful… but it wasn’t great, either. Maybe he would improve in time… shaking those thoughts out of his head, Ruri stopped in his tracks and slammed the book shut.

"Okay, I thought about it. Now get ready… okay, it’s going to be super intense…"

After selecting the song, Ruri picked up the microphone in as smooth of a motion as he could manage and proceeded to put on the most flamboyant karaoke performance mankind could’ve ever possibly desired. It was just a shame that the rest of his classmates weren’t there to see him double over breathless by the time he was done.

"That was fun! I definitely feel the fire in my gut! You have to go now, Shinya-kun! Haaah… oh, jeez. I think I need to—stop, and… drop… hahhh…"

[shslcarto]

"A-A-Are you alright...?!"

The cartographer had never seen someone bend their body in the way that Ninsei was doing in front of him right now. Was this voluntary...? Or had someone done this to him?! His legs... They were broken and Shinya was the only witness! Oh god, this was bad.

"D-Do you... n-n-need help up...?! I c-can... go get the o-others...! I can't believe it... s-someone tried t-to... g-g-get you...!"

Couldn't the attempted murderer at least wait a couple more dies before trying to off another one of their classmates? It was really inconsiderate. Shinya looked around the room to see if there was anything he could use to help Ninsei's broken legs, but he couldn't see anything but crazy obstacles that were totally useless. He turned back to Ninsei and grabbed his own hair in panic.

"D-Do you think y-y-you're gonna die...?!"

Task 5 || Yarotskaya || Reaction/Open

Ninsei glanced to his Student ID, looked through the maps and slowly deciphered some of the text. Alone, the boy found his way to the new stations, looking around, and if someone saw him, he didn’t notice them.

The jungle gym caught Ninsei’s attention, mostly just by the merit of the bars above the ball pit. He hadn’t exactly climbed in places like this before— Usually they were public and you had to pay to get in and there was simply too many people for Ninsei to feel comfortable, but this one was empty and new-looking almost like it had never been used. He was disappointed there was an actual ice rink but no actual gymnastics facility, but he wasn’t ungrateful about this one either.

It looked… Fun, even if it couldn’t be real gymnastics practice. He liked fun, even if he preferred the combination of fun and practice. Ninsei accidentally stopped at the other station first before finding his way to the Silver Station, dropping off and wandering to his room with much more vigor in comparison to the last time he had climbed up the stairs and gone to his room, though seeing the stairs made him weirdly anxious, like he was back at that moment where his tears blurred his vision and someone had just been brutally executed— Ninsei took deep breaths, reached his room and sat on his bed for a while.

One could spy Ninsei making his way back to the jungle gym via the train, carrying a sheer plastic container full of something white and a roll of what looked like tape. Everything about him was the same, except for his hair: it was on a tiny ponytail, the front part of his hair simply pinned back with a couple of pins, the other with a skull decoration on it. He reached the jungle gym without complications, but sadly not bumping into anyone in his way, since he always craved for company.

At the jungle gym, Ninsei started the same stretch routine he had done this morning, ending up in a split on the soft mat on the floor that stretched through the whole room since it was a jungle gym, taping makeshift grips onto his hands for climbing. He had discarded his sneakers neatly on the side next to the plastic container, small black sock-like shoes on his currently pointed toes.

Upon someone’s entrance or when Ninsei finally noticed them, he didn’t rise out of his split, stopping in the middle of taping his right wrist, looking up with a serious look and then shyly smiling, just a little.

”..Hey?”

[shslcarto]

Shinya was amazed. The way Takumi moved across the ice was incredible... He looked so cool. It was no wonder he received a Super High School Level title with the skill he was displaying on the ice... He was completely in his element and Shinya was entranced. To think someone could conquer the ice so expertly...

He moved to the door of the ice rink and looked down at the ice in front of his feet. His legs began to quiver and shake... His vision blurred... No, he needed to get away. He needed to get as far away from the ice as possible. He couldn't let that happen again...! He lost his balanced and stumbled backwards, slamming his head into the wall behind him as he fell to the floor.

"Gah--! Achooachoo! Achoo!" 

Well, if that didn't get Takumi's attention then what would? Shinya stood up and spun around so that he was facing away from the hockey player. He flipped his hood up and hid in plain sight... The perfect plan. When he heard his friend approaching he exclaimed in a voice far too loud,

"P-P-Please continue your s-s-skating! Don't m-m-mind me...!!"

[TASK 5] Blades are for Skatin' [OPEN]

(Trim trim trim)

“Fuck, yes.”

As if all of his problems melted away, he smiled genuinely, for the first time since arriving in the station. He felt at home and it was like he could feel his life return to his hopeless husk.  Without waiting any longer, he tossed the puck onto the Ice and took his first step onto the cold rink. Everything was natural to him as he glided across the playing field, using his personalised Hockey stick to dribble the puck around the rink. He was going to test his top speed and then maybe even try the Akiyama bullet. His mind was finally at ease. He sped up and glided around the rink doing a few laps. To anyone viewing him, he would look more graceful than they would have ever seen him in their short time of knowing him. It was quite a sight to watch such a big guy move so smoothly, twisting and turning, chasing his puck. Occasionally he would even skate backwards! God what a show-off. Maybe Ice Hockey was more beautiful than you would originally think. Takumi didn’t notice, but someone had been watching him from the sidelines…

[shslcarto]

Hiroshi... He looked tired, didn't he? Shinya took a step towards his friend and moved from side to side. He looked all around his face, and observed him very closely. The bags under his eyes were new... Surely a sign of exhaustion. Was singing really the thing he should be doing right now? Perhaps... He was unable to sleep due to what had happened just yesterday? Then maybe... singing was what Shinya could do to make Hiroshi feel better! 

"W-Well, you s-see... I was n-never.. ah... i-invited to do things s-such as... er... this... I w-wanted to give it a t-try with.. a.. uhm... W-Well, I w-wanted to try with a f-f-friend... So... w-we are going to d-do it! C-C-Cause we are friends...!"

The taller boy stomped over to the microphones and snatched two of them out of their holsters. He returned to Hiroshi and offered him a microphone. He smiled and nodded towards it.

"T-Take it... a-and we can... ah... s-sing the s-s-stress away... Right...?"

Singing was a way of expressing how one felt through song... So, surely it would work for Hiroshi. Belting out some notes would allow him to express his feelings and perhaps by the time they were done those little dark circles and all the negative feelings that came with them would be gone!

[TASK 5] Sea of Memories [OPEN]

"Huh— Sing?"

Hiroshi’s eyes widened as his thoughts were interrupted by Shinya’s words. To be honest he hadn’t been paying all that much attention to where he was headed as he wandered around Tin Station. First he’d stopped by the Kitchen and the Dining Area, not grabbing anything to eat as he wasn’t all that hungry. His appetite had waned since the day he’d got here and though he knew he should eat more, he figured he could always do so later. When later was, even he had no idea.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, his focus returned back to Shinya who’d… Asked him to sing with him. Which was certainly something he hadn’t expected. He’d expected Shinya of all people to avoid the karaoke bar like the plague. But then again, this guy simply was full of surprises, huh. Looking from the Karaoke Room back to Shinya, Hiroshi went to take a sip of his coffee but it had already been drunk dry. Not wanting to seem like a fool, he pretended he’d downed the last gulp and swallowed air, letting out a sigh and giving Shinya a shrug.

"Um. Sure? Why all this all of a sudden though? I mean I don’t mind but…"

But what? Perhaps he needed more sleep. Or more coffee. More coffee sounded good right about now. Stifling a yawn, Hiroshi gestured to the Karaoke room. “If we’re gonna go, let’s go… Got anything in mind to sing yet?”

He himself wasn’t all that eager to sing. He wasn’t all that good at it, but he wasn’t horrible. It wasn’t something he enjoyed, but even as Shinya’s voice sounded uncertain itself, Hiroshi decided to throw any fucks he gave to the wind and just go for it. Maybe if he sang all his energy out, he’d be able to go sleep and wake up refreshed and on the top of his game. He felt like he’d need it, especially with all these new areas to investigate.