prickly gardener

SHSL Gardener Sayuri Kawakamii Status: Alive body, a:hover {cursor: url(http://cur.cursors-4u.net/nature/nat-10/nat967.cur), progress !important;}

[kawakactus]

Iris Germanica (Sayuri + Michael)

[shslvocalperformer-deactivated2]

Michael decided that he liked this Sayuri girl. Sure, she was a little snippy sometimes, and sure a lot of the things she said were really confusing, but she was smart, and it seemed like she at least meant well. Keeping up his pace, he watched her set down Togemura oh-so-gently, and then she began to inspect the floor. After a moment, he realized she’d been talking about music. Grinning even wider, he flipped through his mental songbook, trying to think of a song that fit her description.

“Hmm, slow but powerful… Really any Whitacre song would work for that… But a battle… That’s probably a whole different type of sound…” He trailed off, biting his lip. He really did want to make a good impression, so he was taking this quite seriously, thinking deeply about her suggestion. “Well… There’s plenty of songs about battle, but so few of them are slow… Wait! I’ve got just the one!” He grinned again, clapping his hands together in excitement. “Any song from the Kunqu Opera should be good. Yes, that’ll do just fine!” Michael shut off the treadmil again, stepping off and leaning against the heavy machine. “So, have you explored that ‘secret door’ yet? I haven’t, but it has to lead to something important…” Wiping off his face and neck, he glanced over at Sayuri curiously.

[kawakactus]

Sayuri's crudely grown in nails scratched hard against the floor as she did all but attempt to claw herself an escape route. All the tiles were plastered deep into the floor, not even wiggling as she barely scratched the surface. Even if a tile did come loose, what would be underneath. There was the chance of a basement, or some other floor, but it was more likely that it was solid concrete since this is the first floor... They are on the first floor, aren't they?

Her head shot up to Michael, flapping the wall of hair away for a second to reveal a glare, that settled only after her veil once again covered her eyes. Sayuri would like to admit she didn't buy into the murder game or the robots being headmasters, but it had her increasingly on edge. "Hmmm... Kunqu? Chinese? That's what I believe it sounds like. You're the expert, though, not me, so I'll leave the song choice up to you. Not like I'm asking you to now, anyway, so start practicing later."

Sayuri rolled her eyes, knowing they wouldn't be seen, especially since she was bent over. "Of course I checked out the door. I expected more people to go there wanting to leave. I had no idea that so many people looked forward to being forced to murder their classmates." Michael may be a friend, just maybe, but there is not getting around what should be common sense.

[kawakactus]

Iris Germanica (Sayuri + Michael)

[shslvocalperformer-deactivated2]

Listening to her talk, he decided he might as well continue his jog. While he listened, he was amused to hear that she actually had a name for the cactus. He’d never actually heard of naming a plant before, but she was a gardener, so she probably felt quite close to her… Friends?

"Togemura, huh? Of course, of course, I can call… Him…? That." He paused, listening to her mumble to herself. She definitely was… A curious person. to say the least. As he picked up the pace in his exercise, his eyes went wide. "Western pop star…? Ach mein Gott, no way! I mean, I have the ability to do that, but I don’t think I could ever… I’m definitely more into Opera and classical music, können Sie?” He smiled at Sayuri, gushing uncontrollably. “It’s just so… Overdramatic. And it tells all kinds of stories, and most people don’t even understand the language, they just hear the feelings and intonations of the singer….” He trailed off, sighing wistfully. “Aber, yes, I’d love to sing for your friends!” Michael guessed they were friends anyway. Or maybe they were more plants? Who knew, with this girl. Shrugging internally, he started to blush. “I-I didn’t mean any offense, Frau, I’m sorry… You have a point though. I just couldn’t find anything useful when I searched this place, and the whole Idea of murder was stressing me out, so I came here to burn off some steam, y’know?”

[kawakactus]

Sayuri kept her head down as she pondered, looking to Togemura for some confirmation that this Michael was alright. She, and Sayuri assumed the same for her floral friends,  wouldn't mind the company of a singer to make the unpleasant treatment they would receive, less so. Supposing she couldn't hold too much over him for simply having spoken a different language for most of his life, she pressed on with the task of talking.

"I... suppose you could call Togemura 'him'. 'It' is fine as well, but it's all quite a bit complicated. The plant itself obviously isn't a male, it can't be female either." A very simple fact for Sayuri, like how everyone can add two and two and get four, but it was sadly not that common among some other peoples education that she had met in the past. "Still, I am sure there is a soul inside of it that is without question, a man." Again, a simple fact for Sayuri, but one that was only visible to the misunderstood gardener. There was never a moment she doubted that the cactus listened to her every word despite ears and provided insight to her problems without a mouth.

She had nearly forgotten the reason for talking to Michael, busy reminiscing the past, until she heard the word singer again. You could say that Sayuri was beginning to speak softer, less stiff, as the conversation flowed. "Oh, sorry." She finally looked up. "That music sounds... good. Since you are the best at it, I could assume it's great. Do you know any songs that are slow yet powerful. Inspiring, perhaps. Like a tale of samurai or kami in battle... OH! It isn't what I like, but Kaiki loves that feeling in a song." Sayuri figured it was a good time to turn around an continue exploring the room before she scared off such a nice guy. However, even nice guys can still be lazy, which reflected in her small smile that grew on her face returning to a frown as she uttered a response to his working out. "I'm not offended, just disappointed that someone like you wouldn't think escaping this environment is a bigger priority than finding some therapy in that crude mechanical form."

Figuring Togemura was safe to be left alone around another kind soul, Sayuri placed the pot back down onto a bench and returned to the ground in the hope of finding a vent or loose tile in the floor... facing him of course. She wouldn't let her guard down completely.

[veeeeecky]

[umiono]

Positively Tiring {open}

[umiono]

It wasn’t until the voice’s owner spoke up that Umiko even realized someone else was in the room with her. She’d painstakingly bent down to examine the mat, and when the voice rang out, she nearly toppled over, managing just barely to keep herself (mostly) vertical with her cane. The voice was vaguely familiar but she couldn’t put a face to it, and as she frantically craned her neck around to see… Sayuri. 

She calmed down immediately, but there was still a note of anxiety in the air. She’d been incredibly lucky that the person she’d noticed was the gardener and not, say, that horrible boy from before. Because, if it had been… She tried to push that thought out of her mind as she slowly rose to greet Sayuri, making a mental note to be more observant. "Oh, hello Kawakamii-san. I… well, yes, but…" She stopped for a moment, wondering if there was a way to dance around the question, but dancing, physically or mentally, was not her forte. "I was actually looking to see if there were things I could use for, er, physical therapy." Though she wasn’t particularly fond of talking about her disability with others, she [hoped] thought she could trust Sayuri.

"My team?" Umiko hadn’t really given them much thought; her focus had been getting to know the individual people, though perhaps now she should switch attention to her team… "I don’t think I’m on the same team as that insufferable boy, at least. They seem alright, though except for the boy with those guns…" She shuddered unhappily. "But Kawakamii-san, did you happen to find anything for your plants?" Though normally a conversation about cryptids (or even legendary plants) would’ve been more ideal, she was just happy to get off of the idea of the teams, for now. "I’m sorry I couldn’t be much help, but if there’s something you need, let me know and I’ll keep a look-out for it."

[kawakactus]

Even though Sayuri went out of her way to speak softly to the crippled girl for whatever her problem was, she still appeared to topple over in surprise. In all honesty, it was pitiful, and Sayuri couldn't help but think it, but could, luckily, help to keep the thoughts to herself. She could only hope that she wasn't about to break down into tears, since she would rather just have an ordinary conversation where neither side was unstable, emotionally or physically.

"Please... if you think that I would kill you, it makes me sad..." she spoke, contrasting with the blandness in her delivery. "...sad that you think I would stoop so low as to kill a girl who can hardly walk, let alone defend herself. I don't speak for everyone, but know that at least one of the other students here has morals. Me." Now that the feeling of stress was hopefully out of the air, they could have a more normal conversation... whatever that was. She couldn't help with Umiko's leg problems though, being more of a caretaker for flora, and it was useless to to waste her breath explaining how just why she was no help in that field.

"Judging by who I've met, I'm sure all insufferable boys are on my team, despite me not having done anything to deserve such torture. The jerkish athlete, the predator, and the creeper weed. Ugh, disgusting, all of them. To think such ill-mannered men are handed such an invitation just based on popularity!" Realizing she was ranting again, and getting away the indifferent persona Sayuri would have rather kept. Talking about her plants certainly helped calm her down, a little. "Hmph. Tap water and book lights. A terrible way to keep such brilliant things alive but... it'll have to do." The last part came through clenched teeth, hating to succumb to using such crude forms of sustenance.

Umiko seemed to have a knack for trying to make herself seem like the most pitiful person Sayuri had ever met, and frankly it made her mad. She did a good job of hardly showing it though. "Umiko, the only thing you can help right now is yourself. Find anything that will help you with your leg so it becomes less of a problem... for you of course. But, I guess if you really want to help then just keep an eye out for any exit." She swore, if having some crippling disease didn't make the cryptozoologist a big target, it would be the self-pity that did her in. Sayuri would rather not have someone as tolerable as Umiko go. Even with all the obvious problems, she had far better qualities than anyone else she'd met at this point.

[umiono]

Positively Tiring {open}

Using her shoulder to push the door open, she warily stepped inside, wrinkling her nose as the scent of sweat. It was to be expected, seeing as it was indeed a workout room, but that didn’t make the stench any more palpable. There was a frown on her face as she went further into the room, trying to examine things. Weights, at least those large ones, were out of the question. She spotted a few mats, and nodded, heading toward them. If they were thick enough, then she could definitely do exercises on there… 

[kawakactus]

As the hours went past, Sayuri grew as stubborn as ever, refusing to move from the workout room she planted herself in. If this place didn't have some sort of conceivable exit route, than it all really was hopeless... until outside sources intervened that is. Sayuri normally wouldn't be shocked that the law was so lax, but in a heavily populated area like where the school was... something was wrong and it made the girl uneasy.

The sound of the door creaking open did a good job of snapping her out of that worrisome trance she put herself in, and as instinct would have it, Sayuri ducked behind a workout bench she was already looking under for a little-girl sized vent. Whoever this idiot was, the person probably just wanted to come and use the room for its intended use maybe even grab a weight to commit the first crime. As luck would have it though, the idiot was Umiko, somebody Sayuri could stand to talk to a second time. She gingerly placed the pot onto the equipment, to not startle both Togemura and the other girl. Once she stood up, Sayuri called out to her in her more gentle voice.

"Umiko. I'm sorry but if you're exploring, I already have this room covered. Unless you came to use these machines but..." Sayuri made a conscious decision to not call her out on her obvious illness. It would be rude to make light of it despite that though, so she bit her tongue and changed the subject, and her voice back to normal while she was at it. "So... how is your team? I hate to use that name since there isn't much cooperating at all. You would think that would mean less talking, yet the worst people have come to talk to us." She could have said Umiko was an exception, but she had been a bit of a bother as well. Sayuri wouldn't just lie to set her mind at ease, especially when there was no guarantee that she would count herself in the vague insult. Let her think what she thinks, but the gardener would simply continue to hope there were no instances like when the two first met again, so there would be a chance to become... acquaintances... maybe.

[kawakactus]

Iris Germanica (Sayuri + Michael)

[shslvocalperformer-deactivated2]

Michael listened to her, growing more and more wary as she spoke. It seemed like she was holding some kind of grudge against him, but he didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. She quickly revealed her reason for doing so, but it certainly didn’t make him feel any less hurt. Frowning, he listened to her continue, until she revealed her title.

"A gardener, huh? Well, that explains the cactus!" He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, I’m sorry for being rude- I’m Michael Jordasch, a vocal performer. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Frau Sayuri!" He smiled, holding out his hand for a shake. Even if she didn’t return it, he’d at least tried to make up for his rudeness. While he waited, he asked, "So, what are you doing in here? I mean no offense whatsoever, but you don’t exactly look like the type who works out a lot." Glancing down at his own thin frame, he figured the same could be said about him.

[kawakactus]

It wasn't often Sayuri got an apology. There may be hope for him yet. Although, she wasn't the kind of person who got her hopes up, especially at only the slightest of indications that the foreigner was any different from other guys, or just people in general. At the mention of 'the cactus' she made the decision to pick Togemura up, never taking her eyes off of this kid.

"You can call this plant, Togemura. I expect no less respect from someone still trying to learn our countries manners." She flashed a fake smile, more of a smirk, noticeable for a second. The next part she accidentally whispered under her breath. "He m-... -e useful" Sayuri finally looked all the way up at this Michael boy, in a position that hurt her neck a bit. "You're a singer, right? So do me a favor and don't do anything to get yourself killed. I'll need you... well Sakura-chan and Kaiki-sama nee-" She had to stop using that word. "They... would feel better if you sang to them. Wait a second... you're not some stupid Western pop star are you?"

This person, Michael was nice enough, and the combined efforts of him, Jayden, and Octavio made Sayuri realize that maybe only the citizens of her own country are absolute jerks, and that other kids around the world were raised with the same class she once expected people in Japan to follow. The second question though... upset her to say the least, and took most of her previous thoughts of the guy away.

"I... I am sorry?! Hehe. Being thrown into a school with no supposed exit and you complain that I'm trying to explore? I'm doing this for people like you! Though it's not that I would even hesitate to tell any of you if I found away out. I would simply grab Togemura and co. and run before the captors realized their mistake. Hmph, I'm sure I'd remember about you guys though... eventually." She had calmed down a little bit, and returned to her basic soprano monotone voice. " *sigh* I was here because 'the cactus' wanted to see what was in here... in addition to everything I already mentioned. I can't believe you just came here and started exercising instead doing something actually useful. I would never waste my time on something so trivial..." Sayuri's voice got quieter in her final sentences until it was just mumbles afterwards, mostly directed to Togemura, and the rest was lost to the walls of the room. Though, maybe it was for the best that Michael didn't hear them.

[possiblyaliens]

So I was just watching television when suddenly this goat came on screen yolo’ing with a cactus on his head

[kawakactus]

Iris Germanica (Sayuri + Michael)

[shslvocalperformer-deactivated2]

He’s opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to the punch once again, and with a harsh warning too. Puzzled, he grabbed a towel laying over the top of the treadmill and wiped his face and neck with it, before throwing it over his shoulder. “You sure, Frau? You took quite the tumble back there, but there’s no need to be embarrassed. I know the feeling.” He chuckled, scratching the back of his head bashfully. “Aber, I don’t judge. But, if you don’t wanna talk, I get it. I don’t think we’ve met before, have we though?” He figured there was no harm in being friendly, and blabbered on. “Why do you especially not want to talk to me, Frau? Did I do something rude? If I did, tut mir Leid- er, sorry. I can be kinda scatterbrained sometimes.”

[kawakactus]

The only thing that Sayuri could tell from her very limited perspective of view was that he was coming closer, denying her clear request that he should keep away. Sayuri tried to nonchalantly take the knots out of her hair, but the resulted tugging caused some unpredicted wincing, as well as the rare reveal of her light yellow eyes. When all was fine enough, she stood up as tall as she could (which granted wasn't terribly intimidating) in front of Togemura, forgetting her fatigue and quickly began to shake again trying to prove her point. The boy sounded foreign, and although the only other foreigner she met was nice, Sayuri was sure it was just a coincidence.

"I am sure, and also very doubtful that you have had the same events happen to you in life exactly as I have so no... you don't know the feeling at all." His constant use of words she didn't know made her increasingly irritated. "No, we haven't met before, but does that mean I need a tailored reason specifically for why I dislike you. As bad as it must sound I just assume people are going to be bothers, but you aren't exactly making me change my mind. For instance... I don't know where you come from... Europe? Anyways I'm sure it's customary for the male to have just a bit of initiative and introduce themselves first. Yet, you all fail. I guess it means I have to... again." After a long sigh, she droned on, extremely bored of talking to so many people today. She usually didn't talk to this many people in a week, but there's something about being trapped in a limited area with no outdoors that gave you a change of pace. "I am Sayuri Kawakamii, gardener. I hope it's obvious enough what you have to do now."

[kawakactus]

Iris Germanica (Sayuri + Michael)

Anything... anything to distract her from settling down in her room. Sayuri paced back and forth down the hall she walked previously; the same one where she found out her fate of being trapped inside a school she hated even before getting knocked out at its entrance. She finally froze, spying a certain tennis player she met before strolling out of the work-out room. Togemura had been wanting to spy out that room since they glanced at the map, but Sayuri denied its request for the obvious reason that he might be there. Now that it was supposedly void of weeds now, Sayuri couldn't think of a reason to not at least take a glance inside, despite attempting to fabricate one.

She warily opened the door and spied that there was still a person occupying this space, but at least it wasn't any of the many people she developed bad blood with. The only downside was the obvious, and it was a big one; he was a human guy that was taller than her. The very best she could hope for now that she had fully entered was that he paid her no mind as she searched around for something to or investigate, Sayuri still hadn't given up on the hope of an exit, and she may even be small enough to crawl through a vent, if such a thing were to be found and in reach. He was hard at work using the treadmill, and if she just stayed out of sight of him then- *CLANG* *THUMP* *CHINK*

After her pitifully executed promise to herself, Sayuri, or her feet rather, discovered some discarded weights on the floor and and quickly tumbled over them. Her legs were incredibly shaky after the sudden fall, but her concern immediately went to the pot held in her outstretched arms that had also clonked onto the floor. She flipped herself over as fast as she possibly could while never losing her grip on Togemura. She quickly examined every inch of the cactus' home, and luckily all the money she had spent on the pot was worth it. She wiped whatever worried sweat was on her brow away, and then put her effort into coming back to a stand like a newborn deer. She opted to sit on the bench instead, and careful not to drop her friend twice today, placed the pot gently down before, of course, plopping her own self down alongside it. The guy was nowhere in sight, but that was only because her sight was limited to anything around her legs. The fall messied her already tangled web of hair so that it was no longer the one-way window it had been, but wherever he was, Sayuri had only one thing to say.

"Don't you dare come near me. I... I..." She didn't even feel fit to threaten with Togemura after what had just happened. "I... am not in the mood for talking. Especially to you." Whoever it was. First impressions were made the minute she laid eyes on you, and often there was nothing you could have done to prevent putting negative thoughts into her head.

[kawakactus]

The Burning Bush (Sayuri & Izumi)

[shslburneverything]

"Ah, it’s so nice to meet you, then, Sayuri! I promise I won’t let anyone put a scratch on y-" But the girl, much to Izumi’s dismay, had already decided that this motive was ridiculous. Which was too bad, because she was really ready to show her more charming side! She had been wearing a giant smile and everything, up until the point where she was dismissed like leftovers, or even a b-list comedy movie. Izumi bit her lip, quickly struggling to find words to convince her new found partner otherwise. "Now, I know the setup isn’t really, well, ideal," She picked her words carefully, trying not to upset Sayuri, who already seemed to be over all of this. In fact, the plant-touting girl seemed to have chosen to be done with this affair completely, spinning around to go examine the books on the shelves surrounding them.

Izumi, personally, had chosen this section because it seemed to contain books of scientific persuasions; she, too, was unsure of the organization of the school’s grandiose library, but she was certain that there had to be books on making gasoline or some easily flammable object out of common, household items. After the kitchen had turned out to be a bust, what with it’s wicked stoves and microwaves and general lack of things to help her start fires, she was quickly finding herself turning to other solutions. This library, however, didn’t seem to be of much help so far. She enjoyed reading through complex chemical equations on the formation of gasoline as much of the next gal, but she had her limits. She had tried other sections, as well, in attempts to find information about their current happenings, but that had also been a dead end.

"Hey, I care a lot!" Izumi blurted out, as if being directly insulted. She would not stand to have this girl, who was supposed to be her own classmate, murdered under her watch. She would have absolutely none of that. In addition, her mind raced back to what those ridiculous prompters had said; something about the two of them sharing a fate in this situation. Izumi took a deep breath, and cautiously stepped toward the girl. "Now, Sayuri, look. I know this situation is hardly a perfect setup," Another sharp inhalation here, before continuing, "But this is for both of us, y’know? We are a pair now! Connected and stuff! Like, uh, the sun and the moon! Shitty romantic movies and a tub of ice cream! Ham and cheese! Laugh tracks and unfunny scripted dialogue! A dog whose leash got tangled on a tree!" She continued listing practically the first pairs that came to her mind, only sure that she didn’t want this conversation to end. Seeing as she hadn’t convinced her partner of anything quite yet, and all that.

[kawakactus]

Izumi was persistent, and no matter that she was insistent on being friends, the fact stood that she was quickly becoming a bother. The entire point of her searching this wild-haired girl out was defeated; it would have been easier to just avoid her completely. They had separate dorms so if worst comes to worst she could just stay in there... forever. It wasn't the best plan she could come up with, nor was it feasible, so she could either make her point clear now or maybe even try to go through with this... which made becoming a hermit seem like a much easier option. She shot a stare, or would have if her hair didn't do such a good job at blocking her gaze. "Name... I already know yours but it should just be obvious to give some sort of greeting, when meeting somebody new. Name and reason your here, perhaps, favorite color or animal." This was so stupid, were along the lines of what Sayuri was thinking. She spoke a bit condescendingly before returning to normal, since this girl didn't have the best salutation style. "If you really are interested... I have plants that I made the mistake of bringing here with me, and now I need to find ways to keep them alive, no matter how crude the way is. Right now I'm trying to find if there are any chemicals I can find keep the soil rich, or at worst find an alternative. There is no way I'm going to sink so low as to use compost  on my friends, as I'm sure you wouldn't want to be showered in garbage as means to staying alive."

Sayuri safely rolled her eyes behind her curtain of hair at all the metaphors Izumi conjured up. She could rule out that the girl wasn't SHSL Poet. "Actually, it is the perfect setup, if you look at it another way. We're both obviously getting annoyed with one another, and it's probably exactly what the 'headmasters' had in mind. It is also why I propose we stay away from each other. I certainly don't want to kill you, but those computers will keep giving us reasons, so staying away is the only obvious solution, right?" In Sayuri's glances back to the books, she finally found one that outlined basic chemistry; something easy to understand as a girl who had been away from school for a couple years. She took the book to a table not more than ten feet away to flip though it without any fear of dropping Togemura, and also to try and give this conversation an end.

[kawakactus]

The Burning Bush (Sayuri & Izumi)

*CLICK*

The voices finally graced Sayuri once again with silence after their announcement had ended. She wasn't exactly sure how the motive was supposed to encourage others to murder, especially since now certain people had extra protection, but the fact that Sayuri would have someone who probably wouldn't leave her alone was enough to make the thought at least occur to her. After fumbling with her ID card for a bit (holding a cactus and tablet at the same time is hard), she finally saw that she was paired with an Izumi Yukimura girl. Reluctantly, she set off to find her, only to try and tell her how little they would be needing to see each other.

After finding the library, Sayuri also managed to spy the same crazy hairstyle from her ID, and she was probably picking out some book to read to pass the eternity of time that they were supposed to spend at the school. Though her hair was similar to the likable Jayden that she met earlier, Togemura seemed more wary of this girl over the previous.

"Excuse me, Izumi Yukimura. My name is Sayuri Kawakamii, gardener. You are supposed to be my bodyguard... don't." Her words were flat and straight to the point. "Having a person waiting on me and invading my privacy will just make me direct any murder-related thoughts onto you. I think that was easy enough to understand. Now, if you excuse me I want to find a book on chemistry to figure out... ah but what do you care?" Her whole body turned a full 90 degrees towards the bookshelves in her best attempt to disregard Izumi as much as possible. Sayuri had met way to many people today, and the majority were ones that only helped reenforce the idea that humans are naturally bad at heart. With her pot in the crook of her elbow, Sayuri ran her fingertips alongside the spines in the isle the two girls stood in, not really sure of how the library system worked.

[kawakactus]

The Door is A-jerk (Open RP)

[misshslbeautyqueen-deactivated2]

It took a lot of self restraint for Katsumi to not roll her eyes, if only because this girl was persistent in her pessimism. “I’m assuming that these are flowers you brought with you, like the cactus? Because they can survive in here. I’m no gardener, but plants need light, water and carbon dioxide, right? Plenty of that here. You can get water from the kitchen. They’ll live.” This was what everyone in the school needed to do in Katsumi’s opinion - calm down and look at everything from a logical viewpoint. They were all too quick to panic about the situation and in doing so they were allowing it to get out of hand.

And so, despite the smaller girl’s insistence on looking on the bad side, Katsumi continued to try and persuade her. “The military don’t need to save us, per se. It’s just that they probably will, or the police or something. There’s a considerable amount of wealthy people here, and you shouldn’t underestimate the power that comes with money. It doesn’t matter if this is a prank or not, if we lose contact for a few days then they’ll look into it and get us back in two weeks maximum.” She nodded in certainty. “So all you’ve got to do is hang on and keep yourself together until we’re out of here.”

Eventually the girl stood up, and Katsumi narrowed her eyes at the refusal of her offer. So she had tried to be kind, and all she got was hostility. She’d even offered her prized silk scarf! If Sayuri (as she claimed to be called) wanted to make friends then she was doing a terrible job of it. It was almost as though she wanted to be isolated from everyone else. Like the cactus she had with her: prickly, but in a self-pitying way, as though her rudeness was acceptable simply because she was Sayuri. That was enough to make Katsumi dislike her despite never having any intention to do so- she simply could not bring herself to like what she viewed as a textbook case of special snowflake syndrome.

Standing up and towering over Sayuri, Katsumi nonchalantly began to retie her neck scarf. “I sense that you’ve got some kind of victim complex. Here’s a tip for life- don’t push people away when they’re trying to be courteous, because there are plenty who won’t make that effort.” She finished knotting the polka-dotted silk and adjusted it slightly before returning her attention to Sayuri, a hand on her hip and another resting on the scarf. “My name is Katsumi Sakata, but Sakata-san will suffice. And no, I am not pretending to like you. My opinion of you was neutral, but considering how hostile you’ve been that opinion might change. I was actually just trying to be polite because you were a tearful mess on the floor and I considered it inappropriate to just leave you like that.” She shrugged, her tone of voice firm and assured. “But obviously you rejected my efforts, so what can I do? And no nickname yet. Nicknames are reserved for people I despise, like Ballbrain.”

[kawakactus]

"Hmph, they will survive inside of the school. They won't live how they deserve too, though. My job will also be more difficult, having to find ways to revitalize soil after its nutrients are gone and finding places to re-pot them should a problem arise. I'm sure a pretty girl like you knows nothing about getting dirty though, so I guess it's not your fault for being so ignorant." She fought a devious smile that was in danger of showing on her face. Sayuri couldn't believe that she thinks all a plant needs are the essentials. How would this pampered girl feel if she had to survive on nothing but bread and butter; she probably would be dead before whatever group she claimed was coming, got here. Speaking of which... a rich, pretty face who she recognized from her school... it couldn't be.

Well, after she made her comebacks clear and claiming to be indifferent of the "victim" Sayuri, she discovered she was right. Katsumi Sakata, seemingly the only thing all the girls she hated most at her school talked about. The beauty queen standing in front of her must have been their great role model, and the one who apparently teaches girls everywhere it's fine to pick on the different, and the ones who aren't and don't wish to be beautiful. The people who have better things to do than wear make up and self-indulge and...! She realized with the horrible grimace that grew on her own face coupled with her fingers clenching Togemura even tighter, that she was obviously furious. Even though she made a short attempt to calm herself before responding, it was in vain. "Well Ms. Queen Bee, you've already earned yourself a nickname, and it turns out I was right to judge you for the b-b-... terrible person you are. Listen to me carefully, alright. I am not a victim, not anymore, and when they have finished judging you, then you will be the one reduced to a teary mess on the floor!" She could have threatened her more, but it would have been a poor choice considering the same figure she claimed were watching Katsumi were watching over her as well, making sure she made better choices than everyone else here. Sayuri was not one to disappoint, so she made the decision to bite her tongue and grit her teeth instead. "It... would be b-best to not t-talk with me again, especially since Togemura didn't even get to say how he felt about you. Sometimes he can even get a bit carried away." Sayuri was only half joking, knowing the cactus would never hurt anybody on purpose, but it was its words and thoughts, and not hers. After that the frail and totally helpless (according to one Sakata-san) gardener was off to calm herself and her friend down. Tomorrow, there would have to be a way out that presents itself. The more people she met, the worse they seemed to get, only a few were bearable, and she would struggle to get along for just that one day longer.

[kawakactus]

The Door is A-jerk (Open RP)

[misshslbeautyqueen-deactivated2]

Katsumi had decided to investigate where the map came to an end, at a suspicious door with nothing behind it. There was a world of possibilities as to what could be there, and since the map’s end was abrupt she didn’t have much hope for an exit at that point, but it seemed stupid to not even try. And so she had set off with purpose before coming to a halt a distance away as a tiny waif of a girl had gotten there first, using all of the force her small body could provide as she failed to open it, prompting wails of anguish and frustration. To the outside observer, the problem was obvious- the door was locked, simple as. Yet this girl was getting herself into a mess over it, becoming more and more hysterical.

Now, Katsumi couldn’t claim to be a particularly sympathetic person. But she wasn’t about to leave this girl as a tearful mess on the floor. First of all it was a pitiful sight and secondly they couldn’t have people breaking down this early into their time in the school. If she was already cracking on day one, this girl wouldn’t survive, that much was obvious.

Rolling her eyes and wondering why exactly she was doing this, Katsumi strode up to the door, standing over the girl with her arms folded as she did her best to comfort. “It’s a door, no need for all the snivelling. No idiot’s going to kill because a TV tells them so, and I know for a fact that my father’s going to get the top forces of the country to help us out of here once they realise what’s going on.” She assumed that the tears were out of despair at the apparent hopelessness of the situation. Which was absolute rubbish, of course.

Realising that her lack of softness had done little to help, Katsumi sighed and, using the door for support, managed to squat down to be closer to the girl’s eye level. It was no mean feat to balance like that on her heels and within a few seconds her feet were screaming in pain. Still, she wasn’t about to let a small thing like that bother her. Reaching up, she managed to untie her neck scarf and held it out. “Dry your eyes, but don’t get any snot on it. Now pull yourself together.”

[kawakactus]

Sayuri jumped a little bit, hearing a voice between pitiful sniffles into her lap. She heard the click-clack of the heels on the floor earlier, but refused to look up at them. She stared up at whoever decided to disturb her peace. She actually recognized her face, only barely so, she needed a name to place the face. It was quite obvious what this girl already thought of her. "Thank you for your... c-condescending words, but I need the outside now. If we are trapped in here for a week, Sakura-chan and Kaiki-sama may not make it." She didn't care about being blunt about her being friends with plants when the girl in front of her probably wasn't really caring about her either way, just like all the other girls in the village. "They are flowers by the way, but my friends nonetheless."

Sayuri... actually hadn't thought about the police force as of yet, but as if she would admit that to this girl. "The police... shouldn't be necessary if I want to still believe this is a prank... a-a really bad prank. If people like the military need to get involved to save us though, why should that make me feel any better. That means we're in a much worse place than I thought." Despite her words, Sayuri's crying had stopped by now and her demeanor was almost back to normal, though tears still remained in her eyes and dotted her cheeks.

The mystery girl was persistent in her attempts to make it seem like she cared about Sayuri, and was also getting increasingly bad at it. She wanted to respond with something like 'I would rather wipe them on the cactus' but it may disturb Togemura just as much as it was intended to insult her seemingly friendly gesture. Instead, she pushed the offer back a little too fast with her hand while wiping the tears out of her eyes with the shirt sleeve on her free arm. When she was done, she stood up, remaining taller for however long before the girl decided to stop crouching in those uncomfortable heels of hers. "A name would be better, thank you. I am Sayuri Kawakamii, though I suspect you've already come up with some other clever nickname to hurt me by now. Just... stop acting like you like me. It will make things easier for the both of us." She chuckled internally, since most of the good ones were already used up while she was in middle-school, and almost nothing surprised her at this point. Unknown to whoever was in front of her, Sayuri was issuing them a challenge.

[teleporting-king]

The locked door of mystery

[teleporting-king]

“Ah yes, Umiko said something to me about that. But I see no reason for me to get rid of my gun nor do I see a reason to give them to someone else. I only shot that one time because I thought someone was getting murdered.” Joker is going to shoot this girl if she tries to take his guns away. “And you never did introduce yourself. I ask for you to introduce yourself and you never did." 

[kawakactus]

Just as Joker said, Sayuri had a feeling somebody was going to be murdered as well, but her reason was because of the psychopathic "detective" in front of her. She may have taken a step back out of wariness, and gripped Togemura closer to her face than usual, occasionally taking glances down at it when she spoke to respond to the issue of names. "You're right I didn't introduce myself, but you didn't either. Joker isn't even a name. Even if it's your nickname it's hardly fitting." There were two things Sayuri could do here; she could either be just as closed off and refuse to give her name as well or be the better person and greet him first. Due to the lack of manners it was obvious what he decision was. "I'll tell you mine when you tell me yours." Those words were not absolute, Sayuri hardly trusted this man to be the 6 feet away from her as he was, there was no way she would give this creep her name!

[teleporting-king]

The locked door of mystery

[teleporting-king]

“WHOA, WHAT THE FUCK? WHO SAID THAT?" Joker freaks the fuck out and turns around to see …….someone. Just how many people are there in this place? He seems to be meeting new people every second. "I was not talking to myself. You must be hearing things. And I came to this door because I checked everything else and I was wondering if there was something interesting like a keypad or a unique lock. And breaking this door would not be easy. Breaking a door with my bare hands might work but there are rules against that. As for my gun, I don’t have bullets so shooting the lock is not an option. And I could not find anything I could use for a lockpick. So unless I want to break the rules, there is no way to get past this door unless someone opens it. As for my title, I am a private eye and you can call me Joker. Now what about you? Who are you?” 

[kawakactus]

His voice startled him as much as the gunshot did before and was in a way the same thing: loud and completely unnecessary This guy was unbelievable. Either he was accusing Sayuri of lying or was completely unaware of whatever psychological tick that was making him narrate his actions. No use arguing with ignorant children though, or teenagers stuck with the same stubborn thoughts. Apparently this same stubborn mind also couldn't even detect sarcasm as blatant as Sayuri's either. She didn't want to even reply to most of what he had to say, due to most of it being obvious, but did respond to one part for her own safety in the future.

"Back there... in the gym. You sh-shot your gun off and it nearly gave me a heart attack. I... saw Umiko fall over." She was unaware of the actual issue, but was willing to bluff for both their sakes. "She has a very serious condition and if she gets startled like that again... a fall could kill her. I don't know how the rules for killing work, but by MY rules, you would just be a murderer. S-so don't go firing it around. In fact I think everyone will feel safer if you just give your gun to someone else. I'd even trust Togemura with the gun more than I trust you."

[teleporting-king]

The locked door of mystery

“After speaking to that German, I decided to check out that locked door he was talking about. And yep, it was a locked door. I check and everything and it was just a locked door. I would try to break it down but those tvs would come after me and maybe try to kill me. So yeah, not sure why I came here. Something is behind there but I assume we will have to play along with those tvs to see what is behind this door." This door was so much like every other door that Joker could not even come up with good noir narration for this part. He really had no clue why he decided to check out this door. He just stands there, thinking about his next move. 

[kawakactus]

At this point, Sayuri was trying her best to avoid going to rest at her dorm, refusing accept an inevitable defeat wrought by her two new headmasters. In the meantime, she decided to make herself useful by telling others that they weren't. She would wait by the door until she tired of it and had nothing to do but go sleep at her dorm at the assigned time, being treated as if she were a child. However, arriving at the door she realized just how good taking a nap might be, since their last, and thankfully not close, encounter in the gymnasium. He was appearing to talk to himself, only reassuring Sayuri's theory that this boy wasn't right in the head. While keeping a distance of a few feet, she began to fulfill the reason she came here: berating people for investigating places that have already been examined.

"Were you talking to yourself? Or were you talking to your gun? I'll have you know it doesn't have a soul to listen to your commentary, and even if it did I'm sure it would have ran away by now... but to be honest I'm not sure either why you're checking out a locked door. Especially since I checked..." Sayuri made a horrible attempt at a sweet voice, coming out extremely sarcastic. "...but I mean a big, strong man like you could probably just punch or shoot the door open." She was back to her normal unamused self. "Pfft, I'd like to know why they even accepted someone like you here. What title do they give people again Super High School... yeah considering what you excel in you're just Super High School Level Health Hazard.... Well, go on, who are you?"

[shslencoffiner]

Resisting Transfixion (Open)

[shslencoffiner]

“Of— o-of course! I’m Juzou Kyouin,” the boy bowed low, clutching the bequeathed towel tight in his hands. Once he was certain he’d made a polite introduction, he tactfully dabbed his hair, face, and the side of his shirt until they were at least acceptably dry; as some manner of absurd emergency defense against future cactus attacks, he kept holding the towel even after he was done. Her hair obscured her face in a way that made his face-blindness irrelevant — something he was thankful for, beneath the panic. It was clear that she didn’t quite adhere to the same social graces as the others he met, but Juzou felt as though he himself still needed to put on a performance in order to feel remotely safe to the other girl.

“If you don’t trust me,” Juzou offered helpfully, his overinflection giving way to a slightly calmer tone now that the immediate threat had subsided, “why don’t you tell the others anyway? I mean— I’m sure it’d clear up some confusion, and, and, if it’d put you at peace—”

She was still holding the cactus— tightly, at that. Petting it gently as though to assure it its next meal was coming soon. A thin bead of sweat trickled down Juzou’s temple, reminding him exactly how terrified he was beneath his self-erected comportment.

“I don’t want to make trouble,” he sighed truthfully, veering off his previous train of thought in an attempt to win her trust. “If there’s a way I can help you search for escape routes, I’d be glad — h-honoured! For the record, I haven’t found anything yet but ways in which other people can kill me… your plant notwithstanding. But it sounds like you’ve been searching already, Kawakamii-san; admittedly, I’m not sure what you mean about the… ‘unmarked door’? If it’s locked, though, it sounds worthy of investigation, hmm?”

[kawakactus]

Juzou Kyouin? Somebody else she had never heard of, and even if this Kyouin boy have the title Sayuri expected it probably would not have helped. "I don't trust you. So of course I will tell somebody... eventually. Just know if you decide to kill that something is watching you, and you'll get exactly what's coming to you." She stood on that word, taking her time with the syllables as if he wouldn't understand it if Sayuri spoke it otherwise. She didn't have to, this person was noticeably becoming more nervous in her presence and she couldn't be happier. It was a tactic she used on some she couldn't stand, warding intruders of her space away and leaving an impression so they wouldn't come back. It was an art she prided herself with, and could probably make another SHSL title out of it if the idea wasn't so farfetched. Even if he appeared nice on the surface, she wouldn't let her guard down to this deceptive mangrove, and noticing a bead of sweat through her bangs realized she would rather be feared by this man if accomplishing the task was so easy.

"You've already made trouble by making me worry like- I'm sorry?" She allowed her creepy tone to give way to her being taken aback by another one of this boy's statements "Togemura-chan is no tool for murder! Sick human being, but it figures you'd think that though? You see something covered in other sharp... somethings and it must be dangerous. Jeez, is everything a weapon to you." She cupped the side of the cactus with her free hand and began circling the top of the plant with her thumb, clearly in an attempt to help the both of them relax. "This would never try to harm a hair on any head..." She shot a glare back up at the giant, revealing her piercing yellow eyes, "...unless someone else tried to hurt Togemura-chan first. I've already had to fend off one oppressor today, do NOT be the second."

He still had some more questions about the door though, and she wouldn't have responded if it weren't for them being unanswered would just waste more time. "If you checked the electric card those things gave to us, you'd know that there was a place only marked with 'Locked Door'. It is pretty self-explanatory.There isn't really a need to waste everyones time by going there when I... already investigated it." Admittedly, kicking and screaming wasn't the best investigatory work, but it proved nonetheless that the door wasn't going to budge.