SHSL Gamemaster

Everything's going to be okay now. I'm going to get better. Status: ALIVE

[shslsakka]

Time to Beat the Villans [Kaoru]

[shslsakka]

She’d been expecting… well honestly she wasn’t sure what she’d been anticipating upon seeing Kaoru but it certainly wasn’t the bear hug she got. As bear-like as the little gamemaster could get, anyway.

"Hey, whoa, what happened? Don’t brush it off, you lie and that’s a yellow card offense, got it? We’ve had enough of that shit go around anyway. If you ask me it’s about time we had some goddamn honesty…" a look of realization dawns in her eyes and she furrows her brows. If that guy is at it again lord have mercy…

"Is it Gacchiri? Because if he threatened you I’ll mow his fucking ass. I should kill him, honestly… I mean, not literally but ‘beat the ever living shit out of’ for sure. Or no, is that fucking sad excuse of a pot of pork jelly? Ohhh boy I’m gonna wreck his shit. I can’t believe that guy strung us along for so goddamn long, oh the things I’m gonna do when I get the chance… I have a few choice words in mind for both of those shitheads…" she thrusts one fist into an open palm as if to further indicate that she, in truth, has few words for the two of them but has plenty of wrestling moves she’d like to perform instead.

Well she has to let Kaoru answer for herself at some point so she huffs out a breath of air and looks back at the mortuary door. Right, Kaoru had asked about that, hadn’t she? She’d almost gotten so damn pissed about it she’d forgotten. Or barely heard in the first place, more accurately.

"… I was looking around. Kinda figured everyone else would be too grossed to check it out and I wanted to confirm what kinda shit we were dealing with. Not much luck there, though, nothin’ in the way of answers anyway. Shit, even on a good day I’m not the sharpest cleaver in a rack so maybe I’m missing something but I didn’t get much from it. Still, sitting around or like, standing around when we know who the hell to blame for all this makes me wanna punch something. I gotta try and do something useful."

[shsl-gamemaster]

Kaoru knew she could always count on Shinobu to help her. Just being around the other girl was calming her down.

She shook her head as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "N-no Gacchiri-san hasn't done anything to me. I uh spoke to him in the library in fact... I think he wants to fight against Tsuji-san now." When she mentioned his name Kaoru glanced towards the lights, biting her lip.  "I-I don't know though maybe he's trying to trick us..."

She wrung her hands together. "I-it was Tsuji-san though... I... I mean he's been awful to me but he threatened you when he was speaking to Gacchiri-san and I in the library." She closed her eyes. "I'm glad you're okay...!" If Shinobu hadn't been okay Kaoru wasn't sure what she'd do.

Kaoru managed a kind smile, if it was a little strained. "Don't say bad things about yourself Shinobi-chan you're very clever I think." After all, being brash didn't mean Shinobu wasn't smart. She was just.. Action oriented. "Maybe we could work some stuff out together... I've found out some useful things..." 

She was most certainly try to steer the topic away from what Shinsuke had done...

[shslsakka]

Time to Beat the Villans [Open]

And she’d been three seconds from defending him.

Oh the lords above had some stupid sense of goddamn humour. That corporate prick was going to kill not one person but two. And then the very person who’d convinced her to maybe try to forgive Yoshiro… had turned out to be a computer screen. And also evil. And a humongous dick.

What a fucking joke. Shinsuke Tsujii and Hayate Gacchiri were both lumps of trash and on top of that, Yoshiro Kimura had still killed Himeko. Whatever Valu did it wasn’t exactly legal and Fumiko had constantly skirted the line of the rules and had even been threatened. It was a hard thing, knowing how to treat people. Back on… well, back on Earth, back in those days it was different. She had friends, sure, but a lot of people found her annoying and egocentric. They were hardly wrong. But she could still kind of work with those people. These guys? Well… she had to but could she? Shinobu frowns. She’d have to make it work. Though she had no intention of going easy on Hayate if he had the poor sense to enter her line of vision.

Still standing around thinking of violent manuevers she’d like to perform on people would do her no good so she went off exploring. One place in partiular caught her eye despite it being rather grotesque in nature. The mortuary. She ad a feeling she just had to know what was in there. Better the truth than living in ignorance any longer.

She’d seen a lot of bodies at this point. Horrific bodies. Brain tissue missing, heads caved in, artificial limbs detached… honestly she’d always had a strong stomach from horror movies anyway and when shit needed to get done she was going to get it down. Shinobu enters the mortuary and glances around. The smell chokes her, fills her lungs with stale sickliness that makes her mouth tighten. She throws off the tarps and looks at the bodies which are god… riddled with bullets and then some. They’re all adults… who were these guys? The staff? Is this Shitsuke’s doing again? God, she can’t wait to wreck his ass. She cricks her neck to the side and gives the room one last once over before leaving. That ain’t any place for anybody with a pulse. It’s as she’s leaning on the wall outside the room she sees a passerby and lifts a hand in greeting. It’s hard to see who it is from here.

"Yo. Ain’t shit to see here, everyone in there got wasted a long time ago. Rata-tat-tat with a gun n’ they all fall down."

[shsl-gamemaster]

Bad people threatened others.

 People like the bullies in school with awful names and hair pulling. People like her father with his scathing words and terrifying punishments. People like Shinsuke who had locked them all in this nightmare. 

They were all awful people who hurt others. They were bad guys, villains.

So what did it say about Kaoru now that she had threatened Shinsuke?

 Kaoru wandered the halls of the station lost in her own thoughts. She wasn't even aware really of where she was going. She just kept going over the situation in her head again and again and again.

Yes, Shinsuke had threatened someone very important to her. He had threatened Shinobu. Amazing brash Shinobu. Kaoru had felt her panic turn to seething anger and she shouted something she really wished she hadn't. She didn't want to be like the bad people in her life.

But she had said it hadn't she?

But she had been defending Shinobu...

But Shinobu hadn't been there and the threat wasn't physically made, just said. 

But Shinsuke controlled the whole station now so who knew what he could do?

So lost in thought was she that Kaoru only noticed Shinobu after she had finished speaking.

The Gamemaster looked up as she was pulled out of her thoughts. "Shinobu-chan..." And suddenly Kaoru had locked Shinobu in a tight hug, eyes shut tight. She was safe, she was okay...

She quickly became embarrassed once Kaoru realised she had completely ignored what Shinobu had said. She pulled back, flushed red in the face. "A-ah sorry I... Something happened and... I..." She shook her head. "Wh-why were you in the mortuary...?"

[shsl-gamemaster]

Can we go home now? (Starter for Yoshiro)

[shsldoubleshot]

He nodded at what she explained, recalling what she had said during the trial, and the other things he’d found around the ship lately. It was all very ominous…   Glancing over at her, too, when she looked, he sighed before explaining himself. What reason did he have to pretend about things anyway?

"I mean. I don’t know. If we were sent up here because of the- the sickness or something, to save us, then…. who’s t-to say anyone we care about is still.." He trailed off, but it was clear enough what he was saying. He closed his eyes. "Even if I saw my parents again and they w-were okay- I- they know about all of this, they have to. I can’t face them.."

[shsl-gamemaster]

At least she wasn't the only one to believe that. Good. Maybe she was one step closer to solving this mess... And then maybe they could get home. Or whatever.

Kaoru frowned. She hadn't thought about what could have happened to her family. Mika had been kidnapped, supposedly, for that one motive but...

"... How could they know about this?" Kaoru asked softly, lifting her head. "How could anyone know what's happened up here?"

[hopespeakprodigy]

Corporate Negligence [Kaoru (and maybe ShinsukAI)]

[hopespeakprodigy]

At Kaoru’s outburst, Hayate only nodded approvingly. It was scarely appropriate behavior in a civilized society but they were far gone from such a place, and to see it expressed by another was satisfying in its own way.

"Communitie Corp. is what? Bankrupt? Disbanded?" he scoffs, "I’ve… Been prepared for such an inevitability." he closes his eyes, having hesitated for just a moment, "But I am Gacchiri Hayate. If there is anyone capable of reviving it, it is I."

He opens his eyes, raising his head once more. “I will not allow myself to fall to your manipulation any longer.”

[douchetech]

"Oh? What’s this?" he questions. If he had eyebrows, he’d raise them. Or just cock one of them, all cool like. Well, isn’t this interesting? Looks like Little Miss Boring isn’t so boring after all. Maybe. We’ll just have to see where this goes. "Ooooh, frightening! I’m soooooo scared. Big talk from someone even shorter than me.” He huffs slightly. “But, uh, yeah. How the fuck do you expect to do that, dumbass?  Gonna get Uetsuji to help you? I’d be surprised if she could even turn on a computer.” 

In a way that he thinks is sneaky even though it definitely isn’t, he dims the lights. Just a little. Only enough for her to notice.

"Nuh uh, Gacchiri. My lips are sealed. You’re gettin’ nothin’ else outta me!" He plays a soundclip of a zipper over the speaker for added effect, because he’s hilarious like that. 

"But I will say…" The tone of his voice is somewhat… darker, than before. "Your shitty jokes are gettin’ real old, real quick." He just snorts at the businessman’s insistence, sounding a bit more lighthearted now. "Suuuuure. Good luck with that buddy. And yeah, yeah, yeah. The fuck are you gonna do about it? I know, the whole macho bullshit ‘I will end you’ spiel, I get it. Put your money where your mouth is."

[shsl-gamemaster]

Kaoru had to be careful not to crumple her papers in response the more he picked on Shinobu. Her knuckles were nearly white from how hard she was clenching her hands...

"I'd find a way..." She muttered, taking a breath. Honestly though it was likely a threat that would remain unfulfilled. How exactly could she put a consciousness back in a dead body? "... I'll delete you forever and ever at the very least if you hurt Shinobu-chan." That threat lacked the same... Oomph but it was also less violent and took away some of the bad taste in her mouth.

When the lights dimmed, however, she flinched and quickly snapped her head to look at the closest one. "Please don't...!" She breathed, giving the light a weak glare... Though she looked scared once more.

[shsl-gamemaster]

How could you (Starter for Shinsuke)

[douchetech]

If he had visible hands at the moment, he’d be making a talking motion with one of them. Blah, blah, blah. God, it was so easy to freak her out. Almost too easy, honestly. Where’s the fun in it? Not in turning the lights out. Sure, he’d definitely get a reaction out of her with it, and she would freak the fuck out, but… it was so cheap. Not that he was above that or anything. 

He would find something else. Of course he would. He was fucking smart, excellent at countless things. “Yeah, no shit,” he replies flippantly at her tiny retort. Wow, it was as if he could not glean that information himself. Thank you for the obvious, Kaoru. 

"A LIKELY FUCKIN’ STORY!!" he thunders, intentionally being loud, almost loud enough to shake the walls of the hallway. Though… that’s a bit cheap too, really. He knows she’ll flinch if he raises his voice. Let’s switch gears.

"So, Hayashi," he says, his voice a much more reasonable volume. "What do you think’s goin’ on? I wanna hear your stupid theories so I can laugh at them.”

[shsl-gamemaster]

However twisted his reasoning was, Kaoru was VERY happy the lights stayed on. She didn't need nor want to be in that frame of mind that consumed her whenever they were off...

She did indeed flinch when his voice raised, bringing her hands up towards her face, muttering sorry a few times. She almost didn't register the words escaping from her lips. 

When his voice lowers her hands lower too revealing large eyes as she stared at the nearest  speaker. 

What did she think was going on? She had a few ideas...

"... You weren't supposed to be here." She answers in case he'll turn the lights off again. "You and at least two others... You were sick and they were researching a cure here.." At least she's fairly certain that's why Shinsuke came.

But as for the others... She wasn't sure.

[hopespeakprodigy]

Corporate Negligence [Kaoru (and maybe ShinsukAI)]

[hopespeakprodigy]

As the AI made his presence known as rudely as (in)humanly possible, Hayate didn’t seem surprised. In fact, even as his laughter filled the room and hall, he remained unperturbed. He’d started to smirk, even! 

He shakes his head at Kaoru’s suggestion slightly, “Oh, there’s no point in that. He’s certainly well aware that each and every one of us are less than thrilled by his actions…” he notes, flipping his notebook to a fresh page and placing a bookmark in the textbook he’d been reading.

"That said, I assure you, this is no laughing matter. I am quite serious. A businessman keeps his word, and my skill as such is far superior to that of subterfuge. I’d been aware you’d hear, but allow me to demonstrate my resolve."

He folds his arms, sits up straight, and smiles as he turns his gaze directly towards the nearest monitor, speaker, or source of interaction from the S A I N T. “As the CEO of Communitie Corp., and Super Highschool-Level Businessman, I will end you, Tsujii Shinsuke.”

[douchetech]

"Aw, c’mon, Hayashi! You’e no fun. Jeez, I already told ya I’m not gonna turn the lights off again! What, don’t you believe me…?" For just a moment, long enough to spit the mocking sentence, his voice shifts to a more sneering tone. "Man, fucking with you is boring. You just whine and flinch. Can you do anything for yourself? Too bad Uetsuji isn’t here, she might make things more interesting. Like, y’know, for example, she could kick one of her dumb balls at me, and I could MOW HER THE FUCK DOWN. Wouldn’t that be FUCKING HILARIOUS?” 

But with Kaoru’s reactions becoming stale, he turns his attention to Hayate now, he of the big ol not so humble brag. Good fuckin’ god, was this guy serious? Hayate proceeds to then say that he’s very serious, and it’s all Shinsuke can do to stop himself from lapsing back into peals of laughter. 

He falls silent as Hayate makes his big stand, and there’s a soft huff from the speaker. “Yeah, that’s cool and all, but uh. That whole CEO thing? Like I said, you might wanna keep on that comedy gig, moneybags, since Communitie Corp. is—oh! Shit, I’ve said a bit too much! Haha. But yeah, good luck ‘ending me’ or whatever, you rich piece of shit.”

[shsl-gamemaster]

When Kaoru was threatened she didn't do much other than cower and whimper. Lock her in the dark and she'll bawl and shake. Kaoru took many abuses as they came simply trying to weather them as one would a storm.

But threaten a soccer loving girl that she immensely cared about? Kaoru drew the line there.

At Shinsuke's threat Kaoru stood up so violently that her chair fall backwards with a loud clatter. "Don't you DARE!" She yelled, slamming her hands down on the table in front of her. Fear was still in her eyes but it mixed with anger now. "Don't you dare hurt Shinobu-chan! I don't care what you do to me but if you hurt Shinobu-chan I'll I'll..." She took a breath. "I'll stick you back in your body and shove you out the airlock." She hissed, hands tightening into fists.

Still, as angry as she was, as awful as Shinsuke was, Kaoru was shaking like a leaf over her outburst. Not in fear of Shinsuke's reaction but just from her own outburst. She didn't often respond in anger and it left a bad taste in her mouth.

But this was the person who had caused them all so much misery. This was the person who had backed them into corners again and again until someone snapped and people lay dead. This was the person who had killed Kaoru's friends.

And now he threatened Shinobu? Kaoru was not going to let him steal her away too!

[shsl-gamemaster]

Can we go home now? (Starter for Yoshiro)

[shsldoubleshot]

He frowned a bit,  at least a bit more, and reluctantly shifted himself over to be more next to Kaoru than far away from her. She was the last person, one of them at least, who deserved to be here.  ”….you do too, huh?  Wh-What-  what do you think.. happened?” 

His brows knit together as he stopped beside her, not moving to touch her or anything so much as just letting himself be there. “………yeah.” He seemed as if he had more to think about that than ‘yeah’, but he didnt go into it. He looked sad, though, as he did speak. “I don’t know what I w-want to do anymore.”

[shsl-gamemaster]

Kaoru was very happy for his company. It was certainly better than being alone. And Yoshiro...

He was her friend.

"... I think lots of people got very sick." She shuffled uncomfortably. "But I'm not sure... I have to read more and put my thoughts on paper..." She waved at the air around her head. "Right now it's all just a jumble. I'm surprised I could tell up from down well enough to get into the tree house..." 

She rested her head on her knees and turned to look at him. "... What do you mean?" She asked softly.

[shsl-gamemaster]

How could you (Starter for Shinsuke)

[douchetech]

Oh. My. God. Wordlessly, but still snickering and only barely resisting the urge to burst into even more raucous laughter, he brings the lights back up… but agonizingly slowly, of course. C’mon, he’s not gonna give in that easily! Why would he? Despair is his forte, after all. That and software development, but… you know.

"Holy shit, I didn’t think you’d actually say it. What a nice surprise. Thanks! I’ll remember that if I ever decide to tear the rest of you SHITTY FLESHBOMBS limb from limb! Maybe I’ll let you go first, even!" The smirk in his voice is almost palpable. 

"Anyway, the fuck are you up to? Walkin’ around all suspicious n shit. You know what? Maybe I don’t trust you! How does that feel?”

[shsl-gamemaster]

Her chest heaved up and down as she drew in each shaking breath as the lights oh so slowly came back on. Tears were very clearly visible on her face and she still was shaking like a leaf.

But she didn't feel like she was trapped anymore or like she couldn't breath. She wasn't quite sure if she could stand up just yet however... 

Kaoru flinched when he yelled, closing her eyes again. "I-I needed the lights back on..." She whimpered in weak protest. She had to have the lights on...

She blinked. What had she been doing again? She couldn't quite remember...

"I-I was just trying to find a quiet place." She just didn't say why.

[hopespeakprodigy]

Corporate Negligence [Kaoru (and maybe ShinsukAI)]

[douchetech]

Before Hayate can continue, if he was even going to at all, and before Kaoru can even attempt to say anything in return, a menacing, mocking laughter fills the library, lasting for a good fifteen seconds before finally tapering off breathlessly. 

"Holy fuck, you…" There’s a pause, and then a muffled "oh goddamnit" as the speaker buzzes slightly. Then another sentence that sounds almost like "okay better" before he clears his throat, still a little winded from laughing at how stupid the two of them are and totally not embarrassed that he just laughed loudly all over the entire space station.

"But yeah, Gacchiri, you got me good, man! With jokes like that, you should’ve been the Super High School Level Comedian! Oh Christ, what a kneeslapper that was!" He plays a recording of, sure enough, someone slapping their knee. He’s hilarious, he knows, you don’t have to tell him. "Hoo boy, wow… really, though, buddy, I’d work on that comedy act a bit more, since your career as a mole didn’t quite work out. Super shitty scapegoat, bro." 

For a moment, he falls silent. But only for a moment. Of course he has more to say. Fuck, they should be grateful he’s talking to them! “And don’t think I don’t see you there, Hayashi! Don’t worry, the lights aren’t goin’ out this time! I pinky promise.” The last two words, he says in a simperingly cutesy way. “Also, your characters are probably shit.”

[shsl-gamemaster]

Well Kaoru had JUST been about to suggest Hayate keep his voice down when Shinsuke's voice came over the speakers.

Both the suddenness of it and the that it was Shinsuke made Kaoru flinch horribly and clench her hands, She half expected the lights to go out.  

Kaoru looked at Hayate with a worried look. "I-I don't think you should have said that..." She said meekly after a moment. She was doing her best to ignore what Shinsuke said, though it was obvious his words had an affect on her, both from how her eyes keep flickering towards the lights and how her hands moved to cover her papers protectively. She didn't want it to go dark again she couldn't handle that no not with Hayate right there...

[hopespeakprodigy]

Corporate Negligence [Kaoru (and maybe ShinsukAI)]

[hopespeakprodigy]

Hayate’s hand hovers over the book, touching the page softly as he considers this before closing his eyes suddenly and sitting up a bit more straight. “Volumes regarding electronics and software design, as well as several manuals related to the topic that I’ve brought from the manual room…. As well as a thesaurus and dictionary, and a book of thought exercises to prevent stagnation.”

…. He speaks volumes about the…. volumes… Quite a bit, for the first time since the trial, and with no apparent provocation other than Kaoru’s query. He reaches to the side of one of the stacks of books, revealing a glass of water from which he takes a long drink. “… And anything relevant that I’ve been able to find regarding the station itself.”

He sets the glass down, closing the book he’d been looking so interestedly over to trade it for another. “I hardly suppose you’ve come to assist me.”

[shsl-gamemaster]

Kaoru blinked slowly. Those sounded complicated. But handy, if one could understand the contents.

"You're researching the station then...?" Kaoru asked, glancing back at her own papers. Did she trust Hayate?

"... I'm sorry no..." She shook her head. "I'm too... I'm..." She sighed, running  a hand through her hair. "I'm trying to keep myself... Calm? Not.. Panicking?" She gestured towards the character sheets. "I'm just... Making characters. It keeps me focused..." She looked over at his books again. "Maybe later I'll ask Shinobu-chan to help me look around but..." Kaoru pulled out her dice bag. "W-what have you found..?" 

[shsl-gamemaster]

How could you (Starter for Shinsuke)

[douchetech]

Wait for it… wait for it…

Aaaaaaaaaaand there it is! Oh man, oh gods, this is great. C’mon, that little, admittedly decidedly not cool, giggle was totally enough warning for what happened next! Jeez, Kaoru, get your shit together! 

He watches, with his special eyes, as panic begins to set in for the DM, and though he doesn’t broadcast it (yet), his snickers have turned into straight up guffaws aimed directly at Kaoru. Shinsuke, you prick. He’s so absorbed in laughing that her words take him by surprise. 

For about a nanosecond (which is something he can process now), he considers doing something that may or may not be turning the lights back on. Mmmmm… nah. Instead, he finally makes himself know. “Maybe if you say ‘pretty please with sugar on top, Tsujii-sama’,” he taunts over the speakers in the hallway (and only the hallway; wouldn’t it be weird as shit if he just said that over the entire space station? He’s not that inept). 

[shsl-gamemaster]

So it was Shinsuke who was behind the lights turning off, not just some silly person who bumped the switch with their elbow on the way by (Were there even light switches in the halls?).  Of course it would be.

Her eyes tightly shut, as if that somehow kept the darkness away, Kaoru chewed at her lip as her heart pounded in her chest. Was she really going to respond like that hell yeah she was it was dark and it was scary and she needed those lights on now. Everything was pressing in on her tighter and tighter and she couldn't breath!

"P-pretty please w-with sugar on t-t-top Tsujii-s-sama...!" Kaoru called out, voice trembling as she sloooowly slid down the wall. "J-just turn the l-lights on I'm sorry...!" The apology was practically a reflex from childhood.

But it hadn't helped her then, either.

[hopespeakprodigy]

Corporate Negligence [Kaoru (and maybe ShinsukAI)]

[hopespeakprodigy]

"Certainly…" was his answer, once again a single word, as though any more would be excessive.

With that, a cup of coffee that was now cold as ice (or the room’s ambient temperature, to be exact), was carefully moved aside to create space for the game master… While the gesture was that he wouldn’t be bothered by her presence, he’d apparently been paying so little attention that he hadn’t realized she’d already chosen a seat.

Though the titles of his books weren’t visible from the angle chosen, their thickness and font size clearly were, enough to tire any scholar’s gaze. None in particular seemed to hold his interest entirely, though his gaze across the pages seemed to be searching for something… Whether it was anything in specific was impossible to tell.

[shsl-gamemaster]

So Kaoru sat and placed her papers in front of her. The top few pages certainly seemed innocently geeky enough. Just character sheets after all. 

Call her paranoid, but after what happened to Pandora, Kaoru wasn't sure she wanted Shinsuke to know everything she was up to...

She glanced at Hayate's books, almost in awe of them. They didn't seem like easy reads.

"... What are you reading?" Yes good Kaoru, make conversation. Time to understand the mind of Gacchiri Hayate!

[hopespeakprodigy]

Corporate Negligence [Kaoru (and maybe ShinsukAI)]

[hopespeakprodigy]

For a few moments, the only answer the girl would receive was a silence. It may have even seemed as though Hayate was ignoring her completely… Finally, however, a reply came…. If it could even be called that.

"Irrelevant."

A single word had escaped his lips, with no tone in particular to back it besides a slight matter-of-fact-ness. It was rather cold, though speaken with no harshness… It was certainly as an answer to her question.

After that, his concentration seemed to return once more, and he didn’t speak further…

[shsl-gamemaster]

Well he hadn't yelled at her or anything.

That was a good sign, right?

Kaoru tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She felt a little like a deer caught in the headlights. What did she do now?

Heck did she even need  to do anything? Hayate had been no friend of hers and after everything...

But maybe there was a side to this she didn't know. That none of them did,

"... M-mind if I sit here?" She asked after a moment of watching him read. She walked over to a nearby desk, setting her papers down. 

[hopespeakprodigy]

Corporate Negligence [starter for Kaoru (and maybe shinsukAI)]

Since the night of the trial, Gacchiri Hayate had become completely silent. To be specific, it had been the moment that those words had met his ears…

All is forgiven.

He’d looked almost shocked for a moment, his countenance growing blank quickly thereafter… Even the death and resurrection of Tsujii Shinsuke had scarce caught his attention, and even then only the corpse had drawn his interest. He’d spoken to none, and left the trial the moment he was given the chance.

Now he sat in the library, surrounded by a pile of textbooks and coffee that had long since cooled. The former was turned away from any cameras in the area, and he’d long lost interest in the latter. There was a strangely composed expression on his face, different from the professionalism he’d always wore before… Finding a word to describe it would be difficult apart from, perhaps, “intense”.

Even with the intrusion of another human being, his concentration and posture didn’t change. Only a slight pause made the fact that he was aware of them apparent… There’s a crisp noise as he turns a page, setting it precisely against its ancestors before continuing across the page… No time for niceties, it seemed.

[shsl-gamemaster]

The library was one of Kaoru's favourite places on the station. It was usually quiet, fairly well lit, and had more interesting books than she could ever recall reading over her life. 

But today was not a time for leisurely reading. Kaoru just needed a space to look over the notes she had been gathering about the station and she was starting to feel cooped up in her room. Not to mention she felt like she was bothering Toshi...

However as she walked into the library, notes and folders clutched against her chest, Kaoru came to an abrupt stop as Hayate came into her view. 

"Oh..!" She squeaked softly, having not seen him since the trial. Instantly the story she had been told of what he had done, or tried to do, to Pandora and Yoshiro came to mind and Kaoru tightened her grip on her papers. 

Hayate had betrayed them. And had been willing to kill. 

What risk did he pose to them now?

"G-Gacchiri-san..." Kaoru spoke softly, slowly. Like she was walking on eggshells. "Um... Hello." Determined to be polite, even to him, she asked "How are you...?"

She didn't walk any closer to where he was sitting, opting instead to stand the few feet away that she was.

[shsl-gamemaster]

Can we go home now? (Starter for Yoshiro)

[shsldoubleshot]

It was lucky for him that with Kaoru, he never had to come up with a reason to stay around and talk to her. She usually offered, or made it clear that she’d prefer company. He nodded a bit in response to all she said, then climbed up with only a bit of hesitance.

The place smelled musty and familiar, but he didnt focus on that. He had become astoundingly good at not remembering things when he didnt want to. This time, he didnt break the now repaired ladder. Nice!

Sitting up on the floor of the treehouse once he was up, he looked over at her carefully.

"Hi. I mean, uh… wh… what’s-  how are you?" That was probably a good thing to ask after everything that happened. Yoshiro looked far from good, of course, pale and tired and not having slept. He was functioning well enough, though. 

[shsl-gamemaster]

Kaoru pulled her knees up to her chest and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't really know Yoshiro-kun..." Kaoru said softly, looking over at him. "There's so much I don't understand right now... And I'm scared." She shuddered a little. "I think... I think something very bad happened on Earth. So maybe going back is  a bad idea."

The GM looked up now. "But here we have... Everything that happened to us." She tightened her grip on her knees. "We're stuck between a rock and a hard place and... And I just want to go home to be with my Mom and sister..." Kaoru sniffled again, rubbing at her eyes. "I just want to go home..."

[shsl-gamemaster]

How could you (Starter for Shinsuke)

[douchetech]

Shinsuke is watching. He’s always watching now, of course. Even if idly, his eyes (plural, now, even!) are on all of them at all times. And it’s not like he needs to sleep. Ain’t got time for that, nor the need for it, quite obviously. Why would he? He’s not a PATHETIC MEATBAG anymore. Unlike SOME PEOPLE.

At various points since his earthly (spacely?) demise, he’s watched each of them in the aftermath, ranging anywhere from seconds to minutes to even hours, sometimes but rarely. And right now, he has his attention on Hayashi Kaoru. He’d only talked to her briefly outside of trials, but even with that little interaction, he had gleaned things about her, various tidbits of information.

As Kaoru stops in the hallway, hemming and hawing over which way to go, a short, clipped sound plays over the speakers, and in fact, Kaoru might even wonder if she’d imagined it. If she had heard it, it would have sounded almost like a giggle. 

The lights in the hallway abruptly go out.

[shsl-gamemaster]

Kaoru had just enough time to contemplate on that sound. What was it? Who had caused it?

But with the lights going out any coherent thought went with it.

"N-no..!" Panic bubbled in her chest as the dark pressed in around her making it hard to breath. With darkness came fear, panic, pain. 

Kaoru stumbled back until she hit a wall and used that to prop herself up instead of sinking to the floor. "T-turn the lights back on please...!" Her voice trembled and she was on the verge of screaming as tears pricked her eyes. She didn't know who she was asking or if anyone was even listening. "Please I-I'll be good I promise I'm sorry..." 

[shsl-gamemaster]

Can we go home now? (Starter for Yoshiro)

[shsldoubleshot]

It had been a long time since Yoshiro had been here. Even stepping foot in the garden biome brought forth tons of bad memories as well as good ones that he wanted nothing to do with anymore. Everything about the grass under his feet and the trees he used to walk through with people who weren’t around anymore made him nauseous, and what was worse was the still kicked up soil he remembered digging through in the middle of that horrible night.

But he had to be here. He needed to explore every last inch of this ship if he ever wanted to actually do something about their situation, and now of all times was driving him to do so. He was emotional, angry, all sorts of things, and he didnt like sitting alone in his room anymore now that he’d trashed it. 

The treehouse wasn’t where he planned on going at all.  The last time he’d been there, Yoshi had kicked him out  (literally) and then died that same night. When he passed it, though, he couldnt help but notice Kaoru’s presence. Stopping just under the entrance hole to look up at who was inside, his brows furrowed a bit. 

"…..Hayashi-san?"

[shsl-gamemaster]

At the sound of her name, Kaoru glanced down, still sniffling. "O-oh. Hello Yoshiro-kun..." She smiled gently at him, rubbing her eyes beneath her glasses. The cracked lenses barely bothered her anymore she was so used to them now.

 "I was just..." Kaoru trailed off, chewing at her lip. She didn't quite like admitting she was hiding at a time like this. "Taking a break from my notes... I think I'm starting to understand why we were here but it's a little taxing right now..."

She moved away from the entrance to allowed Yoshiro room to come up. "... Can you sit with me for a bit, Yoshiro-kun?" She asked softly.