maxima - minima

"Without mathematics, there's nothing you can do. Everything around you is numbers." - shakuntala devi chie nojima, shsl calculator  alive || dead [ associated with mmn ]

[shsl123]

right turn | chapter 4 | open

[shsl123]

shsl-wanderer:

At some point, Kazae (or Fuu, or whomever the hell she was) had stopped crying. The tears had simply… run out, even though she still felt like shit. She was down to ragged breathing and the occasional hiccup, although her face was still soaked and her eyes red.

And really, with the moving air around her, dress and disheveled hair moving in the breeze, and a scowl on her face that (if looks could kill) would have ended Chie’s life instantaneously, the spirit medium looked like a spirit herself. Seemingly unperturbed by the hard ground beneath her, she walked barefoot as ever, feet barely making a sound until one misstep followed by the crunch of gravel under her heel. She winced slightly.

She stopped a few paces away from Chie. Subtly, she picked at the skin around her fingernails; fidgets here and there. Probably a nervous habit. She regarded Chie, and then let her vision drift to the maze itself. She was staring off into space when she answered. “I don’t care,” she shrugged. What she really wanted was to lose herself in the maze and find somewhere nice and quiet to rot, but she doubted she’d be able. To that end, exploring the maze was her next best bet. At least Chie didn’t seem like the type to pry.

“I am going in there either way,” she said blandly. Her eyes had a certain… deadened quality to them. “If you want me to come with you, I can, or you can go alone. It makes no difference to me.”

Chie, to be entirely honest, looked a bit (only a bit!) startled by Kazae’s appearance, though she very obviously tries to conceal it as best she can with a polite smile. She hadn’t heard much from the medium in the trial, or even since the reveal of all those secrets, so it stood to reason there were a lot of emotions occurring. Kazae’s appearance only reinforced that assumption, which didn’t say much for Chie’s chances of performing well in this interaction.

 “Oh, um... hello, Fuu-san... Yanai-san? I d-d-don’t know... which you prefer.”

She waffles for a moment, staring down at her unfortunately scuffed sneakers before gesturing into the maze once more.

“A-Ah, well, it’d be... maybe more effective if we w-w-went together? Just in case... something hap-happens? It’s, um. It’s like the haunted house ex-exploration team! Back together a-a-again, huh...”

Smiling in what she hopes is a casual, comforting way, Chie takes a couple steps into the entrance of the maze.

“You know, even if it’s in-... inefficient, hugging t-t-the right wall will get you to the end of a m-m-maze, won’t it?”

[shsl123]

right turn | chapter 4 | open

It had been a while since anyone’d truly had a full-on conversation with Chie Nojima. Given her generally nervous demeanor, this wasn’t anything odd, but she seemed to be skulking around more than usual, avoiding people’s gazes. This too could have been explained if anyone’d taken a look at her code in the previous week, though, and so it stood to reason that Chie should be back in action. Normal, skittish action, and, given her sudden burst of forwardness in the previous trial (or attempted, at least), it seemed she was feeling better.

But then, of course, as soon as the new area’s opened up, Chie disappears off on her own to explore. It’s impressive, her level of wallflower-ness given her rather impressive height, but she manages, somehow, to avoid really talking to anyone. Only occasional glimpses of the calculator can be caught as she shuffles in and out of buildings.

Maybe it was the trial that was getting to her? After all, she’d been uncharacteristically instrumental in catching the killer-- but, given her talent, she was used to being useful (used, even). Then again, she’d always come off as a rather gentle girl, one who didn’t stomach killing in the least, so she’d logically be unhappy with sending someone to death. Or maybe the brash reveal of secrets the previous week had startled her.

Whatever the case, Chie tiptoes around, avoiding interacting with anyone... until she’s found standing at the entrance to the maze, staring contemplatively at the hedges. When the sound of footsteps makes itself clear, she jumps slightly and turns, automatically hunching her shoulders down to make her height smaller.

“Ah... Ah, h-h-hello. I was thinking of going in... if you’d like. Like to join m-m-me? I’m usually pretty goo... goo-good at mazes, but. If you’d rather not be bounc... bound together, that’s un-understandable.”

Was that a joke? Hard to tell.

[justkeepingthisforoldtimessake]

File #008 [The Hidden Incident || Open]

[justkeepingthisforoldtimessake]

The way she says the words makes it almost seem… alien. Like the concept alone is alarming.

“Yes, bambina, lighten up. You always look so troubled, when’s the last time you had some fun?”

If it’s not so difficult then he wonders why she seems so unsure about her words, about her feelings. Well, perhaps that’s just his own thinking there. It’s bizarre to consider someone being that selfless but there really might be such people there. Still, it’s curious with her. She shows spirit and then drops it in the blink of an eye. It’s easy to miss, but he’s not the type to miss out on the little details. He would be terrible at gathering information otherwise.

“You think in data, Nojima-chan, believe me, with my talent I get it! You also overthink your actions but that’s not what I’m talking about either. I’m talking personal curiosity - goals, thinking for your own benefit. Hm. But I guess it is hard to explain, huh.”

The last part is more to himself than to her, admittedly. Then, she wrenches her hand out of his and her whole demeanor becomes rather awkward and sheepish. He blinks, frowning, as if in thought before grinning.

“… Well, well. See? It’s not really all that ‘fine’, is it? To not think of yourself.”

For a second, it’s possible to have confused his demeanor and tone with that of frustration or even bitterness. It’s just acting again, of course, he’s fine with it. While he didn’t expect Chie to go with the whole ‘it’s a date’ thing, he did expect her to feel at least a little uncomfortable.

“And so! I’m sorry about that! Forgive me, won’t you?”

He actually turns around to give her a bow. He’s a weird fellow, honestly. Everything he does seems rather suspect, his actions shady and yet he does his best to show some form of manners - to follow his own personal code to a tidy T.

“If I step out of line, just t-e-l-l me. At least in front of me you can put yourself first. I put myself first, you put yourself first. Everyone’s happier like that, no?”

A simple life philosophy. It doesn’t have to be deep to make sense.

Without really waiting for Chie and yet, walking at a gentle pace, Suishou begins trekking outside. When she essentially asks where to he’s tempted to make her choose before realizing that’s probably a bad idea. He’s trying to break her out of this shell after all. So what’s a place she’s likely not going to visit? He immediately thinks of the amusement park but he’ll save that for when he’s not reliving several times he almost died there. Awkward.

“How about the flower shop? It’s nearby and it’s pleasant enough, hm? Plus, I want to see how bad it got hit…”

The words trail off as he drifts into a thoughtful state of mind. He pauses in his steps and gives Chie another cheeky grin.

“Oh, and I’m not pitying you. Really, do I seem the type? Sorry to say I’m not that good-natured, though I appreciate the thought. I’m curious about you. I think you have a good head on your shoulders – serious, but smart and that’s interesting to me. So! We’re hanging out~”

[shsl123]

When was the last time Chie’d actually had fun? Certainly not since she’d been trapped in the neighborhood from hell, and before that... well, she wasn’t exactly sure. It wasn’t as if she had a particularly unfortunate life, either, it just--

“I... have fun, s-s-sometimes. Just not here.”

She didn’t exactly feel like giving the satisfaction of letting Suishouryuu think he’d completely hacked her personality today, no matter how doormat-y she was being.

Chie didn’t like getting this deep thinking about her own mannerisms, and she especially didn’t like someone else doing it for her. She had reasons, really-- there was no point in changing anything at this point.

“...I do that too. Just not out lo-l-loud. Y-Y-You... presume too much about others without kn... know... knowing them very well, Suishouryuu-san... i-i-if that’s not rude to say, I mean, um... I guess you’re right.”

And once more, whatever drive she’d shown in talking back (if it could be called that, with her polite tone) to Suishou is brought down immediately by her following hesitance. What a weird girl.

Anyway, there she stands, pulling threads out of her sweater sleeve nervously. Certainly something seems to be up, but then again, when wasn’t something up with her?

“I... uh... w-w-wasn’t really thinking of myself, but... your hand, uhm-- that is-- it’s fine. Let’s just... go, if you want to...”

It always seemed to devolve back to ‘if you want to’ with Chie. Truly a new tier of doormat has been reached. As soon as he turns around to bow to her, she redirects her gaze to her feet in a gesture that could be seen as sheepish had she not been looking in weird directions this entire time. Additionally, it takes her an unusually (for anyone who wasn’t Chie) long time to formulate a very short response.

“It’s fine... y-y-you’re forgiven...”

Yes, Chie certainly did not enjoy having someone bowing at her, no matter how honest or faux-polite it was.

“I guess... that makes sense, but-- deep-set p-person... personality traits are difficult to... people are raised a cert... certain way, and it’s... they act how they act for a r-r-reason...”

That was perhaps the most roundabout way to give personal reasoning for her actions ever, and she didn’t really even give much up. Not to mention the changes of direction that indicate she wasn’t 100% sure of what she wsa saying anyway. Eventually, she sighs, trailing after him and keeping wide eyes on the back of his head to watch for it turning. Everyone’s happier that way? Hm. It was worth considering, but not at the moment, when this entire encounter was stressing her out. 

“O-Oh, that’s fine... I looked a bit afterwards-- after the, um... but it’s fine. Th-The flowers... needed watering.”

As soon as she sights his head moving, she turns her gaze slightly to the side again.

“Uh. You don’t, particularly, but--...I apologize, I don’t... d-don’t know why I assumed... that.”

A good head on her shoulders. That was right. Always back to the usual.

“Ah, of course... I h-h-hope I can continue to be interesting, th-then.”

[justkeepingthisforoldtimessake]

File #008 [The Hidden Incident || Open]

[justkeepingthisforoldtimessake]

Okay, he assumed it was because of her code, but this was just getting silly now. She was clearly trying her best but watching her was causing some major secondhand embarrassment on his end. Maybe he should just turn around or something.

For a second, he’s content to just listen and take in her awkward mannerisms but eventually he can’t help but laugh a little.

“Chie-tan, Chie-tan. Shall I let you in on a secret?”

He tilts his head, as if trying to ascertain a reaction despite it being hard to see her face. Well, there’s no use in waiting on that for too long. Instead he gets right to the point.

“I made that story up. Don’t take it so seriously, hm? Sometimes it’s just good to take a moment to consider things. Take a deep breath and have a think, you know? You should lighten up, bambina.”

Another laugh before he relaxes a bit. Having his code to worry about all the time is messing up his flow but there’s not much he can do about it. Relax too much and he’ll forget about it - that simply won’t do.

“You don’t have to have. Sometimes some people are in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s what happened to Ke–Onizuka-chan, after all. She ended up with Shizi’s blood on her hands… and it’d never been her intent. Tragedy has a way of following the selfless.”

And if you look at the killers… that’s certainly true. Toshishiro, worried and afraid, was trying to stop Kirihito in the end. There was perhaps some selfishness in the action but his intent was mostly good. Then, Ken, who’d only acted in alarmed self-defense. Neither of them deserved their fates. And yet, here they were.

“You should mind! How sad. To escape would be ideal? I would think it’d be more than that. Hm. That’s right, I’ve decided! We’re going to hang out, you and I~ no ifs, no ands, no buts. If you won’t think about yourself, then I’ll think about you and so~ here we are! Let’s go somewhere interesting! The groceries can surely wait!”

Chie’s constant stream of ‘it’s fine, it’s fine’ is upsetting. And finally, Suishou decides he’s had enough. Without warning her, he uses his left hand to grab one of hers and begins to stride on ahead. If he’s leading the way, she shouldn’t have to worry about her code.

… Not that she’s been subtle about it.

“What do you say, Nojima-san? Shall we go on a date?★”

[shsl123]

Chie looks vaguely disgruntled at the use of ‘Chie-tan’, mouthing the name to herself with a slight frown on her face. She doesn’t want to be rude and tell him to stop, though, and it’s not that bad, so she doesn’t say anything about it.

“Lighten... up.”

Chie probably has never lightened up a day in her life. Not to mention... she was being told to ‘think’, as if that wasn’t all she was good for doing. 

“A-A-All I ever do is think, Suishouryuu-san. It’s not so difficult.”

If one’s ears weren’t fooling them, Chie sounds a bit (a bit) irate with that statement, although she promptly looks sheepish right after, as if on clockwork. She can show some sort of backbone, but it has to be followed by her hunching over to make herself smaller.

“T-Th-That’s still... That’s still bad. But... it’s unav-av-avoidable, with the circumstances. If it’s m-m-me who ends up in trouble... then that means that no one else is. So-- it’s fine.”

Wow, that’s a pretty depressing way to think.

“Hang... out? You don’t have to pity me--”

She goes from looking perplexed by his words-- what about her groceries-- to startled in a split-second when he mentions ‘thinking about her’ and then grabs her hand. One could assume it was out of embarrassment, but then-- her gaze fixes on the hand holding hers and she, for some reason, looks very distressed. Her eyes flick from their linked hands to the back of Suishou’s head several times, and then she wrenches her arm back with a surprising amount of force for someone so reedy.

What a weirdo. At least she has the decency to look sheepish after her strange actions, clasping her hands in front of her apologetically.

“I, um-- my hands... are really s-s-sweaty, sorry. I’ll follow y... follow you, so... it’s fine. I don’t... umm... a date? Wh-Where are we... going?”

A+ communicating!

[justkeepingthisforoldtimessake]

File #008 [The Hidden Incident || Open]

[justkeepingthisforoldtimessake]

Candid, is it… perhaps so. He hadn’t considered it as such but quite honestly, he’s probably lost track of all the lies he’s told so far. It’s not quite like he’s ready to be honest and get along with everyone. Just that certain moments and certain questions deserve respect and attention.

“Now, now, I never said to ignore it. It’s not quite disregarding it, per se, pasticcino. It’s simply keeping a cool head despite perhaps not feeling the most cool yourself. Some use the phrase ‘fake it until you make it’.”

A pause and then he opts to smile, though she doesn’t appear to be watching him. No, indeed, Chie still seems to be awkwardly shuffling about although she did raise her head a little.

“… In any case, it’s an interesting theory, isn’t it? It makes you think.”

That’s a bonus in itself, just to think. Part of him just wants Chie to relax. She seems smart, it’d be interesting to see what’s going on in that head of hers but she always seems so spooked. Perhaps that’s just her nature but it’s no good if he aggravates her all the same. His way of speaking could be quite the character flaw.

“Others with worse! It doesn’t do you much good to think of others, you know. It’s not like they’re thinking about you. If triggering your code meant they got off scott-free they’d likely do it.”

He shrugs.

“Not saying it’s right, but it is true. I’m just saying, is it really ‘fine’ for you like that? If it bothers you, there’s no reason to hide that. It doesn’t hurt to think of yourself a little more, hm? Ah, but this is me rambling on and on, isn’t it now? Pay it no mind, nooo mind at all.”

His words seem sincere but as per usual, it can be hard to tell.

“… Anyway, perhaps talking about codes isn’t the best way to go about leading a happier life. What’s on your mind, Nojima-chan? Perhaps I can hear you out~ I’m hardly busy these days, quite a shame.”

[shsl123]

Chie, to her credit, seems to be trying very hard to look politely interested despite the fact that she also seems to be trying very hard to not look directly in Suishou’s eyes, like he’s Medusa or something.

“Pas... Pastry- Pas-... hm. I suppose I’m n-n-not so good at that, then... but the three-faced man doesn’t sound esp-es... especially... happy.”

That would then beg the question if Chie herself was happy, since she was claiming to have only one face. But that wasn’t much something she wanted to think about now-- if she was happy with the current situation, that would be pretty messed up, right? And everyone would think she was odd. That was the exact opposite of what she wanted from her life.

“Still, it’s... interesting, yes, and probably... c-c-common. Especially somewhere like this...”

While she was happy to think about math or whatever, introspection wasn’t much her thing.

She looks a bit distressed at his next words, worrying her sleeve between her fingers until she becomes afraid she’s going to pull a loose thread and stops. Instead, she twirls one of her pigtails, a familiar action.

“I don’t... think that’s true... th-th-that someone would do that. I-I-I’ve not done anything that would warrant someone t-t-to attack me, right? ...I just want... everyone to be safe. If that...”

Chie pauses, frowns, and hrmmms softly, before going back to staring at her feet.

“If that means th-that no one thinks about me, I don’t mind... i-i-it’s really fine. I see no reason... to th- f... f... think of myself, in this c-case, except the bare mi- mm-- minimum.”

Towards the end of her tiny speech, Chie’s stutter seems to grow a bit worse. Frowning, she eventually sighs to herself. When she speaks again, it’s much more comprehensible.

“...Perhaps not... l-l-like I said, the only thing on my mind... is m-make-- making sure everyone is safe. To escape... would be ideal. But for n-n-now... I was just going to buy some groceries, I guess... and you, S-Sui-Suishouryuu-san?”

[justkeepingthisforoldtimessake]

File #008 [The Hidden Incident || Open]

[justkeepingthisforoldtimessake]

Chie is… strange.

Okay, so there’s no real need to beat around the bush there, it’s true. It’s not like strange is bad, it’s often quite fun. More interesting in regards to conversations, for sure. So there’s no need to avoid calling a spade or spade. The girl’s a little weird. But this is, quite obviously, even weirder of her, with her eyes apparently looking for something on the ground. The answer was simple, huh.

The code.

Either that or she was just shy around him. Haha, can you imagine? No, he liked his jokes and all, but that wasn’t it. Something was up. Still, no need to just rush into things and trip her up. He wasn’t that mean.

Right?

“Too concerning? Oh it’s certainly proving to be tricky. Ehehe. But well, have you ever heard of the Three-Faced Man? It’s a lil story about a fellow with two faces and a mask. The first face he shows to all, the second is his true self and the mask… the mask he wears to have the face he wants.”

He twirls his finger around. And then laughs.

“Interesting, no? Point being, it’s good to be aware of what face you’ve got on. For me, the mask looks nice about now. Better to ignore the worry; put on your best fighting face and go for it. Fufufu. Now isn’t that sweet? Kinda optimistic, no? Good thinking process in dark times.“

With his left hand, he makes a kind of ‘fighting’ pose, a clenched fist in the air before relaxing it back to a comfortable position. He tilts his head at her.

“And how is your code, Nooojima-chan? Even if it’s something silly I can’t imagine your secret is anything you want out in the open.”

[shsl123]

While Chie’d hoped this encounter would be brief, she’d sort of shot herself in the foot immediately by saying more than simply “hello” to Suishouryuu. Now he was talking about some sort of three-faced thing, and she didn’t much know what was happening-- whatever the story is, though, it does seem to make her slightly nervous... like every other thing on Earth. She fiddles with the sleeves of her sweater, not taking her gaze off the ground no matter how rude it is.

“Three... faced? Mask... um, th-that’s... surprisingly c-c-candid of you, Suishouryuu-san...”

Was she aware of what face she had on? Did she even have multiple faces? After all, she seemed to act almost the exact same (uncomfortable) in every situation, so one could conclude that was her natural, default state. 

“T-T-To ignore problems... may not be wise, in th-this case... you’d be less awake. Aware... less aware. Someone could... un-unintentionally break your code, if you don’t... at least hint at w-w-what it is.”

At the mention of her own code, Chie flinches slightly, her shoulders hunching a bit. Her secret... wasn’t something she wanted out, like Suishouryuu said, but she was still embarrassed to have it mentioned.

“The code... it’s a h-h-hass... hassle, um... but-- maybe there’s others with worse, so... it’s fine.”

Finally, she raises her head... only to set her gaze on the wall to the right of Suishou. Alright, Chie. Marginally more polite.

[justkeepingthisforoldtimessake]

File #008 [The Hidden Incident || Open]

Hello, God. Are you there? It’s Suishou, with an important question.

Why do you hate me?

“…”

Why was it that, he, the information broker here, found himself out of control in regards to the flow of information? That irked him more than anything. It wasn’t just that he was trapped here, threatened, it was that this mayor actually had the gall to step on his turf. That’s some nerve. Is he trying to make this personal? In regards to that… he’ll take that as a challenge. An open invitation to rightly mess up the mayor’s day and break down his guard.

Of course, that would be difficult with his current code. Sure, he had a fire in his belly brewing thanks to a newfound hate of the mayor, but, that didn’t mean he was going to just charge ahead like an idiot. He had no desire to have his own secrets outed and that meant he had to be careful.

It didn’t help that this code wasn’t nearly as specific as it could be. If he were in charge here he’d definitely iron out the rules. Come on, what’s the fun in succeeding if you’re only succeeding by omission? That’s messed up.

The best thing to do is to get away from people. Not necessarily to be anti-social, just, to be sure. He figures he needs to investigate more so it’s off to the supermarket for him. And wow… that… ferris wheel bit sure is still here. Wow. Aesthetic.

He becomes aware someone else is around seconds and later and visibly tenses. Damn it. He can’t show his surprise. Gotta be in control.

“Oh! Hello, hey! You’ll be glad to know that despite a lack of stylish bracelet decorum my mood is as chipper as ever. Thankfully my code is not ‘don’t talk to your friends’. Can you imagine that?”

[shsl123]

Chie was, predictably, not a huge fan of this motive. She hadn’t been a fan of many so far, but this one was especially worrying due to the layers involved. An action she couldn’t do? Her secrets revealed? A traitor in their midst? The second of those was the least concerning, she felt, because really, how many secrets could a math nerd have-- but the idea that someone could be going around and sabotaging people was appalling, and her code was... less than savory as well.

Well, no matter. All she had to do was avoid everyone until... what? Until someone killed? That wasn’t exactly the mindset she was aiming for, but it had become sadly natural in the few weeks they’d been here.

Chie figures, logically, that no one would hang around the supermarket, what with the ferris wheel sticking out of it. It was dangerous and all, so why would anyone come here even if they needed food? That was just silly, she thinks, walking in. She needed fruit, though. There was a tragic lack of raspberries anywhere else, and if there was one small pleasure she wanted, it was those--

But, sadly, she isn’t the only one there. Her gaze, which had been fixed at a weirdly low angle on the ground, drops even further to her own scuffed-up tennis shoes. How impolite! And even better when she realizes who it is as he starts talking.

“A-Ah... Suishouryuu-san... th-that’s, um... I’m glad you’re feeling w-w-well about everything and all. I t-t-take it your bracelet isn’t too... concerning, then? Eh-- uh... I was just trying to get in... the store...”

She doesn’t quite seem to know how to respond to the “talking to friends” comment, and she also seems about 300% more nervous than usual. Good old Chie.

[tothefuckingmoon-blog]

i am the tool of destruction, vengeance, and fury! | open

One of the biggest problems with humans, Eita observes coldly in some remote corner of their brain that they’ve managed to keep cut off from all of the stupid emotions that are making them cry and scream and thrash about on the floor and bang their head and fists against a wall until they hurt, is that they’re so fragile. Of course, Eita’s species, they’ve figured out, isn’t very durable, or strong, or possessed of any sort of stamina to speak of (although they blame the stupid Earth air and gravity for that), but they can’t possibly imagine that if they were stabbed, or if they fell, or if they were poisoned…. that they’d just die. 

Dying had always been an abstract concept - something that happened to humans, stupid humans that Eita didn’t care about. And humans, as far as Eita was concerned, had always been stupid for caring so much. After all, there were six billion humans. Why did it matter if one of them died, when they could easily be replaced my another, similar enough human. Dying had never been something to happen to humans Eita knew. And dying had definitely never been something to happen to humans Eita liked. To… to friends. 

So now, in the aftermath of the flood, any stupid, vulnerable, fragile human looking for Eita Tsukino wouldn’t have too much trouble finding them. They’re huddled, arms around themself, in a cramped corner of the hardware store. The most cramped corner they could find, because the pressure of the shelves against them is as soothing as anything can be soothing when they feel like something inside their head is screaming. Tears are trickling down their face, and they’re rocking back and forth. Will approaching them yield any positive result? Why not find out. 

[shsl123]

Chie didn’t particularly know what she was doing wandering around-- she couldn’t sit still, that was for sure, or she’d start thinking too hard about things. Even if that was technically in her job description, she wasn’t really in the mood to be fully miserable at this exact moment. Thus, she lapses into the state on the middle-end of the miserable scale she’s usually in and just... walks around, pointlessly.

A detour into the hardware store seems ironic, to be honest. Maybe she’d pick up a small hammer to repair the roof that’d been broken on the police station. To be honest, she’d never really stepped into the hardware store, and she’s rather glad for that fact as soon as she does. The shelves are much too close together for her liking, forcing her to pull her gangly arms in to her body just in case she knocks something off a shelf. It was worth looking through, though, she thought. While she was here killing time. 

What she doesn’t especially expect to find is Eita in the back of the store. Seeming startled, she takes several steps back at the sight of them, and then looks very concerned. Maybe helping lift them out of a building would have been enough of a bonding experience that Chie could try and see what was wrong, or maybe not-- she looks indecisive for several moments as she seems to consider it. Then she crouches down closer to their level, staying a good arms-length away, just in case.

“Ts-... Tsukino-san? What... what’s the matter? I-I-It’s kind of wet on the ground, isn’t it...?”

She hopes her voice comes off as casual rather than nervous as usual.

[shsl123]

terminal velocity | chapter 3 | open

Wow, Nojima-san, are you even human?

It was something Chie heard a lot, to the point that she’d grown numb to any sort of offense she could feel. After all, even her talent was technically an inanimate object. As it stood, Chie was nothing better than a robot with one function-- math.

I wish, she thinks, miserably sitting on the train over to the second area, that I wasn’t. 

Any happiness she’d felt with her small group’s escape from the police station was quickly quashed with the mayor’s words. A feeling of nauseating dread had filled her, which was turned simply to sorrow as the rest of the class returned... two short indeed. And both individuals she’d talked to before, as well-- and so, as soon as Chie’s ascertained that everyone in their group (including Monty, who was giving her a real arm workout) was safe, she’d removed herself. It would do no good to give others the impression that she was even flimsier than they likely already thought she was. Ah, Nojima-san is such a nerd, it’s like she doesn’t even have any emotions! 

Doesn’t have them, or perhaps doesn’t know how to express them, a struggle that presented itself in Chie’s constant nerves. But now she was alone, and she could do all she wanted while she waited for the train to arrive at its destination. With the heels of her hands pressed into her eyes under her glasses, Chie lets out a long, hissing breath-- one that sounds more like a strained sob than anything. She hadn’t really cried about any of the deaths thus far... wasn’t it odd? Or perhaps foolish, as now all her stress was built up, and she had just a short train ride to let it out. Her palms are soaked with tears, not that anyone’d notice, since she was already pretty damp.

...And as soon as she steps off the train, she’s back to her usual expression: slightly nervous, but otherwise placid. Her smudged glasses were enough to conceal the redness of her eyes.

After an unpleasant slosh through the still-wet streets (although her socks really couldn’t get any worse, to be honest), Chie finds herself standing blankly in the flower shop. The very wet flower shop. Ah, they probably appreciate it, though, she thinks to herself. And there she is, standing and just looking, when she hears footsteps behind her. For once, she doesn’t look nervous as she turns-- just tired, but that’s probably because it was pretty impossible to move quietly when you were splashing a lot.

“...Hello. It’s g-g-good to see you’re... doing well... rel-relation-- relatively speaking, I suppose...”

A slightly melancholic look crosses her face.

“These flowers... are a-a-appreciating the mon-mon... mon... moisture...”

[shsl123]

trajectory | ch3 | open

Another trial had come and gone, and Chie had continued her slow fade into obscurity. She mentally berated herself every time for not contributing more, and yet... what could she say? She hadn’t known either of the victims or culprits, and anything she could say would be eclipsed by the more comforting words of someone else. All Chie had was numbers and a good memory. And an eye for crime, apparently.

So here she was, skulking around out of touch with the group again in her free time. Every person she passes (an event becoming less and less common as numbers dwindled) is met with only what seems to be an attempt at a pleasant smile and a further hunching of the girl’s shoulders as she scurries on her way. There was a large disconnect she didn’t know how to fix.

At least the newest area offered an array of (questionably garish, for the situation) ways to distract herself. After wandering through Puri✰Puri Land for a bit, taking in the sights, Chie quietly settles herself in front of the shooting booth. She wasn’t sure what kind of prizes it could yield her, but it was worth a shot, right? Ha, shot. This stuff was all trajectory calculation, anyway, but she’d heard they were often rigged...

Before she can shoot anything, though, she notices someone approaching from the corner of her eye. Whether they were coming to talk to her or not, Chie seems to balk, fumbling around with the fake gun in her hands before setting it down gingerly... just in case they thought it was real or something. Then, she turns to fully face the new arrival, tugging at her pigtail nervously.

“Ah.... d-d-did you want to try this booth? It seems... s-sim-simple enough...”

No matter if that was actually their intention or not, Chie just assumes it’s the polite thing to ask.

[shsl123]

the 7th sense | chapter 2 investi

[6senserapper-blog]

Finding a body wasn’t easy. In fact, it was quite the opposite of easy– it was something you hoped to never do in your whole entire life. A dark and rainy night, finding a corpse…there was a feeling nagging at him the whole time that he would be next. What if the killer was nearby? If they killed someone like her, they’d have nothing against killing a weenie man like him.

Still, he tried to keep up appearances. He couldn’t let his adoring fans(?) know he was afraid! How dare a pop star act human. Still, he couldn’t shake the thought of his life possibly being in danger.

( He already had one scare with Hokori…did he really deserve another? )

When Chie approached him and asked to investigate, he couldn’t help but smile…genuinely. 

“Hell yeah, I’m fine…! Uh…about earlier…it was just a misunderstanding, so whatevs! Sure, finding an actual body was…freaky as shit, but I’m all good!”

He was, in fact, not all good.

“Sure thing, baby~! I’d love to join ya! Where to?”

[shsl123]

Chie looks a bit flustered by Sung-min’s smile, although that’s not really saying much since she seems to be flustered by just about everything. However, she can’t help but doubt his words, even if it’s for a benevolent reason-- she’d know all about lying about being fine, of course. Everyone did it, but it was unhealthy... she frowns slightly, and then puts a small, nervous smile on her face. It wouldn’t be kind to make Sung-min any more distressed.

“Ah, I’m... glad to hear it was a mis-mis-misunderstanding... but really, um... this might b-b-be overstepping, but... if you’re not f-f-f-fine, you can tell me, you know...? I’m not the best.... talker, but I’m a pr-pr-pretty good listener...”

But anyway, dead body.

“I... guess we can look around h-h-here for now? Hm... the body...”

She gives Sung-min another nervous glance, and then begins examining the ground around the body for anything out of place. She seems hesitant to approach the body, so after giving it a skittish look she scoots away a bit and pokes around the rest of the graveyard for anything off on the ground or at any of the graves as well.

[shsl123]

the 7th sense | chapter 2 investi

Chie had had a weird evening, that was for sure. Nothing good could come of spotting Sung-min again, either, and yet she still proceeds onto the train. Although she’s not one to make assumptions out of the blue, she feels a sense of dread with the summons. As she trails the group to the graveyard (how appropriate), she picks ceaselessly at her fingers.

Looking rather mournful, she peers over the heads in front of her to take in the body. Although she’d never conversed with Ene, the other girl seemed quite innocent, undeserving of death-- especially for something like material wealth. Not that every death here wasn’t senseless, of course. She was rather indignant with the whole situation and the lack of power any of them seemed to have over stopping it... especially if they couldn’t stop murdering each other. 

Chie’s expression falls further, the calculator turning away after several seconds to peer at the rest of the group, perhaps trying to ascertain everyone else’s conditions. Eventually her rather dark expression softens slightly as she sets her sights on Sung-min, and she shuffles over to hover somewhere by his side. 

“Ah... Bae-san... um, a-a-are you doing alright? I mean, after... earlier, and you also found the body and all... uhm...”

She scratches at the back of her hand before tilting her head towards the fake corpse on the ground.

“I was... planning on looking a-a-around, if you’d like to... join me? I-I-It’s fine if not... though...”

[shsl-wanderer]

Break and Enter | Open

[shsl-wanderer]

“Huh?” The sound escapes her without thinking. Chie’s using her as a human shield, apparently. Well, Fuu supposes she could deal with that. Hopefully what she saw wasn’t an evil spirit, or anything, but when was the last time a mysterious child in a place it shouldn’t be anything but an evil spirit? Besides Fuu, or course.

“I will go after it, then,” she says, “Perhaps you could search around out here? There may be a key somewhere.” She gestures vaguely to the front of the mansion, and then sets off without another word.

She picks her way through the overgrown yard, rounding the corner of the house. She hesitates, then steps forward to see… nothing. Well, not nothing. There’s sticks and rocks and a dead-looking tree, but no creepy child.

She feels herself exhale a breath she didn’t know she was holding, and her body relaxes. Whatever it was, it isn’t going to kill her. Probably. She actually feels a little disappointed; she’s curious now.

She makes her way back. “The child seems to have disappeared, Miss Nojima,” she says, “But there must be a way in nevertheless.” She thinks about it for a moment. “Sometimes people leave spare keys hidden near the front door, yes?” With no more elaboration she begins to poke around.

She looks for loose stones on the front step, in the bushes, and so forth, before finding something small and metal in the bowl of one of the withered potted plants. “Ah-ha!” she exclaims, raising the key in triumph, “I bet this is it!”

She steps forward and holds the key out to Chie. “Would you like to do the honours?”

[shsl123]

Chie at least has the decency to look sheepish after cowering behind Fuu, straightening up after several moments and nodding as she offers to go after the child. Hopefully it wasn’t a vengeful spirit or something. Chie didn’t know if she’d be capable of fighting off a ghost.

“Um... alright! I-I’ll look... good luck...”

She fiddles with her sleeves for a second before turning to poke around in the bushes outside the house, not coming up with anything particularly interesting besides dirt. Wiping her fingers off, she turns to face Fuu when the other returns, frowning slightly and feeling disappointed in herself. She really hadn’t been much help at all in this expedition, had she?

“Do... Do you think it w-w-was a ghost or something...?”

Ghosts didn’t exist, of course, but it was always good to ask. 

Although she’s of course happy when Fuu finds the key and grants them a way in, Chie can’t help but feel even more dismal. That should have been easy for her to find. Fuu would probably think that she was a dead weight, at this point, or would start pitying her or something. Her suspicions are slightly confirmed as the key is offered to her, but she smiles hesitantly and takes it.

“A-Ah, well done... um, yes! I’ll let us in...”

At least the key works, or that would have been embarrassing. Chie holds the door open as she steps in, staring with wide eyes at the elegant and yet dilapidated house. It certainly fit the part of a “spooky haunted mansion” well. She tucks the key in her pocket before taking several steps into the house, being careful with the creaky floorboards as she cautiously walks over to the dining room and leans her head inside to look around.

“Th... This place is really f-f-fancy... I wonder who used to live here...? M-M-Maybe... that child...”

[shsl123]

interest rate | chapter 2 | open

[theshslseamstress]

Oh dear.

She had just wanted to peek into this “malt” shop to see what it was like-and maybe find out what exactly a malt was- and she’d ended up scaring someone. Closing her umbrella, she wasted no time in apologizing with a bow and a worried tone.

“Oh, I-I’m so sorry!”

It seems the other girl had the same idea in apologizing to the new person. This was Miss Nojima, wasn’t it? She was smart…and she didn’t look to be scary at all. 

“U-Um…okay.”

Both of them seemed a bit shy and confused about this place, so conversation wouldn’t be much of a thing. She was okay with that, she just hoped Miss Nojima was too. Putting her umbrella against the counter, she wandered over to where Chie was, being mindful not to slip in any puddles.

“I’ll, um, go look?”

Fantastic.

[shsl123]

Chie was at least glad to see that the person who’d walked in on her didn’t seem threatening... or imposing at all. From a small size to a speaking pattern resembling her own, Chie finds herself relaxing significantly, lowering her bag to set it on one of the tables. Managing to maintain normal eye contact for once, she goes back to squeezing out her wet pigtails politely... onto the floor.

“Ah, it’s no pr-pr-problem. I was just startled... which, uh, isn’t much of a feat... um, n-n-now that I think about it, though... I believe this is a rest... restore... restaurant of sorts? So... I’m unsure ex-ex-exactly if they would have towels...”

Frowning slightly to herself, she eventually gives up on her wet hair and pulls both of the hairties holding her pigtails out, flipping her head to pull her hair up into a bun. As eye contact is broken, she seems to get a bit more confident in her words, predictably enough.

“To be honest, I-I’m not really sure what malt is. I b-b-believe it’s... some sort of drink, maybe? The atom... atmosphere around really resembles an American movie, though... so perhaps it’s an Am-American thing. I’d try to find out, but I... obviously have no idea how to make s-s-s-something I’ve never heard of.”

Chie straightens back up to her full height, hair now at least not dripping directly onto her shoulders. She regards Hina for a moment before making an ah! sound and inclining her head.

“M-M-My apologies, I don’t think we’ve met... I am... Chie Nojima, the SHSL Calculator. I remember you... fr-fr-from the trial, though...”

[shsl123]

interest rate | chapter 2 | open

A motive came and went, as it had before the previous murder. And once more, Chie didn’t really seem anything but mildly nervous, which was her default state and nothing out of the ordinary. Money wasn’t something that interested her much, to be honest. Coming from an affluent family did that for you, not that she was the type to tout it around-- although she supposed, if worst came to worst, she could use it as a defense in trial. It was basic human instinct to be lured by greed, after all. As much as she hoped she’d be proven wrong, the likelihood of another death was... not something she, with her limited capacity could prevent. It made her sad. 

What was more concerning was the repeated torment of her classmates in the strange room-- however, she hoped that the motive would assuage it for the moment. If it wasn’t enough to be voting to kill them at the ends of trials, pointlessly voting to send them into a hell room wasn’t Chie’s cup of tea either.

Eventually she sighs to herself and shuffles from the chapel, only to scrunch up like a disgruntled cat when the rain starts soaking her. Her poor sweaters were going to be destroyed at this rate. Flustered and unsure where to get an umbrella, she eventually sighs and yanks her backpack up over her head as she walks in an attempt to save her already-wet hair.

The rain becomes too irritating after a while, not to mention her bag is soaked, and so looking more miserable than usual Chie ducks into the nearest building. It happens to be the malt shop, which is nice. She can at least listen to music while she dries out her stuff. 

After squeezing out her pigtails and leaving a small puddle on the floor, she frowns deeply to herself and begins to rifle through her bag-- that is, until she hears footsteps entering and jolts like she’s been shot, closing it hurriedly and holding it to her chest like it’s going to stop the hypothetical bullet from shooting her. At least she has the decency to look sheepish at whoever she’d just leapt away from as soon as she calms herself down... and manages not to slip on the wet floor.

“Ah, umm... uh, sorry. You stark... startled me. The floor’s... wet, so w-w-watch out. I mean, everything’s wet, but... um, there mi-might be towels... in the back? I don’t know...”

Smooth.

[shsl-wanderer]

Break and Enter | Open

[shsl-wanderer]

Fuu winces. “Nobody to get,” she says weakly, sitting down on the grass. Less distance to fall like this. “The wall, remember?”

Her vision swims and she nearly blacks out- does black out, but not for long, and finds herself lying on the grass, feeling quite… odd. She sits up and exhales slowly, rubs a hand against her head. It seems like the worst is over. It wasn’t a seizure, she thinks belatedly, but something else. The fog is already clearing.

“F-false alarm,” she mutters. Exhales audibly again, runs her hands over her head, pushing back her bangs only for them to fall back down a moment later. Just a weakness spell, or something. That’s good. She’d hate to distress Chie. She looks up. “Thank you anyway, Miss Nojima.”

She picks herself up, and brushes the grass off her dress. Something’s bothering her, though. A sense, when she woke up. Like how she knew that this place was evil as soon as she saw it. But this… No, she puts it away. No need to bring it up. She’s sure everyone here thinks poorly of her already.

“Well, back to exploring,” she says, standing up. She puts on her best can-do expression. “The door was locked, but there might be a-”

“Wh-what’s that.” She looks around Chie, off to the far corner of the mansion. It’s out of sight as quickly as she noticed it. She takes a step forward, points to where she’s looking. “Miss Nojima, I think… I think I saw a child.”

[shsl123]

Chie continues to look nervously back and forth between the wall and Fuu, bouncing on her heels as if to expel energy. Almost to herself, she mutters “Ah, b-b-but it’s not too high...” before frowning in dismay down at her companion instead. When Fuu finally comes around, Chie has at least settled into a crouching position... but still looks very distressed, like she was the one who was feeling poorly. 

“F... False alarm? But you passed out, didn’t you? A-A-Are you sure it’s alright?” While Fuu’s attempts to keep it casual and not distress Chie were certainly noble, they were underscored by the fact that Chie is basically always distressed to begin with and it’s pointless.

Still, they seem to be back in business, so she straightens up and shuffles after Fuu, looking cautious like she’s ready to leap forward and catch the other girl in case she suddenly takes a spill. Or maybe she’s just being cautious because it’s a weird place. Who knows. Chie continues to be an enigma.

“O-Oh, was it locked... that’s a shame... should we l-l-look for a window-- uh?!” At Fuu’s sudden change of subject, Chie’s head jolts up to look in the direction she’s pointing. She helpfully makes no initiative to actually move after whatever’d been seen, instead hunching her shoulders and stepping back... to sort of lurk behind Fuu. Her attempt to hide would probably be more useful if she wasn’t like half a foot taller than the other girl, but. “A child? In th-this place... sh-sh-should we go after it?”

She says we, but it’s obvious Chie has no intent to run after anything unless Fuu also goes. Thanks.

[shsl-wanderer]

Break and Enter | Open

[shsl-wanderer]

Fuu picked herself up. Hmm. Something felt a little off. She frowned, braced herself against the wall. It was probably nothing, she decided, and proceeded to smooth down her hair and brush the dust off of her clothes.

“You’re much better at this than I am, Miss Nojima,” she said brightly, “Are you sure you have never broken into a creepy old mansion before?” 

She surveyed the structure ahead of her. Pretty standard looking haunted house, just like in a bad American movie, or something. But that was to be expected. This whole town looked like it was out of a bad American movie. It was all too perfect. And even though this house was decidedly imperfect and rotten, it was perfectly rotten. A carefully cultivated level of decay. She idly wondered how they got it like that.

She took a step forward, haltingly, and then another before she found her stride. Whoa, she was a little light-headed. Her head was feeling weird before they got up here, right? She couldn’t remember when it started. She’d be fine, though.

She walked right up to the front door and jostled the handle to see if it would open. “It would be most unfortunate if it was locked,” she said, “After all the work to get here.” Although she supposed they could bust a window to get in, but there was a lot of sharp stuff involved, and it sounded unpleasant.

She took her hand off the knob. She knew this feeling. he turned to Chie.

“Miss Nojima,” she said, already walking to the softer grass, “Please do not be alarmed, but I think I am about to have a seizure. If so, I will fall down and shake. Please let me- let me lay down and wait it off.”

[shsl123]

Chie looks more startled by Fuu’s statement than a normal person responding to a joke should probably be-- then again, she’s proved she’s not really a normal person when it comes to responding to conversation, so what can you expect. She tugs at one of her pigtails nonchalantly, glancing aside into the yard of the house.

“Oh, no! I h-h-haven’t ever... I tend to avoid doing el.. il-illegal things. On principle, you kn-know...”

She, too, examines the strange house before them, looking a bit put-off by the state of it. In the town that’d obviously been carefully cultivated to be model-like and perfect, this was weirdly out of place. That was probably why they’d fenced it off, to be honest. 

As Fuu tries the door, Chie just sort of hovers awkwardly behind her, giving the plant life around the area nervous glances.

“I mean, we could br-br-break in, but that might be inf... infringing on the rules... eh?”

Chie jumps like she’s been shot when Fuu suddenly turns to her, giving the other girl first a confused look as she begins to walk away and then an incredibly startled one.

“W-What?? A seizure? Th-Th-That’s--!! Those are dangerous! Should I go get s-someone? I-- ooh...”

She hurries after Fuu, wringing her hands together and eyeing the wall as if judging whether or not she could make it over on her own to get medical help.