Rising Up

Hayate Minami, Popping Dancer Status: Alive [Affilated with Lost Hero Crisis]

[shslbrambleboy-blog]

“your hypothesis?” | ch 1 | hayate

[shslpopper]

dynamodynamite:

The few things that he could surmise so far about Hayate? That he was easily impressionable, it seemed. Well, he at least cared very much about others. One of the ‘everyone is secretly good’ types of people? A very interesting philosophy to have in this day and age. He would have thought to call his new friend out on his niceness out of suspicion… Yet he can’t. Something about this poor fellow here seemed oddly genuine. And if it was genuine, this guy had a whole plethora of problems to encounter in such a situation involving life and death. He quickly imagined- it’s going to be hard for this guy to make on the fly decisions if a fight breaks out between people.

“Well, Hayate, my friend, I’ll be glad to demonstrate it for you! Hey, I’ll even give you the recipe if you really want! Glue comes in handy a lot for than you’d think, though I’m a duct tape man myself.”

It’s empty conversation, but it’s something! Oh, right, those points. This guy was going to be a valuable assert. Now really because of any skills Nonary could immediately deduce, but because of who he was. Such a sweet, kind guy with a good heart? People trust that sort of individual. If a conflict arises? Having Hayate on his side was definitely going to be a plus for the point trying to be made. Even the naivetge wasn’t too bad. If worst comes to worst, he knew what he could get out of the situation. For now, making glue is okay.

“See! Look at that smile! Such humble attitude! Such charisma! Such honesty! A kind demeanor! Clearly celebrity material! Oh, how unfair! That’s like, a triple whammy package! It’s like someone put eight sugar cubes in my drink! Sweet, but dangerous! Tell me your secret! How do you pull it off? You must have groves of fangirls!”

Interrogatory Jojo pose activate, featuring eye gleam! Just kidding. He definitely is eyeing Hayate though. With a lot less tact than he does to most. This guy does seem pretty harmless, after all! Doesn’t mean he can totally drop his guard, but he can definitely be a little more lenient.

“…” Nonary honestly looks bewildered. He takes a moment to process this properly. “One. You’re kidding me, right? Not suspicious at all about a scientist with glowing marks all over his face leading a top secret government research lab? Two. No one knew I was a hero up until now. Three. That’s the ideal, but. Let me be real for you, Hayate. People act not like themselves under this kind of pressure! Someone’s going to burst eventually. We just need to contain it.”

Hayate will definitely be in for a whole lot of pain once this game really starts, but let him the illusion that everything will be fine for the time being. It just means that it’s gonna be all the more fun once reality crushes him with how cruel the world is.

Anway.

“Oh really?! Thanks man, you’re awesome~!”

Jesus, chill out, he’s just showing you how to make glue, not the solution to life itself or anything. Though he totally seemed to be ready to learn how to make glue - well, if they were stuck here, might as well learn new skills and whatnot! You never know when it’s gonna come in handy-- wait, didn’t I already narrate something similar in the last post? Welp.

And there it is, Hayate’s blush becoming more prominent as he’s being met with so many compliments. Geez, how was he supposed to be nonchalant about it? Sure, he could remain cool when someone said something like ‘Nice hair, dude!’ or anything, but so much at once? He was bound to get flustered!

“A-Ahahaha, you really like complimenting people, don’t you? G-Geez, don’t think I deserve that...! Uh, I don’t really think I have a secret or anything? I’m just... me, I guess? And, uh... yeah, suppose I do have fans, ‘cause I’m a dancer and all, but... yeah.”

Really eloquent, dude.

That aside, Nonaty seemed to be in a bit of disbelief, to say the least. Hayate blinked, a bit surprised himself that what he said seemed to be so... well, not normal? Or something along those lines? Maybe?

“Uh, no, not really? I mean... there’s gotta be a good reason why it’s all top secret and stuff, right? And I mean, who am I to judge why you look the way you do? I mean, I think those lines are hella rad and there’s certainly a reason for them to be there in the first place! I mean, I’d be curious how that came to be, but I could understand if that might be a sensitive topic for you, sooo... I don’t really wanna pry and make you uncomfortable, you feel?”

That wasn’t weird, right? Then again, the other seemed to think that way, but... it wasn’t bad, was it?

“And I think that many folks here feel the same way about not anyone knowing about their hero identity, but... we’re still here, right? So... yeah.”

He shrugged a bit helplessly. The popping dancer also seemed to take a bit of time to answer to the last point that Nonary spoke about.

“... I mean, I guuuuueeeeeess you have a point, but aren’t we heroes kinda used to that? I mean, fighting villains can be also really stressful or like, saving civilains in the last second and all... I just wanna believe that no one here would really do what that dude or dudette or whatever wants us to do. Kind of like... y’know, to spite them for assuming we would kill each other? Maybe?”

[shslpopper]

Always helping | Hayate | Chapter 1 | RE: Game Start [OPEN]

[shslpopper]

quienesalex:

[x]

For some reason Alex was starting to think he’s spent more than half his lifetime just hanging out on these barstools, and his first reaction was to suggest anywhere else. That’s probably just crazy talk, though. Maybe if he just stared at that surrounding area really closely this time he’ll find something important. Or maybe his eyes would just start to hurt. The lighting wasn’t the best in here with everything being dusty and broken. It’s anyone’s guess, really. …Yeah, if he remained in the gala hall any more than he already has, his head’s going to explode. He automatically shook Hayate’s outstretched hand, though his thoughts were already somewhere else.

“Okay, maybe this is also a really dumb question, but what do you think about looking at the…hero profiles the guy was talking about? Just ‘cause…I don’t know, everyone’s going to gravitate towards that eventually, better be sooner than later and see what’s happening, right? I mean, I get that there’s no way they kidnapped one hero thinking they were another hero, but…”

This was edging dangerously close to rambling territory in Alex’s mind, and he slowly cinched his hood tighter, like if he pulled on the strings hard enough his voice wouldn’t be able to escape.

“I mean, if we’re going to sit down and get our bearings for a minute, might as well read when we’re doing it, right? And see who’s around? I’m gonna be honest, first thing I’m thinking isn’t the matching thing, I just want to know which people I need to fanboy super-hard over.” It seemed a little weak as a justification, and judging by his pained grin he knew it. In fairness, he was thinking of both of those things.

So–adventuring it was. He led the way towards the door a few people had already disappeared into, trying to look like there was a spring in his step. “Oh, uh, I’m Alex by the way! And, ahh…I must’ve seen you just the once, the name’s not ringing a bell. But you say ‘dancer’ and I’m already impressed, promise.”

After the handshake was done, Hayate retracted his own back into his pocket, resuming a rather relaxed posture. It’s not like as if he’d forgotten the message delivered to them, but if they’re really all heroes... Then why should he be scared? No, even if they weren’t, there was still no reason to keep his guard up! It would only add to any kind of tension going on and right now, they don’t need that!

“I don’t think that’s a dumb question? I mean, I’m curious too and you kinda have a point there. The sooner we know if what they’re saying is legit, the better!”

Even though the idea of someone having connected the dots between him and his hero identity was spooky, it... honestly didn’t mortify him as much as it did to others from what he could tell. Maybe it’s because--

(Focus, Hayate.)

Right! Alex was still talking and not listening to him would be mightly rude of him! After all, he was the one who approached the other one first, so it would be like, double-rude to not pay attention!

“Oh dude, I know what you mean! I’m so excited to see which heroes have assembled here! I love superheroes, so knowing that I’m in the presence of so many awesome people is really cool!”

Someone was definitely leaning way more on the ‘fanboying over’ side than ‘let’s see who’s matching with whom’ side. Either way, Hayate followed the other to where these files were supposed to be - and during that, he got a name to match the face!

“Again, nice to meet ya~! And thanks, man! It’s always nice to hear that people are impressed by dancing and all, aha...!”

[arcadibuzz-blog]

review | open

[shslpopper]

arcadibuzz:

Okay, so maybe the food poisoning joke was a bit tasteless given their current situation, but no harm no foul, right? Carlos isn’t a 5-star chef by any stretch of the imagination but he can make edible food - which is saying something. He has a vague recollection of one of his brothers fucking up instant pasta.

He laughs. “Thanks for the offer, but there’s not much to help with. I’m used to cooking for lots of people, so it’s no sweat anyway. Big family, you know. I’d probably step on your foot or something by accident, anyway.” He puts down the knife and goes looking for the eggs - not hard to find.

The kitchen is big, but it’s well organised. There’s a bit of shuffling around, opening cabinets looking for things, but nothing is too hard to find. In minutes, there’s a pan heating on the oven and the food is just about prepared.

“It might be nice to have breakfasts or dinners together,” he says, musing idly to fill the silence. Carlos doesn’t like silence; he needs to be doing something or else he gets fidgety. “Like, all sixteen of us. It might help boost morale, you know? Promote a bit of camaraderie, or whatever.” The unspoken implication is that camaraderie, or whatever, might keep the whole murder thing to a minimum. Or so he hopes, anyway. Finding a way out and keeping spirits up are Carlos’ primary objectives here.

“Oh, really? How’s it like to have a big family? Mine’s not really huge, so I wouldn’t know. Is it loud and hectic? I mean, that’s what I’m always hearing from friends who have big families as well!”

Truth be told, Hayate always thought that a big family sounded really nice! Sure, maybe you didn’t get as much privacy as you’d want to, but that wouldn’t be such a bad deal if you asked him. For a person like him, being surrounded by others felt better than to be by yourself and whatnot.

Given that Carlos said that his help wasn’t necessary, Hayate just took a seat on one of the nearby chairs and observed how the other made breakfast. The popping dancer supposed that he might’ve been able to cook up an egg as well, though he’d have to put a timer down, in case he gets distracted and doesn’t remember that he’s cooking something anymore. It happened sometimes and the food was always burnt in such occasions.

“Yeah, Nonary said something along the lines as well! About having dinner and such together and whatnot. Uh, in case you don’t know who I mean, it’s the dude with the lines on his face! Really cool lad, by the way~!”

Hayate, you found everyone to be cool here right now, especially ever since knowing that all of them were heroes... well, not in all cases, granted, but hey, can’t have it all now, huh?

“But anyway, I’m all for that idea! Like you said, it would certainly strengthen our bonds if we eat together everyday! Get to know each other, just talk about all kinds of stuff... I’d like that.”

[ritzyroyal]

Man, Go... Mango! [lhc open]

[ritzyroyal]

[x]

As soon as the other person spoke up, Pranay’s head bobbed up to look at them. Their color scheme was the first thing that he took note of, because despite it being a red monochrome, it was actually very gentle on the eyes. This person was also pretty gentle, as far as first impressions went.

“I know! It’s impressive how even old dogs are still cute~” Pranay cooed, moving Dash’s cape out of the way so he could pat the dog along it’s side.

His ears prick at the mention that this Hayate character knew who he was. Such a relief! Half of the people here acted like they lived under a rock, and the others acted like he was somehow a bad example of a prince. Hmph!

“Why yes, I am~!” He crooned, immediately putting a hand over his heart and batting his eyelashes in the most charming of ways. “Prince Pranay Indivar Singh, to be exact, but little Hayate, you can just call me Pranay if you’d like. I’m a very casual individual.”

Casual my ass. You are always extra. I mean. Pranay extends a hand to Hayate, truly a rare honor to be able to hold the hand of royalty, said the mun sarcastically. 

“It’s a shame we couldn’t meet under better circumstances, this whole ‘fuck over your hero reputation for freedom’ thing is a total drag,” Pranay says.

[shslpopper]

At the very least, Hayate could contain himself long enough to let Dash finish eating, before he succumbed to his temptation to pet the dog. Stroking its fur, his smile curled upwards even more, a childish gleeshining in his eyes. Man, dogs were really something! It’s just as his fellow companion said - even when they’re old, they’re still irresistibly cute!

Back to the prince, who had introduced himself. Pranay Indivar Singh? Yes, that definitely sounded foreign and hopefully, Hayate would be able to pronounce it right. Well, he’d just heard how it’s supposed to be said, but things could still go wrong. Languages can be tricky sometimes.

It would be a lie to say that Hayate wasn’t surprised that Pranay prefered to be called casually instead of things like ‘Your Highness’ and stuff. Honestly, that was actually cool!

“Oh, really? Well, if that’s what you want, Pranay...!”

He took the extended hand and gave it a shake, before retracting it back to his side. Man, it was kind of surreal to shake the hand of royalty and call them by their given name without any titles... guess these kind of peoples move forward with times as well! ... Or something like that. Maybe.

“Aha, you’re right... Would’ve been nicer to meet somewhere else, but guess we just have to make the best out of it! Though... it’s really weird how someone would put us in a spot like this. Must be some kind of villain, ‘cause I ain’t seeing anyone else pulling such a stunt.”

[shslpopper]

Always helping | Hayate | Chapter 1 | RE: Game Start [OPEN]

[shslpopper]

quienesalex:

Even though the gala is clearly over, some trace of the party seemed to remain in the room–Alex felt like he’d been talking over the situation for most of his life at this point, instead of just the very short time since waking up. Nonary and Ainsley and Carlotta Glitz to start off with, then Suga, he’d already promised himself to seek out Cassandra at some point…and that wasn’t even half the people stuck here, even without considering that he’d barely made much headway with them aside from probably just leaving an impression. He thought of himself as a friendly guy, but he was starting to get seriously exhausted.

And then…seemingly before he could catch his breath, someone else arrived at his shoulder to say hello, and his first response was an annoyed, sharp look–at least before he got his face under control, because the guy hadn’t done anything wrong, wow. If anything, no matter how much energy it took out on the first day, making as many points of contact as possible was the important part here and he should be thanking this new stranger in a parade of strangers.

“…Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. My head’s spinning and I don’t know how much longer it’s gonna take me to freak out. But, I mean, I guess that counts as some kind of okay if it hasn’t happened yet.” Though it wasn’t cold in the room, he pulled his jacket hood up over his head, taking care to smooth out the weird blue fur lining. “What about you, how’re you? I…actually, I was gonna ask if I’ve seen you before ‘cause you seem maybe familiar, but given the whole…thing I’m just gonna retract it, if it’s cool.”

Although it didn’t sound like as if he was doing too bad, he also admitted that he wasn’t doing too well either. Not a surprising answer, given what they were told, but it didn’t prevent Hayate from getting worried. Hopefully, the head spinning comment was just figuratively and not literally - however, he didn’t seem to sway or anything. Well, yet, at least.

(Better be safe than sorry!)

“Uh, wanna sit down somewhere a bit? I mean, it was a lot to take in and I don’t think anyone would mind if we’re gonna take it easy for now, yeah?”

The popping dancer vaguely gestured to the bar- or to be more precise, the chairs. Though maybe going somewhere else altogether was the better idea? Changing up the scenery and all... maybe not by much, but the gala was a place where they’ve spend quite a bit of time already.

“Oh, me? Well, kinda in the same boat as you, really. Way too much to take in, but I think I’ll deal with it just fine! No need to worry about me, but thanks for asking!”

Then, he was asked if he might’ve seen him somewhere before, but then kind of retracted it, given... well, their situation and all.

“It’s cool, no need to worry about it! But I might have a guess from where you might’ve seen me aside from the obvious... know Moon Foxes? Cause if so, then you’ve just met one of its dancers! Name’s Hayate Minami, by the way. What’s yours?”

Honestly, the popping dancer didn’t see any need to obscure his occupation, given that others knew about it already. Anyway, he extends a hand for a hand shake, pleasant smile plastered on his face.

[shslbrambleboy-blog]

“your hypothesis?” | ch 1 | hayate

[shslpopper]

dynamodynamite:

It was a strange paradigm in all honesty. When a bird is released from it’s cage, yet doesn’t know how to fly, does it still wish to be out? Well, it’s not quite as philosophical of a question as that, but Nonary thinks it an apt comparison. Often he wished for more spare time, getting out of the lab and all that. It’s not that he hated working there, but sometimes it felt so… Taxing. It took a lot of energy out of him. Ironically, he leaves for one gala and he’s trapped in a much more unfavorable environment. What a joke, really! Someone should play a rim-shot for the irony.

To be fair, at least he’s trapped with some more interesting people. His peers got so boring after a while. ‘What’s your progress schedule for today? How long is it going to be until this model is completed? Stop doing experiments without permission from your overseer. No, just because you’re the chief researcher doesn’t mean you can- No, you’re not your own overseer- Please don’t fire me.’ That typically was the exchange between him and his others scientists. But these people are heroes! Not only are they heroes- they’re completely new people. How fun!

“Really? Excited over making glue? That’s not something you see every day. Whaddya wanna know next? Making objects out of nothing but compressed air molecules, or how to turn cardboard into compostables? Keheheheh, just playing with you! Only one of those, I know how to do.” He doesn’t care about compost, by the way.

Nonary puts his hand on his chin. Let’s see- the average meal has 500 calories, times that by sixteen, for 8000 calories worth of food to be cooked within four to five hours. Theoretically possible, but Nonary would definitely be tired as heck.

“Oh, you’re too kind! Really, you’re too kind. Like, cut out of a block of niceness. Hey- so what’s your answer to the ‘would you jump off a cliff if all your friends asked you to’ question? Kidding, kidding.” Nonary pats Hayate’s shoulder. “I’m glad you agree. We need some strong leadership here- and since I’m pretty smart and generally a stand up guy, I thought I should probably get the dice rolling. Then when people eventually question me, someone else can take over. People these days typically prize strength, so it’s probably one of those buff people. In the meanwhile, food is how people come together. So it seems kinda obvious, right?”

Truth be told, Hayate wasn’t exactly sure what you could make out of compressed air molecules. He was never that good in chemistry to begin with... All this talk about molecules and elements and whatnot always confused him, so better leave that to the real experts!

“Ahaha, I think I might pass on these other two, but making glue could come in handy... liiiiike right now with the railings!”

Then again, everything could potentionally come in handy, but let’s start nice and slow - making glue sounded fairly easy opposed to the other two and Nonary was kidding about them anyway.

When the other started to say how Hayate was too nice, he wasn’t exactly sure how to react to that. Thus, he simply giggled embarrassedly and rubbed his neck, cheecks slightly reddening.

“Oh geez, you’re making me blush here! I’m just doing what I can, that’s all!”

Whether it was fortunate or not that Hayate didn’t have the time to answer to the cliff question was up to debate. Either way, he didn’t mind the pat on his shoulder - it was just a friendly gesture and he always appreciated these!

“Why should people question you? I mean, sure, there’s some people who question what NPAR does and all, but... you’re you. And you’re also a hero, like the rest of us, right? So I mean... shouldn’t we just work together?”

How this naive kid lived for so long as he did was a mystery to the world.

[arcadibuzz-blog]

review | open

[shslpopper]

arcadibuzz:

Carlos is in the business of remembering faces but this one sticks out to him. Not that he’s spoken much to Hayate yet, but pink hair is always memorable. More importantly, though, Hayate seems pretty upbeat. Carlos likes to think that he’s a good judge of character, and usually he is, and right now his judgement is saying that Hayate is one of the friendlier people around here. He’s not getting any major warning flags or danger signals or anything, at least.

So, he relaxes his grip on the knife. And gets back to using it to make breakfast.

“Carlos Capello,” he replies, and decides that it’s too early in the morning to plug his website. “Nice to meet you too, Hayate.” He glances down at the cutting board, little piles of bell pepper and sweet onion on it. “I’m thinking omelettes. Want some? There’s a ton of food in here, more than enough for two. And I’m not the best cook around but I promise not to give you food poisoning.”

Sometimes he even surprises himself with how easy it is to hold a smile and act like everything’s fine. He’s decided to leave the panic and serious stuff until after he’s gotten something in his stomach, save for the chance appearances of unexpected people. But it’s fine, Hayate’s clearly not here to kill him, so he’s got nothing to worry about for the next few minutes.

Why did his name sound so familiar? Hayate could swear he’s either read or heard about it before, but... he couldn’t exactly place where and when. At least not right now - he faults his weariness for that.

Carlos’ offer was the perfect excuse to shove this nagging feeling aside for now and instead, focus on the person in front of him entirely. The popping dancer couldn’t help but smile appreciatively.

“Dude, really? That would be awesome! But... I’d feel kind of bad if I didn’t do anything to help out! So... yeah! Where can I give you a hand? I mean, not really a cook myself either, but I should be able to handle the basics just fine!”

He didn’t really comment on the food poisoning remark, because as far as he was concerned, it was just your typical answer when you weren’t a 5 star chef or something. Not to mention that he didn’t believe that anyone would ever kill a fellow superhero! No way, they were all good people!

(... Alright, that’s actually debatable, given some of the assembled heroes here, but-)

(In the end, they were all heroes. They were acting against injustice. So surely, even the heroes who were more controversial wouldn’t do anything to harm another comrade! He had to believe in them!)

[shslbrambleboy-blog]

“your hypothesis?” | ch 1 | hayate

[shslpopper]

dynamodynamite:

The superglue should hold well enough between the wood, though it’d be best to go and retouch it often to make sure it holds well enough. If they could make the banged up tower decent again, maybe this whole thing wouldn’t be too terrible. After all, he checked his bedroom- despite it being quite dusty, the bed and furniture is actually of very high quality. Plus, The Paragons did once live here, he guesses. It can’t be that horrible a place!

The only problem would be getting everyone else to agree on that. Many people aren’t exactly okay with the idea of being held captive in the first place. He doesn’t bet that anyone would be really pumped to, say, accept the fact they might not be leaving soon and get excited about living in a broken down tower until something happens. And boy, does he hope that the something isn’t murder. Sprucing up the place ought to at least get some people slightly more… Hm, what’s the word? Complacent?

“Sounds like a plan then, pal!” Nonary puts his hands firmly on his hips and laughs boisterously once more more. “Glue is nothing compared to what I can do! You don’t even need any chemicals, you can make it with ordinary stuff in the kitchen! Water, gelatin, skim milk, mint extract and corn syrup, my friend! Easy as can be! Ready to use!”

Nonary raises his eyebrow. Geez, he knew he was a pretty recognizeable face, but did all of Arcadia know about him or something? He didn’t think he was that well known of a figure. It was both nice, and kind of weird at the same time.

“Seems like I get around a lot! Thanks for the compliment, bud! I think you look pretty cool too.” With Hayate’s next statements, he triumphantly smiles. “I figured people are less able to focus without a good meal, right? I’m actually a pretty great cook- it’s not that different from chemistry fundamentally. So I’ll cook a meal tonight for everyone- gather them all in one place to talk about what we should do! Then I’m hoping other people volunteer to cook as well, because I think I’d pass out if I had to make a meal for sixteen people every day!”

Being a person who tended to be more outside than inside, it would be a blatant lie to say that Hayate was chill with being entrapped for god-knows-how-long. He loved to breath fresh air, to see the sky above him, to just see, hear and feel what was going on in the world - however, even though it was discomforting to be robbed of such freedom, the thought of killing someone far outweighed this worry of his.

Their kidnapper might’ve said that no help would be coming, but why should they believe such a statement? There were so many heroes out there... surely, some of them must’ve known what had happened and were doing their best to get them out of this mess! So sitting tight and waiting for resue seemed to be the most sensible choice.

Though literally sitting and waiting would be too much, but thankfully, he could be already of help in some form!

“Whoa, really? Didn’t know that, man! Mind teaching me how to mix it? I mean, never wrong to learn something new, right?”

This guy was genuinly interested in mixing glue, why god.

After a bit, he retracted his hand from the handshake and tugged it back into his pockets. Adjusting the headphones around his neck a bit, he listened to Nonary speak and... huh, so many people seemed to know him? Then again, Nonary was a really recognizable dude! Shouldn’t surprise him, really!

“Aha, thanks!”

If you’re being complimented, it only makes sense to show your gratitude! After all, no one was required to do so and yet people took their time to say nice things about others! It’s just courtesy! ... Or something like that. Yeah.

“Oh, really? Man, that’s reassuring to know, but- yeah, I getcha! It wouldn’t be fair if you’d suddenly have to cook for all of us every day! I mean, I’ll try to become a better cook, so I can contribute as well? Would need a bit of help, but I’ll try my best!”

“Uh, but that’s a good idea! The gathering together thing, that is. We really need to sit together and discuss what we can do, right? I mean, there’s gotta be something!”

[shslbrambleboy-blog]

“your hypothesis?” | ch 1 | hayate

[shslpopper]

dynamodynamite:

A typical drop of just 5-9 feet directly on a bone provides enough torque to break it. The only chance anyone would have to survive the fall would be landing on their back, so the force is applied on a larger area over time. Even then, the victim would not be able to get off scott free. Something would at least be sprained or fractured. They could easily get a concussion if a head impact occurs as well- which gives ample time for anyone to follow them and finish the deed off.

This person- some sort of pinkish red hair, and really bright green eyes, it seems. A face he hasn’t really gotten to catalogued quite yet. It was surprising, how he didn’t even offer a teaspoon of skepticism. A relief on his part, but probably not for this guy if anything ugly rears its head soon. Oh well, that’s not his problem. Nonary just doesn’t want to be pushed off a balcony anytime soon. It’s not his business to meddle with people, just state the facts.

“Whoa- Eager beaver here, huh? Well, that works out then!” He stares the railing down. Okay, it was obvious that it needed to be fixed, but the how began to elude him. The pieces were probably scattered around… But they were missing something. And then it hits him. “I need you to help me figure out what pieces of the banister here fits together. I could probably make some super durable glue we could use to stick them together! Like, stronger than superglue!”

Though it sounds like a bunch of tooting his own horn, he did actually know how to manufacture glue. It was a simple chemical reaction, after all, and could probably been done with some ingredients simply found in the kitchen. He looks down at Hayate’s hand, bowing slightly before taking the greeting.

“You can call me Nonary, my friend Hayate! Short introduction: NPAR Scientist, can make GREAT chocolate cake, and is generally a stand up guy! I figured that if we’re going to be stuck here for a while, we might at least make it comfortable, right? I’m thinking of taking the dinner shift today.”

Now that he actually got a better look at the person in front of him, wasn’t this the guy from NPAR...? The one who held this one conference to ease the worries of the public? It’s most likely, given that Hayate wouldn’t forget these kind of looks anytime soon. Especially not with that cool, funky looking eye! ...Unless he was actually mistaken and there was just a big similarity going on between him and the NPAR guy.

Though for now, one thing after the other. It seemed like as if they needed to find the banister first, so they could match it up to the railings and... wait, did he say he could make some kind of superglue?

“Alright, will do! I think we can start looking around here and if we don’t find enough, we just go down to the gala... I mean, there was a lot of debris around there too, so surely, we should be able to find everything we need! But dude, you know how to make really good glue? That sounds like a nifty skill to have!”

After that, his hand was taken and he gave the stranger a firm shake of his own - and his suspicions have been confirmed as well; it was the NPAR dude!

“Oh yeah, I remember seeing you on the news and all! Nonary, huh? That’s a cool name, but you also got a really cool eye there, bud!”

“Dinner shift? Oh, that would make sense... Though I don’t really know how to cook. Well, aside from like, shoving a pizza into the oven or making spaghetti, aha...!”

[arcadibuzz-blog]

review | open

Here he is, the morning after. Yesterday’s events seem like a weird dream, his memories hazy and blended together. When he wakes up he isn’t sure where he is, thinks he might be in his apartment. But then, as he wakes up a little more, he realises things: the bed’s a little too hard, and the room smells of dust and concrete. Still in Paragon Tower. Still kidnapped.

He stretches and drags himself out of bed. He has no idea what time it is. His body’s usually pretty regular, though, so it must be early- or mid-morning. He tries to go about his regular routine: he showers, cleans himself up, styles his hair, puts on the tiniest bit of makeup. Whoever set this place up stocked him with a blowdrier, hairspray, concealer, and eyeliner - all the important stuff. He appreciates it.

It’s a solid hour later before he’s finally ready to go. He pulls on a shirt that isn’t his, pants that aren’t his, and a jacket that is. It feels strange. And he doesn’t have to follow his routine, but he does anyway. It keeps him feeling normal, feeling grounded. In such an abnormal and confusing place, he needs it.

Carlos makes his way downstairs and into the kitchen. It must be early; no one’s around. That’s fine, though, more space to move around. If this room wasn’t so rusty and busted up it’d be great. His apartment kitchen is tiny. The homestead in Nevada has a big summer kitchen out back. A brief memory of an early morning there, watching the sun rise over the Mojave…

No such thing here. Just cracked marble and nasty rust spots. He makes do. He’s chopping up vegetables when he hears the door swing open somewhere behind him. His fingers reflexively tighten around the knife handle. But he turns, smiles in the stranger’s direction anyway, and tries to make himself look as non-threatening as humanly possible.

“Buenos días,” he says, waving his free hand, “How’d you sleep?” He can guess the answer, but it’s friendly to ask anyway.

[shslpopper]

A good night’s sleep had been truly too much to hope for.

As Hayate awakens from his slumber, he decides to stay in bed at first, cuddling into the warmth that the blanket gave him. Sure, the bed was rougher than what he was used to, but nothing that would make him too uncomfortable. However, he felt himself becoming more restless after awhile, despite feeling still tired.

With a slight groan, he got up and rubbed his eyes, before lazily feeling around for his glasses. As they’ve been on top of the nightstand, it didn’t take longer than a second or two to grasp the object in question and place it on top of his nose. The world becoming sharper around him, he finally realized that no, this was not his room and the entire fiasco with the ruined Paragon Tower wasn’t just a bad dream. It was sadly reality.

Well, it wouldn’t help him or anyone else to lament over this! So up he went, getting fresh and dressed for the day to start. Actually, what time was it even? He... wasn’t too sure. Hayate wasn’t normally one to wake up super early, but then again, his sleep schedule was capable of being all over the place.

Now that he was dressed - albeit in clothes that didn’t really belong to him, but oh well, can’t always wear the same clothes for days! -, Hayate decided to get himself breakfast first... or maybe lunch. Dinner even? Like he said, sleeping schedule could get fucked up for all he knew.

Making his way to the floor below, it didn’t take him long to get to his destination - and when he finally arrived, he wasn’t the only person in the room.

(Déjà-vu much?)

Well, alright, there was no Dash in sight (sadly), but this was already the second occasion that he met someone in the kitchen. Then again, it was more likely to run into someone here, as this was the only place that offered food and drinks...

Either way, it gave him the perfect opportunity to strike up a conversation with someone whom he didn’t really talk to yet! And he didn’t even need to be the first one to greet the other!

(That was spanish, as far as he knew. Cool!)

“Good morning!”, Hayate said in return, also waving at the other, albeit a bit less energetic than normally. His other hand rubbed his neck, before he continued on with his response:”Well, could’ve been better, but it wasn’t that bad either! So I guess... okay-ish? What about you?”

It was only polite to return the question, after all.

“By the by, I’m Hayate Minami. It’s nice to meet ya!”

Well, as nice as it can be, given they were trapped in a destroyed Paragon Tower and told to kill each other if they ever wanted to leave.

“What are you making there? Looks certainly healthy!”

[ritzyroyal]

Man, Go... Mango! [lhc open]

This was a lot worse than what he had assumed.  Not only was he not getting out of here anytime soon, he was expected to kill someone who was probably a superhero too? Well, he himself was…. Super handsome, to say the least. Seems like he’d have to wait for a miracle, at any rate. Oh well. At least there was a dog.

As everyone else reacted to the somber news delivered by Dash, Pranay himself also reacted. He took a few steps back, took a deep breath, and:

“Oh, that really. Sucks.” He chirped dully, before immediately slinking out the door he was closest to. This happened to be the kitchen, and once he was out of the eyesight of everyone else, he put his hands to the side of his head, his fingers deep into his hair, and yelled, something that to everyone else sounded a bit muffled.

“ पवित्र भाड़ में जाओ! क्या बकवास है। करिश्मा आते हैं और अपने प्यारा सा भाई को बचाने के लिए कृपया !! “

After this outburst, he breathed a few times, keeping his eyes closed tight as he tried to think of things to calm himself down. At last, he opened his eyes and really took a look at the kitchen.

“Yes, I should eat something. Comfort food, that’s why they call it that,” He mused to himself, finding the pantry and looking at the options there. He saw a few things he was sure he could prepare- Or at least, attempt to prepare- But they struck him more as lunch food. He needed something a bit nicer, not so salty…

“Perfect!” He suddenly exclaimed, picking up a few different fruits and placing them on the counter. He was no chef, but he could definitely cut up some fruit and put it in a bowl! Plus, he could continue to look around Paragon Tower and eat at the same time this way. He hummed happily to himself, proud of how clever he was. (I mean… Not really though? A hot pocket would be even easier to carry around.)

He glanced down when he heard the soft clicking of nails against the floor, and saw that Dash had wandered in. He pouted, now reminded of the ominous message he had brought earlier.

“Well, your owner might be a villain, but…” Pranay mused, reaching down and scratching the dog behind the ears. “You’re just the messenger, really. There’s not really much of a point in being mad at you, right? You’re just a dog.”

He suddenly brightened up, looking over to the refrigerator.

“A dog who’d probably love a little treat~!!” He cooed, stepping over and looking for something a dog could eat. He settled on some bacon, since it seemed the most harmless of everything in there. He peeled off a slice, turning around and kneeling down to the dog. He was so delighted to see the dog gently but happily eat that he didn’t notice that someone else had entered the room.

[shslpopper]

After his first conversation post-doom-message, Hayate decided to look around the newly opened areas. As he didn’t have a map to navigate through the complex, he just went with his gut feeling and opened the right door - only to land in the kitchen. Well, that wasn’t a bad start, if he said so himself! At least he’d know where he could grab something to eat if he ever felt hungry.

However, his attention was quickly snatched away by something else - or to be more precise, someone else. Not only was the person gorgeous (then again, that essentially applied to everyone here!), they were with Dash!

Almost automatically, Hayate grinned in glee as the dog was eating something offered by the blue-haired man. If Hayate recalled correctly, wasn’t this the Prince of Kerala? At least he could swear he saw him in the news at one point, but...

Well, no point in musing over it! Just go with the flow and see what happens!

“Dash is really adorable, isn’t he?”

His voice was gentle, but at the same time held an exciting tone to it. It seemed like as if someone was as enchanted by Dash as his Highness was. The popping dancer crouched down and simply admired the dog as it ate his slice of bacon. However, it would be rude to not look to the other soon afterwards!

“I’m Hayate Minami! You’re... the prince of Kerala, right? Uh, sorry in advance if I’m wrong about that, aha...!”

[shslbrambleboy-blog]

“your hypothesis?” | ch 1 | hayate

Menger’s Sponge is a three dimensional representation of the fractal curve. Though it’s appearance is not anything special to the normal eye, it’s a physical manifestation of the Sierpinski Carpet. But unlike Sierpinski’s Sponge, the holes are not carved in the inside of the cube, but on each face. Starting in the middle of each face, divide the face into nine squares. Cut out the middle cube. Then divide the remaining 8 squares into 9 smaller squares, and cut out the middle cube of that. Then the cubes around the cube you just cut out is divided into nine faces, and the middle one is cut out. This occurs ad infinitum. The product? A single object with near infinite surface area, yet zero volume.

He feels like he’s trapped inside one of those. Paragon Tower had so many holes in it, some metaphorical (like the not knowing what happened), and some quite literal (the tattered tower itself). It’s oddly suffocating. That statement was actually kind of ironic, judging how much time he spent cooped up in a decently sized lab, running back and forth like he is now. Scouring every room for something only to be more and more disappointed when nothing significant turns up. He does smuggle some of those action figures from the gift shop into his room, though.

Nonary finds himself blankly staring off the balcony, down to the gala floor. He wishes this balcony would at least show them a glimpse of the outside. Just some sunlight, some blue skies or something. At least he did have the freedom to leave before. Just a single airplane, even a pigeon passing by would have given him some sort of… Not relief. He couldn’t feel much relief right now. Not more than percentages or odds. Something that’s like… A fresh breath of air.

The white haired man stares back down at the gala floor. The words “infinitely recursive” pop into his head for some reason. The banisters are worn, looking just about ready to break off. Judging from the average story height of ten feet or more in a building, and regarding that 50% of workplace fatalities occur from falls less than twenty five feet… Yeah, if someone were to fall from here, they could very well die. Which means someone could very well use this if they ever got the wrong idea.

Nonary doesn’t have faith in these people. He has faith in what he understands- himself, and numbers. Numbers were always straightforward. There was always an answer for everything, and it was always clear cut. There was so much to do with just values. They said so much more than just lead on paper. He sighs. These heroes should be familiar with the concept of danger, and their lives at risk. He should just try to make sure he was okay first. But if anyone here could be killed, anyone could involve him. So when there’s footsteps around him, he turns to face a certain dancer.

“Hey, hey, you! Help me fix these railings, prompto!”

[shslpopper]

Exploring the floors available to them didn’t take that much time, truth be told. If it weren’t for the occasional encounters with his fellow captives, Hayate’s survey would’ve been since long completed. As that obviously wasn’t the case, the popping dancer found himself walking to the last place he didn’t give a more thorough inspection yet - the balcony.

Sure, he’d already seen it from afar when he was trapped inside the gala, but getting a closer look had never hurt someone before and given that they would spend some time in this battered Paragon Tower, it was only logical to get acquainted with your immediate surroundings! Not to mention that maybe - just maybe -, he might find a secret exit that would lead them all out to the outside! Wouldn’t that be really lucky?

Granted, even as an optimist, Hayate didn’t think that it would be this easy, but one would never know until they tried everything to make sure that it couldn’t be possible! Or... something like that.

As he ascended the stairs and finally got to the balcony, he was immediately called out by someone. Blinking in surprise, his eyes automatically went to the source of this newfound distraction, which turned out to be the other white-haired person aside from Zeph. Fixing the railings, he said?

Hayate caught a quick glance to the railings in question and... oh boy, they really don’t look safe at all! Someone might seriously hurt themselves if they don’t repair it!

“Oh, of course! I dunno how much of a help I can be, but I’ll do my best! Just tell me what to do!”

As he closed the distance between the stranger and himself, he gave the other a pleasant smile and extended his hand for a greeting.

“Uh, by the way, my name’s Hayate Minami! Things could be better, but it’s still nice to meet you!”

[shslpopper]

Always helping | Hayate | Chapter 1 | RE: Game Start [OPEN]

When Hayate thought that something might happen, he certainly didn’t except an adorable dog to deliver a message to them! If it wasn’t for the serious situation they’ve found themselves in, he would have definitely gone to the lovely canine to pet it. He liked dogs - always wanted one himself. Maybe he should finally fulfill this wish of his when he’s getting out of Paragon Tower?

However, the voice message that was played out didn’t suggest that this would happen anytime soon - unless you were ready to potentionally murder a fellow superhero, that is. Or guess everyone’s identity correctly, but only one would be able to escape that way. There was also something about forcefields that prevented them from escaping, thus only leaving them these two apparent choices for now.

All in all, much to take in.

“O-Oh boy, oh boy...”

The popping dancer rubbed his neck, not sure how to exactly react to this all. He was inclined to believe that everyone here was a superhero, given that there wasn’t any other apparent connection linking them together. There’s also the fact that he knew he was a superhero himself and... whoever put them into this predicament in the first place. Well, the latter wasn’t good, but... guess it was only a matter of time before someone would’ve gotten behind his identity, huh?

He doesn’t take this piece of information as harsh as others might. No, he’s more concerned about the fact that someone wants them to kill each other in order to return to their normal lives. Didn’t this unknown entity know that superheroes don’t kill their fellow comrades? They’re heroes, for crying out loud! You don’t simply kill people as an advocate of justice!

(Then again, there’s also the heroes that are pretty controversial in that regard, so-)

Shaking his head, Hayate allows himself to take a deep breath, before trying to see who might need help to stomach this all. He saw how some already left the gala rather quickly. Maybe, he should go after them... but what if some of the others who left had the same idea in mind? He didn’t want to overwhelm someone in case someone took care of someone else already...!

In the end, he decided to talk to someone who still remained in the gala. Wearing a pleasant smile on his face - albeit a bit nervous-looking -, he approached the next person.

“So, uh, that was pretty much to take in, huh? You alright? Well, as alright as can be, of course, aha...!”

[shslpopper]

Reassurance | Hayate | Prologue | ATTN: Pepper

[shslpopper]

saltandpepperway:

Pepper smiles. “Y-yeah of course! You’re welcome! Your videos are really really good! And the dances are really good too….” Awkward compliment. She quietly chuckles, “How much do you usually practice in your videos….?” Oh, she didn’t have to treat him special? Alright!! She nodded at his request.

Oh! Oh wow she didn’t expect any response to her job… at least not that positive…. “Y-yeah! That’s what I do…. Memorize technical stuff to fix things! And um…. do all that too…” Pepper sheepishly shuffles, clearly flustered but is smiling a lot from it. “T-thank you…………” She whispers.

Car mechanics rarely get any compliments since it’s a greasy dirty job. And also it’s usually when a car breaks down and customers are usually not in the highest spirits. Pepper cringed at the sudden memory of customer service.

“Y-yeah um…. Um…. Yeah I don’t know what happened to the party….. I…. It was here……… Now it’s not and now we’re here…..” Pepper tries to map the situation out by making shapes with her hands and drawing out lines. “Something bad on the larger scale happened that caused all this ruin to happen, which also brought us all here or got us in the middle of it due to everyone being knocked out and waking up one by one…. But…. there’s a missing variable and it’s the reason why we’re all here b-because…..” Pepper shrugs. “I………… Wasn’t at the party….? I don’t think I was…” she was but she can’t say that.

“Thank you! Means a lot to me to hear that from you!

Getting complimented on something that you’re planning to do for the rest of your life was something to be happy about. At least, Hayate thought like that. Surely, others must feel something akin to that as well, right? It was one of the best motivations you could possibly get, after all! Positive feedback always inspires you to reach new heights!

“Uh, around 4 to 6 hours a day? Sometimes a bit more than that, especially if we have a big performance coming up! However, there’s also a couple of short breaks, so we don’t overexert ourselves. Well and we’re taking it really easy at last once a week, so we can unwind a bit, clear our heads and all!”

It was actually even more if you counted things like stretching and the likes, but the question was only related to practice itself.

“Man, I could never memorize all that stuff... Would fly right over my head.”

Cars were really complicated things, so kudos to anyone who actually knew how they functioned and what could be the cause for something not being quite alright. Like a doctor, only for cars!

As Pepper recollected her own experiences, as well as voice out her opinion on the whole situation, Hayate listened intently. For the most part, it was rather similar to his own thoughts.

“Yeah, I mean, I wasn’t at the gala as well. I mean, not like I’m dressed for the part anyway, aha...! But I know at least one person who was actually around as a waiter, but... yeah, still doesn’t make much sense why it’s us here. I tried to come up with some answers, but... well, there’s barely anything we know about, so it’s basically just speculation anyway.”

[shslpopper]

Smooth like liquid | Hayate | Prologue | ATTN: Sara

[shslpopper]

medicalsmith:

Something about trying to break down the door to Paragon Tower sounded like a bad idea. Just a little bit. Maybe slightly more than a little bit. …Have the Paragons ever sued anyone before? Sure, they were defenders of justice and righteousness and all that, but if their door gets broken down, someone’s got to pay for it.

“If we’re cleaner than everything else then yeah, it probably just means we were dumped in here after the… whatever happened. The big event. No, that sounds stupid. It’d be nice to have something to call it in less syllables than ‘the mysterious something that broke everything and then dumped us all here.’ Which is… eighteen, I think. That’s too many syllables.”

She really needs a name for it now, before she thinks of something stupid and gets that stuck in her head. It’d be Cat Disaster all over again.

She nodded towards the banner by the stage - sliced in two or not, it still proclaimed the name of the event in big, bold letters. “The gala, right. A friend of mine invited me to this get-together to eat junk food and watch the broadcast.” It wasn’t exactly a lie – she had been invited, she just hadn’t gone. It had conflicted with a prior engagement. “I think it was the same with me, actually. I remember the beginning, but not the end.”

And those theories were just… real whoppers of theories to open with. Time travel and dimension hopping? Sure, he was certainly right that neither of those were impossible, but it just felt extreme to be even considering it when they’d been here for such a short period of time. Not that she had any better explanation. She was still waiting on more information before she really gave serious thought to it.

“So… but…” She was trying to think through everything at once, and had to take a second to get her thoughts in order. “Okay, if it’s time travel, then it would be strange that no one ever came in here to clean the building up after the gala – for however far in the future we’d theoretically be. Unless the world ended, or something? In that case, being in an alternate dimension would be nicer since that’d probably mean our dimension is still fine, but then we’d also be stuck in an alternate dimension. Building an entire new tower to trick us seems like a lot of effort just to confuse us – and where would you put another Paragon Tower, anyway?”

She doesn’t like any of these theories. They’re not terrible theories; she just really doesn’t want any of them to be true.

“And as for why we’re here, I just – I have no idea. I’m just a student, I didn’t ask to be here – honestly, I’m not even sure I have time to be here. What time is it, anyway?” Out of habit, she tried to check the time on her phone, whose screen was just as blank and unforgiving as it had been for the past few useless attempts to get it working again. “There are so many other things I should be doing right now… this is going to mess up my entire schedule.”

A name for the mysterious event that has led them to this situation? Well, who would Hayate be if he didn’t at least attempt to help out in any way he could? Furrowing his eyebrows slightly, the young male pondered what they could use to describe this entire ordeal. The Dark Hour? No, why even hour? That sounded like the title of an edgy superhero comicbook. Hm... maybe Shady Event? No, that sounded even worse!

“Um... what about Cloud Zero? I mean, cloud ‘cause everything is hazy to us and zero... well, we don’t know how much time has passed and that sounds like kinda the most neutral number? A-Ahaha, feel free to ignore those suggestions, though! Don’t think I’m the best name giver for any kind of events...!”

Well, you tried, Hayate. That’s something going for you.

As Sara began to talk about the theories he’d offered, he nodded along the way. She was bringing up many good points! Maybe He’d really jumped the gun here, but with superheroes being a normal thing, it was kinda something he’d considered right off the bat. Nothing seemed to be impossible anymore, after all.

“That’s true... it’s either one thing or the other and both don’t really sound much promising. I’d actually be much more okay if this was an alternate dimension, ‘cause... I really don’t like to think that this is the present Paragon Tower. I mean, if it already looks like this here, I don’t wanna imagine how it must look outside.”

The thought alone that something might’ve have happened to everyone he cherished send a cold chill down his spine. Quick, distract yourself!

“Uh, well, I mean, some villains aren’t exactly known for being the most logical folks, right? So maybe they just did it for the hell of it? As for where... uh, I could only think of some kind of deserted island. Maybe, but. Yeah, I guess that idea isn’t so likely, huh?”

He scratched his head and chuckled nervously. Then, Sara asked what time it was, looking at her wrist, but there was no watch to be found. As she’d took out her phone, Hayate did the same, but just as before, it didn’t turn out.

“Yeah, our schedules are definitely messed up by now, but personally, I’m not worried about that. If anything, I just wanna know if my buddies are alright - hell, I’m sure they must be already worried about me not being found anywhere.”

“Uh, but you’re a student? At Arcadia University, right? What do you study?”

[shslpopper]

It’s gonna be alright! | Hayate | Prologue | OPEN

[shslpopper]

waiterwithasideproject:

Suga noticed the hand held out to protect him from falling. It was a sweet gesture of an overly caring person. He hadn’t asked for it and he didn’t need it, but he would not let Hayate know of this, just note it quietly in case his mothering nature could come in handy in the future. Wouldn’t want to shut that down.

As for his thoughts on the situation…. Yeah…. Those were pretty much his own. Seemed to be the reasonable thing to assume. “Reasonable”. Jumping to time travelling and alternate dimensions. But in a city with this many powered beings, it seemed literally everything was possible.

Suga nodded, slowly. It wasn’t surprising to hear that apparently, all the info there was was just laid open and obvious, but it was a little disappointing anyway. Not that he’d been thinking Hayate may have amazing insight into what had happened. It was a little overwhelming as it was, he had to admit. He just felt that maybe it could be less so if he could get a grasp of what was going on.

For example: Hostages. Why? Why them? Suga didn’t exactly know anyone in the room. Some of them seemed vaguely familiar, sure. And to the world outside? He was a waiter. No rich relatives, no interesting connections, at least not any that a whole lot of others didn’t also have, and he didn’t see any of them around here. And his side project…? There was no way that could ever be tracked to him. He’d… he’d not exactly been HIMSELF when he’d been here but…. Was it possible someone had been trying to kidnap his alter ego..? But that just seemed ridiculous! Even less of a reason for that!! And then who were those others? Not a single costume in sight! Where was the connection?

“You’ve been talking to people here, right? More than I have, probably…”

He managed a short sort of humourless chuckle at that.

“Any idea why anyone would kidnap us? I mean, there were a lot of people at the Gala. It can’t have been random, right?”

He tilted his head, trying to find that connection. Well, he and Hayate were both Japanese. Everyone here was around the same age. And that…. Was already all he could tell from a glance. Not exactly grounds for kidnapping, unless you just really hated tweens.

In a way, Hayate would actually prefer to being kicked into some kind of dystopic future or alternate dimension. After all, that would mean that at least the current present from where they’ve come from was okay. Sure, the future could be set in stones for all he knew, but he’d always believed that you could craft your own future. Nothing predetermined unless you cease every efforts on your own end.

Philosophical monologuing in narration aside, Hayate shook his head when Suga assumed that he’d already talked to people. Naturally, he’d explain his gesture immediately:”Actually, not really. Just woke up myself a few minutes ago and when I looked around, I... sort of rushed to the nearest person to make sure they’re okay. And well... rest is history, ain’t it?”

An helpless shrug later, he began to think as to why they particularly had been kidnapped but... well, Hayate didn’t really come up with a satisfactory answer.

“Uh... not really, truth be told. I mean, I have no idea why anyone would even kidnap me to begin with. Don’t make for the most useful hostage, that’s for sure!”

His short laughter was rather subdued, carrying a self-depreciating tone to it.

“Maybe we should try and ask around what everyone else remembered last? I mean, I really don’t think that anyone will know more than we do, but maybe we’ll be positively surprised! ... Ahaha, I’d definitely appreciate that, that’s for sure.”

[waiterwithasideproject-blog]

And here’s the rest of em.