Rich Bitch

THE Michina Konoe. Maybe you've heard of me? Japan's little sweetheart or some shit like that. Please don't speak to me if you have less than 100,000,000¥ in your account. Affliated with Fatal Frenzy. Status: ALIVE

[shslracquet]

Miho

[superduperjanitor]

[TASK 3] Vapor Pressure // Open

Toragesa stood still, frozen in silent horror and fear. Tall as she was, despite being at the back of the group she had seen what had occured with perfect clarity. Nomura’s blood streamed downwards onto the ground, creating a perfect gorey puddle around him. Toragesa’s eyes widened in horror as the familiar irony smell hit her nose, even through her mask, and stumbled backwards.

What happened and was said next came as a distant, fuzzy blur, far away and unreal. The reactions, the false calming words and the explosion of emotion all went lost on her, staring at where Nomura lay before, without a word, turning and taking her leave, slowly walking away. Her body felt heavy and her movements forced and stilted, having to actively think about raising one foot after another. What once was a natural movement had been forgotten completely.

This wasn’t meant to be happening. She’d been meant to change her fortune here, to become something else than the boring janitorial job she’d been slated for - to provide something better!

When she found that she’d stopped being able to force her feet forwards, she sat down heavily, slumped into one of the chairs of the train, the awful thing that had brought them here. Sat there like a regular traveller just waiting for the departure - she wished it would be that easy. That if she waited long enough the train would roll out of here and she’d be home again, that this would all be a sick nightmare that she could forget. That she could maybe write about and sell her story to a newspaper but be safe and far away from that awful animatronic and that awful blood stained site.

Minutes passed by, and as the seconds trickled past, so did the tears in her eyes start to well up and roll down her cheeks as she stared blankly ahead at her own faint reflection in the glass. She made no effort to stop the flow, but just lowered the mask over her mouth and choked back a gentle sob, her hands knotted into tight fists by her side. Slowly she hunched forwards, staring down at her lap until the tears pressed too hard and she was forced to close her eyes, silently weeping out of desperation.

"Uuhu… Gh- Shit!"

The pounding headache ringing in her ears from forcing back the tears and her own snotty sobs kept her completely oblivious to anyone passing through to get back to their own room, and frankly she didn’t care if anybody saw her like this.

[shslracquet]

Michina's mind was still reeling from the latest developments. Since when does lightning strike twice like this? If this had something to do with years ago...nah. There's no way. At least she hoped not.

After leaving her hiding places at the cafe, she heard....something. Crying up ahead? The tennis player stepped into the train car in order to get back to her room, only to find the source of the crying.

...Who was this person? Did they meet? Michina felt as if she might have been one of the people she brushed off earlier, but she wasn't too sure. Either way, her crying was annoying. 

"Can you stop that? Like, we're all pretty distressed already without having to listen to your ungodly noises..."

Yeah, this attitude will keep people from killing you, Michina.

"...Unless, that's your way to make murderers feel too bad to kill you, in which case, you're pretty smart."

For some reason, she paused in the train car instead of exiting right away. She didn't know why. Maybe it was to see if this girl was truly a threat.

[shslracquet]

[Task 3] Whiplash.

Nomura's dead flesh collided with the ground with a surprisingly loud sound. It was a heavy, resounding thud accompanied by small splashes of blood and the scraping of the many objects thrust through his body. This was not a prank, not now. Of course, she had always suspected there was something more to this station unlike these other naive fools -- she could argue this with herself later! Right now was her cue to get the hell out of there.

"Waa....WAAA?"

Killing each other...who knew when one of these weirdos would strike!? They could be plotting something right this second, even with the scent of death still in the air! Hightailing it to the cafe, Michina began to plan her next courses of action...

Death was really not her thing. It was terrifying. Perhaps if she died peacefully in her lavish room surrounded by A Listers....but here!? Now!?

Nope, it wasn't going to happen. She hurried toward the back of the cafe, now feeling like someone was following her. In one swift and fluid motion, she snatched a knife from the wall and spun to face her follower. Some would think Michina holding a knife at them would be menacing, but her shaking hand and fearful eyes gave off another emotion completely.

"Y-You stay back, pig! You're truly foolish to think you can do away with me here and now! Back! BAAACK!"

The change of events all happened so fast...she was just in her room organizing her nail polish, and now she was threatening some kid with a knife.

What on Earth was going on...

[shslracquet]

[Task 1] Cruel Joke.

[shslgood-deeds-blog]

…. Was this girl fucking for real—

The facts were laid out plain as day and this girl just laughed it off? What is all that ego getting to her head or something? And he thought that skater was an escapist but, this really took the cake.

She even pitied him, what kind of bullshit was this!?

This was beyond escapism… Did this girl honestly believe they were here just for a tour? To have fun even if they were missing memories of how they even ended up on that train in the first place? This chick was either out of her mind, or just plain stupid.

How could she just be so… Carefree?

Blinking up at her in disbelief, Hiroshi realized that no matter what he said to her, she wouldn’t believe a word. She’d stay in whatever fantasy she had in her head about the situation they were in. There was no use arguing with her, she was too far gone.

Fuck he should seriously just leave, he had better things to do then deal with this entitled chick. But…

Any information would be good information. Plus if the stuff in her room turned out to be shitty compared to his, he wanted to have a good hearty laugh about it.

"… I’d prefer you call me by my name. I’m Hiroshi Kōda."

Frowning, he let out a sigh and trudged up the stairs towards Michina. God this better be worth his time…

[shslracquet]

Still laughing, Michina unlocked the door and opened it up. She wasn't quite sure what to expect, it could have gone either way. Maybe it was going to seem bigger on the inside, maybe it was going to be a shit hole.

At first glance, she wasn't terribly upset. It was pretty similar to her room at home, although it was much smaller. Her pink canopy still hung from the ceiling, and her collection of shoes were lined up in front of the closet.

"Eh. It'll do."

Michina took a step inside and lazily waved at Hiroshi to follow her. 

"Kōda you said? Decent to meet you."

As the girl counted her pairs of shoes and shuffled with the used makeup on her desk, she couldn't help but wonder what this kid's talent was. He was a real smart ass, so he clearly wasn't anything involving serving other people. If she had to take a shot in the dark, she would probably guess he had some sort of literary or mathematical talent. Something that would let him be a bitter shut in. 

"Kinda rude for you not to ask my name, don't you think? Or maybe you know me from the papers... Michina Konoe. Tennis player and stuff."

Her introduction was half-hearted on the account that something occurred to her:

Even if this was some sort of prank, why was all of her stuff here? Did these heathens steal her shit!? They probably smeared her YSL all over their flaky lips! Michina became visibly upset, now checking her lipstick, powder brushes, and mascara wands for any sign of abuse. 

"Filthy pranksters....moving my things without my permission..."

[youskateoryoudie-blog]

[Task 2] Layback

A handful of tokens didn’t really answer the thousands of questions that flashed to the forefront of Ruri’s brain. Primarily, they happened to be… What the hell? Why are we here? This is all super vague, and I’m pissed off, and I don’t understand?

Ruri could’ve been bitter because other people found the cool secret door when he hadn’t noticed anything strange in either the cafe or the information room himself, too, but that was to be lamented later.

"Games…"

What was all of this about? Was this guy trying to satiate them with tokens and credits they didn’t even understand the value of? Ruri was torn between staying out on the platform to angrily interrogate everyone and sauntering off into the arcade as was expected of him. 

In the end, when life, or a GM, drops ten game tokens in your lap and tells you to go play in the arcade, you don’t look that gift horse in the mouth. Unless you’re a reasonable, intelligent person. For now, he’ll take it.

"You!"

Again, a finger stabbed at the nearest classmate. This stabbing being non-literal, of course. Now wasn’t quite the time for killing each other. Ruri was about to ask the other to play something with him, but perhaps that could wait until he got some things off of his chest.

"…uh, uh… I mean… what do you make of all this? Important reason we’re here… this is all starting to sound really… foreboding."

He kept his hands up, tokens between his fingers. It looked like this might end up another few hours of theorizing and getting angry and shouting expletives at things again, so he was going to keep his options open. Mysterious train station games could be fun, right? 

[shslracquet]

"Wh.....What!?"

First of all, how dare this kid just talk to her like that. Second of all.....what? As Michina's eyes stayed trained on the boy's hand, her mouth twisted into a frown -- or maybe "grimace" is a better word. 

"This is so confusing! How could this be!? I need answers!"

Perhaps the tennis player was finally starting to realize that the lack of information given to them was a bad sign. Maybe her head had cleared up and finally started to process the grim possibility that this was Michina's second kidnapping.

..Yeah, nah. 

Coins tucked away securely in her pocket, her hands shot out and wrapped around her classmate's wrists. Wide brown eyes counted the shining bits between his fingers multiple times.

"You got the same amount as me!? What gives!? First I have the same sized room, now this? I'm really starting to think whoever is in charge is punishing me for something! Some prank this is!"

She'd have to give that train station bum a talking to after this! He was in charge here, right? In all honestly she wasn't really paying attention when he was giving his speech. Her mind was on other things entirely, things that were a bit more worth her time than ripped shirts and old overalls.

"You! This is clearly some sort of joke! Please get it in your head that you having the same number of coins as me is meaningless isn't meant to imply you're of the same social standing as everyone else, got it?"

[shslracquet]

[shslracquet]

me trying to get back into character

[shslracquet]

[Task 1] Cruel Joke.

[shslproselitigant-blog]

Of everything the cat (?) had said of game masters and games and their own presumable player status therein, it was still particularly bizarre that they had personalised rooms. Not that she was inclined towards the alternative, which was sleeping in a non-personalised space that entirely lacked a bed and other basic amenities, but the sheer intentionality of it all still concerned her.

Clearly someone had planned this to the point of assigning specific rooms that now bore specific likenesses of them on the map — and while it really was a helpful tool in locating her own room with minimal fuss, she still hadn’t revoked the right to begrudge its entire existence. Not to mention the implication that this was any kind of long-term residence.

As though not entering her room would put off any of these facts, Suzuka turned away from the door and towards the hall again, glancing up at the balconies above. The maps had placed Tsubaki on the balcony opposite her ground-floor row, which seemed too far away for comfort given that near-strangers surrounded her and Toragesa, of all people, was directly above her. Before she could glance away from Tsubaki’s door, though, a far less welcome presence on the same balcony began to speak — first to herself, and with audible frustration. Suzuka watched for a few dispassionate moments, then took a brief sip of her coffee when the voice deigned to address her.

"…Is that a joke?" Suzuka finally asked in earnest, though the question managed to come across as acerbic anyway. It was always difficult to tell with strangers; as though this would solve the issue, she forced herself to fix her gaze on Michina, the result uncomfortably piercing even from a distance. "And, data venia: if the circumstances were biased towards you, how long would it take for their suspicions to be drawn? Just a query to consider.”

[shslracquet]

D..Data...Versace, what? Michina didn't have time to wonder what this girl was saying in Spanish, she was pretty sure she was getting sassed! She had to assert her authority! Both hands firmly planted on her hips, Michina's eyes narrowed at the girl, who also seemed to be giving her quite a glare.

"Suspicions drawn to what, huh? That I'm the prankster in charge here? Big whoop. You could all probably assume it's me anyway! Because from the looks of it, I'm the only one who could afford to rent an entire station for something as silly as this."

Were these people seriously freaking out about this place? Yeah, it was kinda weird how she couldn't remember a damn thing about getting here, but it wouldn't be the first time she had forgotten something important. Plus, that Meowbull creature seemed benign enough...for a talking stuffed animal.

"...But yeah, I had nothing to do with this. Guessing it's those geezers at Hopes Peak."

This was probably a welcoming stunt or something. It wasn't unheard of for schools to pull little pranks, or even host field trips. Until there was hard evidence that their situation was dire, Michina didn't want to spend her time sprouting grey hairs. 

"That...thing...even said this was a tour! Are field trips really that foreign to you? You probably don't get out enough. I pity you."

[shslracquet]

[Task 1] Cruel Joke.

[shslgood-deeds-blog]

Hiroshi looked upward to the girl who’d called down to him, blinking apathetically as he crossed his arms and frowned. What an entitled thing to say. At least they fucking got a place to stay instead of just being left to mill about in the open with no place to retire.

"… How would I know? I haven’t been in my room since I got here. But by the looks of it they are."

Giving her a disgruntled look he sighed. He’d seen this type before at his old school. The rich snobby girl types that turn up their nose at those they consider beneath them. Or at least all those they see as ‘commoners’ and not up to their standard.

God he never understood those types. Of course he had standards too but honestly is this the time or place to be picky?

"Be glad that at least you have your own room. Imagine having to share the room with someone else."

… He had a feeling that if that were the case, whoever ever had to room with this girl would have the time of their lives. Not.

"Honestly though under these circumstances… We’ve been kidnapped. We’re at the mercy of our captors and is our rooming situation really the biggest concern of our’s? Did you find anything in your room that might be useful in getting us out or at least give us some more information? If you want we can compare our rooms… The inside I mean. Maybe there will be differences there. Perhaps my room will have lesser quality of items than your’s, who knows."

But really he didn’t give a fuck if there was a difference. Good for her if she had better shit than him. What he really was wondering though, was if there was a discrepancy. That in itself might give him more information about this place. 

[shslracquet]

What a ray of sunshine.

"AHA! What? You really believe we're kidnapped?"

Yeaaaahhhh....no. Michina might have entertained the thought, but there was just no way lightning would strike twice. This was either A, a dream, or B, a prank. The tennis player looked down at the stranger, leaning further over the balcony to shout at them. 

"Ohohoho you poor soul! You must be some sort of paranoid shut-in! And that's coming from me of all people. Seriously, knock that shit off or you'll be thirty-something living alone in a bomb shelter you built in your basement!"

Turning from her position laughing at the boy, she turned back toward her door and dug her transit pass out of the soft cashmere pocket of her cardigan. Maybe if it appeared the same size, it would be filled to the brim with fine art? She probably couldn't live with herself if that guy down below had a nicer room than she did! Who was that guy, anyhow? If he was from Hopes Peak like she assumed, his Super High School Level wasn't easy to read. If anything he was probably a Super High School Level Pessimist, or Ugly Coat Wearer. Holding her pass between manicured fingers, she unlocked her door.

"Hey Half-Empty, come and check out my room with me. I wouldn't want the suuuper scaary kidnapper to get me! PFFFOhoho!"

[shslracquet]

[Task 1] Cruel Joke.

[shslartisticgymnast-blog1]

Ninsei had been pretty caught up on all that conversation and had just recently taken into properly exploring the area by himself. A little exhausted from all of his more or less anxiety-inducing first meetings with people, he decided to take a look around his room at first. There he’d be safe, not from talking, no, but from trying to make good first impressions. That was the hard part, anyway, since if Ninsei really loved to do something it was to talk, even if he found it hard to express himself in the way he wanted more often than not.

He was in no luck today, hearing a faint voice up from the balcony as he was walking there. Maybe it was someone he had met already?… As the girl appeared, Ninsei’s hopes truly were shattered, and he tried to pick up a nice smile, a little taken aback by the words she said and the tone she had. More so after recognizing her: she was sort of a big celebrity, after all!

"Oh, he… Hello. And… I don’t know."

His voice was far too soft and uncertain for this kind of shouting, especially when Michina was up there, he was down here, she was famous, he was having trouble speaking, and overall, he had sort of exhausted himself already. It was possible he was just kind of mumbling to himself there, being nervous, taken aback and looking away from the girl. The logical solution was to jog up the flight of stairs and so he did, rather swiftly, too. And there he was, standing next to the girl and carefully averting his gaze from her.

"Hello, ah… I don’t know. I.. Not yet vi.. Visited my room. You and… We could, ah.. Check my room, yes." Ninsei gestured with his hands, trying to look for words and looking significantly more anxious now, glancing down at his transit pass again. "Um, my rr… Room is, um, on other side."

The gaze of Ninsei’s black eyes fixated on Michina, Japan’s Sweetheart! Truth to be told, Ninsei never really followed along the gossip if it was not her mum and her sister or sports, but Michina was both of those. Sports and something to be talked about by his family. 

"Ahah… I can, I don’t know. Carry you there, since… It’s so, ah, far away."

That was a weak joke, especially when it was said in a flat tone more anxious than anything else but Ninsei tried his best, eyes flickering back to Michina. In all of this general hype and nervousness, Ninsei totally forgot to introduce himself, especially when he already knew the other’s name and talent.

[shslracquet]

Oh right, this guy was here. Michina had no idea what his name was or anything, she had just caught glimpses of him on the television; he was a gymnast, right? Acrobat? Whatever. Whoever he was, she was getting really tired of having his timid stuttering grind her ears. But, just as she was about to write him off, he caught her attention. 

"..Carry me? You sure know how to treat a lady!"

That was the dream wasn't it? To never have tired or aching feet. At least, it was Michina's. Only the most comfortable of shoes would ever touch her feet. At night, she would always wear plush slippers. If you asked, she probably wouldn't be able to tell you the last time her feet were uncomfortable! 

Suddenly overjoyed, she skipped down the stairway and approached the gymnast. She looked at him with an expecting gaze, like a toddler waiting to get picked up by their parent.

"Well? My feet are sore from waiting for you to lift me! At this rate there's no way I'll be able to climb these stairs on my own! Hmmmm!?"

Some would say at this point Michina was going to make exactly zero friends. Maybe it was because she didn't realize the gravity of their situation that she wasn't in the mood to care. Could she afford to be a tad more personable? Yes. Would she? Nobody could possibly know that.

[shslracquet]

[Task 1] Cruel Joke.

This was all some sort of dream. That much was obvious from Michina awakening inside of a train car. There was no way she would ever willingly occupy such a lowly thing. Why would she ever use this means of transport when her faithful chauffeur would take her anywhere she may need to go? Michina's eyes dully took in the surroundings of her dream land. Though everything seemed pretty new and spotless, it still reeked of the lower class. What a dream this was...it was more like a nightmare. 

The speech given by the stupid -- what was it? Meowbull? -- was just as bizarre as everything else leading up to this point.  Game Master...Tour...perhaps this was all tennis related? It was then that the girl scanned her "fellow gamers" for any sizable competition. To her surprise, there were no known tennis players among them. None that she knew, anyway. But she did see quite a few familiar faces: that rough-and-tough ballerina from the internet, some gymnast she recalled seeing on television...

Then a thought struck her:

What if this wasn't a dream? This all seemed very real...she had full clarity, unlike her usual hazy dreams. She heard one of the students in the crowd say something about kidnapping, was that the case? That would be pretty funny. She could hear it now, "Michina Konoe kidnapped yet again!" Though her knees felt weak and her throat felt dry, she let out a small laugh. The world worked in mysterious ways, that was for sure. 

Instead of socializing with the pond scum around her, Michina took to her transit pass and poked around. To her delight, she had her own room. Ah, a foolproof way to avoid these lesser beings! Wasting as little time as possible, she headed up the stairs to her dorm on the second floor. Sneakers letting out a small squeak, she suddenly stopped once she stood in front of the furthermost door with her name on it.

"....You serious? This looks the same as all of the others!"

The annoyed tennis player took to the railing of the balcony, looming over a classmate on the level below her. 

"Hey you! Uh, are all of these rooms identical? I find it a little insulting that my room seems to share the same standards as everyone else's." 

[shslracquet]

How long does it take for you to put on make up every morning?

"Probably around an hour. It takes time to look this good!"

[shslracquet]

What's the most meaningful thing you've ever bought?

"Shoes. My tennis shoes are extremely important to me. Protected feet are really important, you know?"

[shslracquet]

What do you look for in a mate?

"I don't really look for anyone. Sometimes people take me to dinner and if they can afford my foie gras and then some, I'll let them accompany me further. If they were royalty it wouldn't hurt, either."

[shslracquet]

Who here looks the most entertaining?

"Ahaaaaa....entertaining how? None of them look like genuinely good company. But it'd be super entertaining to boss some of them around! Like maybe that big hockey schmuck, or I could make that janitor my maid!"

[shslracquet]

…Most of you look very, very poor. Shame. 

[shslspeedcuber]

I have a yacht, you know.

[shslracquet]

Then dress like it.

[shslracquet]

...Most of you look very, very poor. Shame.