Bend It Like Beckham!

Uetsuji Shinobu "As long as there are games to play, it's not over." Status: Alive Super High School Level Footballer Affiliated with Dangan Orbit

[shslsakka]

Time to Beat the Villans [Kaoru]

[shsl-gamemaster]

Bad people threatened others.

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

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

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

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

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

But she had said it hadn’t she?

But she had been defending Shinobu…

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

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

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

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

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

[shslsakka]

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

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

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

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

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

[shslsakka]

Time to Beat the Villans [Open]

And she'd been three seconds from defending him.

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

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

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

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

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

[danganorbit-blog]

food for thought

A familiar but unfriendly voice rings out once more. 

"Don’t think I forgot about the motive, kids. The filthy traitor among you, the scum who was working with good ol’ me all along, that would be…" 

"HAYATE GACCHIRI! And let me tell you all something else: he was given a little motive of his own; if there wasn’t a death before the motive time was over, he would FUCKING DIE! Ahahaha, he even had a gun! Just a little DIGESTION MEAT for your THINK PARCELS, you stupid fuckwits!” 

[danganorbit-blog]

MEMENTO MORI

After the strange events of last night, you are relieved to discover the next morning that the lights in your room have returned to normal, and that the door will once again open. The strange hissing noise has stopped. You feel a sense of relief. 

That sense of relief is quickly replaced with a sense of eerie dread, as you walk out of your room and are confronted with an eerie silence. Attempting to contact CAL-19014 does nothing. Starting to panic, you begin to make your way around the station in search of someone else. 

Eventually you find them, the rest of the students aboard, in the viewing gallery, gathered around 

Read More

[danganorbit-blog]

no students in the corridors

It’s late, perhaps 11 or 12 PM. You’re in your room, ready to sleep, when something… odd happens. There is a loud click from the door, and the panel where you would normally scan your ID card to get out glows a bright red. No matter what you try, the door will not open.

At the same time, the lights in your room glow a dull green. If you press your ear against the door, you can hear a faint hissing noise coming from outside. What’s going on?  

[shsl-gamemaster]

Shinobu-chan, I'm scare (starter for Shinobu)

Kaoru found herself knocking at Shinobu’s door, a deep frown across her face.

She hated this. She hated walking by people like Valu or Hayate and wincing inwardly. She hated distrusting everyone. Who was it? Who was in contact with Caligula? And why?

So Kaoru needed to be with the one person she trusted over everyone. Shinobu would keep her safe… And she would keep Shinobu safe! She couldn’t even bare to think hearing the body announcement and finding Shinobu… No don’t think that!

“Please be here…” Kaoru muttered.

[shslsakka]

So there was a traitor, huh.

Yeah, that was so goddamn typical when she thought about it. Caligula has this way of making a perfectly okay or normal situation really shitty just by opening his mouth. Okay, well, yeah, he didn't necessarily have a mouth to open but your got her point. Like, press on a space bar or something. Shit on a monitor. How the hell was she supposed to know? She was no Matsuoka, computers and all that crap had never been her scene. Still, for all they knew it was one big smoke alarm. Hadn't there been some drama about a traitor and an ID card before? Caligula had threatened Fumiko as she recalled...

She didn't remember much about that apart from being kind of pissed off. Huh. Remembering that made her remember Yoshi, too. That was a shame. She didn't really wanna go off losing any more friends.

The second she thinks that there's a knock on the door. Shinsuke, maybe? Or perhaps Yoshiro had stumped up the courage. Actually after thinking about Yoshi there was someone she was keen to see. Just to make sure nothing had happened to them. And as she heads over to the door and opens it that very person is standing there.

She can't help but sigh with relief somehow.

"Rucchan." she nods. "Can ya believe it, I was just thinking about you! Guess this five star has other stars in her cluster, huh. Didja need something?"

[shsldoubleshot]

I made too much of it, and drank it all // Shinobu

[shsldoubleshot]

"I’m not self-pitying.” He snaps in the most overdramatic fashion possible, while pitying himself. His expression does falter, though, at her words. He takes on a more serious face as his brows knit together, glance falling far away from her and deep into his coffee cup. “…Fine, okay? It’s not like I’m sitting here waiting to DIE or s-s— or something. Of course he w-   Of course I have self respect.”   He grumbles out the last bit and rubs at the top of his head, moving himself to lean more onto the table as he lets his foot fall to the floor with a thud. 

The thought that really hit his mind sticks there, and sends him into a still silence. Shinobu’s apology only makes it longer. 

He stares at his cup for the entirety of what she says, feeling his eyes pull towards to glance at her, even for a second, to see how she’s looking at him, or if she even is. He doesn’t let them, though, not for a while. The way she speaks is so direct, and blunt, and honest, he can’t help but feel his throat tighten over it. It’s so Shinobu, she’s so herself, even after all of this. Has it really been so long since they’ve talked that he forgot?

When he speaks up again, he finally glances over from the corner of his glasses at her, face soft and dumb and naive-looking as it had been when they first met.

"….Yeah, w-we’re.. we’re still friends, Uetsuji-san."   He stammers out, finally, slowly moving his hands over the tabletop to collect up his cups into a little cluster. He may come back later to put them away, or maybe just leave them here forever, but he doesn’t want to deal with them now. Though her hand had been there for a few seconds as he does this, he only took it afterwards, haphazardly and without any idea what it’s for. Part of him just wants something to hold.

Slowly standing, he just sort of holds the hand in his without shaking it or doing much else. Once he’s up, he stays standing for a few seconds, staring at the two hands and slowly feeling his face heat up. Or… quickly, actually. Everything is happening too quickly and now that Shinobu had shelled out her share of emotional morale-boosting, he realizes the words he wants to say are sticking in his mouth and blocking up all his thoughts. Instead of spitting out the garbled, tear-muddy apology he wants to, he makes a few quiet thoughtful noises that mean basically nothing before finally finding something he can force himself to say.

"I’ve m-missed you.. I think."   Fingers twitching rapidly against her hand, his words pile out after this as fast as they used to in their long, stupid roommate arguments back in the day. "I m-mean- not in like.. a weird way, or anything, and n-not just- not just because you don’t live with me anymore or something, that was awful. I just, you know- I- After I- We- I-"  Before he can stumble over himself anymore, he just looks at their hands again, then back up to Shinobu, as if silently urging her to please head wherever it is she wants them to go so he can stop this verbal disaster. 

"…Do you have.. a plan, or something?"  He forces this to the stop of his rambling, speaking as vaguely as he can in reference to the last jumble of optimism she’d given him. She did say they would beat this guy, right? Couldn’t he believe that from a five-star???

[shslsakka]

She can tell she's getting through to him, long before any confession of stuff is spoken. There's something about his demeanor, a subtle move of the pupil here or word uttered oddly there that makes her think... no, it makes her know he's listening properly. A pang of guilt hits her upon realising this. She should've properly listened herself to him - back then. Maybe then things would've been different. No. She shakes away these notions - wishing things ended differently wouldn't change the big stuff. Yuu and Sonya... and Yoshi. They'd still be dead. Crying over spilt milk from ages ago wouldn't bring them back.

It's ungraceful when he falls and it honestly stings a bit to see him like this but there's no way she's just gonna let him wallow like this. Even if he resents her for it. If not for her own determination she'll at least do it for Yuu. Then he says it. They're still friends. "Yeah. Damn right." she hurriedly adds as if to prevent any takebacks. "Ups an downs... well everyone has 'em, but we'll always be friends."

When he puts his hand in hers Shinobu's grip tightens and she gives him a smile. It's like the old days. No, it's better. This time she'll be a better friend. And this time, they'll be the ones to laugh over Caligula, not vice-versa. And then? The awkward confession she was missed. She can't help but grin, the widest and more natural one in a while, no doubt.

"Well who wouldn't? I am a five-star." these words come so naturally to her but somehow they do come off a little hollow in light of recent events. No matter. If she believes it, it's so. That's all she needs. With her free hand she thumps his shoulder, a small pillowed blow of affection. "Dork. Seriously, I missed you too." She's tempted to give him a hug but hey, they'll have time for that later. Besides, she's still working on this forgiving a guy you think is your friend thing.  "The stupid arguments, the gossip, hell, even the room... but we're being forged in fire here, y'know? It's just gonna make us tougher." and again, if she believes it, then that's so. She will never allow doubt into her mind. Doubt will kill you. She will never give in to doubt.

Honestly she wants to say something nicer, something really inspiring and touching but she's never been good at that, sadly. Her eyes kind of wander and she rubs the back of her neck. Uh, what does she do now... huh... god, there should be a book on this. Not that she'd read it but still. Wait, what did he say? A plan? Hmm, not really but it's at least a starting point.

"Kinda." she admits but her tone doesn't exactly inspire much trust. "Me and Rucchan-- Kaoru-- we were talkin' y'know? And..." she gives him a look. "We've been gettin' our memories back. Steadily. I think if the pair of us are gettin' 'em than you guys must be too. If we piece together everything we know and that we're remembering then maybe we'll stumble across somethin' hella important." she taps at her temple with her free hand and then begins to drag him away from the kitchen and away from the cups. "Cologlog wants us to tear each other apart, no? So if we really wanna mess up his shit, we've got to stick together and break him down as a unit. Y'know, like real army shit but without the hoorah."

[shslsakka]

I Could Never Make a Difference [Reaction/Open]

[superillegalactivities-blog]

Was it just her or did Shinobu just get more angry at her. Come on man is Valu that annoying? Don’t answer we all know the answer was yes. Well she might as well ride this out since escape wasn’t a very wise option now. Valu would had like to live another day if she had any say in it.

"Uh I’m pretty sure from the punch I already pissed you off pretty good," she snickered once Shinobu asked her. Valu wiped the blood off her nose, smearing some on her hand and carelessly wiped it on her shirt. Very clean, Valu. "I don’t need to feel big and smart if I’m already those things." Said the small and insensitive drug dealer. She took this time to get that staff she dropped from the impact. WHOA did you punch that wall for no reason. Thanks for that new hole in our room, Shinobu.

"Sheesh, okay, okay, I got it. You got some stuff done along with moping around."  She also did not want to order another knuckle sandwich. Valu had plenty of that last dish for a while. What kind of work was she even talked about. The only work Valu’s going to charge her with is a nose job if Shinobu messed it up. Ugh expensive.

Oh geez Shinobu even got madder. Where was the turn off switch on the anger bar. Was there even a limit to how mad the all star can get? Maybe there was none. “Cool it down, hot head. I was joking about murder again.” Again. Looks like her line of jokes were not popular. “Course I know people care bout me. Like me. And maybe uh…” Oh. Change the topic Valu. “Listen I get that this is some lecture or some weird pep talk, but I think I got everything under control.” Valu awkwardly scratched the back of her head. “I’m not that self absorbed, that’s your job. While we’re on the topic, do you really think I’m that selfish? Sheesh you should see yourself then.” VALU DON’T MAKE THIS WORSE.

Valu grumbled something under her breath and glanced away. “Right. The others. Well I forgot most of ‘em so I guess it’s your guys job too to do that. I ain’t all about draggin’ all that sad stuff along with me, it’ll get in the way. Think what you want, we might get out; we might not. I’m all for either option.” What was that about working together. “Have I been workin’ against you guys? Huh. Didn’t notice. Sorta been goin’ solo honestly.”

[shslsakka]

Shinobu snorted at that. Even now Valu was trying to be smart with her. Shinobu wondered if the girl took anything seriously. Did anything bug her? Did anything make her cry? Make her angry? She was beginning to think nothing did.

"That's me when I'm irritated. If you think that it's the same as me being pissed off then you've got a storm coming, trust me." her eyes watch the ringleader. It always helps to survey the enemy. Will she attack back? Will she draw away? Perhaps adopt a defensive position or a weapon of her own? It's hard to tell with Valu. It's hard to tell many things when it comes to Valu.

"Is it really that funny to you?" Shinobu mutters though it comes out more as a resigned and frustrated sigh at this point. "I get that you're some sort of illegal shitlord but surely you don't condone fucking murder of all things, right? I wonder what the hell it takes to make you care about this. About us. Hell, even about yourself 'cause let me tell you you're not doin' any favours for yourself here." Shinobu breathes in and out. She really has to work on her aggressive tendencies. If she allows herself to get wound up again she might do something she'll regret. Punching people can't be her go to here even if it has been for years. And despite it feeling good usually, too.

Then she made the selfish comment. And Shinobu's eyes blaze in Valu's direction. That's a very dangerous look she has on her face. "What the /hell/ is wrong with you? I'm selfish? After everything you've done, I'm the selfish one?" Shinobu takes one step closer to Valu again but doesn't get physical... at least not yet. "Do you know what it's like to lose everything? To lose the people you care about the most?" she smashes a fist into the wall again. Thankfully it doesn't do much apart from cause a large echo. "Try losing those things and then come to me." she runs a hand through her hair and leans on the wall she'd previously punched, her eyes never leaving the ringleader. "You really have no clue what it's like. A guy I considered a friend, someone I could trust killed himself. Well what the hell ever, I don't even know why I bother caring. If I am selfish it's not any of your goddamn business is it. At least I didn't forget about those guys who died. But you... what even are you? I spent all this time tryin' to get you to feel something but there's no damn point, is there?."

Shinobu just shakes her head again and she comes to realisation that talking to Valu just leaves her feeling drained. Frustrated, yes, but just drained afterwards. She doesn't want to take part, hell, she doesn't even want to try. "Yeah excuse me for wantin' people to stay alive it's my fucking bad, okay? Happy now? I'll leave you the hell alone. Solo, that's how you want it, right?" she gets up, straightening her posture with a crack in her muscles here and there as she does so.

[superillegalactivities-blog]

first batch of goodies

(click through pls)

[shsldoubleshot]

I made too much of it, and drank it all // Shinobu

[shsldoubleshot]

Wait. Shit. Glancing off to the side as Shinobu responded to him, and taking in who it actually was, the briefest look of honest terror flashed over his eyes. For that second, he looked like he just walked in on his own murder, saturated with caffeine and generally having a bad time. It flickers, though, back to his previous state of resigned irritation with the world and its wonders. Perhaps he realized she wasn’t coming at him maliciously, or maybe he was just done worrying about it.

"Wh- Sh- I mean, uh, Uetsuji-san. H-Hello."  After turning to face her, he took the time to sort of wave his hand in her direction, however stiff the motion might be. She.. actually seemed like she wanted to talk to him, actually, and whether or not he took her words as genuine concern or awkward obligation was unsure, even to Yoshiro. The near drop of his old nickname, though, elicits the slightest frown from his otherwise straight-set mouth.

"…No, I think.. that I’m d-doing fine out here as it is. Really, I feel great. If someone tried to do something, I th-think I’d just. You know." Here, Yoshiro makes a wide swooping motion with his coffee cup, spilling a large slosh of it onto his pants. Great. He didn’t seem to care. "….R-R-Ru-Run away, and stuff. It’s… not a big deal anyway- that’s what I was saying!"

He ignored her offer to help and instead bonked one of the empty cups on the table as he gestured widely with his hands and foot. “CLEARLY no one wants to k-k- to- k- to KILL me or anything, right?! Or they would have done it by now, after all the reasons they’ve had! But NO! Instead more n-nice, normal people are dead. F-Fu-Fucking R-RIDICULOUS!”

He looked over at Shinobu and took a drink of his cup, staring at her like yeah. You get me right, pal??? You get me.

[shslsakka]

"It's not a big deal?" she repeats and her eyebrows furrow. "Don't give me that self-pitying 'it's not a big deal' shit, of course it's a big deal you idiot! People would get hurt! Ya think Yanai would be happy to see you dead?! Have more self respect, dumbass!" Shinobu immediately bites her lip. No, no, NO. She hadn't come here to yell at him again, if anything she'd come here to do the opposite. Damn it, why was this so hard? She didn't have hard feelings, well she kind of did but not strong ones. Why was it so hard saying such simple things? Maybe she just wanted to see a flicker of the old Yoshiro she knew so well and she was desperate.

She was desperate.

Yeah, actually, that part made sense. Chasing shadows in the hopes of recapturing what once was. In a sense she was doing that. But... she wasn't just looking in the past - she was looking to the future, too. And that-- that was the important thing. "Listen... listen, listen, listen... I'm... it's been a long time coming but I'm sorry." she heaves a huge sigh and then folds her arms. "I've been pissed about Himiko forever now and hell, y'know I still am." she pauses. "But I'm not pissed at /you/ not per se. It's not like I'm the only one who's lost someone dear to 'em, after all. And the shit you see in your dreams probably keeps you up all night without me harpin' on about 'em." He'd lost more than she had at this point, most likely. He'd made more friends after all. She'd lost Himiko... and Yoshi now. But him? He'd lost Chiko, his best friend. And then Yuu... and even then, before everything... even he and Yoshi were good friends, weren't they? Really, it hadn't be fair for him at all, no wonder he was drunk on coffee.

But still.

"Even so... you gotta snap outta it. Don't go sayin' you're great when you're clearly not! Even I know that and I'm an idiot, man! Drinkin' your, uh..." she looks at the cups. Is it okay to call it sorrows when it's limited to coffee? Drowning your sorrows was a reference to alcohol after all... even she knew that. "grief away ain't gonna change a thing. Neither will waiting for someone good to die or runnin' if someone goes for you next. You're not alone ya know, even now you got friends. Shinsuke, isn't it? He's a good person, he wanted me to check on you. And I know you might not wanna see me but I do want to see you. Even after all this... awww man, just admit it, we were friends, okay?! And we're still friends now!" she says these last words in a bit of hurry.

"Point is! I don't want to let anyone else die. I don't care if that sounds naive, I'm a five star and I'll make it happen. At the very least I'll try. There aren't many of us left - if we get our shit together we can beat this guy. Not just a temp victory but for real. We can get justice for them all. Stop all the killing for good."

She comes a little closer and extends a hand. What it's for she's not even sure. Maybe to help him stand properly. Or maybe for a handshake. Whatever it is, the open hand usually represents sincerity, right?

"Come on Yoshiro, let's go somewhere else. You gotta get back on your feet. You gotta fight."

[shslsakka]

I Could Never Make a Difference [Reaction/Open]

[douchetech]

Normally, he has about as much patience as a lizard has fur, which is to say, none. Normally, he would’ve walked away after about five seconds of no response. But this… was different. It wasn’t for his own gain, it was… to help a friend. So he waits, and after a bit longer (he’s not sure how much, though; he’s feelin pretty off), he’s finally rewarded with an answer. 

While waiting, he’d rested his face against the door frame, and Christ, he almost fell asleep. That would’ve looked good, falling asleep and then probably fuckin’ falling on her when the door opens. She’d probably kick him all the way back to Earth for that. But he doesn’t fall asleep, and when the door opens he stands back at attention, rubbing at first his eye with his fingers, then the rest of his face with his sleeve.

"Yeah. I was… uh, wondering, if it was okay, to… uh, talk to you about something?" He hesitates a moment before continuing. "So I know you’re not, cough, the best of friends with him, but…” Another pause, this time to swab at his nose with a tissue pulled from the box. “L-Listen, I’m not good with people, okay? It’s kinda fuckin’ obvious, I know. I…” One last stop, this time to take a deep breath. “I’m worried about Y-Kimura3,” he blurts at last, turning the tissue box to and fro in his hands.

"I just… he’s so hurt, a-and I don’t know what to do? I-I don’t even have an idea, a-and I know you’re probably still mad at him over, over Suzugawa3, and I get that, b-because you definitely have a right to be, y’know? I just… he’s my friend, and I’m worried…" He shuts himself up when he hears himself looping back around to things he’d already told the footballer at one point, and he just looks up at her with a strange combination of hope and sadness in his eye, waiting for a response.

[shslsakka]

Wondering whether it was okay to talk to her? Well shit, yeah, she knew she'd had some less than stellar moments and aggressive tendencies but that didn't mean he had to come up to her door like he was afraid for his life or something. She wasn't that scary, was she? She had kicked a ball at him, to be fair... and sworn in his face a few times, calling him a 'jelly doughnut' but that wasn't too mean and cruel, right?

"Chill out Brosaka I'm not gonna bite your head off." she states back, tone somehow unimpressed.

Nonetheless even without the prompt Shinsuke continues on leaving the footballer to do something quite curious. Listen. Her eyes move from his face to his tissue box (because honestly it's hard to ignore all the coughing and sniffling) as she just leans against the door and listens, occasionally nodding here and there.

After a bit she just straightened with a sigh. And in a surprising twist... Shinobu reaches for his shoulder and just pats it. "Look, I get it, he's your friend. Himiko was my friend and nothing's ever gonna change that but... he's been through a lot and it's not like I hate him... not anymore." she sighs. After all this time of hating and blaming she's finally coming to terms with it - what she should've come to terms with a long time ago.

"It wasn't his fault, that jackass Calypso made him do it. If there's anyone I wanna beat up right now it's that dickwad, trust me." Shinobu throws one hand to the back of her neck, her eyes wandering before she turns back to Shinsuke an unsure frown gracing her face. "Only thing is I don't know if even wants to see me at this point. Hell, I'm worried about him too at this point he's pretty much lost everything but..." a more determined look flashes in her eyes. "I don't want no one else to suffer here. Yanai would've wanted him to live... and I need to say sorry anyway. So don't worry I'll take care of him. I'm gonna make sure everyone gets out of this..."

[shslsakka]

I Could Never Make a Difference [Reaction/Open]

[superillegalactivities-blog]

Whoa her nightmares of aggressive finger snapping people has come true. Just like in the movies. Except they were greasers not soccer ball players. Valu perfectly knew what she was handling with. A person with not very many friends left. In fact that was basically everyone, including her, excluding Pandora. Whoa what was that about drugs. Don’t tell anyone about that, Shinobu.

Valu sorta flinched from the sudden movement of Shinobu. Wow now that Valu had experienced it first hand, this was quite frightening. The drug looked up at her, trying her best to remain cool. To be honest, maybe this was what being murdered felt like. Valu let out a YELP right after Shinobu lifted her up. Her shirt was getting wrinkled again.

Oh. Ow. Ow ow ow owowowowowow. Valu winced at the pain that was settled in her nose, and basically the rest of her face. Man she started to miss Tekuro punching her instead. Well there was some warm liquid running down her nose now. Hello old friend. Was Shinobu still talking to her? You can’t expect her to listen to everything you say, buddy. She slowly opened her eyes again though.

Did she make a threat? While almost punching her again? Cruel. Now she let go of her. Valu landed on the floor without much time to stabilize and land on her feet. Nah she landed hella bad. Taking the time to rub her poor nose, she looked up at Shinobu like holy shit.

"Sheesh what took you so long in punching me?" Valu asked awkwardly. "I didn’t know you were the threat type. And the actual murdering type. I’d rather stay alive if you don’t mind." The drug awkwardly stood back up. "Alright then, Shinobu. How do you want me to treat the situation differently? Less jokes and more caring right? Of course that’s it. But seriously, wouldn’t it be more easier to like, y’know…” What was she even going to say.

"While you guys are busy moping around you guys hardly get any work done. It’s probably better for someone to do backstage stuff ain’t it? And besides you can just murder me and wowee there ain’t that many people that’ll give a hoot about me bein’ gone. Well, maybe except me of course.”

[shslsakka]

After the punch she just watches for a bit. Apparently she's drawn blood with that hit. Shinobu somehow feels the need to scratch at her own nose as if she got hit but her posture is as fierce as ever. And... great. There she goes again. Could this girl stop being sarcastic for just one single second? Just who was she trying to impress? It was really just tiring to see her try so hard to be so cool.

"Stop acting like such a smartass! You really want to get hit, is that it?! Pissing people off like this, what, you feel all big n' smart, that it?! You're really gonna piss me off! Do you really want that?!" she throws her hands into the air, exasperated, before rounding on the dealer once more.

"Who's busy moping around? Huh? Me? 'Cause I've been doin' a lot more than moping. Do you want another knuckle sandwich? I can show you all kinds of 'work' if you want." she spits out with venom. Valu had actually used her first name which had honestly taken her by surprise... but the comment right after was too infuriating not to comment to. A loud frustrated ugh sound escapes her mouth and she slams her fist again... this time into a wall though.

"You... idiot! Idiot! Serious idiot!" Shinobu grits her teeth and shakes her head. One, two, three... she takes a deep breath before whirling her head to face Valu again, anger burning in her eyes. "Don't be so damn selfish! Acting like no one will care when you die... don't do that! People care, they'll always care so don't say those selfish things like it makes you a badass or something! You really think I'd be this pissed if I didn't care?! Geez, you just don't get it." honestly she's still frustrated but now the tiredness is seeping in. How can she explain it to Valu in a way she'll understand? Sure, they don't get along but that doesn't mean she wants her dead. If she dies of course she'll be sad. A lot of them will be. God, maybe she just... has too much passion in her or something.

"I've been workin', we all have. We're mournin', sure, but we're working for those kids. Forgetting about them like you have... that's like admitting there was no meaning in their deaths... and I can't accept that kinda thinking, no way. I'll never ever forget anyone who died - their sacrifices can't ever become meaningless. And the rest of us-- we'll get outta here. Or we'll die trying. Why not try to work with us instead of against us for once?"

[shsldoubleshot]

I made too much of it, and drank it all // Open

He didn’t want to sleep. Okay, sure, he never wanted to sleep; it was pretty much public knowledge now that Yoshiro Kimura was BAD at sleeping.  Now, though, he had every reason for it. No more of this staying up late talking to his buddies, or doing homework, or just because he can’t get himself to calm down long enough. He was up, and he planned on staying up, because sleeping felt goddamn sickening now.  He’d been doing so much of that lately, and now Yuu, and Yoshi, and Sonya and even Yuki were fucking DEAD.   Who was he to take a nap now, after all that had happened?

No, instead of sleeping, Yoshiro had decided he was done hiding in his room.  He was now in the cafeteria, sitting in one of the chairs with his legs up on the table, surrounded by 7 or 8 large empty cups. So what, if someone ends up jumping him at this point he honestly and truly could say he deserved it. And… he could take it. He could stop being afraid and nervous for once, and maybe people would stop dying.  

Yoshiro was goddamn coffee drunk.

The jittery shake of his hands was the most abnormal part of the setup, all things considered, and as Yoshiro slammed a ninth cup down onto the table,  the hot contents slosh out onto his hands without a care.  Why would coffee care about his hands anyway? Coffee had NEVER cared about him.

"You know what else is FUCKING ridiculous?!"  His voice sputtered out in true sudden, tactless Yoshiro fashion. Whatever lost soul had wandered into the cafeteria at this exact moment, or maybe been here all along, they surely hadn’t  been talking to him. In fact, Yoshiro hadn’t seemed like he’d noticed them until this very second. 

[shslsakka]

Well this was a sight.

Honestly Shinobu wasn't really one hundred percent sure what she was doing anymore at this point. She'd always been an early riser - it helped to be one when you did sports. And when you trained as much as she did too. That meant she was someone who valued an early bedtime, too. But... well... lately that had changed. It wasn't even because of an inability. No, sadly, and even in her opinion disgustingly, these deaths hadn't made sleeping hard for her at all. She wished they had. She really wished they kept her up at night. The fact she slept so easily actually ate at her but you couldn't change your body's needs, right? It still bothered her. No, really, the thing that had changed her schedule was simply... being in space for this long. She'd really lost sense of time anyway and although she kept up with training it wasn't like playing was a priority anymore. It's not even like it mattered when she played if she did even want to. Which she really didn't. The time for all that well, it felt like it'd long passed.

Really, she'd just been staying up later as she went with the flow. But at the very least there was a bonus aspect to all this - she could at least patrol. And yeah, she wasn't gonna cover all this ground, not on her own but... she could at least make an effort to stop any more deaths. If she didn't at least try then what was the point? Of any of this?

She'd just gone to the cafeteria to check the place out, maybe get a snack if she felt up to it. Shinobu hadn't honestly expected to run into anyone. And certainly not to run into a coffee drunk and near delusional Yoshiro. Yeah, she'd wanted to meet him but... not like this... geez... this was... really sad. They used to be roommates. He used to have friends. He used to smile.

What had happened to them all, really...?

"Yocch--" she stops herself. Yeah, she'd stopped with the nicknames a while ago too. A bad habit more than anything. "Yoshir-- Kimura. You... come on, you gotta stand up and get out of here. Not safe bein' out here all on your own."

Damn it, she was suppoesd to apologise. Some apology that was, Shinobu! That was just more chiding. But she was worried about him being out here alone, alright? That was natural. Besides, she didn't even know where to start. And part of her-- well part of her was still angry, even now. Given Yuu... and Sonya... and Yoshi... and even Yukie, that had lessened but... she'd never forget the lack of love and mourning they all gave Himiko.

"Do you need a hand?" Shinobu adds, her eyes wandering to the emptied cups now.

[shslsakka]

I Could Never Make a Difference [Reaction/Open]

[superillegalactivities-blog]

Whoa what’d she do this time? Hm maybe this roomie communication thing didn’t worked as she thought it would. She never had much practice with the other two she had. Well for some reason Shinobu was mad at her. Maybe the realization she was more attractive hit her? Oh wait it was something about Valu’s coolness.

"How do I do what? I do lots of stuff so you’ll have to be specific," Valu shrugged. Whoa Shinobu got off the bed and now she looked less harmless. Valu had the feeling she shouldn’t had entered. 

"That’s sure is a lotta questions, doll. Lettme see if I can answer them all." Valu rubbed her chin for a second, awkwardly avoiding eye contact and taking a step back from the near by Shinobu.

Fiddling with her staff some, she answered. “Well it’s pretty easy since it really isn’t my problem, you guys can handle the mourning stuff. And no I don’t find it funny but I sure think it’s entertaining. You’d think that you would be used to these dying friends of yours by now, huh?” Valu awkwardly laughed.

"If you really want me to answer that honestly, me having fun mocking you, not really." Valu made some airy gesture like whatever. "You aren’t that amusing. And also you probably punch harder than Tekuro so I am uh, trying a little bit to not make you that upset but hey now you are. So what are you gonna do now that I answered honestly?"

[shslsakka]

Shrugging just harmless shrugging. Honestly she was used to this sort behaviour from Valu... but well, used to didn't necessarily mean approved of. Rather, if any time was a bad time to start messing around this was the time. She'd lost two of her precious friends and had never had much patience to lose. But what sliver of it she did have? Yeah, it was a safe bet to think she'd lose that too.

"Do you think I'm talkin' about drugs? Use your goddamn brain." she snapped. She also snapped her fingers.

Shinobu's powerful strides shortened the distance between them within seconds and soon they were barely a step apart. And she had to admit, it was somehow gratifying to stand next to the girl. Because of the height difference, mainly. Valu, for all of her wiseass cracks and attitude, was small. Smaller than Shinobu for one. And she didn't quite have the muscles she did, either.

After the dealer has finished speaking Shinobu takes a deep breath, maybe this will compose her... and then she grabs the smaller girl by the collar. "I'm not amusing, huh? If you want amusing, let me tell you something really, REALLY funny."

And with that, without warning, she slams a fist into Valu's face.

"... You damn smartass! Think about it, moron! It's just you and me in here. No one else can get into this room. That means--" she clenches her fist and draws it to her face once more before dropping it back to her side, the threat here made clear. "No one could help you. Now isn't that funny? Oh sure, I kill you and everyone knows it's me..." she shrugs her shoulders and then cracks her neck to the side. "But I never said anything about killing you."

A pause and she lets go of her collar.

"Here's the thing. This? This isn't some big ass joke. Not your problem? I'm more than willin' to make it your problem if you're not going to take it seriously. To even suggest we'd be used to people, our friends dying... that's a whole new low. Who the hell do you even think you're impressing here?! What, you think this is some reality show where people enjoy you acting like a prick for ratings?! Get OVER yourself! You could die next, you dumbass! Take it seriously, dammit!"

[shslsakka]

I Could Never Make a Difference [Reaction/Open]

[douchetech]

Shinsuke’s always been a boss at troubleshooting. Hell, it’s probably at least a little tiny part of why he got his title. Unable to connect? He can solve it! Turn it off and back on again? He sure can! Hundreds of thousands, of not millions of bugs he’s fixed in his lifetime. ＳＡＩＮＴＳ has a reputation as unfuckwithable for a reason, and Tsujii Shinsuke is that reason.

The thing is, you can’t troubleshoot people.

Yoshiro is definitely broken, but the software developer doesn’t think that the barista is beyond repair. He just has no idea how to even go about beginning to fix the poor kid. He’s not a PEOPLE person he’s a COMPUTER person, and that’s never been more obvious than it is right now. 

After the trial, he’d stopped into his and Yoshiro’s room only long enough to grab that beleaguered box of tissues; for whatever fucking reason, that constant itch in his throat that was causing him to cough every once in a while was now joined by a runny nose, and like hell was he going to wipe his nose on his sleeve. That was disgusting.

With the tissue box now in his possession, he one-handedly takes out his ID as the other wranglers a tissue to his nose. He navigates to the maps and simply stares at them. Which of these people hate him the least…? It takes him a good five minutes of deliberation, but at last he decides on the footballer. Besides, if he called on her in her room, she couldn’t kick him in the face, right?

Feeling a good bit more tired than he had in quite a while, he shuffles over to Shinobu’s door, knocking almost gently. “Hey, uh, Uetsuji3? You in there? Could I… talk to you?” Said words are followed by a snort as he attempts to stop his snotty nose, to no avail. 

[shslsakka]

It's weird, watching the subtle movements of her hand. She'd never been a subtle person, never been someone who cared much for the finer things. Hell, even now she didn't really care about her HAND of all things it's more just... she needed something to look at. Intently. And that-- was close enough. That would do fine. God, really, there should be more to this, more that she should be doing but... what? Himiko had been killed. Yoshi hadn't trusted her enough to be an ear or just... listen and... then there was the guilt or unclear shrouded opinions she still had on Sonya, Yuu and Yoshiro.

She sighs and right when she does a rapping on the door shocks her into sitting up. Valu was back already? Wait, no, she had a card, she'd just enter. Duh, Shinobu. Then someone... looking for her, maybe? Or maybe they were looking for Shinobu themself... it could've been Kaoru.

Actually the voice that calls out is... unexpected. Recognizable but unexpected. For one, she didn't think he was the type to go and seek out people - you know, a programmer, quiet kinda solitary guy, probably, right? Plus he was like, Yoshiro's friend right? She remembered that much. Her last meeting with Yoshiro had been a complete disaster. She'd pummeled him down and really just gone off on one. She'd lost it, completely. She doubted the barista was in the mood to share that information with everyone but well, she hadn't been shy about her opinions, it was probably natural Shinsuke had picked up on it. So... what then, a lecture? Hell, maybe she was jumping the gun here.

"... Give me a sec." comes her reply after some time. She rubs the back of her neck and hopes to rub out the awful feelings of dread, anger and guilt before skulking off to the door. Actually her last meetings with Shinsuke hadn't exactly been great either. She'd kicked a ball at him, for one. Actually she possibly did that twice. Hell she didn't even remember. Now that was just sad. She'd just been in such a rage lately... no excuse but. She'd never really been that reasonable, sadly. She opens the door and leans on the frame, her eyes focused on him and yet-- they still seem to be elsewhere.

"... Shinsuke, right? Well, here I am. What's up?"

[shslsakka]

I Could Never Make a Difference [Reaction/Open]

[superillegalactivities-blog]

Well this sure was an emotional time for children who had friends and feelings. Good thing Valu had neither of those. Valu was pretty sure that her roomie was inside the room moping or whatever. So Valu had taken some time to pace outside the halls to think of a delicate way to get a non offensive ice breaker. Perhaps a simple, ‘sorry your friends are dead again’. Or even, ‘you look nice’. Options, options, options…

Valu slid her card in the card reader to make her entrance known. Pocketing the card, Valu stepped in to see a wonderful roommate she often avoided talking to. I wonder if she realized her drug stash. The drug tried making eye contact.

"Heeeey, Smash Mouth All Star," she began. "How’s life without your other all star friends?" Nailed this conversation thing.

[shslsakka]

Her eyes snap to the door when she hears the mechanical sounds. Half of her is expecting it to somehow be Caligula to insult her but that doesn't make any sense. Really though, had he ever played by the rules? There was no reason to believe he'd wouldn't do anything new and irritating now. But to her luck... or perhaps not her luck, it wasn't Cal. It was just Valu. Who else would it be? This girl was her room mate now. And had been for a bit now. Still, getting used to changes was never good.

"How the fuck do you do it." she snaps immediately as the dealer enters.

Her eyes flicked back to the ceiling for one last lingering look before she rolls off the bed onto her feet. Her pose is confident, defiant as ever. At the very least her physical strength is still within her.

"How the fuck do you go on actin' like this ins't your problem? That people -- kids dying? That that's cool? What, you think this is funny or something? You find people mournin' their friends amusing? What is it, exactly?" she folds her arms and takes a couple of strides closer to Valu, eyebrows furrowed.

"Well? Explain it to me. Is it fun mocking me?"

[shslsakka]

I Could Never Make a Difference [Reaction/Open]

Nothing had changed at all.

She was an idiot. An idiot.

Idiot idiot idiot.

Sin should've taught her this by now - you shouldn't trust people. Even if they seem like they like you - even if they seem to trust you, even. You should never. Ever. Let them get to you. And yet she had. And she'd paid the price for it again. Suicide...? Him? It seemed... unlikely, impossible, even. So strong, and his eyes - they'd always looked ahead. He'd seen people he'd cared about die and yet he saw it through, justice was the most important thing of all. And yet. She was mistaken.

Again.

Was she just a poor judge of character or what? Was Kaoru going to do the same thing to her? The worst part was knowing she'd probably continue making this same mistake. She was too stupid. Really, she was. It was too much to expect her to learn and wise up. Dumbass.

Shinobu heaved a sigh as her eyes traced the ceiling. Right now Valu wasn't around so the room was empty. She'd never been the sort of person to need space before now but right now? She was kind of glad to be on her own. To think. Maybe... if she thought hard enough, she could figure out what she'd done wrong - clearly she'd done something, right? Otherwise Yoshi would've told her right? And then there was the matter of Yuu and Sonya... damn, it'd be so easy to blame it all on Yuu-- he started it after all, but... really, they'd both been scared right? Just... scared. They were just kids, damn it. If the roles were reversed... if Sonya had struck first and Yuu killed her would it make a difference? Not much of one. Really this time they were... both victims. She briefly wondered how Yoshiro was handling this. He'd been in tears in the trial. She wanted to see him but. Ha. That wasn't a good idea. He hated her at this point. And she... hated him? Not really. She felt too tired for hate. Too hurt. She was finding herself to be a person she didn't really like. Confident, yes, strong, of course, but what else?

Nothing.

And... really... so what if she lived to see the end of this? She was a five star, the was expected. But Yoshi had been a four star and he was dead. There wasn't anything sparkly or brilliant about a dead star. This wasn't like when Himiko died - she'd-- she'd been taken by surprise. Her life was snatched, stolen, taken and ripped from her. On the other hand, he... had extinguished his own light for some reason. She'd outlived him. And she may outlive others, but... well, it was hard to see why.

She may be a five star, but it's lonely at the top.