SHSL Janitor

SHSL Janitor Toragesa Hahakigi

[superduperjanitor]

adhesion [Naomi/Investigation]

[thedelinquentballerina-blog]

Naomi frustratedly slammed her transit pass on the countertop, covering it with her hand.  Tsubasa and Ruri - two students with whom her last words had been anything but pleasant.  Of course, she still felt that Ruri had betrayed Takumi after his confession in the last trial, but that didn’t mean this was a good thing to happen.  Everything was just…so fucked up.

And this was the first time two bodies had been discovered after a motive, wasn’t it?  It wasn’t like Nomura or Michi- no, Miho - who had been killed by Monobear as an example.  She could feel goosebumps rise up on the back of her neck as she wondered if the murderer was going to try taking out everyone; after all, then there would be nobody to find them guilty, right?  They’d already gone so far as to poison the water…

Noticing Tora’s expression, she suddenly found herself reaching out to give the other girl’s hand a reassuring squeeze with her own.

"We’re gonna find who did this, okay?  I’m sick of playing Monobear’s screwed-up game.  Being afraid or trying to ignore what’s goin’ on hasn’t done shit for me, so…after this, I’m not gonna stop until I find a way out!  And then we can all laugh in his fuckin’ face!"

…Hopefully she hadn’t been too forward just then.  She didn’t want one of the few students left - one she got along with, at that - to start avoiding her.  After a pause, Naomi stepped back and looked away.

"Uh…I guess what I’m trying to say is…the faster we catch this culprit, the sooner we can kiss this place goodbye, y’know?  There’s gotta be something we’re missing.  You wanna check the trash cans, or maybe the chairs and tables outside?  Or we could search both together, make sure we get a better look.”

[superduperjanitor]

Naomi's hand was warm and comforting and from it, a safe confidence seemed to emenate. Toragesa was impressed - or was it maybe pride? - to see her friend step up and take charge of herself and their situation. Naomi... Really was a strong person, Toragesa thought to herself.

"Uhhh... I- Yes, ma'am!"

Was all Toragesa could say to fill the silence before Naomi stepped back and let go of her hand. A faint warmth still lingered in the hand that Toragesa bunched up into a fist, also looking away. Naomi did seem to have a better grasp on the situation then Toragesa had here, so it only seemed logical to listen to her.

"Sure, I can - y'know, look in the trash. 'Cause... Yeah."

Typical janitor work, rooting around through the trash - but it was the least pleasant of the two, so it'd just be rude to leave it to Naomi to do.

Toragesa looked down into the trash can, and if she didn't see something right at the top, gingerly stuck her hand down to shift the garbage around a bit to try and find something. Immediately after, disgusted by her now completely unhygenic hands, Toragesa went to turn the tap on so she could wash her hands without a word.

[superduperjanitor]

adhesion [Naomi/Investigation]

[thedelinquentballerina-blog]

"Not in a little while, no, so I’m probably okay…" 

Was Tora worried about her?  Of course, the last thing anyone - anyone but the culprit, that is - wanted right now was for more people to start dropping dead, but something about this felt like more than ordinary concern.  The other girl seemed to be fidgeting a lot, too, although maybe that was just nerves.

At the mention of Mercury’s temperature, Naomi started to remark that it was actually something a relief, given how cold it had been getting - but then wondered if that would sound insensitive.  After all, the Amalgam station group had been sweating it out for the duration of the motive.  She suddenly felt like a bit of a jerk for not even having considered what Tora had gone through.

"K-Kinda, yeah.  If you need to cool down, maybe we could take a dip after all this-"

It was then, in the time-honored tradition of moment-killers, that the next announcement was sent to her transit pass.  At first, Naomi thought that all of the evidence in Tsubasa’s murder had been collected, and that they would soon be regrouping for the trial.  What she actually read made her feel as if the room was freezing once more.

"N…No way…Ruri, too…?"

[superduperjanitor]

Toragesa's face shone up, both in surprise and - well, she wasn't really sure what - when Naomi started to suggest taking a swim. It was... Well, it was highly inappropriate to think about that kind of thing in this situation, wasn't it? Tsubasa had just been found dead, and it was no time to start discussing future fun and games...

But the idea of going swimming with Naomi really was an appealing one. She wondered, did Naomi know how to swim then? Probably. The ballerina did seem like the type... Before Toragesa could get lose in thinking about asking Naomi to teach her how to, she felt a chill come from Naomi.

Toragesa saw that her face was one of horror, and she understood before Naomi had said it out loud.

"Oh. Oh no."

Toragesa blanched, her stomach dropping low. The fun mood and thoughts she had a moment before had completely disappeared.

"Is... Is he dead, too?"

What else would there be an announcement about? Toragesa looked at Naomi, feeling uncomfortable and wishing, not for the first time since she got here, that she could offer some sort of comfort. Weakly, Toragesa raised her arms up, like she was going to wrap them around Naomi, before dropping them to her sides and looking away, clenching her teeth.

[superduperjanitor]

adhesion [Naomi/Investigation]

[thedelinquentballerina-blog]

Naomi eventually went so far as to turn the cup upside-down and shake it, but still discovered nothing.  It looked like Tsubasa had drank every last drop of his poison.  And worse, if he hadn’t noticed something while he did, they probably wouldn’t be able to find it by sight or smell…She felt like she’d be sticking to bottled water for a while after this.

Leaning against the counter, she turned back to Tora, who from the looks of it hadn’t found anything either.

"Other than here?  The bathrooms, maybe…But why would he have a cup in there?  I can’t think of any other way Tsubasa coulda been poisoned, except for the culprit putting it in his drink when his back was turned.  I mean, you’d have to put it straight into the pipes or somethin’."

…She was tired.  It felt selfish to even think it, but after fearing for her life in freezing temperatures, was it so wrong to want a little break before investigating the murder of yet another classmate?

"I…honestly, I feel stumped right now.  Maybe we should wait until the others find a clue."

[superduperjanitor]

"Right, straight into the pipes... That'd make all tha' water here dangerous t'drink, eh? ...You ain't drunk anything, right? I mean, jus' in case."

Toragesa looked worriedly over at Naomi like she was about to collapse any second. Naomi did seem to be... Alright, though. If a person could even be alright in this situation. She could tell her purple haired friend wasn't any more keen on investigating than she herself was, though.

"...Yeah. Something like that is alright too - I mean, just taking a second to breathe."

Standing up, Toragesa slouched forward so she was closer to Naomi's height. Her eyes were locked onto the ground, only flitting around ever so barely, and silence started to fill the space between them again. Toragesa really hadn't ever been good at carrying conversation - especially not with cute girls - and usually silence didn't bother her. Right now, though, she wished she could say something.

Instead she raised her hands up, briefly moving them forward like she was going to rest them on Naomi's shoulders before abruptly shoving them into her pockets instead.

"Sorry, uh... Heh, it's- uh, it's- warm in here, huh?"

Even if it was just small talk, Toragesa could feel how her neck and ears were uncomfortably heating up and burning from - embarrassment? It wouldn't be the first time an uncomfortable fluster turned her face red.

[superduperjanitor]

adhesion [Naomi/Investigation]

[thedelinquentballerina-blog]

At first, Naomi thought that Tora was going to give her a high five, so she started to raise her hand too.  Having her hair ruffled instead…Well, it wasn’t a bad feeling, but her face suddenly seemed to be getting uncomfortably warm.  …It was probably just from the station’s temperature going back to normal.

"M-Me, too…I mean, I’m glad that YOU’RE alright- not that I couldn’t be glad if I…wasn’t alright, too…h-heh."

A few moments of awkward silence followed before she cleared her throat and gratefully turned her attention to the newfound evidence.

"Well, this was really the first place I thought to check, but - this looks like a good place to start!"  Trying not to touch the glass in case she fouled anything up, Naomi looked inside for any traces of what was used to poison Tsubasa; hopefully it would allow them to track down the culprit somehow.  “And maybe then we can go over this place together, just to be sure…I mean, you’d probably be able to tell if Tsubasa’s killer had tried to hide something by cleaning it up, right?”

[superduperjanitor]

"Yeah, I- heh."

Toragesa was grateful to momentarily have her back to Naomi, pinching the bridge of her nose with her cigarette free hand. That was embarrassing - why did she do that? Thankfully, out of the two of them it seemed like Naomi at least had the sense to stay on track with the evidence.

Turning back to her investigation partner, Toragesa watched her carefully handle the glass. Good call, since what had knocked Tsubasa out had probably been in there.

"What- y'think I have experience with crime scenes? ...But you're right in that I could at least catch a poorly done job."

Toragesa glanced around the tiny - it really was remarkably small stand - for something more to look at. Dropping her cigarette onto the ground, Toragesa crouched down as she crushed it under her foot, glancing along the floor and under the chairs, and then back up at Naomi.

"...Have you, uh..." She cut herself off and looked away, at a loss for words. "...You don't know where Mariya would have gotten his water from, right? Maybe, uh... There's something there."

She wasn't really too keen on running around chasing evidence though - not with Naomi, at least.

[superduperjanitor]

adhesion [Naomi/Investigation]

[thedelinquentballerina-blog]

Naomi’s mood hadn’t improved since the announcement of Tsubasa’s death.  All she could think about were the horrible things she’d said to him the last time they talked.  She couldn’t bear to approach the tableau of students around his corpse, so she decided to busy herself with investigating instead, even if it was becoming clear that her skills in that area were sorely lacking.

According to the report, Tsubasa had been killed by ingesting di…dee-eth…He’d been poisoned, that much was clear.  With that in mind, she headed for the burger stand.

The uncomfortable question of whodunnit was already preying on her mind again.  Unless there was some secret way of getting between the stations, the culprit had to be someone from the Mercury group, right?  No way in hell would she suspect Hiroshi.  Tsubasa hadn’t been stabbed, so that pretty much ruled out Lady Shizuka, didn’t it?  But it didn’t feel right to start pointing fingers at anyone else, either…

Naomi hadn’t seen Toragesa enter, nor did she know how worried the other girl had felt, but she experienced her own rush of relief upon sighting the familiar red hair and cigarette smoke.  A partner to investigate with meant she could focus on the ‘how’ instead of the ‘who’, at least for a little while.

"Hey, Tora.  It’s good to see you again…I-I mean, well, not with what…y’know…Anyway, did you already have a look around here?"

[superduperjanitor]

Toragesa heard that there was someone behind her, but didn’t bother to look. She took another deep inhale, and almost coughed it out when the person who’d just entered spoke up.

The janitor glanced over her shoulder with an almost bright smile - still clearly burdened by what had happened, but far brighter than socially acceptable. Even if it was poor manners, Toragesa kept her cigarette lit, nodding towards Naomi in greeting.

“It’s alright. I get it - I feel tha’ same.”

Awkwardly she raises her hand up, and stopping mid motion like she thought the better of it, staring at Naomi with a vaguely forced smile. After a moment or two, she let her hand fall to rest onto the ballerinas head instead, gently ruffling her hair and dipping her own face forward, closing her eyes.

“Naomi… I’m glad you’re alright, kid.”

Wait, it was pretty rude to just invade somebody’s personal space like that. Toragesa took a sharp step back and turned away, scratching at the back of her head bashfully.

“Nah, there… I mean, I just took a quick look, but the only thing that’s standing out is that.” With her cigarette in hand, Toragesa pointed towards the glass on the counter.

“…You?”

[superduperjanitor]

adhesion [Naomi/Investigation]

As soon as the body discovery message ran out, Toragesa was running towards the train station. In Mercury - who was it? As the train rolled up, the worst scenario played out in her mind. What if it was- She tried to shake the idea away. No, it couldn't be her. She stepped on the train and fumbled to get a cigarette to her lips, dropping it when the train started to move to Mercury and having to scramble on the ground to get it back. Her hands shook as she lit it, and the usual momentary calm was nonexistent. This complete lack of communication had been harder to handle than she'd first thought. As soon as she stepped off the platform, she could see clearly who was lying there. It wasn't Naomi, and for a moment a sense of relief rushed over her, and then anger at her own callousness. Quietly, without going closer to Tsubasa's dead body, Toragesa walked into the burger stall and glanced over at the counter. A long drag on her cigarette, and Toragesa blew out a large puff of smoke, her back to the entrance, blinded to anybody else coming in.

[superduperjanitor]

evaporation - motive reaction [OPEN???]

Toragesa had never actually been on a beach before. Most of her summers had been spent working or in summer school, after all. But with the string of bad luck - well, if you could even call something like this scenario just 'bad luck' - it was only typical that the second she stepped foot into one she'd get trapped here.

Monokuma's announcement hadn't really shook her up. It was a slow moving motive and, sure, eventually they'd be at risk if this carried on, but it was nothing to go into a panic about.

She'd spent plenty of days out in scorching summer heat fully clothed and working - compared to the students on the other side, she'd gotten the easier end of the deal here. Still, she was more than aware of how easily this situation could turn from 'survivable beach day' to 'literally cooked alive', but...

Surely someone down in Mercury would crack before anyone in Amalgam? Toragesa reassured herself of this fact, and felt moderately safe and confident in that she wouldn't be attacked.

Toragesa sat, seemingly calmly, in the sand, her shoes and socks beside her and the hem of her pants rolled up so she could splay out her toes in the sand. It wasn't so hot that this was unpleasant yet, and if she closed her eyes she could imagine she was on a regular school trip or a regular family vacation.

Casting a glance down over Mercury, Toragesa briefly wondered how Naomi would be handling it, and how much of a shame it was that they were seperated. With everything that had happened, and with the total numbness that still had a clasp around Toragesa's heart, the janitor would have enjoyed having somebody she could open up to a bit. Maybe once this motive had passed she'd try to reach out.

[superduperjanitor]

sterile [ninsei]

[shslartisticgymnast-blog1]

The Station was empty, but Ninsei had been standing there for long enough to see how a lot of people had investigated large swaths of it, though not everything— Ninsei wasn’t sure what he assumed he could find, but maybe something. He walked along the walls, as if the walls could provide some sort of answer, running his calloused hand on the surface.

Maybe he wasn’t just so excited about the idea of going back to the body.

He wasn’t paying much attention to his surroundings, fingertips kneading his thigh as he stood still, his black eyes closed calmly. He was… Calm, was he? He wasn’t so sure, but it was something: a vast void of emotion must’ve been better than crying uncontrollably.

At least, so he thought.

Ninsei didn’t know how similar he felt to Toragesa, but upon opening his eyes he could spy the girl putting out her cigarette against the wall and stared at the cigarette dropping to the bin or the floor somewhat judgingly, but warily in a manner that said he was nervous about the judging itself.

Smoking was a bad habit, no athlete should do that, and that was about all Ninsei’s experience with cigarettes. Nobody in his family smoked. His family…

Toragesa’s hey broke his thoughs and suddenly he was speaking to someone— Ninsei was happy someone had spoken to him, a wave of sadness creeping upon him as if he was remembering that the people who had died were all so very real and he had seen them and talked to them and Toragesa could die, too.

He didn’t want to cry, so he looked around, glanced up to Toragesa’s eyes, nervously shifted his gaze around and then moved forward to hug her. He didn’t ask for permission -a bad habit of his- gingerly pressing his palms against her back and his cheek against somewhere on his chest since he was so short in comparison.

There was nothing to say, Ninsei thought, but maybe he didn’t want to open his mouth and risk sounding teary. His thoughts drifted off to trying not to cry, and he instinctively tightened his grip around Toragesa, her slim frame probably getting lifted off the ground when Ninsei misjudged his hugging strength for a moment before the realization hit him and he abruptly stepped backwards, nearly stumbling over his feet and falling.

"So… Sorry," he said while regaining his footing. "Hey," he downright muttered next, looking a little defeated and turning away, wiping his glossy eyes on the back of his hand.

"Ah… Investing- No no, investigation," Ninsei said, turning to fiddle with the screen you used to call the trains, even if they didn’t work. 

The boy cleared his throat and looked around again like he tended to, turning to Toragesa, again, looking like he was trying to find something to talk about. “Ah.. How do… You’re doing,” Ninsei started, weakly gesturing with his hands, “How are you… Doing.”

[superduperjanitor]

Wait, what was this kid doing coming in so close? Toragesa took a step back, evidently confused and uncomfortable, but Ninsei closed the gap and wrapped his little athlete arms around her. It wouldn't take a mind reader to be able to see Toragesa's expression broadcasting out 'what the fuck' and 'help' load and clear.

Awkwardly, Toragesa - now hovering gently off the ground - raised one of her bony hands and patted the top of Ninsei's head twice, more in a 'please put me down and let go, this is enough' gesture than a 'there, there'. Another emotional outburst that Toragesa didn't currently feel capable of handling. Not that she normally would have, either.

Eventually Ninsei set her down, and, well. Poor kid did look like a pathetic wreck. Toragesa felt bad for him, really - although remarkably less bad than she did before she got her personal space invaded - and offered something sort of like a smile which, for the situation, was completely inappropriate.

"No, don't, uh... Worry 'bout it." Clearing her throat, Toragesa looked away, straightening out her shirt and vest as if she actually cared about all the wrinkles it had gotten from her sleeping in it. Right - investigating. She'd come here for a reason, even if she'd briefly forgotten about it. She replied to Ninsei as she slouched over to him, glancing at his fiddling with the screen train.

"...I'm doing just fine." Maybe not the right answer. Toragesa scratched the back of her neck, jostling the ponytail around slightly as she looked around, walking closer to the edge of the platform and staring down the tunnel leading to Central station. Nobody could have gone through there with the train here though, right?

[superduperjanitor]

sterile [Reaction/Open]

Toragesa looked down at the slumped dead body of Shinya Zaizen, and felt... Well, not much at all. Not much more than a vague sense of panic and dread, which had been looming over them all long before this. Sure, she felt sickened at seeing a corpse, and a brief rush of sadness for another life stamped out, but looking around at the crowd of people around her, with teary eyes and fearstruck faces, the most pressing emotion on her mind was guilt that she wasn't doing the same - and further guilt for that being in her thoughts at all.

Solemnly she took the file from Monokuma without looking at the sadistic plushie animatronic. A part of her rationalized that this was outrageous and extra awful, rubbing salt in the wounds of everybody here, but she muttered a soft 'thanks' without giving it much thought and stepping back, away from the crowd and out of the kitchen.

So, what, was this meant to be the same as last time? They'd be forced to play detective, accuse eachother in a suffocating trial room and watch another classmate die like Haru? Images flashed behind her eyes, burned into her mind, of how he'd been torn to shreds by metal roses. The gorey memory made bile rise in her throat, but even so, the death of Haru, Fukumi and Michina felt like distant memories already. As if they hadn't really happened. Her own callousness surprised her - was this a coping mechanism or was she really that cold?

She flicked through the Monokuma file as casually as if it was a sunday newspaper as she walked from the kitchen, keen to get away from the crying faces that made her feel strange and the dead body that made her feel numb.

There was a task set to them though - investigate for clues - and focusing on that instead, focusing on the idea that she could be helpful and useful too, made her feel slightly better.

Toragesa made her way through the dining area and ballroom, barely sparing anything more than the ground at her feet a glance, lifting a cigarette to her lips and lighting it. She then trotted down the stairs leading to the train station, glancing almost nonchalantly around with no particular aim until her eyes landed on another person, already here.

Immediately regretting the cigarette - it was an awful habit, indulging would just make her look bad - Toragesa located the trashbin, if one existed. Killing the light against the wall and then letting it drop down into the bin, she gave a look down into it - Was there anything inside? If there wasn't one, she simply let the dead cigarette drop to the floor, because littering was okay if you were stuck in a death trap.

"...Hey."

[superduperjanitor]

clean sheets [SUPER late trial response] [CLOSED]

The trial had, as with most other of the students, thoroughly shaken Toragesa to the core of her being. The adrenaline had been coursing through her veins throughout the entire ordeal, panicking her and sending her heartrate up into unhealthy heights. Being pointed out as a suspect surely hadn't helped either. The second it was all over, the second that she was back on that train ride - the normalcy of the situation after the grotesque death of another student she had just witnessed was bizarre and sickening - the adrenaline slowly faded out, leaving behind only an empty, anxious exhaustion.

Her body felt unusually heavy, sluggish and awkward, and throughout the entire ride Toragesa stared glossy eyed at her blank face in the reflection of the train window.

Was it fair, what had happened? In the moment after Haru confessed that he was planning to kill anyway - planning to kill Naomi, of all people - Toragesa had been swept away by her own emotions, fueled by anger, by a sense that this was justice and righteous. Now, she regretted it, not least because it felt like proof of her own immaturity. She had people who relied on her at home, and she'd like nothing more than to be someone reliable to her new classmates, especially considering the situation.

On auto-pilot, her feet carried her to her room, unlocking the door and crawling down under the sheets of her bed, fully clothed with her shoes left on.

Sleep didn't come as quick as she would have liked, with the images of Haru getting gruesomely ripped into and the ringing shouts of anger in her ears, but it came quick enough and heavy, keeping her asleep and in her room through Nomura's message and well into the next day.

[superduperjanitor]

two hot babes in speedos

ignore the flaws focus on those buns

[superduperjanitor]

[TASK 3] Vapor Pressure // Open

[thedelinquentballerina-blog]

Birds of a feather stuck together, even if they were otherwise super antisocial.  It took Naomi a while to calm down from the sight of Mamoru’s death and then find Toragesa, but when she did, she went to gently touch the redheaded janitor on her shoulder.  Maybe she should’ve come up with something to say first, but since she and the other girl seemed pretty similar, Naomi figured she’d just appreciate knowing someone had her back.

Then she sat down - not right next to Toragesa, since they all needed their space, but still close enough - and leaned back, exhaling deeply as she tried to gather her thoughts.  What could you even say at a time like this?  Nothing made sense.  If it was all a crazy nightmare, then they clearly needed something stronger than a pinch.

"Are you, uh…"  ‘Alright’ would be glaringly obvious, so she awkwardly un-and-re-tied her shoes before starting over.  "You wanna grab a coffee?  That usually helps my nerves…"

[superduperjanitor]

When Toragesa felt the hand on her shoulder, she flinched, shocked momentarily out of her own little bubble to look upwards and see who it was. While she wouldn't have actually been averse to anybody offering their company, it was comforting that Naomi was here, in some strange way. Maybe it was simply because of how much she reminded Toragesa of her old friends made her feel closer to home, or maybe simply because she could feel relaxed around someone like Naomi.

Either way, the silence went enormously appreciated, giving Toragesa a few more moments to fill the air with her pathetic sniffling and sobbing which even now was slowly dying away, a thumping headache and sore eyes and face starting to take over instead.

As Naomi began talking, Toragesa looked over to her with eyes a bit too intent than they should be. Luckily, Naomi's focus was where Toragesa's usually landed, for some strange earth bound reason - shoes.

In a way she was envious of how easily Naomi said just the right thing, gently offering an opportunity to move Toragesa's mind from a topic without being patronizing. For the same reason, though, in that particular moment Toragesa felt overwhlmed with love and appreciation for Naomi, even if her words weren't 100% confident and a bit awkward.

"Ah, yeah. I'd... Uh- I'd really like that."

Slowly, after giving her own face the cursory wipedown, Toragesa pulled herself back up to her feet, and her hand went to the back pocket, fishing out an old and worn packet of cigarettes. Shameful and awful and a habit she wanted to kick? Yes, but surely in a situation this stressful an exception could be made. Her skin felt like it was crawling anyway and her head was pounding. She could only hope this would help. Before she went to light it though, she glanced back over to Naomi.

"...Uhm- sorry- it's bad, but I feel like I'd need it. S-sorry. Uh- yer not asthmatic or anythin', right?"

[superduperjanitor]

[TASK 3] Vapor Pressure // Open

[youskateoryoudie-blog]

Ruri was indeed passing through the train to get to the other side of the platform for whatever reason—probably to get away from the brunt of everyone’s emotional breakdowns, yes, but he’d found that of course other people had the same idea. Toragesa was sitting alone and sobbing, and while he couldn’t offer her the comfort a cute girl could, he could be a sort of alright guy.

Now, all of this was so nerve-wracking; comforting people wasn’t his area of expertise. By God he would try, but Ruri was usually the one who needed comforting… in particular, he remembered several occasions where he had cried so hard he got sick the next day and needed to be talked down from hysterics for at least an hour. It was an embarrassing memory, but remembering being home and living normally set off pangs of uneasiness in his stomach. He sat down quietly.

"…Hahakigi-san, right?"

Ruri hadn’t done the extensive researching of his classmates some had, but he could at least put names to faces… and especially now that they’d been here for a day, he had overheard a few things. So he had that going for him.

"I’m Ruri Egusa. Uh…"

His hand went down to his heavy cardigan pocket and stayed pressed there. The extra tokens he’d gotten from Haru were still there, though he doubted that anyone felt in the mood to play in the arcade anymore. He remembered that Toragesa had been in a hurry to pick up her coins after she’d thrown them, so maybe if they really did hold no real value, at least they could offer her comfort in some way. That’s what he was hoping for. 

Ruri emptied his pocket and held his hand out to Toragesa.

"You can have these…"

[superduperjanitor]

Toragesa looked in hapless confusion at the offered hand, and then back up to him. She barely understood what the tokens were for, having not gone into the arcade, but they seemed to be some form of currency, at least. So why was she getting them from him? Wait- Was he paying her to do something? Bribing her to stop crying? Other people who came to that conclusion might feel offended or angry at the thought, but to Toragesa it just felt rather natural.

...Even so, it was a weird thought. Having let Ruri hold his hand out for an awkwardly long while, Toragesa sniffed and dragged her wrist underneath her nose, and then stretched out to take the tokens from him. Was it just a gift? It reminded her strangely of one of her younger siblings who'd gone through a phase where they'd offer people handfuls of beans or peas when they thought others felt sad. That memory was sparked, and Toragesa choked out a laugh as she stared at the coins in her hands, shaking her head. This situation still felt hopeless, but this Ruri Egusa seemed sweet, at least.

Toragesa turned away from the coins and looked up at Ruri instead with a wonky, unsure smile, then glancing away bashfully, unable to hold eyecontact for long enough to express her gratitude properly.

"...Thanks, Egusa-san."

Calling him so politely felt a bit strange when the association to their younger sibling was currently so strong, but it would have been weird to go for Ruri-chan, wouldn't it? Toragesa sniffed again as she put the coins in her pocket, still feeling empty and raw from her little crying session, and stared at the floor of the train for a few moments.

"Uh... You- uh, we're- ...Ah. Are you sure you won't- Need those?"

[superduperjanitor]

[TASK 3] Vapor Pressure // Open

[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.

[superduperjanitor]

"Uuhgh- Nnhn- I'm sorry-"

Toragesa found herself unable to cut off her crying immediately, instead spluttering and wheezing in a near hysterical fashion, bending forwards even further until her face was pressed against her own knees. The overwhelming and sudden hatred for how pathetic she was being hit her - it hadn't bothered her until this girl pointed it out, but she was right, wasn't she?

Biting down on her lower lip helped keep the sound of choked back sobs and wet sniffs back, and after a moment Toragesa was able to lift her head back up and look to Michina, aggressively dragging her hand a few times over her face with a handkerchief she'd fished up from her apron pocket, to wipe away the tears and gross runny snot and look somewhat more presentable.

"I'm sorry."

She repeated herself, now in a clearer and less stressed tone, but her voice and lower lip still quivered helplessly and her eyes were rough and red already. Still, she did seem to be making a conscious effort to not keep sniffling, and perhaps that was admirable in itself (although it was doubtful this particular conversation partner would agree).

Clearing her throat, Toragesa raised a hand to pull her beanie down as if she was embarrassed and trying to hide her sore eyes, glancing at Michina, then down to Michina's shoes - fancy, but now wasn't the time - back to her own reflection and then to Michina again, her eyes flickering all over like a distressed and scared animal.

"...Are... Uh. Are you, uh- Are you okay?"

It came out a bit forced and her tongue felt heavy - in all honesty, it wasn't like she actually cared that much about this girls well being, but it seemed like the polite and expected response, even after having been caught sobbing in a train carriage.

[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.

[superduperjanitor]

[TASK 2] Dwell Time

[shslicehockey]

Takumi at long last was heading out of the arcade. He had not yet played any of the games, feeling far too suspicious of Mamoru to actually concentrate on having fun. Inside he had chatted to Hiroshi, Suzuka, Ruri, Eiji and Shinya; gathering as many clues as he possibly could. Not that there were many at all to be discovered. He sighed heavily as he pushed open the door noticing one of his classmates scurrying around the floor like some squirrel gathering up its nuts. He bent down and offered to help them.

“Hey there, yah want some help? I don’t think we’ve met yet, I’m Takumi Akiyama. I’m the Super High-School Level Ice Hockey Player.”

As he busied himself assisting Toragesa, his mind drifted to his website search, taking sly glances at her trying to remember. Toragesa Hahakigi, the Super High-School Level Janitor, he was sure. He couldn’t find as much information as he wanted on her but that just meant it would be more fun learning about her achievements and feats in person.

“I don’t quite understand these tokens y’know?”

[superduperjanitor]

Toragesa was vaguely aware that another person had entered her space, but paid them no attention. After all, they were a lot of people in a rather little space, somebody was bound to pass by. She first properly noticed them when they took contact, at which point she stared at Takumi the same way a defensive wild raccoon torn between tearing your eyes out or running off would. It wasn't in anyway intentional, and if Toragesa had the ability to take a step back and look at herself she'd probably melt from embarrassment.

Currently, that was impossible, but after a second she relaxed back into a more normal, less wild expression, carefully pulling her mask back over her mouth.

"Uhh... Yeah, uh. Thanks? Akiyama-san- thanks."

A sports guy, huh? She'd never been good at any sport in school. At best she was maybe possibly decent at minigolf. It was easy to tell that this guy really was the athletic type, though - just look at those muscles! Purely aesthetically she could admire his form.

Realizing that it was rude, and perhaps sending the wrong message, to stare at his biceps, Toragesa glanced back up at Takumi's face, trying to think of a response to his comment on the tokens.

"Eh? What ain't there tah understand 'bout them? I mean, uh... Sorry. S'not like I've, uh... Tried out the nyan-nyans."

[superduperjanitor]

[TASK 2] Dwell Time

There was something about how incredibly nonchalant and casually this Nomura handled the bizarre situation that set Toragesa off balance, momentarily forgetting how peculiar and questionable it was that they'd been hiding behind a wall, popped up out of nowhere and offered absolutely no explanation. Instead, Toragesa found herself swept into the mood, politely bowing and nodding when she recieved her arcade and nyan tokens.

"Ah... Yeah, thank you."

The arcade, huh? If she remembered the map correctly, it was just about this way. As she turned, Toragesa gingerly counted up how many tokens she'd been given. There was something mildly pacifying about how shiny they were and the ambigiously attatched value to them. Just like real money!

By the time Toragesa's brain had kickstarted and reminded her that she shouldn't be as calm about the situation as she was, she'd already walked a good bit away. In an aggressive and sudden movement, she swivelled on her heel back towards the area she'd come from, clutching her tokens tightly in one hand.

"Wait- OI, WAIT A SECOND!"

Toragesa suddenly flared up, yelling out at seemingly nobody or nothing in particular and lifting a hand to move down the mask over her face. Why the hell was she obediently walking over to the arcade just because some mystery man had popped up and told them to?!

"What the fuck- Is that it?! Is that- What's goin' on here! I don't want yer shitty-ass damn Nyan-nyan Tokens!"

To prove her point, she raised her fist into the air and then tossed all of the tokens down onto the ground.

Anyone watching her could see the immediate regret forming on her face as the coin-like tokens scattered around her in all directions, a few rolling further away.

"Ah- Crap!"

An immediate change of heart seemed to happen as she bent down to try and collect back as many as possible. There was no such thing as being too proud here, no sir.