ダンス!

[shou shimizu, shsl tap dancer] [alive] [affiliated with cloud coliseum]

[superdupertap]

everybody’s talking in their sleep | shou | murder reaction | open

Content to not bother with anyone anymore, that’s what he was- the previously at least somewhat optimistic Shou Shimizu was rapidly becoming disillusioned with those he was stuck with. Especially given the afternoon he’d had- no, he really didn’t want to talk to anyone around him one bit. He wanted to go home and talk to Daiki, who wouldn’t weirdly follow people or shove or yell or get angry at him for asking menial questions. Daiki was kind. 

This was not.

A dull-eyed gaze eventually settles on his ID card as it announces a murder (in the middle of the day, how had no-one stopped it?) and he reluctantly hurries from the kitchen, abandoning a perfectly good sandwich and making his way to the crime scene with Purin in tow. It’s not as if he could say he was especially sad about who’d died- the most he can manage is a twisted sort of frown and an averting of his eyes- after all, he hadn’t known Clive at all, had barely spoken to the other.

Really, he was the worst, but he just wanted to get away from those who could threaten him as fast as possible.

“...”

Not even a stuttered word emerges from the pale boy’s mouth before he’s turned, managing to seemingly disappear into the flush of arriving students despite his height. Nicknamed as a ghost appropriately after all, he thinks to himself, hand settling on the locket around his neck as he shuffles away. 

Once he believes himself to be alone, or at least a few steps further, something rises to the front of his mind- not especially helpful, or even kind, but it makes him snicker in a childish way, fingers tightening on the warm metal in his grasp. In a wheezing, half-laughing voice he speaks to himself, and perhaps to the spectre of his precious person that he’d been wishing was around.

“Not so lucky, was he... aha... !”

Yes, he really hoped no-one had heard that joke, if it could be called that at all. Judgement on his way of cheering himself up wasn’t necessary in the least, he thought. He also hoped that no-one would find him and ask why he wasn’t helping to investigate. 

(The short answer: those around him were too much of a threat for him to stay.)

[shsl-perfume]

Recovering from the Wildfire (Shou)

[shsl-perfume]

Adeline gives a small smile, shaking her head and letting out a weak chuckle.

“Eheh, no, it’s okay… I just… said some things I shouldn’t have. It’s… not that big of a deal, really.”

She thought about it, but… there isn’t much to say, is there? She just messed up, and Yukiko got angry. Sure, maybe that level of retaliation was unnecessary, but Adeline still considered herself at fault. Besides, Shou got along with Yukiko, right? It would feel kind of rude to talk smack about his friend behind her back.

“Um, that’s understandable… and, uh, yeah, It is important to be honest with yourself, and with others… well, that’s what I think at least.”

The girl seemed to perk up a bit with mention of looking around. Sure, most of the area was more depressing than cheerful, but the music store seemed rather nice. Maybe some uplifting tunes would brighten her spirits. And Shou was a tap dancer, right? It would be fun to dance a little!

“Uh, ok! If you want to… The music store looks interesting, eheh… let’s check it out, then!”

[superdupertap]

“Well, as long as you realize, that sho-should be good, right? Eheh...”

Of course teenagers were different from little kids. They didn’t seek appeasement and you couldn’t really cheer them up unless you got them to talk about their feelings, which he didn’t much want to try with Adeline. He was probably making her uncomfortable enough as was- and it wasn’t as if he was some authority on feelings, either. So, he steps back, giving her a small, silly salute before turning and shuffling off down the path towards the music store.

“Honesty is an important trait, but... sometimes it’s better when people fake, too, I guess. If they’re a nasty person. But yo-you’re not a nasty person, so you prob-probably should let yourself be sad sometimes. Hmhm! Hmhmhm. Well, I guess I can’t judge. I wouldn’t want to show myself b-being sad, either. Although it would mean more confidence. Hm!”

Hm! Same, dude! Just keep rambling on!

“I hop-hope they have a working record player! Songs on record players are usually old, and that means they’re good to dance to, most of the time. It’s hard to dance to-to stuff with the, erm... electric bass stuff. At least tap, because it depends on... lyrics and stuff. Tap dubstep... that’d be weird. What kind of mus-music do you like?”

As he rambles on (at least about something that interested him) and approaches the music store, he makes sure to hold the door for her so she can go in first. Nice! Cool! i cant write narration!

[cloudcoliseum-blog]

Shou scratches at his cheek lightly before speaking up from the back of the mass of students. "Ah... MonoMANU-san, you sound a bit sa-sa-salty. Are you upset because your weak plans are being foiled? Perhaps you should have trrrrried harder, huh... but, anyway! You're not our parent, so I don't think you ca-can police our internet usage like this. Don't you agr-agree?"

MonoMANU crackles with anger and hovers through the mob of students, closer to Shou - it’s right up against Shou, and would be intimidating if it wasn’t a hovering oval.

“Oh, you’re really asking for it, aren’t you?” it buzzes, “Too bad shittalking your chaperone isn’t a rule I can punish, or else you’d be in a world of hurt, buddy. That thing exploited a minor oversight that is now fixed, and I will police anything I want to.”

It backs away again, just a little. “You won’t be so smug when you see what I have in store for you. Maybe I can fuck you up hard enough to get that stupid stutter out of you. It would make your petty facsimiles of defiance much more effective.”

[superdupertap]

Shou shrinks away a bit, but then... laughs childishly.

“I thi-think you need arms to do that, MonoMANU-san. If the stu... stutter is too much for you, then fine, jeez... haha... you’re just a floating oval, aren’t you? That’s no... not the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. And if you can’t punish me for talking, well... that makes you even more useless, huh...”

[cloudcoliseum-blog]

[i'm sorry mystery-san but i couldn't read one of those words! was it don't be fooled by something? also, i think that everyone should have a name or that's sad! but it's okay if you don't, i'll just call you mystery-san still, if that's okay. anyway, i'm doing my best, so do your best too! （‐＾▽＾‐）]

[T̩□͍□᷂□᷃k͆ ̤ỷ□̗u͝.ͩ.̲.͙ ̝□͉□᷿aͥĺḻy͒.̮.̎.ͩ ͮtͦh́a͓t̍ ̪□̘□᷅□̏r͒ţ ͤo̒f͇ ̻y̻□ͨ□̼r̃s̲.̘.͍.̏ ̢Ǐ ͥt̴h̭□̽n̝ḵ ̸t̨□̌□̹t̰'᷁s̎ ̓ḯ□᷅□̮□̱r͋t͞a᷾n̔tͬ.̏ ̌Yͮo̅u̵'̜r͔e̊ ̛a͔ ̱g͓o͋□͉d᷊ ̜pͪ□̈r̔s᷆□̒n̻.͊ ̇I͋ ᷅b͒e͜□᷊□᷁e᷾v͡e̅ ͦt᷃h͠□̭t͘ ̮y̒o̬u̝'̝l̮l̮ ̆bͨe̓ ͎aͧ□͞l̢e̫ ̕tͤo̙ ͡kͫ□͊□̖p͞ ̎s̄t̟r̒ŏ□̝□͇.͋ ͈I͈'̄m͒ ̷s᷉o̊ŕ□ͪ□̓ ͮI̍ ̏c᷇a᷁n̔'ͅt͇ ᷊□̵□᷈l̎ķ ͙l͢oͬn̊g͍.̬ ̒I̸t͞'᷆s͙ ̣a̡l̈□͕□̓a̒dͦy̯ ͗t͖□̮□̤ ᷾□̏□̻□̸e̊.̅]

[superdupertap]

[oh, that’s alright! i’m sure you’re busy! thank you for speaking to us, anyway, and we’ll wait for you to try and help us out of here, i guess!]

[lemnosobserver]

Unusual Suspects   I Shou

[lemnosobserver]

“Well, the simple answer for why I wish to know, is to perhaps attempt to keep relations from becoming even more strained than they already are. Yes, the threat of MonoMANU revealing who these secrets specifically belong to has passed, but the knowledge that people have these secrets in the first place still lingers. Some of these secrets are ultimately harmless, while others…”

..Hm, so he knows Yukiko can not be the one? As delicious the irony of the most vocal of android haters being one herself could have been, at least it narrowed down the list of suspects to six. They wait for a moment to fully plan on what they decide to say to the dancer.

“…My talent involves being able to predict, observe, and analyze the behaviors of groups that I have decided to study. But even that is not needed to recognize that there are those here who do not exactly…welcome, InOrganic life. Should someone’s hidden status be revealed publicly, those who do not find IOs favorable may find their trust breached by the revelation.  Danger may come to the android if they are discovered.”

“…My intent is to ensure the identity of the android comes privately to me. In order to ensure it does not become knowledge for those who may wish to have incentive to kill them if they find out. If I were to find their identity before the next motive is given to us, that would be the most optimum.”

[superdupertap]

Shou finds quite quickly that he’s having a hard time following all of these scientific terms. InOrganic life wasn’t exactly his favorite topic, after all, if the trial had been any indication, and E.L.L.A seemed to be pretty into discovering some personal stuff. He just smiles nervously as they talk about danger and androids, clasping his arms across his chest.

“Ummm... ri-right, of course. Secrets and... danger... things.”

Hit the nail on the head, buddy.

“That would be, um... a real shame, if something we-were to happen only because... someone didn’t like IOs. But... couldn’t the threat come to anyone, regardless...? Many of our secrets are out, aft-after all. And fu-furthermore... if you don’t know who the android... androids, if your rec... received secret was about that too, are, then... well, you’re really smart, righ-right? So... do you think anyone else would find out before you? And if they did... it would probably be someone friendly, who was-was able to learn a lot of people’s secrets. So... they wouldn’t kill... for that, right? Ummm...”

Well, he tried his hardest. It would seem his persistent optimism about people’s morals was still rearing its head even after two murders.

[superdupertap]

her heart was numb | shou | closed: yukiko

[shslsurgery]

Whatever it took to leer creepily at peoples’ joints, Shou. Whatever it took. And there wasn’t much else to do here aside from watch and appreciate, right? She’d probably reached her fighting quota for a lifetime, after needling Kaoru especially (a small innocent cinnamon roll, even.) It wasn’t like she was going to immediately get into any more fights any time soon, right?

“If you’re going to go out of my way to accommodate me. Then I’ll take it. Even if nothing is particularly wrong. Except for. You know. Everything. …And everyone stares a lot. That is what eyes are for. Especially for people who need vision correction. No one knows better how important constant staring is.”

But really, moving out already? She’d only just sat down and her own joints were for the record not amused. She probably should suggest somewhere even if all she wanted was to stay here and possibly fall asleep again, even if that would probably kill her. However, because she was a terminatrix and totally in control of her own body, she planted her cane in front of her and unsteadily got back to her feet, complete with an array of grumpy old person noises.

“It’s trying times like these when I appreciate not eating meat. Would probably have no appetite whatsoever. There is a kitchen near here, I suppose. If you are willing to make me something. I’m not going to overstate my own prowess here. And I would rather not somehow burn a salad. Or something like that.”

[superdupertap]

“Umm... ri-right, of course. I get it... um... sometimes I have to st-stare at things for a long time to see them clearly too!”

And yet you don’t get glasses. Unsure whether he’s missed the point or not, he comes over to grab his towel. After pulling his shoes off, leaving him in socks (perhaps he’s a bit too comfortable), he glances over at Yukiko, opening his mouth as if to say something. It would appear he was about to offer help but then thought better of it- probably a good move. Instead he busies himself neatly wrapping up his iPod and towel and tucking them under his arm. Thankfully, Yukiko gets up only moments later, making him very relieved that he hadn’t said anything.

“Oh, ahah... I can se-see how that would be a problem, yes. But, I... well, Daiki always says I’m an ok-okay cook... it’s kind of hard to burn a salad, though, be-because you never actually. Put anything near heat. Surely you can’t be tha-that bad? Sh-Should I be afraid for my life on this journey?”

Laughing to himself at his not very funny joke (?), he dutifully moves over to hold the door for her. At least he’s consistent.

[shsl-perfume]

Recovering from the Wildfire (Shou)

[shsl-perfume]

Adeline rubs her eyes, rather sure that they must be puffy after crying so much. She’d really done a lot of crying since she got here; much more than she usually would. She supposed it was a normal reaction to a situation like this, crying to express the sadness she felt over the loss of her classmates. But she also knew that she had to stop crying eventually. She wanted to be strong and help others… how could she if she was the one always needing comfort?

No, she doesn’t need comfort now. She was at fault this time. She shouldn’t have pressed Yukiko, should have just listened and let her speak. She probably wouldn’t understand, anyway— Yukiko was right about that.

She offers a small smile at the boy, shaking her head. She slowly pushes herself up the wall and back on her feet, brushing dirt and dust off her new dress.

“Ah, no, um, I’m okay… uh, I was just… thinking. I got in an argument and, um, needed some time to be alone and… think.”

She tried to brighten her smile a bit, scratching her head under her cap.

“Um, sorry for worrying you… I’m fine, though. Er, How are you doing?”

Maybe “fine” isn’t the right word to use right now for her mental state, but physically, it’s true.

[superdupertap]

Shou tilts his head slightly, eyes still a bit bleary from sleep- but Adeline’s were bleary in a different way, of course. She must have been crying. And with that realization comes the fact that... Shou doesn’t really know what to do. Sure, he’d dealt with his sisters crying before, after they’d been yelled at, but was it the same for someone his own age? It was hard to tell. 

“Oh... I’m sorry to hear that, um... did you want to... ta-talk about it? I’m happy to, erm... listen.”

This most certainly wasn’t like dealing with children, where you could just play a game with them and let them win so they’d feel better.

“Oh, me? I’m doing well. I guess... as well as I can be, what with the current situation... I was just coming to check out the new areas and stuff, haha... I slept past the annou-annou....announcement.” “But, um... I’m no-not a therapist or anything, but... I think it’s better to not deny how... you’re fe-feeling... or it’ll happen again, right... ? Because no one will know- wait, that isn’t making sense... ssssorry! If you want we can... um, look around here some mo-more... there was a music store a bit back...”

Nice effort!

[shsl-perfume]

Recovering from the Wildfire (Shou)

Adeline remained sitting against the wall of the casino for a while after her fight with Yukiko. She tried to hold back her tears, but they kept pushing, and she would cry for a few seconds before forcing herself to stop, on and off. She didn’t even know why she was crying. Perhaps it was because she was angry at herself for saying the wrong things, for being childish and idiotic.

The small girl would look up startled whenever she thought she heard something, fearing it would be Yukiko walking towards her, but it always turned out to be only garbage scratching against the ground or the creaking of a dilapidated building. Everything was silent and empty, otherwise. While normally Adeline would find it unnerving, she currently didn’t mind. She looked almost at home, curled up in her spot; like a street urchin in an alley of NYC. Well, a clean, freshly dressed street urchin, at least.

After a time, she even began zoning out, nodding off a bit. Her tiredness was starting to catch up to her once again. But rather than sleep, she fell into deep thought, staring blankly at her knees. Until, eventually, she heard footsteps.

Her head shot up, eyes wide in fear it might be Yukiko, but her gaze softened and her position relaxed as she saw it was someone more pleasant. She offered a feeble smile, wiping away whatever tear residue was left in her eyes, and spoke in a rather small voice.

“Um… H-hello, Shimizu-san…”

[superdupertap]

Shou hadn’t actually realized that there was a new area opened- he was taking a nap when the ID lit up. A nap, of course, in his own room. He wasn’t silly enough to risk getting destroyed for dozing off in the middle of the hall or on a desk, as he typically did. He drowsily sits up several hours later, hair smushed up on one side of his head and eyes bleary. It takes several yawns before he’s out of bed, hair still mussed, and shuffling across the campus to try and locate the new area. 

He doesn’t find it all that interesting once he does enter. The only thing that catches his eye is a music store with records inside- if he were lucky, there would be a player too. But he’d check it out later; for now, he’d finish his circuit of the area and then come back if he didn’t find anything else he cared about. As he walks along, he sings something nonsensical, translating it to Japanese as best he can as he goes. 

“Check your handbook, it’s no trick... put some chapstick on your lips... crack a smile- ah! Oh?”

His stroll comes to an abrupt halt as he hears someone say his name. With a gasp, he snaps his vision into focus, hurriedly smoothing down his hair with one hand and turning to face Adeline.

“Koyama-san...? What are you doing down there? I-Is everything okay?”

At the sudden realization that Adeline could be hurt, he gasps once more, scurrying over and crouching down next to her on the ground.

“Ar-Are you hurt? I think there was an infirmary a ways back... I ca-can get you an icepack or something!”

[superdupertap]

her heart was numb | shou | closed: yukiko

[shslsurgery]

She couldn’t say she knew a lot about what accompaniment was best for tap dancing. He was the one who was supposed to know best, anyway. She would be appeased by the soothing sounds of violins, and let his last apology float away into the air like she hadn’t heard it. Her anger was…a red mist exhaled. She had enough left in her body to keep her grounded but that was all. There was nothing wrong with being angry, and if she thought like that, then there was no reason to be.

He wasn’t boring. That was obvious enough from how she reacted to it. There wasn’t a single stray thought running through her head now. As negatively as she reacted to doing physical things herself, there was something dreamlike and fascinating about watching someone doing what they were good at. At least it was nice that no one was watching her during this time, because she hardly seemed to breathe. Seeing a video over the internet really couldn’t compare.

When the song ended it was like reawakening after a long hibernation. She blinked owlishly as though a bright light had been suddenly shone in her eyes, and then…strangely enough, cracked a smile along with him. What could she say. His energy was contagious.

“Well. Bravo,” she said in a low voice that only sounded slightly sarcastic, golf-clapping once or twice and nearly drowning out her own words. “I’m not specifically a judge. So I suppose my opinion doesn’t matter. But I saw no problems with it.” 

Somewhere along the way her fist had relaxed back into a flat hand again. That probably meant an improvement, but who could tell with her?

[superdupertap]

Shou must admit he didn’t expect any sort of positive reaction from Yukiko- honestly, she didn’t seem like the kind of person who would appreciate dance. Then again, people were always full of surprises. He himself looks pleasantly surprised as she applauds, his pale skin flushing even more red before he gives a cheery bow with a flourish of his arm. It’s quite gratifying to see Yukiko smiling (he hopes genuinely, but he’s never quite been good at telling) and he continues to smile brightly as he pops back up and rubs at his face with the back of his arm.

“Eheheh... I’m glad to hear it! That nothing seemed wrong with it, that is... it’d probably be boring for you to sit around and watch me dance more, though. Even though you do star-stare a lot. So... do-do you want to go somewhere else? Are you, um, hungry?”

His practice could resume later, when no one was present. It seemed rude to carry on while Yukiko had nothing to do, after all.

[superdupertap]

her heart was numb | shou | closed: yukiko

[shslsurgery]

Her eyes were almost bizarrely closely focused on him from the corner, a stare so intense she might not even have been listening to him. Listening wasn’t one of her skills either, or at least making it seem like she was listening. Her imagination was one filled with saxophone background music and slowly descending rose petals. …No, that would be ridiculous.

And then, of course, one sentence had to snap her out of her reverie, and the hand on her left knee curled into a fist almost aggressively enough to tear the material of her tights. Her anger was a red mist leaving her body and she was not going to do anything rash. But she knew her anger as it showed up to her. It was a human feeling. It was nice.

“If I lost a leg like that- that’d be really horrible, huh?”

“……….”

“Yes. That would be a shame.” That was it. No violent outburst, no punching the wall, no automatic screaming in her defense. Her anger was burning up in a rush behind her eyes like a spark in a mine filled with methane. It wasn’t a statement about her, and so there was no reason to make it about her. No one was talking about that any more than they had to, and that included her. There was no reason to force herself to demonstrate her anger. She could revel inwardly.

“And there’s no reason for me to do anything else. If you’re worried about seeming out of practice. Then what would I be. …I don’t suppose you have any. Traditional instrumentals on there.”

[superdupertap]

“.......”

Shou doesn’t quite know what he’s supposed to do. Trust his habit of honesty to slip him up as soon as he begins to consider someone a friend- his eyes don’t miss the tightening of Yukiko’s hand, after all. Looking fearful, he taps his feet once more, nervously. Confidence!

(Keep yourself in line!)

Confidence! He scratches at his shoulder, glancing aside and murmuring softly once more.

“I’m sorry, I ssshouldn’t have said that. It wa-was my mistake.”

There. It wasn’t the most forward of moves, but it was the best he could manage with sudden fear stiffening his limbs. He couldn’t dance like that, he thinks offhandedly.

(Who had Yukiko reminded him of? It was rushing back, now.)

As she doesn’t seem to be moving to attack him, at least, he manages to put a smile back on his face, retrieving his iPod from his things and shifting through the songs.

“There aren’t a lot of really traditional songs that are g-good for tap dance, but, um... this one has violins! Y-You need upbeat... fast-paced stuff, or it’s boring, yeah?”

He laughs sheepishly, flipping his chosen song on and turning it up loud enough that it echoes from his earphones, albeit tinnily.

“Sorry if I end up boring...”

And with the first lines of the song, he shuffles into the middle of the room, tapping his feet heel-to-toe with the beat. Then, he begins to dance. I don’t really know how to describe dancing so here we are. It seems a miracle that such a gangly, awkward guy could float around like he was walking on air, but as he easily lifts himself onto the tips of his toes, it becomes obvious that Shou’s talent was not a fluke. He really is very good- and seems to be having a good time, for once. The only times the smile wipes from his face is when he turns to the side, reaching one arm out, and finds only a blank wall there next to him- but as soon as he looks sad, the expression is wiped away by a smile once more.

He dances the whole thing I can’t describe it well. With the final violin strain, he twirls about, landing on his heels. Looking gross and sweaty, but blissfully happy, he turns to face Yukiko once more, bowing at the waist. Nice red tomato face.

“Ahaha- it’s a bit tiring! Sorry, I’m only a bit out of shape...”

[lemnosobserver]

Unusual Suspects   I Open

[superdupertap]

safrlemnosobserver:

Had he caught them in a compromising position? They hadn’t had time to research fully into actions and situations that were uniquely considered lewd in Japanese culture during their time here, but they were almost certain that lying on their stomach fully clothed as a MANU worked it’s magic on them didn’t fall under that category. True, they weren’t exactly excited to have Shou see them- in their opinion- slacking off, as shown when they push themselves into a sitting position on the table, but it certainly constitute him looking away in embarrassment.

“Lemnos, actually. It’s no trouble. I was just about done, in any case.”

They pat the MANU lightly on the head as they stand, leaving the space open for Shou. Though quickly, a frown does appear on her face.

“But, that is true, I can’t seem to get out of my head what you explained to us during the trial. For someone else here to be an android…well, it would slightly lessen my suspicions about the ones who chose this year’s roster being discriminatory against InOrganic Beings, but most of all I’m thinking about who it could possibly be. You wouldn’t happen to have any suspicions yourself, would you?”

While the position may not have actually been compromising to most people, Shou was, of course, about as skittish as a chihuahua. Therefore, he automatically assumed that something scandalous was happening and panicked uselessly. Heck, for all he cares, E.L.L.A can have the time of their life- relaxation was important, after all! He just didn’t need to be there. 

Eventually, at the sound of movement, he peeks over his shoulder, finding them in a safer position. Finally he turns back around, sheepishly ducking his head and wringing his fingers together.

“O-Oh, I’m sorry, I must have misheard at some point. Lemnos-san it is!”

He makes no move to take the vacated spot, instead electing to stand awkwardly in the doorway and block anyone else trying to come in. Thanks.

“Wa-Wait, you mean whoever’s secret I had? I don’t know whose it was, honestly... does it ma-matter? I mean... admittedly, a lot of people are ruled out. The only ones left I can thi-thi-think of are... well... okay, not that many. All the humans aside from me and Yukiko-san, I guess. But... well, why do you want to know? Shouldn’t secrets stay secret?”

That’s quite a tongue twister.

[superdupertap]

her heart was numb | shou | closed: yukiko

[shslsurgery]

The veracity of that obviously was still under consideration, but at least she wasn’t being overtly sappy. Perhaps this was just what Yukiko did when she didn’t hate people. She hadn’t had a lot of time to develop her social skills. Not that that was an excuse. At least she let go after she’d been hauled back to her feet, wincing throughout the whole boneless escapade.

Being around her probably makes it seem funnier, yes. She was more interested in what he was carrying around than what he was laughing about. Was he really intending to violently tap dance his sadness away. That should be…pretty entertaining, actually. After all, she hadn’t thought of someone as a marvel of human anatomy in at least 24 hours.

“Generally in these situations I just read. Until I start thinking of myself as a collection of biological processes. Rather than a person. But I can see the merits of alternate methods. I suppose.” She limped in as per usual, favoring her left leg, not even glancing sidelong at her long-suffering door-holder. “I am also not a dance prodigy, sadly. Actually. Forget it. I’ll just be over here. Anything preceded with physical is not for me.”

With a huff, she planted herself directly in front of the display of weights with her back to them, drew her legs up to her chest, and put on her best attentive face. It was the only way she could be sure she wouldn’t catch herself staring at them.

[superdupertap]

“Biological processes... right.”

No, he was never going to be any sort of scientist. 

He trails her into the gym, setting his towel on the weights and flopping down onto the ground. That doesn’t much look like dancing, of course, but then it becomes obvious that he’s first stretching- bending himself in half to wrap his hands around the middle of his feet. Even while in such a scenario, pulling a muscle was always a threat, apparently. As he pushes one leg back into a split to stretch that, he continues talking amiably about... something or other.

“I guess that’s a... to each his own thing, huh? I couldn’t imagine a world with-without dancing or moving around. If I lost a leg like that- that’d be really horrible, huh?”

He doesn’t quite realize what he’s said, apparently, until he’s standing up to reach for his toes. Then he suddenly freezes, looking horror-stricken for a moment.

“Jeez, I’m so-sorry! That was rude of me! Man... I’m sorry, I should star-start thinking about what I say before I say it. Anyway, uh... are you just going to watch? Not that that’s a problem or anything, but... I’m kin-kinda out of practice, haha...”

After what he presumes will be a mistake that ends with him getting chewed out, the dancer hunches his shoulders, shuffling over to grab the shoes and slip them on his feet. After a few experimental taps- the noise not resounding as well as he’d have hoped- he turns to face Yukiko again.

“What kind of music do you like, Yukiko-san? I don’t really have a speaker, so I have to play it really loud through my headphones, ahah- still, it’s no fun to watch if you don’t like the music!”

[superdupertap]

her heart was numb | shou | closed: yukiko

[shslsurgery]

It wasn’t as if her falling over was an extremely odd circumstance. She just became unbalanced very easily, and sometimes was not a fan of standing up. The gasp, like she was a baby who just tumbled off the monkey bars and he was waiting for her to burst into tears, was actually almost funny. But jerking him along was probably shitty, so she accepted the offered hand and composed her features so that not even he could expect bad feelings. He could pull her limp noodle self up if he wanted, she wasn’t standing on her own.

“Plenty of people are not seeing other people today. I guess there’s no reason to hold grudges. The usual murder and despair is also a common conversation topic. At that point, rather than wallowing in emotions. One should use them to empower themselves. So you have the right idea.”

“…Well. Here, I suppose. At one point I was recommended physical therapy. And for a while I tried. But was not exactly keeping up with it. Maybe I should start up again. Or just come along with you. Assuming that wouldn’t be a bother.”

Why would hanging out in a corner just watching Shou work out not be a bother. Was there anything she said that wasn’t creepy as hell. Survey says, no, not at all.

[superdupertap]

Shou finds himself staring down at his hand as Yukiko just... grabs it and doesn’t do anything. The words ‘I’m taken!’ nearly spring to his lips once more, until he realizes that she obviously doesn’t mean anything by it and he’s just being silly. Maybe he’s lonely. Who knows. After a moment of looking like a deer in headlights, he tugs her upright as gently as he can what with her acting like a dead fish.

“I don’t like... wallowing in emotions. It’s si-silly, isn’t it? To get ca-caught up on negativity and things that-that-that... already happened. That we can’t prevent, huh... that’s why I’m he-here I guess, haha.”

He raises his towel, shoe, and iPod combo as if to demonstrate his goal, punctuating his words with a laugh that seems genuine enough. Perhaps he really does think being negative all the time is funny. 

“I think... working out is a go-good way to reduce stress and occu... occupy time. It’s what I always do, at l-l-least. If you wanted to come along... or jo-join in, I guess, I wouldn’t mind at all!”

With a hesitant smile, he releases Yukiko’s hand, instead moving around her to push open the door to the gym and hold it. Ever the gentleman, here.

“It’d pr-probably be hard for you to join in, though, unless you’re some secret dancing prodigy. But I think if physical therapy was rec-rec-reccommended, then it’d be good for you to do!”

[superdupertap]

her heart was numb | shou | closed: yukiko

[shslsurgery]

Apparently the night had not been kind to any of them. Yukiko, at least, looked like she hadn’t slept at all. Maybe she’d gone directly from the trial to the VR chair until a representation of Moe had popped up on the screen, and maybe directly after that she’d walked back to the main building, somehow, her body resisting her at every step and pure pigheadedness and nervous energy the only thing keeping her on her feet. Either way, she looked like a hot mess. She was used to her eight hours minimum and now she was pulling all-nighters. Somehow she too had ended up in front of the gym. She couldn’t for the life of her explain why. Option 1: she was looking for another weight to bash someone’s brains out with. Option 2: she just wanted to wreck everything she could in the room before she was spirited away to a dark room to wait it out until the next death, or maybe killed instead, because some people were entitled to first strikes and warnings but not her. Option 3: if there was any time to be turning over a new leaf, it was in the aftermath of a death of someone you cared about. So she imagined.

Either way, she hadn’t even gotten a chance to open the door. Still staring at it and making no move to enter, she was totally blindsided by someone walking into her, and toppled over as expected like a house of cards. The fall hurt but it was a lot more soothing in general than standing up any more. She accepted it. She could sit now if she wanted. That didn’t make her delicate.

Oddly enough, it happened to be the one person she wouldn’t mind talking to right now. For a second she regarded him critically from the floor, but then her automatic hostile expression relaxed and she flopped down onto her back instead. Nothing more soothing than a hard hallway floor.

“…Fancy seeing you here. What’s on your mind? Apparently far too much.” Well, if he wasn’t going to talk, she’d prompt him all she wanted.

[superdupertap]

Shou, admittedly, hadn’t expected the person he’d collided with just to... fall over like that. It’s enough to elicit a gasp from him, his gaze dropping down to follow Yukiko as she topples over. Now he really felt bad, although he still seems to lack the capacity to actually speak. He does offer one hand to Yukiko, however, apparently to help her get up. Unless she doesn’t want to get up. Then things would just get awkward.

After a moment, his face shifts up into a grin- although the motion seems slightly forced, and his voice indicates that all is not quite well with the dancer.

“Ah, Yu-Yukiko-san... I’m sorry, I... didn’t se-se-see you... there...”

Certainly not well. 

“I... uh... was just thi-thinking about... the trial and... things like that... you know, the usual, murd-d-der and despair.”

He laughs dryly as if it’s some sort of joke, glancing aside and at the empty floor. 

“I was ju-just going to work out... and wh-wh-where were you headed?”

[lemnosobserver]

Unusual Suspects   I Open

Two. Two potentially game changing secrets that had been revealed to the Anthropologist. She could have thanked Shou for revealing it, if the timing hadn’t been concurrent with a trial for murder. The tension that had encompassed the room made it near impossible for them to determine who was reacted to the tap dancer’s revelation, and not at any of the other revelations actually relevant to the trial.

They find themselves in the salon, laid down against  the massage table as one of the MANUs on hand worked out the tensions of the investigating all nighter. But the slacking of their body seemed to do nothing for the questions that swilled through her mind.

…Shou was out, considering he received the secret, and he at least seemed smart enough to not try and pass off their own secret as the one given to them. Also excluded was Neo, Purin, Tsukiko…They would have been able to feel it with Moe’s body…Hideki, Hideki was a maybe. But seeing his concerns had more to do with his name, they placed him in the “Not likely” column for now.

So, that would then leave them with seven people who were potentially an android.  And the number of suspects they had for their own secret was….seven people. 

Great.

Clearly more information had to be reviewed and uncovered before they came to a conclusion. Their attempt to recollect what was written about their classmate in their public bios on the school website was interrupted by the sound of the salon door opening.

“…Hm? Oh! Pardon my current position, were you in need of something?”

[superdupertap]

Shou had never actually been to a massage place before. Usually after working out, he just stretched to loosen up. That was a thing you could do, when you could get your foot up over your head. But as it was available to him, he decides it couldn’t hurt to at least check it out- after all, he was pretty stressed, and massages were meant to alleviate that, right?

So, it’s off to the salon with him, bundled in a hoodie that looks like pajamas and with an old, nearly-dead iPod clutched in one sweaty hand. He’d been conserving the battery, but... he probably needed to procure a charger at some point. It was just his luck that its constant presence in his pocket didn’t extend to carrying a charger as well. The door is hesitantly pushed open, and while he hopes it’ll be empty...

“Ahh! Oh, heck...”

It is most certainly not empty. He shuts his eyes tightly, apparently convinced he’s caught E.L.L.A in some incredibly compromising position. 

“I-! I didn’t- well, uh, I was comi-mi-ming for... a massage, but-! I, uh...”

Here he turns completely away, facing the door with his back to her. Much better.

“Um... Lemons-san, right? I’m sorry to-to-to... have caught you like this! You look, um... ddddeep in thought... my apo-apologies for interrupting you, then!”

Way to mess up the name. Smooth as hell.

[superdupertap]

her heart was numb | shou | open

She’s dead because of you, you know? Yoouu killed her!!

The hollowness in Shou Shimizu’s head following the trial is filled by the machine’s parting words. He doesn’t register his new ‘VIP’ status. The only indication he’s not as lifeless as Tsukiko Takahashi is that he stands, sliding silently from the courtroom as soon as he’s able. 

A killer, huh? While seeking justice to boot.

How disappointed would everyone be to hear that he’d done such a thing? A move fuelled by frustration- how dare she ask him to explain things that were so private, that he was getting over- but she was dead now. Because of his move. Whether anyone else would avoid him or not was uncertain, but at the time, he’d thought he was doing the right thing. So... he doesn’t think they should blame him. (But they probably will. It doesn’t matter. Nothing would last in this place- they’d all die and leave anyway, so what was the point in becoming friends?) 

You wish that you could call them friends. As much as you try to deny it...

Once Shou makes it back to his room, he writes a letter. It’s concluded with an apology, as the last few have been. When he completes it, he hides it with the rest of them, rubs his hands over his face. It’s really quite disappointing- but not surprising- that he finds his palms wet with tears when he pulls them away. 

Stop caring so much.

The dancer doesn’t know where he’s supposed to go, now. The pond had been his go-to location, but with the memory of Moe’s body still fresh there, he didn’t really think it would be all that enjoyable. He didn’t want to end up somewhere most of the class would gravitate to, either. 

The gym is what he comes up with in the end. On his way across the campus he retrieves his shoes from next to the pond- disgusting and stale with water and mud- wrapping them in his towel before he enters the main building. 

While he’d hoped to avoid confrontation, his walk is brought to a jarring halt as, in his dazed reverie, he simply... smacks into someone. Managing not to drop his things, he stares in blank-faced surprise at them. However, unlike the several other times he’s bashed into people (it was becoming far too common of an occurrence), he doesn’t babble any apologies. Just remains dazedly silent.

“....”

Relatable content.

[superdupertap]

today on cloudcoliseum.tumblr.com: shou throws a pencil