Waitress on Wheels

The name's Kumomi Rumi! Call me 'Ryuumi' if you'd like, 'cause inside this small body is the ferocity of a dragon! Rooooar! ...Alright, I'm done introducing myself. What's your name? Shoot! Dangan Ronpa OC Blog, currently unaffiliated

[hidingfromthingsfornow]

in which the narrator prepares for the dark secrets episode | Rumi

[hidingfromthingsfornow]

At last, a captive audience! She felt like she’d been in response limbo for days and days, hearing that but not quite sure how to react. “The Narrator leans all the way back in her seat in Shaft Head Tilt fashion—anatomically possible but still weird and uncomfortable as hell—and waves in a much more regular fashion at the new arrival. Heyooo, Nyoomi-chan. She doesn’t suppose you have something cool and terrifying in your tragic backstory, right? Those kinds of theories.”

Stopping just before she toppled all the way over, she whipped back up into a normal sitting position. She still sat on the chair the wrong way around because that was how you demonstrated effortlessly that you were a cool kid. “Because, really, the amount of people who have secrets worth revealing is obviously going to be larger than the amount of secret slots there are. And all characters secretly need their past bee-ess dredged up for the good cheer of whoever anyway, right? So we oughta get started.”

She couldn’t possibly mean… “She can’t even remember how well this works out in the past. The Hope’s Peak game it didn’t because it was a single all or nothing, but a one at a time thing means a ton of people are going to get nonsense out anyway, and also because she feels like she’s in a shitty sequel where people are more willing to bend the rules. She stands up with an ominous clattering of chair, facing Nyoomi-chan with all…165 centimeters of her! With possibly an extra ten for hair voluminousness. And then she pokes at the scar under one eye, because serious scars and the seriousness attributed to genre-savvy people with unserious scars is serious business.”

…Wait, she wasn’t actually going to explain anything, was she. She just remained standing up, poking herself in the cheek, like she was poised on the precipice of some great speech but the teleprompter just broke. “So, is Nyoomi-chan gonna make a guess about who’s coming next, or possibly a guess at what Dragon-Lady-chan assumes her biggest secret to be? Either way is probably gonna be really hilarious in hindsight.”

[vrumivrumi]

Audience? Yes. Captive? Not really. She came there out of her own volition, sat down out of her own volition, and spoke to Ameya out of her own volition. That head tilt was making her uncomfortable, though, and obviously it made the Narrator uncomfortable too. The entire situation was just very uncomfortable.

Rumi soon became less tense, though. She was waiting for someone to ask her something like this. "Nah, I don't have a tragic backstory!" she answered with confidence. "Those are usually reserved for the edgy characters who think friendship makes you weak. I, on the other hand, am a class act huggable cutie who thinks friendship is pretty great." The waitress paused briefly, her hand over her heart. She quickly snapped out of her 'moment' though. "Oh god. You might just be rubbing off on me." She shook her head a little. Anyway...

"Wait wait wait wait Matsura-chan. You're--Uh. Moving reeeaaally fast. Too fast for Ru-me, Nyoomi, even though one of my specialties is my ability to go fast. What you just said was like a tongue twister somehow pulled off perfectly and tongue twisters never make much sense themselves." Rumi took a few seconds to rub at her temple in confusion. So... Something about a scar, genre-savviness, (whatever the hell that was) and seriousness? Or was it unseriousness? That was a very important detail.

After a while, it did finally click that Ameya was talking about the scar under her own eye, but she wasn't really sure what it meant. It was so... Tiny and insignificant to her appearance. She decided not to comment in favor of addressing her next question. "Well I'm not psychic," she shrugged. "There could be something related to the fear rooms we encountered in the team challenge before the last one... Urgh." Good job, Rumi. You reminded yourself of your own failure. "Sorry. But yeah, there are some people whose rooms seemed really personal to them? I mean, of course they're all personal. But I mean extra personal. Like, stuff way beyond stage fright and... Haunted houses." More shuddering. If there was one thing she wouldn't miss about the world she had been used to, it was Halloween.

[hidingfromthingsfornow]

in which the narrator prepares for the dark secrets episode | Rumi

It wasn’t like she hadn’t been expecting this at some point or another. The Hope’s Peak mutual killing had resulted in the exorcism of too many ridiculously dark secrets to count, and the Archive mutual killing’s counterpart motive had just resulted in…embarrassment for the most part. But still, secrets had to be revealed by external sources to cause conflict, because it was boring when people pulled them out by themselves, right? It was the first rule of storytelling, and sure to cause so many interpersonal snafus later. She was so ready to dig deep into everyone’s backstories, you had no idea.

In all honesty Nagisa’s had caught her off-guard—but then again, you could never totally trust the talent-hiders, could you? So she’d made a mental note to track him down at some point, but could only assume that so many people were getting on his case right now, and that not much would be revealed beyond Aku-chan’s intervention (just vague enough to make it apparent that lies were being told) anyway. What she really needed to do right now was get to the people that hadn’t had anything revealed yet—because who knew what kind of awful secrets people had, and who knew what kind of people had absolutely nothing to hide? The only thing that could help make that distinction was the fear game. Maybe that said something about her more than anybody else.

Still, radiantly unconcerned like she was the most open person in the world, she decided to hunker down in the kitchen, the most public place she could think of, in the interim between secrets, just waiting for someone else to come in…and occasionally talking to herself.

"The Narrator wonders aloud if she’s on the agenda anytime soon. Not because she’s hiding anything important, but to prove she’s not hiding anything important. Serious revelations are only for player characters anyway, didn’t you know?—Ahhh, wait, is that the door she hears? Don’t be shy, she’s just having a theory party in here!"

[vrumivrumi]

Just as usual, the motive didn't elicit much of a visible reaction from Rumi. Though she couldn't help but feel a little concerned. Everyone has secrets, and now very apparent some more serious than others. She considered the possibility of Nagisa intentionally hiding his title from the start, so it wasn't really a shocker when his secret was revealed. Some other parts of it got her thinking, though. What possible reason would he have for this? Who was that unseen dude? ...What the heck were they even talking about? It did sound awfully shady.

"Ahhh mooou, this is hurting my head..." She probably needed to drink something. It was a rather easy mistake to make. Sometimes you'd get so preoccupied with stuff like skating around in circles and... Skating around in circles... That you forgot to stay properly hydrated. Even though there was tons of water all around her, she couldn't actually drink any of it. Maybe she could grab herself something good from the kitchen. Ooh! A soda? Yeah, she could totally go for a soda!

And so Rumi set off for the kitchen. It took a considerably long amount of time, since she had to head aaaaaall the way to the first island from the third island. Even on her skates, she found herself bored and even more tired than before. In fact, the journey was so long that she even forgot why she was at the cafeteria in the first place.

"...Uh..."

Well, she was there already. She figured if she could look around, she'd see what she was looking for and remember right then. As fate would have it, her train of thought was interrupted again as she stepped into the cafeteria. The waitress looked at Ameya dumbfoundedly. A theory party? Sounded lame. Like study parties. In the end people would either start goofing off and having fun like at a real party, or get extremely bored. At least, that's what she experienced. But besides that, Rumi wasn't even sure why she was there in the first place. She plopped down in a seat close by.

"...So, er... Theories you say?"

[shslshamisenrockarchive]

For Your Ears Only // Rumi

[shslshamisenrockarchive]

Praise was one of Jin’s favourite things ever. Of course he sounded amazing, he had known that for years, but it was always nice to hear that reiterated. He drank in the applause, a small, satisfied smile across his face.

"Glad you think so," he replied, "I’d have to completely rethink my life if I couldn’t play great music, now wouldn’t I? A performer who can’t wow his audience isn’t much of a performer.”

He flicked a lock of hair from his eyes and peered around the room for a moment before refocussing his gaze onto Rumi. “I must agree with you about this space. The acoustics are great. I’ve played in some awesome venues, but this is one of the best I’ve seen - and that’s saying something, y’know.” A slight pause, needed to order his thoughts and synthesize the next sentence. “It makes me wonder what kind of person we’re dealing with here. Like, what kind of evil mastermind gives us things like a sweet concert hall?”

All the while he was talking, his fingers were brushing the strings of the instrument in his hands, his left hand dancing up and down the neck of the thing, playing abstract melodies that were barely audible, just white noise in the background.

[vrumivrumi]

Obviously this wouldn't be anything compared to an actual live super special awesome Jin Suzumiyatake concert, but compared to what little she had experienced herself, it was amazing. And come to think of it, this was the first time Rumi had--

Well, not really the first time she had talked with a celebrity. The restaurant she worked at was pretty famous, even if it wasn't really what caught the attention of the presses most of the time. People only came for food, though. The same went for even some of the biggest stars in Japan. Sure, Rumi was cute. Sure, Rumi entertained them. But in the end, they weren't obligated to hold much conversation with her, especially because losing her cool was unprofessional. (And sometimes they didn't want the attention.)

Meeting all the people stranded with her was different. She no longer had to stay within the professional boundaries her workplace entailed. It was refreshing. For once, she was the one being entertained, by Jin, no less!

"Well, I guess so! I mean, I've heard complaints that some singers sound great in the studio but fail to deliver live. You're much better than that though..."  Rumi took a moment to compose herself after Jin looked her way. Goodness, he was so cool. "Um... Huh. You... Bring up a good point... I guess this is a way to weaken our resolve? Make us have so much fun here that we never want to see what kind of unfun chaos is brewing outside?"

[shslshamisenrockarchive]

For Your Ears Only // Rumi

[—-]

The islands were always quiet after a trial, as he was beginning to notice. Most people were too horrified by the events that had just transpired and didn’t really want to be socialising. So when walking around outside in the aftermath, the only disturbances were the waves.

Jin was not one of those stunned into seclusion by the trial. He was out and about, until he realised the bridges were open. A quick check of his map, and, oh yes. The owners of this place were surely on his side. He had to check out the concert hall, there was no way he couldn’t.

He returned to his room only momentarily to grab his shamisen, and then headed over to island number three. And the concert hall was a beauty to behold. Why, it reminded him of the theatres back home, the ones he had gotten his start in.

He bustled about the stage, finding a microphone here, and a cushion there. He was in the process of making sure his instrument was in tune when some other curious inmate entered the scene.

"Here for a concert?" he asked with a grin, even as he idly strummed the three strings and made sure they all sounded right. Without waiting for, or really expecting an answer, he twirled the pick in his fingers and then started the first notes.

[♫♫♫]

He closed his eyes as he played, a picture of serene concentration, and looked to be very much at peace. As he played he did not seem to be the self-absorbed jerk he usually was, but rather an artist truly in tune with his work.

The song only lasted a couple of minutes, a quick warmup at most. When finished, he looked up at his audience, very much expecting applause.

[vrumivrumi]

Though the whole murder trial was upsetting, there was still that practically unshakable calm about Rumi that allowed her to make a quick recovery. As sad as she was that she managed to witness the wrong fight involving Red (and coincidentally Jin), it wasn't nearly as shocking as the first time someone died. She felt a little bad. It was true, but becoming accustomed to murder was awful in itself.

To take her mind off things further, the waitress decided to explore the new area. It was probably the new islands that were the only thing enjoyable about being there. She felt like an adventurer. Going through trials, then being rewarded with another place chock full of new buildings to occupy her time with. The concert hall especially got her attention.

The last time Rumi ever went to a concert was when she was pretty young and able to afford attending that sort of thing. That also happened to be her first. It wasn't anything too extravagant, but the lights and the bass and--ahh, she just found it all so cool, especially because everything looked bigger when she was so small. Finally, she had a chance to see that again.

Orrr not. As soon as she arrived, she noticed the concert hall wasn't at all like what she was expecting. It was so... Old-looking. Well, the place was absolutely beautiful despite that, so it was all good. Immediately her attention shifted from the decor to the striking appearance of Jin Suzumiyatake.

"Oh! I'd really love to hear." Sure, Jin was a bit of a jerk, but his music was still awesome. Rumi hurried over and sat close to the stage to fully enjoy the experience.

And enjoy it she did. There was something about his playing that pulled her in right away. Plus, a really big factor in a good performance is how one presents themselves. He seemed like an entirely different person that what she was used to. It was almost... Charming.

When he was finished, she stood up and clapped, a pleased expression on her face.

"That was really cool, Suzumiyatake-kun! I've... Never heard anything like this in person. In a concert hall, too. The sound quality is just amazing."

[beautyqueenshsl]

AOD2 Text Posts: Part 2

I have three exams today and look at what i did instead

[delvingintotheblackabyss-blog]

Pull the blackout curtains down. { Post-Murder Open }

Kyoki had stared at the body for a few seconds. Her eyes had seen the sight in front of her, relayed the information to her brain, and her brain had vetoed the image, sent it right back to the eyes and told them to straighten their act the fuck out and send it what was really there. 

But no, that was really the body of Red, the body of the SHSL Dog Trainer, the body of the first person who had ever called Kyoki a friend. At the back of her brain, a small voice said "You really should have seen this coming, Fujimori. Your life is meant to be a tragedy. Who did you think you were, trying to make a friend? Don’t you know how this whole things works?" 

Kyoki would have very much liked for this little voice to shut up, and she would have very much liked for the rest of her body to stop being paralyzed in grief and shock and rage, rage against the heavens, and against Red, and against the worthless disgusting pathetic sickening waste of air who had hurt him, whoever they were, and most of all, against herself. 

Kyoki had no idea how much time passed as she stood, her body limp, her limbs feeling like lead at her side and a cold nothingness gnawing against the inside of her stomach. But she somehow found the strength to turn, and then leave. 

She walked briskly, with purpose, her face an iron mask, until she came to the nearest building, the infirmary. With an odd, almost eerie, calculated calm to her movements, she rolled up both of her sleeves, straightened up the ribbon at her neck, blinked, and then hit the wall hard enough to make her knuckles bleed and something in her hand crack. 

She looked down at her hand, almost as if she was surprised to see it so bloody, before, with the same lack of expression, drawing her arm back once more and with all the strength she could muster with her frail frame, hitting the wall again. And again. And again, and again, and again, hoping against hope that the blood and the pain would wash away the friendship she’d been so foolish to cherish and the loss that felt like a cold knife in her heart.  

[vrumivrumi]

With the news of a recently stabbed Kousuke going around, Rumi wanted to get to the infirmary right away to see if he was there and not yet another victim. That would've been disastrous. Not only would that lead to Genjirou's execution, but she liked the blueberry-head. Well, it isn't like she didn't care for Red, but he was already dead and his death stopped the oncoming flood.

"Nojima-kuuuun! Nojima-kuuuuuun!!" No answer. Maybe he was hiding...? It was a stupid idea, but who knew? She started to look around the place some more. Nothing seemed particularly different than usual, and there was still no sight of the sprinter. She was about ready to give up when she heard footsteps.

"No......?"

Suddenly, a thumping noise and a crack. And more thumping noises. Whatever was going on out there certainly sounded painful. Good thing this was the infirmary, right...?

With caution, Rumi began to peek around the corner in case there was a fight going on. If she had known Genjirou managed to mess up his wrist when he punched Kousuke, then she would've jumped to the conclusion that it was him again. To her surprise, it was actually Kyoki. She noticed right away the dreadful amount of blood coming from her skinned knuckles and gasped.

"F-Fujimori-chan--" The waitress hesitated briefly before going in and grabbing Kyoki's wrist in an attempt to stop the motions. "Please--People are getting injured left and right. You needn't be one of them." A pause to steady herself. "I... I'm sure we'd do better in solving this murder... If you were in better shape. You know a lot about murder, r-right?" She had no idea if her words had any effect, but she felt it was worth a try.

[beautyqueenshsl]

AOD2 Text Posts: Part 1

A prime example of how quality my contributions to this roleplay are

[vrumivrumi]

I'm NOT Red-y | (Merder Reaction/Testimony)

Of all things to happen at once, it had to be a murder with a stabbing on the side. That was a meal she'd never want served to her, in all honesty. As soon as she ventured out to see the body she forced herself to pull away in order to frantically look for the wounded Kousuke.

"Nojima-kuuuun! Nojima-kuuuuuun!!"

No dice. Of course looking for him at the infirmary came to mind immediately, but in the time it took her to leave the maze and run (because the ground was still wet) all the way there, he had left. She still wasn't sure if he had even been there, though. Maybe... Just maybe he was...

Positive thoughts! Just...

Back to the crime scene. Oh. Kousuke was alive... She took note of that but first decided to give her account.

After catching her breath, of course. Her heart was racing and all that exertion didn't help.

"A-Alright, so... I woke up late, because. I sort of couldn't wake up earlier. Around... 1 p.m. I think. Shakkun woke up around that time too. We hung out for a while and then Hazuki-kun joined us. A...bout an hour later, I... Oh yeah. I sneezed, so Shakkun took me back to our room." She briefly rubbed the back of her neck. Nothing she said was really of use, but alibis were alibis. "We tried building a blanket fort for a bit, but since it didn't work out, we headed out again. I think... An hour into that, I ended up getting into a mud fight with Shakkun. Liu-chan was just getting out of the bathhouse when they got hit in the crossfire. I presume they went back inside, but Shakkun and I ran away so I didn't know. And... Then we ran into..."

She made a small, nervous noise.

"Red-kun and Suzumiyatake-kun. They were fighting. I... Ran to the kitchen to get some help, but when I came back with Genji-kun and Manga-kun, Yanagi-chan had already broken up the fight. We then went to the MURDER room for some prankster shenanigans, where we scared Karada-kun. After that, Karada-kun invited us back to his room. He lent us an extra blanket for the fort." Ahh, that's where the blanket fort becomes important. "Barely after we got back, the body discovery announcement went off."

[vrumivrumi]

Rain From the Cloud Watcher's Eyes | (Team Challenge Reaction, Kousuke)

[shslsanic]

Watching the way Rumi spoke and the way she looked at him through the rain, he concentrated on her mannerisms in an attempt to keep himself focused. That way the best way to deal with fear, after all. Focus on the goal, the important things, and any weaknesses will be eliminated. Weaknesses are only in the mind, after all. The goal is what’s important.

As she expressed her concern, he couldn’t help but feel… unnaturally suspicious. Sure, she was just being nice, and worried, but what for? He couldn’t think of a legitimate reason to suspect Rumi  but something about the atmosphere and his nerves and the pain in his chest from running without breathing well enough was making him anxious. What did she want?

"…Keeping my muscles warm is.. not really necessary if I am not running. Staying inside and missing my routines will only make me sore, and uncomfortable, and then I will avoid running the next day. After that? Who knows how behind I may be. I may give up my regimen entirely due to this pathetic sky water and that is not ideal.”

That was more than he intended on saying, and as he trailed off in the unfinished, awkward way he always did, he glanced down away from Rumi again. There was an uncomfortable pause as her offer passed through his consciousness, and he instantly felt…. bad.  For her? Or maybe for the way he was suspicious of her?

She was obviously pretty rattled, with the way she stuttered and tripped over her words and just how she LOOKED, really. There was no reason for him to be so cold towards her, but why did he feel like he had to?  

He didn’t like feeling bad.

"…Fine. Alright, sure. I will accompany you to the infirmary, or wherever, so long as you do not go around sitting in the rain for long periods of time anymore. It’s dangerous, you  know. What if it got dangerous out here?" 

[vrumivrumi]

Pathetic sky water? Wow, that was... That was a first. She knew most people weren't fond of rain, but coming up with a creative insult like that took a certain kind of person.

More importantly, the excuses Kousuke was giving didn't satisfy her. Sure, she wasn't some kind of superstar athlete, but... Was running the only thing he could do? Like, there were so many other exercises he could've done. Running indoors was also an option, albeit not a very good one... Oh well. She figured that 1. Arguing with him, who called her out on weak arm game, was a bad idea, and 2. The rain would either pass eventually or some kind of exercise room would become available in the future.

"Well... Okay. Just be c-careful. Even if you have g-good reflexes, I can imagine th-that this terrain isn't very good for the task you want to ac-complish."

Please do not slip in mud and wind up injuring yourself further, Kousuke. That'd take you out of your game even worse, and neither Rumi nor you would want that. Presently, she still felt like he looked unwell, but--Ooh?

It looks like he took her up on her offer. Great! That was one way to get him out of the pouring rain proven successful.

"Understood. I-I almost want to... Say the same for you, but... Somehow I feel like you could h-handle it."

The waitress began to walk off towards the infirmary.

"Is that strange to say? S-Sorry."

[vrumivrumi]

Rain From the Cloud Watcher's Eyes | (Team Challenge Reaction, Leo)

[shslhostclub]

Leo’s lips pursed, his desire to fix the situation growing stronger by the minute. He instinctively pushed his umbrella over her head despite the fact that she was already soaking, leaving most of his pants exposed to the rain. He sucked in a startled breath at the sensation of cold water running down his calves, but quickly tried to compose himself for the waitress’ sake.

"Uh…please, let me at least take you back to dry off then. I can’t - I wouldn’t want you to stay here. You’ll catch a cold."

He paused and balanced the handle of the umbrella between his neck and collar bone to shrug off his outer coat.

"I know it won’t get you any drier but…maybe it could keep you warm. At least until we can get you changed out of those clothes."

The host gently draped it over her shoulders. He stepped back, hoping to feel even the slightest bit better, but only found himself struck once again with another pang of guilt. The sight of her bleary eyed, dripping water and buried under his over sized coat like some kind of abandoned puppy probably wasn’t good for his heart. Though he knew it wasn’t likely his fault, he couldn’t help but feel that he had to take responsibility for it.

Realizing whatever he said would do little to ease the situation, he instead simply held out his hand so as to help her off the swing and take her back to the building.

[vrumivrumi]

Haha Leo wet his pants. No, but in all seriousness, Leo's actions were making her a little frustrated. This guy had it all, but he was wasting it on her. It was unnecessary! He didn't mess up as badly as she did. He didn't cry. He didn't scream.

...That's what it seemed like at least. Maybe... Maybe he was just doing what she usually did. Hiding sadness to make others more comfortable.

"Hazu--" Her hoarse voice wasn't fast enough to protest as the host draped his coat around her shoulders. It immediately soaked in some of the water on her clothes. Rumi cursed inwardly. If she had been at the top of her game when Leo arrived, then she wouldn't have had to deal with the guilt from getting his clothes wet.

The coat was definitely too big. On her, it looked almost like some kind of awkward, insecure cape that wasn't really supposed to be there. But... It did make her feel a bit better. Somehow. Though her nose was stuffy, another sniffle brought in a faint hint of a pleasant scent. Ahh. Essence of Leo. The waitress was tempted to smile, but was too determined to give him a look of disapproval.

"But... But now you're going to get cold on our way back. That makes two cold people r-rather than just one... And... And... It's a long walk..." She let out a sigh. The damage was already done, so there was no use in complaining about it anymore. His coat was already making her a bit warmer.

Rumi finally dropped her calm façade. It was time to stop denying how sad she was, because it wouldn't make Leo worry any less. The tears fell harder and she began to sob tremulously again.

"O-Okay, ok-kay, I'll s-stop stalling... Let's g-go..."

At last, she took his hand.

"Thank you, H-Hazuki-kun..."

[hidingfromthingsfornow]

in which the narrator has some feelings of deja vu | rumi

[hidingfromthingsfornow]

"The Narrator will have to bury Nyoomi-chan in the sand later. Ocean stuff is her whole deal and it’ll probably be really funny. Maybe she could dig out some other kinda pitfalls and then when other people go to hop over Curliecue-chan she is obligated to literally bite people’s ankles like a small dog or an overzealous Halloween decoration. Alright, that’s terrible, but you understand where she’s coming from, right."

She sounded ridiculous when she wanted to sound ridiculous. That was her story and she was sticking to it. “Also, she has never understood what was so weird about jumping in water with all your clothes on. Texture issues are for people who are not her.”

She mimicked the dismissive handwave after all that not-really-rambly BS. “She mimics the dismissive handwave, and decides that Nyoomi-chan’s speech is not necessarily rambly at all. The Narrator is never actually mad, if you must know. That’s a privilege reserved for characters who have real motivations. She is detached from all that, if it is not too bold to say so. All people are evaluated based on potential and relateableness and all that good stuff rather than them being good people. And…what, mad at her going fast? She has no personal vendettas, otherwise she would have stabbed Umami-kun with a hairpin a while ago.”

Acting this entire time like nothing she was saying was weird at all, she took a few steps forward and peered out behind a shelf like a soldier on a stealth mission. “This is probably extremely weird, but she wants to see if there are execution setup reenactments up there too, now that she is not quite so nervous about a wire popping out of the wall and decapitating her. Race her to the stairs! The Narrator takes off at top speed—which is still pretty slow for anyone who isn’t herrrr.”

[vrumivrumi]

Oh boy! The thought of being buried in the sand again sounded grand. Except she'd prefer a swimsuit since those were easier to clean. Feeling hardly visible sand particles against your skin when you didn't want them there was an awful feeling. Especially when they were... Oh, never mind that.

The talk about characters and Ameya being detached from whatever was the point of interest. "So... What? Does that make you like... A 'Super High School Level Self Insert' in this situation?" What. Whaaat. If she was a character in this messed up series then why wasn't the narrator simply a disembodied voice? Besides that, who was Umami-kun? They sounded like some kind of delicious mascot character. Yum. Oh! Yummynami-kun, maybe?

"Oh, are you talking about Yummy--Nagissan?" Unless Leo's name had 'Umami' in it. Haha. That'd be cute... "I don't think stabbing with a hairpin is a good idea. I mean, of course hurting people isn't good in general, but it's also not very efficient. I actually have a bunch of pins keeping my hair in place and so far, I'm doing great! No head injuries related to hairpins, no sirree!" She reached up and patted the back of her head for good measure.

In a few seconds she realized that taking her skates off might've been a bad idea. Well, it's always nice to have a good ol' fashioned footrace, huh? "Ah! Trying to get a head start?" She broke out into a run to catch up with Ameya, which probably didn't take long even without her preferred method of travel. Despite her speed, she purposefully stayed a few steps behind to let the narrator lead.

[vrumivrumi]

Happy Halloween, Rumi.

I'm laughing at how exaggerated this picture actually is... Basically what that spooky experience she had as a child seemed like in her POV.

[vrumivrumi]

Rain From the Cloud Watcher's Eyes | (Team Challenge Reaction, Leo)

[shslhostclub]

...

Immediately he regretted the fact that he had ever wanted to lose the challenge. Her strained smile sent his heart sinking and his grip tightened around the handle of the umbrella. The smell of fresh rain that he had been enjoying just moments earlier suddenly stung in his lungs with guilt. For a while he stood there as he tried to find the right words to say, his shoes imbedding themselves into the water-laden earth and the rain pattering against the top of his umbrella.

"…sorry. I’m late, aren’t I?"

He tentatively drew closer, not wanting to startle her.

"If I had known you were all alone like this, I would have come earlier."

[vrumivrumi]

It was awfully hard to see. Rumi's eyes were still welled up with tears and swollen. Part of her just didn't want to see either. When the world was blurry, it felt almost dreamlike--like she could pretend that this playground she was sitting at was actually back home instead of some random island. It was comforting.

But Leo's voice brought her back to reality. By now, his voice had become characteristic to her, and it certainly didn't belong to anyone back home. She would've remembered if it did, right? That's what they decided on back when they first met. Or... Was it really their first meeting? The memories of being at Hope's Peak were fuzzy, but in general, she didn't remember him. With some effort, she opened her eyes to properly look his way, having to stop briefly to wipe away more droplets obscuring her vision.

"Hold up... H-Hazuki-kun... You don't have to m... Make my wet clothes your fault..." He wasn't a jerk. Well, he didn't seem jerk enough to make the umbrella-less waitress wait (haha) in the pouring rain, at least. The sentiment made her feel a bit better, though. People expressing concern even when she didn't know them well was refreshing.

Rumi slowly stood up from the seat of the swing so as not to splash the host on accident. He was one of the only dry ones. It'd be bad to put that to waste, huh? "Really... W...hy the sad face? I like the rain..." She was honestly starting to wish he hadn't seen her at all. Good grief. Guilt-tripping someone was something she never, ever wanted to do. It caused the other party unnecessary discomfort and only made the mood of the situation worse.

Once again she put a smile on. If only it looked genuine with the watery and reddened eyes.

"...I-It really isn't your fault. I never told... Even... Even then, it w-wouldn't be your fault... Unless you p-promised to meet... Then it'd be shame on me f-for waiting so long, right? Ha."

[vrumivrumi]

Rain From the Cloud Watcher's Eyes | (Team Challenge Reaction, Kousuke)

[shslsanic]

Now standing right in front of her, he slid his feet against the dirt of the playground’s ground as he stared over at her, examining the look on her face as well as he could through the rain. He didn’t know Rumi very well, but Kousuke thought she usually seemed a bit… less… like this. Recalling her show during the event was a bit blurry, as it rested between the time he spent berating himself and Mori’s kidnapping, but he knew she hadn’t made it through.

"…Sitting. Well, I guess that makes sense. Are you, uh. Well. You seem- do you- do you need assistance, or something? Your face is all-" 

In the middle of this graceful show of social skills, Kousuke realized she was looking at the bruise on his face. Or… maybe just his face as a whole. He did look pretty ghastly. With the few marks from his and Genji’s showdown, and the paleness from his exhaustion, he knew he looked like shit.  He took a few seconds longer than necessary to answer her, hand moving up to his face as if he’d forgotten until right then. 

"What? No. I do not need the infirmary. It… is just a bruise, there is no need to worry. It is a result of proper justice paid where it as due, that is all." 

Here, he paused like he was going to wait for Rumi to ask what he was talking about,  but spoke up again before she could say anything. 

"Genji punched me. I am fine. You, however, look pretty.. ill."

That was not cool hip slang. He meant that Rumi looked fucking nauseous.

[vrumivrumi]

Her face? Her face was what? Nothing was wrong with her face, right? Then again, it was so cold that she probably wouldn't feel anything if there was.

...Disregarding the fact that she had been bawling her eyes out, that is. Who could blame her? Rumi seriously needed an opportunity ever since the death of someone she looked up to a lot.

"...Nojima-kun."

Seriously. His speech was a little more messed up that she remembered. Then again, hers was too, but if questioned about it, she would merely give the excuse that Kousuke was worrying her. Which he kind of was. Ugh! So complicated a process lying is. That's why she doesn't enjoy it.

"You should at least... At least move somewhere. Y-You always said something... About... Keeping your muscles warm..."

Even she was a little surprised at how she managed to remember that, but then again, wasn't she the one who asked if all those layers were making him hot in the first place? And then he started stripping. Ha, good times... Back before anyone was dying.

Truth be told, the waitress probably needed to move somewhere just as much as he did. She was finally more self-conscious now that someone else was there. Her body was still shaking, and that stutter in her voice only emphasized it. Plus, the fact that Kousuke was asking if she needed help was pretty nice of him...

"A-As much as I like the rain, I... Suppose I wouldn't mind assistance..."

A pause. Hey. She wouldn't just let Kousuke get away with not taking care of himself.

"...But I'll only t-take cover if you come with me."

[hidingfromthingsfornow]

in which the narrator has some feelings of deja vu | rumi

[hidingfromthingsfornow]

The place was ginormous. Apparently when you got lost in big nature settings you weren’t supposed to go anywhere, because you didn’t want to stymie the efforts of people looking for you. Of course Ameya hadn’t ever been able to use this advice in real life—the only time she ever got lost was when she clicked into a random place on Google Maps—but she definitely wasn’t thinking of it now either. There was a difference between a library and a big forest with an incoming search party. The genre-savvy action would have been just to wait, but patience wasn’t one of Ameya’s virtues. At least it didn’t lead to someone finding some weirdass hidden door or a trap or something this time around. That would have sucked.

"When one decides they gotta go fast, they should take care not to…let their fastness run away with them," she said finally when Rumi reappeared in normal shoes. That was supposed to be wise and insightful right there. Yoda characters weren’t her shtick, alright. "How does one even maneuver around an island in skates, anyway? What if you wanna feel sand in your toes for half a second?" She wiggled her own singular bare foot knowingly, the other one still wearing a sandal, leading to a slightly awkward gait when she approached. 

"Eh, whatever, it’s hardly her place to lecture people about how to get around. The Narrator is no sports person. Or even very mobile person. She’s a marshmallow. Either way, the two of them are certainly hanging out in a creepy place for right now—so creepy she can almost hear the slam of a door when the wind ostensibly blows it shut, and all the lights temporarily go out at once, and then they’re stuck with each other for a while, figuring out puzzle shit. …But right now they’re fine, she supposes.”

After running her mouth almost constantly this whole time, she finally popped back into dialogue mode and stuck out one cheerful hand. “She doesn’t think the two of them have been properly introduced, however. Matsura Ameya, ｓｕｐａ  ｈａｉ－ｓｕｋｕｒｕ  level Narrator. Aaaand, she doesn’t wanna be rude or anything, but she is guessing Nyoomi-chan is not the superest skater.”

[vrumivrumi]

Okay, perhaps she was a little wrong about the acting thing. That line was lame! At least, the way she made it sound was lame. The line itself actually made sense, but... Hmm. Whatever! Rumi wasn't really focusing on that. "I don't really care for sand in my toes? I mean, as nice as the feel of hot sand on your feet is sometimes, I'm someone who prefers being buried up to my shoulders, and I don't have a proper outfit for that! Well, theoretically, I could dive in, uniform and all, but it's just--uncomfortable, y'know?" Oh dear. She was rambling. She waved her hand to signal her change in topic.

"Anyway, since you're pretty good with the nicknames, I suppose you already know my name...But I know yours too so I guess it doesn't matter? Hehe. I'm Kumomi Rumi, er, ｓｕ...--Super High School Level Waitress." That was much easier to say, for her at least. Finally, Rumi reached out and shook the hand extended out to her. "By the way, I'm really glad you aren't mad or anything. It's a bad habit I'm trying to change. Especially because--" A bad memory that may or may not have anything to do with her fear room surfaced in her mind. She shivered and shook her head. "Never mind that. I'm rambling again." Another hand wave.

"So, where do you want to start? This place is pretty big." Personally, she wanted to check out one of the games rooms to see if there was anything actually playable there as well as avoid the cook books room at all costs.

[vrumivrumi]

Thorn in My Side | (Kiku)

[shslfluffytamer]

At the grin back, Kiku was happy. A smiling person! She was getting used to either frowny or otherwise people around, which didn’t bother her, but everybody could use some more smiling! She, as well, could use some…

Oh? Did she recognize her from somewhere, or…? Oh. She did! Although she wasn’t sure why… She was small and quiet, really easy to miss, so huh. Someone has to be able to remember…? Did she perhaps meant her name getting mixed up? Oh, she did. She smiled sheepishly— she didn’t mind too much… It’s okay, Kumomi-san!

Kiku tried to shake her head and wave her hand like it’s no biggie- she should probably be used to it, too, not being able to correct people much except when writing… But she redirects herself to the new question when asked- let’s leave those silly things behind us! She promptly scribbles away on her notepad, keeping a brighter disposition than before.

"I’m alright! I had a nice night’s sleep, I think! What about Kumomi-san?"

[vrumivrumi]

Things were going swimmingly! Rumi had always been a little worried about possibly intimidating Kiku. Aku-chan had made her cry one too many times. Added stress from those troublesome characters would also pose a problem. Would Rumi allow herself to tack on extra worries? Nope! And she was certainly doing her job.

...Until Kiku brought up sleeping.

"Ahaha. Erm, that is..." Okay, though the actual sleeping part wasn't so bad because she'd run out of energy at juuuust the right time, the waitress still didn't like falling asleep or waking up in her room. It was like taking a shower. Getting in was bad because you'd have to remove the warm clothing you had been used to wearing, then stand under the shower head, and sometimes it would take a while for your body to adjust to the temperature. Getting out was also bad because your body would have already become accustomed to the water's temperature, and typically the area immediately outside the shower was cooler than that. Now imagine all that but in a situation where the heat of the water couldn't be adjusted. That was essentially what Rumi had to go through.

She sighed and ceased the nervous smiling. Yeah, it was better to make this situation less uncomfortable.

"Alright, I haven't actually been sleeping well," she admitted. "If you recall, I have the worst room... I sleep in a cot with no blankets and there's a really annoying draft." Now she just felt bad. Wasn't Kiku all the way up there? Room arrangements couldn't be changed, so worrying her with her own troubles was unnecessary.

[vrumivrumi]

Rain From the Cloud Watcher's Eyes | (Team Challenge Reaction, Kousuke)

[shslsanic]

It had been a while since the rain started, and with the numerous times he found himself drawn out of the comfort of his room, he’d determined that rain was just about all that it was going to do. He’d yet to hear thunder or lightning, and the wind was… manageable. He still didn’t like it, but he felt stupid staying in his room constantly, or sticking to the cafeteria as his only venture from the dorms. 

Hell, he felt more than stupid, really. After everyone saw his pathetic show at the competition, Kousuke was determined to prove…something. Whether it was to himself, or to the others was uncertain, but he was certainly disgusted by how easily he had given up. Athletes don’t give up, especially not at something as harmless as a storm. That was why, now that the rain had been going on for fucking ever, he was forcing himself to continue going on his morning and afternoon runs, however short they may be, and however wet. He may have given up during the challenge, but he was not going to do it again. Not now that everyone had seen. It was just some rain, and… perhaps only if he hadn’t been subjected to yesterday’s ‘game’, he would have been fine. He should be fine. This is fine.

No matter how many times he told himself all of this, he still regretted leaving the room as soon as he got outside. Not even minutes into running across the island towards the second section, Kousuke could feel his chest growing tighter and his muscles colder. He had yet to dig out the second jacket he owned, and everything felt wrong, wet, and inescapable. Eyes glancing up to the sky almost every six or seven steps, as if expecting to find something bright and flashing and discomforting spiralling down at him, the run was yet again… almost pointless. 

By the time he made it to the playground, only minutes into the jogging part of his routine, he felt nauseous and exhausted. This was a mistake. It wasn’t actually until Rumi’s voice cut out through the wall of water that he noticed her presence. 

"Gyuh—"

Straightening up with a snap of his spine, he tried to erase any sign of the discomfort thumping through his chest. No. This was the opposite of what he wanted.  

After a long, awkward moment of just staring and trying to figure out who was talking to him, he recognized the waitress, and however hesitantly, relaxed.  The involuntary, irrational fear that she was here at the playground to ambush and murder him was only a few seconds present as he calmed himself down and forced his heart-rate into the back of his mind, ignored.

"Yes, hello. It is… definitely weather, yes. Kumomi. What….. are you doing out here, sitting in the rain?" 

[vrumivrumi]

Honestly, Rumi hadn't been expecting to see Kousuke at all. She had little recollection of his daily routine since she was a busybody who was always all over the place. Plus, didn't he hate weather like this? Well, he hated storms, but obviously being forced to head out in the rain after facing his fear room must've been difficult. That was even more reason to believe he wouldn't be out there.

The waitress almost said something in the time that elapsed between Kousuke's reply and her greeting. No response would've been embarrassing. It meant either that there was no one there, that the person didn't or couldn't hear her, or that it was Kiku. And it'd be awful of her to try to force Kiku to use her notepad in the rain. As soon as she opened her mouth, Kousuke happened to open his and actually spoke.

Come to think of it, she knew very little about the sprinter. Even his voice was a little hard to recognize, partially due to the various sounds caused by the pouring rain all around them. Still, Rumi thought she heard right. She properly opened her eyes anyway to see if her assumption was correct, but all she saw was a big blur of blue and green.

"..."

She paused to rub at her swollen eyes. Ah. There, that was better. Or worse, maybe. Something about him was... Off. Other than being drenched and the lack of jacket, of course. Hmm...

"I was doing exactly that. S-Sitting in the r-rain... I was... Reflecting... I-I feel calmer out here, you s-see..."

It finally occurred to her that he just didn't look well. His face had a bit of a sickly tint to it, and--oh dear, was that red splotch supposed to be there? What even happened after she left the cafeteria that day?

"...Nojima-kun, did... Did something happen...? The infirmary... It's on this island..."

She looked like she could use a trip to the infirmary herself, honestly.