officialassistant

[officialassistant]

I've yet to play origami king, but I've heard a lot of good things about it.

Although on the topic of this roleplay specifically, Naruki had been mostly aimlessly roaming around the halls to think things through. He didn't find exploring everywhere he possibly could to find any semblence of a clue too fun when he only had, at most, seventy-two hours for his investigations, so he decided walking around would be a better use of his time to jog his mind.

 Eventually, they had found themselves in one of the classrooms with a drink of coffee until they realized that Jin had also been idling in the room. Interestingly enough, Naruki had been curious about the sociologist's nature himself and now that he finally had an opportunity to chat, they decided to glance on over in his direction.

"Mm... could be doing better with what's been going on, but it isn't the worst, at least."

He shrugs and sighs. It's obviously an understatement, but Naruki didn't have the energy to make a sarcastic comment about how he's dealing with everything that had just happened with absolute joy.

"What about you, Saishu?"

origami king was a FANTASTIC paper mario entry don’t @ me | Jin | Chapter 4 | Naruki

Sometimes you just revisit rooms. Maybe you care about them, maybe you don’t. Isn’t it enough to occasionally stand in a classroom not currently in use just because? Sometimes you just have to be somewhere to kickstart an interaction in an RP group because neither person knew where to hold said interaction and wound up being chosen by the equivalent of throwing a dart.

He sees the office worker enter. He inhales, then exhales. His interest in speaking with Naruki is limited only to the scope of what lingering curiosity he has, never having had much chance to speak with them before now. Perhaps he wouldn’t have another chance after this. Who could say?

“Satono. How are you faring?”

… He could at least try to sound like he cared rather than like he was just saying that to be polite.

[officialassistant]

thebestshsljournalist​:

Hikaru crosses his arms, tapping his right forearm with his left fingers with a frown as he listens to Naruki, and eventually nods slowly as he finishes.

“…Yeah, I suppose so. It’s…growing up, things weren’t so easy. My dads were never well off, things were hard. They both worked themselves to the bone for my sake, so…from the moment I was old enough I knew I had to pay them back.”

…

“…One of my dads, he’s…he’s in prison right now. For stopping an attempt on my life, he killed the person who wanted to…to kill me. Because I was successful, because I was becoming a better journalist than him.”

“…It’s hard to trust people, I’ve gotten so used to the headspace of a journalist, and things are just…easier if I’m working. The more money I make the more comfortable my dad back home is, and I can ensure once my other dad is out of prison they have a great retirement. And…when I’m working, I don’t think as much I guess. If I’m focusing on the problems of others, if I’m focusing on being productive, if I’m just…getting a story, and forgetting my own story, then it’s easier to get by.”

“…It’s better than feeling useless. It’s better than having to think about how the people who did everything to give me a good life even now suffer day in and day out for me, because of me. I need to be the best…I need to pay them back. I can’t ever do things halfway, they deserve all I can give…”

Hikaru sighs, looking away, a bit sombre and a bit embarrassed by his own rambling.

“…I don’t really tell people about myself, but I guess I can tell you wouldn’t see any reason to spread it, or use it against me. You aren’t like the people I work with…”

"Mmm... looks like we aren't too different on that front. Family also had a bit of money problems which is why I took up internships and work to help cover their debts and since that was really the only way I could've contributed at the time. Taking every little thing about my job so seriously was what wound me out of commission for a while though... So I just focus on making the most use out of the little time I have to get things done without overworking myself into an early grave while making sure my colleagues don’t needa deal with anything like that either."

Naruki straightens his posture a slight bit while he nods along though.

"But yikes... I personally never had to deal with anything like that, but I'm sorry with what you were dealt with."

To be honest, he was rather curious on how Hikaru hasn't had any news broken about him regarding any attacks despite his nature in the type of job he worked, but at least that solved his answer.

“Well If this happens to end smoothly somehow, chances are that I'd have no reason to spread something like that around. Hearing gossip is already exhausting enough, so I dunno why I’d spread the word myself."

[officialassistant]

thebestshsljournalist​:

“It feels hopeless, right?! God…you’d hope the police could do one thing right and they can’t even do that and free us. How do you suspect this will end? We’ll all just kill until everyone is either dead or escaped?”

“…We’re at 7 now…at this point 3 people could group up and kill 3 others, then vote that last person for all 3 murders. Then that group of 3 could leave…I don’t suspect anyone here would really create such a plan, or work in a group like that, but it’s not a pleasant train of thought…”

Hikaru takes another sip of his coffee before leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms.

“…If this situation was any less dire I wish I could have gotten to know you better. Even now, I just can’t wrap my head around you. In some twisted way it’s like your very existence is betraying everything I believed in. You succeed, you accomplish things, you’re smart…but you only do as much as you need to, not more. You’re not always aiming for your highest mark like I am, yet you seem to keep doing better than me. It’s so…frustrating! But…I respect it.”

“…Don’t let it go to your head though.”

"Well it's really hard to rely on authority or the law in general most of the time when it only does anything to help us if it benefits themselves as well. I don't think they'd have enough time to risk helping us out anyways given the rate at which everyone else is getting offed at... but for once, I'd want to be proven wrong if they actually did something about it."

Naruki sighed as he said so frustratingly.

"...And I really don't think anyone else here's either smart, strong, or cooperative enough to pull a stunt like that, so I'd suggest not getting your head into unlikely possibilities like that. We barely get enough time to do anything while everything's happening anyway, so realistically it's just a slow spiral until the bomb goes off or something breaks the cycle... if that means anything."

Morbid, but that's given the fact that it doesn't look like he knew much else to say. Naruki took a big sip of his coffee afterwards before putting it down after finishing what was left.

"...And thanks, I guess?... but I guess I'm just like this 'cuz I personally call it just pacing myself."

...Although if I wanted to be more specific, it's so I could focus on actually using the time I have to enjoy whatever’s left that I have instead of focusing every ounce of energy in my life to do something only to drop dead by the end of it."

"...I guess that's what’s been keeping me somewhat sane throughout this shithole and it’s what I learned after almost literally dropping dead way before I myself to where I am now."

He yawns casually before turning his gaze to make eye-contact with Hikaru.

“What about you? I mean It’s obvious that you’re doing better when it comes to actually solving whatever’s thrown at all of us. On the other hand, it looks like you seem to want to push yourself to the bone in order to be the best more than anything else, regardless of whether or not you actually have any control in the matter.”

[officialassistant]

thebestshsljournalist​:

A coffee is just what Hikaru needs right now. Sleeping has been tough, he just keeps circling the rooms as if doing so will suddenly provide some new information or help, when he tries to lay down and rest sleep simply doesn’t come.

“Yeah…coffee is good. Thanks.”

He takes a sip, looking away from Naruki, falling silent for a few moments as he speaks, before eventually replying.

“…Not easy. I guess I’m not as good a journalist as I thought…hoped…I was. The greats wouldn’t be breaking down like this, would they?”

Hikaru seems, for once, not particularly vicious or self-righteous. In this moment, he’s just…tired.

“I had to spend some time thinking about it and…I came to the conclusion that, yeah, it…could so easily have been me instead that killed or was killed any of those times. If Daichi threatened my family, or…my career…I could be just like them, do exactly as they did. Akash, Yuna, Miharu…”

Hikaru sighs softly, taking another sip of his coffee.

“On top of that, I’ve been caught up in trying to…figure out what the hell that puzzle in the computer room was about. Its been keeping me up all night, can’t sleep trying to decipher…what it could mean…though, it seems like you’re always doing better than me with this stuff so…you got anything?”

It’s a statement and question not really pitched out of spite, but seemingly more so just out of…some form of defeatism? To Hikaru, needing the help of someone else is a personal defeat. He’s at his lowest low right now though…no point in being stubborn.

"Mm... everyone has their own weaknesses and anyone can show weakness if they're backed far enough into a corner or if they're under enough pressure. Even with stupid titles showing that you're apparently the best at what you could do in your field, no one's perfect. Took me quite a while to get used to that fact and I'm still learning, but dunno how much longer I'd still be able to learn."

Naruki continues to nod along. Even being caffeinated and shaken up right now, he's still maintaining his usual monotonous and lethargic attitude as usual even with his small lecture.

"And honestly anyone could've been the one to bite the bullet, but it's just the fact that others had already stepped up to the plate before any of us still here had to deal with that conondrum."

Naruki states before taking a look at his mug. Wack to think that he was talking about stepping up to said plate to Keizo a while back despite the fact that Naruki had never gone through with it.

"I still haven't gotten a clue either. There hasn't been much to find out around this place in terms of clues, nor do I know anything about terrorist organizations or what the hell it's all supposed to mean. It's really just been rough seeing that we're stuck without much other options."

[officialassistant]

thebestshsljournalist​:

At first Hikaru looks like he’s ready to snap at Naruki, or simply ignore him out of shame, but…eventually his face mellows and he wipes his eyes.

“A drink would…be nice. Thank you…”

Hikaru sighs, no point in pretending he’s invulnerable now, at least of all people it was Naruki, someone he can halfway trust. At least Naruki isn’t the type to go and tell everyone else that Hikaru Kakimasu was crying. Hikaru rests his head in his hands, sighing softly.

“I’m guessing you come here for coffee or something?”

Naruki nods in response. 

"Mhm... yup. Just needed something to clear my head, and it seems like I wasn't the only one."

After hearing Hikaru's request, Naruki promptly went on over to grab two mugs and brew a pitcher of coffee in the coffee maker. He was pretty quick with it given how it was just coffee, but he then shifted over to head to the table to set on the opposite end from Hikaru before sliding the other mug over.

"...I'm pretty sure there's other drinks in the fridge if you wanted something else, but I just got you whatever I got since I didn’t know what you liked."

He said in his usual tired tone of voice before sipping his drink.

"...Guessing it hasn't been easy holding up with all of this though... It's been one hell of a week that's for sure..."

He sighed and mumbled. Naruki had never been fond of small talk, but it was what he mostly knew when it came to conversations he wasn’t the most sure on how to handle.

[officialassistant]

After checking the time on his watch, Naruki was already exhausted emotionally and physically from the past week. It's been a tough time for him to get his thoughts gathered up and together while he's been watching each murder, investigation, trial, and subsequent execution go on. This time around, he wanted to clear his mind since the third execution had just rolled around, so a cup of coffee in the staff room was his first destination. 

His last visit for a nice cup of joe turned out differently than how he expected, but given how it was in the middle of the day, he didn't expect any ghostly encounters this time around. Before he entered though, he had heard a loud slam and a shout coming from the room, so it didn't hurt to investigate what was going in there before anything happened. Once he had entered though, Naruki then spotted the usually over-determined journalist Hikaru, crying like a wreck. That wasn't something he expected when he came in for just a drink.

"Oh... Are you doing alright?"

With the killing game going on even Naruki knew that was a bit of an empty question to ask. He didn't need to deal with something this emotional until now, so it might have been obvious that he really didn't know what to say.

"...Should I just head out and leave you be or do you need a drink or?..."

Well Naruki himself came on over for a drink, so he guessed that was a decent start to ask that.

Wit's End | Hikaru | Chapter 4 | Closed @ Naruki

Hikaru enters the staff room, looking around a bit before closing the door behind himself and moving to search through whatever he can find. 

…

Nothing. Absolutely fucking…nothing.

What did he expect? That finding a useful room would be as easy as going into the one with “Staff Only” on it?

“FUCK!”

Hikaru kicks over a chair, panting in frustration.

Nothing…

Every corner he looks in, everything he tries, it’s all for nothing. 

He’s probably going to die here, they all are. He can keep just telling himself that he’ll live, but that doesn’t make it true. He can keep begging for an escape route, but that doesn’t mean one will arise.

Losing himself in the moment, Hikaru just slumps in one of the chairs and…sobs. He’s so tired of keeping the emotions in, he’s tired of doing this…he’s tired of watching people die and pretending he’s fine. He’s tired of talking to people and then waking up the next day to them being nothing but a corpse, or a murderer.

He wants to go home. He wants to see his dads again. For once, is the story worth it? Is it worth it if no one even lives to tell the tale?

One day, he won’t wake up to a corpse or a murderer. One day…

One day he might not wake up at all.

[officialassistant]

thebestshsljournalist​:

Hikaru looks it over with a mix of surprise and confusion, before nodding and pulling out his notebook to take some notes.

“What a weird…hm. Should we just…”

Once Hikaru finishes, he simply leans over and types…yes.

…

He reads the words that next show up in utter confusion.

“You have been infected and brainwashed…what is this going on about? The only way to cleanse ourselves is to die…?”

Hikaru shakes his head slowly before looking to Naruki.

“Are you making any sense of this? Because I’m sure not…”

Hikaru begins to note down what’s said on this page too.

Naruki was watching Hikaru jot down everything down on his notebook and as he reached over to answer the puzzle, Naruki also got a bit of a surprise from the message that they got.

“The hell’s this even supposed to be?”

He paused as he tried typing in any additional answers for an attempt to see if this was just one step of the puzzle. Needless to say, his attempts were futile.

“I got no ideas on what this is, but if this is supposed to be about the game then this doesn’t sound good for us in the slightest.”

“How the hell are we gonna explain this to everyone else anyways...”

[officialassistant]

thebestshsljournalist​:

Hikaru spends a few moments looking over it, frowning.

“Rotation is key…I suppose it would make sense that you’re meant to rotate each letter to get another? Like…the M actually being an E or the U being an N?”

Hikaru spends a little longer analyzing before sighing.

“…Can’t figure out a legitimate word from it though. So I’m not sure yet…”

..On the desk, Naruki had written a list of 26 words with what appeared to be random letters. Msdubbm, lrctaal, kqbszzk, and so on with shifting each letter up along the alphabet. 

“Mhmm… If I’m not wrong this time around, it should be a cipher if that’s what it’s supposed to mean.”

Encrypting and decrypting codes in puzzles wasn’t a completely new thing Naruki knew about. After he had written most of them down, he typed each of them out into the computer, and crossed off each answer until he found something that worked. It took him a little bit to get past the errors screen until he ended up finally landed it with ‘agrippa’.

“....Looks like that was the case. Let’s see what we got here.”

He simply took a quick look at the screen to read what else he got and simply glances at Hikaru.

“...I have no idea that the hell this is all about, but it looks important. You might wanna take a look at this and you might also want to copy this all down just incase.”

[officialassistant]

Naruki simply sighs. He must've been off his game especially with the recent events keeping his mind off focus some of the time. It didn’t help that he felt like he was slowly growing more exhausted over the course of the past few days.

"Hmmkay..."

Naruki was at least glad that Hikaru didn’t gloat or dig the knife deeper over the slight oversight they missed though. They then took a quick read through the next page that they had gotten from the next step of the puzzle.

“I mean, at least it gives us something to do for the time that we have right now though.”

It took him a small amount of time to think of what the answer would be for this panel. He’s heard riddles like these before though and they sure sounded pretentious to him. Perhaps he had some possible ideas to plug into the puzzle.

Money? Nope. Dirt? Nope! Death? Still no… He quickly burned a few answers into the keyboard and after typing a few more… it seemed like he ended up getting a shot in the right direction.

“Aaaand… it looked like it was just nothing. Like… literally nothing was the password.

The next page of the puzzle had then shown up. It was a bit vague and cryptic, but that’s usually how these types of puzzles go, but he looked for a quick piece of paper or similar surface to write on before just grabbing his pen and scribbling a few notes on the desk. He wasn’t aware of how long this puzzle might be up for, and he was honestly, a little lazy to run all the way over to the school store to grab a singular piece of paper. Sure it might be sloppy, but there weren't any rules that explicitly stopped him from doing that.

“Got any ideas for what this might be though? I have a few, but might as well let you also take a crack at this first.”

Brute-Force Search | Naruki | Chapter 3 | Hikaru

The end of the trial was definitely something that didn’t sit well with Naruki in the slightest.  He had stated once before that he was totally willing to step up to the plate for the majority of everyone else… but he felt differently than he wanted when it came to seeing other people take a similar approach.

Nonetheless, there were more areas opened up, and the computer room looked enticing to just chill and explore so that was his first destination.

The place definitely reminded Naruki a tad bit of a computer lab or an office room. It gave an exhausting aura for them, but taking a crack at the computers for anything never hurt… This time it actually had something interesting for him, a puzzle!… It seemed a bit uncanny to him to see it randomly in there, but it didn’t hurt to see if it was actually important. Unfortunately, he didn’t really have too much of a clue at the moment. They didn’t have enough info to create some sort of formula to solve it all easily, so Naruki was just typing their way with plugging in random entries that were somewhat related with the clue Seven Twice. They were unsuccessful with all of their attempts, and it frustrated him. However it wasn’t long until they spotted someone else enter the room.

“Oh ,hey. By the way, the only thing here’s an odd puzzle. Got any ideas for what the answer to this might be?”

He waved over to them to show his screen. Might as well lay down all the cards he’s found thus far.

[officialassistant]

thebestshsljournalist​:

Hikaru is silent for a few moments, staring at the chalkboard and absorbing the information, both visually and audibly.

“…”

He nods slightly, taking some more notes in his notebook.

“…Fine. I’ll admit when I’ve been outsmarted. Your ideas do hold merit. I suppose I underestimated you…”

Hikaru taps his chin with his pen, looking away in thought.

“Though you really have to expect it, right? You seem so disinterested in putting in effort…could there actually be some layer of success to be found in finding the easy way?”

He begins to mumble, thinking out loud, before finally speaking up some more.

“Thanks, I guess. I appreciate that you actually care to think about this stuff unlike some here.”

Seems that surprisingly, proving Hikaru wrong bags you Respect and not Spite.

...“Then I’m pretty sure you completely forgot about the fact that I’m also an SHSL.”

After drawing the diagram on the chalkboard, he starts to try to wipe it down, but since he couldn’t find a chalkboard eraser laying around, he opts to just smudge it down with his hand. He’ll wash it off later.

“I dunno if you’ve even bothered to read the roster, but I work in an office where there’s a hell of a lot of things to do, so I work to automate things to get stuff done quickly rather than work through everything in the slowest ways possible.”

“I can get why that’s considered lazy, but I at least know what I’m doing, and it’s just stupid if you’re that closeminded to not consider what I have to say.”

[officialassistant]

 thebestshsljournalist​:

Hikaru grits his teeth, a little agitated by the insult as you’d expect.

“Well I don’t see you doing anything to help, so what gives you the right to criticise?!”

He closes his eyes, trying to cool off.

“Besides, I don’t intend to stop murders from happening, because then we’ll just all die to the bomb. I just intend to be aware of time frames and hold personal knowledge of equipment so I can decipher the murders that do occur easier. If you’re so certain there’s a better way of doing this, why not show me?”

“...I dunno if you noticed, but I’ve already looked around the entire place for anything important... So there isn’t much else I can do aside from waiting around or pointing out the obvious flaws in your plan at this point.”

Naruki’s voice remains the usual chill and mono-tone mood that they usually keep up with, even if he’s clearly starting up an argument. 

“I’ve already brung up a better idea, but you didn’t seem to listen the first time around. If your goal is to just keep track of the equipment, It’d be better to just haul the most dangerous items to one spot so it’d be easier to keep track of all of them at once. If you walk into every individual room checking in every half-day for a chance to see one small detail changed, you’d leave a lot of room for someone to take something, kill someone with what they got, and return it back to where they took it.”

Afterward, he takes a moment to grab the chalk laying in the classroom before glancing at his watch to quickly re-create the map on the chalkboard, crossing out some of the rooms he deemed worthless in a murder case, ex. the Planetarium, Classrooms, Laundry Room, and etc before drawing a line to show a route looping around the map.

“If you’re so hell-bent on checking every area, then just be the class lookout and keep running around the halls until you find someone doing something suspicious. You said you had all the time to put in the search, right? A route like this would at least be time-efficient, so you’d have the time to check most of the rooms or be able to find someone within a reasonable timeframe.”

He crosses his arms, huffing another sigh as he looks Hikaru deadpanned. For someone notorious for his apathy and lack of effort, it wasn’t too dumb of a plan that he proposed.

“...So there, I’ve showed you. Got any better ideas now while you’re at it?”

[officialassistant]

thebestshsljournalist​:

“…Oh.”

…

“Sorry.”

Hikaru is a little caught off-guard by Naruki’s proclamation of absent parents, to whatever degree it is. Nonetheless, he shakes it off and goes back to business mode.

“Regardless, I’m not looking for shortcuts, I’m trying to do this right. I have the time to put in to search each room, so why not do that? Skipping a room because it’s likely not important could come back to haunt us later. I don’t expect you to understand, since you are clearly lazy and search for the easiest alternatives.”

“...They aren’t dead.”

Naruki says, already aware of the conclusions Hikaru had jumped to with what he stated earlier.

“They were mostly just busy working at the time.”

After that whole deal was sorted out, Naruki went back to criticizing Hikaru’s plan.

“And what’s checking for the smallest thing being missing gonna do though if you’re only checking the rooms every 12 hours? That’s plenty of time for someone to kick it, heck, even one’s already more than enough.”

“At that rate, just play hall monitor all day and go around each room ‘till something happens… or just gather every single ‘dangerous’ thing and pile it up somewhere. ‘Course they have their own issues, but at least it does the job if you’re so desperate to make sure nothing happens.”

He sighs upon hearing the comment from Hikaru calling him lazy yet again.

“I can understand what you’re coming from with wanting to go through all that effort... but that’s also not stopping me from calling you a dumbass when there’s obviously better ways to approach this sorta deal.”

[officialassistant]

thebestshsljournalist​:

Hikaru looks a little offended by the insinuation, rolling his eyes.

“I’m not an idiot, I’m only noting down potentially dangerous inventory and where it can be found. For all of our safety. I’ll also try to check each room once every twelve hours to see if I can be certain of when items have been taken in the case of them being murder weapons.”

You do score a peek at the journal too, where you find various dot points of items that could indeed be potentially dangerous. However, on the previous page there seems to be remnants of notes on…the classmates. In particular, Naruki’s own name might stand out as it has a few crossed out words around it and then a large question mark while other names are more straightforward with Jin’s having devil horns and “don’t trust” while Yuna’s has “likely harmless��. Hikaru notices that Naruki is peeking eventually, turning back around to look at him and obscuring the view of the journal.

“Didn’t your parents even teach you to respect privacy? Yeesh.”

Naruki simply shrugs it off, he didn’t see it as a big deal nor did he care if he slighted Hikaru in the slightest.

“....I mean, it didn’t hurt to check, in case you actually wrote like that.”

He stated while he was glancing right at his journal for quite a while, keeping mental notes as he checked through his notes.

“And I’d probably say checking each of the rooms is a lil’ inefficient if you’re looking around the entire building. You could really just cross out half of the ones with basically nothing inside and you’d save some time playing hall monitor... unless you’re so determined about checking to see if someone dragged a chair out.”

Even if he’s making shortcuts in a killing game, you know what they say, choose a lazy person to do a hard job because that person will find an easy way to do it! If Hikaru had drawn a map or something in his book, Naruki wouldn’t hesitate to cross things out or draw up an optimal route, but if even if a map was drawn, it was then when Hikaru had finally pulled his journal back before Naruki shrugs it off yet again.

“If you wanted a straight answer, not really. They weren’t around much to preach stuff like that.”

[officialassistant]

thebestshsljournalist​:

Hikaru’s eyes flick up to the doorway, and to Naruki. He was basically done searching anyway, taking note of everything he decided he needed to take note of.

“Identical? I’m trying to keep track of everything in the rooms so I can be aware of what might go missing should another murder occur. Chitose’s kill was messy, but the next could be much less simple.”

Hikaru writes something down in his book, sighing softly.

“…Need to remain on guard. We’re already down from fourteen of us to eleven, who knows how many of us will die by the time I get out of here.”

He seems pretty confident in his own ability to survive at least, but he shakes his head slowly.

“While this is an incredible story, I’m not some freak who doesn’t care if people die. Shit, we’re all just kids with families, yeah? The least I can do is try to stop kills, and make sure I have as much info as possible to give the deceased a story they can rest in peace with. Give their families peace, too.”

Hikaru becomes aware he has been giving a monologue, which causes him to grow a little embarrassed and turn away from Naruki.

“…Thanks for searching the other classroom I guess. Did anything at all stand out or is it just as generic as this one?”

Their eyes promptly glance back at Hikaru before he then starts looking back down at his journal.

“Mhm... room looked just as generic as this one is. Nothing of substance, as usual, and I don’t really think it’s worth keeping track of this place since the only thing I can imagine someone doing is… stealing a chair, or something like that.”

He said as he then stood there as he listened to Hikaru mumble to himself as he jotted down everything he was thinking out loud, basically summarizing everything that’d just happened earlier.

“...And no problem. I guess...”

After Hikaru turns away, Naruki tries to move over to attempt a peek at his journal, whether he’s successful or not is up to you. But he really wants to know how Hikaru keeps his notes and thoughts sorted in his journal. Either way, good job on respecting boundaries, Naruki.

“....Did you actually write down everything you just said? I’m not one to keep a journal, but I’m pretty sure you’re gonna run out of space for actual notes if you’re just jotting random stuff down like that.”

[officialassistant]

Naruki had been taking a moment to take a look at the new areas pretty quickly after Daichi had announced them. It was usually the same old plan, Naruki investigated an area, he couldn’t find anything of importance, and asking around didn’t help at all. Classroom B was no exception to this. It didn’t help that the recent deaths of Goro and Chitose made it a little harder to focus because human brains usually have to process things like grief and sadness, unfortunately, but Naruki seemed to be able to keep a level-head throughout all this at the very least.

So after he’d made the rounds and finished taking a quick look around the classroom before declaring that nothing notable is in here, he had been taking a glance at his watch once more. It’s sure strange to see all of these new areas with a recent absence of two of his classmates after everything had just happened from glancing at the IDs and the map. It didn’t take long until he took a peer into Classroom A to spot one of his peers.

“Oh...”

While also taking a quick scan around Classroom A, it seemed awfully similar to the classroom he’d just been in.

“...To save you the time, I’ve already checked out the other classroom. Looks pretty much the same and didn’t have anything useful, I’m guessing it’s probably the same here unless you still wanna take a look”.

As much as Hikaru wasn’t on the greatest on terms with him, Naruki wasn’t dumb enough to get a shoddy relationship in the way of actually being productive, so he kept things short and simple.

Begin A New Search | Hikaru | Chapter 2 Start | Closed @ Naruki

Hikaru slowly pushes open the door to one of the classrooms, Classroom A to be precise. He isn’t really sure what to expect, but honestly some time of quiet and perhaps a good book is just what he needs to quell the feelings in his stomach.

The brilliant and bright flash of light that engulfed Akash…no, Chitose, in their entirety. That light is etched into Hikaru’s brain, searing into his eyelids so whenever he closes them, it is all he can see. Watching Kyoji jump was enough, finding Goro with a cracked skull was horrific, and now Chitose was as good as the scrap metal they worked with.

“Fuck this…”

Eloquently selected words, no doubt. Hikaru didn’t lie, this is far from the first time he has seen someone dead…but that doesn’t mean it’s any more pleasant. Watching someone get executed was new too, no doubt about that. He brings his pipe out, clutching it in one of his hands as if to make himself feel safe.

…

Alright. He opens his eyes and moves further into the classroom, deciding to carry out some investigation. Perhaps if he’s lucky he can find something to help him and the others get out of this mess.

[officialassistant]

shsloutlander​:

“Maybe so.  But I’m gonna consider myself an added bonus.  Free of charge.”

…Why is he winking.  Just how obnoxious can one man be.

With that, though, Keizo twists his mouth a little – seeming a little contemplative.

“…We got another kid with burns?  Gotta say, I’m surprised.  Hope she’s not as reckless as I am.  Guess I’ll be on the lookout – I’ll admit, I don’t think I’ve met too many of our little number here, and I hate to see it shrink before I got the chance to say hey to a fellow victim.”

…He obviously doesn’t think of himself as a victim, so that probably rings a little hollow.  If anything, he seems proud of the scars.

Keizo’s eyebrow quirks when Naruki yawns, though if he’s thinking anything about it, he keeps it to himself. …For now.

With that, though, he gives a bit of a chuckle, on hand looped into the top of his trunks, other raising up to his face.

“It’s an expression.  Don’t take shit so literal, yeah?  But, y'know, ain’t gonna say it’s a bad impulse – I just figure we’re all paddling in the dark on this one.  And if someone did have information to tell ya, they’d probably lie and say they didn’t.  Whatever we’re bein’ put up to probably ain’t intended to be public knowledge, so be careful, sport.”

…. As the conversation continues, Keizo’s eyes widen – ever so slightly, blink and you miss it – obviously due to the casual admittance that Naruki was, uh. Completely fucking willing to play into this. (…That was… concerning.  In a word.)

Though it goes away as quickly as it appears– (Already?  How quickly do people work towards their own ends–) – his mouth still that casual grin– (And for what reward, for what gain – beyond an extra three days, or few hours, given the inevitable–) – and eyelids half-lidded– (… though, someone so willing to just say that outright, to a total stranger–) – with one hand resting firmly on his skin, thumb on his belly.

“Easy there, tiger.  Just make sure to pick on someone your own size, if you’re gonna go for that kinda shit.”

His eyes become a little more appraising, but he sighs – contemplating for a moment, before:

“…Y'really think so?  Mhm….”

…There’s a long pause, but eventually Keizo snaps his fingers, as if struck:

“Ah, aight.  I get it.  You’re sayin’, they acted all freaked out – or, y'know, disappointed – when Nagase-kun kicked it, right?  And if they just wanted us to die, they’d have been more happy with the whole thing, an’ let us still have access to the windows.  There’s somethin’ important in getting us to kill each other – and the goal is to get to a certain point, or else there wouldn’t be this runnin’ three-day threat.  Do I get a gold star, teach?”

His blink is gentle.

“…Don’t think that helps us.  AI-kun ain’t exactly givin’ us answers, though… though, my ma always said that men with face scars deserve the most respect.  Maybe we should try butterin’ him up….”

Keizo.  Do you actually think someone will believe your mom fucking said something so dumb– you have a face scar, you idiot–

They promptly roll their eyes upon getting a sight of that wink, probably because that was a response he wasn’t surprised to get.

...Well, whatever... I dunno much about the whole deals with that, but it’s not my area to judge, but you’ve probably got enough time to talk to the winemaker to get your deals sorted out.”

Naruki then quickly shrugs. Keizo chatting with Junko isn’t really his business nor is it something he really cares about. Speaking of not caring, he isn’t surprised knowing that his casual and blatant tired nature has been noticeable from others, but once Keizo raised a brow at his yawn, Naruki raised one of his own brows briefly in acknowledgment before going back to his usual expression.

“...And sure, if you say so... Just thought it was better off getting things straight more than anything... And when I meant info, I meant like... obvious but important things we could find… so we don’t need to waste time looking for the same shit around the same place and whatnot. I’d rather ask you if there’s anything ya found here instead of going through the effort of looking all around the room myself.”

But after his earlier statement in regards to the killing game, despite the shit he was willingly able to bluntly bring up, it seemed like he briefly raised a brow in what seemed like a quiet surprise in how Keizo was able to take him saying it so casually.

“Mmm, and obviously yeah. I’m not like I’m gonna do shit like that in the first place, but It didn’t hurt to browse our options. Would prefer to have twelve of us still kicking for a little longer than sleep it off while a bomb kills us all, that’s for sure.”

...At the very least, he’s being forward about these plans although he seemed to not acknowledge the fact that the trial and execution also exist in affecting the general headcount.

He crosses his arms shortly after stating that though before turning his eyes elsewhere around the room.

“...What I was saying more specifically was that… none of us would’ve woken up here in the first place if they just wanted us dead... I dunno anything when it came to Nagase’s situation, but I’m pretty sure they don’t want us to kill for the sake of getting rid of us… Got no idea why else they would though, but I’ve just been making guesses at this point.”

“Pretty sure Sasanari’s not gonna be helping us anytime soon either, regardless of whether or not we suck up to him. Higher-ups usually have their sticks up their own asses to listen to anyone below them the majority of the time though, regardless of whatever scars they got. Ain’t helping that the authorities we’re dealing with are literally pulling this on us.”

Naruki wasn’t afraid to go off given his unprofessional habits, but for once he said something in a subtly more annoyed attitude than he usually let off.

But I’m sure regardless of whether or not Keizo’s mom actually said that though, she’s probably sweet. Definitely sweeter than the person Keizo’s talking for sure.

[officialassistant]

soundless-dream​:

Man there were so many tall people in this class. This guy didn’t look as tall as Keizo but Yuna still felt a bit intimidated by him. But for now he doesn’t seem that bad. Maybe if Yuna just thinks of him like a human sized teddy bear, she won’t feel that daunted by him…………

No that would just be weird.

She takes a moment to look over the computer console. It looked much more technologically advanced than anything she had seen before. Yuna almost felt in awe just looking at all the doodads that were on the computer. But her attention does turn away from the console when Naruki speaks again.

“Ah……… You shouldn’t…… Say that. Even if that……. Might be the case. You still…… Lit this place…. Up.”

Yuna gives him a smile to really emphasize her words. Although Naruki’s assumption does make her feel a little embarrassed.

“Not…….. Exactly to……… See the stars. But yes……. I was………. Interesting in……… Seeing what this……… Planetarium had…… To offer. I can…………. See why you’d……………. Think that………. Though.”

At his last remark, she glances up at the ceiling screens. The idea that there might be windows located up there does pass her mind. But……..

“I would…………….. Like to think it’s……… That easy. However……… I have little………. Doubt that Sasanaru-san……. Would let………. Us have that kind……. Of luxury. Those are…….. Most likely……. Just…………. Screens, sadly.”

It’s the sad reality of it all that brings Yuna close to tears. But she can’t look weak in front of her peers. So she doesn’t let any tears spill out of her eyes, and decides on a good conversation starters.

“I’m………. Yuna Saito………. By the way. You……. Must be….. Satono-san. I looked……… Through the………. Class list earlier. What is……… It like? Being a…….. Office Assistant that……. Is.”

Naruki isn’t too far off from a bear… at least not an aggressive one given the strong frame and tired energy he constantly brings. While he does stand tall at a solid height of 5’11”, his slouching and uneven posture usually shows makes him look a bit shorter than he usually lets on, but It at least gives him an easier time looking straight ahead at people like Yuna even if it’s not exactly professional etiquette.

“...Mmm, well if you say so.”

Naruki glanced back at her before shrugging the comment off tiredly. Getting praise for stuff like turning on the lights wasn’t a common thing he’s usually had, but he isn’t complaining and there was no reason to even argue over it.

After spotting Yuna looking up, he also takes a quick moment to flip through the available options once again on the console before setting it back to what he initially set the screens to. Technology was something Naruki was more than familiar with given his experience working in an office with tons of computers and software so he had no issues navigating through the planetarium’s computers.

“...Definitely looks like they’re just screens... Looks unnecessarily expensive for something that’s just star stuff... Have you been to a place like this before?... I haven’t, but it’d be nice if you knew if there was anything actually worthwhile here.”

Of course, it was obvious why Naruki wanted to see how the outside world looked like now that the only windows in the cafeteria had been boarded up, but he wasn’t that dense to blatantly bring it up when he didn’t need to. 

Although hearing Yuna switch the topic and introduce herself did make Naruki remember that he might as well meet everyone else he comes across given how he’s gonna be with them for about a month, if he’s lucky.

“Ah, right… Yeah, that’s me. Working in an office is pretty much how’d you imagine it to be. It’s just a lot of boring management work, but I get it done fast enough to spend the rest of the time doing whatever else I want.”

Well at least he’s honest about his work habits and it doesn’t matter if his boss heard him saying that. It’s not like he’s going back to work within the next month now that he’s stuck here.

“...And what about you?... What’s the whole deal with… ASMR supposed to be about?...”