and they were ROOMMATES (monday, week 0)

[psychedelica]

[ so it goes without saying that Hikage came to the room earlier to pick up his things - the rulebook, and his item, which was absolutely a handgun, if Steph happened to see it. At the time, he hadn't paid that much attention to the room; it's not until now that he returns and realizes the name (which he hadn't recognized at the time) belongs to "Batgirl," meaning they're partners.

Well. At least she's easy to get along with. ]

... I guess we're partners.

[ sound more thrilled, Hikage. There's a bigger problem here in the room, though. ]

There's only one bed...

Comments

[vigilantics]

[ oh. he's the second person to have mentioned he was dead before arriving. no one else has said anything like that, and steph is pretty sure that she's still alive, so... that makes things a little more troubling. they could take people even from purgatory? ]

You really have bad luck... [ a pause, and then she hastily adds, ] So do I! So, hopefully we cancel each other out then.

[ maybe. ]

Question. Out of everyone you've spoken to so far, who do you like? We're not going to get through this by ourselves.

[psychedelica]

Wouldn't that just double our bad luck...?

[ a muttered response. Really, he's just glad that she took that so well. Not everyone has been.

It doesn't seem like Hikage was expecting that question; his thin brows knit together as he tries to think of how to respond. And it actually does take a few seconds. Someone doesn't have a lot of friends... ]

I guess... Souji is all right. That skeleton seems relatively intelligent, too. [ a pause. ] That doesn't mean they're trustworthy.

[vigilantics]

[ she actually frowns at the mention of "skeleton" but other than that, she nods. ]

I know. But we have to make connections, we're not going to get through this on our own. If you just stay by yourself the whole time people might be more willing to... go after you.

[ they might feel less guilty that way. who knows. ]

[psychedelica]

[ skeleton man is real and he was mean to me ]

Maybe. But getting cozy with the wrong people will make me a target, too. Maybe even the "right" people. [ there's a derisive edge in his voice. It's clear he doesn't have much faith in any of the people here. ] What about you? You looked like more of a social butterfly than me.

[vigilantics]

I agree about Souji, he seems sweet. Hmm... Sanji, Zelos, and Dazai all flirted with me, so depending on how things go I may have to beat them up later, a lot of the kids seem smart? Nico, Varian... Kyouka is a little concerning.

[ she... she an assassin....,,, ]

[psychedelica]

I haven't talked to most of them... Are people seriously flirting in a situation like this? [ a pause. no, you know what, don't answer that. ] What's wrong with Kyouka?

[vigilantics]

She's... she kind of reminds me of someone I work with back home. She's very determined to solve everything by herself, and even tried to attack one of the women who's in charge. She's like... a kid, and assassination is under her skill list.

[psychedelica]

[ he casts his gaze down to the floor, seeming to actually consider that one for a little while. The expression on his face is difficult to read, but it's certainly troubled; Hikage himself doesn't seem to be aware he's making it. ]

... I'd say we shouldn't get her involved, but she's already stuck here.

[vigilantics]

We can do our best to watch out for her. [ ... ] And for the other kids.

I know that a lot of the time, kids grow up a lot faster than they should. I definitely did. The boy she sort of reminds me of, he's really rude and keeps threatening to stab me, but despite all of that, he's still a child. I kind of adore the brat? I wouldn't want him to go through something like this just because I know that he's handled worse. The same goes for all the other kids here, like Kyouka.

[psychedelica]

[ "he keeps threatening to stab me" gets him to look back up, one brow raised questioningly, but he lets her finish. Kids do say things like that sometimes - especially boys of a certain age. He doesn't remember very well; still, it sounds familiar.

That fact - that he doesn't remember - makes him realize something. He hasn't actually heard anyone talk about themselves or their past in so long that he immediately feels strange for his inability to contribute. In reality, it doesn't matter. Nonetheless, he feels keenly for the first time since arriving here amongst the living that there's something lacking inside of him. How long has it been since he felt that way - since he felt any regret at all about losing the memories of his past life? Time moves strangely in the in-between, but he's sure it's been a long time. So long that he didn't think he still could. In fact, he's quick to dismiss the flicker of emotion as quickly as it arrives.

Hikage doesn't express any of this outside of a brief darkening of his expression - but then it's gone, and he's just nodding. ]

Right... We can try. We don't know exactly how this game is going to play out yet... There's still plenty of time to find out what we can do.

[vigilantics]

[ honestly, they probably won't know how this game will play out until the first murder occurs. it's not a nice thought, especially since stephanie wants to prevent all murders from happening. but at the same time, nothing will probably progress until this "war" actually gets rolling.

it's a bad feeling. they'll just have to try harder. ]

Right. Just... try to talk to some more people. You don't have to make friends with them, but the more people who are willing to share information with us, the better.

[psychedelica]

[ he chases off the irritating thoughts about himself and not knowing who he is, letting them flutter away, and goes back to focusing on the situation. Right. Making connections and figuring this out. And trying not to get killed in the process. ]

You don't need to tell me that. Besides, I've talked to plenty of people. Most of them are just... [ a pause. how does he put this? ] No, it's not them. I'm not the type people usually go to with their secrets.

[vigilantics]

Why not? You seem like a decent enough guy, Hikage. I'm offering you to share a bed with me and everything, after all.

[ no, she hasn't let that go yet. ]