yamaboshi | 《 open roleplay post 》

[It's a cold evening with heavy rain pounding on the window glass of the Verens Library. Row upon row of thick tomes line the shelves and only a single light illuminates the way forward. From the distance, the light seems barely there but the closer one gets the stronger it seems. Once you're close to the light, a voice comes out of the dark.]

It's not very often the library gets visitors this late. I thought I'd be the only one.

[A tall, white-haired young man clad in grey and white steps out of the gloom. He shuts the book in his hands with a faint puff of dust.] What subject are you looking for?

"How to not fuck up for dummies".

[ Inaba's wearing her school uniform, and there's a talisman around her neck as she pilfers through each one, saying those words dryly before shrugging.

She's not serious. Mostly. ]

I was mostly looking for... information. History, probably.

Edited 2016-04-27 20:36 (UTC)

That's a book I have yet to find! But if you do find it...let me know. [The light grows brighter, almost to a normal level as he strides over to a table strewn with journals and a wide map. The map is rather incomplete. He peers down at it as he says in a quiet tone.]

What sort of history? There's quite a lot of it here. [One book might happen to have the emblem of Hope's Peak on it. Another the symbols of the Arehtei. And yet another simply reads 'Life'. The pages of that one are blank.]

If I find it.

[ Inaba says with a scoff before she notices the book with the rather familiar emblem, causing her to pause as her fingers run across it. ]

... Is this yours? [ She's going to take the first book out, showing it to him. ] I don't want to open it if it is. This isn't a room search, after all.

[He reaches out for the book and doesn't respond at first. Until he sighs.] Yes that's mine. Well, it belongs to me and my classmates. I'm not sure how it got there.

[Komaeda pauses at her word choice but leaves it alone for now. The book with the symbol of Hope's peak on the front is tossed to join the files and a journal on the far side of the work table.] Do you want help with your search? The two of us might find what you're after a little faster.

Your classmates...

[ Inaba kind of grimaces at it. ]

So that means you go to that bullshit school. [ Look at the girl who has no tact whatsoever. ] I don't mind; I just needed to find the history about this place. Wherever it is.

[ She doesn't know! ]

I have to do it before midnight.

[He had been about to return to working on the map when the stranger reacts unexpectedly. He turns back to face her. Studying her critically. She said 'bullshit school'.] Where we are right now is the library of Verens. Much of their history has been lost, so what little there is...only dates a few hundred years or so.

[It really bothers him that someone he doesn't know recognizes Hope Peak Academy.] Just how do you know about Hope Peak Academy? I'm curious to see what it is you've heard about it.

Verens, huh... [ So another world, basically. Go figure. She can't help but narrow her brows in slight annoyance. ]

Someone told me about it, a while back. I heard it was a school where students with "exceptional talent" would be scouted out for the school and that you couldn't get in normally.

Edited 2016-04-27 22:31 (UTC)

That would be correct. [He leans back against the work table and sets his hands behind him.] All students of the main course are scouted for their talent. We attend in return for them studying our specific talent.

[If that's all she knows, that's far better than what he'd worried about.] But that's not important anymore. You want what history there is of Verens.

There's not much known, even to us researchers digging through what ruins we can find. It's best to start with the overall concepts society here is based on. Imagine how a society could evolve if their emotions were visible to anyone. To further how connected people are to one another...telepathy is just another way to communicate.

Edited 2016-04-27 22:38 (UTC)

[...]

So you probably know about the reserve course, too.

[ That's all she says on the matter, nodding quietly. ]

But why exactly isn't there much information about this world? There has to be a reason... right?

[He goes quiet when she mentions the reserve course. Very. Quiet. Komaeda looks back at the map of the island Verens resides in.] A very close friend of mine was part of it.

[He can't hide the fondness in his voice but he changes the subject. It's a lot safer than that topic.] ...you're totally correct! There is a reason for the lost history. This world wasn't without war. It swept over the entire world and corrupted the spiritual beings tied to the land. Humanity here is aligned to them. They each have dual aspects, a positive and negative side to their emotional spectrum. To your right is a report in them.

It's the tan volume sticking out slighly on the middle shelf. Those spirits are called the Arehtei.

Edited 2016-04-27 23:13 (UTC)

That's how I heard about the school, too. That "somebody". . . he was a part of the reserve course.

[ She can't say if they're friends or not; it's a complicated relationship between the two of them. Although Inaba definitely, certainly, wanted to try. But sometimes trying isn't enough. Not when you've messed up a million times. ]

Another goddamn war? That's annoying. [ Thrown from one war related place to another. Go figure. She takes the report with the Arehtei in it. ] These... Arehtei.

[ Nervously, she says that as she runs fingers on her talisman. ]

Are they benevolent, like demons?

They're nothing like demons. [He motions for her to join him at the table. Spread out over the table is a very incomplete map of the island of Verens and below it, the world.] The Arehtei are the spiritual consciousness of the land, but how they feel is tied to humanity. You might call them extensions of us!

In the past, civilizations worshipped them as gods but they're not that infallible. They live and die, only to be reborn to relearn their role all over again. Because of the Calamity the present generation have patchwork memory as we work to purify and balance them. [He reaches into his shirt and holds up his crystal. It's halfway full of a pale golden light, a small bird perched on a broken cage.]

How our crystals fill up...depends on our alignment. For example, I'm aligned to Peromei.

[He points to her symbol on the outer edge of the map as he adds.] They can turn violent when corrupted. Sosyne arriving on the island caused a lot of damage.

That's a fucking relief. I'm so fucking done with demons.

[ Although she does listen before she fiddles more with her talisman. ]

I wonder what alignment I would be. But then again, I'm already attached to a demon if this is still on. [ ... ] I see, though you ignored my earlier statement. About the school, I mean. Why?

[B u s t e d. Komaeda gives her a sideways glance and considers what to say. Finally he says.] My relationship with Hinata Hajime is complicated. I don't even want to get into it my best friend. With someone I don't know, even less.

You have until midnight don't you? There's more history to Verens than what I just told you. Keep asking questions.

Edited 2016-04-28 01:55 (UTC)

Wait, did you say Hajime? As in, tall, lanky guy with an ahoge?

[ She'll even make a gesture with her hair. ]

Because if it's him, then I completely understand. The idea of 'complicated relationships'. [ And no, not getting into Verens yet until her question is answered. ]

[Komaeda stares at the map. He traces the dig site in the mountains with a finger. The walls flicker around them, thick black chains rattling between the shelves like some ghastly windchimes.] Yes. That's him. Probably not the same version, but.

[He shuts up. There's the sound of the ocean waves in the distance but he ignores it.] Your questions?

Not the same— [ Oh. Suddenly it clicks in her head and she finds herself chewing on her lower lip. ]

Right. Parallel world theory. But, yeah. I got him to stew his anger for. . . it was week six overall, it's week twelve overall now... Six weeks.

[ That's a pretty long time for someone to be angry at her and she's upset about it. ]

If I'm in this world, would I be aligned to an Arehtei as well?

It's possible. But, well. I'm not sure. You're not displaying the emotions physically like anyone new here does.

[Which is odd. Now that he thinks about it. Why would a file from Hope's Peak be in the Verens library. Only he, Hinata, Sonia, Junko, and Kirigiri would privy to that knowledge.

He pushes away from the work table and walks down the aisle until a title catches his eye. He stops, his fingers running over the words. As he looks around more and more books stand out. 'Ultimate Soldier', 'Priestess of Hope', 'Wild boy' so many titles to the point the idea where they are starts to build in the back of his head.]

Do any of the book titles look familiar to you? ['Knight of purpose'. 'Boy savior'. 'Angel's fall'. 'Ultimate Despair. He leans against the heavy oak shelf and puts a hand to his face. Shit. Shit. If he's right.]

Maybe it's because of the talisman...

[ It protects her from anything psychological affecting her. Or rather, that's Leviathan's job. If she was even here. Who the hell knows. She keeps looking through the books, noticing some symbols. ]

No, these don't look familiar to me.

[He drops his hand from his face and pushes away from the shelf. If he's right then....

Komaeda turns to face Inaba as he draws one arm up and makes a fist. 5...4...3..2-

Chains rattle loudly in the dark as a tall white haired man is abruptly leaning against the shelf behind him. The chain around his neck jangles as he laughs in a dry rattling way. "Well it took you long eno-"

He whips about and slugs Servant right in the face. It's a good solid hit and the walls of reality fall away around them. They're standing on beach with elegant looking palms waving in the pleasant breeze and he rubs at his knuckles.] We're inside a dream. For now it's mine, all those books were people I've met.

I feel by now I should stop being rude. I'm Komaeda Nagito. Maybe we'll have a decent turn of things and you won't see anything disturbing.

[...]

[ Well then. Although it seems to be a dream, in the distance of the beach, there's a hotel; one that may not be familiar to Komaeda himself, but is definitely familiar to Inaba. And while there's clear skies?

It's also... snowing.

Huh. Rubbing her temples, Inaba frowns somewhat, sighing as she glances away, discomfort settling in her expression. ]

Looks like it's not just going to be your dream now, Komaeda. So I should probably warn you about the disturbing things that you might see if we go in there. [ Just jabs a thumb at the hotel that's suddenly appeared. ]

[He really thought he'd know better by now. Dreams are just nightmares, full of the horrors waiting in his memories. Whenever he goes to sleep the doors bang open and the wind of despair begins to howl.

Komaeda studies the hotel. It's old and battered looking, like those abandoned buildings he used to look at in photos. Yet for as dilapidated as it appears to be, it isn't beyond serviceable. He glances behind him. The second island's hospital sits in the distance guarded by the massive roots of the tree of memory. If he squints he can see the dark cloud walls of Peromei's maze of despair.

How wonderful.]

Either way we go, we can't escape seeing something. So before we start wading into blood and death, exactly where did you meet Hinata?

Blood and death sounds about right.

[ On her part, at least. She's pretty certain she's going to run into bodies one way or another. But when he asks about Hinata, she pauses, frowning as her gaze drops. ]

I... met Hajime in another world, where there were thirty six of us forced to play a sick game where people had to kill each other.

[Ah. that explains it.] I see. So you met him in a mutual killing game.

[His eyes return to the hotel. Hinata would be pissed to find himself in the middle of yet another mutual killing game. He can just picture his expression at being told he hadn't escaped at all.]

Thirty six? That's quite the number. For us it was just sixteen students of the 77th class. ...you mentioned demons.

Did you mean you literally met them? [He tugs at the leather cord around his neck and considers which way to go. Morbidly, he's a little curious how a killing game of 36 could even work. Even now some of his darker impulses still remain.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject