[fieldbox= Forta, purple, solid]
[ October 1st, Midday / Hisakawa Prison Ferry, Mess Hall ]
As disgusting as the Bully had made them, Ai wasn't nearly as perturbed or shocked by it anymore. Calmly, Ai cleared their hair of egg bits in a mundane fashion. But truly, they were more worried about the people whom had come to their rescue.
"Well, that's most of it I guess. Thank you, Ryuu." Ai said, shaking the handkerchief off before folding it and offering it back to Ryuu. But they immediately relented.
"Or, um. Did you want me to clean it off first?"
"Here. I can clean it off with a glass of water, sort of." Forta said, offering to take it.
Ai looked between the people who were now gathered around them. At this point, it only made sense what they wanted next.
"Thank you al soo much for coming to my rescue. I truly appreciate it." The shortie bowed to them graciously.
"So then, what is my the bill?"
"...What do you mean by a 'bill?'"
Ai grimaced sourly.
"I mean, in this sort of world, people don't do anything without a reason right? So you people wanted to save me in order to get something out of me then, right? So just say it. I don't have anything, though..."
"I didn't... we..."
Forta looked at the faces of the other people. She had only just now seen these people now. But... it was true. Being selfless wasn't something that was normal here or anywhere else for that matter.
What kind of people were they?
Seconds after Laura's preemptive strike and more people joining, things didn't escalate all too much. The person she hit took it rather well and only complained even after another person, one she made a mental note about, helped them right back up.
The white-hair was just about to continue, and reply to the super noisy
Daughter of the Risin Sun as suddenly one oppressive aura took care of the entire incident. Did she just... creep up behind her without any presence at all?
A midget, in fact, who seemed to be the true ring-leader behind this group of morons. However, unlike Sudo, this person seemed far more collected and calculated. Which was... a good thing?
A very good thing indeed. If Laura was the moron she
appeared to be it would have been easy to escalate the situation even further, alas, the girl kept silent.
As the midget finally removed herself Laura eyed the weapon she casually threw on the table. Was that...? Well, the white-hair was convinced the guards wouldn't step in as long as there were no corpses, but still.
As the situation finally defused and Laura kept listening on she was considering trying to swoop up the
weapon. Alas, anyone could do the same with the countless other items and it most likely ended up more trouble than it was worth. She was a thick-headed
and dumb hero of justice, after all! Though there was also the concern about the Midget's last sentence: I'll be back with some more allies.
As the group removed themselves from the bullies and they had finally air to talk the first thing Laura did was address the freak from earlier.
"'Just what is this in this world' You said? Nonsense! Justice means protecting those that can not stand-up for themselves! Even in the darkest pits of hell my shall light burn brighter than ever! For eternity." Did that sound stupid? Perfect.
Clearing her throat she opened her mouth again to clearly add something more but, ultimately, decided against it.
With that out of the way Laura now eyed the person named Ai.
"Your gratitude and a clean conscience about this matter are reward enough for me!" What a cheesy line, eh? Though being a selfless idiot wasn't common at all it was exactly the kind of role the white-hair was playing. So there was no need to be alarmed.
"The name's Laura!"
Right, some of
these people had problems pronouncing R or something like that, no? Laula sounded rather... weird.
"Lau-ra" putting emphasis on the R bit. After all it was a name she was supposed to wear with pride.
More people drops into the stareoff. Joining the supposedly
'Justice' side. The white haired girl that made quite an entrance by slamming the metallic plate tray to one of the people on the bully's side. Hearing her mentioning Justice, Rinne made note to get an alliance with that girl.
There was this other girl who seems to talk too much, but the main point was to cease this encounter before it escalates even further which would lead to some unwanted outcomes. Another fox-eyed guy also shared the same warnings.
The bully would lash out his annoyance on the sudden allies of the victim. Though before he goes any further, a person slip themself in and calm the bully down. That certain person is interestingly shorter than the victim. Even they seem to have a grasp of command at the bully.
At this revelation Rinne took note that looks may be deceiving, and the fact that the shorty managed to create a some sort of circle this fast made Rinne realize that surviving this prison school wouldn't be as simple as she thought it would be. She would also need to gather allies. But gathering a like minded and loyal allies would be hard in this place.
Rinne would ease up after the situation is defused, she followed suit when the
'hero' group removes themselves from the bullies.
Hearing Ai thanking the
'heroes' for stepping in. Rinne just nodded and smile. Though hearing about
'the bill', Rinne tilt her head, seemingly a bit puzzled on what she meant about it. Upon learning that it was kind of like, owing a favor or something. Rinne smiled as if she would giggle amusingly at Ai. The white haired girl said what Rinne would probably say.
'A thanks and having a clear conscience would be enough.' It was a really cheesy line, but it's a
'hero' quote. The white haired girl then introduces herself as Laura. The way she put a huge emphasis on the R amused Rinne.
"
To be honest, I'm not into getting a reward for this. But since you asked..." Rinne was next to say what she needs. "
How about friendship? That's it." She said, not expecting much of a physical reward. But would prefer a reward in form of bonds of friendship.
"
I'm Rinne by the way, and I'd like to make friends with all of you." She smiled at the end, seeking friendship with these people who just stood up against the bullies.
"Weaboo eh? Kekekeke a Japanese among the Japanese, how observant of you." Eying the new comer, there was no doubt about it, she was the leader, the question was how or even why, studying the girl briefly, Kazuko keeps her thoughts to herself, bowing partly in the old Japanese fashion to a small extent.
"I thank you for dealing with your Subordinate. My reasons for being here are as I stated however, I do ask you and yours keep that in mind in the future.. if not.."
Eying the Improvised weapon as the group left, the harsh eyed girl remains passive, eyeing the so called hero of justice eyeing the shank as if to grab it, but then stopping, Kazuko was slightly amused by the others antics, but not ready to call the gaijin out on her display, there was
something about this one. Her actions ran counter to her words, but to what ends? Either way it was questionable if the others would pick up on this or not.
The next to speak up had some sort of cheesy line on friendship and the one who ended up getting bullied asking what they owed.
"Kekekeke, I helped with this for the reasons I said. I have no intentions of facing them again unless I must, keep that in mind. Unlike our loud poetic ally here, my notions and ambitions are of another matter."
Looking at the girl who called herself Laura she seemed to have a fundamental error on what letter gave her fellow Japanese trouble.
"The name is.. Kazuko.. Either way, you watch yourself, the big man will likely come for you yet again. If you do wish to repay me however, cleaning up my mess will suffice, otherwise it can remain on the floor, I may be bound to the order of our school, but I am not to them."
She says eyeing up the guards.
"I am no hero, keep that in mind.. as I said, you do not know what others are here for.. The kindness of strangers is a wonderful thing, but a good number of us here right now cannot keep an eye on you in the locker rooms nor all the halls.."
Turning to the one named Laura however, she had a few final words for her, though first was to not so subtly correct her on the letter she got wrong;
"Well Raorah, do be careful on your boasts, a hero of justice may only draw more attention or harm to themselves. If there was nothing else, I shall take my leave.."
Looking at those around her, the girl didn't much feel like being part of this whole let's be friends discussion, though it may have been a bit much to ask the other to clean the mess she had made, she had no intention of cleaning it. If he wanted to pay a debt to her, this would suffice. Barring she was dragged into a conversation at any rate.
Bill? Kuni hadn't really understood for a little while, but it clicked. They meant that the bill was money for protecting them. Kuni kept forgetting that they were all criminals. It was only natural to distrust people. Kuni probably could have been a murderer for all they knew.
Other people said it better.... but Kuni had to chime in on it too,
"no bill here, but I will be asking for that extension of friendship!"
Kuni simply tuned out the ranting of the self-proclaimed Weaboo and started to help clean up the floor somewhat. It was pretty rude of them to leave all this on the floor, after all.
"Oh, right. I everyone didn't hear my introduction earlier, my name is Kuni. It's also very nice to meet you, Ai-chan!"
Kuni moved to throw away what she had picked up off the floor.
"Uhm, anyway. We should probably get back to our food, but we could all sit down and keep talking?" Kuni awkwardly said.
"Is that ok with everyone? That we all sit together?"
Ai asking about the bill was fresh on her mind. Kuni didn't really want to seem like she was trying to solicit favors or anything. She just didn't really want to eat alone. Which was pathetic, but it was what it was.
"Please? I'm sure we'd all like to sit down and eat before they take it away... even if it's all cold by now..."
Hayato looked surprised as a girl smashed a plate onto the head of a person.
"Hey hey, please let us just talk things out! No need for wanton violence!"
However, his words seemed to fall on deaf ears. A pink haired girl walked up to the victim and talked to her. Overhearing her words, Hayato mumbled softly as he lightly slapped himself on the forehead.
"Ah, what a failure on my part to even ask the victim how she was. I will take note of this for the future."
Just then, another girl with white hair approached the group and spoke inflammatory words.
"Please, let us cease the hostility. We should be getting along…!"
So much things were happening around Hayato that he seemed to be flustered. Then a glasses-wearing boy, different from the one sitting next to him earlier, came closer to the group and spoke up.
"Yes, let's get along please…!"
Finally, the uproar seemed to have been settled by a short androgynous person.
Before Hayato moved along with the group, he bowed multiple times towards the direction where Sudo and his group were.
"Thank you so much for your tolerance!"
Hayato tilted his head, with an expression on his face that conveyed confusion as Forta motioned to him, implying he was a masochist. Hayato kept his head tilted while the impromptu group he was part of walked away from Sudo's table. Once the group stopped moving, the white haired girl spoke up.
For one short moment that didn't even last a second, Hayato's grin disappeared when Laura finished saying the sentence involving 'justice'. When the white-haired girl finished, it was the blue-haired girl's turn. She asked to be friends with everyone present, to which Hayato nodded and smiled to. The pink haired girl chimed in with another offer of friendship. Then, the other white-haired girl, Kazuko, spoke at length and excused herself. Hayato frowned and spoke.
"Please wait, Kazuk-"
But the pink haired girl spoke, and Hayato cut himself off.
"Kuni-chan, that is a very good point!"
Hayato then looked over to where he last left his plate only to see it missing. He shrugged and smiled as he looked back at Kuni.
"I will be enjoyed to sit with such kind people, but unfortunately it appears my meal has vanished. If you would still have me, I would be honored though! And yes, I would like to be friends with everyone here!"
Hayato held his joyful grin as he looked at each of the other people around him. Then, he bowed a full 90 degrees.
"And I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to each and every one of you! To come to the assistance of Ai-chan moved my heart greatly! I do hope we will continue to have amicable relationships amongst each other! I'm sure if we all cooperate as we did here today, no obstacles will impede our paths as we strive to integrate back into society!"
After he said those words, he stopped bowing and lifted his head back up, the same grin present on his face.
"Ah, how rude of me to not introduce myself at this juncture! Mine is Hayato!"
Then, he looked at Kazuko.
"Please Kazuko-chan, don't leave so soon! It would be nice to know you better!"
"I did not ask you to-" It seemed this one had her own opinions and assertiveness, or she was just that dense. Either way she had cleaned up the mess and suggested they all sit together, as if this were some sort of social gathering.. Then again they likely hadn't listened to anything she said.
"I have no interest in the meal at all. And I care little and less for those who make use of false smiles to achieve personal gain, always keep that in mind.."
Suspicious of the motives the other two had if any, with her hawkish glare meeting each in turn, she pauses briefly on each, as if to be searching for something, like the Samurai of old or even like the police who had arrested some of them. Finally exhaling a bit, crossing her arms as she glanced about the mess hall.
"Very well. I have nothing else to do till they release us. But verily I say my reasons for assisting are as stated, I care not to be shot... You should not be so trusting. Remember all felonies are here. And for some of us their may be no redemption. Or will to seek it out.."
While a bit miffed by the invitation, it could prove useful at the very least to kill time, plus there was one other issue..
As the situation diffused, Takashi let out a soft sigh of relief. Looking to the victim in question, he appeared thankful, but also rightfully suspicious. Questioning the motives of others, even when they give aid is not something to be insulted of, but rather understanding. Not to mention they were all convicts. Listening to some of the others' justifications, a few claimed morality as their reason. Eyeing these few, the four-eyed student wasn't to believing in regards to them. A hero among villains? Now that would be something.
"A very understandable suspicion... I must admit my reasoning is rather selfish. I simply did not wish to incur the fury of the staff here," He admitted.
"Though I will welcome the concept of friendship. I'm not exactly a fighter and numbers don't make for good prey." With a soft chuckle following, it seemed the fox-eyed boy took into account Kazuko's words and stated any motives he had up front, though who was to say what he spoke was the extent?
At the suggestion, Takashi seats himself with the others.
"You may all call me Takashi, or a nickname if that is what you prefer... Unfortunately I left my food at my table... I very much doubt it has remained untouched by my neighbors." With a huff and apparent pout, the four-eyed boy plops his chin down onto an uplifted palm.
"Though, Ai-san, I will have to agree with Kazuko-san and advise that you remain with company or keep out of sight for a while. Hyenas are typically scavengers unless they know they cannot lose. Like I said, numbers typically prevail."
There is no such thing as a free meal. Ai seems to understand that well, and it truly is the case in conducting business. Be it material remuneration, a favor, or simply deepening your connection, there IS something the other party demands by providing their service.
But now?
Do we expect a remuneration when we provide help to those in need? Of course not, because it's the right thing to do. Even though Ryuu has had his time dealing with the worst of the underworld, he does not stray away from the core tenets of humanity.
In fact, dealing with the absolute worst brings the absolute best in you, you know, as to not go insane.
Japan's top assassins for example, are the gold standards for professionalism and code of ethics, and they were absolute horror shows of human beings forged in the fires of the underworld's deepest belly.
"Do the right thing, help a dame in need, help each other as humans, stay professional" as they said.
"I would love to demand payment in form of your smile, that would be the best for me"
is what he would usually say in cases like this, but not this time.
This time, he needs something more reassuring.
Something that enables him to have a clear hold of the situation, of Hisakawa.
Hisakawa is an unknown place, something his information network has not been able to touch. One cannot expect to survive the unknown without any preparation.
It is safe to assume that when a large group of people are to be sent into an unknown frontier, cliques would form naturally and heads will roll eventually, an unpleasant experience to say the least. With these criminals though? The unpleasantness will go through the roof, and that horror is what Ryuu would like to avoid at all cost.
The small midget who commanded the big fatso seemed to be someone of importance, sitting in position of power that is able to stop such a brute powerhouse. Not to mention he was not afraid to get dirty and use weapons. That incident alone proved that people already formed their own cliques. Even a dimwitted granny in her 90s can see that the power structure in the room has begun to change.
What now?
First, friendships would be the best possible solution from this exchange, as many of the people present have suggested, although there seems to be lone wolves such as the Kazuko lady who are confident in their abilities to survive alone.
Connections are powerful after all, it's what made Ryuu to have a pleasant experience in this ferry trip,
"Keep the handkerchief, miss Ai, consider it a token of our newfound friendship"
and indeed, it might be the key to our survival in the near future. As he addressed the people gathering around, Ryuu took a slight bow and nodded,
"My name is Ryuuichi, you can call me Ryuu. As what the others have said, it would be my pleasure to be your friends, one needs reliable allies in the long journey we are about to face"
Second, is information.
"I concur with miss Kuni and mister Hayato here that we might as well eat together now"
As someone who lives and die by information, it is essential for Ryuu to gather as much info as possible about the place,
"I have finished mine though, but it would be a pleasure to sit down and chat with you people, a second round of icebreaker if you'd like"
and of course it would be very beneficial for others to share this information network, to keep an eye out for each other.
"I would love to hear more about you people and about this place if you don't mind, like your experience in this trip, and did you hear anything about the place we are getting sent to? But let us save that for later when everyone already gathered round, so many things to talk about"
But wait, there's more,
"And I believe the lovely hero of justice over here has not introduced herself?"
looking at the first lady who punched the bully, Ryuu smiles earnestly,
"If you would be so kind as to share with us your name, miss.....?"
Ai was a bit conflicted in what to think of the jumble of people around here. All of them had come to help her to some extent, but at the same time there was something particularly disorganized about them. It was sort of like the world had just decided to have all these random people come and help her in her time of need, and was leaving the fallout of gathering these people together up to fate.
It was hard to take in all these new faces and personalities at once.
For Forta, it was relatively simple.
They had all tried to help out this person who was in trouble, sort of. So they had some merit.
Laura and
Rinne who wanted to save her for the idea of justice.
The seeming impartialness of
Kazuko.
Kuni, eager for everyone being together.
The Masochist with a kind streak.
Takeshi who was along for a pleasant ride.
And
Ryuu, who seemed about as eager to for everyone to befriend one another here.
Ai was simply blown away by everyone's kindness towards her. So much so that it was easy to forget the lingering sentiments of the eggs spat on her face an hair that wiping away couldn't handle.
While she was pretty sure Ryuu probably didn't want the handkerchief back knowing it had been spat on with eggs mixed with Sudo's spit, she went ahead and thought of it as another kind gesture.
"I would love to hear more about you people and about this place if you don't mind, like your experience in this trip, and did you hear anything about the place we are getting sent to? But let us save that for later when everyone already gathered round, so many things to talk about"
"Um well, pretty much all tables are taken at this point."
True enough, with such a big group, at this stage they would have to compel another table to clear out in order to get one for themselves.
"Well, Sitting against a well is fine for me." Forta said, taking her spot just aside.
"And I believe the lovely hero of justice over here has not introduced herself?"
At first, it made sense to think that he was talking about either Laura or Rinne. But, he made it clear that it wasn't them. Looking up, she realized he was looking right at her
"If you would be so kind as to share with us your name, miss.....?"
"Oh, you were talking about me, then?" Suddenly put on the spot, Forta found herself unintentionally emberassed. She wavered a little before responding.
"Erm, but you said something about being a hero of justice?"
"You came to help me out first! Thank you!"
"No, I just happened to get there first. I mean, everyone here obviously wanted to help much more..."
"Well, even if that was the case, you came to help. It dosen't really matter what order. So, your name?"
Forta paused for a moment. Seeming a little uncertain.
"My name is... Nanashi. Nice to meet you."
"Nanashi... I see..." The immediate expression AI had clearly said it. Ai wanted to say something along the lines of how unfortunate of a name that was. But, saying something like to someone who saved them would be rude.
"Well, Thank you Nanashi - and Everyone too, I hope we get along with each other!"
"Well, I pretty much don't have any food anymore so sitting on the ground until this is over is fine by me as well!"
Ai took their seat against the wall. Forfeiting any attempt at trying to steal a table from anyone else.
As they did so,
'Nanashi' looked away looking like she wanted to remove herself from this already. It seemed like things turning out so well like this wasn't something she came mentally prepared for.
"Here, Nanashi."
'Nanashi' looked over to see Ai presenting a plate of food to her.
"This was the plate you offered to me before, right? I was able to save this at least. Here."
'Nanashi' shook her head. She thought about it for a moment, but was immediately swayed away from the idea after sptting a bit of egg in Ai's hair.
"No, you can have it."
"Not even one more bite?"
"I'm just fine, thanks."
"Really?"
'Nanashi' nodded.
"Well, Okay. Thank Nanashi. Anyone want to share? I still have some of that steak-like meat-"
As Ai and the others shared,
'Nanashi's' eyes drifted back to the room in general. She could see the short ringleader for the ones who were at Sudo's table, talking to other tables.
Who was that person?
....
"Hmmm, well, going back to what Ryuu said. Did you people ever hear of that gypsy girl? They say that she's this shorter girl with long green hair. It sounds like they would be hard to miss, but I've only heard of them. You know, I heard about some people talking about how she can see the future. Maybe someone should ask her what's in store for us at Hisakawa?"
While Ai was telling this story,
'Nanashi' had glanced away from the room to look back at Ai and the other, but soon returned to looking back into the room after it became apparent that Ai didn't know anything.
However, it was a bit suspicious. Ai couldn't see it since she was facing. But on top of the strange glance,
'Nanashi' had been the most quiet one out of all of them this time. Did she have something to hide, or were they just shy?
But for a more observant or skeptical person, this seemed like a place to try calling them out. But at the same time, maybe they had something beyond the somewhat uncommon fortune girl rumor?
"Oh? Nanashi is it? How interesting.." She says with a slight edge to her tone, not pressing the issue more as she processes the conversation.
Watching the interplay between the others Kazuko seems to have nothing else to add in general, at least till she decided to address the last group aimed bits.
"All I know is it's an island Prison School, meant to rehabilitate a few of us. I've spent most of my time doing my workout routine on the upper decks, or confined to my cell. I also think Breakfast is about done, so you may have to wait on your questions. There will always be some sort of class introductions I assume.."
Turning her attention towards the others, Kazuko says nothing in response to the offer of sharing food, she didn't understand how they could stand eating such a rich meal for breakfast, much less by hand..
"As to your fortune teller girl, it seems you may know a bit more than you let on.. As I said though, I mostly keep to the upper decks, I have seen her however, but she has made no attempts to approach me. She is as you describe.
Though I am likely the last you want to send to break the ice, so to speak. As to what is in store for us, the future is always in motion and I care not for the words of a charlatan, she is no priestess..."
In general Kazuko seemed a bit more on edge or suspicious of those gathered around, keeping information on her self to low key or non-existent.
For a while now Laura had been rather silent. The observant could maybe depict that her ever-as-cheerful face did not change in the slightest. Was that
normal? Maybe just a cope-mechanism? Or would anyone who really cared just think too much into it? Regardless, as things had finally settled down and everybody did their round of introduction the white-hair finally spoke up.
"Raurah? That's not how you pronounce Laura!" This time the white-hair had a adorable pout on her face as she complained. Clearly she took the naming business rather seriously, though decided to leave Kazuko at that before continuing with a fat grin.
"I'm all good with food! Already finished. Back in home they called me 'Laura der Vielfrass!'" Anyone capable of her language would knew that this wasn't a
title to be proud of.
"And sure, let's be the bestest of friends! I spent most of my time walking around. I had never been on a ship before! That's super exciting!"
Now, her eyes started to sparkle.
"Green hair. Ohmygoshthatslikeareallygreatcolorihopesheisacutie. BUT! ... ... ... I don't need anyone to tell me a future that I'll forge on my own anyways!"
At least someone agreed that standing around in a circle was unproductive. Although... after his first statement he started to seem... a bit weird. Like he was going overboard. Still at least she had a name for the face. Hayato. But of course, the samurai pointed out something obvious.
"Well, regardless we all need to work together in order to do anything! We all totally came over to help Ai-chan, so saying that now is kinda silly."
The next person introduced themselves as Takashi, and Ryuu agreed to eat with them. This was coming together well! Ryuu asked about Hisakawa, and what would happen when they landed. Kuni... didn't have an answer for that.
"I... I don't know anything about Hisakawa besides what everyone already knows... so I can't say that there's more to say on that when we eventually sit down..."
Then Nanashi pointed out that all the tables were taken.
Oh... I hadn't thought about that.
Someone suggested sitting against a wall, and Kuni was pleased to not have to shove someone out of their seat, which was no doubt hard won, considering that everywhere was so full. No wonder, they didn't get to eat something like steak very often in... well they were in jail and Kuni had to keep reminding herself of that.
She was in jail because she did something illegal.
But gossiping about a girl who could read the future for you was so...
normal. It was so easy to forget how young they all were. And how much of a criminal they all were.
"... I dunno. I think I'd like to know what will happen next. You know, because I don't know a lot about Hisakawa and she might know more. Even if she's phony, it might be fun to experience it, too."
Kuni mumbled this, because everyone else was so gung-ho about not going to see her. She didn't really want to go against the crowd, but... a fortune teller in jail felt so romantic. Plus, now Kuni really wanted to meet and then subsequently make friends with them.
Noticing the lady's pause and the name she spoke, Ryuu briefly winced and raised his eyebrows in a slight expression of surprise,
"Nanashi, that is... a one of a kind name, I believe,"
before regaining his composure and tries to keep his cool by flashing another smile,
"Truly befitting a chivalrous heroine"
Curious in nature, Ryuu almost slipped a, "... and that is written with which kanji?"
another classless act if that followed through, which luckily it did not.
It should be obvious to everyone what "Nanashi" means.
The lady clearly keeps a secret, and if she does not want to tell it at the start of their meeting, perhaps it's better to save the story for some other time.
Ryuu tries his best to not heed any attention to her name. Keeping quiet and let time does its job would be the best option.
"... a school?"
Arms folded and leaning back, Ryuu started to rub his chin after hearing Kazuko's information, a single silent sigh of relief escaped from his mouth, covered by his palm.
Prison school would be one of the best scenarios to happen to a bunch of criminals. When the higher ups gave you a chance to reform, might as well use it to your very best.
To live as a prisoner is much better than to die leaving a legacy as an infamous criminal. As they said, as long as you live, you can do anything.
"That is reassuring... I would say being in a school reduces the possibility of the worst case scenario happening"
Well, at least for now.
"Did any of you, perhaps, asked the head chef for a steak tonight?"
While the discussion went further, that classless jape almost slipped out from his tongue. Luckily Ai mentioned a peculiar story that captivated Ryuu and the rest of the group, enough time for Ryuu to refocus his thoughts.
"Gypsy fortune telling girl? Interesting!"
A very interesting find indeed. The girl Ai mentioned seems to be a fortune teller of sorts, or in Ryuu's dictionary, an extremely charismatic swindler, seeing how they are all criminals here.
The lack of of interest shown by Laura and Kazuko in meeting with the girl however, surprised Ryuu.
Whether one believes in superstitious fortune telling or not, it does not hurt to find out more about this girl.
And if the gypsy is just another scam artist, that would be even better.
From Ryuu's experience, swindlers have some of the best information network in the game.
"A part of me believes that this gypsy girl is a swindler, but I do concur with miss Kuni, it would not hurt us to find this girl and hear what she has in mind, swindler or not"
In fact, having a swindler as your ally is like hitting jackpot in casino. One must keep swindlers in check to limit disinformation as much as possible. Building trust among new people is hard, destroying that very trust is an easy job for swindlers. If this girl really is a swindler, it is in their best interest to make her their ally as soon as possible.
As the discussion went on, it caught his attention, "Nanashi"'s general lack of interest in their discussion and her constant gaze towards the group of bullies. She only showed a speck of interest when Ai mentioned the gypsy girl, doing so much as to turn her head over to listen to their conversation.
What more secrets does this mysterious girl possess? Is it not enough with that chuuni name? With his curiosity getting the better of him, Ryuu tried to speak out to "Nanashi",
"It seems that you are interested in the guy from before, miss Nana... um..."
quickly noticing the awkward mention of her name, Ryuu shifted his tone,
"Is miss Nana okay with you?"
Elbows on the table with chin resting on his palm, he waved his pointer finger towards the table where Sudo and co. sat.
"Truth be told, I would love to have a conversation with that small guy, he seems to have quite the history with not only his group, but with the other criminals as well, seeing that he casually chatted with other groups"
Ryuu leaned back, crossed his legs, and with a somber melancholic smile, shrugged his shoulder,
"... but alas, remembering our encounter just a few minutes ago, that would be very unlikely"
his expression is like spelling the word slowly,
Shikata ga nai.
"Now then, perhaps the swin... gypsy girl... can help us on this matter. Maybe she can tell us about that group and their future plans?"
Half joking half serious, Ryuu tried to address the table before addressing "Nanashi", trying to shift the group's focus to the lady,
"And you seem to pay particular interest on the subject of that gypsy girl from what I have seen,"
He locked his gaze on her eyes, trying to figure out her thoughts,
"Would you like to perhaps, share your story with us?"
and fired off an innocent question, smile included.
Even when Kazuko spoke about "fake kindness", all Hayato said was...
"Great! Thank you, Kazuko-chan!"
And Hayato said nothing but slowly nodded as Takashi finished talking. Looking at the floor, Hayato mumbled.
"It is better when people work together..."
Then it was Ryuuichi's turn to speak. When Hayato heard him say "mister", he looked surprised, and spoke in a lowered voice, almost a whisper.
"Do I really look that old? Ugu..."
When the girl introduced herself as "Nanashi", Hayato frowned, put a finger on his chin, and mumbled.
"Nanashi? Hmm..."
When the topic turned to a gypsy, Hayato merely remained quiet as the rest spoke, laughing at some of the stuff Laura said.
When Ryuuichi asked "Nanashi" a question, Hayato spoke almost immediately after.
"Yes Nana-chan! Don't girls usually like this sort of talk? Kuni-chan has the right idea! I mean it sounds fun! I wonder what fortune I should get read for? Love and financial fortunes, maybe? I wonder if she sells charms? Hmm..."
Hayato did a quick scan of the room, then returned his gaze to "Nanashi".
"Aww, I don't see her. I wonder what the price would be for me though, since I don't have much. Maybe one of my kidneys? That would be scary! Ahahaha! Hmm?"
From the corner of his eye he saw some sort of commotion starting. Hayato frowned.
"Oh no, what is going on?""
For the fortune teller girl, it seemed like she was a bit of a mystery for everyone. No one had ever actually talked to her, but it seemed like there was a consensus that seeking her out for information was a good idea in general.
Ai was beaming with pleasure at the though that their connection to these people would continue.
Forta, could agree with her that they didn't seem bad on the surface. Still... still. There were doubts. Doubts about where this union with all these people were headed. Ai was still high on having been saved, but would they still be just as ecstatic about being with these confirmed criminals in the future?
But what did that even matter? Ai was a criminal themselves. Everyone in this room aside from guards and staff were found as criminals by the state.
In an environment like this, as pleasant as the thought of being lulled into the fantasy being wrought fourth by everyone being in school uniform; that this entire thing could have any semblance of being normal.
If Forta ever let herself fall into that, she knew she would only have reality slap her in the face.
But this time, it was again Ryuu, beckoning to her, that made her snap back to the group. Looking at her strangely for her non-responsiveness.
"Is miss Nana okay with you?"
"Yes?"
"Right then! I think Nana is a bit cuter too!"
And so that was her new name then. Nanashi. Nana for short. Seeing Ai's brightened attitude, Nana felt glad for her, that Ai's situation seemed to have managed to turn around compared to just a few minutes ago.
As Ryuu continued on, Nana caught on. It was the ringleader from earlier he had been asking her about. But in that same instance, he admitted that after the scuffle earlier, that same ringleader shortie would probably be in no interest in talking to any of them.
But then came the other topic, about the Fortune Teller. Again, he instantly went for Nana.
"And you seem to pay particular interest on the subject of that gypsy girl from what I have seen,"
"Would you like to perhaps, share your story with us?"
Even Hayato Chimed in.
"Yes Nana-chan! Don't girls usually like this sort of talk? Kuni-chan has the right idea! I mean it sounds fun! I wonder what fortune I should get read for? Love and financial fortunes, maybe? I wonder if she sells charms? Hmm..."
"'Chan' You say..."
Nana was so desensitized to having first names used that hearing him use honorifics was somewhat jarring.
Regardless, Nana was amazed to see Hayato somehow seemed more excited about this than everyone else here.
To answer Ryuu's question however, she struggled for a moment to answer.
"...Me? Well..."
A half lie. Nanashi couldn't come up with a lie unless she could believe in it.
So a half lie had to be the one.
"Yes. She did come up and talk to me once. She asked if I wanted a fortune, but I just shooed her away because she was being persistent about it."
Nana's shoulders sunk a little, ash she closed her eyes with a dejected expression.
"If I knew how famous she was, I would've reconsidered. Too bad for me I guess."
"Really? So, was there anything peculiar about her. Nana?"
"...No."
"A monster..."
"Just like you are."
"Nothing strange at all."
"The correct answer was about having green hair." Ai said, awkwardly pointing out the missed timing,.
"Oh. Well... I guess that's a rare hair color."
"ATTENTION STUDENTS! My Supervisor Wants to Tell You That You Have Five Minutes to Wrap Up!"
"Ooooh, they have that weird voice doing the announcements again."
"Well then. In any case, maybe we can see if we can run into her somewhere. Let's all meet up again the next time they let us all out together."
Suddenly, the ordered chaos of the room was disrupted once again by the sound of clattering plates, students yelping, and things falling to the floor and onto people.
"What the fuuu-!?"
"Who the heck threw that plate! Motherfu-"
"My Steak! It's on the floor! Why did it have to be ON THE FLOOR!?"
As melodramatic that line probably sounded on paper this meal was probably one of the nicest things that person had had the chance to eat in a while. Nana felt her heart shudder a little at his anguished screams.
The victims of the rabid plate and curious folk in general looked around madly. Mostly to no avail.
"Some people. Really..." Ai said, exasperating.
"Why would they do something like that?"
"Because this room is filled with criminals, probably."
"Right?" Ai agreed.
"I kinda saw whatever fling from that direction."
Ai said, looking to a table where a girl was talking to some boys.
"Hey. I know the one who did that."
"Yeah? Who?"
"The one with brown hair."
"No shank? Brown Hair, really? Hey boys we have have ourselves a motherf-"
"I know! I know brown is common idiot. Look where I'm pointing!"
"So, she thinks screwing with people is funny then, huh?"
"Then why don't we screw her with interest then?"
[ October 1st, Afternoon / Hisakawa Prison Ferry, Female Cells Deck ]
The rooms on the prison ship were luxuriously spacious and minimalist in design. They crammed about 10 people into each cell, and had a large bamboo mat spread out for everyone to collectively sleep on. There was a toilet in a corner - but by toilet it was basically a seat with a hole and a chamber pot underneath. This was barbaric in every possible way.
On some of the colder nights, some people got over their personal space issues hand huddled against one another for warmth.
With living conditions like this, it was natural that some people were worried about the destination, or for others, thinking that the island institution would be an immediate upgrade form these hellish accommodations.
At the very least, they segregated guys and girls.
For the reasons above, Ai had mixed feeling about being shoved into the same cell as the people they had just befriended.
"...Thank you, Nanashi. They almost tried to throw me in with the males again."
"Don't mention it."
Nana taking up a fine corner location in the cell, laid her back against it. It was a choice spot since one could lean back and not have to worry about falling one way or the other. Some people were even observed to have fallen asleep in Seiza position.
"So... what were the chances that we'd all end up in this same cell today?'
Nana answered her question with a question.
"What are the chances that Ryuu and the other boys ended up in the same cell as well?"
"Oh, now that would be super unlikely...."
One deck down, where the men's cells were located. Hayato, Ryuu, and Takeshi and other boys in the cell felt a chill come on. Even a tickle in their nose that was telling them to sneeze.
"But... there's our chance. See that cell across the hallway? Don't you see the green hair? That's her!"
Nana saw it. Indeed, after the guard walked by and stopped obscuring her view, there was indeed a familiar looking person with long green hair formally sitting against a wall.
"But most importantly... everyone. What happens in here stays in here, got it?" She said, Looking among them.
@_Anyone
@_Boysgroup
@_Girlsgroup
[/fieldbox]
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Assistance Pamphlet Vol. 7: Time Skipping
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In Hisakawa, Timeskips refer to scene shifts that end the current scene and starts another. These are used by the GM as a tool to keep up the RP's pace, They can be used when the GM sees that things should move forward to free players from being stuck.
Remember you can utilize collabs to finish up in the event that a timeskip happens to run over something you wanted to do! The Gm will usually try to inform everyone of an upcoming timeskip post, usually.
