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Post by Shimakage Seitaro on Jan 11, 2018 22:49:12 GMT -5
Truth be told, Shimakage hadn't expected to get his way so easily. After all, if Krampusuke had kept that door locked for so long, there had to be something important concealed behind it, so the fact that the wolf folded so easily was almost disconcerting. The key word here, of course, was almost, because Shimakage was too preoccupied by the description of the room to worry about whether or not he was walking straight into a trap. (There was no SHSL Tactician among them. Not unless someone was lying about their talent. It was only Yanagi's profession that remained a mystery...which meant that he needed to be informed about the room's existence. Immediately.) If, in fact, the room in question pertained to Yanagi's forgotten talent, then Shimakage needed to be the first to enter. Not only did he deserve it (by virtue of being the one to convince the wolf to open his doors to the public), he also was Yanagi's first line of defense...in a sense. Someone like Ishida - who already suspected Yanagi of something, apparently - could easily tamper with the room and frame Yanagi, or even destroy evidence and possibly seal away his memories in the process. That did not, however, stop Shimakage from walking at the most leisurely pace imaginable. What he didn't expect was to run into Marugou just outside Yanagi's door.  He turned, briefly, in order to rap his knuckles against the surface of Yanagi's door.  And then, back to Marugou.  |
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Post by Yanagi Tsuneo on Jan 12, 2018 18:51:17 GMT -5
Another day, another drama- er, another cliche. For Yanagi, any events that had transpired outside of his door were meaningless, focusing instead on figuring out if there was any possible way what was on his card could be true. The truth was, he didn't have a lot of information to work with, but he was mentally reviewing any clues he had been given, things people said, hell, even the layout of his bedroom- but nothing seemed to click, leaving him frowning quietly. It was dire, pointless, that he knew, but he had to do something instead of simply moping about it, or naively deciding it couldn't be true.
He's left then, thumbing through his clothes for any sort of clue- place names on labels, smells, things forgotten in his pockets- and while it wasn't the first time he's checked, he had to be sure, had to be positive- he was seconds from attempting to split the seams on his gakuran when he's forced from his thoughts by a knock on his door, staring at it with wide eyes before Shimakage's voice rings out, and he can practically picture the taller boy's easy posture. From his words, he's promising a lot, promising something important- maybe a photograph, or another Yanagi referenced in a book, or even just a memory confirming that someone did know him before arriving at the lodge.
(Of course, before he could answer the door, he smoothed out any wrinkles in his clothing and replaced it all neatly, pristine, perfect. If there was one thing that was certain about Yanagi, it was that he was orderly.)
Opening the door, he was not only greeted by Shimakage, as expected, but also Madoka- which was such an odd juxtaposition of people Yanagi wondered if he was dreaming. The pair hadn't, exactly, been amicable as far as he knew, so he wondered if they were only together thanks to a mutual concern for Yanagi- though he chased that vanity away in favor of the more realistic scenario: they'd both gotten here at the same time.
(Wow, wasn't he popular.)
"Ah... Hello, Shimakage-kun, Madoka-chan," he mumbles, nodding to each in turn. "Um. You said something about finding something that will help me? Are- are you sure? Or is this another, like, we can check stuff to see if it'll stick kind of thing- because, ah, I was sort of in the middle of-..."
Trailing off, he folds his arms, only to bring one hand to rub at his temple a moment later, sighing a short, frustrated noise.
"Whatever you've got planned is probably smarter. Ah-... I'm interested."
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Post by Marugou Madoka on Jan 12, 2018 20:16:59 GMT -5
Before approaching Yanagi's door, Madoka had been in her own room, leisurely deciding what she wanted to do right now. Remaining in her four walls sounded boring, but she also didn't have the energy to walk around the lodge nonstop. Well, she could always just go to the architect room and take a nap on those comfy seats, but then again, she didn't feel that tired... and sitting around doing absolutely jackshit didn't sound like a fun time either.
As her mind wandered to her fellow peers, she instantly thought of Yanagi; her friend who had been accused of murder during the trial. Albeit her profession didn't allow her to look away from every possibility to uncover the truth - even if it could hurt her -, she never really suspected him in this case. After all, not only had she strongly suspected Hirase and Ishida from the get-go, it was also because of their talk shortly before the murder happened. Madoka simply didn't believe that he'd go ahead and murder someone after that - it just seemed too out there.
The trial aside though, Madoka was still worried about him; how had he taken the trial overall? Was he still hung up on "that"?
It's these questions that pushed her into action - which meant to take her polaroid camera with her (because really, despite its heaviness, she did like to snap a shot here and there) and walk out of her room. As she arrived before Yanagi's room, Madoka contemplated for a bit; maybe she should be inviting him out somewhere? It would be probably more fun than to remain in either of their rooms and heaven knows that they all needed a good distraction to cope with this entire situation.
However, before she could actually go ahead and knock, she caught the glimpse of a silhouette from the corner of her eyes. As she turned her head to the side to get a better look at the approaching person, they were already addressing her; and it turned out to be their resident conman, Shimakage.
Her eyebrows furrowing ever-so slighty down, they quickly raised up when the taller student mentioned how he got a room - the tactician's research lab - open. Madoka blinked in surprise, taken aback by these news. The only locked rooms that she was aware of were the ones near the foyer and the one by the backstage. There were instantly several questions flooding her mind; one of them being how Shimakage got it open to begin with, why Krampusuke would allow for that tp happen, that there was no one here who was a tactican, unless--
"What?", was her first, quick response to Shimakage's claim, making her head tilt to the side in curiousity,"... How?"
As Shimakage went ahead and knocked at Yanagi's door, she focused on his inquiry about her presence being here; and an answer he got, just after the little sigh she exhaled:"It's not always about you, 'buddy'. I just wanted to check up on Yanagi - maybe invite him somewhere to have some fun. We all could use a good time."
The person in question opened the door, seeming surprised to see her here as well. She couldn't really blame him for that, as... it was rather unusual for the two of them to be in the same spot. Well, coincidences sure happened, huh?
Either way, Madoka flashed a peace sign at Yanagi, greeting him with the following words:"'Sup, Yanagi."
Judging by his words, Yanagi had been in the middle of something, but as always, he was too nice to send them away. Instead, he was putting himself down and the detective couldn't say that she quite agreed with that sentiment. With a little pout on her face (which made her look more adorable than anything, really), she took a step forward and poked him in the forehead.
"Don't sell yourself short, Yanagi. You're also smart and if we're interrupting you in something, it's fine to tell us to come later. Neither of us will think ill of you", Madoka said, before taking a step back again. It seemed like that even if she wasn't too keen on Shimakage, she could tell that Yanagi meant something to him. Actually, she glanced at the other as she uttered her next words:"Well, your turn to say what you found, Shimakage. If it's okay, I'd like to accompany you to that lab."
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Post by Shimakage Seitaro on Jan 12, 2018 22:40:00 GMT -5
For the first time, Marugou seemed to be at a loss for words. That fact alone would ordinarily be enough to cause a grin to spread across the conman's face, but to top it off, he was the one responsible for her stunned silence. Shimakage ran his fingers through his hair, flashing her a cool and confident grin.  That, of course, was a funny way of saying that he yelled at Krampusuke like a spoiled brat until he got his way, but, well, what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. There were more important things than gloating, anyway; namely, the way Yanagi seemed to be stumbling over his words more than usual. As soon as Marugou retracted her hand, Shimakage extended his, reaching up to cup Yanagi's cheek in a manner that was almost too tender to be characteristic.  There was a moment where he looked genuinely troubled, eyes flickering back and forth between Marugou and Yanagi once or twice. It wasn't jealousy that he was feeling, it was just that he occasionally felt as though he was in direct competition with the detective for Yanagi's attention. ...Okay, maybe that was the very definition of jealousy. Which was stupid. Still, stupid or no, it didn't stop him from draping an arm loosely around Yanagi's waist as he led the two away from the rooms. His next words were directed to both of them, and as he tilted his head, it was clear that his confident, carefree demeanor was back.   |
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Post by Yanagi Tsuneo on Jan 13, 2018 0:09:52 GMT -5
Staring blankly at the pair, Yanagi manages to flash a peace sign to Madoka with a slow grin, tilting his head a little as he peers quietly at her, though a few moments later, after he slides his hand into his pocket as Shimakage holds his face, and Yanagi's cheeks tint a dark red- though the color drains when he's reminded of his card, uncomfortably gnawing his lip.
"I... Shimakage-kun, I... Promise you won't get angry."
He frowns, chewing his lip, before he leans close to Shimakage's ear, whispering the words that were on the card with a shaky voice. Madoka already knew- but that wasn't the point, admitting it aloud was dangerous. Dangerous for many reasons, but also for the fact that, for all these two knew, he could be lying- of course, he wasn't, but his card was destroyed, and they couldn't get him to prove anything- which meant if they didn't take him seriously, that he had no way to support himself.
Of course, moments later, he's whisked away, with Shimakage's arm around his waist, and he finds himself almost short of breath while he elaborates, and finds himself raising his hopes ever higher- maybe he was a tactician, maybe this room would give him the answers he needed, and he found himself biting back a wide grin, looking between the pair for approval, as if to see whether or not they were just as excited as he was. Shimakage, at least, seemed hopeful- and Madoka didn't seem to be objecting, so he decided that it was worth getting excited over.
"Ah-... I'm excited, then! I- maybe this will have some sort of like, trigger- haha, get it? A trigger that will make me remember who I was, right? Or, even then, maybe I'm just really good with weapons and stuff. I-... Should I not be getting so excited?"
He falters, chewing his lip once again, and peers quietly at Madoka before finally returning his gaze to Shimakage's face.
"Er... What's a husbando, exactly? Like, were they saying you'd just be a really good spouse, or-..."
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Post by Marugou Madoka on Jan 13, 2018 19:25:43 GMT -5
Shimakage got that room open by smoothtalking to Krampusuke? Her eyebrows furrowed down, not exactly convinced that it had been this easy. Still, she wasn't really eager to pry into how he got it open - the important part here was that the locked room was finally open. She would take any progress over none at all, no matter how they came to be (murder being an exception, of course).
"Huh, I see", was her curt reply to his claim, before Yanagi came into the picture. It was strange to see Shimakage behaving so... tenderly towards someone. Then again, she barely knew him aside from their few interactions and what she'd known prior to this game. Not like she was determined to change that in any way, though.
(It was hard to not smile smugly when she heard that Yanagi hadn't told Shimakage about his card yet.)
The small girl waited patiently, before the group began to move out. Tagging along, Madoka had both of her hands loosely intertwined with each other behind her back, at first simply listening to the boy's exchange. However, she simply threw Shimakage an unreadable look when he said that the audience was right to vote him as the best husbando.
"Gotta disagree with that, but it's not like as if these statistics matter in the end. For all we know, they could be simply made up to make us think that this is being broadcasted. Still think that it's unlikely for the entire world to do nothing when this is happening. There's something called laws and as far as I remember, they were still enforced before we ended up here", Madoka said as she subconsciously played with one of her strands, slightly lost in her thoughts.
"Too bad we still don't have much intel regarding... well, pretty much everything. Kinda annoying", Madoka admitted, sighing quietly as she turned her head to face Yanagi properly.
"Nothing wrong about that, Yanagi. It's only natural for you to be excited at the prospect of maybe getting some of your memories back. Learning something is always nice."
As the husbando question was directed at Shimakage, Madoka let the conman deal with it - though she wouldn't mind throwing her own two cents in in case his explanation might be a bit... too out there.
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Post by Shimakage Seitaro on Jan 13, 2018 22:34:45 GMT -5
It didn't surprise Shimakage at all that Marugou failed to congratulate him on a job well done, but nevertheless, he huffed quietly, folding his arms across his chest. If not for him, those doors would still be closed to the public, so the least she could do, in his mind, would be to thank him! He didn't have time to dwell on her reaction for long, however, because Yanagi was whispering the contents of his card into Shimakage's ear, and. Oh.  Admittedly, he raised his voice on the last sentence - speaking loudly enough for Marugou to hear him - evidently needing to gain the upper hand in some fashion. Maybe he hadn't been made aware of the contents of Yanagi's card, but under no circumstances did he intend to fold. With one hand wrapped tightly around Yanagi's waist, Shimakage ushered the two towards the foyer and, eventually, the newly-unlocked room. But despite the fact that they had more pressing matters to attend to, Shimakage wasn't about to let a juicy opportunity pass him up.  An exaggeration, of course - he had received only 30% of the votes, if such a poll had actually taken place - but Shimakage was nothing if not confident. His talent was, quite literally, talking up his wares, and in this case, that included himself. Once satisfied with his own explanation, though, he pushed open the door to the tactician research lab, holding it open for both Marugou and Yanagi. (Hey, he was capable of being a gentleman, even if he often chose not to.)  |
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Post by Yanagi Tsuneo on Jan 14, 2018 17:53:16 GMT -5
Walking in tandem with Shimakage and Madoka, Yanagi felt strangely comfortable in their presence- despite the prickling, bristling hostility between the two, Yanagi can't help but smile quietly to himself as they talk to him and over each other. It's easy to allow himself to fade into the background, a smaller personality compared to Shimakage's fire and Madoka's ice. He tosses her a quiet smile as she tells him that it's okay to be excited, okay to feel a sense of adrenaline in his veins, pulsing and reminding him that maybe, maybe he'll know who he was-
(- though maybe this is who he was.)
He ignores that train of thought, the thought that he wasn't exciting, or a hero, or even a villain- just a plain, ordinary high school student- and shook his head, instead focusing on the conversation about, well, his husbando, he supposed. Madoka didn't seem to like the explanation offered, or even that Shimakage was voted as it- and while she did offer up the point about making them simply believe they were being observed, Yanagi chewed his lip, quietly.
"Well, I... If they weren't real statistics, why wouldn't they, y'know... Choose more threatening ones? Like, 'most likely to die' or... Most likely to be behind this whole thing, I guess. Y'know?"
But then, Shimakage reminds both him and Madoka that they had made out- and that Shimakage was popular with the audience, and he pales before flushing a violent red, swallowing hard, and finds himself blowing a nervous breath in the direction of the floor- and wonders, quietly, why he wasn't as popular.
(Boring.)
"I gotta say I- haha, it feels pretty good to know the most popular boy likes me, huh?"
At least, he could pretend not to worry about his own personality for a few moments until they walk into the room, and while nothing overtly stands out as his own, nothing makes him think eureka- his heart sinks seeing the ink, the fact that there was so much hidden, and the color drains from his face.
"... Why would someone hide it?"
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Post by Marugou Madoka on Jan 15, 2018 15:00:39 GMT -5
All Madoka did was silently roll her eyes when Shimakage felt the need to loudly proclaim how Yanagi and him were romantically involved. Truth be told, she couldn't fathom why her friend was so enamored with the conman, but then again, he didn't gain his SHSL title for nothing. If you wanted to fool people, you kind of had to possess a certain level of charisma or else, nobody would even listen to you, nevermind trusting you.
Didn't save Shimakage from having a tongue stuck out to him after the 'rude' comment.
Afterwards, she turned her attention back to Yanagi, who did make a good point regarding the statistics - but Madoka already had an counterargument to it:"True, but we actually already got the 'most likely to die' one, as well as 'most likely to kill'. We got rather similar ones in this case as well. As for who that supposed audience thinks who the mastermind is, I guess they would still consider it 'too early' to make these kinda bets. Gotta be somewhat consistent if they wanna fool us. I mean, we shouldn't necessarily trust everything they said, really."
At that point, the trio arrived at the locked room - and for a fleeting moment, Madoka remembered talking to Mukizu right here -, as Shimakage held the door out for them. With a quick "Thanks", Madoka entered the room after Yanagi, her brown eyes immediately darting around to take in this new discovery.
Of course, the crossed out papers were hard to avoid and Madoka took them into her hands.
"Well, might as well be as thorough with our investigation as possible. For all we know, they might've hidden something in here - not like that's too far out there, what with the secret room existing and all. Wouldn't be surprised if they are more of these than the stupid gremlin lets on", Madoka said while scanning what she had in front of her. However, her attention was snatched away by Yanagi's question and she turned her head around to face him.
"... They really wanna make you as suspicious-looking as possible, huh?", the detective spoke with a pout, before approaching the taller boy and giving him a little pat on the head. "Don't let it get to you, okay, Yanagi? They just wanna freak you out and if I ever get the chance, I'm gonna punch 'em real hard."
Well, that was some casual remark regarding violence, huh?
Surveying the room one more time, Madoka couldn't help but sigh as well, murmuring quietly to herself:"Wish that this place would actually jog my memory as well..."
After these words left her mouth, Madoka realized that she hadn't mentioned a certain thing to Yanagi specifically before. Well, now might be a good time to tell him that instead of keeping it to herself any longer. Thus, she looked at her friend again and addressed him:"Actually Yanagi, I need to tell you something. It's gonna sound weird, but... your name actually sounds really familiar to me. Thing is, I don't have the faintest clue as to why. No matter how hard I wrecked my brain for an answer, nothing came up. Zero, zilch, nada. At first, I thought I was just being stupid, but even now, I still can't deny that feeling. Wonder if they actually tempered with my memories, too..."
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Post by Shimakage Seitaro on Jan 15, 2018 21:10:43 GMT -5
Shimakage had expected some quip from Marugou - something along the lines of him being wrong about the definition of a husbando - but when no such remark appeared, he allowed his features to settle into a content grin. Even if Marugou didn't seem too keen on him, Yanagi, at least, responded positively. Or, at least, that was what Shimakage would have thought, based on words alone, but a quick glance in the other boy's direction revealed otherwise.  By 'any of this', he of course meant the game itself, but also the show he had been putting on. Part of him hoped that by scoring points with the audience, he could worm his way into becoming something of a celebrity and avoid future jail time. If the audience itself was fictional, then he was playing nice with these kids for nothing. That's what he told himself, at least, but seeing Marugou show Yanagi physical affection, coupled with the fact that she, apparently, had heard his name somewhere, was suddenly making Shimakage feel very much like a third wheel. Perhaps it was because he'd never had a friend his own age before - his peers were, by and large, sleazy middle-aged men - and Yanagi was the first person with whom he'd had any kind of connection, real or fabricated. Perhaps it was because his job here was done; he'd successfully gotten the door open, but now that they were inside, he had little to offer the pair. Whatever the reason, Shimakage was, at present, feeling threatened. Like a rat backed into a corner by a predator, he could feel himself bristling the longer he watched them interact. (Since when did Shimakage Seitaro feel inadequate?)   |
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Post by Yanagi Tsuneo on Jan 16, 2018 0:51:30 GMT -5
Yanagi's quiet for a few moments before he realizes that Shimakage wasn't satisfied with his answer, and he blinks, peering quietly at him. He hadn't realized how his comment would be taken, and watched his reaction carefully with furrowed brows before gently taking Shimakage's hand in his own, dropping his voice low- low enough that, hopefully, Shimakage would be the only one to hear his mumbling, cheeks tinting darker as he spoke.
"You are the best husbando, S-Seitaro-kun," he murmurs, before raising his voice again with a rather pleading glance at Madoka. "I think he's right, though- I... Why bother to trick us with stuff like that? Why not give us stuff we would take more seriously, ah..."
Even as they enter the room, even as Madoka picks up the papers, even as she tries to reassure him, he can only focus on how empty he suddenly feels, and he knows he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up so high only to have them come shattering down around him. He feels cold, suddenly, because he'd foolishly allowed himself to believe that maybe he would've walked in and remembered something, or perhaps there would be photos, or documents with his name, or anything except papers that must've been intentionally blacked out. His heart sinks, stutters, and he has to inhale shakily, fluttering his eyes closed- and there's a heartbeat where he considers wallowing in his own self-pity before Shimakage speaks up, and Yanagi turns to him with his brows pulled into a line.
(What was wrong--)
"... You're probably right, Seitaro-kun," he mumbles, looking pale and unsteady, but he manages to steel his gaze, closing his eyes as he turns away from the papers to peer at his... Boyfriend? Partner? Friend-with-benefits? No matter the term, he peers quietly at him with a frown before forcing a hollow laugh. "Madoka-chan knows you because of, ah, what you did before coming here- so of course, she'd probably know me for the same reason. They... Must've cleared her memories about me, for some reason, though. Er... Maybe it... Has something to do with my card," he finishes weakly, sighing quietly.
Though after a moment, he breathes a quiet, more genuine laugh. "I don't think I'd mind all too much if I was more like Seitaro-kun, though." |
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