[PLOT] Null/True (Prologue Start!)

[Krampusuke]

Where am I…? Better yet… Who am I...?

All you can see around you is darkness. All you can feel is the bitter sting of cold. All you can hear is your own labored breath, although it almost feels like it’s been multiplied. Like you can hear it all around you…

Is this… The void…?

You try to speak up, to shout, to say anything… But it just gets caught in your throat. Besides, you’re not even sure what you would say. The best you could do would be to cry out for help, but that would just fall on deaf ears. As you strained to remember anything about how or why you found yourself in this situation… All you could draw to your mind was blankness, just like the world around you.

Am I… Dead…?

Suddenly, a light appears before you. You reach a hand out to grasp it, but it’s too far away. Something inside you tells you that you just need to reach that light and you’ll be free from the bitter cold of the darkness around you. So you run, the ground crunching beneath you and the sound of many other footsteps right behind you. But none of that matters, all that matters is reaching the light.

The light materializes in the form of a large door in front of you and you immediately reach forward to grasp at the handle. With all your might you swing the door open and run inside. Inside you find yourself in… A lodge of some sort? It seems nice and rustic, there’s already a warm fire burning in the fireplace off in the corner, and there appears to be a cute little Christmas tree set up in the other corner of the expansive room.

Around you, you see 15 other people who all appear to be around your age and wearing high school uniforms. As the last one enters the lodge from the cold, bitter outside world others quickly make sure to shut the door to keep the cold from invading the otherwise warm room.

[Mukizu Gonkuro]

—— Some time passed of idle chatter, mostly confused murmurs and complaints of the cold, before one of your peers in the strange situation spoke up. He clears his throat, presumably to grab your attention based on how loud it was, before his formal tone takes over the silence that creeps over the lodge.

    "It's been quite some time since the last person entered, so I believe this is as good a time to speak up as any..."

Sixteen high schoolers... He mouths a quick count of all the heads in the room before he continues:

    "My name is Mukizu Gonkuro. May I suggest that we all introduce ourselves to one another? A little information is better than none.

    "Truthfully, I was going to ask earlier but as people kept coming in, I found it prudent to wait until I was certain we would not be excluding anyone, especially because, well...

    "...Ah. I shouldn't cause you all to worry. Please excuse me."

As if a spell had been cast upon him, Mukizu's pensive expression was lifted and replaced by a polite smile.

    "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I... work as a butler."

The last part seemed tacked on, but the warmth in his voice was still there as he waited expectantly, uncertain of exactly who would speak up next and if they were going to comply with his request or deny him outright.

[Komatsuzaki Airi]

  Eyes shifted from side to side, unsure about the situation she had got herself into. Hardly recognizing anyone in the room-- the silence almost as bitter as the cold from outside. Arms crossed as frustration buzzed in her head, hesitance formed in her throat. If they were just introducing themselves, right? Letting a small sigh escape from her mouth as she spoke up next.

"Well... If we're going to introduce ourselves then... My name is Komatsuzaki Airi" 

A pause escaped her lips before continuing-- "I work as a Mangaka. It's nice to meet you all."

[Marugou Madoka]

Not having the faintest clue of what's going on was suboptimal, to say the least.

After the seemingly last person closed the door behind them, Madoka's mind ran through the minimal amount of intel that she could've possibly gathered anew; including herself, there were sixteen teenagers in total here. Apart from their similar ages, there didn't seem to be any visual consensuses between them. As for any other fields, it would be an utter waste of time to try and theorize about anything if she didn't even have any information that she could work with. Instead, her mind shifts to her current surroundings; a cozy lodge that provided them with much desired warmth and enough space that they wouldn't stand around squashed like sardines in a can. While the fireplace was enticing, her brown eyes couldn't help but wander around, soon focusing on the little christmas tree in one of the corners. Was it already christmas time? Speaking of, which date was today actually?

Madoka let out a soft sigh, shaking her head gently as if to clear her mind from digging itself any deeper into a spiral that she wouldn't escape otherwise. There was absolutely nothing to be gained from overwhelming herself with questions that she couldn't answer yet. Instead, she should make an effort to collect more data, to be proactive--

As if on cue, one of her fellow captives cleared his throat and drew everyone's attention to himself. Madoka surveyed the boy who introduced himself as Mukizu Gonkuro swiftly, studying his expressions and words alike. Her eyebrows were slightly raised at one point, before settling back to its initial state, giving her face a nonchalant appearance.

The butler was right; if they were already completely clueless, might as well start with introductions. Thus, Madoka saw no harm in joining in on this particular train, raising her own voice - that carried a tone of ease - next:"Makes sense. I'm Detective Marugou Madoka. Nice to meetcha, I guess."

Shifting her weight from one leg to another, her arms found themselves hanging loosely on her back, with one hand barely holding onto the wrist of the other. Head slightly tilted, she continued to speak, but this time, addressing Gonkuro directly:"If you didn't want to cause any worry, you shouldn't have said that little tidbit to begin with. Might as well come forth with whatever you were about to say. I would prefer to know at least something than to remain ignorant. Personal opinion, of course."

Charming.

[Ishida Takane]

    Takane remained silent throughout all of the chatter, instead first familiarizing himself with the contents of the room that had become his sanctuary from the darkness and cold. The tree perturbed him, being one of the only notable things in the space besides the fireplace. A classic, bare lodge-type place. Soon enough he exhausted himself of things to inspect, and turned his gaze to the people populating the room. 

    One or two of the faces felt familiar, but otherwise no one immediately struck him. 15 others, 16 including himself. One of them was quick enough to take charge, a butler. That was the extent of his knowledge, and that bothered him. This was an alien situation to him, but he wouldn't lose his composure. The butler suggested that they introduce themselves, and he saw no reason not to join in. He took a single step forward and tightly folded his arms, his single gloved hand gripping his arm. 

    "My name is Ishida Takane, of the Ishida corporation. I'm also a professional golfer. Mukizu-san, you do sound like you know something, here. Hiding it when you've already slipped up like that won't work, not when there are 15 people here besides you who don't have the privilege of knowing what you apparently do."

[Isayama Yaya]

Yaya at first, been quite confused as to her surroundings. Was she not supposed to be in or anywhere near Hopes Peak Academy by now? Surely, there must have been some mistake- or perhaps; she already was in Hopes Peak? She honestly had no clue, and by the look of the situation before her- she would have to wait to seek answers to her increasing curiosity. The tall girl had silently sighed as she looked around herself- 14, no 15 people, most perhaps younger then her.

Oh dear-

There been a clear sign of discomfort on her face as silence continued to creep in group of students.

What should she do? Surely they could not go on and continue with this, after all: communication is key to keeping peaceful and calm in a situation like this... right? If she was in fact, reading how everything was going correctly.

Then, Mukizo had spoken up, and finally Yaya had smiled.

Thank goodness.
Someone else had also taken notice of the issue at hand- she was not the only one.

She had placed a hand over her heart as she had sighed in relief. Her smile had grown even brighter as Komatsuzaki had spoken up next.

When silence had come again right after, with a silent movement of posture, Yaya had spoken up. She stood in a peaceful manner, giving off a friendly atmosphere. Her attention first had went to the butler. She bent into a polite bow, before she had spoken a word.

"Mukizu-san, thank you. I was pondering the same thoughts- but did not know when or where to start, so thank you for beginning the conversation."

She did not think to hesitate for a second as her attention had gone next right to the other peers in the room.

"Now with introductions in mind: Good Morning, everyone- it is a pleasure to meet you all; my name is Isayama Yaya, I am mostly known in my work as a Shrine Maiden. I hope that we all can get along and take care of each other."

She had given a silent polite bow as she had waited for others to speak.

[Osatsu Kei]

🐧--- Aside from a few people, Osatsu could recognize that they were stuck in a room full of strangers. While it wasn't unfamiliar to them, this was clearly far from their usual routine of things. For starters, they'd know what they were getting into. Someone would tell them, and they'd be ready. In this situation however,they were as clueless as the rest of them. They were absent-mindedly picking at the tree branches and ornaments when Mukizu-- the butler, they noted in their head-- started to introduce himself in the most suspicious way possible. Somewhat keeping information to himself on the grounds that it might worry everyone?

    Absolutely suspicious! What ~secrets~ was this butler hiding? They didn't like it. They didn't like this at all!
    (Or are they just being paranoid for no reason?)

    But that's none of their business. Instead, they moved on to scoff at Mukizu's introduction, before muttering to themself something along the lines of: "A butler? Those still exist? And here I thought those only existed anymore in people's raunchiest fantasies. Well, at least we can all have a chance of saying that 'the butler did it' when it comes around."

    Thanks, Osatsu. When the introduction train started to go, they were debating on if they should jump aboard it for a bit, but eventually, they spoke up when a chance came up, with a silent sigh escaping their mouth, and their attention shifting from the tree to the other students huddled in the room.

    "Ｏｓａｔｓｕ Ｋｅｉ," they said, in a strangely cryptid tone, delicately holding one of the tree branches between two fingers. "Or, you can always call me the kid that can't wait to hopscotch their way into oblivion. Call me anything, really, as long as it's nothing cringe-worthy. I work as a ｃｏｍｅｄｉａｎ by the way,since we're mentioning occupations. It's going to be fun to meet you all, probably."

A smile appears on their face. --- 🐧

[Hirase Marin]

This was, needless to say, the strangest entrance ceremony equivalent that Hirase had ever experienced. Despite this, she looked relatively unconcerned, even smiling and waving at people as they entered the room. She likely would have tried to chat, but she patiently waited for Mukizu to finish speaking first. He wasn't familiar to her, but when Hirase let her gaze wander around the room, she was thankful to see a few faces she recognized, although mostly just from the news. Still, it was better than nothing.

When there was a pause in introductions, Hirase jumped right in, "Hi hello! Hi-ra-se Marin, at your service!"

She salutes with way too much energy for someone exposing her midriff when outside was freezing cold. That wasn't all; her whole outfit was contradictory to the weather. From her shortened sleeves all the way down to her flip flops, she looked much more like she belonged on the beach. Either way, the short girl was ever so slightly inching her way closer to the fireplace. Ah, the consequences of being woefully unprepared for anything that wasn't Okinawan weather.

"As well as being a high school student, I'm a fully certified lifeguard. If anyone is injured, I can take care of you, no prob! So let's get along, yeah, sweethearts?"

One hand on her hip, she flashed a peace sign and a grin. Hirase waited for a few people to introduce themselves before she spoke again.

"Maru-chan, Ishida-kun, let's let everyone finish introducing themselves before Mukizu-kun tells us what he knows. I want everyone to have a chance to introduce themselves first, so that no one feels left out! Panicking isn't going to help anyone, so we have to let everyone calm down for a moment."

One could almost imagine her telling kids not to run next to the pool in the exact same tone.

[Ootani Yakumo]

  Nice and cozy.

  That's what was going on through Ootani's head-- its appears to be that he was looking at his surroundings instead of the other 15 people in the room.

  The first thing that caught his eye, was the Christmas tree-- it was cute, set in the perfect spot-- but was it already Christmas? ...He'd have to ask someone about that later. And then there was the fire place, which he was extremely thankful for-- even with his sweater on, he was still shivering a bit.

  Then there was how large and extravagant this room appeared to be- very impressive!!

  However, before he could continue his surveying of the room-- a few people interrupted his thoughts by introducing themselves.

  And before he could continue said thoughts, it was already his turn to introduce himself.

   "Ah.."

  Taking a look at the others, Ootani smiled-- waving his left hand.

   "I'm Ootani Yakumo, it's a pleasure to meet you all."

  .....

   "Oh, and I work as an Architect."

[Mukizu Gonkuro]

—— "Heh, thank you very much, Hirase-sama, but... I think Ishida-sama and Marugou-sama possess a fair point that I should have considered."

With that, Mukizu bows a small bit in his apology. When he's upright again, there's an undeniable grimace across his features-- a sharp contrast to the niceties he had been setting up earlier.
He keeps his gaze focused on nobody in particular, merely contemplating the tree-topper on the nearby Christmas tree, as he answers.

    "I sincerely apologize but I intentionally introduced myself with my occupation because I wanted to see if any of you would merely follow my example but only state that you were a regular high school student. It would not be odd for a teenager to be unemployed and to instead focus their energies on studies, but... all seven of the introductions given right after mine cared to state something specific.

    "Seven introductions like that prompts me to believe I am not incorrect to ask my next question: are you all students to be enrolled into Hope's Peak Academy by chance? If we all are, then I believe the remaining introductions become that much easier to state:"

He turns his head to more properly look at a decent chunk of the students.

    "I am not just a butler, but I, Mukizu Gonkuro, am the Super High School Level Butler."

[Isayama Yaya]

"Oh~"

Yaya had placed a hand to her cheek as her head had tilted slightly to a side. The look on her face shown of questions and wonder.

"Hmm."

What a curios thing.

She had gone back to her previous position and placed both hands together at her waist.

"If that is true, then it only be quick and easy to assume that we would all be students that been accepted and enrolled into that prodigious school- but I rather let everyone speak for themselves then just for me."

She had then given the butler a smile.

"With that said, going with my previous introduction, Hopes Peak did offer me the title of Super High School Level Shrine Maiden, and I accepted it."

She looked around the room once more- this time speaking as she had voiced a curiosity of hers.

"If I be honest- I did have a thought about how this place was Hopes Peak for a little bit- but considering our surroundings- that would not be the right assumption to have, would it?"

[Yanagi Tsuneo]

There's something about not knowing where he was (or who he is or what he's doing or who these people are) that's causing Yanagi's palms to sweat. The room feels too hot, and, quietly, he adjusts the collar of his shirt, looking around to see if anyone else seemed as confused as he was. Much to his dismay, others seemed to remember... Who they were, or, at least, what they did for a part-time job.

(What kind of high-schooler is a butler? Or a published mangaka? Or a detective? Jesus, what kind of teenagers were they?)

His eyebrows furrow for a few moments, and, quietly, his hand raises to his forehead, rubbing his temple-- there was a heavy fog clouding his mind and he couldn't seem to clear it. The only thing he knew, at all-- was simply his name, Yanagi Tsuneo. What a tragic existence, he figured-- only knowing his own name, and suddenly being surrounded by strangers. The more people talked, the more conversation filled the air, the more confused Yanagi felt, until finally, he briskly walked over to the person who seemed most in charge in the room, sparing a cursory glance to the other students before fixing his gaze quietly on the so-called butler before he cleared his throat.

"Excuse me," he mutters, blinking slowly before he sighs. "What is Hope's Peak-- and why does everyone keep talking about it like it's something we should know about."

His eyes narrow, and as he peers quietly at the other boy, he recalls the conversations of the group so far, and his voice raises, feigning some sort of confidence as he addresses the group as a whole-- all while refusing to make eye contact.

(Which, really, takes away from the confidence he's trying to project.)

"My name is Yanagi Tsuneo... I think. Please address me as such."

[Komatsuzaki Airi]

Her face twisted slightly at the notion, listening to the people in the room introducing themselves did seem to favor the notion that they were all from Hope's Peak Academy, as she too had been invited to the high school, but such a place looked nothing like the place she had seen in the pictures of the academy that she had looked up prior. The chilly outside, with the cozy interior and Christmas decor seemed to be a little out of place... wasn't Hope's Peak in Tokyo? Brows furrowed a little in confusion.

"If this is Hope's Peak Academy then it's a lot different from what I had seen."

Though she'd be lying if she denied that she was part of the new students coming into Hope's Peak Academy, after all-- Mukizu had a point, most teenagers would be unemployed or working as a cashier at some convenient store, or possible a waiter at a restaurant. She wouldn't be surprised if everyone in the room had some sort of "talent" that they exceeded in, if this was what was being hinted at. 

"It's true that I was accepted into Hope's Peak as the Super High School Level Shoujo Mangaka, to be specific... though the former part of the title is a little embarrassing..."

[Shimakage Seitaro]

Admittedly, this wasn't the first time that Shimakage had found himself confined to a room full of strangers. The difference, of course, was that the lodge was far more comfortable and inviting than his previous place of residence, so while bursting through the doors to find a warm fireplace and a Christmas tree had come as somewhat of a shock, the situation was not at all an unfavorable one. Of course, he seemed to be alone in his assessment, as some of his peers - most notably, a girl named Marugou - immediately began to demand answers (how privileged!), but Shimakage knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

(For all he knew, perhaps their bus had crashed, and he was now a free man? Sure, it seemed like the beginning of a cheesy teen slasher flick, but at least this way, he could die in style, and tremendous comfort.)

    "Ahah. We've all been blessed with such delightful accommodations. Some of you need to learn to stop and smell the roses. One day, you'll be on your deathbed, wishing you'd taken life a little slower..."

But where were his manners? His peers - or perhaps, classmates - had begun to introduce themselves, and while Shimakage didn't exactly relish the thought of divulging his true talent, he supposed there was nothing preventing him from lying to their faces. For all they knew, he was Wakahisa Atsuo, Super High School Level Ikebana (a boy who, at this precise moment, was rotting away in a jail cell with no power to void Shimakage's claim). Still, it would be bad luck if ever they asked him to demonstrate his alleged talent, which meant that obfuscating the truth - but not exactly lying - was the proper course of action.

"I'm Shimakage Seitaro, and I'm a simple salesman. Super High School Level, perhaps, but a mere merchant at the end of the day."

(And, okay, maybe his eyes lit up a little when Yanagi mentioned uncertainty over something as simple as his name.)

"Hmm...? Yanagi-kun, what do you meee~eean you 'think' your name is Yanagi-kun? Isn't that something that you, of all people, should know?"

[Marugou Madoka]

Absorbing the flow of information like a sponge, Madoka remained attentive at everyone's introductions, her eyes sometimes lightening up in recognition. Other than that, her face remained fairly inscrutable. Given what she learned from everyone who introduced themselves so far, one theory seemed to become more and more likely, though she never was one to pull ahead before confirming it for good.

Madoka wasn't exactly anticipating for someone else to address her aside from Mukizu, so her eyebrows went up as she turned her head around to face the one who did just that. As she'd heard the voice just mere moments ago, she knew already whom it belonged to; Hirase Marin, a lifeguard. The detective tilted her head slightly, her face expressing mild puzzlement as she responded with a simple:"... I'm not panicking, though?" The brown-haired girl shrugged, before adding the following:"Just wanna know what's going on, that's all."

Her attention was drawn back to Mukizu, who seemed to be willing to share what he'd been holding back previously. When he finally did announce it, Madoka felt kind of... underwhelmed, actually? She had expected more, something different... though it's entirely possible that she simply overthought what the butler meant with his words. That's entirely possible.

"... Oh, that", was her first verbal reaction, which almost came off as her being bored by that revelation; but only almost. Madoka started to subconsciously stroke a strand of her hair as she picked up from where she left:"Kind of suspected that already. You know my title, so no need to repeat that."

('Super High School Level' was honestly just too much of a bother to say outloud.)

As the ones who already introduced themselves stated their SHSL anew - which honestly wasn't something that Madoka entirely understood, given that it should've been clear the first time already -, the detective turned to the introduction that didn't start off like the others. Yanagi Tsuneo. Huh.

Madoka furrowed her eyebrows a bit, but remained ultimately quiet - which was mostly thanks to Shimakage Seitaro, who already asked the question that had been on the top of her tongue. However, instead of merely focusing on the answer that may or may not come, she couldn't help but look at the long-haired boy, her eyes just ever-so slightly lowering.

"... A simple salesman, huh."

Well, if this wasn't a cryptic statement, to say the least.

[Yanagi Tsuneo]

Continuing to frown at the floor, Yanagi peered, quietly, at his hand-- it seemed he had some sort of nervous tic, where he tapped his thumb to each finger in turn-- and quietly, he wondered if he did that naturally, or if he developed that tic after his amnesia. While people around him continued to talk, his attention was caught by a rather loud, long-haired figure who seemed to be preaching about how no one should be worried... To, stop and smell the roses, apparently.

(What roses?)

(Perhaps he knows something.)

Yanagi's brows furrowed as he peered at the other boy, and, finally, he recoiled when he was questioned on why he didn't know his own name. That in itself was concerning-- the fact was, he wasn't sure why he didn't know his own name. He wanted to comment that, in truth, he wasn't sure what was happening at all. He wasn't sure why he didn't know his name, or who he was, or where he was.

Quietly, he slipped his hands into his pockets, and peered quietly at... Shimakage (was it?) before he eventually sighed, fixing his gaze steadily on the other's face. There was something about him that radiated confidence, and the fact that he claimed to be a salesman only seemed to solidify that further--even though, in truth, Yanagi had no reason to trust anything he said. It seemed, as the minutes ran on, feeling longer than ever, Yanagi only felt more suspicious of everyone around him. Anyone who seemed to know what was going on was a threat, perhaps.

"I'm not sure. I don't... I don't really know anything," he explained, chewing his lip anxiously. "All I'm somewhat sure of is my name, and even then, I'm suspicious. Even more after learning that, apparently, I'm the only one who doesn't know." He then falls quiet for a few long moments before tilting his head to the side, almost catlike in his pointed stare.

"... Do you know something I don't, er, Shimakage-san?"

[Ootani Yakumo]

   "Hmm."

   Looking at Komatsuzaki, Ootani frowned just a smidge.

   "I don't believe this is Hope's Peak.. This room doesn't appear to be 'school-like' in any way, shape, or form..."

   Usually a room like this would be occupied by an office of sorts-- or be used as an entrance to the school. Not-- well, he's fairly certain it wouldn't look like a lodge. 

  Taking a look at the Butler, Ootani nodded, "I can only assume the rest are students too, but yes, I was accepted as the Super Highschool Level Architect."

[Isayama Yaya]

Yaya had given a slight giggle- a tiny laugh at the first sentence Shimakage had spoken. It reminded her of her grandparents- always speaking about to take life slow and enjoy what was present. The tall girl could not help but to laugh a little at the small reminder. However, the little small bounces and tickles of the heart and mind had slowed down with a new accompanying worry for another peer: Yanagi Tsuneo.

Questioning what Hopes Peak is, was one thing.

Questioning your own name... that was something entirely different.

With slow steps, she had silently walked up to the boy, and got close enough where she could reach him, but made no contact.

There been a moment where she almost made a move to touch his head but-
that definitely would not be appropriate. After all, she just him only five seconds ago. Not only that- it would be disrespectful.

So she done what she thought been the best alternative, and with a worried gaze, she had asked him a question.

"Yanagi-san, even if it is a bit distasteful, and I do hope that your only joking about- but if not, are you alright? Does your head hurt? Is there anything I can do to help?"

She gave a slight, quick bow in apology.

"Sorry if it seems so sudden for me to ask so many things, especially if this is just you joking about, but if your injured I would like to take that a bit seriously and get you help if that is fine with you..."

Oh dear-

She really was worried for this kid wasn't she?

[Osatsu Kei]

🐧--- The suggestion that everyone was some student of Hope's Peak Academy almost made Osatsu chuckle just a bit. Just a little.While they did acknowledge that it had some reasonable footing, it was one hell of a bizarre idea to consider. Imagine it! Fifteen Hope's Peak Academy students, lost in some cabin after getting lost in some place in the middle of (probably) nowhere. Oh, the rise and the fall of the brightest students that has ever "graced" Japan!

(Hah. Brightest, huh?)

"Absolutely not. What's a Ｈｏｐｅ＇ｓ Ｐｅａｋ Ａｃａｄｅｍｙ? Never heard of her."

A rumbling chuckle came from the comedian, and they wave a hand in the air as if to dismiss their last statement.

"I'm the Ｓｕｐｅｒ Ｈｉｇｈ Ｓｃｈｏｏｌ Ｌｅｖｅｌ Ｃｏｍｅｄｉａｎ, if it wasn't obvious. I mean, if we're listing our occupations, there's a really high chance that it's probably our talents. Oh, but, there's always exceptions. I mean... well, for example, I wouldn't believe that some kind of Super High School Level Fabricator existed if someone were to have said that their occupation was that. I mean, Hope's Peak Academy is hopefully not that dumb to accept someone like that. Those kinds of exceptions!"

They chuckle again. The narrator chuckles too. 

"Ah, well, but there you guys go, again."

With that, they turned their attention to more interesting matters-- which wasn't anything, really. What was so interesting about a group of teenagers being cooped up in some christmas-themed room? Nothing. Unless someone started a fight. That'd be cool and fun to watch, but not fun to get involved in.

Either way, they change their attention to... the tall dude that was... what was he doing. Is he dissociating? Pretty sure the better jump is to say that he's spacing out, but this is Osatsu Kei here. 

They slithered on over to where he was, and attempts to wave a hand in the guy's face. Keyword: attempt. It was a stretch that they didn't want to make, and so it was just... kind of pathetic, really.

"...Could you at least lend me a hand here, Ｏｏ－ｔａ－ｎｉ－ｓａｎ? Or at least, your only hand? 'fraid I'm not tall enough to at least smack you in the face without stretching."

---🐧

[Ootani Yakumo]

  After answering to Komatsuzuki and Mukizu, it appeared to be that Ootani was spacing out upon looking around the room.., again. Looks like his mind's already on the topic of Christmas once more.

   (This place is comfy..., and warm.)

   (....Since it's probably close to Christmas..., are they preparing for Santa?)

  Since the matter of Yanagi was being taken care of, he didn't have to worry about it-- thus, he continued to space out.

  Until someone spoke to him.

  He most likely missed the fact that said someone tried to wave their hand to gain his attention but-- he definitely caught the comment about 'lending a hand'. Which prompted Ootani to snrk--

  Covering his mouth to cease the noise, he looked at--- well, this person that reminded him of a penguin.

   "Sorry about that, did...did you need any help?"