afterliving | [Action]

[It was over.]

[After so many years of fighting, it was finally over. He'd said his painful goodbyes, managed not to cry, closed his eyes and...]

[...woke up on the sidewalk.]

[The campus was buzzing with activity, the students recently liberated from classes for lunch. The NPCs carefully walked around him as he lay on the ground, staring vacantly at the sky as he came to his senses. The fog over his mind cleared gradually, becoming aware of an unshakable sense of déjà vu descending upon him. The dark color of his jacket caught his peripheral vision, slowly sitting up in order to look down at himself. This uniform... he wasn't wearing this one a moment ago. In fact, he hadn't worn this particular uniform since...]

[Is this..?]

[He sat up sharply, as if jolted out of a deep sleep, scrutinizing the details of the uniform jacket he wore. It was the same one. There was no question.]

[...No way. That means..!?]

THE GAME RESETS!?

[His theatrical screaming could likely be heard from a great many places across the campus, drawing as much attention to himself as could be expected.]

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[Good first impression... Right! He had to-]

[No. Thinking about having to start over and having to make first impressions with everyone all over again was just something he didn't want to do. He worked hard to make those friends! What if he screwed it up this time!?]

[Overwhelmed by the whole ordeal, he reaches up to take fistfuls of his hair... unleashing more of his theatrical screams upon the world.]

WHY IS THIS HAPPENIIIIING

[ Well, now he's being ignored - great. Superdupergreat. Kohaku's not exactly the best guy to deal with this kind of thing because his patience runs thin easily and he likes to communicate through fists when it comes down to it...

Speaking of which, Hinata, you should probably dodge a fist coming down onto your head - it's not aimed to hurt too much but to ache and startle him enough to shut up for a damn moment. ]

Will you stop screaming, moron?! It ain't gonna change nothing!

[His fist-dodging skills are lacking, which wasn't surprising, considering his track record. His ears start ringing as the fist connects with him, hunching over and grabbing his head to try and stop the throbbing.]

[It manages to stop his screaming, however, his voice lowering to an appropriate volume as he explains himself.]

I'm just not supposed to be... here.

[ Ah, much better. Who said a little violence couldn't be worth it. (Everyone and they're right, Kohaku.) ]

Do you honestly think any of us feel we're supposed to be dead? What exactly do you think 'here' is, even?

[ Yeah, sorry, he still hasn't caught on he's not exactly a new arrival. ]

[All things considered, Hinata's feelings on being dead were pretty favorable. His afterlife had gone a hell of a lot better than his life, or at least... the end of his life. So contrary to the usual fare, that fact wasn't shocking or entirely unwelcome.]

It's the afterlife, I know that, but that's just it! [He looked up, still rubbing at the sore spot on his head.] I left! I shouldn't be here anymore!

[ Now Kohaku actually got attentive. Welcoming newcomers in his rude manner was usually a way to kill boredom and assess what kinds of people he'd have to deal with... But the fact that this boy, who he'd never seen before, knew where he was... It was interesting. ]

Heh? You know the place already? Good, spares me awkward explanations. But you've never been here in the past month at the very least, so you probably did leave at some point.

A month? But-! [He'd only met a couple of other humans when he'd first arrived at the afterlife, and this guy definitely wasn't one of them.]

[That fact alone seems to startle him, but not as much as the SSS uniform the other boy appears to be wearing.] That uniform..! [He jumps up, getting in Kohaku's face, appearing quite serious. If he's wearing that, then...]

Do you know Yurippe!? [If the SSS exists... did he not reset, but come back..? And who would maintain the battlefront except for her?]

[ Kohaku immediately moves backwards - he may be really inconsiderate with private space whenever he was angry, but sudden movements in his direction are not a thing he appreciates. ]

Yurippe? Sure. You figured, I'm an SSS member.

[ He shrugs. ]

Didn't think this place would pull back people who already went away. 'Afterlife' my ass, it's just dumb.

[Then... he hadn't reset! Yuri was here and the SSS was still around, but... what did that mean, then? Ugh. This was complicated. He'd have to get to the bottom of it, but something Kohaku said caught his attention.]

Do you... not think this is the afterlife? [If it was grabbing people at random, maybe it really was a video game.]

Huh... I don't remember my death, but I'm pretty sure we are dead judging by all I've seen.

[ Kohaku's seen videos of people dying and most people remembered their deaths... It was not unlikely for him to die either and he knew fully well, especially in the situation he last remembered. There was little point in keeping up useless hope. ]

But this place... You expect me to believe that's where dead souls are supposed to end up? A damnable school? Nothing about this seems right or natural. Hell, we're surrounded by fake people.

[Another one with amnesia... he sighed softly.]

Yeah, that's how it is... [Even if he'd just gotten back, maybe he could shed some light and do a little good...]

It's... This isn't where we end up permanently... [That much was obvious, he felt like he should rephrase.] It's just kind of an inbetween place so we can... come to terms with our lives. [Having already come to terms with his life, for the most part, it just felt... odd to be here. Not that he really minded but... it was complicated. His feelings on this place were so intertwined with his relationships here, he couldn't separate the two.] We're supposed to talk to the NPCs and make friends with them so we can find peace, but I always found them kind of creepy, haha...

Creepy is an understatement.

[ He hates them more than anything, because he projects all his hateful feelings for zombies and royal orchestra back home onto them - human faces, human voices and yet no real personality... Nothing but disgusting fakes. ]

I'd say I'd rather die than go befriend some monsters, but that metaphor sucks to use here.

So I'm not the only one? [The idea of spending the night with one as a roommate had him running crying to Yuri the next morning, so... no, he didn't have much affection for them.]

Well! [Hinata gave a casual salute, having come up with something stupid.] If you ever need non-NPC company, I'll be your friend!

[ The crooked grin Kohaku gives in return is combined with a huff, but he bites back on any obviously ridiculing comment. He might not be sure how serious to take Hinata yet, but he seemed to know this place quite a bit and anything was better than NPCs for sure. ]

My name's Kohaku, by the way.

I'm Hinata.

[He seems genuine enough about his offer of friendship, offering out his hand as he gives his name.]

I look forward to fighting with you..! [He must take this SSS stuff pretty seriously...]

[ Kohaku's handshake is as much firm as it's short. ]

Tch. This'll be interesting.

[Action]

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