[Action]

[misterious]

[ She watched Makoto Naegi die, the squelch of flesh and viscera, the crunch of bone, the dull thump...thump...thump of the machine that mashed him to a pulp. All the evidence pointed to the fact that he was dead, yet she found herself wishing it wasn't true. In spite of all her efforts to keep emotions from clouding her judgement, the guilt of letting her ambitions come before the life of another gnawed at her mind enough for false hope to creep in.

Maybe he lived.

After all, his body fell into the trash room below. It was unlikely that it would have been cleaned up and whisked away elsewhere. If she could see it, she could confirm that he was dead, once and for all. She might also uncover some clues behind the mastermind who had set the trap with her in mind.

She concealed herself in a garbage bag and had her classmates drop her down the trash chute. The fall was longer than expected.

The death was instantaneous. Or it should have been, were it not for the fact she had woken up in yet another school. After giving herself a minute to adjust, her best course of action was to get a lay of the land and gather as much information as she could. ]

[ You might have felt a pair of eyes watching you in the public areas today, the slightest glimpse of a girl, pale and willowy, wandering in the shadows, or in some corner just within earshot. She observes but never approaches, maintaining a neutral expression regardless of what's going on around her and walking away as soon as anyone makes a step in her general direction.

Maybe she wasn't watching you after all. Maybe she's a ghost. Can something more ghostly exist in a town of dead souls? It is a mystery.

After a few hours of reconnaissance/creeping, she's slipped into the library to peruse the science stacks. With a wall at one end, there's only one way in and out. She's mindful of that opening, keeping an eye on it, just in case someone feels inclined to corner her and confront her. ]

Comments

[misterious]

[ She recognized his voice. She recognized him, Kuwata-kun, the weak one, whose poor choices led to Maizono-san's death. It was only a matter of time before he approached her and since he was making an effort to communicate in an amiable fashion, the best course of action would be to reciprocate. ]

...Kuwata-kun.

[tsunball]

Man, you never change..

[ He lets out a sigh. It's somewhat awkward to speak to people from back home even now, and Kirigiri is - despite the fact she's a girl and not bad-looking - pretty difficult to talk to. Conversing with a lamp feels more productive right now than this.

Leon pulls his hand through his hair. ]

You died too? At this rate we're all just gonna pop up here.

[misterious]

Don't say that. Enough of us have already died.

Furthermore, I wasn't aware death was supposed to change how I am.

[ Deadpan sarcasm. ]

[tsunball]

T.. they weren't related topics! [ For a moment her attitude throws him off guard. Sure, he's used to putting up with girls here who don't exactly ever let him be right, but Kirigiri's cold wall is something a step beyond that. He needs to get used to it again. ]

Besides, you'd be saying the same if you'd been here for as long as I have!

[misterious]

How long is that?

[tsunball]

.. Over a year now, I guess. I mean, we're having a Halloween party again this month and it's already my second one..

[ Man, he didn't even think of it that way until now. Has he really been dead for a year already..?! ]

[misterious]

And what have you done in that time?

[tsunball]

[ H.. uh.. the question takes him aback for a moment. What, was there anything he was supposed to be doing? He's dead, after all! ]

Hanging around? Skipping class? Making music? Dunno what kinda answer you're even looking for.

[misterious]

The truth.

[ She didn't have high expectations. Or any expectations. ]

Has anything... unusual, even for this place, ever occurred during your year here?

[tsunball]

Listen, Kirigiri, if there's anything you gotta know about this place it's that it's always unusual. Like, if something normal would happen here, then that'd be unusual as hell! [ It's not even that much of an exaggeration. ]

.. But then again, what the hell would you expect otherwise from the afterlife?

[misterious]

You're saying you have no sense of routine, here.

In spite of the things you've listed previously? You're contradicting yourself.

[tsunball]

I'm not contradicting myself, you're just making some huge difficult deal outta this! [ Groooan. ] It's just that you try to keep up the shit you enjoy doing despite all the weird shit that happens, that's what "living" here's all about!

[misterious]

Then the attacks by NPCs that became shadows are a common occurrence?

[ Because she heard about those too. ]

[tsunball]

... Depends on what you'd call "common".

[ It's not too great of a topic, especially not after how much he freaked out last time. It's why he looks a little more like a sulky little kid, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants. ]

It's happened more than once before, but it's not like it's happening all the time.

[misterious]

Which is what I meant by "unusual, even for this place."

[tsunball]

If it'd rain somedays even if it doesn't most of the time, would you call that "unusual" too? It's just like any other thing here.

[ Now that's a lie, but it's not for any malicious reason - he just doesn't want to seem uncool (even though.. they all already know just how uncool he is..) by admitting he was scared to death. ]