[physical education 101]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

Who: transfer students
When: July 1̷̝̤̳̙̫̭̻̝͓̄̇̾̀̕͝9̸̙̱̹͍̮̈́́̀̅͛̐̔̋ 20
Where: the. . . gymnasium?
What: an ice breaker
Warnings: moderate physical injury (not debilitating), psychological horror (absolutely debilitating)

[The school is empty. The school is quiet. The only sound that cuts through the silence is the soft ticking of the hallway clocks that mark the passing of each second.]

[. . .]

[At least. . . until a stiff breeze whips through the classrooms, scattering dirty papers and jerking the curtains aside. The clock strikes 6:00 a.m.]

[The school bell chimes.]

[ Team rooms | Endgame | Rewards ]

Comments

[titlecard]

[ He's never actually encountered any fanboys in person, somehow, so this results in a faint blush. ]

It is pretty cool, isn't it? Maybe I could show you one day or something.

[ just offering flights to strangers now apparently ]

[demergo]

[ ari are we going to have positive cr for even a single thread- ]

Huh? W-what? Really?

[titlecard]

[ lfg!!!! ]

... Yeah! Yeah, you know, I don't see why not.

Do you want to try right now?

[ getting so caught up in his regained ability of flight and the possibility of making new friends both that he's completely forgetting about his emotion-sharing curse in the moment ]

[demergo]

[ haruka is also entirely caught up in the novelty of this and isn't thinking about redacted as much as he usually would, so they're both doing great. ]

If you really want to... with me... then yeah! [ he's not a brave person at all, but he forgets that in his sheer excitement. how does he do this... he has no idea... holding out his arms!?!? ]

[titlecard]

[ This is always the downside to offering to carry someone while flying... there's really no comfortable way to do it.

But! That's not going to stop him! Mark approaches him, ready to pick him up by... something? He's just going to reach for Haruka's hands first. ]

Maybe I can hold you by your sides or something...

[ That is, if at the first brush of contact, Haruka doesn't feel what Mark's feeling: exhaustion from the whole ordeal, a bit of pain, but most of all sheer relief like fresh air in one's lungs, with just an undercurrent of happiness. ]

[demergo]

[ haruka does feel that. but.

he's actually used to feeling emotions and thoughts that aren't his own. so while it does make him blink a little in confusion, especially given how the end of it feels...he clocks it as totally normal.

yay? ]

Umm, yeah, that's fine. Whatever way you normally do it is okay by me. Do you need me to do anything?

[titlecard]

[ Mark, meanwhile, doesn't even recognize that anything abnormal might be going on. Haruka might be the first non-Shiawase person he's touched, so this is the first time he isn't getting an emotion feedback loop. And if Haruka isn't saying anything then maybe everything is normal!

yay. ]

Nope. Well, maybe just hold me by the waist or something? And you can stand on top of my feet, just to make sure you've got a good hold on me... If you don't want me to just pick you up or something.

[ Because surely he can still do that with total ease. Surely. ]

[demergo]

Rr-right, okay! [ mark he is extremely japanese, both these options are more physical affection than he's used to. that being said, he wants to fly and he's actually not touch averse, just touch shy so.... he'll go with the first option just because it was the first option. ]

L-like this? [ sure he'll just face him and hug his waist.

someone else would probably take this time to notice how jacked mark is, but haruka's too busy trying not to combust for other reasons. he does flush pink though! ]

[titlecard]

[ Mark is American, he doesn't know shit about shit. He isn't even considering other people's sensibilities. Just going with what he knows!

And this is working! ]

Yeah, like that.

[ He moves his own grip to Haruka's sides, getting a firm grip of his ribs. He seems kind of heavier than he actually should be, but surely that's nothing. His emotions remain unchanged; he remains undeterred. ]

Alright, one, two, three—

[ And on three Mark will lift off from the ground, hovering just a couple of inches in the air. Slow and steady! ]

How's that?

[demergo]

[ so he's definitely yelling. just a little, it's shocking! even if it's just a few inches.

but that quickly gives way to a bright grin, ear to ear. ]

This is so cool!!!!

[titlecard]

[ He laughs a little at the yell, not unkindly; mostly because he expected something on that level.

The grin makes it worth it, though, and Mark can feel exhaustion ebbing away into further happiness. ]

Wanna go higher?

[demergo]

Can we? [ he might be slightly vibrating but it's mostly out of excitement. his fears are taking a backseat for once in his life. ]

[titlecard]

Of course! Just tell me when.

[ And he'll keep lifting them up into the air, slow and steady. Not so high that he's going to crash into the roof or anything but either until Haruka tells him to stop, or he finds a height he's comfortable with. Probably still below the rafters. ]

[demergo]

[ below the rafters they float up to then! he wanted to say stop but also he wanted to keep going, so thank you for choosing for him. ]

Ahhh, this is really high! Do you just fly everywhere? This is better than walking...

[titlecard]

[ It's actually so nice to be able to do this for someone again? Mark isn't even feeling exhausted anymore — he's invigorated by the sense of freedom that comes with flying, even if he very much is trapped in a new location.

He keeps his gaze on Haruka, making sure he's okay, but since it seems like he is... up here they'll stay! ]

Not everywhere; I did have a secret identity back home. [ A small laugh. ] Yeah, it's really convenient, but don't rule out walking. Getting to stretch your legs is good too, you know?

[demergo]

[ his heart's beating like a hummingbird, but he's clearly enjoying himself!

...until he hears the word secret and gulps. ]

R-right, your legs get really stiff if you sit in one place all day.

[ he uh, knows firsthand. ]

Why did you need to hide?

[titlecard]

[ Considering their proximity, Mark can probably feel that heartbeat, but it makes sense since this is almost certainly Haruka's first time flying. And they are having fun, so...!

A blink, a bit of a frown at his apparent apprehension at the word secret, though. Is that a problem, or... ]

I wouldn't want anyone targeting my family to try to get to me. That already happened once, and it was bad. Really, really bad.

[ His emotions darken a bit at the memory, but that's all it is — a memory. And while he's still in overall a good mood, it's definitely dampened some now. ]

The fewer people who know, the better. I don't think it matters here so much when there are monsters outside, but back home? It does.

[demergo]

[ that's a lot to take in for haruka, mostly because it brushes on things that he feels strongly about. unlike before though, he doesn't have a negative reaction, but is taking his time to think through it instead. ]

That's really...considerate of you. I'd want to protect my family too. Family's really important. [ a small smile. ]

You're a really strong person. I'm kind of jealous...

[ wistful and soft.

he's still kind of parsing the rest, the flying bit, how that would need to be a secret for some reason and what that means, but this tumbles out first. ]

[titlecard]

[ ... After a second, Mark reciprocates that smile. His mood lightens, wistful in turn. Maybe a little fond, because it's nice to know that Haruka is someone who gets it. ]

There's different kinds of strength. I'm not going to deny I'm pretty different, but anything you can do to keep your family safe, I think it takes some level of it.

Because yeah. It's maybe the most important thing.

[demergo]

[ he lets out a breath that's something like a laugh, light. ]

Anything... mmn, they definitely think I'm weak. And they...probably—definitely, don't want anything from me right now. But if I could help them, I still would.

[titlecard]

[ He's quiet for a moment, contemplative. It's easy to just think up here, almost alone and away from everyone else — not to mention that this particular subject feels highly relevant to him, too. ]

I think it's that last part that counts more than anything. I have a... weird relationship with my dad. Kind of never wanted to see him again, and he tricked me into showing up for him last year. But he needed my help, and I did help him in the end.

So you never really know what people are going to do when the chips are down. And they're still your family.

[demergo]

[ "tricked"....ah. yeah, haruka agrees. haruka agrees vehemently with all of his being. a smile forms on his lips, wry. normally he would—but this is nice, feeling like he's flying, touching someone else (mark will have noticed that haruka settled pretty easily after his initial fluster), talking to someone who thinks family is this important too.

people keep saying, the voices had said— ]

Yeah, that's true. I don't think-I don't know if they feel the same, but I still want to keep trying. [ if he has a strength, it's that his dedication and resolve is boundless. ]

Umm...what's your name? Here. Mine's Toby.

[titlecard]

[ Toby... That's nice and easy to remember. And it kind of suits him, Mark thinks? Soft and earnest and all that. ]

I'm Hiro now, I guess.

[ Said with a smile; he's still feeling overall light and happy. Haruka's just really easy to talk to, it turns out. ]

And yeah. I mean, I think at some point, when it comes to family... the good has to count for something, right? Even if there was also some bad.

[ At least that's how it's been for him! ]

[demergo]

It's nice to meet you, Hiro-san. I'm happy I have.

[ very earnest, it's a shame he can't bow like this but hopefully his words get through enough.

and as for the rest...]

...yeah, it has to. I've been thinking that it might, but—I think I believe it more now.

[titlecard]

[ Another little burst of warmth radiates off of Mark; this really is a calm, pleasant moment after everything. And it's not like he thinks there's any need to bow; just the company and earnestness are nice. ]

It's nice to meet you too, Toby. But... yeah? Is that because of what just happened, something harrowing like that putting things more into perspective? Or is it something else?