[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

[parttimesoldier]

[Her mouth is set in a grim line, and she glances briefly around at the rest of the crowd scattered throughout the gym.]

Didn't realize there were so many of us. Thought for sure it had gotten me and the ones I was with...

[selfportraiture]

...

[Wheeze. So that really is what would've happened if they hadn't found that key...]

Did it... lose interest once it had gotten you guys, or something?

[parttimesoldier]

[That's a good question.]

Maaaybe? [She sounds so uncertain.] Kinda figured it had dumped us here, but... I dunno. Kinda worried it's not the last we're gonna see of it now.

[selfportraiture]

[She shudders at that.]

Then... we gotta keep looking for the exit!

Oh, but it came from outside, didn't it--?

[parttimesoldier]

Seems like it's more than capable of breaking in. Outside can't be any worse, right?

[Suzuha, you're doing a terrible job at being reassuring.]

[selfportraiture]

[She opens her mouth.

And closes it again, shoulders slumping.

... Yeah.]

... That's true. At least if we can get outside, we might be able to find a road or something.

[parttimesoldier]

Here's hoping, yeah?

[They'll get out of here in no time, totally! The fleeting nature of the smile she summons probably says a lot about how hopeful she actually is, but it's not nothing.]

At least this place seems safe enough for us to catch our breath and patch ourselves up for the time being.

[selfportraiture]

You think?

[She looks pretty skeptical at that, but... it's just mostly the vibes. She can't explain it.]

Guess it's better than the classroom, at least. That place was really spooky.

[parttimesoldier]

That's what I mean, yeah. That room was totally whack. Even before all the spooky stuff started happening.

[Countdown til spooky stuff in the gym..... she's gonna try not to think about it for a little bit.]

[selfportraiture]

Yeah, in that sense, it's much better in here.

[She's thinking along the same lines, though.]

Not that I want to overstay my welcome. Once everyone's up and functional, we should all be looking for the way out.

[parttimesoldier]

Agreed.

[Hopefully it won't be too long for everyone to be ready to get moving. The less time she has to stay here, the better.]

A way out's the priority, but if that's not immediately achievable, then we'll have to find somewhere more secure.

[Gym might be spacious, but it's way too open.]

[selfportraiture]

... Yeah?

[She sounds a little like Yuma...]

... Are you used to handling this sort of thing?

[parttimesoldier]

Oh! Uh...

[Averted gaze, sheepish smile, reaching up to rub at the back of her neck. Which of course agitates some of those wounds on her arm and elicits a hiss from her.]

Yeah, you could say that. Not the first time I've had to find my way out of somewhere dangerous.

[selfportraiture]

Alright, take it easy and rest.

[girl.]

I don't really know what that means, but I'm getting the feeling you don't really want to talk about it.

[parttimesoldier]

It's just... probably better if I don't, y'know?

[There's just too many unknowns at play here, and revealing too much is always a dangerous prospect around strangers, so...]

[selfportraiture]

[...?]

I don't really get that, either, but okay. It's fine. We don't even really know each other, so it's not like I'm going to get mad about it.

[parttimesoldier]

[She flashes her a subdued smile that's one part apologetic and one part grateful.]

Guess this is the part where we'd introduce ourselves so we could get to know each other, but well... names are probably still a bad idea, huh?

[selfportraiture]

Yeah, but we came up with fake ones in my class.

I'm going by Botan for now, so you can call me that. Nice to meet you.

[parttimesoldier]

Nice to meetcha then, Botan.

[A pleasant little grin before her expression turns a little more thoughtful.]

Some of my crew did the same, but I was a little too preoccupied trying to find a way out of there to give it much thought at the time... Guess I oughta come up with a good one.

[selfportraiture]

Yeah? Need any help? I'm getting pretty good at it at this point.

[She is Not Getting Good At It.]

[parttimesoldier]

[Suzuha believes in her.]

Really? Well hey, I won't say no to some help then. Gotta have a cute or hip name like all the cool kids, y'know?

[selfportraiture]

[Suzuha no.]

That's true! You're a cute girl, so you gotta have a cute name.

Let's see... what sorts of things do you like?

[parttimesoldier]

[Weapons maintenance, hand-to-hand combat, successfully carrying out a mission—wait, no.]

Well, I'm a pretty active gal—going for a nice bike ride is always fun. And sweets are great, like these strawberry shortcakes I got to try...

[Thoughtful pause as she wracks her brain for more Normal things... and suddenly she lights up excitedly.]

Oh! And I got to finally see fireworks recently too! Those are so awesome!

[selfportraiture]

Oh, fireworks?

[Huh... The way she lights up over it is so cute. It's strange she'd never seen fireworks before recently, but--maybe she just doesn't get out much?]

How about Hanabi, then? That's "fireworks", but it's "fire flower" if you read the kanji literally, which is kind of cute.

[parttimesoldier]

Hanabi, huh?

[A beat, and then she's grinning ear to ear.]

I dig it! Think it totally suits a fiery girl like me, yeah? And hey! With the kanji the way it is, that means I can be in the flower club with you, Botan!