[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

[selfportraiture]

[?????

She blinks at that, brow furrowing, pencil stilling.]

Hang on, hang on, slow down.

Why don't you want to go home?

[demergo]

...I was alone there. I'm not alone in Milgram.

[selfportraiture]

... Alone? Like... completely?

[demergo]

[ . . . ]

I got meals. [ not much else. ]

[selfportraiture]

Wha... what kind of place were you in?!

[Prison?????]

[demergo]

[ funny thing about that-

haruka pauses though, finding that for once his usual response doesn't rise as easily as it tends to. ]

...do you really want to know?

[selfportraiture]

Huh? Obviously. I wouldn't have asked otherwise.

[???

She doesn't get it... why is he pausing now?]

[demergo]

[ ..... ]

I don't want go home because no one would look at me. Not my mother or my father. No one.

It's better in Milgram, because I have people I can talk to. Even if it's a prison.

[selfportraiture]

Huh?

[????]

What the hell?! What kind of shitty living situation were you in? And prison? You were in a prison? But you're like, my age or Ak--my brother's age!

[demergo]

[ her reaction is absolutely valid, and to boot it helps shake him out of the place he was slipping into. ]

Yeah. [ he doesn't know how to talk about his living situation, so he just answers the easier questions. ]

I'm umm, seventeen, I think. How old are you?

[selfportraiture]

Eighteen... you're a year younger than me, and they threw you in jail?! You're not an adult!

[Ha??? What the fuck!]

[demergo]

[ for some reason he doeos a half bow, a silent apology for his situation. ]

Uhh, yeah. B-but I'm not sure if it's in Japan? We're all Japanese, but it doesn't follow Japanese law...some of the other prisoners tried to argue with Warden-san, but it didn't get anywhere.

[selfportraiture]

So you were kidnapped and then chucked into some weird overseas prison?! That's so shady! And you want to go back there? At least go somewhere better than that!

[demergo]

Uhh... I guess...? [ the most lukewarm answer to if he was kidnapped, but hey there's layers to this question for some reason. ]

But home is worse, because no one talks to me there.

[selfportraiture]

Then go somewhere else! Not home, and not prison!

Jeeze! We're already in some weird horror high school dimension. Pretty much anything's possible now, right?

[demergo]

Where would I g-go...? I don't know how to do anything, so...

[selfportraiture]

Tch. So? Then you learn something when you get there.

You don't want to go back to your family, right? And what about prison? What if there's somewhere better to go?

[demergo]

[ ahh, it sounds so simple. ]

...yeah. But I still want to go back to Milgram. I thought it was the best place for someone like me, but I made friends too. It's really not that bad.

[ though he frowns a little, because fuuta has told him some Things he's worried about. ]

Even if there's somewhere else...I couldn't go alone.

[selfportraiture]

[She frowns a little in response, but...]

... If that's what you want, I guess. I don't really get it, but it's your life.

[She finishes her sketch, sighs, and tears it out of the sketchbook, handing it out to him almost flippantly.]

Here.

[It is an honestly very lovely sketch of a pufferfish, all puffed up.]

It's not perfect, since I don't have any references on hand, but you can have it if you want it.

[demergo]

[ what he wants... he's too distracted turning that over in his head that it takes him a second to realize she's offering him something. bright blue eyes blink wide. ]

Y-you're giving this to me...? [ his expression, cheeks dusted pink, might as well be if she decided to give him the mona lisa. not that he knows what that is, but still. ]

Really? [ he asks again, but he's already reaching for the sketch. ]

[selfportraiture]

You don't have to make a big deal out of it. It's just a sketch.

[She says that, but despite the dismissive words, she's clearly pleased by how delighted he seems by it......]

But yeah, it's all yours.

[demergo]

Thank you! [ sorry, he's going to make a big deal out of it. he's holding it up with a bright grin, staring at it from all angles. ]

It's really good...you're really talented, Botan-san.

[selfportraiture]

[... Ah.

Something shutters a little in her expression at his words. Through no fault of his, of course; she just looks down at her sketchpad again, and smiles, if distantly.]

I'm not, but thank you. I'm glad you like it so much.

... Lucky me, that the art room's one of the only one's that's not locked.

[demergo]

[ he doesn't catch it in his joy, for better or worse. ]

Are you going to spend a lot of time in here then?

[selfportraiture]

Am I...?

[She really hadn't been thinking about this school as a place where they'll be spending a lot of time, but...

If they're stuck, if they don't find a way out ASAP...]

... Yeah, maybe. I'm working on my art all the time back home, so it'd feel weird to take a long break here.