(no subject)

[dontquestionme]

Character(s): Ryu and ... anyone.
Setting: Dormitories or Floor One, as a start
Format: Starts as prose, can follow either that or action.
Summary: One grump assed cop/superhero tries to figure out what the hell's going on.
Warnings: None yet. Does throwing up count?


====
Dormitories
Ryu left room 3-16 with the letter claiming his world was gone still clutched in his hand, and quite crumpled. He stalked down the halls with purpose, yet at the same time it was pretty aimless. He had no idea where the hell to go, he just knew he had to find someone that would explain this mess.

====
Floor One
Eventually he would find the elevator and make his way to the bottom of this place.

What better way to start than at the bottom?

Not really paying much mind to the thought of food at that moment, Ryu began searching for a means of working his way up.

Comments

[theresnosuchthing]

[Well, Mr. Grumpy, here comes a girl down the stairs, looking rather calm and inconspicuous. She tilts her head to the side as she sees Ryu and his searching mannerism. Those are pretty universal.]

...ne, are you lost?

[dontquestionme]

[He starts a sentence, which would have been "Don't question me", but stops after the first syllable. Then he begins to say "No," but stops short again and looks off.]

Trying to figure out where I am, yes.

[theresnosuchthing]

Ah, that's easy!

[She smiles pleasantly.]

This is floor one, the cafeteria!

[dontquestionme]

[Ryu's expression is somewhat bothered, but still dead serious. It hasn't really changed much there for awhile ever since he started looking around.]

That much... I get.

[theresnosuchthing]

...well, then you're not lost, are you?

[ B E A M I N G.]

[dontquestionme]

[Ryu frowns.]

Where I am here is different from figuring out where here is.

[theresnosuchthing]

Oh, well. You should have said that from the beginning!

[She giggles anyway.]

[dontquestionme]

Hmn.

[He crosses his arms.]

So. Where is this place?

[theresnosuchthing]

[She raises her shoulders in a small shrug.]

I honestly have no idea.

[dontquestionme]

[...he reaches up and pinches the bridge of his nose.]

Have you not been here long?

[theresnosuchthing]

Mmmm.

[She taps her fingers on her lips, thoughtfully.]

That depends on how long is long... but probably not. Just a couple of days.

[^__^]

[dontquestionme]

Hn... I see.

[He lowers his hand, and shows no real emotion as he moves to start going up the stairs himself, then.]

Then I need to keep looking.

[theresnosuchthing]

You're not going to eat first?

[dontquestionme]

[He stops short, and resists a sigh. It's certainly not that he wasn't hungry.]

Bigger concerns than my stomach right now.

[...but he was also stubborn.]

[theresnosuchthing]

Like what?

[Genuine curiosity, here.]

[dontquestionme]

[He resists a bit of a sigh.]

Just ... figuring matters out. The last thing I'm thinking about right now is food.

[theresnosuchthing]

Mmm, maybe!

[She shrugs a little.]

But I always think better on a full stomach.

[dontquestionme]

[Confounded logic.

It felt like he was wasting time.]

...

[Still, he starts to turn back down the stairs.]

Maybe.

[Deep Thoughts with Terui Ryu. The man is not a conversationalist, clearly.]

[theresnosuchthing]

I can make you something, if you'd like!

[Warn you about the oatmeal rule? Nope. Not happening.]

I mean, we've got limited supplies, but I'm not that bad a cook, promise!

[dontquestionme]

[He is, at least, making his way back to the cafeteria at this point.]

It's ... appreciated, but you don't need to trouble yourself.

[theresnosuchthing]

It's not a problem at all!

[ B E A M I N G ]

Being new is always hard.

[this can only end in tears]

[dontquestionme]

[Finally, he stops and his shoulders slump. He's cranky for many reasons, but food is probably among them, as well.]

Fine.

[I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.]

[theresnosuchthing]

Alright!

[Did anyone order a bowl of nutrition bar soup?]

Wait here, please.

[...I think that soup would equal the forthcoming reaction regardless]

[dontquestionme]

[Ryu stares for a long moment.

Finally, he takes a seat and just.

Sits there. Silently drumming his fingers.]

[ SO CRUEL, her cooking is good enough to disguise poison, okay ]

[theresnosuchthing]

[She grins and retreats to the kitchen, where few sounds can be heard. Water is boiled, nutrition bars are chopped finely and added to the boiling water. At some point rougher-chopped nutrition bars are added. Salt. Pepper.

Eventually she comes out offering a bowl of steaming soup, all smiles and grins.]

Here you go. I hope you enjoy it!

[As reassuring as that is (I THINK,) it's more a commentary on nutribars.]

[dontquestionme]

[Ryu stares, very, VERY blankly at this for awhile. Eventually, though, he relents.]

This feels like I'm in prison.

[Except prisons probably have better food selections. Regardless, he sets to it.]

...

[After a short while, something starts to seem ... not quite right.

Three. Two. One.

Sadly, this is the wrong Kamen Rider for this countdown to be anything good, and the soup's soon making a return trip from his stomach and to the floor.]

What-

[Heave]

What the hell?!

[(◕‿◕✿)]

[theresnosuchthing]

[She looks genuinely upset!]

Ah! What's wrong? Does it taste bad?

[ D; ]

[dontquestionme]

[Ryu takes a few calming breaths, and wipes his mouth. What the hell brought that on?]

Ugh. I...

[He pushes himself up, and pushes the bowl back.]

I think I just don't have an appetite.

[theresnosuchthing]

We should take you to the infirmary! It's just on the floor above!

[Worried, worried, oh dear.]

[dontquestionme]

[He places a hand on the table and pushes up. Losing the contents of your stomach like that can make you pretty wobbly, so he leans against it.]

No. No, I just ... have a lot of things on my mind.

[Sure. Tell yourself that, Ryu.]

[theresnosuchthing]

Are you sure?

[She looks worried for a moment, then shakes her head.]

At least let me clean this up, then.

[dontquestionme]

[Still trying to right himself and get a clear head, Ryu isn't in much a position to argue. He gives a long, low breath, staring at the soup.]

What the hell was that...

[It doesn't LOOK like something that would have that sort of reaction with him. He's not usually one for a queasy stomach, especially given what he does on a regular basis.]

[theresnosuchthing]

I don't know...

[Sadface.]

I'm sorry.

[dontquestionme]

[Taking another breath, he finally calms himself.

He waves off the apology.]

It isn't your fault. Don't worry about it.

[theresnosuchthing]

But still...

[She wants to do something for him! Honest!]

[dontquestionme]

It's fine. You didn't do anything. [That he knows of, but that's neither here nor there for him, is it?]

[He glances at her, and gives a slight sigh.]

I appreciate your help, though.

[theresnosuchthing]

I'm sorry.

[:C]

[beknightedheroine]

Loitering near cafeterias was a time-honored tradition among those Sayaka's age, thank you very much, and being in a doom tower isn't going to have entirely dampened that urge. When Terui actually finds the stairs he's on the lookout for, he'll find a perfectly average (..er, save the blue hair) schoolgirl sitting at the base of them, pondering over a nutribar like it's the world's next greatest conundrum.

She's only sort of in the way.

[dontquestionme]

By the time Ryu made his wait to the staircase this time, he was looking even more irritable. Quite a feat, given the situations at hand.

Stopping before he reaches the base, he gives her a passing glance for a moment before commenting on yet another annoyance.

"...is this seriously the only thing they have to eat here?" he said, clearl, in reference to the nutribar.

[beknightedheroine]

"..well, if you wanna be a good scout and look for stuff that's growing, you can find it. But this is the only thing we get steady this month."

Sayaka waves the bar lazily as she comments on it, expression sour.

[dontquestionme]

"Hn. How generous of them."

A slight pause.

"Growing?"

Ryu squints a bit. He clearly hadn't explored much at this point, so... 'Looking for stuff' didn't exactly imply a handy greenhouse, or something like that.

"There are things growing in this place?"

[beknightedheroine]

..hearing that just gets an impish grin.

"..ohh, you haven't seen all of the making-physics-cry floors yet. Well~! You'll get to it."

[dontquestionme]

Comment Posted Successfully
Ryu raises an eyebrow.

"Making... physics cry floors," he repeats, then glances away for a second.

Well, he's used to doing that himself, but much like most other things since he woke up, it's not encouraging.

He looks back.

"I'm probably going to regret asking, but could you elaborate?"

[beknightedheroine]

"Y'ever seen a boundless forest in a building? Or a lake that's always draining down to somewhere it's impossible to see, but never empties? Or, or an ocean of fish with no glass to hold them in, just free floating around some walkways!"

She's clearly enjoying describing these.

[dontquestionme]

Ryu blinks many, many times. He stares at her evenly as she describes these areas.

Then, he quietly turns around, and just sits down next to her. A look crosses his face for a moment that clearly expresses the need for a stiff drink, and he gives a long, tired sigh.

"What the hell."

He seemed to be saying this a lot since he woke up.

[beknightedheroine]

"...Too much crying physics at once, huh?"

Like punctuation to the casual tone of her question, she takes a tasteless bite of her nutribar. And immediately wonders if she accidentally ganked the snacking-while-talking habit from Kyoko, ack.

[dontquestionme]

He just sits there a little while longer as she munched on the bar, and slowly nods, not even thinking of dismissing her question as he would most others. This entire place was throwing him off his game.

"Yes," he states plainly, before lowering his hand. He ponders a thought a second longer, as it's a more forward question than he's used to laying out in casual conversation with a stranger.

Again though, he's off his game, and just is looking to figure some things out.

"Has anyone ever gone insane in this place?" he asks.