1st Lap

[donutsorgtfo]

Characters: Aoi Asahina & YOU
Setting: Room 2-15, Floor 7, Cafeteria
Format: Action, but I'll match!
Summary: Yet another newbie waking up.
Warnings: SPOILERS for the Dangan Ronpa chapter that just wrapped up!

[Room 2-15]

[For a long time, Aoi doesn't get out of bed. There are some times when you just want the world to go away for a while, and now is one of those times. Her best friend was dead, and she had put the lives of her remaining friends at risk thanks to her own stupidity. She just... wanted to check out of reality for a while. Even with the sudden shift in surroundings, the brief paralysis that gripped her after... all she wanted to block it all out for a while.

So she simply curled up on her side and pulled the blanket up over her head. She won't even move if a roommate enters, though they'll certainly notice the lump in the previously unoccupied bed. Do they dare investigate?]

[Floor 7]



[Some time later, whether through prompting of a roommate or of her own free will, Aoi finally drags herself out of bed and makes her way down. Down, down, past many strange floors, several of which send chills straight down Aoi's spine... until she reaches this one. She stops dead in her tracks, and for the first time in what felt like days, a smile crossed her face.]

Whoa...

[She makes her way to the edge of the pool, her smile growing with each step, when she stared down into the water, seeing just how deep the pool went, she couldn't help but laugh.] Wow, talk about intense! This even beats out the pool at Hope's Peak!

[This is good. Very good. She finally found a way to take her mind off things for a while! She runs off to the changing rooms, fully intending to work out a bit before heading the rest of the way downstairs...]

[Cafeteria]



[And here's her last stop for the day. At this point she's remarkably more light-spirited, though her joy at finding the pool floor has dimmed a bit, taking some of the light from her eyes. Any hint of a smile is fully wiped off her face when she obtains her first meal.]

Yuck. Who gives out oatmeal for dinner?

Comments

[moontothetide]

[When Asahina finally makes it out to the pool, she'll find someone else already in it. Someone with a scrub brush and an oxygen tank to go with their swimsuit.

Tara hasn't actually been drugged into insensibility for a while, so she hasn't nearly drowned today. Even so, she is taking a breather sitting on the edge of the pool, kicking her feet idly in the water as she fidgets with her scrub brush.]

[donutsorgtfo]

[Oh hey, this lady wasn't here when she came in! Aoi smiles and waves as she approaches, setting a towel she grabbed off to the side.]

Hey! What's with the gear?

[moontothetide]

Hm?

[Tara looks up from her musings, and goes a bit pale to see Asahina standing there. Hastily, she gets back up to her feet, grabbing the brush.] Oh, I-I'm sorry. Did you want to swim here? Y-You can swim. I can come back.

[donutsorgtfo]

No, it's fine! I can wait. [Huh. She seems awfully jumpy...] Are you okay?

Cafeteria

[ogrewhelming]

[At some point during her meal, another late dinner guest enters. Sakura's own low spirits are instantly replaced by shock.]

Asahina?!

[donutsorgtfo]

[Aoi nearly drops her spoon at that voice. That... No. That can't be. There's no way. The owner of that voice was dead, gone forever...]

... Geez, I must be going crazy... now I'm starting to hear things.

[Her back is to the staircase, so she really doesn't notice Sakura. Not yet.]

[ogrewhelming]

[...Right. Even if they'd both survived whatever tore the world apart, that didn't change the fact that the last time they'd spoken was intended to be the last time. She still has questions about her survival, of the whole impossible nature of this tower, but all of them are irrelevant right now, because Asahina is upset. Sakura crosses the distance between them in a few long strides and places a familiar hand on her shoulder.]

Asahina. Look at me.

[donutsorgtfo]

[Aoi jumps at the touch, and initially doesn't move. Maybe she's not hearing things... maybe this is all a dream instead. A cruel dream crafted by her grief. If she looks up, the dream will dissipate, or maybe she'll see some twisted, nightmarish version of her friend. That's how it goes in tv shows and manga, right...?

But... but can a dream feel this real? The hand on her shoulder is heavy, and it's warm too. Not like how Sakura's corpse was the last time she saw it.

Slowly, hesitantly, Aoi turns, unable to hide the fearful hope in her eyes. And when those eyes finally lock on to Sakura, tears form in them almost immediately.]

S... Sakura... chan...?

cafeteria!

[tsunball]

[ Leon's just here to score some food - the restaurant's food is better but that requires getting into actual danger and nope siree, he's not into that kind of stuff, then he'll just stick with the stuff that's more boring but at the same time more or less safe..

But he does suddenly hear someone speaking up that sounds.. quite familiar, so he turns around from where he's standing, holding his own food, to spot-- ]

.. Huh? Asahina?! [ the surprise is not too bad for him though, more like a 'huh so another classmate showed up..' ]

[donutsorgtfo]

[Aoi's emotions are already a wreck, thanks to her reunion with Sakura, so this... this just throws her for a loop again.]

... Kuwata-kun? Is that really you?

[She sounds... unsure. He's also supposed to be dead! What in the world was going on? But it wasn't just that. The circumstances of his death, what happened before... she wasn't sure how to feel right now.

[tsunball]

Yeah, of course it's me! [ Honestly, he's been in the tower for a few months, now so the fact that he's alive comes as a much more.. normal thing to him, so normal that he doesn't even think much of her surprise at first. ]

When did you arrive here? I didn't know they dumped more even people from that school in here at all..!

[ hence why he's acting like everything is just normal here. ]

[donutsorgtfo]

[This is kind of weird, considering Leon was one of the ones so badly freaking out in the beginning... why does he seem so chill over being in such a place?]

A few hours ago... [There's still that uncertain tone in her voice.] What the heck is going on here? Is this, like... some weird afterlife?

Cafeteria

[cutestprogrammer]

[This tower is full of dead people, Asahina! Here comes Chihiro for dinner and he looks around to see if Mondo is there yet or not when he sees...]

A-asahina-san?

[donutsorgtfo]

[WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON....]

F-Fujisaki-chan? [It's just a slip. She's been calling Chihiro that for so long, so even with The Reveal, it was hard to break a habit at that point...] Sheesh... how many people from that school were brought here?

[cutestprogrammer]

Ah! It really is you, Asahina-san! [He smiles happily. It's so nice to see his friends again! He's missed you all well, maybe not Togami... and no one is allowed to tell him what Togami did to his corpse...!]

Mn? How many? Hmmm... let's see... there's me, Oowada-kun, Kuwata-kun, Naegi-kun and Kirigiri-san. [He's doesn't know Hagakure is here too yet...] Enoshima-san and Maizono-san were here too for a while but they're gone now.

[donutsorgtfo]

[Holy crap it is the afterlife! Except for her and Naegi and Kirigiri... maybe something bad happened to the school while they were asleep.]

That... sure is a lot of us, then. [Too many. It's worrying.] Sakura-chan is here too... I saw her earlier.

But I... I don't understand. How did we get here? Especially Enoshima-chan, Maizono-chan, and Kuwata-kun.... [She's sensitive enough that she knows she probably shouldn't mention Chihiro's death, or the people surrounding it, so she leaves them out...]

[Floor 7]

[withak]

[When she comes back out, she will find Katsuya examining the pool with dismay.]

There aren't any lifeguards here. This could easily be deceptively dangerous.

[donutsorgtfo]

It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing!

[She sounds remarkably cheerful, for a newbie who - unknowing to Katsuya of course - had been through some highly traumatizing events back home. Being so close to her element really helps, it seems.

But I agree. With a pool this big and this deep, it's kind of weird that the floor was completely empty when I first got here.

[withak]

Safety measures aren't what I first associate with this tower. I'd be a spotter for you, but I'm afraid I don't have certification.

Floor 7

[mustlovedogs]

[Mondo's just passing through, but, when he turns his head to look around and check for monsters, he notices - that girl sure looks familiar. So, he ventures out of his original path to get a closer look to be sure, before cupping a hand around his mouth.]

Ou! Asahina.

[donutsorgtfo]

[Aoi was in the middle of stretching, pushing the remaining drowsiness and fatigue out of her body before she jumps in, when she hears a voice calling out to her. She freezes, then slowly turns, a look of complete shock on her face.]

... Oowada-kun...?

[mustlovedogs]

[He raises a hand in a sort of a wave. He's pretty used to seeing classmates show up, so, her surprise goes right over his head.]

What's up?

I'm the latest castmate, it is me. (ALSO CAFETERIA)

[yougotthatwrong]

The tower administrators.

[There's an absent-minded answer just behind her. Apparently someone's eating dinner as well, but it sure as hell ain't smelling that terrible compared to what she's having.

...And yes, he... has no clue on who he's speaking to right now.]

[donutsorgtfo]

Someone should complain to them, then. First meals shouldn't be this gross.

[Wait.

Hold on.

She turns around.]

N-Naegi-kun!?

[yougotthatwrong]

...???

[He's going to turn around as we-]

A-Asahina-san!?

[His face is currently a mixture of surprise and there's probably some food hanging from his mouth too...

Awkward...]