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]

Oh, it's nice to meet you, Aoi. [Japanese name orders - Tara still hasn't quite gotten ahold of them.]

And, um, it's okay. There's r-really not any kind of order or routine here. Besides the food, maybe. And jobs, if you have a job. [She hopes Asahina don't get assigned a job.]

But, um...w-welcome to the tower. Be careful in the pool. It's, um, a lot deeper than it looks.

[donutsorgtfo]

[Aoi can't help but laugh at that. She takes a seat next to Tara, dunking her feet into the pool, and in one smooth motion, slips into the water as smoothly as a fish might. she stays submerged for a few seconds before popping back up, smile still on her face.]

You don't have to worry about me! I'm a professional, you know. [She giggles.] I may still be just a high-schooler, but I was chosen to be a representative in the Olympics! Big pools aren't a problem for me.

[moontothetide]

[Okay, wow, that is really actually very impressive. And Tara looks honestly relieved - if anyone's not going to get in her way while she's cleaning, it's probably Asahina.]

Th-That's pretty cool...w-when I was in high school, I couldn't even s-stay out past ten o'clock.

[donutsorgtfo]

... Wow, really? That stinks. [She leans her arms against the edge of the pool, so she can support herself there instead of having to tread water.] Were your parents super-strict or something?

[moontothetide]

...s-something like that.

[Which is to say, yes, they were horrendously strict and more than a bit abusive, but it's not the sort of thing that's easy for Tara to say, even now.]

But, um, I-I'm in college, now. Or I was. Before I got here, I-I was... [She hastily scrambles for an appropriate word for it, and settles on:] ...t-traveling. I was traveling.

[donutsorgtfo]

[She looks a bit curious at the sudden verbal backstep, but she doesn't push. If Tara doesn't wanna talk about it, she ain't gunna force her.]

Wow, that must have been really nice! Suddenly getting the freedom to do whatever you wanna do. I hope you were able to enjoy that time before you got dragged to this weird place.

[moontothetide]

It was nice. [Sometimes. Not often, because of why she was traveling, but...sometimes.] W-What about you? I mean, if you were accepted into the Olympics...y-you probably got to see some pretty great places, didn't you?

[donutsorgtfo]

[She hmphs.] I wish. I was really excited when I heard they were going to be in London, you know? I've never been outside of my own country before. It was going to be great!

... But then I got locked up in some crazy excuse for a school, and then I got dragged into this weird tower... [She then sighs.] After what the people running this place said happened in that letter, it looks like I'm never going to get that chance.

[moontothetide]

...y-your world might not be gone, you know. I mean, um, l-lots of people think theirs' aren't, and they even have some good evidence for it.

[She's really trying to be hopeful. Tara, for her part, had been quite sure that her world was dust and ashes, up until recently.]

[donutsorgtfo]

... Do you believe that, Tara-chan?

[moontothetide]

[Tara does honestly think about the question.

...what does she think, after everything?]

I-I've talked to people. And, um, I've heard a lot of different things.

...I-I don't think my world is, um, still around. But I think s-some of the others are. I mean, if your world wasn't the kind of world to almost get destroyed every year anyway, like mine was, I-I'd say your chances are pretty good.

[donutsorgtfo]

W-Whoa, hold on. What? [She looks shocked at that.] Just what kind of world do you live in?!

[moontothetide]

[Tara tries for an understanding smile, but really, she just looks tired. With all the different worlds that have been brought together, it continuously amazes her just how impossible her world seems for some people.]

Portal to hell. Um, well, Giles said there were a couple, but w-we only really dealt with the one. It kind of attracted, um, a lot of bad things - vampires, demons, bad magic. A lot of them, um, t-tried to destroy the world.

But we always stopped them.

[Up until now.

Tara had only lived through three apocalypses in her association with the Scoobies, but Buffy's tally would eventually go up to nine.]

[donutsorgtfo]

[Excuse Aoi, she's just

going to gape

jaw hanging open

for a few good moments.]

Wha... [She shakes her head, trying to get rid of that total shock.] Wow... I thought it was bad where I come from. Now I feel kind of bad, complaining about it!

[moontothetide]

W-Well, um...it sounds like you did have it pretty bad, where you came from. i mean, um, schools can be pretty scary places, even without the vampires. [And Monobear would frighten anyone.]

Y-You can still complain about it, if you want. Um, I, I don't mind. A lot of people from my world would probably tell you that, um, th-that there wasn't anything strange about it at all. So I'm used to it. And everyone has non-vampire troubles.

[donutsorgtfo]

Well yeah, the events in that school were pretty bad... but not as bad as having to deal with monsters like that! You must be pretty brave, if you can shrug off living in such a place like that.

[Oh, but if she's from a world like that, does that mean...] If you had to deal with that kind of stuff, does that mean you're some kind of monster hunter? With really cool gear and abilities?

[moontothetide]

Oh, um, n-no. I'm...I'm nothing like that. I mean, my friends were, but n-not me. [Before Willow, Tara had killed a grand total of one demon. Granted, she did so with an axe to the back of the head, but it was a one in a million chance.] I mean, I have a knife, but I can barely use that. And my magic's pretty low, compared to a lot of people here.

[donutsorgtfo]

But that's still pretty cool! [gosh she looks like a little kid at Christmas or something.] I've never met someone with superpowers before. What can you do with your magic?

[moontothetide]

Well... [Tara fidgets a bit. Everyone always asks her that, but the answer never gets any easier.] Lots of stuff. Um, I, I guess it really depends on...what I have to do. It's kind of s-situational. You know?

[donutsorgtfo]

I'm not sure I get it... is it like. Using your surroundings? Or adapting to who or whatever you're fighting?

[moontothetide]

I mean I can do a lot of things. It's...not really specific. I mean, um, it involves adapting, to my surroundings, but I-I can't just, um, get new powers because of that.

[...oh, fine.] There's this, though.

[Tara's eyes go just a bit out of focus. Beside her, the oxygen tank she'd been using lifts up over her head, floats over Asahina's, and settles down on her side with a slightly metallic "thunk".]

Just...versatile. L-Like that.

[donutsorgtfo]

Whoa... that's... [Aoi just. Gapes for a minute. And then her eyes light up.] That is so cool!

[moontothetide]

...it is?

[Wow. Tara's never considered her telekinesis to be "cool" before. Probably because it's just saved her life a few times too many - and, in one notable case, the lives of three others.]

I...I'm glad you think so.

[donutsorgtfo]

Yeah, totally! I mean, I've seen that kind of stuff in TV shows before, but it's a totally different thing to see it in person! I'd love to be able to do something like that.

[moontothetide]

M-Maybe you could. [Tara is attempting to be encouraging - after all, someone with the dedication and focus to become an Olympic-grade swimmer might actually be able to handle magic without going nuts.] I mean, um, it's best if you're born at it, but with the right books, and, um, and the right materials, and some patience, y-you could probably manage something like this. What I can do. I've known people like that.