towerofanimus | OO6 >> How do you measure the distance between two people?

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OO6 >> How do you measure the distance between two people?

Characters: Hidetoshi in his early twenties, and YOU!
Setting: Various (floors 48, 1, 6 and the dormitory levels) set throughout the week.
Format: Stating with actionspam but prose is perfectly fine by me. As always, just remember I'll be slower to reply to prose.
Summary: Hidetoshi is affected by the event (further details and tl;dr can be found here) and firmly believes he has been in the Tower for over a decade, and is acting accordingly. Surprisingly, he remains quite sane.
Warnings: Do mentions of animals getting electrocuted to death count as a warning... Oh, and Hidetoshi being weirdly mentally stable for the environment he grew up in.

[ SCENARIO A || FLOOR THIRTY-EIGHT ]

[ There's a reserved-looking man in his twenties that cuts an imposing figure and dark gray hair tied neatly back into a spiky ponytail, reclining in one of the beanbag chairs situated in the lounge, a thick book plopped open in his lap, several other tombs stacked next to him with a cup of coffee placed on top and occasionally he makes a remark to thin air. Like so; ]

That's a fucking farcical and erroneous assertion.

[ Don't be a smartass, you've already read the end of this novel, why read backwards. You already know what the ending is. Spoilered. Cheating.

Hidetoshi wrinkled his nose slightly, took a cocky sip of his coffee. I don't recall asking for your opinion. If I want to believe that for once in this story, the protagonist wouldn't be an ignoramus, then I will.

Are you truly going for that angle of argument? Delusion. Pointless. Flawed reasoning. Tut tut.

A familiar presence shifted in his mind, jostling for attention. Hidetoshi turns a page and sniffs. Shut up, you're just as engrossed as I am. Of course, he speaks very softly, so if you're hanging out in the lounge as well, you're fully capable of easily ignoring him. This floor is very quiet and calm, quieter than the flashy media room at least. A good place to take a breather and escape from the craziness of what Hidetoshi assumed to be a sudden wave of newcomers for the first time in ages, and the latest experiment. ]

[ SCENARIO B || FLOOR SIX ]

[ —Thunder Reign!

Faintly heard, through the forest, he calls out a spell's name and his persona flickers to life to cast it, scorching black patches of the ground and whichever mutated animals dared attack him. Some survived and fled, others died after a few more spells.

He's standing under the shelter of a tree, calling down thunder attacks. In front of him hovered a heavily armored persona dressed in a cloak of shades of dark gray, regal yellow, and with ribbons knotting the fabric together. Its face was featureless and smoother. A black stripe of colour over the blank space where eyes would normally would be and a crown-like crest that rose from its brow, and long wide sleeves covered its arms. One of its hands was a stump with a gleaming sword portending from it.

There's no reason for it; Hidetoshi had felt the desire to indulge and seen no harm in doing so here.

One of his longer swords was out, held confidently in his hand, the blade's edge sharp and well-cared for. He handles his movement with more grace than a scrawny twig of a teenager did. He's alert, that fact displayed in the terse tightening of his lips, the slight drawing of his eyebrows, the way he casts his gaze—unafraid and observant—across the surrounding area while his face stays calm. ]

[ SCENARIO B || FLOOR ONE ]

[ Someone has dragged a dead deer (bearing the signs of being cleanly shocked to death) from the forest into the kitchen and is skinning it (~~disclaimer: the mun knows jack shit about skinning animals~~) with the ease of old practice, out of the way and being very tidy with it, keeping the blood to a minimal. He's already thinking of how he wants to cook it—Lancer preferred meat, and he doubted Minato or Nesir would say no to decently cooked food. Whenever he tracked down Togami-kun after he was done being a fool for the day, he'd see if he could stuff some of the meat onto him. Then he paused, and glanced down at the partially-skinned corpse in front of him.

Y'know, when he was growing up, this was not a skill he'd ever thought he'd learn. Nor was... this the sort of life he'd ever would have believed he would lead. Not exactly the successful, credit-to-society existence he'd dreamed of as a teenager. Strange thought, that.

Twelve or something years, huh...

Man, it's been a long time. Over a decade. Hidetoshi almost chuckled. ]

[ SCENARIO C || DORMITORY LEVELS HALLWAYS ]

[ If you meet him in the hallways, he's probably just pacing back and forth, lost in thought over the odd changes that seem to have overtaken the Tower for this experiments. After all, he could recall no experiment where the entire upper fifty floors had simply vanished. He looks bored and restless, and can be bothered at will. Or he's napping in his room, and for some reason, you want to come in and bug him. ]

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Indeed, but if they did be no wanting us to be questioning they could just be removing our tongues. It do not be beyond their powers. [So really they just have their selves to blame. Nesir thought through the situation with a frown.]

The only reason I could be thinking of is for us to be believing we have no been here that long, but that do no be explaining why it's such a small number affected. But it would be fitting with their theme, they do be liking to be giving us false hope.

[The door to their dormitory opens and in walks Sephiroth, all leather and silver armor as usual. He pauses a moment at the fact that Hidetoshi has company in here, before shaking his head and going to sit on the end of his own bed. He rubs at his temples with one hand trying to dismiss a headache. Indeed, he needed to think less.]

If we had no tongues, how could we scream? That would be risking gathering insufficient data and leave Jason bored. [He mused offhandedly. It was an abnormal experiment, yes, that broke the standard pattern in many ways but still an experiment. Once you figured out the trick to it, it was a matter of base survival.] Some people usually escaped being effected in many experiments, while the majority was hit.

[And then Sephiroth walked in and sat down on his bed, and Hidetoshi glanced away from Nesir to him, looking at him with a studiously blank face before returning to and continuing his conversation with her with nay a misstep.] Perhaps this time it is the minority of the residents that's affected and the majority that is left alone. They could revert the structure of the Tower to match the altered's memories without trouble surely.

[Nesir saw Sephiroth enter and smirked at him, she knew him through meetings with Ganondorf and the like and knew that he was one of 'them'.]

But why a minority? Do it be harder to take our memories? And why then? Why not when the tower did be smaller? It do be roughly the same now as when I did be arriving, except a little taller, but there did be a point it did be smaller.

[It is very rude to eavesdrop but it's just as hard to keep oneself to oneself in the Dorms. Sephiroth can't help but overhear the conversation going on just across the room and matching it up with his own opinions of what is going on. Ishtar has managed to nearly convince him, and her appearance was sufficient proof that - for some reason- his memories of the last 8 years or so have been vanished in an instant.

He can't help but raise his head from a hand to look pointedly over, waiting for a gap in the conversation to comment.]

Missing memories too?

[Perhaps it would have some comfort at least in the fact that it wasn't only him. If others were affected then this could be chalked down to just-another experiment.]

One day, I can delude myself in thinking I can understand their whims or their reasoning for some of the experiments beyond simple sadism. Today is not that day.

[Then that gap in the conversation comes. His attention turned to his long-haired, genocidal roommate. It was a good thing that he had plenty of practice being perfectly civil to Sephiroth out of the mutual interest in maintaining a strained peace between people who shared the same room together at night, and could not file for different sleeping quarters. His voice was neutral when he replied;]

All of my memories from the day of my arrival to now are fully intact... I did encounter others who seem to be lacking the proper recollections of event however.

[Like Enoch. Or Rise, but she seemed too... young to be the same version of the woman he had known before her departure.]

[Nesir shrugged and nodded agreeing, not that there was anything fundamentally wrong with sadism as a motive. At least it was simple, clear cut. Easy to figure out.

Nesir turned to Sephiroth as well] Mine do be intact also, but your question do be suggesting that yours do no be.

Hm. [Acknowledged in a single noise.

So apparently, it wasn't only him missing memories. Sephiroth eyed up Hidetoshi, noticing now he was paying attention the differences most notably in the increased height and different hairstyle his room mate was sporting. It certainly looked like he'd lost 8 years somehow.

He didn't think Nesir looked that different, though it's not like he even knew her. He'd spied her only once, during that meeting with Mondo's lot.]

Though, considering, I shouldn't be surprised. [His tone full of distaste, though it's not like he can't think of reasons why he might have done something to warrant such a punishment.]

... Tch.

I see.

[... Yeah, he's got nothing to say to Sephiroth's distastefully remark that isn't somewhat nasty and along the lines of you would deserve it so he leaves Nesir to converse with the former general if it pleases her to, and after flicking his untidy ponytail back over his shoulder once again, gets up off the bed and moves over to his trunk.

Fiddles with the lock for a few moments before popping the lid open and beginning to rummage through it.]

Why? Did you be doing something you should no be? [Oh good Hidetoshi got off the bed, that means Nesir can swing her legs up onto it and stretch out.

She doubted it was a punishment though, too many people were affected, it was more likely an experiment.]

[One single nod at Nesir to acknowledge] Not that I know. Which is more than irritating.

It's not even - [Pause. Trying to find the word to describe what he knows having missing memories is like.] - hazy like you'd expect. Ones subconscious should usually build some details back around the void. This is a complete delete it seems.

[He cast a glance over at Hidetoshi, only curious really to what he was doing and/or if it was relevant. But he would ask the question because if anyone knew what he did to deserve such a memory wipe - Hidetoshi shared the dorm with him and so might have some idea. It's bending his sanity way too much to try and figure it out alone.]

Was there something recently that I did that could explain this?

[His packet of notes, painstakingly organized according to his private preferences, cross-references expertly arranged for easy usage and thought scribbled in the margins; gone.

All of his newer sets of clothes, even his nice tuxedo; gone.

Same went for his older gaining manuals, law books, and teaching aides.

All of the equipment he'd collected for proper maintenance of his swords and knives had vanished as well, leaving only the basic, hasty hand-made kit he'd assembled in his first months within the Tower for tending to his only means of self-defense. It was useful but ill-equipped.

His old school uniform had been spared as well, folded as neatly as expected on the bottom of the trunk and a winter coat, plus a summer coat. Oh, he hadn't see those porn magazines in years.

Without looking up from searching his trunk, leaving control of the conversation in Nesir's hands, he responded to Sephiroth's question with a flat;]

Not recently, no.

[Implying he'd done several things in the past that would qualify him for punishment.]

A complete delete. That do be interesting. What do be the last thing you do remember? [She glances over to see what Hidetoshi is doing and what exactly he is looking for.]

[It's hard enough to select specific memories when each day bleeds into the other anyway - especially since Sephiroth has developed a routine of sorts. Sephiroth shakes his head a little, frustrated at how he couldn't really pinpoint anything remarkable that he'd done just yesterday.

Was yesterday really yesterday? Now logic threatens to bend into fantastical theories, not welcome.]

I spoke not more than two days ago to someone - and today they're grown up. Literally. Like from teenager to adult.

I'd put it down to another illusion if it wasn't that they'd mentioned things I've never done. You -

[He glanced again at Hidetoshi, a little curious what he was trying to find in his trunk - it's not like any of them had very much in their trunks to go through...]

- both look older too.

[Hidetoshi wasn't searching for any object in particular exactly. He was taking stock of how far the misplacement went, in both his belongings and otherwise and what still remained within his grasp while it was in process.

His hands patted the bottom of the trunk, feeling for anything that might have escaped his notice but found nothing.

He pays only a half-mind to the conversation ongoing between Sephiroth and Nesir. But he offers enough attention to keep up with the general direction of it. His voice drifted out from the trunk;]

Is that so? [Beat.] I see. Mental regression, perhaps? Well, the absence of memories would make the transition from child to grown-up would seem very abrupt.

[Sephiroth appeared the same as ever to him. He's advise the ex-SOLDIER to check to any 'new' scars on himself, measure the time, but Sephiroth's body had never seemed to scar, no matter how severe the damage.]

[Nesir nodded] I imagine it would be easy for them to be creating a younger version of peoples bodies from when the past. They have been proving that they can change our bodies and move our souls. Then removing their memories so they do be believing they have only been here a few months or so.

[So apparently Hidetoshi can't find something? That's not uncommon, Sephiroth thinks. They give gifts, surely they can take away too. That basket of dumbapples was still on Sephiroth's bedside table - untouched since he'd received them after the pandemic that had wracked the Tower. He didn't trust anything that he didn't understand the reason for being given to him. Eating is more of a pastime for Sephiroth than a necessity.]

If that's true, where do you suppose my actual body is?

[Because he'd be more than ready to go hunting for it, if Nesir were right. If she wasn't, then at least he could eliminate that possibility.]

[Still pawing around in his trunk, hoping in vain that there was more than just that left behind. And then the green-eyed man asks after Nesir finishes speaking, and Hidetoshi smirked minutely.]

Incinerator room.

[His apologies, but his sense of humor and lack of sympathy towards Sephiroth wouldn't let him resist.]

[She smirked at that but shrugged] Things do no be lasting here, but I do no be thinking they need only one body, they could have been destroying it and the when you do be put back it will be a different body.

[Narrowed eyes at Hidetoshi. Really? What had he done to deserve such a spiteful comment. Sephiroth didn't do anything about it though, sticks and stones and all that.]

Damn Admins.

[He commented to Nesir, rather than his room mate. In other words, there was (yet again!) nothing that could be done about it. Sephiroth rubbed a hand up the middle of his forehead and through the front bangs of his hair before finally getting distracted by Hidetoshi]

What are you looking for?

[You murdered innocents, you attempted to destroy your own planet, and you didn't feel an ounce of regret over any of it. That's what you did. Hidetoshi doesn't noticed that narrowing of eye since he's still accompanied with his trunk. But after a couple moments, he stands up with a sigh and dusts off his knees.]

Belongings that have been apparently misplaced.

[Yes Hidetoshi what are you looking for, Nesir twists on his bed to look into his trunk.

And frowns] Where did all your stuff go?

[Not that she has a complete inventory of what you have in your turnk or anything...]

Don't look at me, I don't go anywhere near your trunk.

[Just in case Hidetoshi started thinking Sephiroth would go searching through his things when he wasn't there. He has some standards after all. Sephiroth pulled his boots off and sat up against the back of his headboard, watching the two of them still out of interest though.]

I am not accusing you in any manner, Sephiroth.

[He coolly directed his response to the older man, though his general opinion of the ex-SOLDIER's standards is set much lower than that. Then his attention switches back to Nesir, and he's frowning down at his drastically more emptied trunk too.]

... No idea. Presumably wherever the administration decided to leave it for the duration of the experiment.

[Yeah, he totally believes that she doesn't...]

Perhaps their motive do truly be to give us a headache. [She rolled her eyes] I did no be checking mine today.

OO6 >> How do you measure the distance between two people?

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