1

[looselips]

Characters: Shinji Matou & OPEN
Setting: Dormitory Floor 2; Cafeteria; Library
Format: Action preferred, but I'll try to match.
Summary: Shinji tries to puzzle out his situation.
Warnings: Man idk, I'll update this as things come up.

dormitory
[There is a small, (probably) unfamiliar child in the dormitory today. He doesn't seem as frightened or upset as a child perhaps should be after waking up in a strange place and being informed that his world has been destroyed. Instead, he's seated in front of one of the network terminals, his heels resting on the stool's legs.]

[It's hard to say what he's doing. He isn't touching the device at all, only staring at it really, really intently. Then, abruptly, he makes a noise of frustration and kicks it.]

—Ouch!

[Oops. He must have kicked it too hard, or hit his leg on it as he did so, as he immediately reaches down to cradle his knee.]

[This isn't the first terminal he has tried to do...whatever it is he's trying to, and it probably won't be the last. He might even venture to the first and third floor dormitories to see if he has better luck there.]

cafeteria
[So, after completely failing at what he wanted to do, Shinji has gone to the cafeteria. Maybe things will go better if he has a little food in his stomach? Maybe. Being in a less irritable mood should definitely help, at least.]

[Except the only thing he's given to eat is plain oatmeal. Obviously, this offends his eight-year-old culinary sensibilities. He hasn't touched it yet, and is instead just glaring at it like it's the source of all his problems where he sits at one of the tables.]

library
[...Yep, he's right back to his fruitless efforts with the terminals. This kid is tenacious, even if only in the way a small, loud terrier might be.]

Comments

Cafeteria

[vermicompost]

[The cafeteria being one of the easier floors for him to reach, Kariya goes there daily for his meals, unless he's too exhausted to make it there. He doesn't like anyone else to have to fetch food for him.

He always scans the faces in the cafeteria, looking for a new one, looking especially for a few particular familiar ones.

Today, his search isn't in vain, because one of the faces here is very familiar. He hasn't spent much time with his nephew, but he would know him anywhere. Shinji shouldn't be here. No one should, but he's far too young to be caught up in this. Kariya can't leave him alone here.

He hurries over, all but forgetting his infirmity.]

Shinji!

[looselips]

[The voice isn't familiar, but even so, Shinji automatically straightens up from his slouched posture when he hears his name. It takes him another half a second longer to realize he probably isn't being scolded for his table manners, looking up and away from his still-untouched oatmeal to find the source.]

[It's obvious who must have been the speaker, with the way that man rushes toward him. Shinji, however, only stares at him, his expression blank, as though he doesn't recognize him in the slightest.]

[Which, he doesn't.]

...Huh?

Library

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko kept on putting the books away and cleaning up the shelves, and as she did so, she noticed a young boy with blue hair kicking one of the terminals.]

Sir, what are you doing? You're going to break the terminal!

[looselips]

[He kicks it again, harder, just to be spiteful.]

Break it? That implies this piece of junk works in the first place!

library

[puppy_lancer]

[Lancer stops and stares at the boy subjecting the terminals to percussive maintenance.]

Oy, oy, that's no way to use a terminal.

[looselips]

Who asked you?! I'll use it however I want to!

[...He's really frustrated. He kicks it again.]

doot doot placeholder until I can get home from work... (also Cafeteria)

[doesnotgetit]

[Despite there being so many new floors to explore, Hakuno still manages to find the time to make it to the cafeteria right around mealtime. Forgetting to eat isn't exactly a healthy habit to start forming after all.

... Of course, all thoughts of food disappear from her head as soon as her eyes fall on the young boy sitting at a table nearby. That hair, that sulk... the features are a bit different, but that's only because they were younger than what she was used to.

There's a horrible twisting in her gut as she stares, but even so, she still approaches.]

... Shinji?

[looselips]

[He had almost decided to get this over with and take a bite. He had even scooped up a spoonful of oatmeal. But the second he hears that voice, his spoon is dropped.]

...You!

[He scrambles up from his seat, face reddening as he glares at her.]

What are you doing here?!

[Being here has something to do with the fact that he lost, doesn't it? Even if it was a total fluke, that means she shouldn't—]

Dormitory Floors

[kindofademon]

Oiii. Need a little help there?

[Please ask the smiling, friendly young man for help. Please. It'd make his day. And probably end yours.]

[looselips]

[Shinji doesn't have much of a concept of stranger danger. He does, however, have a concept of never accepting help from anyone, because like hell he needs it, so just buzz off. He doesn't get up from the stool, but he does pivot on top of it so he's mostly facing away.]

There's no way I'd need help from someone like you.

[What does he even mean by "someone like you"? That's a question.]

cafeteria

[colonial]

[Oh, another kid! This one looks a bit older than him by looks, but that doesn't really mean much to a nation. And, judging by his food options, he's new. America sits across from him.]

Once you eat that you can eat other stuff! We've got waffles and pancakes this month! But you throw up if you don't eat that so you have to.

[looselips]

Why? That's stupid. [Maybe it's because there's another kid in front of him, but he allows himself a moment of childishness. He stabs at the oatmeal with his spoon.] They should at least let you eat something that doesn't taste like wet cardboard.

dormitory

[nonacquiescent]

[Waver just...stares. Why are there kids...kicking computers, or whatever he's trying to do there?]

...What are you doing?

[looselips]

This stupid scrap heap isn't working!

[He kicks it again, being more careful not to hurt himself this time. His reply, while not actually answering much of anything, is delivered very vehemently.]

library

[hellburner]

Hm...? I thought you were some legendary hacker. You can't even work this piece of junk?

[looselips]

It's not responding to me at all. It must be broken.

[Or, considering that none of the other ones have worked, it's more likely that he just isn't able to do any spirit hacking in this place. It's the obvious conclusion, but for the moment, he's firmly in denial of it.]

Cafeteria!

[koncubine]

[A small child with blue hair, sulking in the Tower? Nothing too unusual. Caster hasn't made the connection just yet, so she'll play nice.

She leans over his shoulder with a grin.]

You'd better eat it, or you're just going to get sick after you eat anything else, little boy.

[looselips]

[For Shinji, there's no connection to make, but that doesn't mean he'll play nice. This goes double when his first thought upon seeing her is something along the lines of, Wow, who let a bodypillow crawl out of some filth-encrusted otaku's basement?]

I don't remember asking you, otakubait.

dormitory;

[angramaintsu]

... What are you doing?

[ Rin's not too keen to approach Shinji, but he is much smaller than her right now. He might have tried to push her around as a kid, but she was Rin.

Rin who doesn't put up with shit. So guess who was the bully of their relationship? ]

[looselips]

[Of course Tohsaka is a bitch across time and space. Even when "across time and space" means she isn't a Tohsaka anymore.]

[He recognizes her face and voice easily, even with the change in hair and eye color. It's not strange at all to him — the Tohsaka he has seen is just a digital avatar, after all. When he looks at her, he scowls at her with all the enmity a child can muster.]

What do you want, Tohsaka?

[She must know what he's doing, so why is she bothering him?]

cafeteria;

[blackwitch]

[ Huh, it's almost like this girl just suddenly appeared out of nowhere at your table, Shinji.. but maybe it's just since you were looking away for a moment? Either way, she doesn't seem to find it too strange since she just grins, leaning her chin on her hands. ]

Wha-t, don't want to eat it..?

[looselips]

Oh, no, why would you think that? Eating slimy gruel sounds absolutely delicious!

[But, despite his sarcastic reply, he is unnerved by her sudden appearance. He scoots away slightly, eyes narrowing as he watches her.]

No, I don't want to eat it, you twit.

cafeteria

[goldendays]

[Hibiki's surprised he's never been to the cafeteria yet, but there's this weird feeling a dejavu...like he's been here before...Ah, that's just crazy talk! ..right?

So he's got a bowl in front of him. A bowl of oatmeal. He scoops up a spoonful and lets it drop back into the bowl, a gross sploop echoing in his ears. Not even a splat, but sloop? Was that even a real sound????

He looks over and not that far away is a boy, eyeing the oatmeal just like he was.]

This is pretty...unappealing, huh?

[looselips]

It looks like someone ate a bunch of cardboard and then puked it back into the bowl.

[The thought has occurred to him, so he has to share the mental image, of course. He finally lifts a spoonful to his mouth, though, and makes a face as he swallows it. Yep, about what he expected.]

It doesn't taste much better.

[Or maybe he's being a melodramatic kid. Who knows?]

This is going to be bad... :-) Oh, and Cafetera

[oathshackledbird]

[It is starting again. The new arrivals, that is. During his patrols, Diarmuid has noticed more than one new face. But this is a bad time with all the new floors and the old residents needing to be extra careful, let alone having to inform the new ones of all the changes. It's a bad time...

...which means it's a perfect time to the administrators. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair as he starts to scan the cafeteria making a mental note each time he sees a face he doesn't recognize. Considering how much time Diarmuid has spent running around the new floors, he would like to make even just a quick circuit of the new faces to tell them of the most dangerous ones.

That plan is derailed when he sees the small boy sitting at one of the tables. He can't be more than 7-8 and even then he seems small for that age.

How could they bring someone so young here? Diarmuid is even more appalled at this than anything else the tower has thrown at him since his arrival and it only takes a moment for him to make his way over to where the boy is sitting.

When he sees the look the boy is giving the oatmeal, he can't help but smile though. Yep, that's a typical child reaction to something they don't like. It rather reminds him of his own boys.]

Unfortunately, eating it is necessary. It's probably best just to close your eyes and get it over with as quickly as possible.

[looselips]

[Unfortunately, this kind of thing just makes him feel contrary. He only scowls at his bowl harder when Diarmuid approaches and speaks.]

Shut up. I'm not an idiot, so you don't need you to tell me that.

[With the way he says "you," one might think he has some kind of grudge against Diarmuid in particular. But no, he just can't stand other people telling him what to do, no matter how gently.]