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

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.]

[hellburner]

Hm, are you sure?

[Tapping on the side of it with one finger.]

Seems like you might have to lower yourself to touching it directly if you wanna do anything, Shinji.

[looselips]

[But actually doing things manually is so pedestrian. He can, but... Still sulking, he props an elbow on the terminal and leans his cheek against the heel of his palm.]

[It's not that he particularly wants to use this computer for anything. He just wants to see if there's any data of interest, or if there's a way to hack himself out.]

...Hey, Rider, we have to be in a dataslum or something like that, don't we?

[That's the only thing that makes sense. But the longer he's here...]

[hellburner]

That's something like what I thought, but I ain't exactly so sure anymore.

[looselips]

I can't hack into anything, but it's not like I'm hitting a firewall. [It's been a very frustrating experience for someone who prizes his ability to do so as highly as he does.] There was some schizo in the cafeteria who thought he was my uncle. I thought he was just some NPC that got junked and never used, but I saw Hakuno, too.

[He's calmed down enough to sound musing, at least.]

[hellburner]

[Rider just shrugged, sitting in a chair and draping her arm over the back.]

I gotta tell you the truth, Shinji--I think wherever we are, we're stuck, and wherever we're stuck ain't in the Moon Cell.

[looselips]

[As much as he hates deferring to her, it's true that if she doesn't think this is a part of the Moon Cell, it becomes that much more likely that it isn't. He has no evidence to contradict her, either.]

...Yeah, if I can't crack into anything, we're probably not in a digital environment at all. But that doesn't explain why I can't do anything with these stupid computers.

[He kicks the one in front of him again, but this time the action is half-hearted.]

[hellburner]

Because you're not even trying.

[looselips]

That's not what I mean, you hare-brained moron!

[He slaps his hands down on the terminal as he hops up from the chair. Guess it's time to go find another one.]

[hellburner]

[Snickering, she'll just get up and follow along behind him.]



...Y'know, you're shorter than I expected.

[looselips]

[harrumph]

Shut up, Rider. No one asked you.

[hellburner]

You gonna come up here and make me?

[looselips]

[He whirls around to face her.]

Even if we're in some place like this, I'm still your Master! Show me some respect already!

[This is why he doesn't let anyone online know he's only eight.]

[hellburner]

Heh, you're just plain adorable.

[nope.avi]

[looselips]

[omfg]

Of all the Servants, why did I have to get stuck with such a— Such a loud-mouthed, booze-addled—