the engima deepens

[fish_or_die]

Characters: Jungo and you! And also possibly Jungo²
Setting: The cafeteria and the aquarium, morning to afternoon on March 1st
Format: I'll match what I'm given.
Summary: Jungo has more questions than he does answers, so he's going to hang around and try to learn how to cook things that aren't chawanmushi. Later, his cat gives him a tour of the aquarium.
Warnings: None. This shouldn't get too bad.

[Cafeteria:]

[There are a lot of things in the tower recently that Jungo just doesn’t understand. That’s not too new to the chef from Nagoya; he tends to follow orders and go with the flow. He barely explores the tower aside from the floors he’s grown accustomed to, and he’s grown a bit used to life inside the Tower...or at least, he thought he had. The games he had to play, the talk of souls, the video of someone being eaten...those are definitely things he’s not used to. He wants some answers, but he’s not entirely sure where to look, so he goes to do what he knows how to do best.

It’s just a bonus that there are new ingredients to cook with.

While Jungo is perfectly content to stand in the kitchen and try whipping up various things with them to the best of his ability (while also realizing that these ingredients are pretty simple), he’s going to be a bit more proactive about cooking for others as well. If he sees anyone just sitting around the cafeteria, they can count on an intimidating looking guy walking up to them and trying to get their attention.]

Hey. Why aren’t you eating?

[Sure, he's not smiling. His voice is a bit low, threatening, and his tuque covers one of his eyes if he's standing at the right angle...but it could be worse. If he already knows you, he's going to cook up something and bring it over without being asked...and he's never cooked fish sticks before.]

[Floor 10:]

[Once he’s done experimenting with things and chatting with others, Jungo spots something familiar out of the corner of his eye. It’s his own cat, also named Jungo. The human Jungo doesn’t have a habit of watching where Jungo goes during the day, so he decides to give chase this time. He follows the cat up the flights of stairs until he’s standing in the aquarium for the first time; he’s never gotten off to look around this floor before. The wild cat isn’t against the company, but to anyone walking by it will very much look like a cat is leading Jungo on a tour. Every so often, the cat will stop to stare at a certain fish, and Jungo will speak to the cat.]

Mm. So that’s one you like, too, huh?

Comments

[fish_or_die]

[Oh, good, it's someone that he recognizes. Really, that's enough to brighten Jungo's day. It doesn't take much. He finishes what he's working on and decides to take it out to Urotsuki. He places a tray of egg rolls on the table.

...Well. They're supposed to be egg rolls. He kind of had to improvise everything, but he did have bread, chicken, fish, eggs...just enough to try and make something. They probably only taste marginally better than plain fish sticks, but...]

Hey, Urotsuki. I just made this.

[chainsawn]

[ Don't worry, Urotsuki being.. well, Urotsuki means she'll eat anything. When they only got served really gross food in summer she ate all of it without blinking.. so when someone actually makes food for her, she's sure to like it.

Her eyes widen just a tiny bit when she sees him, in fact. ]

.. You made food..? Are you going to eat it? [ Not like she realises it's for her. ]

[fish_or_die]

[Now that he's set the food down on the table, he takes a seat opposite the other. He'll speak after a moment, once he realizes that she doesn't get it.]

It's for you. I've already had plenty to eat. Let me know if it's good, alright?

[chainsawn]

[ Food..? For her..? Sure, someone made her food here before, but she didn't imagine there would be a repeat from someone else. So she stares like he offered her something really weird to eat, but slowly the blank surprise turns into a blank smile instead. ]

Food.. just for me..? Ah, you're so kind..

[fish_or_die]

Mm. It's nothing. It's been a while, hasn't it? So if eat them, I can make you some more.

[Really, he's glad he's run into Urotsuki at all considering how...different the Tower seems. He's grasped some of it, but the entire mood seems off. It was never a pleasant atmosphere, but lately...]

Are you doing well?

[chainsawn]

Hmm. I'm okay.

[ She says it blankly as usually, but there's something genuine about the way she says it. Urotsuki doesn't lie much either way. The girl is slowly starting to poke the food a little, as if she's playing with it before eating it. ]

And you..? You're okay too?

[fish_or_die]

That's good. Everyone seems so unhappy lately.

[And he's dealt with it, too. Watching her play with her food reminds him of something, though...he reaches into his pocket and pulls out something wrapped in a napkin. It's still safe, so he stares at it for a moment before tucking it back into his pocket.]

Mhm. I'm okay. There's been a lot going on, too. I'm glad you're safe.

[chainsawn]

I'm always safe. Even if I go out at night, I can protect myself. Monsters aren't scary. [ No, really, she seems incredibly okay with the very idea, considering she discusses it in a tone anyone else would use to talk about the weather.

She stops poking the food for a moment to stare at him. ] .. What was that..?

[fish_or_die]

You go out at night...? Why? [This is the man who very rarely leaves the safe floors. It's not because he can't protect himself, he just doesn't know what's up there, really.

After she's done poking at her food, he meets her gaze. There's no hesitation in his voice because Jungo has no problems with what he's about to say.] It's a finger.

[chainsawn]

Sometimes I sleep during the day, so then I'm awake at night. [ Or.. well, she just sleeps whenever. She could fall asleep at this very table, honestly, she doesn't see many problems with it.. but at least she finally starts eating his food slowly as she thoughtfully chews before answering. ]

.. Why do you have a finger there? Did you lose one of yours?

[fish_or_die]

Mm...the monsters are dangerous. You should still be careful. [He's a bit curious as to why she's out so late at night, but hey, what's Jungo to judge? As long as she's not in danger, he won't worry about it too much...yet. He's filing that away for later, though.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls it out again.] Mm-mm. [He shakes his head.] I found it in a river. It belongs to an old woman.

[chainsawn]

Oh, that's sort of funny. [ .. even if it doesn't sound that way, considering she says it in her usual blank voice. ] There was a woman in my dreams a while ago who lost fingers too. Maybe it was the same woman.

[fish_or_die]

Mm...that's strange. I had the same dream, but then I had this finger when I woke up.

[He sets it on the table, but he doesn't unwrap it.]

I don't understand what it means, but I don't think my roommates like it. I usually bring it with me.

[chainsawn]

You mean you didn't give it back to the woman? She looked like she needed it, you know.

[ Yet it's here, even though she was missing so many fingers..? ]

.. I hope she wasn't lying..

[fish_or_die]

I did give it back to her. [He nods firmly at that. Was it really a dream, though...? ...He hasn't figured it out. Nothing here makes sense.] When I woke up, I still had it. ...I don't understand it myself.

[chainsawn]

Maybe she liked you. She was like "ah, that guy was so nice for giving it back to me".. so she decided she didn't need it after all and that you could keep it.

[ She nods to herself, taking another bite of the food he brought. Seems reasonable to her. ]

[fish_or_die]

Hmm...that makes sense. I don't really need her finger, though. If I leave it alone, it just comes back to my room, too. Jungo started playing with it once.

[It wasn't a really pretty sight, to be honest.]

[chainsawn]

[ She puts her elbows on the table, leaning her chin on her hands as she thinks. ]

Maybe you should put it on your own hand. Then you can have six fingers.

[fish_or_die]

I don't think it works like that.

[He pauses before saying that, though, and looks down at his hand as if he actually considered it.

...Wait a sec.]

Do you think anyone else has one?

[chainsawn]

.. A hand with six fingers? I've never seen one before.

[ she's completely taking the question the wrong way without realising.. ]

[fish_or_die]

I don't think I have, either. But when I was looking for the finger, there were people from the Tower, too. It didn't really feel like a dream.

[chainsawn]

Sometimes dreams can seem really real. [ she could know.. ] Maybe it was one of those dreams. And you thought of people from the Tower since you like them.

[fish_or_die]

Mm...I thought so, too, but there were people in the dream I didn't see for the first time until after the dream. It doesn't make sense.

[chainsawn]

... Maybe it was just a weird dream.

[ even though she has weird ones all the time and never considers them weird herself.. ]

[fish_or_die]

...Yeah. It could be.

[He doesn't have any proof otherwise, other than that there's a little slip of paper with the finger...maybe he should show it to her...?

...Nah.]

Do you dream a lot here, Urotsuki?