towerofanimus | 1st Lie

Characters: Kumagawa and you!
Setting: Various parts of the tower
Format: Any
Summary: BIG HUGE LOSER exploring the tower
Warnings: Screws, random acts of violence, some gore?

[Dormitories]

[First order of business is, of course, putting on his uniform. He can't wear white! It really just doesn't suit him. Even if he's not on the student council anymore and should really wear the normal uniform. Of course, this didn't really look like Hakoniwa Academy...

Plus, the last thing he remembered was having just rescued Shiranui, so this was pretty mysterious. Had he been hit by some kind of style?

Well, whatever! He's going to look for someone to harass. No matter who you are or how busy you look, there's an annoyingly smiley face bothering you]

「Hi, do you have a few moments to fill out a survey for the latest issue of Shounen Jump?」

[Cafeteria]

[Kumagawa is just. Staring at the oatmeal.

Yeah, no. He doesn't want to eat this.

You, who were passing by, gets a tug on your sleeve or other grabbable piece of clothing]

「...I don't suppose I could get the shiyo ramen instead, can I?」

[Floor 75]

[The snowy of the ruins of the castle here look like they've been through a more recent battle: there's blood and ichor everywhere, the bodies of dead monsters all over the place, ranging from the more mundane and even completely harmless to a few that look like they'd be quite dangerous. The most striking feature of the scene is how they were apparently annihilated: everywhere, there are giant screws stuck into everything, drilling through their heads, their guts, armor, carapaces, pinning them to the ground, the trees, even into the walls of the castle.

Investigate?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So do a lot of people. But most of them don't come back.

「Maybe they just don't hate it enough?」

Or maybe it was just better than the alternative.

[Like zombies.]

「Hahaha, I guess some people would say being me is a fate worse than death!」

You don't look too badly off. I mean, your body is pretty intact right now, isn't it?

「Well, more or less. Are you the kind of person who only cares about physical wounds? Should I just "man up" and "get over it"?」

...At your own pace, kid.

[He knows that mental trauma takes a long time to heal.]

「At my own pace... well, I never intended to go at any other. I wonder if I'll ever reach the end though.」

If you can't do it by yourself, have your friends carry you over.

「Friends? What's that? Is it good to eat?」

...

[Looking down at the boy now, Lancer can't help but feel pity for him.]

Um, no. You don't each your friends.

「Hahaha, of course not! That's a crime in most countries. And they probably wouldn't taste good anyway. Have you seen what kind of things people put in their bodies these days? I don't hang out with anyone who eats well enough that I'd want to eat them.」

[He slowly shakes his head. The way this kid is, he can't tell if the boy is joking or serious.]

Well, if you ever wanted to make any friends, this is as good of a place as any.

「Really? It doesn't seem like a very friendly place.」

Just because the place is hostile doesn't mean the people are. You'd be surprised how this place brings out people's good sides.

「You mean everything hasn't devolved into a bunch of bickering and petty squabbles as they fight and claw their way over each other for survival? Man, the people running this place sure suck at it!」

Enemy of my enemy is a friend. And the people up there make many, many enemies.

「People say that, but isn't the enemy of my enemy probably just another jerk who's after the same thing as the rest of us? Hating the same person hardly sounds like a good basis for a friendship. If that were true, everyone besides me would be friends!」