100

[looselips]

Who: Shinji Matou and OPEN
Setting: Room 2-06, Floor 96, Floor 14
Format: Action preferred
Summary: Shinji has emotions and passive-aggressively plays video games
Warnings: Shinji having no idea how to cope with feelings, will add anything else that comes up

[Room 2-06]
[The video game Shinji receives is a good one. He's fond of it. Maybe not his favorite, but it would certainly rank within his top ten, if someone forced him to sit down and make a list. Under any other circumstance, he would be all but overjoyed to receive it.]

[Now, though, all he can think is, That's it?]

[In his anger, and with his usual childish level of restraint, he raises an arm and chucks the game, still in its case, down at the floor. He isn't particularly strong, but the force combined with the angle as it hits the floor is enough to make the case crack at the top corner and along its spine.]

[...But that's it. He doesn't throw a full-blown tantrum, like the time that Rider left. Instead, he merely stares in silence at the video game where it has settled on the floor, a second or two passing before he moves to pick it up again, checking to be sure that it is otherwise undamaged and sitting properly in its case.]

[Floor 96]
[Shinji hasn't actually set foot onto the floor proper yet, lingering on the stairs. The video game he received earlier is tucked under one arm. Evidently having drifted off into his own little world of thought, he isn't paying particular attention to his surroundings, his expression blank as he mulls things over.]

[He's heard what will happen if he steps onto this floor, and where the thought of losing his memories normally unsettles him, it almost appeals to him in this moment. He can remember being restrained, and having people standing over him, and the horror of being conscious but unable to control his own body. He'd rather not be able to, so here he stands, weighing the pros and cons.]

[Floor 14]
[And, because this is a Shinji post, he can at some point be found irritably and passive-aggressively playing his "new" video game in the media room. It isn't actually making him feel much better.]

Comments

[looselips]

[Shinji glances up at Archer's approach. His reply is frank and immediate.]

I'm not here because it's interesting.

[bowandblade]

No? It is a blank room.

[He stands with his arms akimbo next to the boy, then over to the few pieces of furniture that sit in the room. Something so simple and innocuous must have its own secrets... Like the grass plain that had eyes peering down from the mountains and the sky, perhaps?]

Ah. So you are here expecting something to happen.

[looselips]

That's—

[That's not really what he's doing here, but he doesn't think Archer would approve or think very highly of what he planned to do, so he doesn't say anything about it. It was a moment of weakness, and embarrassing, so he'll keep it to himself.]

Close enough. [He turns around, intending to leave.] Let's go somewhere else.

[bowandblade]

A meeting, then. [He has no qualms with throwing more guesses (are they even guesses?) out, reaching down to give Shinji a pat on the back.]

If I have come across a potential rendezvous, you may say so.

[looselips]

Wh—

[For a second, Shinji just stares up at him incredulously. Then, he blusters.]

It wasn't that, either! Would you stop acting like an idiot and just come with me already?!

[bowandblade]

[He smiles at the reaction, laughing lightly. He's not in a hurry to leave, but he will follow once Shinji starts moving himself.]

It is only idiocy to ignore a boy standing in an empty room. You are no child, certainly, but there is no stimulation here for that mind of yours.

[looselips]

[Shinji huffs, but he does indeed start moving.]

Yeah, well, don't worry your pretty head about it. [He's sounding more like himself already, though he is maybe a bit to insistent when he holds up the video game he has been carrying, waving it around as close to Archer's face as he can manage.] Look— They gave me a game from home.

[bowandblade]

[The height difference is great between the two of them, but Shinji's waving of the video game earns him a glance and nod from Gilgamesh as they walk.]

So I see. Now, the question is whether it is decent game or not.

[looselips]

Of course it is— It's more than decent! [He sounds vaguely offended that he would suspect otherwise.] If they gave me a crappy one after all that, I would be pissed.

[bowandblade]

After all of that indeed. [He muses over how the boy speaks of the recent ... incident, for lack of a better way to consider everything.]

For it to be a decent game, it should be able to make up for the number of hours that disgusting mess lasted. An hour of gameplay for every hour since those abominations appeared!

[looselips]

...It's not like anyone had a choice about what happened to them, you know.

[Not that he's saying that he was one of "those abominations" or anything. Him being obviously bothered means absolutely nothing.]

[bowandblade]

[The sullen response is noticed and acknowledged by a silence that lasts all of three seconds.] I am perfectly aware! It does not change the fact that those who returned had been transformed into abominations.

These administrators are fools. This 'Jason' especially.

[looselips]

I'm not sure if fools is the word I'd use for them, but yeah, you could call them that. [The sour expression remains as he starts up the stairs, back toward the nearest elevator.] So I guess you were one of the lucky ones?

[bowandblade]

I find myself wondering if luck has anything to do with it. [But he was still new to this place and could not say much. Even if his expression is a little serious (for him), he gives Shinji another pat on the back.]

And what would you call them?

[looselips]

[Shinji doesn't argue, because he doesn't care one way or the other whether his "participation" was the result of luck or a deliberate choice.] Don't take it so literally, then.

[He only bristles a little at the pat, and it goes without comment. At least Archer didn't try to ruffle his hair again.]

Sick freaks, maybe. I'm not sure if that's strong enough, though.

[bowandblade]

No, not very strong at all. [He agrees with the assessment, but offers no harsher insults.

Instead, he goes straight for a blunt question.] So what do you remember of it?

[looselips]

[The question gives him pause. It's not like there's any real point to hiding that he had been one of the "participants," but at the same time, he isn't sure how much he wants to talk about the experience.]

[Eventually, he says:] Enough.

[bowandblade]

[He gives a nod at that, glancing behind them at the white room before continuing with a lighter tone.]

Then it would be best to find nicer things to remember. You should begin immediately!

[looselips]

Yeah, okay. I'll get right on that.

[He says, voice dripping with sarcasm.]

[bowandblade]

Excellent! Then we will proceed to make nicer memories beginning now.

[This time, when he touches Shinji, his hand doesn't go to the boy's back; instead, he reaches up and tousles the boy's hair.]

There are many things to explore, as I am sure you know. I will show you a good time!

[looselips]

[Archer, Shinji doesn't even know what to do with you.]

[He knows so little about what to do with him, in fact, that he is utterly defeated. Even the ruffling of his hair is met only with the incredulous, soundless opening and closing of his mouth. What a weirdo.]

[But, since he doesn't know where to start, he doesn't even attempt to argue, so apparently being a weirdo gets the desired result.]

...Fine. Where are we going?

[bowandblade]

[He hums thoughtfully, already beginning on his way downstairs. There were certainly options available, with so many floors... But what would be a good choice for a boy like Shinji?]

Somewhere we can go hunting!

[He speaks with confidence and enthusiasm. His idea is obviously spectacular.]

[looselips]

Hunting.

[Shinji repeats the word flatly. But, whatever impression he may try to give, the way he speaks doesn't sound completely uninterested, and he enunciates the syllables as though weighing them. It's not a hobby he has ever so much as considered, but...]

What exactly do you want to hunt?

[bowandblade]

There are large birds that are fairly quick and do a decent job fleeing like a proper prey animal. They may be difficult to find in the day, but it would be something to do.

[More so than the actual catching of game, the act would give Shinji something else to focus on.]

They do not taste terrible when cooked, either.

[looselips]

[He stops to consider that. It wouldn't be unlike how he spent his time with Rider, both before and after arriving here. Though she always seemed more interested in the chance of finding whatever she perceived to be treasure than in the act of hunting itself.]

...Yeah, alright. Sure. I'm sick of those disgusting bars in the cafeteria, anyway.

[And maybe something familiar and active would be comforting and exciting, but he doesn't say that.]