Game 03 | No More Side Quests

[invisible_friendship]

Characters: Jonouchi and Whoever!
Setting: Floors 39, 1, 81
Format: Any
Summary: Jonouchi is starting to stray from his usual routines, and diving into practices he doesn't usually do. A transition into fully adapting to the tower, or at least as well as one can adapt to such a harsh enviornment.
Warnings: N/A

[Floor 39 | Morning]
Jonouchi didn't always spend his time in the media room. While it did provide for good escapism with all of its devices and games, and various other mediums to indulge it. It could only do so much when you were there all the time. You could say it was starting to lose its luster for him and as each day goes by he would loiter there less and less. As of recently Jonouchi had been spending more of his time on this floor now. The young teen was making his daily laps around the floor, increasing his already improved stamina. He hasn't gotten to the weights yet, but that was next on his list. The blonde came the realization that he didn't want to be dependent upon others, and he also wanted to be more helpful. Knowing he didn't bear any powers, he had to compensate in other ways. This was one of those ways.

Eventually Jonouchi came to a halt after his last lap. He was hunched over with his hands rested on his knees taking in quick breaths influenced by his cardio work out. If you asked him how many laps he did, he wouldn't be able to give an answer. He didn't keep count, but it was far more than he could have ever done back at home.

[Floor 1 | Noon]
After every good work out comes a hearty meal. Not that the cafeteria food was very hearty, but Jonouchi wasn't going to starve himself of food. He had already received some food and was seated at one of the tables scarfing down his food. After such a work out, his serving was nearly finished and he looked like he was ready for seconds!

[Floor 81 | Night]
Jonouchi could actually be found on one of the bulged windows lying down looking up at the sky, stargazing. It was not something he'd normally do, but there were lots of things in this tower that he didn't do that he now found himself doing. It was his way of realizing he had had to accommodate to his situation and how very real it was. The blonde teen was seemingly motionless and detached when he was staring heavily into the sky. It was almost as if he were in another world altogether. Really he was just lost in thought over recent events that had taken place. There was more on his mind than he was letting on, and he didn't want to burden anyone with his trouble thoughts.

Comments

[ floor 81 | evening! ]

[xroyal_bratx]

[ Ishtar was doing the same maneuver as the other day, avoiding as much attention as she could while doing as much as she could to get away from those so-called collar checks. She didn't want to think of it as something meaningless now. Her episode a few weeks ago told her that she had to get a grip of herself and move forward. She had to do things she knew was right and that was how she always functioned. The tower wasn't going to change the way she was.

It only strengthened her resolve when she learned to keep her problems at bay. She had Darres now, and she wanted to protect him. The one person that she least expected here of all places. Ishtar gave a tired eye stare around the 81st floor before continuing down it, Sidia closely attached to her side. She hadn't seen a lot of people she knew in a while and it was becoming problematic. She missed them and she worried for them. ]

[invisible_friendship]

[Jonouchi was shifting through various thoughts and feelings regarding different aspects of the tower. It's dangers, what's to come, the wellbeing of his friends, how they might be affected, and the outcome of it all. Will they be alive in a year? How long would it take to fix things, and more importantly can it be done in time?

He was so caught up, he didn't realize others might have been on this floor with him. The teen was simply off to the side staring at the sky]

[xroyal_bratx]

Ah.

[ She caught the familiar golden hair almost instantly. She picked up her pace and approached him with caution, though showing worry as well. ]

You're that guy from before right?

[ She mused giving him a small smile. ] Long time no see.

[invisible_friendship]

[He almost didn't hear her. In fact, Jonouchi had no idea what she said and only caught her last sentence.]

H-huh?

[He rolled over to look around, and when he did he saw the familiar face.]

It's you! [pause] Yeah. [It got kind of crazy for awhile.]

[ floor 39 | morning ]

[ainohenshin]

[ Jounouchi could notice the orange haired teenager that saved him weeks ago approaching him, with that cat still plucked on his shoulders. Kuwabara wasn't really training but watching out for people, mainly his companions that he had made here. They were all important to him and he learned enough life lessons from losing Yusuke not once but twice.

Eventually, he just dealt with it and moved on. Yusuke wasn't really dead, but he still felt terrible about it. He wasn't able to save him, clone or not, he was still Yusuke, his friend. He didn't want to deal with that again, ever. He was a huge mess then and he might as well be now, but he had more things to be concerned about, like kicking the admin's ass for Yusuke and pray to hope that his friend was safe somewhere else. ]

Hey you look a lil pale there.

[invisible_friendship]

[Kuwabara definitely didn't go unnoticed, especially when the other made the effort to approach him. It had been sometime since he saw him. It felt like forever, but really Jonouchi hadn't spent more than a few months here.

He still wasn't too familiar with the guy, but Jonouchi knew he could trust the other, and that he was a good person.]

I'm...fine.

[He replied between breaths. Jonouchi was merely recuperating from his run.]

[ainohenshin]

Don't overwork yourself too much. Sutff like that can take ya out in a place like this.

[ He replied giving him a brief grin. ] What're you doing anyway?

[ Topped with a raise of his brow for the tired looking acquaintance of his. Though, he knew that htis guy wasn't a bad person as well. He just didn't spend enough time around some people lately. ]

Floor 81 | Night

[sonof_thrain]

[Fresh air was something Thorin wanted right now, as he often felt trapped within the walls of the tower. He made his way to one of the windows and noticed there was someone already at one. Thorin smiled to himself as he noticed it was none other than the street fighter, Jonouchi. The boy he had met when first arriving to the Tower.]

Greetings, Jonouchi. Have you come for some fresh air also?

[invisible_friendship]

[The blonde recognized that voice anywhere. It was perhaps one of the first few Jonouchi ever met in this place. Through of the chaos he had lost contact with some. The blonde propped himself up and looked over to see him. It was good to know Thorin appeared well.]

Thorin!

[He thought for a second.]

I guess. What have you been doing?

[sonof_thrain]

I have been busy with Kain Highwind and Diarmuid trying to re-forge a spear back together. Tis Kain's weapon and he sought out my help to try and use some of my knowledge of smithing. [He was well enough as the tower could treat someone.]

How have you been, Jonouchi?

Floor 39

[fragileprophet]

[Seeing Ion in a gym was like seeing a fish out of water. It really wasn't a floor where the petite, ghostly pale diplomat belonged. One could never say that he wasn't curious enough to look at it though. Or, if not curious, invested enough to want to know as much as he could about the Tower and its floors.

The fact that he had never seen (or at least never had the opportunity to step into) a place like this was enough to get him to venture inside. It was sort of like the training grounds back in Daath for the soldiers of his Order...but different. Less militaristic.

When Ion laid those big green eyes of his on Jonouchi--well, that sealed the deal. He had never been the sort to be able to resist checking in on the well-being of his friends. Besides, it looked like Jonouchi was just about finished with his running for the morning.]

That's impressive. [Ion smiles as he approaches the blonde.] You must have been running for quite a while, from the looks of things. Do you do this often?

[invisible_friendship]

[Jonouchi's expression lit up like a dozen fireworks on a dark night. He was always happy to see Ion. The other, perhaps, was his most important bond in this tower. While Jonouchi would never outright say it, his actions spoke volumes.] Ion!

[The blond happily closed the large gap between them until they were about a couple feet from each other.]

Yeah. I need to keep in shape. [He said this with a flex.]

What are you doing here? [He was aware Ion was more fragile than most, so he least expected his friend to come to this floor of all places.]

[fragileprophet]

[Ion would be lying if he wasn't a bit jealous. Luckily he was nothing if not an expert at pretending to be nothing short of content with his station. He smiles widely at his friend and gives a small laugh.]

You're doing a good job of it, from what I can tell! That's smart of you, especially in this place.

[At the next question, Ion looks around and hums contemplatively.] Nothing in particular. I felt like I had a bit of extra energy this morning so I thought I'd look at some of the floors I haven't been to, yet. It was a nice surprise to find you here, already.

Floor 81

[lightofhumanity]

[chaos, for once, was having a hard time sleeping. Not because he couldn't, but because bad dreams kept invading his mind this time around. So, to help clear his head, he had decided to go on a bit of a walk and see how the artificial stars looked at night.

He didn't expect to sense or see anyone stargazing at this time of night, especially since the Tower grew more dangerous at night, but he smiled at the person as he walked and sat beside them.]

Good evening. Enjoying the stars?

[invisible_friendship]

[Jonouchi wasn't expecting anyone else to join him here. He was actually so caught up in everything that even the danger of monsters sort of slipped his mind.]

Ah! You could say that. [They weren't home's but they were soothing to some degree.] What are you doing up.

[It also just occurred to him that this person wasn't familiar.]

I haven't seen you before. [So an introduction was in order.] I'm Jonouchi.

[Smile!]

[lightofhumanity]

[chaos kept on smiling as he nodded at Jonouchi.]

I could not sleep, so I came here to look at the stars. They are wonderful, even if they are artificial. And it is nice to meet you, Jonouchi. I am chaos.

Floor 1

[forhislegacy]

[And as he's shoveling food into his mouth, a pigtailed girl sets a tray down in front of him and takes the seat across the table. Anise doesn't even ask to join him, but then, she doesn't see much purpose in asking someone she already knows if it's okay to sit. What are they going to do, say now?]

Wow, you seem hungry today. What'd you do to work up such a big appetite?

[invisible_friendship]

[Oh yeah, he was shoveling his food well too before she sparked a conversation with him.]

Anise! [Jonouchi was happy to see her. She was considered a close friend after all.]

I ran some laps up in the gymnasium. [And weight lifted among other things.]

[forhislegacy]

Hey, Jounouchi.

[She grins at him - chuckling a bit at the amount of food he's managing to put away; yeesh, where did he keep it all? - before he answers her question.]

Oh, so you were working out? Good for you!

floor 1

[integrous]

[ Asahi's having a normal portion of food, actually. Although she's making sure to enjoy it while it lasts, who knows when it goes back to nutrition bars, it seems to happen every now and then.. although she's not really paying attention to where she's going, it seems she's more or less lost in her thoughts..

.. so she doesn't even realise she sat down at the table Jonouchi was already sitting at until she's eating and looks up. ]

W-wha-- you here?!

[invisible_friendship]

[His lunch period was going smoothly until she said that.]

OI! What kind of a greeting is that?!

[integrous]

I just didn't see you sit here, geez..! [ She huffs at him. At least she's not yelling too loudly.. yet. The eardrums of the people in the cafeteria are safe for now.. ]

It wasn't a greeting, it was surprise, surprise!

floor 81 (night)

[kami_korosu]

[This was infuriating. Washing windows was dumb. This whole tower was dumb. The harness with its bungee that would probably break, knowing this tower now, was dumb. The blond on the window making his work harder than it needed to be was dumb. Hibari glared at Jonouchi, bucket in one hand, rag in the other. The canary on his shoulder chirped in a friendly manner, juxtaposing the expression of its companion.]

Move.

[invisible_friendship]

[Buzz kill. He was taken back when spoken to. The blonde didn't catch what he said. He shifted to sit up so he could see him.]

Huh? Did you say something?

[kami_korosu]

[Hibari had been under the impression that the rag and the bucket with the harness would have been self-explanatory.]

Loitering is against Namimori School rules. [This other male looks to be about the same age as him, potentially a year younger. He should be familiar with the school rules (or at least in Hibari's head, he should be).]