May mini-mini-event

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05/31 16:00

The student council elections take place after class on Monday, with students instructed to gather in the auditorium for the assembly. Attendance is not mandatory, but once students enter the auditorium and take their seats with the rest of their homeroom, they will find that they are not able to speak or get up from their seats. There are no teachers present.

Fifteen minutes past the hour, the doors to the auditorium close and the assembly commences, with the current student body president Maya Arisu stepping up to the podium, obligatorily thanking everybody for coming, and briefly going over the agenda: the student council candidates, sitting in a neat row behind her at the back of the stage, are to first introduce themselves to the student body, after which the candidates will make a case for why they would best serve the student body. As each person comes up to the podium, a projector shines on the white screen behind the stage with an image of the student's profile, displaying their full name, homeroom, blood type, handedness, club membership and leadership roles, current grades, and current merit points. Those in the student council are held to high standards, be it scholastic achievement as exemplified by grades or club participation, or eloquence or bravado if they have nothing else going for them but talk big anyways, like the current candidate in the middle of a passionate speech concerning the atrocity that is Ishimaru's eyebrows, like, do you really want that to be the face of the student body--

The mic cuts off and Maya drops the end of the power cord before striding up to the center of the stage, staring at the candidate to get out of her way or risk a broken foot.

"I'm going to stop wasting your time," she says, voice quiet but at the same time clear and audible in the hush of the room. "The qualities I'm looking for in a member of our council isn't intelligence or diligence or kindness. Who the person is matters the most: what they do and how they think."

She turns around, facing the candidates, looking at each of them in turn. "We will be testing your character. Follow me."

One by one, the student council candidates rise to their feet and file out of the auditorium after Maya, stiff and robotic, almost as if they have no control over their bodies as she leads them out the door. The moment the last candidate leaves the auditorium, the spell binding everybody's limbs and voices breaks, students jumping to their feet to push and shove each other out of the way in their excitement to leave-- not to go home, but to crowd around the windows surrounding the courtyard, or to race each other to the higher floors to claim the windows with the best views:

Out in the courtyard, the student council candidates line up against the side of the school. Facing them, in a half circle in front of the wisteria tree, are several familiar faces, each with a dagger in hand, a stagger to their steps, yellow in their eyes, and wild animalistic abandon in the way they lunge at the student council candidates.

The sun is bright overhead. Blood spills and soaks into the ground. The school stays true and does not turn.

OOC

✽ Happy Execution Day! For those unfamiliar with how murdergame executions work, the initial top-level is reserved for Ishimaru and Madison to fight to the death, while the rest of the post is free for characters to post reactions as well as to play out the aftermath.
✽ As a general guideline, the dropped characters look the same as originally, aside from yellow eyes, and the way they move is haltingly, as if they're resisting the compulsion to murder. It is a compulsion, though! So if both Ishimaru and Madison refuse to fight each other, they'll just get stabbed by somebody else.
✽ The execution will end once there is only one person left, after which the door will allow them back inside the school. Before then, the doors and windows are locked, and trying to escape the courtyard will result in loss of consciousness, with enough warning to turn back. The moment there is one survivor left, the npc students go home, as the position is won by default. Congrats! Hope it was worth it.

Comments

[contrarily]

( she knows it's pointless — she's learned that it's useless to struggle against containment the first month here, when she tried to break through nao's glass, and ended up getting injured with nothing to show for it. and, still... even if it's useless, not doing anything... feels wrong. she feels as if the moment she stops moving, negative emotion will just consume her in entirety.

it's a terrible weakness — one she used to amend by cutting, to let all of that out of her, along with the blood.

consumed by panic, she barely even hears shuichi — at least until he steels himself and raises his voice, catching her attention through the roaring of students, most of them seemingly excited for the possibility of seeing bloodshed. she stares at him for a moment, a little zoned out, before blinking away the initial shock. )

... ( of course she wants to help. of course... there's something that can be done... there has to be... right? her lips purse, in a clear attempt to keep her composure, and she shoves some jumping idiot out of the way to get to shuichi. ) ... what's the idea?

( that's a yes to everything. )

[unsurely]

...We're going to need the window.

[ It takes him a second to readjust, to the promptness of her own response. He'd expected to have to argue a little more, to plead with her longer, to be asked for an explanation. But instead... she just trusts him. Whether that's because it's him, or because she wants to save the person outside no matter what... or maybe both, Shuichi doesn't have the time to ponder it right now.

Instead, from his frantic attempts at picking direction, she can guess immediately which window he's talking about. ]

Can you get us to that one? It's closest to where they are!

[ But of course, it's also the most crowded one, since it's the equivalent to front row seats. Front row... to a gruesome game that pits real people against each other. ]

[contrarily]

( she doesn't question him — she just... trusts his words. shuichi told her that in times of need, he'll cover for whatever she lacks, right? and right now, she needs him to do just that — while her thoughts fizzle out in desperation, he can keep a clear head about him, and she'd much rather let him dictate what they do next than throw herself against the door pointlessly.

maybe she started believing in him before she'd even realized it. )

... yeah, follow me. ( the window's so crowded it's hard to squeeze even as much as a finger through the students trying to practically climb onto each other to get a better view. fucking animals — she feels no pity when she starts kicking them in the ankles, and elbowing them in the ribs, watching them cringe away from her as she motions for shuichi to follow.

the gap will close soon, so he has to squeeze through quick — )

[unsurely]

[ It's not just him covering for her -- just like they said they would... she's doing the same for him. Without her, he knows, he'd never make it to that window. He'd never be able to get past these students on his own. He'd never have the chance to even try the thought he has... it would remain just that. A thought.

So, no matter how much he'd prefer a different method if they had such luxuries as time and choice... he follows right behind her. Rushing through to the best of his ability, he resolves not to let what she's doing for him go to waste. ]

I-Ishimaru-kun!

[ Still breathless, he shouts as soon as they've made it, throwing himself against the glass. With his meager strength, he accompanies it with a series of heavy knocks with both elbows and fists, not having to worry that the glass will break. They don't open or crack, he knows...

...but the sound still carries through, even if it's a little distant. That's what happened when he got stuck outside. ]

The flowers... from the wisteria tree! They make people drowsy when touched! You might... you might be able to use them!

[ If he does that, maybe he could knock his opponents unconscious? Then... then he wouldn't have to kill, or to die. ]

[contrarily]

( it's a tight squeeze, but she finally manages to push the last student out of the way and make space for saihara to come through. from there, she makes sure nobody pushes him out of the way, either, as he knocks on the door and shouts. her eyes widen in surprise, then, because she had no idea about any of that — but... it sounds like something ishimaru could make use of, for real.

so she bangs on the window with saihara, to make the sound carry and catch the other's attention. she's not sure just how loud they have to be to get to him, but... listen. she can be Very, Extremely loud — so when shuichi's out of breath, she picks up for him, shouting at the top of her lungs: )

Hey, owl-brows!! The flowers make people drowsy when touched!! Use them!!!!

( ... just to make sure he hears? can't make saihara's work go to waste, either!! )

[unsurely]

[ He's startled, at first. By the fact that she cared this much, by how strongly she shouts it and chooses the option he'd offered. But most of all... by the genuine note underlying her voice, that shows she does care what happens. It doesn't take him long to readjust -- he shouts it a few more times as well, filling in for the instances Rika goes out of breath. He can't be as loud as her... but he's more rational, more devoid of additions or fillers like "owl-brows".

For a second, he thinks they see Ishimaru pause, as if he's heard them. Maybe he even looks for the tree -- it's difficult to tell with how quickly it's all unfolding.

But... ]

Damn it...!

[ He's not gonna make it, that much is obvious. The whole thing... is just too unfairly difficult. He doesn't even get the time to make his choice. ]

Why... What kind of election process is this? This sort of thing... what about this is even supposed to be school!?

[ Sorry, Rika. The moment Ishimaru has no choice but to start stabbing, Shuichi knows to throw in the towel. ]

[contrarily]

( she knows he must've heard them — for a moment, his gaze wanders in their direction, but... it's honestly too late now. the girl is on top of him, strangling him with all of her strength, and there's nothing else ishimaru can do but defend himself with what he's got in his hand, which... is far from a flower.

she sees the flash of a blade; a knife comes down, in a desperate attempt at saving his own life, and the girl collapses to the floor, twitching, covered in red. images flash in her mind; the girl whose throat was slit right in front of her, collapsing the same, limp way this one just did — life lost. innocence lost. a part of yourself you can't get back, no matter how much you want to — something in her chest aches, deep and uncomfortable. she wasn't ready to take this step to save someone, but would she do it to save herself... ?

to save others?

rokuro asked her about this before, and still, she doesn't know. )

... ( when she snaps out of it, she's got both hands pressed to the window, wide eyes following ishimaru's movements. now that he's won, something in her stomach settled, but... is it really over? there's other students still fighting around him. will... he have to kill them, too... ?

a moment of silence, and the she screams, sudden and loud, frustrated and guilty: )

This is bullshit! I hate this! ( being powerless, stuck in an onlooker's seat, unable to help, despite her best intentions. ) The student council... they did this, didn't they? That girl... ( maya. )

[unsurely]

...

[ He's tempted to shut his eyes. He could leave the window if he wanted, surrender it back to the students who were so eager to watch before -- who still are. He doesn't need to look anymore to know what will happen... and yet, his body won't move, and his eyelids won't drift shut. Until the very end, he's frozen there in place, memorizing every detail of what happens as a scene he's all too aware that he won't forget. Another one... he knows, since he's never forgotten the others either. There's a pit in his stomach, and for a moment he feels he'll be sick--

And then Rika screams.

It startles Shuichi, but maybe it's for the best. He jumps a little, shoulders tense in alert, and then processes the words as his mind starts to race with a million thoughts. He knows who "that girl" refers to -- it's someone whose face comes quite easily to mind. ]

We... can't be certain.

[ Not without asking her at least, without knowing more about this school. Sure, Maya was the one presiding over the process, the one who described it in cold blood as "testing one's character", the one who oversaw it. It's not like he wants to necessarily take the target of Rika's anger from her, or that he's even excluding the possibility altogether. But... ]

There might be some kind of rule in place... that maybe even Arisu-san or the council can't change.

[contrarily]

( no, she knows he's right. as per usual, shuichi is the one with the clear head here, while rika's ready to lash out at the nearest available target. just... because maya's watching over things doesn't necessarily mean she decided this had to be done that way and not another. in the end, the students of this school... are just teenagers, after all, kids struggling to graduate and escape his hell — she knows this now, after her talk with rokuro, and she can't exactly fault them.

being ready to do whatever it takes to get away from this miserable fate... it's not a feeling she entirely understands, just yet, but nevertheless, she can sympathize. still, maya didn't look particularly bothered by all of this, and that's what irks her the most. )

I mean... yeah, probably, but... ( she wrinkles her nose, glancing down at her clutched fist. it makes sense to stay any rash decisions and wait, instead, for more information, but... she knows that the moment she tries to sit completely still, she'll probably drive herself insane. ) We don't know that, do we? That she's innocent.

( in the end, this can be a two-way street. )

Maybe all of this was her idea. Or maybe she at least knows who's pulling the strings.

[unsurely]

[ They might not be talking about it... but that makes two of them. Shuichi's been thinking about this too, ever since he begged Aiko Okane's spirit(?) to talk about something else beside who killed her. In the end... it had seemed like she was only a lonely girl who wanted out -- who, perhaps, had only... been looking for a way to achieve that. When you want something badly enough, and the more you're denied it while at the same time the horrible context around you conditions you to still cling to that chance, he supposes it becomes an obsession. It warps you, until it's difficult to remember something else.

It's maybe only because of the sacrifice made by people like those in the first place, that even he can still do so. It might be the same for Rika, so despite not discussing it, it feels like there's a quiet understanding between them even despite the argument. ]

You're right... I'm not discounting that possibility, either. It's just that... we don't know enough to decide.

[ He doesn't want to start jumping to hasty conclusions, that's all. It's easy to feel his own shoulders begin to slump though, for his gaze to lower, and for his voice to quiet. The adrenaline that hat kept him going, from the desperation to help, is washing off. ]

...Sorry. I know that this isn't what you wanted to hear. But if you pick a fight without knowing what's going on... you'll get hurt -- even more so if we were wrong. I... don't want something to happen to you too.