[ In all honesty, every step in this place still feels shaky. It's been a while, at least two days, since the vertigo-like memory of watching the death of his best friend and then before he knew it, waking up here. And then waking up here again, and again, and again which had almost made him nauseous as it looped, the sicker to his stomach the harder he tried to discern which of his memories came from where. At least at the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles, things had happened in sequence -- or there had been clear discernment between the memories they were recalling, and the present reality they were living.
Here, he's not so certain.
Damn it, he can't even tell if the two are connected by this point. There's no evidence to the contrary, but there isn't really proof to support it either. No matter how much he's looked around the school, he hasn't found anything to ascertain one or the other. He'd come this far, and he'd finally thought he could trust his skills, and now-- ]
...?
[ Whatever direction his thoughts were taking, it's halted abruptly as someone's silhouette seems to appear downstairs, no warning beforehand thanks to the strange phenomenon that's seemed to occur every time after midnight so far. He's gotten more used to it since the first time, and he's had time to explore it a little both here and in the library, so it doesn't startle him as much as it could have. Still, he has to ascertain who it is with the only senses he has left at the moment, and so of course his eyes fly to-- ]
O-Ouma-kun...!?
[ Everything is dark and silent, and he doesn't even have any certainty. And yet, the strangled word makes it out of his throat, for his own imagined perception only at least, before he can even process other things. Such as... why would Ouma of all people even be here? And didn't he...?
And it instantly feels different -- comes with a degree of reflex that none of the memories from this place ever had, a certainty and solidity he's been looking for, maybe. His body almost moves without him, fingers gripping the banister of the stairway so hard that his knuckles turn white, before he stumbles backwards a few steps. He needs space to process this. How... is Ouma here!? Is he even here?
Shuichi doesn't believe in ghosts, but this has to be the closest he's ever gotten to changing his mind. ]
not me writing this half-asleep bc i love u that much
Here, he's not so certain.
Damn it, he can't even tell if the two are connected by this point. There's no evidence to the contrary, but there isn't really proof to support it either. No matter how much he's looked around the school, he hasn't found anything to ascertain one or the other. He'd come this far, and he'd finally thought he could trust his skills, and now-- ]
...?
[ Whatever direction his thoughts were taking, it's halted abruptly as someone's silhouette seems to appear downstairs, no warning beforehand thanks to the strange phenomenon that's seemed to occur every time after midnight so far. He's gotten more used to it since the first time, and he's had time to explore it a little both here and in the library, so it doesn't startle him as much as it could have. Still, he has to ascertain who it is with the only senses he has left at the moment, and so of course his eyes fly to-- ]
O-Ouma-kun...!?
[ Everything is dark and silent, and he doesn't even have any certainty. And yet, the strangled word makes it out of his throat, for his own imagined perception only at least, before he can even process other things. Such as... why would Ouma of all people even be here? And didn't he...?
And it instantly feels different -- comes with a degree of reflex that none of the memories from this place ever had, a certainty and solidity he's been looking for, maybe. His body almost moves without him, fingers gripping the banister of the stairway so hard that his knuckles turn white, before he stumbles backwards a few steps. He needs space to process this. How... is Ouma here!? Is he even here?
Shuichi doesn't believe in ghosts, but this has to be the closest he's ever gotten to changing his mind. ]