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04/04, 23:56

M.Arisu

hey... anybody who's awake to see this. hope you're not having too much trouble sleeping.
get rest when you can. work together when you can.
all we can do is keep trying, but i'm hopeful for this year.
feels weird to say... but it's all going to be gone soon, so...
anyways.
see you at school tomorrow.

Any replies on the forum go unresponded, and at the stroke of midnight, the past year's worth of messages are completely gone from the PDA forum, including any sent over spring break. Hope you have a good memory if you were in the middle of a conversation! Though you should really be in ...whatever you've managed to make your bed... because tomorrow is a big day.

04/05, 06:00

The silence continues until six in the morning with the toll of the clock tower bells, and anybody near the locker area will hear two women in mid-conversation as they phase through the front doors, heels clicking on the ground: "-—didn't even have the decency to finish the job! And now I have to— oh, stop crying, for goodness' sake! I swear—" It's a one sided conversation, mostly, and one that stops short the moment the women spot the students lingering around. While the younger woman, recognizable as the assistant principal, hurriedly scrubs at her face with her sleeves, the unfamiliar older woman with the oddly dissonant voice scowls intensely. "I don't need this on the first day of school! Students trespassing over break! I can't believe it! I don't have time for this—" she huffs, shaking her head and stomping down the hall towards the faculty office. "Miss Nene, I expected better of you! And you! Miss Ritsuka— the two of you shall report to the faculty office after the entrance ceremony. I expect a full report of everybody involved. Now behave yourselves and go to the auditorium."

Goodbye...

The assistant principal is left behind and looks confused and distraught. She sniffles and ducks her head a little, draws a shaking breath and stands a little taller. "I'm so sorry. I'll hear you all out after- after this is done. Alright?" She too heads towards the faculty office, trying her best to smile at those she passes by. While they may be followed, they seem to phase through the faculty office doors which remain closed and locked, and cannot be interacted with until after the ceremony.

Until then, other students start to filter through the front door, seeking out friends and chatting about their breaks, remembering about homework and asking if anybody actually did it so they can copy off them before classes start, laughing at any mention of being locked inside the school all break because what?? that's silly. A handful of students wear yellow armbands on the left sleeve of their uniform, marking them as members of the student council, and these student council members go around finally removing the gorinto from the window sills, tossing the rocks into a bag without any apparent ill effects, and collecting the snacks in a separate bag— though they'll offer the food to anybody they pass who looks hungry enough. Which is a lot of you. One or two might give a short lecture about the importance of eating breakfast to start the day off right. Other student council members busy themselves in the locker area, posting the new homeroom assignments and updating the school calendar to reflect exam dates and breaks for the coming year, or help setting chairs out in neat rows in the auditorium in preparation for the entrance ceremony.

04/05, 08:00

The opening ceremony starts at 8, with students and staff moving to the auditorium to sit with their homeroom class, calling characters out by name and dragging them over to their seat— physically if need be, and they're much stronger than they look. Unlike the graduation ceremony, characters are not forced to come to the entrance ceremony, but the moment they take a seat, they find that they can neither speak nor get up again until the ceremony is over.

The assistant principal stands behind the podium on stage, looking rather nervous as she glances down at the watch on her wrist for it to be time, and clears her throat before addressing the room. "Yogen High welcomes you, all our new students," she pauses, beaming at the row of first year classes before her gaze sweeps over the rest of the student body, "our transfer students, our returning students, our... repeat students..." Looking at you, Norton, Gawain, Abel... "I, um. You may have noticed that I am standing in for our principal today, who is currently... unavailable... and didn't exactly leave any notes to go off of..." She wilts a little, but trucks on nonetheless and continues the address, promising that the teachers will pass along any important announcements, expressing her belief in the potential of young minds, and wishing everybody a fulfilling school year. The ceremony concludes in a little under an hour, and the spell binding the students to their seats is broken, allowing everybody to rise and leave.

School lets out for the rest of the day with classes starting the next morning, and while many students take the opportunity to leave, some linger around the school. Gossip is flying already with news of the transfer students caught breaking into the school over break and what punishments they might get, rumors of what happened to the principal ranging from a family emergency to hospitalization to death, complaints about the water pipes not getting fixed over break, and general excitement over upcoming events listed on the bulletin board by the lockers, in particular new club advertisements, fortune telling ads, and a Charity Auction to be hosted the Monday after Golden Week next month.

April

School is school... The first thing teachers ask at homeroom Tuesday morning is for students to hand in their spring break homework. Didn't do it? You're on their shit list now. Characters are not forced to attend class, but patrolling faculty and student council members will heckle any truant students into going and can be a pain to deal with. Classes aren't taught terribly, though. The second year math teacher has a knack for easily digestible explanations, even if she writes and erases the board a bit too quickly to copy. The third year literature teacher combines weekly analytical essays with film studies, and is showing Child's Play, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Silence of the Lambs, and Where the Red Fern Grows this month. The first year biology teacher brings eyeballs and frogs and rats for dissection during anatomy lessons, and if you have a special request for a specific eye color, give him a day or two and he can deliver. 2-A's homeroom teacher can be seen stealing chalk from each of the second year classroom she rotates through and is offering extra credit to any students who sneak her chalk without asking questions.

New students will quickly learn that merit points are awarded for a full day's attendance, turning in homework, participating in class and clubs, scoring 80% or higher on quizzes and exams, etc. Less predictably, the PDA may sometimes ping for a single merit point when hanging out with a friend or arguing with a classmate, with stronger emotions (positive or negative) when interacting with somebody else more likely to trigger a point, and if students are abusing this system, it's kept out of the faculty's eyes. As the month goes on, sometimes a student comes to class with a cut eyelid, or a busted lip, or bandages wrapped thick around a wrist, but they always deny anything more than clumsiness or an accident or having pets who very aggressively show their love. Sometimes it's harder to hide, when a bloody nose drips onto the ground or bleeding knuckles brush against the wall, and those near enough to see blood touch the building will find that everything sort of... shifts... Just for a second. The feeling of vertigo that stops almost as soon as it begins, the world tilting without slotting back into alignment. You feel a bit nauseous. Just a little.

You go to the bathroom to splash water on your face and the pink looks a little darker, a little more solid. On the fourth floor, the water has stopped running in the bathroom sinks altogether, and students are told to go downstairs to do their business so that they may wash up after. With more students milling around the bathrooms, it's much easier to notice that people's reflections in the mirrors are just a bit off, lagging that split second long enough to be impossible to ignore once aware.

Every day you have homework. A new essay for something or other is assigned each week. Nobody wants to do group projects with a slacker who can't promise to meet up after school to get it done. Like clockwork, the school empties out at 6 PM each school day, leaving those behind to their own devices. There is no school on Sundays. Golden Week marks the end of the month, and guess who's going to be stuck at school for an entire week with only vending machine junk food to live off of if they aren't able to make progress concerning their living situation? Yeah.

Charity Auction

At least students have the charity auction to look forward to and work towards. Information about the auction set on May 10 can be found on the bulletin board, and appears to be put together by the student council as an annual event and an incentive for students to start the year off strong in earning merit points. Both students and staff are encouraged to donate to the auction, with the items collected and put on display in the auditorium behind locked glass cases. On May 10, students will be able to bid on items using their merit points, those who donate will receive 10% of the winning bid towards their item, and the school will match donations 100 to 1 point with proceeds going towards the "Save A Brain Foundation."

Throughout the month, glass cases lining the walls of the auditorium start to fill up with donations. The most popular donations seem to be physical items: possessions such as jewelry or gaming consoles, or artistic creations such as hand sewn clothing or paintings. There are placeholders for things that can't be put on display all month, such as placards with a picture or description of homemade food that won't be prepared until the auction date, or the promise of fishing lessons with the guidance counselor or a dinner date with the school principal (pending availability). At the back of the room stands the largest case, with the skinny black cat often found lying on top of it as if guarding it, although it will run away when approached.

Inside the case is a body.

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✽ The plot will only move forward as things are discussed and acted upon, and clues distributed during app acceptances are meant to be shared and connected, so don't be afraid to ask questions and dig into things! I am here to enable.

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[ He needs to ground himself; focus, ignore the twist in his stomach that ultimately makes him so disgusted. Nauseated to the point that walking around sounds like it may lead to him falling apart -- he wishes he had ran to the nurses room first, because then he'd be able to lie in a bed at least. ]

Would you rather I lie to you, or what?

[ Hajun clicks his tongue, running a hand through his hair. ]

... That's hopeful thinking. Awful thinking. You'd be an idiot to actually believe it's a doll -- it's too real. Her skin -- [ He remembers it, gagging briefly. ] ... it can't just be a doll.

( a nap sounds nice right about now, but realistically, she needs to find some water first and get rid of the blood before she rolls around in sheets. ... or just go to the nurse's office and get that all wrapped up. also a valid solution. )

No, but... ( well, she knows it's just wishful thinking, and that there's no way the corpse could actually be a doll.

she's seen enough to realize that, and knows to trust her gut enough not to question the first, visceral reaction it provided her with. the girl is real — the actual question is, is she really dead? who killed her? why is she there? ... ah, there's way too many. )

... are we supposed to just wait until the auction? Is someone just gonna... buy a dead body? I... — ( she pauses, hesitating. ) ... you can do it, can't you? You've got enough merit points.

[ He's silent.

Leaning back against the sink, his fingers curl around the edge and grip onto it tightly. Hajun bites his bottom lip, brows furrowed as he looks down at his shoes -- polished and clean, fortunately. All of his clothes are clean. He's clean. There may be a body, but he has no blood on his hands --

And then Rika has the audacity to ask him such a question. ]

Huh? [ Hajun steps forward, having taken offense. He approaches the stall she's in and promptly kicks the door. ] You want me to buy a body!? Do you have any idea what kind of image that'll give someone?

Wh... — ?!

( she jumps in her seat, when he kicks the stall, not expecting this kind of a reaction. obviously she suggested it because she wants to find out who did that to the girl... but it's no surprise he's only concerned about how it looks to the public.

she shouldn't have expected anything from him. )

Are you insane?! It's obviously because I wanna see... I wanna find who did that to her! Who the hell cares what people think?! ( riled up again, she jumps off the toilet and slams the door open, bloodied hands reaching to grab him by the shirt and shake. ) Is that the only thing you care about?!

Then why don't you work and get the merits yourself? [ His question comes just as swiftly, never backing away even when she comes to grab him by the shirt. There's the subtle scent of blood -- of her -- that disgusts him so thoroughly he quickly brings up a hand to slap hers away with force. ]

Don't touch me! [ Fucking children... this is why he'll never get along with the twins. ] It's something you should care about -- the second someone actually wins her, you know what's going to happen? Whoever the hell put her there is going straight to them. At least that's what a psycho would do, anyway, it's literally just putting a target on your back.

( ah, she remembers now — why he annoys her so much. back in the day... back before spring break, when she's seen a more vulnerable side of him, he'd reacted similarly, lashing out like a hurt animal. she let him see something she doesn't generally allow people to take a look at, though — and being rejected after that... it stings.

with a small, surprised huff, she peels off of him when he slaps her away, holding her hand with a pout on her face. she's not gonna cry — she can't, not in front of him — but if her eyes tear up, well... mind your own business, pussyboy. )

You're such a coward... you've always been a coward! ( she spits, turning away. ) Fine... fine, do whatever you want! And wipe your mouth, 'coz you still got some vomit on it!!!!

( ... and she heads for the door, because hanging around him is gonna give her a stress ulcer. )

[ He likes to pretend that never happened -- it shouldn't have, to be honest, because the fact of the matter is Rika's not a person that he should confide in. No one is and ever will be, simply because of the fact that he knows that his past that overwhelms him with the desire of revenge is pathetic.

Hajun doesn't want to appear like a child that was promptly tossed aside by a world that never wanted him. He wants to be a person praised and loved... and even that seems like too much to ask for. ]

Call me what you want, but at least I can do something if I want to, right? You don't want to put any effort into anything because you expect others to do it for you -- you're more worried about how short your skirt, anyway.

[ Hajun promptly clicks his tongue, watching for a moment as she tries to walk away. He notices the blood, the drops that fall onto the tile floor, and grabs her by the wrist. ]

At least wash up before you go out there and make more of a problem, idiot. You left blood all over the place!

( she gets it, alright? she gets not wanting to look vulnerable, or wanting to expose your weakness to others — even admitting that you're weak is hard, and took... a lot for her to do it. she felt better afterwards, though; when you realize there's people you can lean on, even despite your own shortcomings... well, life seems a little more liveable.

he'd hate it if she lectured him, though. she knows this much, at least. )

Shut up, I said I'll do it myself, so what's the issue?! And what does my skirt have to do with any of this?! ( when he grabs her wrist, she genuinely wants to bite him. like, right there, in the arm, so he lets go. but she doesn't, because she's not a rabid animal.

sort of. ) ...

( her lips curve in a pout, chest rising and falling as she settles down. the fear, the anger — they're still prominent, but... at least she's not shaking like a leaf anymore. )

Pass me some paper towels, then. ( her reply is short and curt, huffing in defeat. )

How? Do you think you can just waltz in and take a corpse? [ Anger is still evident in his tone, clawing off the mask to expose a young man who feels cornered and afraid. Biting at what's familiar, scared of what isn't -- Hajun needs to find something to cling onto before he loses it. ] You're so stupid. You're honestly one of the dumbest women I've ever met in my life.

[ He let's go, finally, grabbing a row of paper towels before he hands it to Rika. Grabbing another and begrudgingly cleaning the blood that had fallen on the floor. ]

You have to be more careful.

I mean... someone's gonna have to do something, right?! We can't just... — ( leave it there. her first thought was to break it right out of the case, as... you can clearly see — but once that proved impossible, she'd resorted to thinking of other options. they can't just leave the girl there, that much is true; when the auction approaches... someone's definitely gonna bid on it, right?

she knows full-well she doesn't have enough credits. but she also doesn't want the body to go to someone random, who might or might not cooperate with trying to investigate it. so, there was an idea... but now that hajun rejected it, she has to find someone else... maybe it's for the best, though, because cooperating with this jerk seems just downright impossible, anyway. )

Wha — ?! Hey, what kind of a guy calls a girl stupid?! Do you have no manners at all?! Jerk! ( SO annoying.

she's fuming, but she'll take the paper towels from him, anyway, wiping her arms and legs. the dry paper brushing against the cuts makes her hiss; it stings, but she's not gonna complain out loud when hajun is right there, being a pain. )

I didn't know a cat was gonna attack me. ( HUFFS ) It's like... some kinda super-cat! It didn't even give me a chance to dodge!

[ Someone has to -- but he doesn't.

Hajun doesn't want to take up the responsibility of obtaining a corpse. It's like painting a target on your back; he assumes that whoever left her there has the idea of striking again, with their purpose to either send a message or simply instill more fear into all of them. ]

Maybe you should consider reacting to things calmly, and not by attacking everything on sight like a rabid animal.

Oh yeah? And just run away like you?

( she scoffs, crumpling the bloodied paper towels into a ball and throwing them at his head. it's what he deserves for calling her stupid!! )

I had to at least try. ( because someone died, and because her conscience wouldn't leave her alone if she didn't at the very least attempt to do something. she's... not gonna be much help in the actual detective work, she knows, because she doesn't really know anything about that in general, so... if this worked...

but it didn't, so. whatever. )

Are you gonna come to the auction, at least?

Why? [ He's still squatting down, wiping the blood off the floor. His fingers twitch, and Hajun refuses to acknowledge that he's still anxious now that he's blown off some steam.

He can't be. ]

Do you want to see me there? Or do you think I'll help you try to steal a body?

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April

Charity Auction

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