yogen | MISSION 2.B

[ ...no, never mind the silent treatment.

"I said you're selfish and a coward! Fuck off!"

Not coming out, though, and the door's not opening. ]

( she heard the footsteps, and they're ominous, and should probably be a priority, but you know what...

she's banging on the doors instead!! OPEN THEM!! )

Oh yeah?! Come out and say it to my face, coward!!

[ What Kaede would have wanted...

It's true that he's thought so himself. If she thought it would calm him -- help everyone else -- she'd be here even now, sitting on the bench before the keys and playing a song that he's certain could do it. So for a moment it works, and Shuichi almost takes a step inside the room; but just for the initial one second, that is. There are the interruptions too, like Akira's voice which breaks through the melody and jars him, or the person from the art room, yes. But more importantly than that...

Kaede would want him to use his talent. To solve the mystery of this place; he's certain even now, that's what she'd encourage him to do over anything else. She'd never want him to stop here and get engulfed by the flames. He snaps out of it just a second before Rika grabs him, stumbling into the corridor behind her and trying to process what's being said. Her fighting with the ghost or whatever's going on there. But that sound from above them distracts him, drawing his gaze to the ceiling. There's nothing else above them they could be hearing except... ]

...I knew it. The door we went through, on the fourth floor -- I'm sure it still opens.

[ He says that with urgency to the others, but he himself still hesitates. Honestly, there was more he'd have wanted to say -- maybe Kokichi could unlock the piano seat, maybe the name of the person from the art room was relevant (although Rika maybe has that ??? covered). Otherwise... why were they transported back when they opened the door? Why did they start at the ground floor and not up there? There... has to have been something they were supposed to see.

hate that shuichi doesn't know about the paper with the names but anyway ]

...

[ Rika's distracted now and can't stop him, so instead of making a run for it to the stairs the way he should, Shuichi ignores the heat that begins to build up in the floor and he walks the opposite way, past Akira and to the student council room door. ]

Arisu-san...!?

[ He calls before he even reaches it, although it occurs to him for some reason as he places his hand on the handle and pushes, that may not be right. Honestly, the fact that he even knows the names of three presidents is concerning but: ]

...Okane-san? Tomori-san?

[ It's fine, this is okay. The student council room door swings open, but nobody answers his call. Instead, there's a crack, and another, louder and traveling down the length of the room as the entire floor gives out and is devoured by the flames reaching up from the auditorium below, flames that almost seem to reach out towards Shuichi, to touch him, to drag him in and below.

Meanwhile, the art room door swings inward mid-bang so that Rika stumbles forward; the art room is dark, smells more like blood and rot than clay and ink, floorboards split open with the burning fire below that glows just enough to illuminate the dozens of hands that reach through the cracks and wrap around Rika's shoes, her ankles, scratching and pulling and trying to drag her further within.

Inside, a girl stands, quiet, hands behind her back. Yellow eyes meet Rika's as the student steps forward, blood soaked through on her hands and her shirt, but they're strong when they reach for Rika's hand, holding fast with the intent of pulling her in.

"All I wanted was for somebody to give me a hand..."

The glow from the fire gets stronger, heat sweltering inside the room, and in the corners Rika can see other students, piles of bodies face down and unmoving— many of them missing arms, others a leg, a head, ribs, hunks of flesh littering the ground amongst piles of limbs stripped of skin and muscle by the carving knife that glints red on the floor.

In the back of the room is an art project. An angel in the making, to come deliver everybody from this hell. All it needs is one more set of bones from a forearm to be complete.

"You'll give me yours, won't you?" ]

Kawai!!

[ Well... thanks Rika for saving his ass from that trap... but it doesn't help that if it's not Akira charging head first, it's her instead. At least it's not just one of them alone; there's strength in numbers, and his shout is loud enough to attempt to attract Shuichi and Kokichi's attention.

No time to wait for them though, gotta get Rika the hell out of there; his first instinct is to wedge one of his feet against the doorframe, gaining some leverage since y'know, it's his two hands against... unfortunately more than he cares to count. But he'll make the best use of the two that he has, so the first reaches out reflexively, grabbing a fistful of fabric - the back of Rika's clothes - in the tightest grip he can mystery, like a cat's claws clinging to a ledge for dear life. But fabric doesn't feel like enough, so the second one snakes forward, past Rika's shoulder to grab her wrist - the one the ghost is targeting- forcefully yanking in back towards him if he can. He won't let go of that, either; it feels like her life might depend on it. ]

Sorry, Sora-chan! This hand's already taken!

[ She's their friend so uh... find another one, okay? For good measure, the last limb he's got free - his spare foot - is going to stomp on the hands that are grasping at her ankles. As many times as it takes to get her free. ]

[ Meanwhile, Shuichi recoils from the fire that overtakes the student council room -- or, what used to be that -- as the heat seizes breath from his lungs, and for a second his impulse is only to run. But they're in a dire enough situation as is, he can't afford to make it worse... so, with vague memories of what fire drill training he's gone through before at the back of his mind, he at least closes the door in a hurry, to put it between the burning room and the hallway. It'll only buy a few minutes at most (and only from that direction) but it's something.

Coughing, he clings to the handle a second longer... too long apparently, as the heat must have melted something inside. It breaks off from that side, warm to the touch against his skin, and he stumbles backwards a few steps towards Akira and Rika. By the time the former shouts for him, Shuichi's pretty much made his way back to them, staring with what he even has left of his ability to process anything at the horror show of hands and blood-covered ghost(?) before him. ]

Th... The fourth floor... we have to hurry!

[ A direction, since he doubts Akira's had time to think of one in his frantic efforts. And... as the other pulls Rika free, Shuichi's going to very politely...

...place the door knob in the ghost's expectant, open palm.

It's a hand...le? Listen, close enough, there are ways to get creative with your art without killing people!? There's a reason Captain Hook is popular, etc. Okay, goodbye, he's out of there right behind the other two!!! ]

[ The ghost lets go of Rika and Akira to softball pitch the doorknob at the back of Shuichi's head. ]

[ Can't believe the ghost doesn't take criticism on their art...... or suggestions...... actually nvm nobody in this club or school ever does. Anyway the handle can hit Shuichi in the head and he gets a concussion.

GAME OVER......

This mission is never getting done.

JK because of the distance, it hits him in the shoulder and he yelps in pain but it only makes him run faster. ]

[ Maybe if Shuichi gave her... a hand...

But it's fine, it doesn't look like the student gives chase, and they're able to make it up the stairs and to the fourth floor landing where the door opens for them to find themselves face to face with a wall of fire. If they don't immediately close the door and walk away, they'll realize that they feel no heat from the fire, and Shuichi in particular will feel a sense of deja vu, like he knows exactly what's on the other end of the hall and how to get there. ]

[ it was two letters off?? so picky.....

Anyway... Shuichi slouches forward as they all stare at the open door and flames, hands on his knees for support while he's catching his breath. That was (insert number of stairs there actually are) steps too many to be running from fire and blood-thirsty ghosts. And his shoulder still hurts.

But... ]

...It really is just like that time. Kawai-san, you remember it too, right?

[ Because it was Rika with him that time, and in fact she jumped through the flames and gave him the scare of his life before he could even process the lack of heat or the fact it was safe. He almost wants to smile at the memory, in a sort of resigned way that says both "please don't do that again" and "I'm glad you're here" at the same time, but they don't have the time or the luxury. Instead, it's his turn to lead the way for the others this time. ]

I-It's alright. These flames aren't spreading... see? There's no heat to them, either. Kawai-san and I saw this before, but it was... ah, in the other school.

[ Does that mean they're in there somehow...? Did they see blood in some way when they opened the fourth floor door, and would breaking a mirror bring them back? Given the situation, that would help a lot, but there are inconsistencies too so they can't just bank on it. Either way, he steps forward and through the flames, making good on his own words that it doesn't pose danger. If he remembers from last time... it was an empty corridor, with two gorintos at the end.

Is that what's here too? ]

( everything happens so fast. one second, she's stumbling through the door, into a room straight from a nightmare, a ghastly hand holding onto hers, tight and unrelenting. the next, akira's grabbing her by the literal scruff of her neck to drag her right out of there, with shuichi following, and stuffing the ghost's hand with... something. either way, rika's stumped the whole way through, and... maybe a little zoned out, because helping dead girls is kind of her modus operandi, y'know?

if akira didn't drag her out, she might've just given the ghost her hand for real.

but, well. she doesn't get a chance to pull any self-sacrificial stunts; instead, she follows after them, up to the fourth floor, where the flames stop emanating heat. she holds onto akira's sleeve the whole way there, because he's kinda saved her, and now she'll cling to him, no escape. )

Oh... yeah. ( she remembers it pretty well, including jumping straight into the fire and screaming bloody murder, and watching shuichi almost die from the sheer shock. good times —

that said, if this is a hint, then maybe it's worth investigating it further. )

There was someone up there, too, right? Uh, when I spoke to the ghost, I heard footsteps... don't go too far ahead, 'kay? It's better not to separate, or we might actually lose our hands. ( says the one who started a screaming match with a ghost and got dragged into the horror room, but, listen — )

[ Don't worry Rika, he's not going far. You saved him, he saved you, and it all just goes to show you're probably best off sticking close together so you can have his sleeve - Akira won't pull away. Getting her back is relieving enough to return his focus on what's important - getting out of here - so he dutifully follows Shuichi's lead when he herds them all out of here. He's happy to follow someone with the guts to pull that handle trick. If they had more time he'd pat you on the shoulder for that, Shuichi.

-- Anyway, I guess it's Akira who's got the most surprise when they meet with the wall of flames, since he sure... hasn't experienced anything like this before, and it's hard not to have his heart jump into his throat when Shuichi moves forward through them. But true to his words the flames seem harmless here. As if to test it, Akira raises the arm not being claimed by Rika to wave it through the fire first. He's silent at first beyond a low hum of recognition; a glance to Kokichi, a glance to Rika - before he quietly follows suit after Shuichi, through the wall of flames and to the other side. He can't help but reach up and touch his eyebrows once they've made it across - just making sure they're still there and not burned off. Looks like it's fine in the end. ]

Hopefully Saihara has a few more to spare.

[ Tricks, or hands... well, who knows.

Anyway, he's taking Rika's warning seriously; he's not as familiar with the area so he'll let the repeat visitors here do the leading, and Akira keeps his eyes and ears open especially for any other people. After the ghost run in, it's probably best to be on guard. ]

[ They walk through the fire without any problems, down the hallway with its burnt down doors and skeleton of what might have once been club rooms. At the very end of the hall is the door up to the stairs, and a window. Upon the sill are two stacks of stones, the gorintos Shuichi was expecting.

Instead of a coin atop of each one, however, a thin gold chain is draped around the both of them, and at the end of the chain is a pendant: third of a heart with a tiny blue gem, the center of the metal scratched and filed down so that all that is left are the letters "B FO" inscribed upon it. ]

[ Shuichi... takes note of the chain, but the necklace is more Rika's thing considering she has the others. He'll let her decide what to do with that -- besides, he's more interested in the gorintos themselves. (Me sitting here like, why didn't I try this on that plot clue?? I can't remember but anyway I guess Shuichi didn't know enough back then, it's fine.) ]

Ah... They look a little different from when we saw them the other time, but... these were here before.

[ He's explaining for Akira and Kokichi who weren't with them that time, but his mind starts to work all the same. Those necklaces... regardless of how Rika came to have them, if he remembers correctly, the other two were shown in a meeting once by the person who'd found them first. So there are three pieces, presumably for three different people, but only two gorintos... Was the third one the person who placed the coins at the top? Were they trying to do something about that? Or maybe... they just wanted to see and hear someone dear again.

Just a little, Shuichi feels he can relate to that.

Softly, before he's even really thinking about it, there's a hand coming up and he reaches for the gorinto on the left, brushing his fingers against its topmost stone. If it'll work the same as the others he's tested out with Hinata... he wants to know. Who is it for...? Who were they? ]

[ Shuichi touches the topmost stone and... there's a skip, like he'd nodded off and jerked back awake, missing an undetermined amount of time with no memory of anything. The same happens with the gorinto on the right, but it's a slower transition of falling asleep and waking back up, again without any memory associated with it. ]

[ The gorinto on the right just reminds him of Chiaki stabbing him now to be honest, that can be what he flashes back to in the middle of falling asleep and it jolts him immediately. He wakes up and just holds his side, almost wincing. Speaking of best friends forever, true besties stab the same guy for (essentially) the same reason. ]

...S-Sorry. Hinata-kun and I found out that touching these can sometimes show you... a bit of the person's memory. It's just their last moments... but I suppose these two might be a little too old.

[ Or... you know, the coins were already used. Aiko's gorinto stopped doing anything too once she was gone, and it'd make sense chronologically... in a normal place, but who knows about this school. ]

[ Akira's quiet while Shuichi observes - since it's the first time he's encountered the gorintos, he's not sure... what level of respect he should be giving them. Anyway, it's not like they have time to pay them anything proper, and it doesn't seem like Shuichi got much from touching them. ]

... I guess it's too much to ask for an easy hint from them, huh.

[ The necklace doesn't hold any familiarity either, cut him some slack he's the new transfer student okay... but the letters. They don't actually mean anything to him, but as he quietly stares towards them something seems to click behind his glasses. ]

... I don't know that it's related, but this reminds me. We found something weird downstairs, too. [ 'We' being he and Kokichi, when he kicked down that locker and got blood (and other assortments) all over his shoes. They haven't had time to breathe so he couldn't touch on it - and this is a poor 'safe room' to do it, but he figures they're running out of time. ] A scrap of paper, with scratched out letters... names, I think. Mine was sort of on it, too.

[ His free hand rubs the back of his neck, a little too casual about the whole thing - again, he's new, so it's not like the other names meant a ton to him. And he didn't get a good chance to study it either, because... he's staring at Kokichi now, a phantom thief's eyes upon the thief who stole it from him. He doesn't mind stealing it back if he has to. ]

[ The paper is brittle, dry from the heat and easy to tear and much of it already has. On it are a list of names, copypasted here for my benefit as much as anybody else's:

~~▓▓▓▓▓uki Shirogane~~
Ki▓▓▓ka Ish▓▓▓▓▓
~~▓▓baru Akeh▓▓▓~~
▓▓ede Akamat▓▓
▓na Adams
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓akugou
▓▓▓▓▓▓urusu
▓dd
Ste▓▓▓▓▓ell

The dark spots blotted out with blood or burned through with fire can't be helped, but the names that are scratched out... XXbaru AkehXXXX, XXXXXXXurusu, Xdd... They can speculate all they want, but this list of names isn't going to help them escape, nor does it look like the necklace— whether they decide to take it or leave it be is up to them.

Akira is right, though: this is a poor safe room, with the fire not burning them now but soon the very real one will catch up to them and the further up they run, the less ways there are to escape. ]

( the necklace... it catches her eye immediately, and as shuichi does his thing with the gorinto, and akira mentions the paper, and kokichi presumably shows it to them, she just stares at it, transfixed. finally? the third piece? jekyll had left her the other two when he died...

without much thought, she wraps her sleeve around her hand, just to be safe, and grabs the necklace, bringing it close to her face. )

Wonder what'll happen when I put all three together... ( Very Inchresting ) ... anyway, what's with the gorintos and the paper? Any hints there?

[ Shuichi looks pale as he casts his gaze over the paper, fingers slightly shaky when he holds it for himself. He can recognize... every single one of these names, and that worries him. Why are only some of them striked out? The strikes don't correspond necessarily with the people who disappeared before or are still here, either... He hands it back to Akira as Rika asks, and then shakes his head. ]

There's no doubt that this paper is relevant somehow... I think we should hold on to it. But... I don't think it's related to these gorintos, or the necklace.

[ So Akira can take it back since it was his, or Kokichi can snipe it again, but anyway Shuichi turns towards the window. ]

Sorry, Kurusu-kun, but can you try the door? I'll take the window.

[ Whatever Rika does with the necklace is up to her, but they do need to get out of the building somehow. He maneuvers around the gorintos with care, trying not to topple them in his attempts, but he's going to try to see if the window opens. And in the process, also look through it for any hints of what's happening outside. ]

[ The necklaces will fit perfectly beside one another despite the dents and dings some of them sport, but they fall apart just as easily, no internal magnet or anything of the sort to keep them together.

Shuichi tries to open the window, and while it rattles with his effort, the latch does not move to let the window slide open. When he looks outside, he can see the area past the courtyard: dry grass just down below, what looks like a pond to the left, and past that where the dorms stand, half a building that's in splinters as if bulldozed to the ground. There is not a soul to be seen outside, but with the pounding he'd be able to feel if he presses his hand against the window, it isn't for the lack of trying.

Akira will find that the door opens easily, and that it's easier to breathe— the door at the top of the stairs that lead to the rooftop has been left slightly ajar, and there is less smoke up here. The smell of alcohol continues to linger. ]

[ He'll nod when given back the paper, only fold it once before carefully tucking the delicate scrap away, and wastes no time in following the suggestion and going for the door. There's brief hesitance with one hand laid upon it, then resting on the handle, testing for heat again... but when it seems safe he's pushing it open and stepping onto the first rung. A short breath heaves from his chest - he almost thinks he could taste fresh air, freedom, if it wasn't for the alcohol.

(Not him hoping they can scale the building to escape; bets Rika would love it, he already promised to carry Kokichi down ~~no, he probably can't actually do that~~, and... thinks it would be sure fun to watch Shuichi try it. ) ]

... This way's clear. We can get outside.

[ That strong smell is worrying, but at least the fire doesn't seem to be here and they don't have better options. Akira only pokes his head back once to gesture towards the group with his free hand before taking it upon himself to go first. He'll move up the stairs, hunched at the shoulders in a slight crouch when he gets to the top, and very slowly push the door to the roof open. ]

[ scale the building with WHAT their bare hands and feet, I hope so, I want to see this

It might end up being that way anyways, because when Akira pushes the door to the rooftop open, he's met with an open sky, tainted smoggy brown with smoke with a bright red disk of a sun hanging right over his head. The rooftop is largely empty, no desks or chairs or lunchtime litter to suggest it's a very popular hangout spot, and as with the rooftop they've been able to see from the clocktower, the rooftop here and now also does not have any fencing around the perimeter.

But before they think they've been chasing ghosts, they can spot a lone figure towards the left side of the rooftop, a student in a black hoodie standing with their heels on the edge and toes over it, head bowed and staring down at the courtyard below. ]

[ not the bare-handed scaling... every time something this comes up i just think about this, it haunts me

There's... someone out there. He can see them through the door Akira's opened, while he's still half-inside, in the process of following once the window had given him no hints. He'd thought about trying to break it if they had to, since it seemed to at least rattle from his efforts, but... the only things they could try that with are the rocks from the gorintos, and Shuichi would rather not disturb those like that. So the door is preferable -- and much more certain to get them out, considering it opened. ]

...I'll go. If it's dangerous, it would help if we had someone... ah, more athletic stay as backup.

[ Hidden for the surprise element he means, and he looks away in embarrassment as he mumbles the word 'athletic' because we all know he means he's a useless twink who'd be bad in a fight. Either way, saying that, Shuichi walks past Akira with careful steps. Before he knows it... an image flashes through his mind, of a person perched on a branch of the wisteria tree, a rope around their neck -- and himself and Hinata...

He shakes it out of his mind. It's true that the figure's positioning gives off faintly the same impression, but this isn't the time. He approaches them slowly, ready to stop if it seems like him closing in has the risk of sending them into a panic. ]

H-Hello...? Are you... alright?

[ It's a stupid question maybe, but if he says nothing, they might misinterpret the intentions he's approaching with, considering the state of everyone else. ]

[ Shuichi out here with experience

The student's head lifts just slightly at Shuichi's approach, still looking down at the ground but it's clear that he's caught their attention. There is no panic, no surprise at another person up here, and no apparent intention to do much more than stand and prepare themselves. ]

No, I'm not.

[ It's a quiet voice, calm. Not at all worried. ]

Neither are you. What are you all doing in this memory?

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me praying this doesn't snipe ori

I CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT SNIPED crying

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