yogen | MISSION 2.C

( they're just getting thrown anywhere, but once komaeda manages to get himself together, he'll crawl over to the cairn to rest his back against it. does his head hurt? damn right, but there's no need to complain unless a rock falls and hits him....

anyway, he's going to try and adjust his eyes to the light and their surroundings since they've been in the dark for far too long. is it like early morning? evening? how much sunlight do they have before nightfall, that sort of thing?

maybe this is their alice in wonderland au, you never know hinata, so don't be judgmental about the change! this is normal, it happens in books, and what are their lives if not a story? aside from that, the cicadas sing, and komaeda remains silent like a proper audience while he tries hears hinata speak, but doesn't say much to it. it's probably best to wait for everyone to gather their bearings. if anything he keeps a smile on his face watching them all?? he's done enough mayhem... kind of.

sort of...

looks at the cairn. )

[ It's early morning, at the crack of dawn where warmer hues are just starting to bleed into the sky but the sun hasn't shown its face quite yet.

The cairn... is there. The river is also there. There are a lot of trees and little other sense of where to go besides the two. ]

( the wind knocked out of him and having to let his eyes adjust to the light like he's just woken up from a terrible sleep aside—

natsume is fine. it hurts a little, but nothing he can't work through, sitting up and rolling his shoulder as he takes in the view. they're outside, but is it a real outside, or a fake one? they're inside, but they're outside. ...he should answer hinata, really. )

And with no white rabbit in SIGHT... ( mumbled, but then more clearly: ) More or less alright over HERE, and Komaeda-san seems perfectly fine TOO. How regrettABLE.

( :/ :/ :/ but he'll be a good boy and only let that be his only snipe for the moment, he's here to cooperate (with hinata and helena) )

...Where are WE... ( this is not really a question for any of them to answer considering none of them can, but he'll go to inspect the cairn. the side komaeda isn't resting on. how tall is it, is there anything particularly special about it.

also: nerrrrrrrrrd alerrrrrrrrrrt. ) Cairns — this structure here — are often used as markers for one thing or anoTHER, from safe trails to landmarks proPER, to gravesites and astronoMY. Ancient civilizations would use them to note when the solstices and the equinoxes WERE, particularly for the cultures which those dates were important FOR.

( scots, if he remembers right. but they're still usually doubling as gravesites. )

In a WAY, they're not really unlike our own gorinTOS, albeit larGER.

[she groans softly as she sits up. not being a stranger to pain didn't make it any more wonderful to experience. words come through slowly, because the world is different - smells, feels, sounds so different to her than where they were before. and taking a deep breath, the biggest thing that comes through is that they're outside. not on the school grounds.

gently, she squeezes Hinata's hand back, to let him know she's fine. somewhat sore, and there's definitely a leaf or two in her hair, but she's alive. nothing feels broken or bleeding. a lot had just occurred - and Helena has only felt something like that movement on her skin when certain hunters take the field - but this place, is it safe? how are they to know?

using her cane to help her get up, she turns in the direction of the river. it's not close, but it's water, and doubtless it's more refreshing than anything they can get in the school. ]

Maybe the cairn's a sign to let us know where we are? If it's just on its own here...but there's a river not far off, I can hear it.

[and if it was a choice between a strange structure or the river, she knows what she'd do. the problem then becomes how to return to this cairn if needed.]

Aw, you're no fun... telling them everything about it, but ah... he's right, this landmark has its uses.

( he claps his hands together as if praising natsume for the good work, from all the information he's learned surrounding them, he's in no way to deny the other's claim. it plays into telling them that they're going the right way, or it's also a burial piece, and as for the latter, komaeda hardly cares. if it's not an ultimate's, then what's the point of moving off of it? to be honest, he's not too invested in that aspect of it anyway — though, it's fitting. )

You're rather well-versed in the subject, so this could go one of many ways. We're going to be left for dead — together — or we're on the right track, either way...

( komaeda doesn't want to die with any of them, but he reaches up to rub the back of his neck to massage out the pain. his eyes glance up at the sky trying to see if there's any bird, or is the only life they got the cicadas... what follows after is a cursory glance of their surroundings, and after. )

My, she does sound curious... why don't a couple of you check it out?

( he would go, but he's aware of his luck, and he'd rather not put them in trouble around a river. )

I can stay behind, I just don't know my own strength... one wrong smack, and you might end up in the river yourselves. So think of this as... safety measures.

You wouldn't want to come with us, Mr. Komaeda?

[glancing over her shoulder towards his voice, she frowns a little. the idea of leaving him behind doesn't sit well with her at all.]

Save your BREATH, Adams-san. UnfortunateLY, he's a cockROACH. Even if we left him here and the cairn exploded into a million pieCES, eviscerating the area around it as if a nuclear bomb had gone OFF, Komaeda-san would remain perfectly inTACT.

( :/ )

That being SAID, I don't want to give him the satisfaction of winNING, nor do I want to leave him to his own idiotic deviCES, so I'll have to insist someone either stays back with HIM, or he comes along to the riVER. ( a pause. ) And I am not volunteering myself for babysitting duTY.

( at first, he does wonder why helena looks towards him even though she's unable to see — it makes it more... affectionate, or something of that matter. she doesn't have to waste her time. besides, even the frown is audible in her voices, and that makes sense... she did spend her time at the meeting with him, and whatever else they've done towards this date.

the moment he's about to respond, natsume chimes in, and he can't help but chuckle. )

I'm surprised, such a positive way to saying you want me kept alive, even when you could have cursed my survival... ( aw... natsume. now, he'll speak to helena with a smile. ) That must have been how it sounded, Adams-san, but I assure you, it's for the best —

( he sighs, continuing. ) Like Sakasaki-kun stated, being around me, the cairn could explode, destroying everything, even you, and him, and... ( he points to hinata, sighs, he's level 1 now... no big hope. ) The same can be said if I came along to the river, it could swallow you all whole... Wouldn't it be better if I stayed and was on guard duty?

( taking a page out of natsume's book! )

[ There are no birds in the sky from the brief moment Komaeda looks up, but in the moment that they're all quiet, rustling leaves can be heard, though it's hard to determine whether it's from an animal or the wind.

The cairn in question isn't too tall, around knee high when standing next to it, and they look like normal everyday rocks, no flashbacks when touched, and when standing next to the cairn and looking off in the direction they found it, another one can be seen off into the distance, just barely visible, like markers on a trail.

This being said, I'm only going to mod one thread, so if they split up, one group is going to wander aimlessly and, idk, get eaten by bears or something. ]

( yay, trail markers. )

...But also like I SAID, Komaeda-san, I'm against leaving you aLONE. Which leaves us with one choice to MAKE.

( he glances down towards the next cairn, then to where the river sounds. hmmm. )

Which way are we goING?

Between the two... cairns would be the safest choice given their symbolism.

( he's finally getting up from where he's sitting, stuffing his hands into his pockets as fingers fiddle with some object he's carrying. only to kill time that is, considering they're about to play majority vote. )

For the undecided... we could climb a tree to find our way back to either.

( could is the key word, but who knows if it'd even work. )

[we're going to pretend that hinata's head was hurting and then he discovered the bag beside him instead of yama forgetting to track the thread. anyway.

As the others discuss, Hinata notices the bag caught in the branch and yanks it free. He feels only slightly bad about opening it up when it could belong to someone else; they've just been through a lot, and any clues this could give them would be a huge help.

But he gasps instead, because inside is...]

Food. There's food in here... [Real food, not vending machine food but actual food. Maybe they should get spirited away more often.] It's not much, but it's better than what any of us have probably been having.

[His brow furrows as he listens, closer this time now that his head's a little clearer. It's natural, probably, that there would come a time that the four of them would have a difference in opinion.]

...I kind of want to check out the river that Helena heard. [No more letters. It's safe now, right...?] It's been ages since we had any clean water that wasn't boiled, but... At the same time, Komaeda makes a good point, too. If what Sakasaki says is true, the cairn is probably marking a safer path. The river could have something dangerous near it, like a sheer drop we can't see.

[He doesn't feel right making decisions for anybody, so he'll just weigh in with that. A bit of an argument for both.]

In any case, I think we should stay together no matter what. Even if it seems like we're in a different place now... I don't want to take a chance on running into that... thing again. [Even now, he shivers at the thought of it.] I don't even know if we can do anything against it, but it seems safer to not split up.

Edited (cries in mobile) 2021-08-13 03:47 (UTC)

Exactly. Wherever we go, we need to go together - it would be too easy to lose each other when we don't even know the way.

[but still, she's frowning. not at Komaeda, just in general - at the choice before them. before her, really - being led or leading again, it almost feels like, but she fully turns back towards the men.]

Mr. Komaeda votes for the cairns. I vote for the river. Mr. Hinata's pointed out the virtues of both. So...it's up to Mr. Sakasaki. What he says, we can consider the winner.

[this is the most fair way to do it, she thinks.]

( raises his hand as he looks towards hinata.

hmmm. )

I change my mind. I'll chime in with Hinata-kun.

...Let me remind you that just because the water is running and looks clear doesn't necessarily make it CLEAN. There's hundreds of microbacteria that can prove harmful to the human body - we'd still have to boil it before consumption just to be SAFE.

( sigh. natsume considers their options though; rivers would certainly have a higher chance of civilization, if there's any. it's generally best to stick with them... but there are the cairns, and more of them proves there's a trail to use...

...maybe it is selfish to turn towards the next cairn because he isn't interested in running the risk of drowning with his negative modifier in swimming but literally none of them know he can't swim and they have enough good reasons to follow the cairns anyway. )

Bring the FOOD, Hajime-kun. I'm sure neither of these routes will disappoint US, and rivers are easy enough to find again anyWAY. They make sound, after ALL.

( there settled gosh )

( NOOO WAIT. raises his OTHER hand as he looks towards natsume.

hmmm. )

I change my mind. I'll chime in with Sakasaki-kun.

Edited (Cuter) 2021-08-13 11:53 (UTC)

( oh he is resisting the urge to murder komaeda.

but he smiles back at him. okay! )

There's no chiming IN. I made our decision for US. But thank you for agreeing with an "untalented person" like ME, Komaeda-san.

( :) :) :) )

Thank you for acknowledging your lack of worth! Now it's known to all of them, who knew a little chime was enough to make you realize!

( he laughs, looking towards helena and hinata. he's surrounded by untalented people, so he has to work a little harder here.

and then he leans towards helena, "whispering" with his hand next to his mouth, but loud enough for natsume to hear, purposefully. )

People get so negative about themselves when someome agrees with them. Don't worry, his bad habit.

Edited 2021-08-13 12:10 (UTC)

( never mind he is going to murder komaeda. he will feed him to the bears. he will discard his remains in the river, or off a sheer drop or something, to make it look like he just fell.

natsume wordlessly shakes his head at helena and just ignores komaeda's new bait, even though it is Extremely Hard to bite his tongue god he should get an award. )

( was dropping bodies + chiaki not enough for you? anyway... bossy, isn't he? not like komaeda doesn't like that, but he'll go on and walk back to the cairn to stand next to it.

you know the danganronpa stand. )

[ You know how I was all "it's an obvious choice bc the cairns clearly mark a path and they can follow it out and then right back here where they started to find the river again and they can do both" and then a dozen comments later,,,

Anyways, now that Komaeda's standing right next to the cairn, he too can see the second one out in the distance. It's like 50 ft out there before the undergrowth gets too dense to see any further. If it helps the decision any, Helena, with her above-average hearing, can hear twigs snapping and the heavy footsteps of a large, four-legged something lumbering towards them from the river side. ]

[when you're all too much of gamers to make a rational decision even when this is what you're given...forgive us Ori

the animal sounds are enough to startle Helena from her place, though, and she steps quickly towards the group.]

Fine, then, but let's be off. It might not be safe to stay here for too long.

[at least no one needs to hold hands? even though it's nice to do, they can make their way through the forest and on the path marked by cairns. if they backtrack, which they can do when four brain cells collide, they'll be able to follow the water. but in the meantime, the vote has been cast.

someone else gets to lead the group now, anyway.]

( excellent. natsume'll lead then, being the person who pointed out the importance of cairns... he likes being in charge anyway. komaeda isn't wrong to think of him as bossy, after all. )

Are we being hunTED? ( how fun. it's half a joke, though it makes him think of how he called himself a hunter, not prey..... sighs god he really can be so embarrassing sometimes. he'll stick with it though. ) I'm relying on you to let us know if anything's coming for US... Adams-san ♪ We'll keep our eyes peeled for you as WELL.

( or he and hinata will, he doesn't trust their fourth (:

as promised though he's keeping an eye out as he leads them ♥ everyone do your part ok ♥ )

( don't be that way, listen when komaeda's luck save everyone's life... you'll see. it may not be now, but you'll see!

so something is chasing them? how interesting, but he also remembers that hinata mentioned something about finding food. ignoring what's going on, while making sure to start walking whichever way everyone starts to go... komaeda is digging in hinata's bag to grab... the cinnamon crackers.

i'm sorry hinata, komaeda has plans.

which happens to be leaving behind a trail of cracker crumbs, he's only used one... so if anyone wants to take what he has... then feel free. )

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visual by enh coz nms asked me to post it here