when the bubblegum pops

[sisters]

Who: Rantarou Amami & you
What: September catch-all
When: September & some backdates
Where: Various locations
Warnings: TBA

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01.) the world lights at your smile
•　open — 08/27-31, around the school

( it's true that, the morning after he opens his eyes in the courtyard once more, amami doesn't waste any time on checking up on the people he feels like he needs to speak to. at the same time, it's a pretty short list, and half of them are gone. how much of a difference does it really make if he comes back one week or the next anyway? if he doesn't go out of his way to find someone though, it's still entirely possible to see him around the school — borrowing a sketchbook from the art room, taking some notes in the music room, or moving what seems to be an obscene amount of money into his locker. noticing the presence of anyone he hasn't seen in a while, he'll offer a wave and a warm smile in the midst of whatever he's doing.

on the 27th in particular, he can be found rummaging through a locker that some might recognize is clearly not his. the first twenty minutes or so are spent haphazardly scribbling notes down from a series of stickies pinned up against the locker door. the remainder of the time is spent picking out belongings from the locker one-by-one to take a look at before he decides whether he should drop them into a backpack that's half-slung over his shoulder. to his credit, he doesn't seem to be interested in too much of it, putting the majority back in after a cursory glance, but it's entirely possible that it could stand out to someone familiar with locker 097. )

02.) and shines at the sound of your laugh
•　open — anywhere, any time

( have an idea? feel free to throw anything else my way, or if you're unsure, you can hit me up via pm or at kagehira! )

Comments

[notsosou]

[It's possible to reason out who he is with a careful look at the roster... at this point the opportunity to try and change it has saileddd and he's been hoping nobody bothers. One of the numerous small background worries in the bottom of the percolator.]

Well, that's good...

[That's actually more interest than he was expecting. He's sort of mentally flapping at the reflexive 'he's TOO interested in what you have to say' like someone waves a teatowel under a smoke alarm while muttering 'I know, I know'.]

It's easier if I just show you... Come to the library. [There's a bright gleam to his eyes, before they close and he adds on:] ...If you'd like.

[And then he's uh... he's vanishing from the music room. Did not expect this. Guy moves fast when he wants to, although the crawlspaces might have a few shortcuts aiding him.

There's no traps in the library and Shin is blissfully unaware of any history Rantaro might have with such; should he actually want to follow Shin'll be waiting just inside, standing near a bookshelf and reading in whatever spot happens to be warmest. Possibly Rantaro has already been here and already knows, but in his mind it's a good place to start a conversation about it; the fact that the turning pages are audible.]

[sisters]

( oh, yeah, there's a bit of confusion in his expression at shin's invitation, though he doesn't let any real doubt pass through, and it lightens up some with the addendum shin gives too. it might not be what he'd expected, but amami at least kind of gets that some things are easier shown than explained, and he'll pull himself to his feet to follow along a little behind as they make their way back downstairs to the library, not in nearly as much of a rush as the other seems to be, but... at least shin seems excited, whatever it is? with a peek in the door, amami will make his way over to him. )

...

( kind of pauses there for a moment, looking at shin like he's expecting the other to, you know, show him something in the library where they definitely can't speak. except, after waiting for it, there goes the page — fwip. there's a second's delay while that registers, and as if a switch has been flipped, amami's expression lights up with surprise. )

Oh!

( not sure if he's more surprised by the sound of the pages turning, or his own voice here. )

[notsosou]

[He can't help but grin when he looks up at Rantaro's reaction. Let's hope it actually looks like a reasonable smile and not an upsetting one because sometimes that just happens, although the chance goes up with stress.]

Haha.

[It's the first time he's laughed in Yogen that it actually sounds happy (a thought that makes me sad) even though it's tinged bittersweet. Haruka... she can only be why, somehow.]

Interesting, right? It happened after we went to the fourth floor. [Technically more than a week after, but, well, Shin has the context to draw the direct connection.] I'm wondering what else might have changed... what do you say we swap notes?

[Give to get, right?]

[sisters]

( oh, yeah, gonna assume this one is reasonable, if only because the icon makes me want to give him some credit. the laugh is enough for amami to snap out of the surprise after a moment and his expression returns to a slightly sheepish smile of his own, but his eyes are bright, conveying his interest. )

The fourth floor, huh...? ( thinking about it for a moment, this isn't the first time that's been mentioned to him. )

Sure. I have some things that you might find interesting too.

( and with that, he'll hold out one hand, letting shin lead the way to wherever he thinks would be best to go over things. )

[notsosou]

It's a deal then! This way...

[There's a brief pause before he takes Rantaro's wrist and heads out of the library, pausing before the bathroom in the corner before pulling his scarf up over his mouth and heading all the way down past the lockers to the one at the other end of the hallway.

The auditorium void's been increasingly growing during his visits, the border firmly marked on his mental map. He can't know how far it's expanded since he last was there, so better a safe margin than sorry. He doesn't know what's in there but it can't be good; he's antsy being just this close.

He lets go of Rantaro's hand once they're in there and with practiced motions, unwraps the bandage from his left hand and takes the knife from his pocket. There's several cuts in various stages of healing but Shin just pricks the side of a finger and flicks the bead to the floor; a record of learning how to be economical with blood. As the dilapidation creeps in he leans against one of the mirrors, easily within reach of an elbow while he rewraps the hand.]

Now we've got all the time we need, ahaha.

[He's noticed that little effect... and also that it means they can't be eavesdropped on in here.]

[sisters]

( shin is a genius.

that's what goes through amami's empty ass head, a little caught off-guard when shin moves to prick his finger, but moments later finding it to actually be pretty impressive. he's a little more thoughtful about the blood (amami will have to keep that in mind later,) but also the realization that they really can use the void for more than they'd think. did this specific situation call for it? maybe not, but amami's pretty pleased with this knowledge nonetheless. )

Hadn't considered doing this before, but I have to say it's a pretty interesting idea.

( give him a minute and — oh, right, this isn't about shin's void tricks; this is about what they've learned this past little while. shin said it was a swap, so amami figures he'll open with the context he has and where he's been, just so shin has a sense of what to expect. )

You said you went to the fourth floor, right? Seems like a handful of you disappeared over there. As for me, I just went to the courtyard.

( maybe 20 days was a bit of a longer trip and he was the only one who didn't come back from his but, also, don't worry about it. )

[notsosou]

[Shin's got a knack for exploiting rulesets, seeing the potential in clear-cut properties. Even though I joke about the void food a lot, it's the result of some sound logical reasoning from how he's seen the void work... it's just that he's missing one crucial element. That's usually the sort of thing that trips him up, in the end. His eyes still have that gleam. Really? Nobody else has thought of this? Maybe he should have kept this up his sleeve... but it doesn't really matter now.]

Isn't it? Wouldn't recommend being too cavalier with it, though...

[He doesn't trust the void enough to try and catch sleep in it, for example. The one time he passed out in here he woke up surrounded by void students just... staring down at him. Contemplating. Creepy.

This particular use is also a risky move to make, as far as he's concerned. No time and no one to hear is extremely useful for a covert conversation but it also means no evidence or rescue if whoever you're in with wants to kill you - the crawlspaces are a safer place to meet than this, and it's no coincidence he's at the mirror nearest the door. The fact he's here, and giving his own oblique warning to be careful, speaks to the testing of the waters.]

You were curious about the tree, huh?

[He's gonna tug at this thread a little, because it's certainly not 'just' a trip to the courtyard if Rantaro's mentioning it in this context. The tree's the most obvious reason to investigate there that comes to his mind.]

[sisters]

( amami spares a glance to the mirrors, kind of grimaces. )

Yeah, don't worry — this place isn't exactly my idea of a good time.

( it's just, y'know, when you find yourself on another side of the school that reflects the past in a place like this, anyone would be able to see that that's got to be a big piece of the puzzle. something important to putting together the mystery, and to solving the problem that the transfer students are faced with. for all of the ease he shows at their new surroundings, as if he's far too used to them, it's not a place he'd choose over any other in the school.

but that's beside the point, eyes flickering back to meet shin's. )

And the tree... Well, actually, we were going to talk to the guy who looks after it. You know about Kazuki-san, the gardener?

( amami's not sure just how much his name is circulating right now; he's not exactly secretive about it over meetings, but he's not certain if it's become common knowledge quite yet either. in any case, he'll continue on with a sigh that's telling of the fact that it probably wasn't such a liesurely, enjoyable trip he took. )

Hanako-kun, he was pretty convinced that Kazuki-san was dangerous. A threat, y'know? So a few of us went to talk and... Anyway, things got pretty complicated. We, uh... we ran into some difficulties after showing up on this side of the school.