(open) alice in yogen...land

[shimashima]

Who: Alice and anyone!
What: Awakening + some post-arrival catch-all content for variety (library studying efforts; music room moment of silence; attempting to carry out his "three hopeful deeds" quest; testing whether he can bathe without summoning his fairy godmother at awkward times or prove that it was all a prank after all).
When: Late January and probably early February.
Where: First floor hallways and locker area; library; music room; dorm building common room and bathrooms; anywhere you want to run into him to aid his mission.
Warnings: YTTD spoilers and discussions of death in some threads.


a. first floor — counselor's office to lockers: awakening

[ Alice blinks, shaking his head as he catches himself against the doorway. The fog hampering him barely lifts; something feels off, but it slips through his fingers as soon as he pursues it. Finding a mysterious surprise in one pocket is just as perplexing — 35.4 N, 138.6 E... Whose writing is this, and why is the note in his possession? Since when...?

The answers don't come. They definitely aren't written on the walls, or the floor, or anyone's face. For now, Alice folds the scrap of paper back into a small square to store in his locker — it's possible that he simply needs to get some rest, out of sorts, he decides.

Upon reaching the correct row of lockers, entering the combination for his own, he hovers there too long, abruptly gripping the edge of the locker's open door so tightly that his hand trembles, white-knuckled, and the locker hinges creak. His other hand does the same with the front of his jacket, creasing its lapels.

This, all of this— What in the world is he doing here, classes to attend on his mind, years after already finishing high school...? In such a plain uniform, at that! It's almost as bad as enduring the restrictive shackles of "slammer style"! These thoughts hurtle through his head, wherever they came from, knocking loose question after question, each one more dizzying to ponder than the last.

He shuts the locker, and thinks of countless others lining a white room. He opens it again, merely to continue peering inside at its perfectly normal contents, seized by the absurd fear that he'll come face to face with a gun-wielding schoolgirl. But that can't be right — she was outside—

In some sort of nonsensical dream, yes? ]

How... how ridiculous...!

[ Open, shut. Open, shut. A white room with a stained ceiling. Perhaps it would be best to turn around and leave for a change of scenery, but he can't seem to clear his head for that, soon clutching onto the locker partly because his knees might buckle otherwise as one hand tugs at his shirt's collar. ]

b. library: totally blending in

[ The spectre of finals week may have been vanquished for the time being, but this is still a school, and the start of another semester heralds the inexorable approach of further torment. Not only that, but if the rumors are to be believed, this particular school's methods are plainly insane, the biggest yikes imaginable! It's like a death game, culling students so cruelly...

As tempting as it must be for everyone to hide from it all (right?), they have no choice but to prepare in advance for whatever else lies in store.

Alice, for his part, is seated at a table in the library, textbooks and pages of notes laid out before him. A model prisoner elsewhere, it should be a piece of cake to mold himself into a model student here, thanks to the completed high school experience under his belt, thus setting an inspiring example to follow — it's the least he can do now. And so, with what might be unexpected diligence, he turns page after page, the tip of his pen scratching across paper, covering the sheets in neat (if somewhat odd-looking) handwriting.

Consequently, the look of concentration he wears is particularly intense, closer to scowling at the study materials in front of him — at least until he pauses for so-called furtive glances cast around rather conspicuously. Eating in the library is surely forbidden, and he knows better than to try his luck here, even with his unparalleled capacity for stealth, but how can anyone focus uninterrupted for hours on end on an empty stomach?!

All the same, despite such inconvenient obstacles, if anyone in the vicinity appears to be noticeably discouraged in the face of their schoolwork today, Alice will eventually speak up. ]

...Trick questions would violate some kind of code... I'm sure of it. So it's simply a matter of studying regularly, and paying attention in class, in order to face future exams without any mental blocks... Perhaps that's the key to avoiding a terrible fate.

c. music room: reko was better at this

[ Why come here, of all places?

Alice can't play a single instrument — it makes no difference whether or not most are locked away out of reach. Even so, once he's approached the piano, he lingers there awhile, though he only lets his fingertips wander across a few keys, slowly, from left to right, without pressing down.

He does hum under his breath, just a brief sequence of notes that breaks off before long, leaving the song unfinished. ]

d. dormitory common room, various locations: three hopeful deeds

[ Support others, lift their spirits by returning hope to their despairing hearts... What a task he's been handed! Honestly, there's a part of him that thinks this is purely for his peculiar fairy godmother's entertainment. He's rather out of practice when it comes to spending so much time around others, for one — unless this school counts, hazily, and the Death Game before it — and no one seems especially inclined to regard him as a beacon of hope.

(Did his words dispel Ranmaru Kageyama's despair, that time...?)

Nevertheless, unwilling to risk something dreadful if the entire thing is true, Alice is taking his quest seriously indeed. Around the school grounds, on each floor and from rooftop to courtyard, he stays on the lookout for anyone who might fit the description of someone who has lost the will to go on.

In the dormitory building's common room, however, while he tries to surreptitiously keep up his watchful observing from a free seat, the disturbing decor remains distracting. This feels horribly familiar, too, all these paintings on the walls. ]

As if one art gallery like this wasn't enough...

e. dormitory hallways and bathrooms: haunting

[ Since human bodies continue to function as they did in life outside of this bizarre purgatory, it would be completely disgusting to have no access to running water, and so forth. Daily showers are as necessary as ever!

But with a ghostly presence lurking about, how is a man to bathe in peace?! Said ghost could appear at any moment, and if it wasn't a lie that no one else can see him, reacting aloud would arouse suspicion...

Alert, Alice does his best to tiptoe through the hallways, and to flatten himself against the walls without touching any of the paintings. It's a race against time — he can't hold his breath much longer to stay silent as he creeps towards the nearest bathroom! ]

Comments

[shimashima]

[ Onlookers might be taken aback by the sequence of events that plays out. The collision shouldn't do much more than jostle Alice slightly, perhaps jab him with the corner of a textbook or two, but in its wake, the instant he sees his attacker, his mind returns to its most recent thoughts. What was that clatter of an item hitting the floor — a gun?! ]

D-Don't shoot meeee!!

[ Alice scrambles back a step, against the lockers, arms raised. But he's quite awake, feeling rather unwell aside, and no one has a gun trained on him, and that there... That lopsided hair... ]

...Sara Chidouin!

[ Of course — they've already established that she is a trustworthy high schooler. Lowering his hands, Alice folds his arms instead, over his too-rapid heartbeat. ]

Why are you making a face like that? I'm unscathed after your sneak attack...

[samuraiwomen]

S-shoot you!?! I..uh...erm!!!

[ That makes her nearly loose her grip again, and she yelps, distracted from her mounting horror as she fumbles. Alice...the last time she saw him, his face had been distorted by the praticular kind of horror that being strangled causes. He'd hardly looked human...the memory is shoved away, the last textbook pushed back into place. Shoot him? Why would she...even if she killed him? What should she say? ]

I don't have any bullets left!! [ She rubs her forehead slightly. Let her step around him, try and get that PDA. ]

I'm glad you're ok [ Truely, even if she knows why...], but I really need to go!! Haha...um!! Yeah!

[shimashima]

[ The jumpy behavior is puzzling — isn't it unnecessary to be in such a panic? With a frown, Alice stoops down, reaching for Sara's PDA to hand it to her. As he holds it out, he searches her expression, but nothing becomes any clearer.

Focusing on her keeps the rest of his confusion at bay, at least. ]

What a strange reaction, even for you, Sara Chidouin... [ It makes her joking about the bullets seem out of place. ] Why don't I accompany you to your destination? I survived, but the next unsuspecting victim—

[ Alice closes his locker, though his hand pauses on its door again. A transceiver, a voice recorder... The floor tilts, and he lurches forward without warning, towards Sara. ]

[samuraiwomen]

[ She stares down at the PDA like it might bite her...hesitantly taking it from his hand, only to grab his wrist and poke it with her finger. Real and warm, alive. So...this isn't a dream? Alice is really here?

He looks normal. He doesn't look mad. Not that he had since that first day, especially after she'd tried to help with Reko but...Sara bites her lip, letting his hand drop. ]

Sorry.

[ There she said it, even if he doesn't know why. She should have stopped Ranmaru. She should have stopped Reko's doll. ]

A victim...haha....wa-WAIT!!!?!

[ She catches him under her arms, wincing as her books clatter to the floor. Hey hey hey! This isn't okay Alice. ]

Alice? Ah...um...do you need some water? [ Pats his cheek, c'mon! ] Ah, I know! I'll take you to the dorms!! You can lie down there!

[shimashima]

I...

[ He had every intention of assuring Sara Chidouin that there's no need to treat him like he's fragile, let alone at death's door, but he's leaning against her too heavily, caught unawares by these damn dizzy spells. No wonder she's reacting with such alarm. She must think that it was the collision.

But why are they here, books in hand, making for the dorms and speaking of water and resting, when...? So much noise, and no air, and that fiend Midori up to no good...

The patting prompts a groan. That hurts! ]

You still look so frightened — is it news of Keiji Shinogi?

[samuraiwomen]

...The nurses office is closer actually! I'll kick Seiya out, he's a jerk, but he's okay.

[ You're twice her size, you big baby! At least if you're groaning you're alive! But he's not looking well and she can't just leave him. Books forgotten, Sara starts to half walk, half drag him down the hall. Very reminiscent of their first meeting. ]

K-keiji?

[ That names almost makes her drop him. Her teeth chatter with a slight click as she has to keep her breaths even. Keiji is... ]

Keiji is fine. [ It doesn't matter what people might imply. Sara hasn't seen him die, so he has to be alive. ] He escaped...the coffin. You remember that right? He showed up at the banquet.

[ He wouldn't, if he's the person Sara knew. But Sou didn't come from her time, and how hard would it have been for Sara to just not...talk to Ranmaru when she did. She could have said he could talk to her later, and they could have gotten on with Midori strangling her. Alice would probably be alive then. ]

[shimashima]

[ Sara Chidouin's thin schoolgirl arms possess such terrifying strength... Even in his current state, laboring to escape from the onslaught of overwhelming images pulling him under, Alice is vaguely aware of Sara's efforts to support almost the entirety of his weight as they inch onward. He tries to right himself, but her words knock him off-balance again.

The banquet...? Should he remember any of that? ]

Keiji Shinogi... it was him, that announcement...?

[ Then it wasn't suspicious after all? But the rest — no, it doesn't slot into the gaps in Alice's memories. Eyes closed for a moment, he touches his temple, which achieves absolutely nothing. ]

What of Maple and Midori? In that room...

[samuraiwomen]

[ idk what they feed her ngl ]

Yeah...! I wasn't sure at the time, but having faith pays off.

[ The timing is looking worse and worse. Remembers the broadcast, doesn't remember the banquet. Almost like...

She already knows the answer, but she picks up the pace. The nurses office should be close. ]

Midori died. We killed him. Maple...didn't make it. Everything worked out Alice. [ She hesitates. Back then, she lied like this to Shin too. She let him believe something nicer...and it had all blown up in her face. ]

Did you see Ranmaru?

[shimashima]

[ The amazing power of jam... Nevertheless, Alice makes another attempt to pull himself together, if only to stare at Sara for her answer. Midori died... So it's possible, and this time, he'll stay dead?

Maple didn't deserve that cruel fate, however... Did everything work out, truly? ]

I don't... [ Nothing that Sara Chidouin has mentioned rings any bells. It's as if she's experienced future events that he has yet to witness. ] Ranmaru Kageyama...? No, he wasn't there with me...

[ Searching through what he recalls, Alice slides his hand down to the side of his neck. ]

He left to check on Naomichi Kurumada... right? But you're saying that all of us defeated Midori together? For good?

[samuraiwomen]

Yeah. I killed Midori. We're um...buddies in that now? High five?

[ The nurses office is before them now, and Sara lets Alice gently off her shoulder -- enough that the hand she holds up for a high five is available. ]

Right, he went off to check... he did something else...but I'm not sure I should tell you today. I will though, I promise. Just...not right now.

[ She'll be brave, and she won't lie. Just let her find a way to say it, Alice. Maybe she can write a letter, in case things get violent. ]

[shimashima]

[ High five... If only killing Midori that day at the cafe had been real and permanent. Leaning against the door frame, Alice eyes Sara's raised hand. After a moment's pause, his palm meets hers, a little awkwardly for the difference in hand size and the fact that he's holding back, increasingly perplexed by her unease.

Is she truly so worried about him? ]

Well... As long as Midori can no longer cause any harm, that's what matters... Going home comes next.

[samuraiwomen]

[ Chin up, if he was that mad about it, killing him couldn't have been worthless.

His hands sure are big. Sara pats it and pulls it back, opening the door of the nurses office. ]

Going home...so you haven't heard yet? Alice...um..Yasabume-san...this school is a place for the dead.

[shimashima]

[ So formal, solemnly telling him something absurd! She's really making him worry... Gaping at Sara, Alice catches hold of her shoulder. ]

What... What are you saying, Sara Chidouin?! We're alive — look, I'm breathing, aren't I?

[ He is! It's growing easier again now, with other things to focus on, and Alice taps his fingertips against his chest for emphasis. There, he's breathing in and out, not on the verge of dying! He's even standing up straighter without stumbling! ]

And you certainly don't look dead...!

[ The nurse should be able to take their pulse, if Sara Chidouin doubts the truth in front of her own eyes. ]

[samuraiwomen]

I...I know how it sounds, but its the truth!

[ He is standing up straighter, reminding Sara that Alice is pretty tall when he's not slumped over or tied up. She doesn't shrug his grip off, but she grimaces and looks away, clearly not happy with the contact. ]

There's a power point Sakasaki-san made...but we're all just lost souls. Think about it, you don't remember us escaping do you? Neither do I! We might have...

[ She balls her fists and very purposefully exhales. ]

We might have died in that game. We're still...somewhere so maybe we can go back, but right now...just accept we died! Then you can look towards the future!

i will do this so they can have their march conversations freely, SORRY TO SARA... deja vu

[shimashima]

[ Think about it — he's trying with all his might, forcing his way through false memories to retrace real ones for confirmation. Escaping isn't among them. Dying... Neither he nor Sara Chidouin herself seem to remember the details of anything so final. ]

The future...? If we died, then Reko...

[ Is she already here, together with the others who lost their lives? But they are breathing, and there isn't a scratch on them, even though he couldn't breathe, and the pressure digging into his throat— ]

I'm...

[ He spoke too soon. It feels like treading water, fruitlessly, submerged too deep to break the surface. He'd nearly reached it, fingers brushing the borders of an answer, but exhaustion closes over his head; his mind refuses to cooperate any further.

And down Alice goes, hand sliding off Sara's shoulder as he topples to the ground with a thud. At least it's in a convenient location this time. ]