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now we've got bad blood
Who: Shin & close CR (and the Nanamis if desired)
What: Despairzone 2022, Flipside
When: Hope your Valentine's Day is going well, Shin's sure isn't
Where: People's phones and dorm doors, Moon 1
Warnings: Past abuse/toxic friendship is likely to come up
Midori is here. Let Sara and Alice know.
Eight words from Ranger that make Shin feel like all of his blood has turned to ice. His mouth is dry and his mind whirling as he stares down at the screen, thoughts and implications racing frantically through a brain that otherwise might as well have been suddenly replaced with cotton wool or cottage cheese.
He feels sick. With only a token effort at excusing himself, he just runs straight out of the room to the nearest bathroom. It's an off-kilter blur of the mirror, and the twinned shine off fixtures, and his own nausea and ragged frantic breathing, until the fact he's clutching his phone still tight enough for it to maybe break registers through the pain in his hand.
He swallows thickly, and tries to breathe, and sends a reply to Ranger with the slow, deliberate effort of someone trying to do something delicate while out of it. If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny at all. He tries to collect himself, pull himself back together into one place, every nerve on high alert because he can't afford to fall apart if this is true. He's staring at the screen with intensity and a taut, shivering frame. Ranger is... well he's not the sort to outright lie, right? Just mislead. So this is true? Probably... he'd really like this to not be happening.
His hand buries itself in the wool of Nene's scarf. It's a comfort and it isn't. He doesn't know anything. He- he needs to know what's going on.
No reply.
Here in Yogen Shin's let himself get comfortable, sprawled out like ivy, retreating with frost, reaching up towards sunlight, putting down roots. It's not until the possibility that he might need to withdraw completely back into his shell appears that so does the lurching horror that he just might not fit any more. Vulnerabilities exposed no matter what he does, and so many.
All he can do is try. There's nothing to do but to try, and warn as many people as possible before Midori gets his hooks in them like he did to him. He sends his final text to Ranger and lets his head thunk back against the bathroom wall, exhaling. Right now, Shin is at the closest to an advantage he'll get... he just needs to hold onto that.
He lifts up his phone again, and bracing with the other hand, gets to his feet.
What: Despairzone 2022, Flipside
When: Hope your Valentine's Day is going well, Shin's sure isn't
Where: People's phones and dorm doors, Moon 1
Warnings: Past abuse/toxic friendship is likely to come up
Midori is here. Let Sara and Alice know.
Eight words from Ranger that make Shin feel like all of his blood has turned to ice. His mouth is dry and his mind whirling as he stares down at the screen, thoughts and implications racing frantically through a brain that otherwise might as well have been suddenly replaced with cotton wool or cottage cheese.
He feels sick. With only a token effort at excusing himself, he just runs straight out of the room to the nearest bathroom. It's an off-kilter blur of the mirror, and the twinned shine off fixtures, and his own nausea and ragged frantic breathing, until the fact he's clutching his phone still tight enough for it to maybe break registers through the pain in his hand.
He swallows thickly, and tries to breathe, and sends a reply to Ranger with the slow, deliberate effort of someone trying to do something delicate while out of it. If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny at all. He tries to collect himself, pull himself back together into one place, every nerve on high alert because he can't afford to fall apart if this is true. He's staring at the screen with intensity and a taut, shivering frame. Ranger is... well he's not the sort to outright lie, right? Just mislead. So this is true? Probably... he'd really like this to not be happening.
His hand buries itself in the wool of Nene's scarf. It's a comfort and it isn't. He doesn't know anything. He- he needs to know what's going on.
No reply.
Here in Yogen Shin's let himself get comfortable, sprawled out like ivy, retreating with frost, reaching up towards sunlight, putting down roots. It's not until the possibility that he might need to withdraw completely back into his shell appears that so does the lurching horror that he just might not fit any more. Vulnerabilities exposed no matter what he does, and so many.
All he can do is try. There's nothing to do but to try, and warn as many people as possible before Midori gets his hooks in them like he did to him. He sends his final text to Ranger and lets his head thunk back against the bathroom wall, exhaling. Right now, Shin is at the closest to an advantage he'll get... he just needs to hold onto that.
He lifts up his phone again, and bracing with the other hand, gets to his feet.
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[He might have jumped the gun a little. Despite everything locking it down and cauterising it in place, underneath it all his first instinct is to seek help.
He doesn't have a plan. He doesn't have a plan and he needs a plan, going in blind's just asking to have rings run around them all.]
Let me think! Sara, was there anything else when you met him, any other weaknesses?
[Apart from fear of death. In Yogen there's the void but... could they really push him in and get away with it? Shin in his darker moments has contemplated it about Komaeda, but not really with... the willingness or intent to follow through. He's feeling the jaws of no good options closing in on him.]
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Shin's question isn't one that he can answer, not when Midori painstakingly works to shape himself into perfection. The more he's pushed on, the more he'll push back, and redemption arcs in style these days. Aside from that, he's already aware of how Midori intends to play things out. But as with the rest of them, if he interferes it'll only lead to more problems, and so he keeps any thoughts he has there to himself. ]
He's annoying, but he's useful. So use him.
[ Ranger gives a little shrug. That's what Ranger plans on doing anyway. They'll use each other just like always, and that's why he's not worried.. ]
He's pragmatic, and it's easy to cut a deal with him if you know how to do it. He'll throw people away the drop of a hat, but as as long as there's more to be gained by working with others than harming them. He's all about himself and what benefits him, and right now he's got better things to worry about than messing around.
[ Figuring out how to avoid being harassed by him, well - that's a different story. It's different for those who've suffered trauma due to him. ]
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[ She doesn't reach out and touch him, but she looks like she wants to. It's a stark reminder, how different this reaciton is from the him she knew who only had a dead expression when Midori showed up. Less vulnerable. That Sou had only let glimpses show of how upset he was. ]
I don't think we have that kind of power yet...but Ranger is right. He's only one person with no special powers beyond an odd body...and he's in the same cage as the rest of us...I take if you've already cut a deal, Ranger?
...If he doesn't want to be trapped or cornered with no allies, it serves him to reign it in a little...thats what I told you, right? That we could benefit from working together. I don't want to offer him a thing, but if you two are already talking, maybe you can pass that along.
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[He's not breathing. Or well he is, but it's heavy panting, flung out with his arms. What he's doing instead is having a moment where he's silent and grappling with himself, wrenching everything back in and down and putting his baseline placeholder on top, leaving horrible gouge marks in whatever the edges catch on in the process, nothing fitting together well and crammed in under pressure.]
Ahaha, that's just fine... go ahead and do that, if you want. See how it goes.
[Working together with Midori... he can't help but feel betrayed, but he knew Ranger was part of Asunaro, didn't he? 'Reigning it in a little', like this is just a more conventional hobby like stamp collecting that's gotten out of hand, but it's fine if they can strike deals, right? They can politely ignore things occurring out of sight, out of mind. Just give him whatever he wants... on top of what he can get away with. Fine, it's fine, he was going to run into this eventually...
There's a tiny voice in him aware that he's getting Like This Again, but it's very small right now and he's not in much of a mood to listen to it, because he's right. Everything is just extremely raw right now, such that Sara's look registers only as stinging pity. Stop looking at him. He's not looking at her, sitting down on one of the ladder's rungs and crossing his legs, leaning elbows on them, his movements sharp.]
Working together, huh... Sure, why not? Surely there's never any reason for people to never get along.
[It's a bright, brittle smile. Why not? Why not just walk back into that mouth? He learnt that lesson with Komaeda and has no desire to repeat it, a bullet dodged.]
Hey, Alice. You've been quiet... what do you think?
[Offhand as he's putting it, it's clearer than he thinks what this is. Back him up here.]
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[ She'd been trying to play it cool, to keep her temper calm. Not let it show, how scared she was. This was a game where being scared was losing. Being scared made finding whatever sharp object she had on hand and trying to fix her problems the worst way, the violent way, feel like the only option. Shin of all people should know...or maybe he doesn't. But Sara couldn't face the group again if the only thing she did when she was scared of someone was try to kill them. ]
You think I don't...I don't know what kind of person he is? How he's going to act? I-its just, we can't kill him, and we can't control how people feel! So...so for everyone to be safest we might need to...
[ It's not an olive branch, its not forgiveness. She's not going to suddenly get along with Midori, not someone who hurt her, who hurt Shin the way he did. ]
It won't go back to the way it was...! I promise!
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Alice's gaze slides away from Shin perched on the ladder, wandering to Sara, Ranger, the floor. Ranger's suggestions seem to be more of that perplexing intent to be of assistance, unlike before, but trust doesn't come so readily. ]
It's true that Midori has nothing here, aside from his bizarre body... But his mind is more dangerous than any rocket punch, yes? How can anyone safely use someone like that, when we can't predict what he could use against us? Perhaps it's different for a colleague, who wasn't a toy or a personal project... The rest of us would be fools to approach him at all now!
[ Free hand raised, Alice lowers his eyes to his palm. What would transpire, if he were to encounter Midori now? He's learned his lesson, well and truly, and there's less of a tunnel leading him to a single point, obscuring the surrounding world, but the urge to act is reignited. ]
Yet... I know it would be equally foolish to kill him, even if it were possible to do it again and again, as many times as it takes.
[ Everything worked out, Sara Chidouin said, but actions that drive Midori to retaliate have such devastating consequences. Even without a facility filled with strange equipment and the power to pull all sorts of strings, there are plenty of people who might become targets, suffering. Midori is, after all, well-versed in preying upon emotions.
They're going in circles. Gritting his teeth, Alice curls his hand into a fist. ]
Is it truly enough to keep him busy elsewhere...?
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He sits with his knees up, one arm draped over his knees. His fingers curl and uncurl as he considers the words being said, as well as the best way to describe their arrangement. It's a fluid agreement, the terms of which would change as they so chose, which means that there's no easy way to pin down the boundaries that had been set. ]
... Right. We're colleagues, so it's easier for me to deal with him. It's not like you gotta get along with the guy to strike a deal.
[ In fact, it's almost better if a person doesn't. It's easier when it's a transactional affair, like buying and selling trust, and that's something that Midori understands well. He was asked what to do, and responds accordingly. ]
Killing him isn't an option, but you don't need to approach him either.
[ It's the smart and sensible thing to do, as he'll find each one of them over time, but it's not necessary when Ranger and Midori will watch each other as always. He shrugs. ]
He'll do what's best for him. ASUNARO isn't here to guide or stay his hand. What makes you think it's in his best interest to try picking people off one by one and piss everyone off?
[ They were all manipulated in preparation for the game, after all, a calculated motion. There's nothing random about the way he acts. ]
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After listening for a bit, Joe raises his hand. ]
Can I say something? This guy... I dunno him. And I dunno what you all went through with him, obviously. But I... had a run him with him already today, and I already think he's really dangerous. I'm worried he might try to hurt someone else. He tried to drown me without his head... I hate to think what he can do with it.
[ He didn't exactly want to mention the drowning thing and make some people (Sara) worry more, but it doesn't feel optional this point. ]
So I don't think just letting him do whatever he wants is okay. I'm not saying we should kill him of course, but I think we need to watch him. Closely. A-And.... Sou, Sara, if that's to hard for you, let me, Alice, and Ranger do it then.
[ Joe's pretty serious when he says it, but he looks a little sheepish getting it off his chest. ]
Is... that okay?
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[ She snaps out of whatever nice logical thought she was having to turn to Joe with a wild expression. ]
You...are you okay? What did he...did he say anything? No, just..just... [ She clenches her fists. This soon after getting Joe back and she'd nearly lost him again ]
You aren't going anywhere near him! If someone needs to watch him, I'll do it. But you don't ever step a foot near him again!
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[His tone and voice are as if he's just thought of the funniest joke in the world, in that way where it's because it's being played on all of them.]
Avoiding him won't be easy... we're all stuck in this small school after all.
[He's unpredictable in his appearances, even with Shin keeping an ear out, and between all of them, he's going to be in at least one of their combined classes... he should check the roster. Shin feels his face pale as he remembers the other thing about the roster. ...It's not too late to change it, is it?]
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[ A near-drowning absolutely warrants alarm and vigilance! Alice straightens up from his spot by the wall, looking from Joe back to Shin, and then at Sara. The sound of his fist meeting the opposite palm accompanies his next words. ]
Sh— Sou Hiyori is right... Isn't it impossible to avoid Midori completely? Jou Tazuna didn't deliberately seek him out, but he was attacked anyway!
[ And had Jou Tazuna died, that definitely wouldn't go unnoticed. It's too late for any clean solution as Komaeda envisioned it. ]
Sara Chidouin... Even you shouldn't watch that man alone. I don't know what kind of deal Ranger has proposed, but... I won't allow Midori to provoke me anymore, either. So you may rely on me...
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Sounds like an accident to me. You ever wake up underwater in who the Hell knows where without your head and have somebody start trying to grab you before?
[ They haven't, obviously, because none of them have any concept of how advanced ASUNARO's technology is. Perhaps, he thinks, people should learn not to be poking and prodding at everything they find. Regardless, he suspects it was not some plot to throw his head in the trash before diving in the pool and being yanked at by some stranger. If he had to guess, it was probably a jarring experience - the body would need to protect itself in the absence of his head. there's a good chance half of it was him screwing around, but he doubts it was a murder effort.
Really, if they'd left it alone it would've either gotten out or Ranger would have found it. He'll have to ask about that one, as he'd only kept tabs on where the body was insomuch as he needed to in order to reattach the head. He'll offer no more to try and justify it though, instead placing a hand on his knee and pushing himself up off the floor. There's no real reason for that aside from him feeling restless. ]
Given the situation, we agreed that it was better if we work together.
[ As opposed to focusing on petty infighting. That has certain implications. He takes a few steps back, leaning against the wall. ]
If you've got a better idea than negotiating with him or avoiding him, I'd love to hear it. [ He shrugs, nonchalant. Not like he's going to spend all this time chasing down old toys. It's cute how they all think they're an expert on Sou Hiyori. ] But it shouldn't be hard to keep an eye on him.
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[His tone is flat, airy. He didn't get his Bachelor's in Sou Hiyori to be told this. It's true he never dared to learn much about the man, after the first few tries... but that doesn't mean he doesn't know what he's like, to those weaker than him, who can't fight back, who can't negotiate because they have nothing to do it with. Shin spent so long, too long, working through what had happened for his assessments to be written off. He didn't imagine it, it wasn't overreacting, and it wasn't an accident.]
Didn't I say see how it goes? [He's mentally washing his hands of Ranger in some respects. The only fear or favour now is if the deal backfires on the rest or can get them information.] Besides, there's a lot that can be done without killing someone...
[He feels ill, sick to his stomach just saying it and thinking it, a pitchblende thought. But it's there on the table. Trapping him, keeping his head and body separate (since they can apparently do that?), even wiping whatever code he has to think with... all sorts of horrible things come to mind when someone feels this trapped themselves.
It's not just him he needs to worry about, this time. Even if he doesn't bother to chase down old toys, he's sure to find new ones.]
Good to see someone has sense.
[Even if he's not sure of Alice's ability to stand up to Midori's provocation, he's definitely the person Shin trusts most with watching him, for many and multiple reasons.]
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[ She wheels from where she'd been practically clinging to Joe to glare at all of them. Stop it! Shut up! Stop...saying things that only make her want to panic! The more you all talk, the more the only option feels like the one thing she can never do! ]
Ranger, can you even try to empathize with us! [ Just an accident...not when its Joe, never when its Joe. Sara could take so much, she could be brave and logical and cruel or whatever the group needed but she couldn't fail Joe again. ]
We'll watch him. Or me and Alice will, I don't mind a partner. We'll make a deal with him. He'll break the deal eventually, and we'll watch him twice as hard. Eventually, maybe, we'll have enough leverage to properly do something. What other choice do we have? So stop...I don't want to think about the worst case scenario. Nobody is dead yet!
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Sara... calm down, okay? [ He takes in a deep breath himself when he says it, too. He's trying not to get wound up, looking at both sides of it. ] I don't know if it was an accident or not. I don't... think it was. But that doesn't mean I want to jump him or anything. I don't know why he did it; doesn't mean it's the nail in the coffin.
[ Though saying that makes him shiver, regretting the word choice. But he'll turn his attention to Ranger. ]
If you think we can work out a deal... I'll trust you with it. But I still feel we should watch him. I'm not saying follow the guy into the bathroom or anything, but I just want to be sure he behaves before we leave him completely to his own devices.
[ He'll look back to Sara again before she objects. ]
I know you don't want me involved, but I'm not comfortable with leaving it to you all. You guys... do so much. And I'm so useless ahaha. If he makes you this upset, I don't think it's good for you to get yourself too far involved. Actually I think you should stay all together... but I know you won't. So at least let me be there with you.
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There's a lot that can be done without killing someone, torment to scar the soul — that applies on both sides.
Though Alice lapses into silence for some moments on the heels of Sara's outburst, it's with a frown. Eventually, he shakes his head at Joe. ]
Don't be a fool, Jou Tazuna... It's clear that you aren't useless. Such things can be measured in different ways...
[ Jou Tazuna is important to Sara Chidouin, to his other friends. His support is valuable, his presence irreplaceable. ]
At any rate, let us keep several eyes on him, then...
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But the suggestion of "other things" sticks in his mind, nails itself to the wall and ensures it'll always be there on display, because there's so many ways to fill in that blank. Other things, solutions for when one becomes a threat. So then, other things await him once it becomes convenient. But that empty expression of his reveals nothing. ]
Right. So far all I've got is that we can strike deals, and I guess his memory's janky.
[ He waves his hand dismissively. It's something like that anyway. Nobody's memory seems to be quite right upon arriving here, and aside from that he remembers less than the lot of them, so he doesn't seem to think much of it. No more than he can emphasize with it not being an accident due to personal feelings. ]
No need to prove yourself. You're doing fine, kiddo. You're already more useful than the idiots around here that keep murdering each other for funsies.
[ What with the three bodies they have already and all. All else aside, a fourth based on a grudge from home wouldn't be a good look, but he keeps that thought to himself. ]
But keeping an eye on him is fine. That about settle it?
[ Or are there other options to be discussed? It does seem to answer the original question, though. ]
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We'll watch him... and then what? By the time he does anything, we'll have lost any advantage we have right now! If drowning isn't enough, what will be?
[They're just kicking the can down the road, when it'll be much harder to deal with! But it's like the last flare or flicker of a flame before it goes out, spent of fuel. He fiddles with Nene's scarf, exhaling.]
Guess that's how it is, huh... Watching and some kind of deal...
...
[These things are always exhausting for him... he's done. He's not going to even ask what kind of deal.]
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Fine. It's settled. Alice and I will watch him. [ Ignoring the offer doesn't feel good, but she steels her tone. ] Joe...just don't go near him again. Promise me that?
[ She doesn't pull her arm away, but she turns, very clearly trying to end the conversation when she looks at Sou instead. ]
Just remember what I told you a few months ago Sou...it won't be like that anymore. He doesn't think of you the way he used to. [ It might be a cold comfort, but its all she can offer him. She and Alice are the only two who met Midori on the fourth floor. ]
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His grip loosens on his arm until he finally pulls away from her, holding his arms close to himself. Joe frowns toward the ground as he shakes his head in return. ]
Sorry... but no. I'm not... I'm not going to promise that, Sara.
[ He won't make a promise he can't keep. Or intends to. ]
Don't say I'm not useless then tell me to do nothing. I get it... you're scared. All of you. But like... if you don't let me help, then how do you think that makes me feel?
[ His hands smart for a moment before he can finally look at her again. ]
If you don't want me around, then just tell me to leave. Cause I will. But I'm not going to just sit around and wait for something to happen. Not anymore.
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Ranger remains impossible to read. The others are frustrated. For the moment, while Sara Chidouin and Jou Tazuna are at odds, Alice thinks it best to keep any comments of his own brief. ]
...If we can't agree on anything properly, we'll be the ones at a disadvantage, won't we?
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But there's a little bit off interest too. If he does play at amnesia, if he pretends to be in such a vulnerable state, will anyone try to use it to their advantage? They would have it more at that time than ever, and it would be the perfect opportunity to try and dispose of them. It would only require a little arm twisting and clever play and it could be quite the position for someone so eager to work up trust.
...
Well, Midori can handle himself.
The rest he quietly files away. The desire for an advantage, the begrudging acceptance, the conflicting answers, a desire to act and a desire for unity. He takes them in impassively. ]
Not just with him.
[ They will be if they can't even begin to come to a consensus on this, how will they handle bigger threats? Ranger can handle Midori by himself when it comes down to it, as they're completely at the mercy of one another. He glances to Joe, considering for a few seconds. He continues on for his benefit, ]
... Midori is the Floormaster responsible for the fourth and fifth floors. You could think of it as a memorial service, so it's kinda what you'd expect. There's a graveyard and grieving, and there's a celebration of love and bonds. He's an intelligent and pragmatic person.
[ That should be enough to summarize it, Ranger thinks. If others wish to weigh in, they may, but this should be enough to give a rough idea of who he is. The fact he's one of ASUNARO's Floormasters speaks volumes by itself. ]