damned_institute | Day 43: Sun Room, Second Shift

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Day 43: Sun Room, Second Shift

When the shift changed, HK stayed put. Even after a long night of zombie killing, he had no interest in meatbag fuel, especially after all the discussion of chocolate with that rather strange meatbag. It was just making him crave the stuff even more than he had previously, if that was possible.

Oh, right. He was supposed to be looking for someone who was "VERY LARGE, WITH DARK HAIR." And also seemed to not know what lower-case letters were on the bulletin. As if that would help. He'd seen a likely candidate last shift, but talk of chocolate had distracted him.

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"If it were anyone else's girl, I could make no promises," Ryoji said solemnly. He grinned then, and added, "But since she's yours, you've got my word. I won't flirt with her."

...Not that he'd be able to flirt with her, anyway.

The rest of what Junpei said was just as surprising as the claim that his girlfriend was alive, but he found it much easier to accept. "It does sound like a game," he agreed. "I don't suppose there's a princess that needs saving, too...?"

Well, there was Yukari and Mitsuru, but already been rejected by them. After a brief paused, he added, "Apart from the ones we already know, I mean. How did you all get here, anyway? I have to admit that the past couple of days have kind of been a blur..."

If Ryoji needed a princess to save... "There's this hot redheaded college chick named Dahlia that needs herself a knight in shining armor if you wanted to. i was playing the part for a bit, but... the girlfriend gives me this looks so... she's all yours," Junpei offered with a wink.

He shrugged again and gave an exaggerated sigh. "We have no idea. And what's worse? We're all from, like, different points in time. Like Yuka-tan and Akihiko-senpai won't even know who you are since they're from a time before you transferred in. Pretty much just me and Mitsuru-senpai know you." He gave his friend a compassionate look. "Sorry, man..."

A redhead college chick? Nice! "Dahlia? I'll definitely keep her in mind," Ryoji said, tucking the name away in his memory.

It really was just one surprise after another, though, wasn't it? He cocked his head to the side, considering what Junpei had said. "Is that... even possible?" he asked. How could they know him? "Not that I'd exactly complain if Yukari-san doesn't remember me, because that gives me a second chance with her, but... They've been here since before November?"

"I wish I understood. I keep waiting for a space-time singularity to show up and suck us all into a black of suckitude or something," Junpei replied. He then scratched the back of his neck. "Not that long... only a few weeks, but the last thing they remember from home is back in October."

He took a quick glance around then lowered his voice. "Oh, Mitsuru-senpai last remembers the trip to Kyoto, but not the not the whole hot springs thing, so keep that hush-hush unless you want to get executed again."

Something dawned on him. "Oh, Yuka-tan's got something going on with one of the guys here, so I don't think you should waste your time on her. Go for the bigger fish!"

"But I saw all of you guys just the other day," Ryoji said, thinking. "Even if there's something like time travel, you all can't have been there and here... right?" And the way Junpei was talking, it sounded like he'd been here for more than just a few hours, or even a day or two.

And then there was the trip to Kyoto. They had all definitely been on the trip to Kyoto. He paled visibly at the mention of the execution. "My lips are sealed on that subject."

He shuddered, and tried to block the (execution part of) the incident from his mind. The change of subject to Yukari was a great distraction. "Whoa, seriously? She never seemed interested in anyone at school; she's actually got a boyfriend now?"

"Nah, not a boyfriend, just someone she's circling around and he's circling back," Junpei replied. "Not that she'll admit it, but I already gave the guy a talkin' to."

He shrugged. "I've been here something like four days and the others have been here longer. I think Yuka-tan and Ken have been here a couple weeks. It makes no sense, but apparently this guy that yoinked us all here and stuck us in Okiwhiphawpa has some creepy-ass powers and shit."

He paused, uncomfortably. "If you, uh, believe in that stuff."

"Oh. Yeah, I get it," Ryoji said in understanding. She wasn't specifically taken yet, but... Well, that wasn't exactly going to stop Ryoji from taking his blessed second shot at charming her, but it wasn't like he entirely expected her to fall for him this time, anyway. You couldn't blame a guy for trying.

He leaned back in the seat, resting his hands on his knees. Junpei was right; it made no sense. If he and the others had been here anywhere from four days to a couple weeks, why hadn't anyone noticed they were missing? Or was it that when someone 'beat the game,' he went back to the time he'd come from?

'Creepy-ass powers' was sounding like a really good explanation.

Ryoji turned his head to the side to look at Junpei. "If there are monsters, there might as well be magic," he concluded. "I guess we're probably from different times, huh? For me, December's just barely started."

"End of November. The week after Chidori..." He didn't finish, but the rest of that sentence didn't need to be finished. "Everyone else is from earlier than me. Well, except for you."

He tilted his head. "Anything weird and freaky happen between my time and your time? Like... any increase in Apathy Syndrome victims or whatever." Man, this dancing around the bush thing was getting annoying.

Ryoji nodded. So there wasn't too much of a gap between Junpei's and his own times, but the others would be further and further away. He hoped introducing himself to Akihiko and Yukari wouldn't be too awkward; the idea that they wouldn't know him was already strange enough from his point of view, but from theirs...?

"I don't think anything 'weird and freaky' happened," he said, thinking a bit. Aigis had been staring at him a lot recently, which was kind of unnerving, and exams were coming up, but he doubted those were the kinds of thing Junpei was getting at with his mention of Apathy Syndrome. "At least, not beyond a personal scope. There hasn't really been any new changes with the Apathy Syndrome victims, as far as I know. I can't really think of anything out of the ordinary happening around town, either."

Oh, that was good to hear. Junpei was happy to find out that Ryoji was not going to be the bearer of bad news. Now, he just needed to find out from Mitsuru what they were going to do with him and the matter of their Personaa.

"Awesome. I've had my fair share of weird and freaky," he replied. "So... we should probably get you armed with something tonight just in case you come across any of the monsters. I've got a baseball bat and know where they're kept. Will that work for you or do you want something else?"

Oh. A weapon, right; when up against monsters, it made sense to be equipped for it.

"I guess that'll work. I haven't really fought anything before, so I don't know what I'd be best at," he admitted. A baseball bat wasn't really that much of a weapon, though, was it? It certainly couldn't compare to more traditional weapons. He grinned and added, "And I don't suppose they keep swords laying around here, do they?"

"Nope, though some of the other people in here have them. Maybe we'll find one laying around somewhere if we're really damn lucky." Junpei grinned. "But a bat's not that bad of a thing to have when it comes to staying alive. There's this really stuffy guy that puts together a pretty good thing on the board for noobs to look at. Give it a look when you get a chance. It'll explain some of the more fucked up aspects of being stuck here."

Junpei looked around for Chidori again as the intercom went off. Damnit, where was she? "Ugh... come to my room when the doors open tonight. I'm in M8. We'll meet up with my girl and then go get you a bat." Or something like that.

"Sounds good," Ryoji replied, nodding. A bat for now, and maybe a sword later, if they could find one.

He glanced at the bulletin board. It probably wouldn't be too hard to find M8, but maybe the... instruction manual for noobs would come with a map. "Okay, I'll see you then. And I'll be sure to read up before I meet you."

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Day 43: Sun Room, Second Shift

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