PC: Ichinose

[overlimit]

Comments

Week 0, Saturday

[overlimit]

[Rita can be found wandering around the campus, her notebook in hand, as she checks out some of the buildings under construction.]

There sure are a lot of these... Just how big is this place supposed to get, anyway?

[txt]

Big enough to keep 40-something people from dying of boredom, I hope!

[Piping up from where she's checking out one of the buildings, briefly waving at her before she goes back to frowning at these animal crossing style tarps. Noooooo peeking.]

[overlimit]

[she glances over at the woman, and sighs.]

I'd much rather leave than worry about being entertained, but that might just be me.

[txt]

Ah, right, right... But who says they are mutually exclusive? Plotting our escape may turn out to be one crazy adventure.

[overlimit]

Ugh. That’s what I’m afraid of.

... But given the complexity of our situation, I’ll probably have to expect any solution to be a major pain in the ass to carry out...

[txt]

I guess so! You know, it sounds like you have plenty of experience with messy situations like these. Am I right?

[overlimit]

You could say that...

The "kidnapped and stripped of magic" part's new, but the messiness, the likelihood of there being some bozo with a dumb scheme behind it all, I've been there.

You?

[txt]

Wow! I was right, you are the voice of experience! [A beat.] Wait. Maybe I should be more worried that something close enough happened before...?

[Ma'am, your video game antagonists.]

Anyhow— this is all super, one hundred percent, new to me.

[overlimit]

I'd be pretty concerned if getting mixed up in messes like this were that common of an experience.

[and YET...]

On the bright side, the bigger the scheme, the more flaws it probably has.

[txt]

You think so? That's a pretty optimistic way to look at it.

[overlimit]

Is it? I'm pretty sure it's just logic.

[txt]

You're hoping that the bigger the plan, the more holes it has. That sounds pretty optimistic to me.

[overlimit]

Whatever. You got a problem with that?

[txt]

Oh. No, no. Not at all. I was just making conversation.

[overlimit]

[just. making this face]

[txt]

... Yes?

Week 1, Friday

[overlimit]

[hey, these two cross paths in... (throws dart) SUB, and rita stops to face ichinose.]

Hey. Seen anything weird today? Or last night?

[txt]

[... A vague smile.]

Would you count a dead body as weird?

[overlimit]

Well, yeah, I--

...

You discovered the body?

[txt]

To be more exact, Sieghart-san and Tsuyukusa-kun did. But I was there.

[overlimit]

Those two, huh...

[she glances away... then back to ichinose.]

Where'd you find it? And in what state?

[txt]

We didn't get to take a closer look. But it was juuuust outside that building in the field.

[overlimit]

The athletics field? Again?

[txt]

[ she nods. ]

Again.

[overlimit]

I guess that is the place with all the handy equipment that could easily be used for murder...

[txt]

Well, yes. But I'm not sure that's where it started.

[overlimit]

Hm? Did you see something else that stood out?

[txt]

A dumbbell.

[overlimit]

Just... outside?

[txt]

Mhm, just outside of that open building in the field. The body was right next to it, but it wasn't bloody or anything.

Week 4, Monday

[overlimit]

[hi ichinose, rita's here by the lazy river, staring up at the rock climbing wall with a look of uncertainty.]

Is this something you normally find on a school campus...?

[weird.]

[txt]

[Peering over from a socially distanced, uh, distance. Wow.]

Not in my experience. Why do we need this...?

[overlimit]

We definitely don't. Honestly, all the new additions this week are pretty useless. Even the bookstore's a disappointment.

[txt]

[She nods, crossing her arms.]

We already have a library. It feels a liiiittle bit like cheating.

[overlimit]

Yeah, no kidding. That stuff isn't even worth stealing.

[txt]

Nothing caught your eye, huh?

[overlimit]

Nothing that looks like it can compete with the free stuff, anyway. I've already found tons to read about the science and technology of other worlds.

[txt]

That's fair. Though books aren't the only thing in the bookstore.

[overlimit]

What, like the dorm wars merchandise? All that other crap looks even less useful.

[txt]

Aw, you don't find it even a little bit cute?

[overlimit]

Nope. Not even a little.

What, don't tell me they're your kind of thing? Team sports and junk like that.

[txt]

Ahaha, not at all! But I still think it's cute. You know, showing solidarity? That sort of thing.

[overlimit]

Hmph... It sure seems like a lot of people have gotten attached to their dorms. Like a bunch of happy families that occasionally murder each other.

[txt]

People will cling to each other in times of stress. That's just how the human heart is.