18 years a boy no longer

It couldn’t be. Well, it could be. This place was massive.

Takane had somehow managed to get herself lost while trying to get to her next class. It was only her second day going to classes and she honestly had no idea what she was doing. School was never her thing. 

Quickly turning to both sides she searched for someone else, but sadly the halls were empty. 

Making a longer-than-quick stop at his locker, most of the students had already found their way to their classrooms by the time he was done, and after departing he was surprised to find a lone individual in the middle of the empty hall--

But what caught him even more off-guard was the distinct familiarity of said individual. He swore he'd seen her somewhere, but... where...?

He couldn’t remember arriving at the school. He only barely remembered getting the acceptance letter. It wasn’t that big a deal. Not remembering things was something Konoha was used to, so he didn’t let it bother him. It was a subject that could wait. Instead, he turned his attention to the school itself.

He had no idea where anything was. Exploring to get a feel for the place would probably be a good idea, and so he set off to do just that. Finding the cafeteria was high on his list of priorities, but locating the dorms was equally important. Konoha stopped to give it some thought.

Food or sleep. Which one was more important? 

Only a hallway away from the cafeteria, Shintaro reached to pull out his phone from his back pocket as he continued walking to glance at the screen, already inserting the earbuds into his ears to listen to some music in the meantime. As soon as he attempted to insert the second bud, another student-- a very tall one, was all that he could see from his peripherals-- stopped in his tracks, and Shintaro unceremoniously bumped into the individual, stumbling back a step before reacting. "Hey, would you m--"

And that's when he actually looked up and saw white hair styled into a small ponytail, clothes all too familiar.

[ He’s smirking, but the gears in his head are moving rapidly.

Kido herself was one thing; he can understand that they might end up with circumstances like this together, but the elder Kisaragi turning up as well? That was something else entirely. 

If anything, Kano figures that there’s just as much explanation for Shintaro showing up as there is for he and Kido- that is, none. They died, and then they woke up here. Simple as that, but still annoyingly complex. 

Walking a circle around the taller boy to investigate for any clues( and also just for the sake of doing it, he admits ), Kano leans forward once they’re face to face again, making a point of infiltrating his personal bubble. ]

Quick to blame, huh? Either way, the elder male shrugged it off; it's not like it mattered at this point, the petty argument, if they could even call it one, only served as a silence-filler to Shintaro. He returns the phone to his back pocket; there's no real use for it anyway, what with the lack of service in Asphodel Valley.

He watches from the corners of his eyes carefully, cautiously even, as Kano makes his way around. Almost instinctively as well as unconsciously-- it's become a habit, really-- he leans slightly away from Kano in response, in a weak attempt to retain his personal space. It's not as if it makes much of a difference, and he should know better, since the younger's tendency to breach the unspoken 'stay at least 3 feet away from me and I'll tolerate you' rule that Shintaro has no longer makes the 18-year-old extremely uncomfortable, with how often it occurs.

Kido walks like zombie, slow and rigid movements tacked on to the formerly limber teenager.

"Asphodel…Valley," She murmurs faintly, looking away from the sign in front of the train station. There wasn’t even a train station in the city. How did she went up here? It’s the first question that flares up in her head, but she can’t come up with an answer.

Her focus refuses to gather together, and her best judgement tells her it  would be best to sit down somewhere and gather her memories. The park ahead looks perfect. She walks forward, trying to keep out of the ways of others, and ducks under one of the trees.  It’s colder here, but not enough to leave her shivering. 

But her thoughts are of the other members. Did they get separated on a mission somehow? Strange, she couldn’t remember assigning one in the first place. There are footsteps approaching, though, and Kido can hear them well enough despite her condition. Immediately, the girl’s eyes flick upwards, glaring at the person who approached her.  She isn’t exactly in the best position to use her powers, anyway.

Immediately he's put on the defensive as he notices her glare, holding up his hands in front of him in a signal of peace and 'please don't hurt me'. If there's anyone he does not want to upset under any circumstances, it's Kido, especially when she's not in one of her better moods. She's the scariest person he knows, after all, and she is far more capable than she seems.

"Nothing, nothing...! I just happened to see you. I'm kinda glad I found you, though..."

[ From the moment he’d opened his eyes, he knew. That something was wrong, that he wasn’t where he needed to be.. and then, the final realization clicks into place once the fog in his mind dissipates. He is ( was? ) dead, and he doesn’t know how. He’d made it a point to be careful- Kano was always careful.

It’s frustrating, it’s unsettling.. he doesn’t like not knowing what cards he’s been dealt, especially not with the current circumstances. The hows and whys are muddled for him, but one thing remains clear: he needs a plan, and a plan needs resources. ]

[ With that decided, he gathers himself from the cold ground, surveys his surroundings with cautious eyes, and starts walking. Counting on his fingers, he makes a mental list of what he’ll need just for a few days. A place to stay, food and water, and if he’s lucky? A phone to try and dial up the Dan back in Mekaku City. Something in the back of his mind tells him that’s definitely a no-go, but there’s no harm in trying, right?

He’s becomes so invested in this task ( arranging missions wasn’t ever really his job, after all ) that he only just manages to sidestep whatever civilian he’s nearly collided with. Kano feigns his best “whoops!" face and offers them a clumsy salute, chirping an apology. ]

No signal.

Incredible. How is he going to access the internet now? Not even Ene is present to pester him as she usually does, which mildly unsettles him. He's just so used to her presence that it almost feels strange not being annoyed. It almost physically hurts him to think that he's admitting such a thing, since he's wishing for her disappearance on a daily basis... Regardless, a heavy sigh escapes the male, as he continues to tap away, in an attempt to find a loophole in this signal-less world.

As with any near-collision (or collision for that matter), Shintaro just barely manages to look up in time to notice another body just a little too close, and as he braces for impact with widened eyes, he feels nothing. Well, close call. His expression settles as he moves for an apology, until he realizes exactly who he's talking to.