Radical Faction

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This wasn’t supposed to happen. How could she go from one hell to the next? She wanted to get out of that place, where she, Naegi, and the others were trapped – but not to a place like this. Not where she knew n o b o d y.

Maybe she could deal with this city, maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as there, but the sector she was staying in – District Beta, was it? – made her feel trapped and enclosed again all over. 

And in fact, that was where she was right now. Unsure what to do. What can she do?

“I don’t want this…” she muttered, not exactly aware of her surroundings at the moment. She didn’t even care about keeping up an appearance. “I need out of here. I need to go back to them…”

“Hello?”

The soft voice had picked the right moment to speak up through the din. A second later, Ryoko made her presence known. She blinked once, twice, at the girl with similar colored hair. Something odd seemed to pass through her eyes... but in an instant, it was gone, only to be replaced with sympathy. 

Ryoko stepped up to the stranger, while keeping her distance (in such a careful manner that it was almost calculated). When she spoke, there was no mistake that the previous speaker had been her. 

“You look like you’ve lost your way.” Like thousands of other lab-rats that have never stopped fighting tooth and nail for breathing room here. “Is there anything I can do for you, miss?”

“I can try to help.”

Well that was… wordy. “If the chances were ‘no’, you could have just said that to begin with you know.”

“Since I’ve got you though, you’re Japanese, right? Just wondering, ‘cause I am too! Probably not from the same world, but! I’m kinda curious what the Japan you’re from is like?”

“Hmmmhmmm. You asked. I answered. But there you are.”

“I happen to also be, yes. I used to live in the city of Nishinomiya. The last I remember, it was about...”

She rambled off the year, choosing to leave out the circumstances regarding her ‘transfer’. No need to complicate matters further when they were already discussing the idea of multiple worlds.

Thank you for your participation!

Said ring is slipped upon the ring finger of her right hand. A small moment is used to raise it up to eye-level to admire the sheen and shape. Polished silver and with a blue sapphire set in the center in the shape of a hexagon. She honestly couldn’t tell if the design was meant to be a clever joke from the owner’s bosses on her or if they all happened to look like this.   

The ring was supposedly meant to resonate and embody hope.

“Let the hunt begin then.”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh… There we are. I practically forgot all about you.”

Slipping the gun out of its packaging, Ryoko cradled it between her hands. It was silver in color and small enough to be completely enclosed within a fist. Instead of a barrel, a needle-like mechanism with a launcher below made up the front. Just behind that and above the trigger was an empty space. Some sort of slot, she observed. As big as an acorn and shaped like a stout cylinder.

A perfect match for the gun Kyon had used on Yuki that one time.

I’m 27 now and god do I feel old (they say one of the two signs of getting older is when you start to forget things and I don’t really remember what the other one is). It’s been a pretty nice day so far over here. I’ve been meaning to say it FOREVER, buuuuuuut this blog is now about 3 years old now. I’ve been in citta for a while now and it certainly shows, even if my activity hasn’t been too good, lol.

@murderousmorality

“Hey! Have you seen a woman in this city with your hair colour?” She was still trying to find Ursula. “She wears glasses too, and um… She’s very plain!” She probably wouldn’t be happy to hear this description.

“Well...”

“Considering the length of my stay in this city and what you’ve described to me so far, it is entirely possible that I have in fact seen this person you’re looking for.” That was the good news. “But since this city constantly swaps out its inhabitants for new ones at the whims of its owners, it’s also entirely possible that you may have just missed her or that I’ve never met her at all.”

     “Aw, this topic again? That’s cute. It’s adorable that you think people      here care that much.”

If he cared enough, he’s give each person a pat on the head for being so cute.

“My, my, it’s hard to tell if you’re being realistic or jaded. I’ve been here for so long that it’s hard to tell them apart.”

She could be just as smug, but didn’t feel like wasting much energy these days. Plus, she was an observer for the most part. However...

“I’ve seen people do foolish things in the name of heroism. Most heroic deeds are based on personal gain. Believe whatever you want but at the end of the day people perform acts of heroism for themselves.” 

 His son, for one thing. Or was the boy truly his son, his memories may say yes, but he is different from Greg and that is the difference between those who are alive and those who are not. 

  “No… I am just unused to seeing this many children.    Where I come from, there were no children at all. “

“Hm. Well, you and me both…” Casey mumbled, gently tapping his left foot on the floor beneath. Though the girl in front of him talked about something rather… interesting.

“That’s stupid. Never understood why people would hate others for being different. Whatever…” The orange-furred cat sighed and rubbed at his forehead. “It’s not like I was planning to be all buddy-buddy with people around here. Especially not without protection.”

“It’s a terribly sad thing. Humans will always be afraid of what they can’t hope to understand.” She shook her head, though the tone of her voice seemed to give off only mild disinterest. “So very disappointing.”

A sigh and a shrug of her shoulders followed.

murderousmorality liked your post “Barks.  Starter call, cap at four unless your from SMT series. ”

Too much distractions in the city, and some elements are unknown despite his memories saying otherwise. Is he Greg, or is he Lupa? His existence problem though is not quiet as strong as one he knew in the Junkyard. 

 “….It is….”

“What?”

It wasn’t uncommon for people in the city to talk to themselves out in the open. It was also less uncommon for Ryoko to ignore such people and continue on her merry way. Had this man been speaking to her directly? She didn’t see anyone else, but he also wasn’t looking at her... Nevertheless, she felt like being a bother.

“It’s what? Are you looking for something, sir?

“…If you’re trying to scare me into taking the thing I stole and hid in my pants and returning it, then it’s not working.”

“Oh? Oh, no, no, no, no, no... I couldn’t care less about the economic stability of this city.”

“…”

Casually stuffs something down his pants. In the crotch area.

“......”

“…What, exactly, is ‘April Fool’s Day,’ and why are so many making such a fuss about it…?”

“Ohhhhhhh, just an amusing time of this month. I’m sure you’ll understand it quite soon.”

She already disapproved of this girl completely.

Treating the other-self like she was some child. She was not! She liked playing into the roll that she was not a human at all. She enjoyed her job as she did not enjoy the other examining her and talking to her like she was below them. If anything this stranger was below her.

Bright orange eyes looked at the stranger, how dare she. Strength did not need to give her anything. Her metallic tail gave a quick sway, before staying and mighty in the air. She could easily use it as a weapon to kill the stranger. After all, that’s all she’s supposed to know how to do. Is fight to protect her human counterpart. The human counterpart she so desperately wanted to make sure knew that she did not give away her true identify.

Though she did not want to speak, she supposed she could. For now. She didn’t want to in anyway, she just wanted to following the female to figure out why she had a similar feeling to Black Rock Shooter. “Strength.”

Ryoko watched the tail with mild interest. Would she inevitably attack her like a cornered animal? It’d make for a hell of a story to tell at parties. She held her ground, canting her head back at the girl’s stony glare. 

As it turned out, she was more cooperative than Ryoko took her to be. Her answer rolled out of her mouth like leaves on a breeze, but with a definite weight to them. Wistful weariness made up her tone. If Ryoko wasn’t already so close or had such sharply attuned hearing, she would have had to ask the girl to repeat her name.

And what a name it was. 

“Strength? That’s it? Only Strength?” she repeated, knowing that she likely wouldn’t receive clarification. Honestly, though it wasn’t much of a surprise, there had been others with similar names here before. Not having a last name in Hive City seemed just as likely as having a full one. Perhaps it was also a type of code-name for this girl, whoever (or whatever) she may be. It definitely fit a type like her.  

The strong silent type, anyway.

Ryoko stood back up to her full height, gave a small bob of her head, and then turned back in the direction she had been previously going. She brought both hands to the cascade of blue hair behind her back, fiddling with it to keep her hands busy. As she stepped away, she gave a light roll of her shoulders to the girl, lazily beckoning her to continue following. 

...Or not. The girl could very easily opt to attack her open back instead. Ryoko was primed and ready for either scenario.