INFERNO || BLAZING

Jay quirked a brow, studying the other guy carefully. How he kept hiding his hands, tucking them away, as if he were extremely wary, or almost as if he were readying himself in case this turned into a fight. Which Jay could understand, given the island prison where he’d grown up. Always having to watch your back, keep your eyes on the shadows, brace yourself for an attack.

But this guy had some serious attitude. Like, what was his deal? He was giving off some angry vibes, and made Jay wonder what kind of thorn was stuck in his side. He was acting as if this whole thing was extremely inconvenient for him, that he clearly would rather be anywhere else right now. But how was that Jay’s problem? He was the one who’d been transported into a different world! If anyone had been seriously inconvenienced here, it was him. 

He felt himself making a face, his forehead wrinkling in confusion, as the guy spoke again. Comic books? What did that have to do with anything? Sure, Jay had read comic books (when he could sit still long enough), and they were pretty cool (better reading than regular books). But still.  

“Comic books?” he said, frowning. “What does that have to do with–” Suddenly something clicked. “Wait–” His eyes widened slightly. “Are you talking about people with super powers?” The corners of his mouth lifted in a wide grin. “Do you mean super heroes?” he asked, growing more excited. “Are super heroes a thing here?” How awesome would that be! 

He sighed. Boom goes the dynamite, as they say.

“Yeah.” He nods, keeping his eyes closed just a bit more than a blink. Alright. Got that. “Superheroes are real. Cool.” He tossed some hair from his face. “Can you keep it down, for like. A minute?” Jesus. This was getting harder and harder to keep under wraps. Should he bother trying? Well, yeah. He knew the pros of it. But goddamn. He swallowed back another complaint.

“Look, just--” He pauses. Just for a second, just long enough to put thoughts together. “Just. If we’re talking about this stuff, we should go somewhere else.” A pointed glance towards the road. Yes, it was dark, and yes, there weren’t a lot of people here at the moment, but that could easily change. Especially in this part of town. And, even if it didn’t, just standing in the open made them look weird. People noticed stuff like that. People didn’t just linger in the inner city.

(He didn’t need the cops called on him again, especially not because of someone else.)

He gave the stranger a pointed nod and started walking. An invitation to either leave, or to follow; either one. He was pretty sure he knew what the answer would be, though. Where to have this conversation, then? The park? No, not this late. And most places would be closed - at least, all the ones that would let someone their ages in. Not gonna take a weird stranger home. Even if Mom probably wouldn’t be there. (Gotta be smart about these things.)

angst starters:

Warren shrugs and pokes his food with a fork. 

“I dunno.” It’s an honest answer, not an eloquent one. He thinks for a moment, pressing his lips together. She deserves a better answer than that. He could come up with one, too. Just give him a moment. 

angst starters:

He stopped. Sighed deeply. 

“Yeah.” Had he meant to sound so bitter? He wasn’t sure. Maybe. Probably. His hands are clenched into fists at his sides. He doesn’t realize that they’re blazing. Not until he looks down. … He doesn’t bother extinguishing them. 

“Yeah, I’m sure you didn’t!” He snapped as he turned to face her. Yeah, he was angry. He was damn furious. Maybe he’d regret this later. He probably would. But, no. Not right now. That was a problem for Warren to deal with in the future. This was a problem for Warren to deal with now. And fuck, it was a problem he was gonna deal with. 

“But guess what? You did! And now, just like always, I have to clean up your mess!”

It looked like it was pretty hard for this guy to actually admit out loud what they were both thinking, but, hey. Jay didn’t blame him for not wanting to say aloud something that made anyone sound like a lunatic. It was all totally crazy. But then again…maybe it wasn’t necessarily as crazy as he’d first thought. Being accidentally transported to an alternate universe was on an entirely different level, for sure, and it was a new one, but when he really thought about it…. Was it really that much of a stretch from any of the other crazy, magical things that happened on a weekly basis back home?

Jay held up one gloved hand. “Hold up a sec,” he said. “We might be able to figure this out on our own. I say we at least give it a try before we drag anyone else into this. Besides, it’s probably smarter to keep this on the down low.” Jay was wary of the idea of ‘asking for help’ from some other stranger here, particularly when he didn’t know anyone there or know who he could and could not trust. He didn’t particularly know anything about this world he found himself in, other than that it appeared to be similar to his own.

He needed to know what he was working with, so he could get a better idea of where to start from here. He lowered his voice. “I’m from a world where magic is a daily occurrence,” he said. “As bizarre as this whole thing is, it’s not that much of a stretch.” He paused, studying the other guy. “What’s the norm for this world?”

Great. He was stubborn. This guy was weird, and stubborn. What a great combination! ... To be fair, though, the adults were kind of useless. That was a constant in his life. (Except Mom. Love you, Mom.) After all, what help had they been with Pain? None, that’s what. Same with life. So, like... Why bother? Why bother at all? Might as well just go along with how weird this all is. Seemed to be his lot.

“Fine.” He huffs. He’ll go along with it, but he won’t be happy about it. Warren Peace is never happy about anything. Ever. Especially not crazy hijinks. (He had a reputation. And, you know, common sense. Common sense that said this was a terrible idea. Common sense that said, best case scenario, he’d never want to think about this again. Worst case? He dies. Day in the life.) “Fine. If you wanna get killed.” He’s also gonna roll his eyes and toss his hair out of his face. Gotta make sure his displeasure is known. (When was it not? The number of people who’ve seen him happy is in the single digits.) He crosses his arms, tucks his arms over his chest, hides his hands away. Just in case.

“... Magic.” He sighs to himself. Magic. Right. Again, at this point, why not. At least it’s not mad scientists or evil robots again. Could be a change of pace. He shook his head, then shrugged. At least his own life couldn’t be that weird by comparison.

“What’d you just say?” Here it came. Jay inwardly braced himself, ready to be accused of being crazy or on drugs or both. 

But then… “You think that sounds crazy?” Well, that was the opposite of what he’d thought the guy would say. And then Jay just balked, his eyebrow raised. What did any of this have to do with the guy’s science teacher? 

Jay just stood there for a moment, speechless again. This whole reaction was the exact opposite of how Jay had expected the guy to respond. Now he wasn’t sure where to go from here (and he was still totally confused why the guy had brought up his science teacher, of all things). 

Jay’s brow furrowed as he frowned. “What does your science teacher have to do with anything?” He scowled, deciding he probably didn’t want to know. “Never mind. I just… I mean, it’s supposed to be crazy, right? Things like that don’t just happen.” And that was saying something, considering he lived in a world filled with magic.

“Is that what you’re worried about?” Okay, yeah, it had been a weird thing to say. Fair. He got that. Sure. But that’s no weirder than anything else the stranger has said! It’s not even close! He crosses his arms. Not aggressive. Or... Not any more aggressive than he normally is. More confused. Still suspicious, but not quite as guarded. Still a bit guarded. Always guarded. Force of habit, and, yeah, this was still weird. That’s right, he thought it was weird! And he’d taken on Royal Pain and Co.!

“Look. You’re-” He can’t believe he’s going to say this. The sheer disbelief shows on his face. Closed eyes, lips pressed to a thin line. Breathe in, breathe out. “... From a different world, or some shit.” Right. There, he said it. Put it out in the open. “And that’s weird.” Had to put that out. Thankfully, it looked like that was an agreed upon fact. “It’s really weird.” He glances around again, noting that the streets are still empty. Of course they were. It was dark, and late, and all sane people were inside and sleeping. (God, he wanted sleep. He wanted to be at home. But that would wait.)

DANGANRONPA 3 ABRIDGED STARTERS.

He stares. Looks back to the television, then back to her. Okay. … Still not the weirdest thing to have happened to him. He looked at the television again. 

DANGANRONPA 3 ABRIDGED STARTERS.

He glances up briefly from his homework, pencil pausing mid-word. One brow is arched curiously. He’s not sure he wants to know. He’s not sure he doesn’t. Hm. Well, can’t hurt. … No, it totally can. Whatever. 

DANGANRONPA 3 ABRIDGED STARTERS.

A muffled groan as he shook the concrete dust off of his back, climbing to his hands and knees.

“No.” He says, though he sure feels it. Disoriented. That’s the word. He’s not injured. Can’t be. Thanks, dad. But he can be knocked off his feet. He can be winded. Can be, and is. Ugh. He took a second to glance over himself through the tinted glass of the motorcycle helmet he’d found at the pawn shop. A good enough disguise. … It worked, at least. And it had been cheap. He looked over to the other, rolling his shoulders. Time to get back to it. 

DANGANRONPA 3 ABRIDGED STARTERS.

He stares. And keeps staring. He’s not in the mood to question things. 

DANGANRONPA 3 ABRIDGED STARTERS.

He shrugs. It’s probably the most eloquent response he’s ever gotten to a grade. Not that it’s not appreciated, of course.