生存者 || 冒険家

“Haha, don’t jinx it, or there really will be a movie like that soon!” She jokingly patted his back while saying that. Even though she disliked them, if a bicycle would have a role in a horror movie, even she would find it just ridiculous and not scary… 

At this point, she wasn’t even surprised that her friend would understand and even feel for her dilemma. There were many things she wanted to try, be it some sports, or things like sewing and cooking, but knowing how important her hands are for that what she does, she had some kind of responsibility to avoid certain activities. Not that it would stop her in any case though… In the end she still was a very curious girl, eager to experience and trying new things every day.

Still, Rantaros kind words made her feel warm on the inside. He always was so kind to her, sometimes it still was hard to believe, that even after all that happened, they could laugh together like this. 

“A bucket list?” She know it was a joke, but it made her think of something. “You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if you really would have something like this!” She giggled. “I don’t know how to describe it, but you seem to me like someone who experienced already a lot of things. More than me, and that even though we’re in the same age! I’m kind of jealous of that, you know? So… right back at you! You’re just as amazing as I am, if not even more, Amami-kun!”

Though, there was a some sort of change in the mood, right after she made a comment about him being a good brother. It was hard to describe, but Kaede had quite a good feeling about social clues like that, and something felt just off… Did he maybe dislike talking about his family? She was distracted to think more about it, when the other confessed his dislikenes of cars though.

“Cars…? Really? That’s surprising! Are you scared to drive one, or do you feel unsafe if you’re sitting in one? To be honest, I always wanted to learn how to drive! It seems like a very comfortable way to travel from one point to the other to me.” A shame, if she’d ever learn how to drive here, she would have liked to take Rantaro with her, but maybe she should first hear him out, before giving completely up on the idea.

"Haha, what do you think they’ll call it -- Spokes of Death? Pedal Me to Hell?” Rantaro joked right back in turn, laughter tickling the back of his throat as they continued along their bike ride. Maybe this whole thing started off as a way to soothe her fears about bike riding, but it sure was soothing him at the same time. Despite being in this city for quite some time, a sense of normalcy was still hard to obtain at times; perhaps a remnant from the rather extreme situation that the two of them had come from, but urgency had always been something on his mind before that, he was sure. His wandering feet gave him both a means to calm himself and also work on that urgency, so being stuck here only gave him one of those two solutions. For that reason, maybe it wasn’t an overstatement to say that he was really grateful for the presence of Kaede - and his other classmates too. 

“Me? Nah, I’m not that amazing. I’m not particularly skilled in one area like you are, Akamatsu-san. What’s that saying, jack-of-all trades but master of none? Haha, it’d be like that for me.” He paused, it wasn’t like he wanted to ignore Kaede’s compliments or turn them away. Aside from all that, it was a little embarrassing to accept all that too! With an awkward but flattered chuckle, he spoke again. “But uh, haha... thank you. You’ve always been so straightforward with what you say, huh? Maybe I should put that characteristic on my bucket list too, haha!” 

Did it work? Did he somehow gloss past the whole little sister thing? Sure seemed like it, especially when she latched onto that next topic like he was hoping she would. Sorry Kaede... as much as Rantaro wanted to talk to someone about all this, he still wasn’t the type of person to put his burdens on someone else if he could help it. Especially in this situation, where nothing could really be done on just about anyone’s part -- there wasn’t any need for Kaede to feel bad about the situation needlessly, after all. Maybe... in time, he could start telling her more about himself in that aspect but for now, he was grateful for the quick shift in topic. 

“Ah no, it’s nothing operational or anything like that! I’ve got a boating license after all, I’m pretty confident in most motor vehicle operations and all. It’s just that well... it’s something about a car that really makes me motion sick.” He laughed sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his head out of habit. 

     “am i?” was she good company? that makes her happy, finding herself smiling. there were so many odd places here, most of which seemed scary since it looked nothing like home at all but perhaps this place in particular looked very nice, especially at night when the stars are out like tonight. eri did not know rantaro entirely too well but if she had to judge based off their fairly brief conversations about the stars, he seemed super friendly and kind. 

     “it’s actually… my first time seeing stars like this. i don’t usually see them back at home so, it’s nice. i’ve never been… to too many places.” or anywhere really, this was the first place technically. she wondered whether or not rantaro has been to more places than she has, but he probably has… something told her it was true and it probably was for everyone else. but of course, she’s still quite restricted from things like that. she stares at his pinky that was held out for her momentarily then stretching out her own pinky to mimic rantaro’s. “i- wouldn’t know what to ask… about the stars. but i want to learn more. but i’ll try… is that okay?” he must be really smart, eri thinks. she begins staring down at her feet, shuffling them back and forth before meeting his eyes with curiousity. “um… how many places have you been to? rantaro…?”

“Of course you are! I might even go so far as to say that you’re the best company I’ve had so far.” Rantaro couldn’t help punctuating that with a light pat to the top of the head. For someone so young, her words sometimes were muddled with self doubt and hesitation that honestly worried Rantaro at times. He was the type of guy who wanted to get to know others through observation and gentle questioning, not through prying or harsh questions that might bring about bad memories. Even from this short exchange, he couldn’t help seeing her as younger sister that he wanted to spend time with. 

Linking her extended pinky when she held it out, he gave their hands a little shake to seal the deal.“Oh, it is? Well, that’s not too unusual though, a lot of cities’re too bright at night to let us see the stars like this, you know? A bit of a shame, but you can at least carry the knowledge that the stars are always there with you, even if you can’t see them. And don’t worry about that! You have plenty of time to explore places, you know? At the very least, you’re starting a pretty unique place right now.” Of course, he would like to hope that the both of them wouldn’t be stuck in this city long term if he could help it... but exploring places in this place was at least a start. “Of course that’s okay, no pressure at all. Just ask me if anything comes up, I’ll answer to the best of my ability!”

Man, for a delivery dude (and for that he reminded him of someone rather… not so pleasant) he really did seem like a nice guy. “Yeah… I guess that’s true.” Yeah, it wasn’t that unlikely to find lookalikes with that many unique people squeezed into one weird city indeed.

Ah… jobs, that somehow took him back to his old convenience store job he used to have. But he didn’t really see a reason to bother with something like that right now. He didn’t intend to stay here… and dust in his own world would be pretty worthless. On top of that, he was already given a place to live for free too, so he didn’t really see why he should get some extra money. Then again, it sure wouldn’t be stupid to have some extra on the side for potential bad times… 

“Thanks, I’ll make sure to check it out sometime.” Just when he wanted to pay the other for his hard work, he got a weird offer from him. “A… present?” What was up with him? Why would he pay for the bread of a complete stranger? Just because they were neighbors? Really? He couldn’t possibly take that offer, no matter how tempting it sounded, he didn’t want to be in anyone’s debt! 

“Wh-what? No, no… I’m fine. Let me pay you…” He wasn’t used to friendly encounters like that! Especially not with his most recent experiences. “But hey, since it’s your last delivery for your shift, want to have some tea?” Usually, he wasn’t really fond of having people over. But Rantaro seemed like a genuinely nice guy… And if he’d put this much effort into any customer of his day, he surely would deserve a break. Unfortunately, he had nothing to offer besides tea, cup noodles and the bread he just got from him though. 

“Ah, wait… I didn’t introduce myselt yet, did I?” Since Sou got here, he always was in the dilemma about which name to use. But old habits die hard, and he still wasn’t sure if he could trust this place… so: “I’m Sou Hiyori, it’s nice to meet you too, Amami.” After he finally introduced himself, he stepped aside so his neighbor would have enough space to go inside. “I’m sorry if my place’s a little messy right now though… Ahaha, you know, I just got here not too long ago, but it shouldn’t be too bad!”

Naturally, Rantaro wouldn’t push too hard if the other didn’t accept the offer - he was here as a friendly neighbor and not some kind of salesman. At the very least, the gesture that Sou insisted on paying for himself told Rantaro about the other a little bit. Sure it could be that the other guy didn’t want to be indebted to him in some shape or form, but maybe Sou was the type of guy who liked to be accountable for himself? Or maybe he was used to taking care of himself? There was a lot that Rantaro didn’t know about the other but as always, his first instinct was that Sou was a good person. 

“Tea?” Something about the invitation for tea reminded him of the way that he spoke to Kaede and it almost made him laugh a little. Some tea sounded pretty good after a day of work and well, he had to admit that he was still a little curious and worried about Sou’s reaction from earlier. Maybe it wouldn’t be appropriate to ask about it during their tea, but if it came up, he would just go with it. “Well, if you don’t mind the intrusion, sure! I brought some cookies back from work too, so if you’re one of those tea and cookies kind of guys, we can have some too if you’re down.”

“Yaay! Thanks, mister~” Was his only answer to Rantaro’s kind offer. Zeno was just excited to try something new. It wasn’t anything he got to do everyday with the amount of his life experience after all. Needless to say, he wasn’t worried at all about the dangers. Fear about his physical well being, was something that Zeno almost lost completely over all those years. Even though it would be more healthy to have some, since he lost his immortality since coming here. 

But this old dragon just wanted a fun good ride for now, so he started pedaling with a lot of strength into it rather fast. This resulted in Rantaro having to let go, once he reached a certain speed. Though, as soon as he was on his own, he only noticed now, how different this all was from riding a horse… A horse would always stand up on it’s own legs, while this thing was way harder to balance. He was riding it a little shaky, but still okay. At least until he dashed into a pebble ground… 

That was too much for Zenos shaky attempt of riding a bike, and he did end up falling off from it very fast. 

And even though it did hurt a little, the pain was never there to stay long anyway. And according to his prior experienced wounds, scratch wounds like these were nothing! “Hahaha!” An amused laugh left the blonde boy, while waving towards the owner of the baik he just fell off from. 

“Oops, that was Zeno’s bad. But don’t worry, your baik’s still doing fine!” Even if he fell, this whole thing still was a lot of fun! Maybe he should ask where he could get one for himself too!

"Whoa!” This guy was pretty excited about being able to ride a bike! And he was surprisingly strong too, Rantaro only able to hold onto the bike for a short while before Zeno’s fast pedaling meant that he had to let go of the seat to leave the other to fend for himself. Of course, all of that forward momentum meant that when he did let go, Zeno was riding forward decently steady for someone’s first time, Rantaro making sure to keep up a light jog to at least follow the other from a bit of a distance away. Maybe being able to ride a horse while standing really was going to help Zeno with mastering the bike? At least until the bike and Zeno wobbled harder than before, going over what looked like some bumps in the road a little more than shakily before Zeno and the bike both went down. 

“Zeno-kun! Are you okay?” Even if Zeno seemed to be okay, those big brother instincts of Rantaro’s just kicked in full gear and he sprinted the rest of the way over. Never mind the condition of the bike, he was just worried if the other was hurt in any shape or form... Laughter was a good sign and it admittedly made Rantaro feel a bit better as he came in closer, but aside from the other person not knowing what a bike was, Rantaro couldn’t say that he knew him well enough to say that it wasn’t some kind of reflexive response. Squatting next to Zeno on the ground, he was giving him a quick once over before speaking again.

Mizi held up his hand; two of his fingers were contained within comfortable splints. “Hehe, yeah. It was an accident of course, buuut I’ll be alright eventually! And thank you…I, uh– it’s honestly taken me awhile to get used to everyone calling me ‘boss’.” Not wanting to divulge the details behind the accident, Mizi was quick to brush over it. 

“Telling everyone what to do in the bakery just…it kinda came naturally to me. When I think about it in retrospect..I still can’t believe I’m managing it..” He blinked a few times, then rubbed the back of his head with this non-injured hand. 

“Oh, aha…uh, for sure! I’ll have to force myself to …uh, not bake in the kitchen until my hand completely heals. It’s been pretty difficult so far, but if you don’t mind I can just give you vocal instructions, or….or even, um, I could print out some instructions!”

Even if Rantaro was a little more used to seeing wounds and such given his own travels, he still gave a bit of a wince when he saw Mizi’s hand. Wounds on other people really never sat super well in his stomach, but he couldn’t swoop in and big brother his boss now, could he? “Ah, yeah! I’m sure the rest’s doing you tons of good -- oh and think just try to make sure you’re eating properly and all.” The other seemed to want to brush past that relatively quickly anyway, so Rantaro would just file his concerns away for next time. 

“Well from what I see, you’ve got a real passion for it. People like following other who’ve got their passions in order, I think. It’s kind of a bit of natural leadership in you then, haha! Getting used to being called boss’ll just take time, but I think you’ve got the real air of one.” Rantaro really didn’t mind either way, that was up to the other.

@seizonka​

    Rise hadn’t put much thought into the day as she rubbed her eyes open after a long night’s rest. It felt like she both had and hadn’t gotten enough sleep. A strange feeling, if she did say so herself. Regardless, she had been hoping to do some shopping for the upcoming holidays. That is, until she sat up in bed and her usual brunette locks suddenly felt much shorter. Surprise certainly was one word to use as she removed herself from the bed and looked in the mirror. This wasn’t her. Well.. It was her mind thinking right now, but– It was too complicated!

    If she wanted to find her own body, the best place was likely near her home. Thus, that was where she headed. Standing outside the complex, she noticed her familiar silhouette exit through the doors. Without putting deeper thought behind it, Rise approached herself and placed a hand on her hips.

    “This.. is super weird! I’ve seen strange things before, but this is totally icing on the cake!” Looking her body in the eyes, she leaned a bit closer as she gestured to herself. “So.. This must be yours. Your normal appearance, I mean.” 

After all of that heavy snowfall, Rantaro wasn’t sure to expect from the next day, especially when there was some kind of ruckus going on about what would follow. He wasn’t the type of guy to jump to conclusions if he could help it though -- figuring that a night of good sleep would just prepare him for a day of information gather and just going to sleep with no real immediate concerns. Boy oh boy, did that turn out to be naive. Waking up in a place that was definitely not his own and then realizing that he wasn’t even in his own body place when a confused hum came out in a much higher pitch than he was used to. 

Oh god, what was he supposed to do? This wasn’t his body! Would it just be better to stay in place and wait for the original person to come by? Looking through girl’s things wasn’t anything in the realm of what he would even consider doing and by no means was he going to go that direction even in this situation! Maybe he should go over to his own place instead? But, what if she considered coming back home and their paths didn’t meet? At the very least, he didn’t want to stay in someone else’s home without their permission for a moment longer -- doing his best to maneuver around and leave.

Waking up in a new place after feeling just a bit of relief after returning to his original body was getting old pretty quickly. It definitely didn’t help that Rantaro’s last two switches happened to be girls -- he was already pretty careful that no one misunderstood his intentions in his regular body so having to explain away things when he was stuck in someone else’s body was just another issue entirely. For a long moment, Rantaro just continued to lay in this person’s bed, slightly afraid to see if his latest switch was with another girl. But, he wasn’t the only person who was dealing with stuff like this and no doubt, the other was probably worried about the state of their own body. It was just a temporary switch anyway... the both of them would make it through the day or days. 

Come to think of it, this place also looked familiar too. It wasn’t anything super familiar or instantly recognizable like Kaede’s wardrobe, but he wasn’t entirely unsure of things like he was with Rise. He was getting used to the ground being closer to his face versus how it was normally too with these switches, so walking over to the mirror and looking at the different face staring back at him was just about the only thing he could do. Ah, it was the guy he delivered bread to a while back! More importantly, he was a guy! That made changing into clothes and getting ready to make the second trip over to his own place again a lot easier. Though... this guy was pretty weak, wasn’t he? His stamina was depleting a lot faster than it did normally and well, everything just felt so much heavier than usual. Running across the street felt like a herculean task after making the long trek over.

It would be nice if this body swapping thing was just a one time thing -- whatever relief Rantaro felt yesterday after waking up in his own body again after a couple of days as a certain popular idol instantly melting away when he woke up in another unfamiliar room instead of his own in the morning again. Long hair brushing over his shoulders just brought about another curl of embarrassment; was he another girl this time around too? Luckily (or unluckily, that really was hard to say), he didn’t need to take nearly as much time to realize which unfortunate person he swapped with this time. No one else wore a skirt quite like Kaede’s after all. 

He had to go outside to get to his place though, huh? This never got any easier and Rantaro kept his eyes firmly shut as he carefully changed into more presentable clothes, making his way over to his own apartment as fast as possible. His first nervous instinct also was just to knock as loudly as possible, but Kaede’s hands and fingers were important to her, right? As far as he was concerned, they went back to their original bodies at some point in time and the last thing he wanted to do was cause her any harm. So, kicking the door with the toe of his shoes it was! That made a pretty convincing knocking sound anyway, right?

    “Incredible!”

  The word fell from a mouth freshly departed from the edge of a bowl, breath hot against the cool air to grant a visual of the satisfied sigh that followed. Since its establishment Yusuke has taken to enjoying the soup provided not only to himself, but to the many that visited the pot. Each day the type of soup seemed to change; flavor and texture becoming something entirely new.

  Never running dry of its contents it was a pure wonder how a new helping could be created in so short a time, with such large a portion! But, there would be no complaints here, for this days serving was simply divine.

    “Its flavour is rich and aroma quite welcoming. The larger quantity of vegetables do not take away from the creamy broth in the slightest, allowing it the title of a truly hearty dish!”

  A firm grasp is held against the bowl, now emptied of its contents. There was the need for a second serving, quite eager to experience a second helping. He had almost forgotten the others passing by with similar direction, managing to stop himself before abruptly sliding into another. Bowl was drawn in, torso slanted back to readjust the space between.

    “Excuse me,” a pause to adjust once more. “Were you heading to try it for yourself? I could not recommend it enough.”

  ( @seizonka​  ♡ ‘d for winterfes ! )

It was nice to see someone enjoying the giant soup pot as much as the other was; Rantaro brightening up a bit himself with all of the praises piled onto the free food. Of course, a lot of questions about the actual pot came to mind -- where the ingredients came from, how it was seemingly endless, and how the contents changed everyday, but it was kind of like magic, wasn’t it? Knowing the whole trick kind of ruined the fun of it and it wasn’t like there was anything to be gained from it anyway. He chalked it up to the magic of this world, where many things still didn’t quite make sense to him yet. 

This guy could be some kind of food critic with the way he was weaving words about the soup though and Rantaro really didn’t mind letting him go first when clearly he was so into the soup when the other readjusted himself. 

the promise of unsavored sweets had vied for his attention, like the tap on the shoulder from a lovely guest. to yearn so fervently for the delicacies of sugar and creams was one his most guilty of pleasures. however, to be barred from the warm fragrance of ginger and the charming designs behind glass windows and strange digital tablets did not please him. 

it was a struggle to even get the machine started; despite the letters clearly depicting ‘ START ‘ in bold and green at the center of the screen. and after the clutter and the hum of life, the excessive detail placed into the decorations and the options that followed were far too much. multiple presses of one button had nearly covered the tray in a handful of small, colorful specks; the accidental touch of another had spread a large helping of icing all over the cutout of gingerbread. 

this was not going as he expected and the frustration was beginning to weigh upon his brows, sink into gritted teeth, until kurowli voiced it all aloud,  “— could this be any more complicated ? the least they could offer is a simpler version for those foreign to these contraptions ! ”

@seizonka // winterfes sc

What was more festive than some decorated gingerbread? Sure the seemingly endless snow prior to this festival had Rantaro worried about what would happen next, but a holiday festival wasn’t top on his list of expectations. True to his wanderer self, he did his best to walk around the various wards to see exactly what events were set up in each respective place. It was hard to ignore the scent of freshly baked gingerbread wafting through the air as he passed through Fibonacci and besides, you had to keep yourself properly fed for safe travels, right? The fun part about making gingerbread men was definitely being able to decorate them the way you wanted too and it seemed like the city had come up with a solution for that. 

That being said, Rantaro had met a lot of people recently who weren’t so accustomed to all the modern technology in this place and this familiar face definitely was having a rough time. The machine cost dust too, didn’t it? It wouldn’t be very festive if he ended up spending all of his money on a botched cookie either. 

@seizonka / starter call / affiliate

it’s been two days, approximately. caesar doesn’t think there’s any way he could ever possibly get bored of everything the city has to offer. fibonacci’s elevators, the sunsets by golden ward’s beaches—it’s all perfect. it’s as if the person  ( people  ? )  with the nerve to hold so many people captive is actually going to all these lengths to ensure everyone’s comfort.

for now, though  ?  he’s skeptical, not to mention sick of it. not that he won’t accept the free food and admittedly exceptional housing, but it’s a bit too good to be true for caesar’s tastes. how much money must have gone into this project  ?  it never fails to completely confuse him. the people, the plants… they’re all as real as him. for example, the boy sitting next to him amidst these cherry blossom trees.

“  here, i’ll get that for you,  ”  caesar says coolly, plucking a fallen petal from the stranger’s hair.  “  isn’t it kind of late for you to be out here  ?  ”

Slowly but surely, Rantaro was becoming accustomed the cycle of people coming in and out of this world. It wasn’t anything that he would ever truly become nonchalant over; disappearing without a trace wasn’t ideal in his mind and coming into this place with a head full of questions wasn’t a great alternative. He couldn’t complain much about the life he had been able to hold ever since coming here, but duties outside of this place still rang in his head during the hours of the day where nothing occupied him. 

People always came to places that they found familiar for comfort and while Rantaro had found new beautiful landscapes and breathtaking views here, the familiarity of cherry blossoms always brought his feet here whenever he needed a moment to think things over. He wondered if it was the same for this kind stranger, Rantaro letting out a slightly sheepish chuckle in thanks.

@seizonka​ liked for a winterfes starter

“A fox sleigh ride?” That sounded… not very familiar. Kaede has heard of sleigh rides with wolves or dogs before, but she didn’t know that it was possible with foxes as well. 

Usually, the pianist would stick to the musical related events of the Winterfes. But something about when being together with Rantaro, as she was right now, really motivated her to try out new things and widen her horizon a little. Perhaps it was because he seemed always so relaxed about everything, so she was less scared to try risky things as that. Or maybe it was, because she really trusted him and his judgement a lot. For some reason, he seemed very experienced in the most different life situations. Thinking about it now, could that be related to his talent? Ah, well. That didn’t matter for now! 

“Did you ever hear of that before…? To be honest, I am a little curious, but… do you think it’s safe?” 

"Can’t say that I’ve heard of that either -- ah, but this area’s known for the fox village. That must be it, it’s pretty unique.” 

Their relationship had really come a long way since the both of them had been dropped into this world. While Rantaro was already interested in getting to know Kaede during the course of the game, it was pretty lucky that they both had gotten this extra opportunity to continue forward after their lives were cut short. Getting to understand the reason behind her fear of bikes and being able to open up to someone about his own dislike towards cars and sharing to some extent about his sisters to someone as trustworthy as Kaede was more than Rantaro could have ever expected. Sure he still didn’t know his talent, but it was a little easier now than before. 

“If you’re curious, then let’s take a sleigh ride. Can’t say I’m not a little intrigued myself and well, nothing ventured nothing gained, right? Besides, I won’t let any harm come to you while I’m here.” He chuckled, a little embarrassed. 

@seizonka​ liked for a winterfes starter

Who needed ice skates to have fun on ice? Kokichi never possessed some in his entire life. Yet, he still could remember how he slid well enough with totally normal shoes on frozen lakes before, and so did his friends back then. Thinking back  to it, made him kind of nostalgic. Playing in snow and having fun on ice… Winter somehow did have something, there were so many possibilities to have fun! 

But maybe that wasn’t one of his brightest ideas since he got here. There he was now, sitting in the middle of the ice, because he fell on his nose just a moment before. Surrounded by people that are using, unlike him, ice skates to be more elegant on the icy surface. To be honest, his leg hurt and it was too slippery to get up on his own for him. But the huge pride of the supreme leader stopped him, from asking anyone for help. 

Luckily (or not so lucky) a familiar face was among those many people around him as well, and their gazes met already. There was no escape now. But- he had to play it cool, he totally just rested in the middle of nowhere because he felt like it…

“Amami-chan, hey…!” A big fake smile already on his lips. “Funny meeting you here…”

Whenever Rantaro saw Kokichi in the crowd, he felt like he needed to be prepared for the unexpected. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, most of Kokichi’s pranks were just harmless fun and his crazy ideas didn’t always reflect what the other wanted to do, but he was a little worried since Kokichi had a tendency to play his pranks and ideas through. That is, even if it wasn’t working out in his favor, there was no way the ultimate supreme leader would back down until he was done. For someone with protective instincts such as Rantaro, it was pretty easy to see how this just might be a problem. 

That monochromatic ensemble of his was hard to miss as Kokichi balanced his way onto the ice without any skates on -- not for long though and even Rantaro had to wince a little when the other fell flat on his face... that looked like it hurt, to say the least. Already, he was skating over when Kokichi noticed him, bright smile stretched over his face even though his nose was already turning red. 

@seizonka​

    The ice sculptures in Fibonacci ward did catch her attention. Makoto had no intention of destroying them, despite the numerous signs suggesting one might do otherwise. She didn’t know the entire process behind making an ice sculpture, but she had no doubts that it took plenty of time and effort. The thought of someone dismantling it just for a laugh almost felt like some sort of crime. If anything, the creator would surely be troubled.

    The student council president wandered towards an ice sculpture shaped like a boat– It truly did have a lot of detail. You could see the anchors and even an intricate flag atop the ship. As she was doing so, her peripheral vision caught the attention of someone next to her– That’s right. She remembered him from when they had introduced themselves to each other a while ago. “Are you interested in ice sculptures? I can’t imagine you to be the type to destroy it, at least.” A little laugh left the girl’s lips. “This type of work must take a lot of patience.”

There wasn’t any denying that the ice sculptures were absolutely beautiful and there was absolutely no way that Rantaro would even think about destroying one, especially not when these pieces were already meant to be temporary. Ice was so delicate and easy to fracture, so he would just admire the light touch of the artists who were responsible for these pieces in the first place. Making his way over to the boat, something stirred in his memory from just looking at the vessel. Of course, even he didn’t forget just how often he took his father’s boat out on trips prior to the whole Killing Game fiasco and just how it all played a role in the loss of his sisters too... he was so deep in thought he completely missed the other coming over to look at the boat too. 

⚡ The resemblance of this situation to meeting Tanjiro the second time and befriending him, is uncanny.  His eyes become a little watery. “— thank you. I’m Agatsuma Zenitsu, so you’re— you know, not offering it to a complete stranger.” The boy takes the bar offered to him with a wave of relief. He really felt hungry from his trip and getting all upset about it. He opens the bar and nibbles on it while thinking about what Rantaro just said about that place. The air is definitely clearer around here. But no, now that he’s able to think clear again, he’s pretty sure the perks of a natural habitat is not what he came here for. He’s not the nature-loving kind of person, except for flowers. But he didn’t come here to look for flowers, either.

“I know that people get their belongings and abilities back. But no one really seems to know how. I thought— maybe they want us to visit all places at least once? I don’t know. But, if I have to stay here anyway, I want to understand what this place is about, you know? It’s unsettling to be part of something but having no clue about anything at all.”

"It’s no problem and nice to meet you, Agatsuma-kun! Hopefully we can meet up again in the future in a less stressful way too, haha.” Rantaro took out another granola bar for himself and settled himself in to take a bit of a break himself, looking a little bit concerned for a moment when Zenitsu seemed to get a little teary eyed. That feeling passed when the other calmed down some and began to work out exactly why he came here too. Despite being here for so long, there were definitely some things about this place that were hard to come up with answers for.