Osamu Kokkaku

She wrapped her arms around their waist and squeezed tight. She knew well enough that Suu didn’t enjoy hugs, and other physical affection much, but… It’s what she had. “D-don’t be so mad… He’s just messing with us… He’s lying… That’s what you said, right?” She’s trying her best to be grown up here, and to help… She just doesn’t really know what to say. “A-and… Y'know... You don't have to be sad... I think you're still a little scary even without the black avatar thingy!” There wasn’t fear in her voice, just innocence and concern. Judging from her tone, it was SUPPOSED to be a compliment.

The last minutes before the execution are full of way too much drama, in Suu’s opinion. Keiko continues to spit vitriol at Katsumi, other people speak up, absurdly, in her defense. It’s all a waste of breath. She doesn’t need to be told to die, she’s already going to do it. And as for the others- if any of them really wanted a different outcome, they should’ve reflected that in their votes. Empty words. People talking for the sake of talking, hoping that they could soothe their own feelings by dumping them on Katsumi, whether it was hatred or empathy.

It’s exhausting to listen to, so Suu tunes out. He feels no need to respond to Katsumi, beyond a nod when she asked for confirmation that he knew her sister. It wasn’t like she requested anything else from him, and apparently her grandmother was right there, so he’s just going to keep doing what he was doing before- walking around the trial room with Hoshimi until he reaches Osamu’s podium.

‘Nice throw,’ he thinks, when Katsumi manages to get a hit in on Kurokuma. Not that it matters. There’s no way it would be that easy- he’ll probably respawn, just like Shirokuma does. The white bear’s words only verify that a moment later. Nothing has changed, unsurprisingly.

“You don’t want to watch this.” Suu reaches up to put their hands on the sides of Osamu’s helmet, a rare level of contact from them. They can see Katsumi already being dragged away in their peripheral vision, they aren’t sure exactly how she’s going to die, but if it’s going to be broadcast to them then they have to make sure Osamu doesn’t see it. Sure enough, a screen boots up, and Suu tugs Osamu to make sure he’s facing away from it. It’s not like they can properly cover his ears what with his helmet in the way, but they can keep him from seeing anything. “Just don’t look. And think of something else.”

Suu only catches snippets of the execution, most of their focus kept on Osamu or Hoshimi, making sure the former isn’t watching and the latter is holding up. But they see the end of it, the way her avatar shifts and changes into a different, not entirely unfamiliar girl. Suu has enough time, while she falls, to think that her eyes look a lot like her sister’s. 

And then it’s over.

They wait until the screen is off to let go of Osamu, wincing at the invasion of Kurokuma’s voice, and then at being rapidly warped out of the room.

Yuki sat in the hub area, uncharacteristically quiet for once. Actually, she was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, in complete silence. Her hands on her lap and here eyes completely closed… who would have thought she’d turn to meditation to try and clear her mind. She sat in the silence, humming to herself quietly… Every now and then she would stop and shake her head. If anyone were close enough to hear, they’d hear her mumbling to herself.

“… It’s not real… It’s not real…” She sighed exhaustively… These visions… they seem so real at the time… how is this even possible… putting memories like this into her hea– And then she remembered where she was again. Right. Anything is possible in here… pacman skirts… bears with guns… this. Anything.

Osamu nodded emphatically at the compliment. “I know right? It’s super cool. It’s like I’m my own light show… or it’s kinda like a mood ring… But it actually works!”

His display pinged with a ^_^ face. “Okay! Thanks. I like it in here… Feels like home, y’know?” He brought his arms up shaking them excitedly at the premise of mac and cheese. “I LOVE mac and cheese! Yes plea- Oh…” And the suit shifted to blue.

Ah, the early morning hours. Seiichi enjoyed them still. Even in this fake world, they were quiet and relaxing, with none of his classmates around….. It was a shame that he still didn’t have anything to do- or did he?

He had only moved past the rooms formerly, looking around a little, here and there, trying to maybe find something to keep him busy, but he hadn’t really done so until now- that was, this very morning, on which he had discovered that one of the rooms held books. And books… could be used to study…. And study…. he did.

It wasn’t exactly on his lesson plan, and honestly Seiichi was not as good as languages as he was at natural science, but it was something! It made him feel less like he was falling behind. And so, instead of watching the sunrise in the cafe as usual, today he’d found himself browsing the books in the translator’s room, and finally collecting a few on English and French. English because it was actually part of his subjects at school, and he could always stand to get better at it. French, because…. well, Francois spoke it, and he still hadn’t given up on trying to make him more comfortable around him. It may be an involved project, but gaining someone’s trust was worth it!

Even when the world was falling to pieces around her, Reina still had to conform to regular habits. Even though she was remarkably too stressed to actually be hungry, she had nonetheless left the ‘safety’ of her room for the kitchen to get something warm to eat. Better than going to bed on an empty fuel tank after all!

Porting in was surprisingly easy. Didn’t seem like anyone else had that much of an appetite either, or maybe she had just gotten in at the right time of day. Settling on something relatively simple and easy to make that Issei had taught her to do once, she selected some elbow pasta and a couple of different cheeses from the dropdown menu. Now that she had the former boiling away and the latter chopped and grated, it seemed like the only thing she could do was wait.

Which was exactly when the eight-foot-tall knight ported in.

Her head turned towards the sound of the newcomer as she instinctively backed away, but then she recognized the young man. It was the really-tall knight that had whispered to her on the first day…he was a good person, right? Right? Knights were good people… Steeling herself in an effort not to shy away, she did her best to look casual as she waved in greeting. “H-Hello, Kokkaku-san…”

Any historical look at knights would tell you that they were thugs. Brutish thugs aligned with the rich. It didn’t stop the world from idolizing them, though. Any student with google would tell you that Omasu was a waiter. A cool, silly waiter who happened to dress up like a knight. That didn’t stop Keiko from thinking he was stupidly cool.

After giving herself an afternoon to steam off and deal with her emotions, she was ready to get to know her classmates again. It was more important than ever. She had to form alliances. Nobody wanted to be the mousy girl in the corner than nobody noticed. That was a recipe for death. Even people you don’t like make an impression. It’s hard to kill someone who had acknowledged in the past.

So, the knight was a good choice. For some reason, she could not thinking of him as the waiter. He was a knight, and that was it. A knight, a paladin. Someone just and strong, someone she would like to get to know.

It’s funny how we fill our heads with all these impressions, isn’t it?

“Excuse me, sir.”

A smile as she approached. Honestly, it was strange to have waited in the hub until he came by, but she did it anyway. She was definitely going to over analysis this later.

Yuki felt her ElectroID buzz, and curiously pulled it out. Once she inspected closer and noticed the message… She knew. This was it, right? This was the end. They’re going to die. Shirokuma said so. They’re done for. People tried to tell her otherwise, but she should have relied on her instincts. Then the voice. That voice. Who the hell was that?!

She didn’t want to go. No, she wasn’t GOING to go… but the minute the voice mentions a ‘punishment’, Yuki hightails it out of there and sprints to the hub. She’s panicky, and a little confused and scared, but… she should be fine – oh god it’s another bear. No, this is NOT okay. Yuki enters the room and unlike the last time, she stands there quietly, shaking like a leaf the whole time until Kurokuma starts explaining the rules… Kill each other?!

Once he finishes his whole monologue, Yuki tries to speak up. “W-We aren’t going to do tha–” She shouts, completely trying to talk over the bear and is cut of the same point he is, by a gunshot. To which the drama queen responds with an over-the-top scream, followed by falling onto the ground, landing on her butt. Oh god, the bear has a gun,  the bear has. a gun.

Osamu remained silent a moment thinking. “I don’t really get it. You coulda been anything, so… Why just wear a suit you don’t like?” An innocent enough question, but… surprisingly heavy. The conversation continued back to Osamu’s brother, and all was well again. “He’ll definitely be here… And I bet everyone else’s families will come for them too! So… There’s nothing to worry about.” An incredulous chuckle escaped his throat when Nao suggested he could fill his brother’s shoes. “Thanks…” there was an implied but there, but Osamu at least had the decency to stop there. “If I need help with something, I’ll let you know!” There we go… That’s probably a better response. Osamu’s color scheme shifted to blue momentarily. “Fiiiine~ Thanks for trying anyway.” It shifted back to the default yellow fairly quickly though. “One time one of our guys got his arm stuck in his bracers because he put the wrong ones on, and they didn’t fit. He couldn’t get it off, so they had to cut it off.” Osamu paused a moment, shaking his hands in front of him.

Osamu laughed nervously. “Heh... Yeah... Being tall... er... this tall is kinda... different. I keep accidentally bumping into things, and... It feels weird walking. Everything looks tiny, and I get kinda dizzy... It’s...” “But it’s okay! Cause I look cool!” Oh? That... was a name.