#ds ic

After a very long day of investigation and designing, Katahiko finally dared to approach the infirmary. Since Emilia knew he was doing this, it was probably best to get some actual measurements instead of all estimations. And maybe ask what she actually wanted. But it was obvious, right? If it would work, he wasn’t sure—he’d have to use materials he hadn’t already used for the other one, but there were more materials to access now—but she already had a nice cane so it would be fine? Or it was all an exercise in futility because he was not even remotely certified for this and he didn’t even know if Yuri had ever even tried hers and she probably had and just didn’t mention that it didn’t work at all because she was a nice enough person and what was he doing.

He stopped for some deep breaths before entering. Romeo had been moved a bit farther, it seemed, so he could come in far enough to talk with her, right? Well, all circumstances considered he actually needed to be in the same partition for her to “hear” him today, so hopefully he could get there. He hadn’t tried to bring his laptop, because he pretty much had all the confirmation he could ask for that she knew sign language.

It was a little hard to do so on the curtains, so he knocked on part of his arm before attempting to step into her Zone. 

Dai was always excellent at first impressions, whether it be his hair, 1980’s miscreant fashion, or just his general demeanor, he seemed to exude a strong aura that usually helped people decide that’s all they needed to know about him. The orientation wasn’t going to be any exception. Ten minutes into Mizuhara’s introduction, the doors opened revealing the very easily identified man. He glanced around the room for a moment before seeing that most of the rows near the front of the auditorium had been filled already… Like he was going to accept having to sit in the penny seats. Dai proceeded to turn on his heel, and exit the auditorium. He returned moments later with the folding chair from the refreshments table that was in the process of being set up outside. He casually strolled down the center aisle, limping slightly, unfolded the chair beside the front row, and sat in it, backwards. He only caught the tail end of the presentation, but seeing as he wasn’t intending to pay any attention, that was enough. Once Mizuhara was finished talking, and the students were released, he stood, folded the chair again, and carried it back to the refreshment table, handing it off to someone standing beside it. “Borrowed this.”

Katahiko was doing... questionably during motive. While he generally kept a smile plastered on his face, he still froze up frequently and fled to his room a lot more often than an obligate socialite like him seemed to prefer.

When he wasn't doing whatever all that was, he could frequently be found in the halls singing loudly, as he was today. So Emilia was probably not taken by surprise when he stumbled upon her in the rec room. He slid an elbow onto one of the tables like a singer seductively leaning onto a piano and grinned. One corner of his mouth was twitching a little, but it be like that sometimes.

"Fancy meeting you here~ Whatcha playing? Or looking to play, ehe."

It's all your fault, you know?

All your fault. How dare you try and run and hide? With something like this on your shoulders? Good luck. 

Mariko scraped at the area below her ear, wanting nothing more than to rip the thing off and have some peace. But if she did that, then she'd have to face some unknown punishment, and how is that any better? Who knows, though. It could be a blessing compared to this.

She shivered, running down the hallway searching for any kind of distraction. She almost body shoved her way into the dining hall, grabbing a chair and sitting down. She then bent over, clutching her head in her hands.

It's not like it was that simple. Life isn't two sides of the same coin, black and white deal. It's like an old rubber ball you get out of a gum machine, play with for a day, then throw it in the back of your closet to gather dust and weird molds.

There was so much space to run around in this place, Katahiko just didn't know where to settle. So he wouldn't. After putting up about two more shirts in his room, he ended up wandering around the dorms at large. Definitely fancier than his house. There were even a couple of game tables in the lobby area—not board game games, sadly, but still games. He played foosball against himself for an entire two goals, then moved onto the pool table. Super nice-looking, wow.

It was day one at the university, and with no more schedules to follow and no particular desire to actually organize all the stuff in his room just yet, Katahiko was running wild. Mostly by snooping around whatever areas of the campus he had access to. Everything was so open and grand and everything else! He hadn't made it to the sports side of things yet, but with all of these science labs, that might just have to wait for tomorrow.

He'd been sniffing out the area for a while before he stumbled upon the first of a series of workshops, partitioned off from the hallway by vast glass walls. Of course, just peering inside wouldn't do, so he charged in! Supplies, tools, 3-D printers, works-in-progress... He lost track of time pretty quickly.

Only when he heard the great metal door creaking open did he push his sleeve down and check his time display. Oh, whoops. Anyway!

"Hello!!! I'm certainly no employee, but I've been in here a while if you're looking for anything in particular!"

Hope’s Peak University is everything it purports itself to be. The grounds and buildings are lavish and large, even the on-site dorm rooms are spacious and conveniently located, situated around campus according to one’s academic interests. Altogether it’s really larger than it would even need to be, considering the exclusive nature of the student body, but the school doesn’t feel empty. Offering a range of degree options up to and including doctorates, with fully equipped facilities to cater to any potential career path, Hope’s Peak is the dream school to end all dream schools. The numerous helpful staff can be found easily, and some of the students from older classes can occasionally be seen walking about, though most haven’t arrived yet. 

It is not the first day of the school year. That will come on Monday, and today is Friday. Today is new student orientation, campus tours for those who hadn’t yet had the chance, and then a whole weekend to move into your new dorms. Hence why your class is here, and most older students haven’t arrived yet, so you largely have the expansive campus to yourself for the next three days. It’s plenty of time, to be sure - even if you’re busy or perhaps a little hesitant, anxious even, don’t worry, it’s only natural to feel overwhelmed. The orientation itself is fairly uneventful. The whole thing lasts about thirty minutes total and consists of the Dean of students, Mizuhara-san, who is himself a former Ultimate, giving a brief introduction to the University and an overview of the various and sundry facilities on offer. Most of the really important information is in the new student packets that were already mailed out weeks ago, though there are spares available at the orientation for anyone who misplaced or didn’t receive theirs. Maps of the campus, the key cards that double as library cards and will let you navigate your dorms and areas restricted to your respective majors and talents, lists of staff members to contact for whatever questions or issues you may have while adjusting, course catalogs and schedules, that sort of thing.

Perhaps you lingered in the auditorium after orientation, perhaps not, but either way once it’s over… you have some freedom. Breathing room, a whole weekend before the first day of the rest of your lives. There’s a palpable sense of anticipation in the atmosphere. The air is crisp, the sun is bright, and the days ahead shimmer with potential - and possibly something more sinister, though that’s not something you need to concern yourselves with right now. No, right now you’re free and the weekend is yours. Take advantage of it! Carpe diem!

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