#dv closed

With time passing - Justin seemed no more aware of his surroundings than he had with the shock collars on - if a student was to approach, he’d be blankly staring into nothing in the kitchen, all cheery grin gone. There was no happiness in his eyes, just a dull, pained sadness and emptiness: it was evident to everyone even the optimistic Justin had given up. What...what point was there to being cheerful, when it should have been him to be punished, not Daiki, nor Wataru, nor Bendy?

He deserved every bit of sadness, because he wished it had been him instead, not his students again, to suffer - and he’d simply let them down again, Wataru most of all by failing to listen. He was a failure as a teacher...so what right did he have to smile? He didn’t even respond when Clive walked into the dining room, continuing to stare to nothing.

After lingering around on the shore for who knows how long, Daiki’s tolerance for crowds and chattering voices starts to grow thin. Feeling an uncomfortable tightening in his chest out of anxiety, Daiki decides to break away from the group of students and teachers, heading towards the towering building that is the hotel.

Soon enough, things are quiet again, and Daiki’s nervousness ceases. As the entrance to the hotel grows closer, so does the figure of another student. Obviously, he isn’t the only one that had that idea. Daiki gets a better look: they’re short in stature, female -- if her uniform is anything to go off of, red arms, dark hair--

Wait, what?

He’s getting closer, and just now he’s noticing that her arms are a color that most human skin isn’t. He’ll have to say something soon... A bead of sweat runs down his forehead, giving the student a nervous smile as he approaches.

“H-hellllo... How arm -- ARE you doing?”

With another new day on the island set before them, Justin felt that he’d probably greeted a lot of the students here now: but one in particular seemed quite evasive and shy. He’d caught a glimpse of the girl once or twice, but she always snuck away before she could approach or seemed too nervous for him to want to disturb her.

He loved to approach the students and share puns, get to know them: but it certainly wasn’t his intention to try and scare them! Goodness, no. He wanted to help ensure they had the best time they could, smile and laugh. So the question was, how to best approach without startling her? Thinking on it, the answer was simple. If he told a joke, as he always did to someone new: the joke would be a good ice-breaker and perhaps put her at ease.

At least he hoped so. Nodding to himself, he sat on the sands until he noticed the other. Instead of approaching, he would muse aloud so the other hopefully heard him: “My, my, the ocean looks so clear today. I wonder, if that would make it like a wave of calmness? Oho ho ho.”

In order to get some peace and quiet, Daiki finds himself wandering throughout the hotel in circles while the others mingle outside. On top of having the opportunity to be alone, it’s also a way for him to make sense of his surroundings. Daiki, with his awful sense of direction, will get lost eventually. It’s something he’s sure of, especially with a hotel as large as this one.

Daiki expects that he’s completely alone, but why does he feel like he’s being watched? Maybe it’s just his nerves getting to him… It’s nothing to worry about. Shaking off his feelings of nervousness, he makes a few more rounds of the hotel. Though, once he makes a turn around a corner, he’s stopped in his tracks by the sight of six eyes staring back at him.

God, save him.

He falls backwards, letting out a screech of pure terror.

Glancing around at the others who had been unloaded from the ship like himself, everyone seems to have found someone else to talk to. Daiki merely stands in place without a word, observing the chatting masses. He’s taking into account the various body postures, the auras that everyone gives off... He’s not liking it.

One person he notices, however, is glancing around and seems to be in deep thought. They don’t seem to be a threat, and Daiki is becoming curious. He sighs, going out on a whim as he approaches the thoughtful student, clearing his throat nervously.

Departing from the beach where they had been dropped off, Daiki notices that the remaining group is noticeably smaller. He figures that, like himself, some of the other students didn’t want to linger around the beach for too long. He heads in some direction -- hopefully towards the hotel. It doesn’t matter where, however. He just wishes to be away from the mass of people.

As he walks, he appreciates the gradually decreasing volume of chattering voices that eventually turns into silence. It’s something ideal, somewhere he can finally relax. He notices the looming hotel nearby, but he knows better. Sooner or later, the students will migrate to the hotel, and his efforts to achieve peace and quiet will be in vain.

Daiki relishes in the silence for however long he can. He thinks to himself about the situation he’s in: the suspiciousness of that letter, the fact that he’s currently sitting on an island surrounded by complete strangers, the fact that he’ll be sitting on an island surrounded by complete strangers for an entire month. Anxiety bubbles within him, but his train of thought is interrupted when he hears a snapping of a twig and a rustle in the bushes.

Oh dear god.

This definitely isn’t how Daiki expected his summer vacation to turn out: on an island, surrounded by strangers. Despite how spread out they are, it’s still too close for comfort. Foolish. He misses home and its isolation, surrounded by nothing else but his parents and nature. It’s overwhelming, to put it simply. 

He’s about to wander off into isolation when someone approaches him, looking him up and down. It makes him a little uncomfortable, swallowing anxiously. Perhaps she’s interested in how he’s dressed, seeing how his traditional attire contrasts with everyone else’s.

When he got the letter, he believed his luck was finally beginning to change for the better...

It was suspicious; it was something that was impossible for someone as unlucky as Daiki. With the constant strikes of misfortune throughout his life, was it really plausible for him to be chosen for something like this? Despite knowing himself and whatever tragedies that could occur while on an island for the summer, he decided to think positively for once in his life and accept it.

Stuffing whatever good luck charms he could find into a suitcase with the essentials, he boarded the ship, all while making sure to avoid any cracks in the ground.

After worrying for the following few hours over the possibility of being in a freak accident and sinking into the depths of the ocean, the ship safely docks and all of its passengers file out. So far, so good. Daiki glances around at the other students in the same situation as himself. 

With his charms, he was prepared for anything or anyone that could accidentally influence his luck. Lucky people, unlucky people, people with devil’s horns--

Wait.

The color drains from Daiki’s face as he glances, then stares, at that devilish figure. Out of all of the things he could have planned for, a demon wasn’t one of them! Clawing at the prayer beads on his wrist, his throat goes dry and he looks absolutely dumbfounded.