rubycity_ooc | September Test Drive!

Entry tags:

meme,
test drive

September Test Drive!

Thinking of apping a character but not sure they'll fit in the city walls?

Have no fear, a meme for you is here.

Directions:

Post with your character with their name and canon on top!

Choose a location and prompt or wait for someone else to tag.

If you'd like, leave contact info for people to get in contact for plotting and other such shenans.

Tag around! Make friends. Don't be afraid to chat OOC while tagging.

Locations:

1. Train Station: New arrival, or waiting to welcome people? Either way, the train comes in, but you still can't ride it out.

2. Cathedral: Looking for redemption? Just doing a little sight-seeing? Or just getting a little shelter?

3. The Beach: You can almost forget you're trapped, in a place like this...

4. The Black Stallion Saloon: You were told the burgers were great here-- but maybe you just came for the beer.

5. The Library: You came to do a little research, but it looks like all of the information's just out of your reach. Though, you can always find a way to pass the time here.

6. The Coffee Joint: A lovely place to have a chat and a bite to eat.

7. The Forest: Not a great place to be caught alone, but are you alone?

8. Wildcard: Pick anything from our list!

Scenarios

1. Just walked in: You intended to get here, and you made your way in; but now someone's caught your eye and you'd like to have a chat.

2. Been here all day: You've been sitting around minding the time. Maybe you didn't notice them at first or maybe you were just working up the courage to talk-- either way, they know you're here and you know it too.

3. Bad weather: You're here because you've gotten rained in. This wasn't your choice, but at least it's dry-- right?

4. Wild card: Got something better in mind? Well screw these prompts, try it out yourself!

Have fun, guys!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The voice was so familiar, and yet... wrong... too young, too concerned. She looked up anyway, wide-eyed and wordless. She knew him, she knew him, that was Kuzuryuu. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, SHSL Yakuza. SHSL Despair. But this-- he was younger than her, now, and-- an eyepatch? She couldn't help but stare, uncomprehending, she was already barely functioning and now this, of all things...

"Kuzuryuu," she murmured, as though maybe if she spoke the illusion would shatter and she'd find herself in a place that made sense again. "Where... what is this?" Had he died, too? That didn't explain the age, it didn't explain much of anything, but...

"Wha--?!"

He jerked back, startled. The bewildered look quickly passed into a more familiar, teeth-gritting expression of mistrust. He'd never played anything half so well as bristly.

"How the hell d'you know my--"

But his brain catches up to his tongue and stills it mid-word. The age, the look of her...it was about right, right? And something about her was naggingly familiar, something he couldn't place. The frown between his eyebrows deepened, but he didn't bare quite so much tooth.

"Are you from Hope's Peak Academy?"

He didn't remember. She swallowed again, steel eyes locked on the yakuza as she tried to make sense of this new, impossible reality, where she was dead at Junko's hands and yet Kuzuryuu hadn't even met her-- it wasn't right, none of this was right. But this was undeniably Kuzuryuu, each motion familiar even in this younger package, the glare and snarl almost nostalgic--

She managed a nod, voice low and just barely trembling. "Mukuro Ikusaba, SHSL Soldier." Almost a mantra, familiar and calming-- even though she'd been wearing her sister's skin for some time, even though her name was probably regarded as a vile curse at this point, she at least knew how to give an obedient introduction.

His gaze slid away.

"Aah. So that's how it is..."

The name didn't mean anything to him, but if she had a title, she'd definitely gone to the school. And that meant...he'd probably ruined her life. All of them. He and Hinata and the rest of them had caused the Worst, Most Despair-Inducing Incident in the History of Mankind right there at Hope's Peak, and if this girl recognized him, she must have been there for it.

Kuzuryuu sighed and closed his eye, still frowning.

"Look. This probably sounds weird...hell, it's the kind of pathetic excuse you hear on TV, but...I don't remember what happened there."

He crossed his arms, staring solemnly at the ground.

"My memories of my high school life got erased by the Future Foundation."

Mukuro listened, tracking his motions. It was uncanny. She'd known him, or at least known of him, before everything-- and this was accurate, if a bit softer. But she'd known him as her upperclassman, and most closely as a comrade in their bloody business. She'd even been fairly close to Pekoyama, as much as they really could, as close as two weapons could be. And this Kuzuryuu didn't remember her?

He... he'd lost his memories. His memories had been stolen by someone. And now he didn't know her any more. Of course. Of course this would happen, of course, how could anything else have happened. Funny. She almost laughed-- almost, but it came out more like a strangled whine, and she had to hide her face in her hands for a moment. Had to take a moment to breathe, and focus, and stop her dizzy spinning and static thoughts from overwhelming her. This wasn't how a soldier was supposed to be. She could already hear Junko in her head, laughter like knives, useless, disappointing sister, just a meek little dog--

"Sorry," she murmured, her own voice sounding distant in her ears, "I-- I don't-- I don't know where I am--" That was an easier thing to explain, easier to deal with, than her execution.

"A-ah, yeah. This piece of shit's called Ruby City."

He looked around as if their surroundings might provide him some visual cue as to where to even start, but the city was as unhelpful as ever. The girl didn't look too good, either--and was that a Fenrir tattoo on her hand? Holy shit, Super High School Level Soldier was right. But she was clearly not in a good place, and he couldn't just stand there while she passed out or something.

"Oi, do you want to sit down somewhere or something? My place isn't too far from here...I can explain things there."

He points his thumb in the general direction of his house.

Ruby City-- not a place she'd ever heard of before, even when she'd been traveling with Fenrir. Then again, of course she wouldn't have heard of some magical purgatory, would she. Stupid. She tried to slow down her breathing, counting silently, mechanically forcing herself into some approximation of calm.

His place? He lived here now? She pushed herself away from the wall to stand on her own two unsteady legs, nodding abruptly. "Okay." She sounded numb, defeated, eyes flat and locked on the ground as she crept up to walk behind him. Why not? She didn't have anything else to do. She didn't have anything else at all. She might as well figure out where she was, even if this Kuzuryuu didn't know her any more.

"This way."

He led the way, feeling more awkward than anything else, but he honestly couldn't think of anything else to do. She didn't seem scared of him, at least, but maybe she was just so far gone she'd whipped around to resignation. Despair. It'd make sense for the SHSL Soldier to respond that way to shit she couldn't fight, he thought. Guilt was a familiar bitterness at the back of his throat, but he couldn't address it until she'd gotten a grip on the situation. And until, maybe, he learned more about what he'd done.

"This's the place." It was a simple two-story house behind the city's Cathedral, more than big enough for him alone. He unlocked the door and stepped in first to see if Nanami was there, then opened the door wider for her.

"'Scuse the mess..."

The living room was mostly tidy. Except for the literal pile of junk food on the floor. He flopped onto the couch and breathed out. "I don't even know where to fuckin' start."

Mukuro followed very tamely, keeping her eyes on her shoes mostly, picking her way along behind him and doing her best not to stumble into him or completely give up and collapse onto the sidewalk. She didn't know how she was supposed to feel. She didn't know what to do. She just tried to swallow down the tightness in her throat, ignore the leaden icy grip on her heart, and followed obediently until they reached the house.

"Don't worry about it." Even if she was functional enough to worry about appearances, a bit of junk food was nothing-- she'd been homeless and through warzones. She didn't know exactly what to do once she'd made her way inside, though, she'd never really been a houseguest before-- so she just did the most natural thing and sat on the floor, legs curled under her as she looked up with a tired shrug.

"How did you get here?" Did you die is what she really wanted to know, but... it seemed somehow inappropriate to ask.

Edited (wrong icon tragedy) 2014-09-06 18:33 (UTC)

"Same way you did. That damn train."

He crossed his arms, looking at a spot on the coffee table rather than at her.

"One minute I was...the five of us, we'd just pulled the plug on the New World Program, and then I was here, coming into the station. Shit, that probably didn't make any sense to you."

He glanced aside, then focused on her again.

"From what other people have told me, we all come here...from different points in time. Different goddamn worlds, sometimes. And everyone starts on that train. There's no other way in, and there's no way out. None anyone knows about, anyway.

"If there is one...I don't know if you know her, but Peko must've found it. And...it's gotta be one-way."

The 'why' was clear: She was gone, and Kuzuryuu was still here.

Edited 2014-09-06 18:58 (UTC)

Mukuro listened quietly, eyes focused dully on the now younger yakuza, trying to reconcile this new (or was it old?) version of him with the one she remembered. Although she was vaguely interested in the new world she'd been dumped into, she only had so much capacity for emotion left, and at the moment she was using most of it to wonder vaguely about what the hell had happened to him. 'New World Program' was unfamiliar to her, but it sounded appropriately grand and interesting to be filed away for later.

Different times, different worlds... she shook her head slightly, not in disagreement but rather in disbelief. It had to be true, of course, how else could this Kuzuryuu even exist? But it wasn't something she'd ever bothered thinking about before, and being faced with it now... She straightened a bit at the mention of Peko, eyebrows rising-- until she realized the implication he was making. She wasn't around any more.

"I'm sorry," she said, automatically, and realized half a second later that she should probably not even know who Peko is, let alone the fact that they were close. God. She'd never been good at being undercover.

He noticed, of course. He'd told Peko over and over again that they were to act like they didn't know each other at Hope's Peak, so if this girl knew enough about them to know how much her presence meant to him, she couldn't have just been someone he passed in the halls now and then.

"Guess you did know her." He looked her over once, tapping his finger on his upper arm, and then exhaled.

"I got some questions for you, too, if you're up to it." Which she probably wasn't, but hell, she was the first opportunity he'd had to learn fuck all about anything. "About how you know me, mostly, and...the shit that went down at Hope's Peak."

Mukuro nodded slowly, gaze dropping to the floor, already supplying her sister's commentary internally. Idiot, you've always been a godawful actress! Of course she knew her. She'd known the Swordswoman better than probably anyone else in SHSL Despair aside from Junko. It was difficult for them to really bond, they were both all sharp edges and coldness, awkward and distant, and yet-- they'd understood each other, at least.

She didn't flinch or stiffen, just closed her eyes briefly as she took in a shallow breath. "Sure." What else could she say? He deserved to know, and she was useless anyway, the least she could do was try to repay her many, many debts. Even if this new Kuzuryuu'd want nothing to do with her afterwards.

The hardest questions first. He uncrossed his arms only to lean forward and prop them on his thighs, clasping his hands together. His voice came out grim, but it came out.

"Did I...did we do anything to you?"

She was ready, as much as she could be-- she'd braced for accusations, absurdly, even though he couldn't remember. Maybe because he couldn't remember. But his first concern was for atonement, and she had to dig her nails into her palms to keep her hands from trembling.

"No," Mukuro murmured, the tiniest quaver betraying her. No, no, he never did anything to her. No, it had all been her pretty poisonous sister. And her. Obedient. "I..." She was weak, she was cowardly. "None of you ever hurt me."

The relief came off him like something palpable as some of the tension wound out of his shoulders.

"That's...good. I guess. Not like I could fucking do anything about it here, and none of us know how to get back, but...it's good to know."

He looked at his hands, trying to remember everything from those last confusing hours on the island. In the program. Whatever the fuck.

"Then...were you with that other group of students? The fuck were their names...that real Togami heir, and that Naegi kid..."

This time she did stiffen. Just a little, because she was barely functioning, but it was enough. She nodded again, resigned-- she'd been asked and she would answer. What did she have to lose, really?

"Class 78," she recited, numbly. "Yes." Yes, they'd been her classmates, the ones she'd never bothered to get to know, because they were all too intimidated by her anyway, and she was too entwined in Junko to care, and they'd all forgotten her anyway and now none of it mattered. Nothing mattered. "You were..." She paused, unsure if she ought to even ask. "You were... older, weren't you?"

"...Aah. I should've been in Class 76..."

And it had already been more or less set that his sister would be joining Class 77--No. She had been in Class 77, and she'd been murdered right there by her classmates. He tightened his interlaced hands until the fingers turned white.

"If you knew me, then that just proves that everything they told us was true. Damn it..."

She listened, brows flicking up in mild curiosity-- she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him, despite how little it probably mattered in the end. "So... you really don't remember." It wasn't really a question, he clearly didn't know her any more, but why? Had Junko tampered with them, too? Why would she do that? And when? She couldn't have done it any time after the game had begun, unless--

She swallowed, taking another long breath to steady herself. Unless it had somehow happened after her death.

"Yeah. Anything that happened from my first day at Hope's Peak on...it's gone. At least until I can get back there and find out what happened for myself."

Or, well, more like: at least until he could get back there and suddenly not have all his memories erased and also probably go back to being a supervillain, and most likely get his ass executed by the Future Foundation. But whatever.

"The only thing this me's gonna remember...is the Field Trip of Mutual Killing."

How very strange. It was just like her classmates, exactly the same sort of theft-- though the Field Trip, that was wrong. The game she'd played had been the School Life of Mutual Killing, her sister's pet project-- was it maybe some kind of... other universe? She'd never been much of a sci-fi buff, but she couldn't think of any other explanation for this whole ordeal.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled again, after a long moment. It seemed like the thing to say-- it was easily her most-used phrase. If she wasn't so much of a coward she could have volunteered more about his memories. But... he seemed... so much more stable, now, not to mention guilt-ridden. She didn't want to burden him. That would be her excuse.

He gave her kind of a funny look.

"Not like it's your fault."

Yeah. He totally didn't remember her. But if she was familiar with the term, he at least wouldn't have to explain. He gestured with one hand as if to wipe the subject off the table.

"Tch. That's fucking over with now, anyway. And I think it's over for your class, too. If what I heard during our last trial's true, anyway."

She looked up at that, wide-eyed and uncomprehending for a moment. "It-- it is?" Over? How? What had happened? She should've thought about that, obviously, she should've known the game would continue without her, of course it wouldn't stop just because she'd died.

It took her a moment to ask, forcing the question out, dreading the outcome either way-- "Who won?"

"Uh, us, I guess. Well, not us-us."

He rubbed a hand over the bristles of his hair. His carefully-shaved stripes were almost entirely grown in, but there wasn't a lot he could do about it by himself. He didn't have eyes in the back of his head. Hell, he didn't even have eyes, plural.

"Your group must've won out against that woman on the outside, since a couple of 'em barged in at the end to help us out. And then, with ours...we didn't let her get what she wanted, anyway."

He looked solemn at that. They'd basically wiped themselves out, and for what?

"Dunno if you could say we won, but at least we didn't lose."

...

She...

She should have known.

She should have known. She should have known when it happened, should have felt it deep in her bones, they were twins, she loved her she should have known and she should have known it would end like this because how else could it ever have possibly ended, how else could Junko's games ever end, she was always playing with fire and laughing at the idea of being burned because she'd welcome it and she should have known and stopped it before it got to this, she should have known Junko was going to kill her, she was always going to be the death of her and she should have known it would all be pointless it was always going to be pointless--

"Oh," she finally managed, weak and rasping, expression outwardly unchanged except for how completely dead her eyes had gone. She felt like she was suffocating. This room was too small, too bright, she-- she staggered to her feet, trembling almost imperceptibly, face a mask of calm. "I'm-- I'm sorry, I-- should-- look around." It was a terrible excuse, but at least her voice didn't shake when she said it, just came out haltingly and flat and absolutely drenched in apathy.

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pocketmobster - 2014-09-15 02:38 (UTC) - Expand

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dead_eyed_wolf - 2014-09-16 01:21 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

September Test Drive!

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Goddangit I switched tenses last tag I AM ALL OVER THE PLACE

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