rakuen | White 1-A

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White 1-A

Grenn was relieved to have managed to get rid of her... urgh... Weapon, for the moment. Besides, she supposed she was going to have to change into the uniform (honestly, a uniform? only kids wore a uniform to school!).

The room was, for the moment, empty. Grenn wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed, to have the moment when she'd meet her, currently only roomate, dragged out or be quickly over. Anyway. It wasn't hard to move around the room, but when she came to the bathroom, Grenn realized how absolutely 'spoiled' in a way, she'd been, even with using only her hover chair. This thing could hardly take water. She'd have to... She was not going to use her legs all the time.

Gritting her teeth, Grenn pushed that way, changed, and got back into the room. Alone. Finally. Grenn allowed herself something resembling a choke and tugged on her hair harshly. she couldn't handle all this. Too much at once. She hoped her roomate didn't come in at this exact moment. What was she even going to say?

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Koharu was blissfully unaware of her roommate and her struggle as she opened the door, hardly aware there would be another person in her dorm, but she stopped short at the girl inside.

"Oh. Oh I'm sorry, I..." She turned to check, no this was correct, so she smiled shyly and stepped closer. The words she was going to say, the introductions poised on her lips fell away as she took in her slumped condition.

"Oh are you alright? Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

"What?" Grenn wouldn't admit to it, but Koharu's entrance had startled her, so what came out was sort of a squeak. Oh. Her room mate. Grenn blinked, swallowed and took a breath.

"Um, no... I'm fine," Grenn trailed off, mind flailing. What next?! She was trying here, but her brain would not coo-- "Um... Grenn Atair," finally, something. Grenn stuck her hand out and managed a smile she hoped didn't look too awkward or nervous. Sure, it was only the two of them in the room for now, but introducing yourself was still the polite thing to do, right?

... What would she think? Grenn resisted the urge to inch backwards to hide.

Koharu dropped her things on the bed beside Grenn and fixed her blazer, taking in her roommate in quick glances. The legs threw her off for a moment but she smiled politely and held out her hand.

"Koharu Izaki. It's nice to meet you...Are you sure you're alright? I can get you to the infirmary quite easily if you need me to." She still remembered the path from walking to meet Yuki.

Now Grenn was just getting confused. She didn't think mental distress was any reason, even where Koharu was from, to go to the infirmary... Was she also just thinking of what Grenn obviously was missing?

Frowning, Grenn shook her head.

"I..." Pause. "What am I supposed to go there for?" For once, she managed to not sound sarcastic. The girl seemed sweet, and Grenn found she wanted to try to not be abrasive until she had proof, but at the same time, she didn't understand why Koharu was repeating herself.

"...You seemed hurt, I thought you could go, get some medicine?" She clasped her hands, unsure of the girl in front of her. But she did want to make a good impression.

"I'm sorry, just...Mental can affect physical right?" Koharu tried to smile reassuringly but she wasn't sure what was wrong.

"Um, yes... I suppose?" Grenn paused, tugged on a bit of hair hanging by the side of her face, and suddenly found the whole thing amusing.

"You must be thinking of depression?" Grenn felt a slight, lopsided smile slide over her face. "It wouldn't surprise me if we all end up depressed, what with missing memories..." That was amusing, somehow, if... well. Depressing.

...

"Sorry." Koharu would probably not find that as amusing as she did.

"I can't recall the faces of any of my friends, just Sora." Koharu took a seat on her bed and pulled out the glove, smoothing it onto the bedspread, "And when I was at this school, men were the players. Sora was the only female one."

"I suppose it is a bit depressing." Her face fell a little, contemplating and wondering what else she couldn't recall, but she straightened after a moment, looking determined.

"I have to play to help everyone."

Grenn wondered if it was worse knowing exactly one of the things you had been stripped of, or knowing something specific was missing, but not what... It didn't matter, she supposed. You couldn't quantify memories.

But. If only men had been players... Grenn rolled her eyes.

"No wonder he was such an asshole... besides..." Grenn muttered, mostly to herself. It all made sense. People used to being on top in the social food chain almost always acted like complete slagpiles to those "beneath" them, this much she knew.

"You'll be able to help each other," Grenn shrugged. At least several of them knew each other... were friends, could count on probably help each other, both as Players and Weapons. "Rounds change, after all." She hoped that was encouraging, rather than downputting.

Koharu caught that and had a brief shiver, wondering which man was here and how he would react to the sudden change in rules. It could be bad, very bad depending on the person.

"Are you a player this round? Or a weapon?"

Grenn shrugged, still not sure she actually wanted to be a player, because while she had one weapon, that was from accident and desperation... How would she even convince other people?

"Player. Would... probably have been easier if it was the other way around..."

Well, there was always the next round.

"I was always a weapon at home. It'll be strange." Koharu started putting her things away in the locker, glancing up at Grenn from her crouch.

"You'd...need a ranged weapon." Koharu touched her chest, "I'm a rifle. You'd do well with a gun probably right?"

While she'd never trained with a rifle (not practical weapons onboard ships), and the 'rifle' Koharu was thinking of probably was different from what Grenn was thinking of, it was a start.

It was also a complete surprise.

"You..." One hand flailed around a bit. "You'd do that?"

Wouldn't she rather be close to her friends?

Koharu stood, brushing her skirt off with one hand and nodded. Then she realized she would have to qualify that somewhat.

"I'll be your weapon if...well, if Sora isn't also a player. I'm hers first and foremost, but if you've need of me and she does not, I will certainly help you." It didn't seem so generous now to Koharu and she felt a little bad, but her loyalties to her knight came first.

While it was a bit disappointing (which she wouldn't admit), it was more logical, to Grenn. Why wouldn't you want to help your friends first, if you could? She knew, that if Lyra was here, she'd say something like that.

"Understandable." After Grenn stopped, she realized she hadn't actually thanked Koharu. No matter if it had come with conditions, it was more than Grenn could have hoped for, and so quickly given.

"Thanks," Grenn said with a smile, even though the only weapon she still had was that annoying young man. She'd just have to handle it. Somehow. Hopefully. Maybe. Grenn stifled a groan. She had to spend time with someone who saw her as helpless, except when she had her legs on, then, "conditinally useful". How do you stand that?

Koharu nodded briskly. Sora would approve, she was sure. Why not help when she knew she could.

"Of course. It's nothing. Did you need help with your things? The locker isn't in a good spot for you is it?"

Grenn studied the locker, and shrugged.

"Nothing to put in there. I'm going to keep my legs with me." She was so used to thinking of them as her "legs" which they were, that it took her a few seconds after saying it that she realized it probably sounded... strange? At the least.

"Er..." She could feel a blush on her face as she opened the bag she'd put on the bed and pulled out one of the prostethics. "My artificial legs, I mean," Grenn coughed, embarrassed.

"Oh. Oh alright." Koharu wasn't sure what to say or do, she'd never encountered this before, but...there. There was no point in making it seem weird right?

"Well if that's how you like it! Do you want to keep your spare clothes in there?"

Grenn stared thoughtfully at the clothes she'd changed out of; not her usual flight-suit, but shorts and the sort of wrap-around shirt that was popular right now. Lyra had bought that one, because it was made of actual cotton, like the uniform, and not syntethic fiber.

"I don't know. Any use putting only one set away?" She didn't know, honestly. They'd fit in the bag too, and she was going to carry the bag around anyway... But were you supposed to put the spare set away, even if it was only one and it fit into a bag you'd carry around regardless?

"Really it's up to you? It's your things after all." Koharu wasn't going to tell her how to do things, that wasn't right after all.

Oops. Grenn felt a bit embarrassed. Of course it was.

"Um, yes." She put the clothes in the bag. It was easier that way, she thought.

But. Something that was bothering her...

"Koharu? About that... vow," Grenn couldn't help the sneer that slipped out at the end. "Did it always sound so... I mean... Isn't slavery illegal?!" Grenn couldn't hold it in, and the last came out an an almost explosive burst.

Grenn's question made her sit, looking very serious for a change.

"In my version of Exaclan, the original verion, the boys owned the girls. It was much like slavery. Sora was the only girl who could play Exaclan and she saved the girls from the boys. Boys were often harsh with their treatment of girls since the penalty does not apply to a girl you own."

That just... didn't make sense. If slavery was illegal, it was illegal, and--- well, no. The rich always got what they wanted, and even being found out wasn't necessarily going to put a stop to whatever it was.

"Whoever came up with that was rich, weren't they?" Grenn felt her face briefly contort, but got it under control. Not all rich people were bad, but money was power and power... let you do almost anything.

"But misogyny... really? How far ba---" Grenn snapped her mouth shut. Tougyu appeared to either not have understood she had meant the "not invented for a few hundred years" quite literally, or he'd discarded it as "overdramatization". In any case, she wasn't sure how much she could say about where she came from, relative to at least some people here...

Like the fact that probably very few people here ought to understand each other. She certainly shouldn't be able to understand anyone else. Probably was some complementary "translation" software to all the other tech.

Koharu's grave expression never lifted, nodding as the other girl spoke. Koharu didn't have much experience with the world, but so far it had taught that men will abuse powers and money for the sheer sake of feeling powerful and reap it's 'rewards'.

"He's very rich. And very powerful. Ah...misogyny. It's just the way things are."

Grenn mostly knew the word (and reality) of misogyny from history. From recants of the realities of discrimination. It wasn't something she'd ever had to deal with personally.

She tried to fit Tougyu's behaviour into that, but it was too abstract. All she saw was a rude person who had insulted her for no good reason.

"If your... version of the school was like that, why not just apply to another school? Or wasn't that possible?" Scratching her head, Grenn tried hard to understand. She knew there would always be people with opinions of the sort that made her skin crawl, but to have to stay in a school, or any place, where it was part of the rules? Incomprehensible.

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