[on the platform: attn. all characters]

[utopiamods]

Rakuen is warm in the noon sun, not humid enough to be uncomfortable but bright enough to make the transition from train to platform momentarily disorienting. The group greeting you is rather large, but also rather uneven - on one side, ten students in black and green; on the other, five in red and white. Whilst the green group are all fairly average, all teenagers other than the tiny, frail woman leading them, the red group are a tad more varied. One of their girls is tiny, the size of a small child, and her wings are beating patterns in the warm air. At the other side of the group, a warlike man looms over his comrades.

When they notice the arrivals, one out of each group steps forward. A lively teenager with ridiculously long red hair is the first to speak.

"Excuse me! Over here!" That's all she's contributing for now, her counterpart steps forward from the red group to continue. He explains, more calmly, that they're all prefects of Rakuen, from the two battle schools on the island. Fortitude - the girl in green waves - and Conquest. They all arrived just like you did, weeks or months before this.

"Please," he finishes, holding up a clipboard. Which seems rather unnecessary given how few names he has to read, "Come forward when we call your name, and we can answer your questions. I'm sure you have many."

As the Conquest prefect, he reads, "For Conquest school: Yuka Kazami," and leaves it at that.

"I'm Sora," the girl adds, "We're from Fortitude. Come ask us anything, even if I don't read your name! Let's see... Asagi, Juri Arisugawa, and Shion."

Comments

[knightime]

Dave lets out a silent sigh and approaches Juri. He has his PDA in his pocket, but he also brought a notepad and pencil to write on. He flips it to a blank page and holds it out to the other.

'You've been enrolled whether you like it or not. It's better to just read the manual you were given and at least participate classes. If you need an explanation on how this place works, most of the prefects, like myself, are qualified to inform you. You can't leave this place even if you tried.'

His handwriting was easy to read at the very least. He preferred his PDA, but not everyone seemed to understand what they were.

[jurist]

Juri takes the note from the silent boy and glances over it, frowning. Finding out more about this situation only seems to make it more unsettling.

"... I see," she says, at length. "Why can't we leave, exactly?"

[knightime]

Sorry about the not talking part. It would be easier to explain, but if you want the pieces of paper, he'll gladly tear them out for you.

'There's no way out. People tried to leave in various ways but you end up back here.

You probably don't want to try since dying is actually possible here."

[jurist]

Juri gives him a bit of an odd look. "You say that as if there are places where dying is not possible."

[knightime]

'You come back after you die here. Don't actually test that and take my word for it.'

Trust him. A few people here have kicked the bucket. Himself included.

[jurist]

"The thought of testing it had not even crossed my mind," she said. Really, did he expect her to go out and try to get herself killed just to see if she really would come back? Or did "testing it" imply killing someone else?

Juri took a breath and ran a hand through her hair; this line of thinking wasn't doing her any good. "So, what is this school like? Is there anything else unusual about it, or do the captive students simply attend normal classes and club activities?" Whenever they aren't dead, that is, she refrained from adding.

[knightime]

You'd be surprised what people have done since arriving here. It's pretty unique. People here are unique little snowflakes basically.

'It's not bad. The classes are kind of ridiculously dumb. We hard three classes about plants at some point. You just go to class and there are some normal activities you can do. The only bitch of a problem is if you end up a Discard. Most people are pretty friendly though, so you don't have to worry about that.'

[jurist]

Juri wondered what a Discard was—it sounded ominous—but no doubt that was in the handbook, and she didn't want to pester others with questions she could answer on her own, given time to look things over.

"I don't suppose there's a fencing club?" she asked instead.

[knightime]

He's here to answer questions, although it might take a little longer since he has to write everything down first, then let you read the answer.

'No. There aren't that many clubs, but I'm pretty sure they'll let you make one. Just talk to a teacher from your school or something and you can probably set one up.' Fencing huh? That's pretty cool.

[jurist]

"I see, thank you. I'll be certain to speak to a teacher about it, then." It was a bit of a disappointment, but one didn't get to be a Student Council member and the fencing captain by being unwilling to take a bit of initiative.

[knightime]

'The student body changes pretty quickly since people come and go, so it's hard to have clubs that last.' And Dave can safely say this, because he's seen everything since the beginning.

[jurist]

Juri frowned. "I thought you just said it was impossible to leave?"

[knightime]

'On your own. People kind of just disappear without a trace. So we just kind of assume people get kicked out or something. I've seen myself like two or three times already.'

This place sucks. Have fun Juri.