[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

[savedbyasong]

Shion turned to the sound of his name being screamed and was taken aback when a girl who he had never met before hugged him. Why was she crying? Had he done something wrong?

He had noticed the hat, he still had no idea what was going on but he understood that those with the hats were in charge. "Please don't cry miss."

[pencilpremonition]

Becca was terrified by the blood, and so distracted by the fact that Shion was back and Shion was hurt that she didn't even notice that he didn't seem to recognise her. She just snuggled into him, crying a bit harder and squeezing him tightly.

"Shion, you're back...you're back, you're back... I missed you so much... I missed you so bad, you're like a brother to me I love you so much I almost burned down the school when they took you I'm so glad you're back," she sobbed, hiccuping and panting between words.

[savedbyasong]

Shion on the other hand was becoming very uncomfertable. He patted the girl's back trying to comfort her. He didn't want her to cry, especially not if it was because of something he had done. "Don't cry, I am sure it will be alright."

It made no sense, she seemed to think he had been here before, but he had never been here before. Shion didn't forget things easily. "A brother?" She loved him? She had almost burned down the school.

Shion started shaking, not understanding and forced himself to calm down.

[pencilpremonition]

"Of course, Shion, that's how much you mean to me," she whimpered, hiccuping and finally drawing back to look up at his face. She whimpered a bit, whining in fear and reaching up to squeeze his shoulders. "You're hurt... Shion, what happened? Where have you been that you're hurt?"

[savedbyasong]

He meant that much to her? To someone he had never met before... Shion blinked, utterly confused. He didn't understand, it terrified him. "Hurt... the correctional facility... Nezumi I have to go back to him, I don't understand how I am here."

[pencilpremonition]

"How do you not understand?" she asked curiously, finally drawing back to give him back his personal space. She peered up at his face, looking desperately worried. "You're back, you're here the same way as the first time..."

[savedbyasong]

"First time?" Shion blinked. He didn't understand, his shaking got worse as he tried to work out what was going on. "I've never been here before..."

[pencilpremonition]

She looked up at him, shock and horror plain on her features. She backed off a bit, panting for breath to try to calm herself down. "Y-you don't... You don't... Shion... They..." She panted as she talked, struggling desperately to breathe and not have a panic attack. "They took your memories...."

[savedbyasong]

Shion felt so bad that she was upset. But it was quickly replaced by shock. "Took them? How?"

[pencilpremonition]

"I don't know how, but they did. That's...that's how they make us fight." She gasped suddenly, then reached up to a necklace she wore around her neck. It wasn't the proper place to keep memory charms, so she wasn't actually keeping it in her own memories, but she was keeping it safe and protected. She took off the memory charm Shion had left behind, and held it out. "Here's one of yours. I have it because we're friends."

[savedbyasong]

How they made them fight, such a cruel place that stole... parts of people. Parts of their minds, memories of brains on conveyer belts flickered across Shion's mind and he frowned. This place, wherever it was; he still hadn't worked that out yet, was like No. 6. Full of danger under the surface.

He looked at the charm Becca was holding out, "One of mine?"

[pencilpremonition]

"It's one of your memories. You left it behind when you were taken away from here last time. Here, it doesn't bite, I promise," she offered gently, trying to convince him to take the charm. If he'd just take it, just understand that they really were friends...

[savedbyasong]

"I left it behind..." Shion reached out to take the charm with a small frown. "Thank you." Nothing happened. He wondered how it worked, but it would be most likely be explained in the book he had, he thought he should probably be alone before he tried it.

He slipped it into his pocket, "Thank you... sorry I don't know your name..." He looked at her worriedly, he didn't want to cause her more pain.

[pencilpremonition]

She did choke out a sob at that confession, but she forced herself to push past it. "It's Becca," she answered quietly, keeping her eyes pressed shut. "We...were making plans. You might want to look at that soon." She turned and skittered away quickly, not able to face him any longer.

[savedbyasong]

"Becca... it's a nice name..." And then she was gone, Shion looked down at the charm she had handed him and back to her before he slipped it into his pocket. He would find her later, she seemed like a nice person and he didn't want her to be sad.