Round 3, Day 1 [all characters and round announcement]

[utopiamods]

The storm doesn't let up through the rest day, but by the next day the power is back, the staff are looking moderately less nervous, and the weather is light enough that the usual announcement rings over the speakers in the morning.

"The announcements will start at noon. Will all students please report to the lobby for that time."

Umbrellas are now scattered around the campus at useful points, including the dormitory common rooms and the entrance to the school buildings. Helpful, because the rain is as heavy as ever today. When you arrive in the lobby, the screens are all lit and the receptionists are back at their desk and smiling at old students and new arrivals both.

At twelve o'clock exactly, a woman appears on every screen, smiling so cheerfully that several of the audience probably have an allergic reaction.

"Good afternoon to our new students here at Utopia Academy! Thank you for choosing to enroll with us for this, our first semester of the new year. Our battle system is the best in the world, set up for you, our students! I hope that you all had a fun journey here, and that you've all made some new friends! You're going to need them soon, so keep them close, okay?

"Good afternoon to our current students, as well! You all worked hard last week, and we're really very proud of you.

"Now, normally I would explain the rules, but you've all had a day to read the manual, and I'm sure you've met some of our helpful students since you arrived. Let's skip that! Besides, this week is special. That's because... Well! It would be difficult to fight in this weather, right? We're going to give you a break from battles. Isn't that nice? You can still fight each other if you want, but this week it's ~totally optional~.

"This week is a scavenger hunt! We're gonna give you a clue in a moment. The clue will lead you to a treasure, which you should bring back to our sages," the receptionists wave from their desk, looking a little sheepish, "And they'll give you the next clue! If you collect six treasures, you'll win the round and get a great prize, so work hard!

"Ah, one more thing... Players! You can have as many Weapons as you want this week. Winning battles or collecting Weapons won't count as a victory again until the next round, so have fun!"

She disappears from the screens, but her voice doesn't. "The first clue is... I must be broken before I can be used. What am I?"

The Player list scrolls onto half of the screens; the other half show the clue in flowing red text.

Players for Round 3:
Enki
Fletcher Tringham
Kevin Smith
Koharu Izaki
Kotarou
Locke Cole
Marino You
Mei Chang
Mizuno You
Nunnally vi Britannia
Romeo
Sugata Shindo

Comments

[greennotgold]

Fletcher stared up at the screens. This was... a positive turn, he thought. Even if it was only because of the rain, people didn't have to fight! And he was a Player for this round again; for once, he didn't mind.

He actually smiled at the revelation.

[myblueskies]

Romeo spotted Fletcher and hurried towards him, he had seen the screans, and he could read off the screans for some reason and he had spotted both his own and Fletcher's names. He was just glad that this round was different and that they were not going to force Fletcher to fight, that would be unfair!

"Hello Fletcher!" He handed his friend an apple and took a bite out of the second apple he held in his hand. He looked at the clue again and frowned, he had no idea what it meant. And had no idea how to find what they were looking for unless he actually went round breaking things to see if they worked.

[greennotgold]

"Hi, Romeo!" Ah, another apple! Fletcher took it and smiled. "You're a Player too this round? I'm so glad we don't have to fight..."

[choseanidiot]

Was he supposed to be relieved at this revelation? Enki scowled up at the now-empty screens, for the moment clad in the school uniform (cuffs unbuttoned and hanging down over his knuckles, and no blazer), since his own clothes were still drying.

And if they disappeared at some point, that idiot was going to suffer.

Anyway. Scavenger hunt? What was that, anyway? The principle was clear, but the whole thing was kind of confusing.

[goodtobetheking]

"It seems almost suspiciously convenient, don't you think?" Shouryu's smile as he approached Enki was bland, friendly, and therefore deeply foreboding. "Do you have any ideas? Something that must be broken..."

[choseanidiot]

Enki's first reaction was to simply grunt in reply as he put his hands behind his head and rested them there as he turned away from Shōryū. Then, almost immediately, Enki's back went rigid and he had to lock his knees. But, at least the rush of realization/remembering/revelation only brought the faintest urge-reaction to drop into prostration; besides the automatic knee-locking, nothing else happened.

Hah.

"That's the least of it. At least I don't have to..." Enki trailed off, his faintly relieved tone and bland face switching for a narrow stare in suspicion at Shōryū, and he had to fight the urge to inch away, because that smile, that faintest of reaction, was much too mild.

"What?" Enki snapped, for the moment ignoring the 'clue'; there weren't that many things that had to be broken before they could be used, and he didn't think horses or the various flying creatures or demons were something that the school had in mind. Besides that, Enki was uncertain what it could be, and there was something far more important to care about; Shōryū's reaction.

[kendobishounen]

Sugata looked up at the screen and focused on his name for a brief while. It appeared that he was going to have a chance to see how this system worked. He was mildly looking forward to it.

That information gained, he turned to the crowd and scanned for either a familiar head of blond or red hair. While it'd be hard to imagine this place being able to pick up Wako, considering her inability to leave the island.

[gingabishounen]

Familiarity! Takuto would let out a breath of relief on seeing the back of Sugata's head, if it didn't imply that Wako was without both of them at the moment. He didn't really like that thought.

However, he was relieved anyway. "Sugata!"

[kendobishounen]

Sugata turned, and found Takuto. His shoulders dropped slightly. While it was nice to see his friend after a week, it meant Wako was without protection. But he figured it was something they were both aware of, so it went unsaid. "Takuto!" he called back as he approached.

Now that he was closer, he could see that Takuto was dirtier and more soaked than others that had obtained umbrellas from the various school facilities. "Where have you been?"

[queenscheckmate]

Kallen turned away at the point where the woman said they didn't have to fight. That was okay by her. She did stop when she heard the riddle. She looked around and... did no one else hear that? Kallen figured that some people would have been saying something out of confusion, but weren't.

A handful of items had to be broken before they could be used. Riddles aren't good when there's multiple answers.

For a moment, the teenager looked around for anyone familiar.

[discarded]

Miwako looked around in confusion. What sort of riddle was that? Not a single answer came to mind.

She caught Kallen's eye and looked away shyly. "Er... do you have any idea what it means?"

[queenscheckmate]

"Hm?" Kallen looked over in the girl's direction. "The riddle you mean?" The teenager walked over to the other girl. "I don't know that meaning is behind it, but riddles don't make a lot of sense when there's multiple answers involved."

[tenwholeryou]

"You know what the answer is?" Kotarou sauntered over with his usual failed nonchalance, hands stuffed into the pockets of a new, starched blazer after his normal clothes had been wrecked in the storm. He had no idea what the answer was, and before he actually made the effort to try working it out, he'd try to trick ask other people.

"Easy, right?"

[queenscheckmate]

"I do, but it doesn't help when there's multiple answers," Kallen said, looking down at the boy. "But as long as we know what it is, we can go from there." Sorry Kotarou, you have to be sneakier than that to try and get an answer out of Kallen.

[imperceptible]

"Again?" Kevin groused, crossing his arms and staring up at the screen with irritation. Was this a hint or were the people in charge just picking on him? Either way, he didn't plan to take part again, even if there was no penalty this time.

As far as he was concerned, fuck this game and good riddance to it. Even if he had been part of the last round, it had only been to pay back a favor. Now that his debts were cleared, Exaclan was permanently off his books.

So, with those thoughts in mind, he dismissed the rest of the announcements and began glancing out the windows to see if the weather had improved any. Naturally, it hadn't.

[lolisandminorities]

A riddle with more than one possible answer.

Xingke supposed they were attempting to be difficult in presenting alternatives but of the various possibilities that came to mind, Xingke began to eliminate them one by one in his head. Some were too ridiculous, others would be impossible to find in this sort of setting. So, realistically, there was only one true answer left.

Of course, that sort of reasoning followed the assumption that the school staff weren't being ridiculous and hadn't brought in specific items just for this game.

Regardless, Xingke stayed long enough to note the names on the player list (The Empress of Britannia? Someone had a poor sense of humor.) before straightening from where he stood near the back. If there was nothing else of note, he was going to return to the room before Lloyd could and make another mess.

[trollofthree]

In other news, Gino had sidled up to him whilst he was occupied with thought.

"Hey, Xingke, right?" He was checking firstly because half the people here didn't remember their own name anyway, and secondly because it would irritate him. His hands tucked casually into his blazer pockets, he grinned guilelessly at the older man. "You free? I have a question."

[lolisandminorities]

"What is it?" Xingke replied, pausing in his steps to look at Gino with an expressionless face. If he thought anything of the Britannian's clarification or his initial appearance, it didn't show.

While they may have been allies in the past, these days (with the resurrection of Lelouch and his knight) Xingke was hesitant to trust anyone from Britannia. It went without saying that any relationship with a high official from that country came with a great deal of strings attached.

[kings_thief]

Being a player might have been a concern for Locke, if he had bothered listening to anything that didn't involve the treasure hunt.

"Perfect."

He might not have been one for fighting, but hunting for treasure was his forte.

[lookouthalifax]

"Kupo, you look confident!" Hello, Locke! There was a moogle peering up at him with interest and a curious glint in his eyes. Something about the human was tweaking his instincts as a Clan Leader. Between that and his enthusiasm for the task, Montblanc felt that this stranger was a person worth getting to know.

[bitofafiction]

"I am very nearly impressed," Sherlock murmurs. "This round may in fact be tolerable."

He doesn't trouble himself about finding a Player just yet; he recognizes a few of those names and there will be time enough. First, he settles himself leaning against a pillar and starts writing down objects in his notebook that might fit the description on the screens. Anything with a seal on it, perhaps? Probably not letters. Likely not glowsticks either. He neatly crosses out every option that seems unlikely.

[myblueskies]

Romeo was stood near the edge of the room looking at the screen, he was a player but he didn't have to fight, that was probably good. Though Romeo wasn't scared, after all he had fought the strongest member of the Wolf Pack and won. Still he had watched a few battles and he didn't even know what some of the weapons were never mind how to use them.

Still this scavenger hunt seemed hard, Romeo had no idea what would work if he broke it, and he didn't really like breaking things. Especially things that belonged to other people. He sighed thinking hard and ate his apple.

Then he had an idea! Even though battles were optional maybe he could find people to help him, then they wouldn't have to be discards and he would share his prize with them if he won!

That was a good idea! Chearing up a little bit Romeo started looking around for people to approach, looking for people he knew who were not on the list of players.

[shishi_sonson]

As Romeo began his search, full of high-hopes on finding suitable Weapons to mutually benefit with through the newly-announced round, perhaps there came a moment where his surroundings distracted him - perhaps there came a second in which he was so intent on searching that he suddenly lost sight of the forest through all the trees. Perhaps he bumped right into Roronoa Zoro.

With his arms neatly folded against his chest, Zoro had been intently watching the cheery announcer as he stood in the courtyard, strong eyes glued upon the large, beaming monitors. The announcement that battles were optional during this round didn't seem to sit well with him, but he hoped just the same that, during the lull, he might be able to better establish himself - perhaps even find a Player.

Suddenly, he felt something lightly bump against him from the side; when he turned to look, a younger boy was looking up at him with a rather fearful look on his face.

"Ehh?" Zoro grunted, looking down at Romeo strangely; briefly, Zoro scowled deeply, as his first reaction to almost any situation was pure killing instinct. Once he recognized the young man, though, his expressions went back to normal - that is, quiet, focused intensity. "Oh, it's you again. Enjoy your lunch the other day?"~

[westernwinds]

Rudy was still flipping through his manual because of all of these new terms. From what he could tell, Players were fighters, and everyone else acted as Weapons that were used by those Players. That part was straightforward enough, but he still frowned. Using people as weapons...it just didn't seem right to him. But despite his misgivings, that seemed to be reality for this place. He would just have to grin and bear it for the time being, unfortunately.

Rudy looked back up at the screen. He wasn't one of the Players this round. Okay, so he was a Weapon without a Player then. What were those called again? He flipped through the pages once again, and--oh. Oh dear. Being a Discard didn't sound terribly pleasant on any level.

...

He promptly stuffed the manual into his pocket and decided to focus on the riddle instead.

[tenwholeryou]

"Hey." The voice was loud, demanding, and came from a boy who couldn't have been more than eight or nine. His uniform was, for once, spotless. This was primarily due to it being new after he'd ruined his usual set in the storm the previous day. "You're new, aren't you? Wanna work with me?"

He paused, then squinted up at Rudy with what was probably thoughtfulness. "I'm Kotarou, my name's on the list. You can check it if you want to!"