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

[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!"

[westernwinds]

Something about that loud and demanding voice in general reminded him of someone else, but his mind drew enough of a blank so that the identity of the person felt like it was out of his reach. But before he could try to puzzle out those thoughts any further, he suddenly recalled that someone was speaking to him. Oops.

"Ah--yeah, I am," he said with a start. A thoughtful look passed over his face as he considered that offer, but it didn't take very long for him to speak up again. "I'll work with you. If you say you're Kotarou, I'll take your word for it."

Any evidence of his previous anxiety seemed to have vanished into thin air.

[tenwholeryou]

That wasn't so hard. Kotarou really didn't see why the others had been making such a huge fuss about it when they'd been Players.

"Good! Then I'll protect you," of course you would, kid, of course, "And so will Huashi! And in return you can help us with the clues."

[westernwinds]

He wasn't sure how to feel about being protected by someone half his age. Was that normal here? Hmm. Well, it wasn't like he had anything else to go on. Still, Rudy rubbed the back of his neck with more than a little apprehension. "All right, I'll do my best to help. I don't want you guys to get hurt because of me though..."

"Wait, who is Huashi?" There you go. Y'know, that should have probably been your first question, Rudy.

[tenwholeryou]

"My friend," he said, in a voice that implied obviously despite the pair's tendency of staying in the forest rather than places any sane student would venture. "We're linked, so she's my Weapon this round too. Last time I was hers." Was he? He tended to mess up times. And then not care. Whatever, he was her Weapon at some point in the past month, and that was what counted.

"D'you want me to write you something to let you into places and get dessert?"

[westernwinds]

He managed a sheepish smile at Kotarou's reply, and although there was a new question or two in his head now, there was one very important word that threw him off that train of thought.

"Dessert?" If Rudy's head had turned any more sharply, he probably would have given himself whiplash or something similar. He really had been paying attention the entire time, but the way his eyes had lit up at the word 'dessert' was still fairly obvious.

"Yeah, something like that would help a lot," he said, trying his best to sound more or less nonchalant.

[tenwholeryou]

Nice try, Rudy, but Kotarou had had much the same reaction. He knew failed nonchalance when he saw it. Knew, and promptly filed it away in his tiny slightly evil kid brain for later.

"Uh-huh! Dessert. I'll write it after lunch. Where's your room?"

[westernwinds]

Alas, he was unaware that he had just sealed his fate in that regard. Not that being oblivious was anything new for him, mind.

“Black 1-B,” he replied. “Can't say for sure whether I'll be there or not though.”

While having dessert as soon as possible was extremely tempting, his curiosity about his new surroundings just barely outweighed it. However, exploring the school could be very...interesting, considering that he had forgotten how to read a map.