Round 4 | Day 5 | Early Morning

[shishi_sonson]

//At whatever bright and early time Ms. Theta Buckley awoke that morning and found time to exit her dorm room, she'd (hopefully) notice something hanging from the doorknob: a memory charm.

There's no note from anyone, strangely, but maybe this is why Zoro got that weird look while they were chatting about memories the other day...?//

Comments

[shishi_sonson]

Of course Zoro is at the gym. So long as he is a Player and has free access to it, he's there for at least ten hours out of every day. The staff might even start to get worried when he doesn't show up first thing in the morning.

In the same private room as ever, Zoro's grunts of exertion can be heard through the hallway; he is holding up a large, heavy dumbell, lacing his hands around it as if he were gripping the hilt of a sword, and swings it from overhead down in front of him in a simple downward slashing motion. Over and over again.

Unlike the last time she found him at the gym, Zoro was fully clothed, but probably no more presentable, with his green mane of hair completely mussed and a thin layer of sweat coating every inch of visible flesh.

[ergaleomancer]

She taps on the doorframe and waits for his attention, figuring walking up to him and getting in his way was a bad idea. "Mr. Zoro...are you free a moment? I'd like to talk to you..."

[shishi_sonson]

THUMP. From inside, Zoro breathes out a deep, gasping sigh and drops the weight, letting it hit the padded floor with a nice, thick sound.

A few moments pass. It's not entirely clear what is taking him so long, but he finally opens the door; despite his best efforts, he cannot completely hide the fact that he is breathing very heavily.

"Ehhh? Oh, it's you..." he says plainly. "Something wrong?"

[ergaleomancer]

She smiles for him and shakes her head, then holds up the memory charm. "I was wondering if you're the one that left me this...?" Given the timing, it made more sense to be from Zoro, though it wouldn't surprise her if it had been Suzaku and he'd simply needed time to calm down after his defeat.

[shishi_sonson]

Zoro takes a quick glance at the charm, frowns, and shakes his head.

"Nope. Never seen it before."

He is...a terrible, terrible liar. Still, glancing away rather suspiciously, he attempts to continue the conversation as casually as possible.

"...why, did you...get back a good memory?" he asks leadingly.

[ergaleomancer]

She watches his movements and chuckles, not buying it for an instant. "Is that so~? Mm, I got back a useful but inane memory."

She indicates her waistline, now several inches tighter. "I was wearing a corset when I got here, but I haven't been wearing it since; I wasn't sure it would go well with the uniform. Come to find out, I also couldn't remember how to lace the thing."

[shishi_sonson]

If Theta had found it difficult to look at a shirtless Zoro, he seemed to be having just as much trouble looking at her waist; instead, he glances only for a moment when she gestures, then immediately looks away.

"Yeah, that was a lot like my stupid memory," he replies, letting out a short, single laugh.

Emerging from the room, Zoro closes the door behind him. Then he stands there, awkwardly, quietly; his eyes are constantly wandering the scenery, and he seems to visibly pass through fluctuating levels of frustration.

"I just...I thought I'd..." Zoro stops and rubs gingerly at the back of his neck. "Not that I'm saying I bought that! But...I wanted to apologize, if I was too awful to work with. You seemed pretty miserable after I took you from your friend."

[ergaleomancer]

She noted his discomfort, but she didn't push the issue. She'd clip the back of her vest later, though, so it accented how thin her waist was. Not that it was unnaturally thin, just thin enough that she was proud of it.

"I think...I was shocked more than anything. And feeling helpless. I'm used to having to rely on others, but..." She sighed, shaking her head. "No hard feelings, all right? And I'll try to talk Mr. Holmes into giving you a rematch before the round's up."

She offered him a cheery smile, the only thing she really could offer. "I'd shake your hand, but..."

[shishi_sonson]

Zoro immediately shook his head, his eyes suddenly becoming strong and confident again, back to being the predator again. "You didn't do anything wrong. I don't completely mind who I work for as a Weapon, but I know not everybody is so easy-going. You were partnered with a friend, and I stormed in and took you away. That's how the game goes..." he began, sounding perfectly sure at first, but ultimately trailing off at the end. "...but maybe I could've been a bit nicer about it."

He nodded, firstly, at the sentiment of 'no hard feelings', but shook his head again when the idea of a rematch came up. "I don't think so. He beat me - maybe not fair and square, but he used his strengths to do it. So I have to improve on my strengths until I can overcome that."

Zoro turned slightly and opened the door again to his private room. "Right, that might be a little unpleasant..." he remarked, giving out another short laugh. "I'll just...see you around, hmm?"

[ergaleomancer]

She smiled, glad to see that they were getting along finally. She wasn't ungrateful, though if he wanted to keep pretending he hadn't bought the memory charm, she supposed she could let him. It was strange, she normally didn't care what people thought of her, but it was so much easier to make allies here. Why was that? She couldn't tell, and that creeping fog was washing out why. But that just confirmed that there was some reason it was easier here.  It made sense to make the most of it, before that reason caught up with her.

"I can see about making him fight you fairly, if you want a rematch that way~. But...yes, I suppose I'll see you around. Who knows what the next round will bring..."