rakuen | Round 5!

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Round 5!

You're falling, and you can't remember why. It's a sickening feeling that makes your insides lurch; the darkness and the vertigo combine, and all you can think of is a story you heard once, somewhere.

I remember now. It's a simple story that everyone knows. A legend of a Princess, the Demon Lord who kidnapped her, and the Knight who fought to save her.

The Demon Lord had kidnapped the Princess countless times, but every time the Knight bested his challenges and rescued the Princess.

No matter what tricks and ploys the Demon Lord used, the Knight would always triumph in the end. This was because...

The world tilts on its axis one last time, and the dream slips from your mind as easily as it arrived. A new voice intrudes on your sleep.

"Next stop: Academy Main Entrance. This tramline terminates here; all change. Next stop: Academy Main Entrance. All change."

Sunlight streams through the windows of the long carriage, making the seats almost uncomfortably warm beneath its waking passengers. The air is muggy and thick, the atmosphere deeply tired. Your nausea settles, slowly. The last of the dream fades.

"We have arrived at Utopia. Repeat, we have arrived at Utopia Academy. Could all passengers please leave the tram, as it is terminating here."

The tram pulls to a stop outside the academy station, and anyone onboard is ushered off and directed to the front lobby of the school. You can't miss it; there are signs up pointing toward the main entrance, reading "New student orientation" in big, bright letters. If anyone should care to move off the path, try exploring somewhere else, a teacher will conveniently appear to shoo them back toward the lobby, assuring them that "all your questions will be answered inside".

The lobby is big and spacious, looking more like a university or perhaps a fancy international hotel than a high school. Stood around are any number of students in the uniform of the school. Some of them even look awake. There are several receptionists at the desk towards the back of the lobby, but for now they seem busy with paperwork.

Anyway, the many screens are far more interesting. Once a good number of students are gathered inside the building, they all activate at once to show a cheerful, almost cavity-inducing woman in the school uniform. She smiles, waves, and launches into her speech without further ado.

"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?

"Now, I'm going to explain the rules for you. Make sure to listen carefully, and remember, you can find all of this and more in the Exaclan manual!"

She outlines the battle system for the newbies as she has every round previous, then claps her hands. The screen goes blank, and the following appears:

Players for Round 5

Saber
Huashi Sun
Gaara
Excalibur
Xingke Li
Edgar Roni Figaro
Russel Tringham
Vriska Serket
Mikoto Minagi

((OOC: Also we have out first ever activity check! Here it is!))

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Romeo woke up early, he was used to being up with the sun and the habbit had not left him since he found himself in this strange world. He usually woke up at the same time as miss Sora, Sora would go and meet her friends to jog. They ran too fast for Romeo to keep up with and so he went to check on the towers. Since going inside the open tower he had mostly avoided it, he would sneak up on it and peer through the trees to check it wasn't different or on fire or something and then go check on the locked towers.

After all the Tiger lived in the open tower, it was dangerous. Grenn had wondered if there were other monsters in the other towers, Romeo hoped not. But they were locked and so he should be safe for the time being. Usually after checking the towers he would go watch Sora and her friends train, and sometimes train with them, practicing the things Zoro had taught him.

After training he usually managed to grab breakfast unless mister Zoro found him first, and then it was time for more training before class.

Except today there were no classes, it was a rest day and the new players would be announced. He swung out of bed, pulling on his uniform and hunting for his shoes before padding over to Sora's bed.

It was empty. Romeo frowned, he hadn't heard anything, and Sora usually woke him up if he sleapt in. He peared through the almost darkness to see if she was there anyways, but no the bed was perfectly made and on top of the pillow there were...

"No!" Romeo stared at the charm and the ring. It couldn't be... not Sora, she was going to save everyone... she couldn't have...

He reached out to touch the charm and stumbled slightly as a list of names assailed him. All girls, names, a number, sometimes a boys name and some random things like their faverite fruit. Some of the names Romeo recognised as her princesses.

It went on for a while and then as Romeo was touching the charm the memory was just there, in his head.

Tears sprung to Romeo's eyes as he realised it was true, Sora had been fed to the tiger. She was gone, he was crying silently and he slipped out of the room. He had to find Sora's princesses, if any of them were still alive, he had to find miss Utena as well and mister Suzaku, though he knew that he would be in the hospital still and Romeo didn't think he was allowed there.

***

By the time of the round change announcement Romeo had discovered that miss Utena was missing as well. He stood by the back of the hall tear tracks still visable on his face trying to make himself listen. Listen to the mean lady who had hurt him so much the week before, to the mean lady who had fed his friends to the tiger.

He stood huddled trying not to cry, because he was brave and almost a grown up and grown ups didn't cry. He was training to be a swordsman like Zoro and swordsmen didn't cry and he had to keep going, just like when Alfredo had died. He had to keep going and realise Sora and Utena's dreams.

Theta scanned over the list of players, then made her way to the entrance where the new students arrived. She wasn't a player, nor were any of the people she knew. That was a shame, but that meant that she would meet more people this way. Would any of the new students be players, she wondered. They must have been highly confused. And how had the last round ended, anyway? Did Sherlock wind up with five weapons in the end?

She supposed it didn't matter. Now it was up to her to find a player for this round, so this was the place to be. She stood tall, even though she had to lean on her cane, and looked around. Anyone that even so much as looked in her direction got a cheery smile and a polite tip of her hat, and meeting her eyes would earn one a polite and cheerful greeting. She would even approach anyone who looked interesting--who knew her logic, it might have been anyone!

"Good day to you~," she said. "Are you looking for a weapon~?"

Romeo managed a small smile when he saw miss Buckley, "Hello sir." He greated politely though not with his usual chear, he was trying very very hard to keep his spirits up but just like when Alfredo had died it was difficult. He tried to remember what Nikkita and the Black Brothers had taught him that day but still it was difficult not to feel sad.

Still he reached into his pocket and found the last of his battered apples, he usually collected more on his morning walks but today he had been looking for Utena, to find she had gone too and so he hadn't picked any. He had one left though and he handed it out to Miss Buckley with a smile even though his face was still stained with tear marks.

Theta frowned softly when she saw Romeo, not liking his saddened appearance one bit. She had to admit she liked the way he freely accepted her, and so she had come to accept him in return. Odd little boy that he was, he was friendly enough. She took the apple and tucked it into her pocket, then after a moment's thought, she mimicked her father's actions when she'd come to him in tears--she moved to put her arm around Romeo's shoulders, though the movement was certainly awkward.

"Thank you, Mr. Romeo. Are you all right?" She didn't think he was, it was rather obvious, but she would give him the opportunity to lie about it.

Romeo flinched as the arm came towards him and shuffled a little way out of range. He wasn't too worried, he didn't think miss Buckley would actually hurt him and he was sure he could out run her but he wasn't that happy with people touching him.

Anyways he wasn't a child needing hugged, he was practically an adult! "Yes sir, I'm alright," his voice shook a little, "Just... two of my friends are gone..." He blinked hard, he was not going to cry because Miss Sora and Miss Utena would not want him to cry! He had to be brave and carry on!

Theta let her arm drop to her side when he flinched away. She didn't want to admit it, but she was grateful that he didn't want a hug. She would have given one, but it wasn't something she particularly wanted for herself. Instead, she patted her pocket, smiling sadly as her hand touched the roundness of the apple.

"Perhaps they've been sent home? You should be happy for them, even if you can't see them any more."

Romeo wanted to believe her, but he had seen that girl disapear into think air, he had seen the tigers lair, the weapons of all those he had devoured. The weapons of those who had disapeared were there as well.

He shook his head, "No, they just disapear, into thin air I saw a girl go like that. If they went home they'd use the train wouldn't they? The tiger in the tower eats them..." He had to stay positive because he couldn't give up, just like he hadn't been able to give up when Alfredo had died.

She frowned softly, thinking on it a moment before shaking her head. "They can't be eaten by a tiger if they vanish into thin air. And it's possible they don't need to use the train to leave." She thought quickly, making things up to try to reassure him with logic.

"Think about it--do you remember getting on the train? I don't. I think the train in is a formality rather than a necessity. They're able to pull people here from parallel universes...I don't think there's a train capable of doing that. Rather, they give us the train to give us a concept of arriving here, but they could send anyone home in the blink of an eye!"

"But I went to the tower..." Truth be told Romeo didn't expect to be believed, adults rarely listened to kids and he thought from the way Miss Buckley looked and acted that she was a noble lady.

How exactly a noble lady had ended up here Romeo didn't know but he kept silent and nodded. He didn't understand what she meant by parallel universes really, but he knew the other people here were not from Italy.

"As you say sir, that's probably what happened." He didn't believe her still but he knew better to argue with adults. He tried to give a bright smile and gestured at the screans. "Do you know anybody who is a player this time sir?"

She frowned when he mentioned the tower. There was a tiger in the tower? She'd have to investigate that herself later. Still, he seemed to be perking up as he considered her idea--she didn't realise he was just refusing to argue. So she smiled for him, determined not to let the bad mood stick.

"I don't. I think I'm going to go find Sherlock and ask him about players he knows. Do you want to come along?"

Romeo nodded, "Alright sir! I'll come!" He hadn't seen Sherlock most of the last round, he had been with that technology man, the man that miss Grenn said was not a witch. Romeo followed Miss Buckley, trying to stay positive.

Theta saw Sherlock and moved forward quickly, going to speak with him for several moments before belatedly remembering Romeo.

Sherlock scans the player list twice, thoughtfully, from his customary place leaning against a pillar in an out-of-the-way corner of the room.

Some new names, some old. He is not sure, on balance, whether it would be better to go with someone he trusts in hopes of being left alone the way he has every previous round or take a chance on a stranger in hopes of advancing in the system. Unfortunately, he does not believe that any of them share his new goal.

Theta saw Sherlock there, all but hiding behind a pillar. She chuckled softly and limped over to him. "Neither of us players this round...shall we both find a player to work with?" She asked partially because she hoped he could introduce her to someone, and partially simply because she enjoyed his company. She agreed with him about what ought to be done about the school and its horrible ideas on 'punishment', so she trusted him to pick a good player for them both, if he didn't mind her tagging along.

"I've worked with Edgar before. He was tolerable. He gave me this," Sherlock reports, tapping at one of the memory charms on his left wrist—the third. "I am debating whether to approach him or take a risk on someone new."

She nods quietly, considering that for a moment before speaking. "Finding yourself stuck with an intolerable player is going to wreak havoc on your stress levels. Which you don't need given...the general plan. I've already noticed how little you sleep. If tolerable is good enough, I think I'd go for that if I were you. Do you mind if I tag at your heels?"

"Not at all. And I have been sleeping rather well of late, as it happens."

Comparatively, anyway.

"But you are right; it would likely be a setback. Edgar it is, assuming he is amenable."

"I can't imagine a player turning down two weapons that have sought him out specifically~," she answered. She moved to stand on his left, assuming he had some idea of where Edgar was and would lead.

"Oh!" She smacked herself in the forehead and chuckled softly. "I'm following you, and Romeo's following me. Where did I leave him..."

Theta could walk fast when she wanted to, even though she needed to use a stick to help her. Romeo had soon got lost in the crowd but he was catching up now. He drew closer to Sherlock and Theta, "Sorry sir, there was lots of people to get through!"

He grinned up at Sherlock though it was still hard to feel happy today. "Hello mister Sherlock, how are you?"

The short girl with the tail that trudged into the lobby in time to see the list of players looked pretty miserable. She appeared to not have bothered with taking any baths or changed clothes in the last few days, and anyone who may have paid attention during meal-times to who attended or not, wouldn't have seen here there.

Huashi glared at the screen and slid down against the wall, arms crossed. She didn't want to do this anymore. But she had seen that recording of the little boy get hit for someone else dropping into negative tokens.

"I want to go home."

Romeo looked towards the girl, he remembered her from when they had met in the storm. She had been kind and friendly and had learnt Rapunel's song. Now she looked sad and though Romeo had no apples to give her he drew closer looking at her in concern hearing her words.

He wanted to go home too but he knew he couldn't, just like he hadn't been able to go home when he was in Milano. They had to keep their spirits up or those who had brought them here would win.

He sat next to Huashi with a smile, "What is your home like Huashi?"

It had worked on... well the youngest Black Brother, Romeo couldn't remember his name. That was sad, but he could remember helping him when he missed his mother.

Arms resting outstretched over her knees, Huashi flicked a brief glance over at Romeo and then stared back out into the distance, somewhere between the wall and the floor.

"A mountain. It has several waterfalls, but one is really huge and has a cave behind it, that's where we sleep. But, I just want to meet daddy again. And Bajie, Wujing, Yu Long and... well, I suppose Xuanzang too. China isn't home, but we were travelling there, and that'd be close enough..." For the moment, the girl didn't just sound subdued, but perhaps more childish than usual.

Romeo closed his eyes imagining Huashi's home in his head, a mountain with huge waterfalls and a cave hidden away. Romeo only knew that China was a very long way away from Italy but Huashi's home sounded beautiful. "Are Bajie, Wujing, Yu Long and Xuanzang your brothers? Or your friends?" Romeo struggled with the names a little but smiled, waiting for the answer.

Off enjoying a peaceful meal in the cafeteria, Zoro, quite surprisingly, let out a sigh of relief when he learned that he was once again relegated to 'Weapon' status.

"So much easier..." he muttered silently to himself as he tipped a simmering cup of tea up to his lips.

It was an honest sentiment, at the very least. Being a Player, no matter what freedoms it afforded, could be a bit of a pain. Too much competition and not enough reward, Zoro thought to himself, staring quietly out into the courtyard through his window seat. Slouching comfortably down into his chair, an arm draped over the back and his legs stretched out in front of him, he began to muse over just what to do during this Round.

"I'll have to find some kind of Player, I guess," he said quietly, speaking to no one in particular. Whether or not to be picking about who would (or could) use him in upcoming Battles, though, was a point he had not yet decided on.

But what about Romeo? He couldn't hang out with the boy as much during this Round, not with neither of them as Players. They could still train, but if one of them had taken a vow, they'd need to be available.

After taking a sip, Zoro decided that he'd find the boy just as soon as the meal was finished and make sure he was set.

Romeo had had the same idea. Though he more wanted to fins Zoro to make sure that he hadn't disapeared as well, another friend fed to the tiger who he would never ever see again.

He hadn't been in the main hall and Romeo was starting to worry. He would protect his friends against anything, but he couldn't protect them if they just vanished from thin air. He couldn't fight a tiger so much bigger than him, one that set things on fire with its eyes. Some things were just too big.

He almost toppled over in relief when he spotted Zoro sat eating, the little boy that rushed up to the swordsman interupting his peaceful meal was a far cry from the usual bouncy enthusiastic child that he was.

He was still smiling, in relief but the tear marks hadn't quite faded from his face. He was trying to keep his spirits up, to keep going but it was difficult to be cheary as much as he told himself he had to be. "Mister Zoro, you're here! Are you alright?"

Edited 2011-05-12 11:02 (UTC)

Zoro, clearly startled by Romeo's relieved exclamation, jumped in his seat and caused his near-empty tray to jump with him, about an inch or two off of the table he was comfortably seated at. With eyes wide and strained, he turned towards the source, reacting at first with a comically exaggerated sense of anger.

"OI, are you trying to kill me?" he blurted sharply, staring straight ahead at eye level...only to see nothing. It was only then that he looked down a little and saw Romeo grinning up at him; hopefully he was too happy to see his green-haired friend to be upset by Zoro's careless outburst.

Zoro sighed and attempted to catch his breath, his heart still racing. "Romeo-kun. Sorry, you scared the crap out of me..." he said, much more quietly. "But...I'm...fine. Why, what's the matter?"

Romeo jumped in fright at the shout but he was used to Zoro by now, thats not to say he wasn't still wary of the swordsman but he trusted him not to hurt him for no reason. After all when Romeo had been hurt Zoro had helped him and looked after him. "I'm sorry mister Zoro!"

He reached the table and rested his arms on it looking up at Zoro with sad eyes, "Miss Sora and Miss Utena are gone," he jangled the charm bracelet round his wrist. It held two charms, Rapunzel's and Sora's memories. "And Kotarou, a little kid, Huashi's friend is gone as well." He wasn't going to mention the tiger, because it was likely Zoro wouldn't believe him either, just like miss Theta.

Following Romeo's arm, Zoro glanced at the charms the boy wore so mournfully on his limb. Letting out a gentle sigh, his lips sank into a deeper frown than usual, and as he glanced back up to meet Romeo's gaze, he gave his little friend a pitying nod.

"I'm sorry, Romeo-kun," he said lightly. "I know how it feels to watch your friends disappear in front of you..."

His attention returned, then, to the memory charms, and began to wonder just how safe it was to wear another person's. The mind was a delicate thing - was it really such a good idea to allow the events of someone else's life to invade personal thoughts?

Leaning forward, Zoro's locked his open eye with Romeo's, piercing him with its gripping sense of intensity. "But you should probably be careful about wearing those, kid. If you're too busy looking back on the past, it's harder to watch where you're going in the future."

Romeo gave a small smile, he was trying very hard to be brave and keep his spirits up. He was glad that Zoro was still here. At his warning Romeo's eyes widened and he nodded. He unclipped the two charms leaving the small bracelet empty and slipped them into his pocket. He could keep them safe but be careful like mister Zoro said.

"Have you seen the list of players mister Zoro? Do you know any of them?"

Zoro nodded; from his cozy, windowed table overlooking the courtyard, he had a wonderful view of the day's proceedings, the main screen of the center gardens boldly beaming down on all students scampering about the campus grounds.

"I have. I only know one person there: Huashi. She was nice enough to help me on my first day when I got lo-..." he began, only to cut himself off in mid-sentence, wearing a strangely vulnerable look on his face for a brief moment. "...when I was getting my bearings."

Rather unconcerned, though, Zoro was in no hurry to find a Player, and his relaxed demeanor made this perfectly clear; while others were scrambling about to pair up, he was sitting comfortably, slouched in his seat while enjoying a nice, warm cup of green, murky tea.

"What about you, kid?" he asked, tilting his head back. "Got a plan for this Round?"

"I know Huashi too sir!" Romeo grinned, he had just come from talking to Huashi actually, she was upset because her friend had gone as well. It made Romeo sad to see other people upset. "She is very nice, maybe we could ask her..." Romeo really didn't know anyone else, apart from Russel, Fletcher's brother.

"There's Russell as well my friend Fletcher's brother but..." He frowned and fell silent because really it wasn't nice to say things about people, Mei and Lyra had reminded him of that.

Kicking back in his chair, Zoro seemed to be re-emphasizing his lack of effort to find a Player this round as he folded his arms behind his head in a perfectly relaxed fashion; sure, he'd miss out on dessert at the cafeteria, and he might not have immediate access to the gym, but he was absolutely determined to wait patiently and find a completely suitable match, rather than try to bargain with someone he might not get along with.

"I might just let someone find me this time around," he said softly, wearing a strangely contented smile on his lips. "It's a nice change of pace from last Round - none of the pressure of having to gather up a bunch of Weapons."

Reaching out, Zoro ruffled Romeo's hair a bit. "If you think Huashi will be a good Player, see what she has to say. If not...well, it might not hurt to give someone new a try."

Romeo grinned, "I'm sure someone will find you soon sir, You're a great swordsman." He grinned when Zoro ruffled his hair, he didn't squirm away like he would have a while ago. He trusted Zoro completely, he was a really nice person!

"I might ask her... or I'm sure I can try and find a new friend!" That would be exciting, even though Romeo knew a lot of people here there were still some he didn't recognise. "After all the more people who know each other the more we can work together!"

After puttering around in the main hall, Theta headed off to the cafeteria for lunch. When she spotted a familiar head of green hair, she went ahead and headed over. Things between her and Zoro weren't perfect after her initial outburst about his having won her, but they weren't completely unsalvageable. She headed over to his table and carefully set her tray down, then sat down across from him, smiling cheerily.

"A player would be helpful, yes~," she replied, chuckling softly as she settled. "I've already got mine picked out apparently. You're still deciding, I take it~?"

"Hmm? Oh, Buckley-san. Hello there."

Zoro barely even noticed her arrive, seemingly occupied by the relaxing view of the courtyard through the broad windows off to his left. His expressions had been dull and vacant, but as soon as she sat down and spoke, the young man perked up again and glanced across the table towards the illuminated smile she wore.

He didn't seem to mind her presence, and showed no signs of dislike or distaste. There was just something about his simple disposition that made people wonder if he never held a grudge, or if he was just too dense to do so.

Zoro nodded to her question, then followed up with a rising shrug of his shoulders. "I haven't even met with anyone yet," he said, his voice gentle and thick. "Honestly? I don't care that much about it..."

Politely, Zoro dabbed his face with a napkin, once again showing his odd sense of manners. His lack of effort didn't seem much like some simple indifference; instead, his perfectly casual demeanor at a time that would normally be understandably tense, related something rather like confidence.

"The 'game' here is okay, and it does lend well to meeting strong opponents," he added. "...but I'm just here to train and improve. If someone wants a strong Weapon, I imagine they'll come looking."

Again with the dissonance between how he came across and how he acted. Theta just wasn't sure what to think of him any more. Zoro was a puzzle, and one she rather wanted to figure out. One day, her nosiness would get her into trouble, surely. But until then, she was resolutely going to refuse to learn her lesson and poke her nose where she pleased.

"You could always join up with Sherlock and Romeo and I. We're all headed for the same player, someone Sherlock knows. You should see my weapon now that I've got most of my upgrades, as well." Part of it was wanting to brag about her weapon's new form, part of it was knowing that Zoro and Romeo got along, and part of it was an odd form of wanting to make amends for having freaked out before.

Zoro began to grin at the mention of Theta's Weapon; she might've been perplexed by Zoro's refined manners, but she should at least know by now not to catch his interest with the mention of strength - he'd just want to try himself against it.

"Is that so?" he asked, his eyes keenly focused upon her. "Maybe I should see it sometime. I finally bought some upgrades myself."

While he didn't mind the idea of tagging along with Romeo and Theta, there was just something distasteful about simply following the crowd. Zoro needed to make up his own mind about whoever this Player was, and his mind was already made up: he wouldn't go looking for someone - their meeting just needed to 'happen.'

"...I'll...think about it."

"Well, if you wind up working for a different player, I suppose there's always the chance of going head to head with me. That might be fun, actually~." She laughed brightly, knowing full well that the thought of a fight was likely to get him pumped up.

"Whoever you wind up teaming up with, make sure we cross paths this round." It was an important invitation to issue--she didn't want him to think he needed to avoid her out of awkwardness.

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Round 5!

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exam period killed me a little, but they are over now, sorry for the delays!

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