1st Report

[not_that_sasuke]

[A]

[Immediately after leaving his cottage, Sasuke's eyes settle on the symbols on the mailboxes, taking in the different pictures. They're obviously markers of some sort - something he files away in the back of his mind right away, along with the pictures and their general order.

Although... one in particular bothers him. He stares for a moment at his own mailbox with a small frown.

He knows why it's a lock. He would have to be stupid not to. What's disturbing is that whoever created this world knew enough about him to choose a lock in the first place. In a strange place like this, there's no way it could possibly be coincidence.

...He doesn't like this place. Not one bit.]

[B]

[So naturally, the best solution is to find himself a nice tall tree and climb it.

He looks right at home on his perch up there, one hand hanging onto the trunk for support, his feet resting sturdily on a branch thick enough to hold his weight. He gazes out as far as the eye can see, turning slowly turning to get a view of the entire island. He doesn't exactly blend; his white fleece pullover sort of stands out against the brown and the green. But it isn't as though he's making very much noise up there, either.

You may have to call out to catch his attention. Hopefully he's secure enough not to fall out of surprise or anything.]

Comments

B

[hopedout]

[ Hinata's already familiar enough with Jabberwock to know where he's supposed to be going normally, but when he does wander around the island, he finds many differences at first sight just by running around.

But when he sees Sasuke on a tree, he can't help but call out to him. ]

Oi! Do you see anything out there? [ He hasn't ran past any bridges or hell, any of the Monobeasts. Not that they should exist anymore, anyway. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[He doesn't answer right away, his gaze flicking to Hinata below for just a split second before returning to the scene before him. He spends another five seconds committing it to memory before he turns and begins climbing down, movements quick and graceful. When he lands, he doesn't even look especially put-upon by the exertion.]

...Nothing. It's just a single island-- I think you must have seen it all by now.

[What with all that dashing around he was doing.]

Besides that, it's just ocean as far as the eye can see.

[hopedout]

So it really is just a single island...

[ Which he finds rather strange, since the real Jabberwock is more than one, anyway. He's a rather logical person, so he knows this. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[The way he says that...]

Should it be different?

[hopedout]

It's normally a central island surrounded by five other ones, actually.

[not_that_sasuke]

[Ah.]

So this is your heart?

[It had to be one of them, so...]

Can you tell me more about what the island is like normally?

[hopedout]

Yeah.

[ He nods, not minding at all. ]

Right now, we seem to be on the first island, but there are some buildings that weren't originally on the first island. Monokuma Rock -- the mountains -- were originally placed on the central island, the music venue was on the third island, and the beach house was on the second. Hotel Mirai seems to be the same in structure, but all the symbols are different except for mine. All the blank ones had pixel images of my fellow classmates on them. There used to also be bridges connecting the islands together, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

[not_that_sasuke]

Classmates?

[What... were you doing with your classmates on an island resort of all places...?]

[hopedout]

Yeah, the sixteen of us were on a school trip, of sorts.

[ It's not a lie, but it isn't the complete truth, either. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

Small class size.

[But he won't dwell it on long for now.]

Do you know if there was anything significant about the buildings from the other islands that were brought to this one?

[If there's some kind of link, it could be a good starting point for figuring out... whatever's going on here.]

[hopedout]

...

[ Oh. Oh. Of course it comes down to this. It's bothersome for him to say it, but after swallowing a breath and making absolutely certain that his ahoge doesn't droop anymore than it already is, he answers with a somewhat strained voice, ]

The music venue and the beach house... in both of those locations, a murder happened. There's also the abandoned building, but that wasn't moved here, and was originally here in the first place. There seems to be two locations missing if this place wanted to have all the buildings where all the murders took place, though, but that's... the first thing I thought of.

1/2

[not_that_sasuke]

[...]

[not_that_sasuke]

[Okay. That's... quite a bombshell statement. It takes a moment for Sasuke to come up with a coherent, if simple question.]

Why murders?

[Just what was going on here?]

[hopedout]

Monokuma forced sixteen of us to participate in what is called a mutual killing game. If someone got away with murder and succeeded, they would be able to leave the island. Of course, that was a lie.

[not_that_sasuke]

[A mutual...

Hang on, this is a lot to drop all at once with absolutely no context.]

Why your class? And why were you on the island to begin with? What was the point of any of it?

[hopedout]

[ He can't help but swallow hard. Does he really have to talk about this? While it's true that there's a lot behind the story, but-- ]

It's a long story; one that I probably don't have time to tell right now.

[not_that_sasuke]

Do you think any of it might be important for this... [a small, vague gesture with his hand at their surroundings] ...place?

A

[800isenough]

The young should not wear too deep a frown.

[The direction of that voice plus the footsteps should tell Sasuke that someone's approaching his right side.

Perhaps it's a little hypocritical for Zhang Liao to say such a thing, with him sporting so serious and stern a look himself, but he's not a kid.]

Is there something off about those boxes? I have yet to check my own. [In fact, he'd been on the way to do just that when he saw Sasuke brooding away.]

[not_that_sasuke]

[The expression fades to one of neutrality as he turns to Zhang Liao, noting the direction.]

They all have different symbols, that's all.

[And judging where he came from...]

Do two crossed swords mean anything to you?

[800isenough]

My weapons of choice are twin axes. Likely that symbol is a reference to them or to my path as a warrior.

[Easy and obvious enough.]

[not_that_sasuke]

[He nods. That's pretty straightforward.]

It's probably just a way to identify our rooms.

[...Hm. He might learn something about the others if he sticks around to see who comes from which door, but...]

...I think I'll go look around. That key is supposed to be somewhere around here, right?

[800isenough]

[He nods.] I will head out and search the outdoors then. We should be careful about what we touch when we're here though, as this place is supposed to be someone's Heart.

[not_that_sasuke]

I'll probably do the same. The more people we have searching, the more likely we are to find it.

[That said, he'll begin walking away from the cottages and towards the hotel, since there isn't really anywhere else to go.]

[800isenough]

I shall see you around then. [And then it strikes Liao that he doesn't know the names of anyone in his group.]

Before we part, can I have your name? [It would be awkward to call him "young man" all the time.]

[not_that_sasuke]

[Oh... right, names should probably be a thing.]

...It's Sasuke Sagami.

[800isenough]

[What a mouthful! Zhang Liao silently repeats that name to commit it to memory.]

Well met then, Sasuke Sagami. I am Zhang Liao. If you need any assistance, I will be there to render it.

[not_that_sasuke]

Just Sasuke is fine.

[Although, that name...]

Zhang Liao?

[He carefully pronounces it. Does he even have that right?]

[800isenough]

[Close enough. Liao nods.]

Correct. [It's probably as foreign to the youth's tongue as the youth's name was to his. Anyway with introductions complete, it's time to get started with the task ahead of them.]

Then, let us not dawdle any longer. Take care, Sasuke. When next we meet, I hope I will have some good news for you.

[not_that_sasuke]

I hope the same. Good luck.

[And away he goes! His first target: the tallest tree he can find for a good lookout.]

B

[soloactor]

[Hey, bro, get out of my tree.]

[Yeah, as it turns out there's someone else making themselves a little hidey-hole among the leaves. Lalli likes it best when no one can see him, so he went out of his way to disguise himself. Sorry if you missed him on your way up, Sasuke.]

[In fact, right after he's gotten himself settled, a pair of creepily wide, feline eyes blink into vision from the shadows of the leaves.]

[not_that_sasuke]

[Nope, sorry, he's got a job to do. ...Even if you're staring at him like that.

Is it that cat again?]

Who's there?

[soloactor]

[In lieu of a response, Lalli pulls some of the leaves away so that Sasuke can get a better look at his face. Now that the threat has been assessed, his eyes go half-lidded, like he just woke from a nap and kind of wants to get back to it.]

...Why are you up here?

[not_that_sasuke]

[So not the cat, just... someone catlike.

Okay. It's kind of odd to be on the other side of this, but he can roll with it.]

You can see a lot from high up.

[Clearly the best reason to be up there. And on that note, he settles himself on the branch, seated with one hand still on the trunk as the other rests on the branch itself.]

What about you?

[soloactor]

[Lalli makes a noise of agreement. You can see a lot from high up. Not only is that very useful for scouting, but it's also just a nice feeling -- knowing that you can see everything that's going on around you from a safe distance.]

That. I guess.

[...and then he fell asleep.]

[not_that_sasuke]

[...Did he just...]

...Hey. Are you okay?

[soloactor]

[A few seconds later, one eye opens again, and he yawns.]

Mmm.

[Stupid dumb place trying to make him diurnal.]

...I got sleepy.

[not_that_sasuke]

Is that... normal for you?

[Seems worth asking, given the variety of people here.]

[soloactor]

Yeah. When people wake me up and make me do things during the day.

[He scowls.]

Stupid rabbit messed up my sleep schedule.

[not_that_sasuke]

Are you more of a night person?

[soloactor]

[He nods. That's close enough.]

Whenever people drag me into things, it's always during the day, so I don't sleep... [He leans back against the tree, yawning. It's a lonely existence, being a night scout, but he rather enjoys his privacy.]

[not_that_sasuke]

You can't shift your sleep schedule so you're awake during the day?

[soloactor]

[Lalli rolls his eyes, like Sasuke should magically be able to already know the answer or something. Even though Lalli didn't give all the information.]

My job is night scout. I want to be a night scout.

[Mostly because as a night scout, he doesn't have to deal with other people most of the time, which is better for everyone. Because, um, you've seen how Lalli deals with people.]

[not_that_sasuke]

[Why is everyone expecting him to know everything.]

That makes more sense... But they'd wake you up during the day, too?

[soloactor]

Mmm.

[Because they're all jerks, you see. There are actual reasons, but as far as Lalli's concerned? They're all jerks.]

Dunno why, they just do it.

[not_that_sasuke]

That must be tough.

[His voice isn't terribly expressive, but there's... definitely a little sympathy in there. He's not heartless or anything, just kinda stoic.

Anyway, he shifts on the branch, preparing to slide off so he can begin the climb down. Before he actually does that, however:]

--If you're still feeling tired, you might want to find somewhere else to nap. It could be bad if you fell out because you fell asleep all of the sudden.

[soloactor]

[Lalli sits where he is, and thinks about this. He could go back to sleep... but he should be working on this map. That was why he climbed up in the first place, honestly, before he fell asleep.]

'kay.

[And he begins his own descent, surprisingly agile and graceful for such a scrawny little thing.]

[not_that_sasuke]

[Sasuke follows, similarly graceful, though perhaps not quite to the same degree. He's certainly used to tree climbing, at the very least.]

Are you heading anywhere in particular?

[soloactor]

[Lalli lands on the ground in a crouch, and straightens back up a few seconds later. He pulls some papers out of his pocket and holds them up so Sasuke can kinda see -- they are a partially filled map of Jabberwock Island.]

Dunno. Somewhere.

[not_that_sasuke]

[Aha. That's a good idea.]

See you around, maybe.

[If their paths happen to cross again. Though for now, he'd like to investigate those buildings he saw...]