Morimori Mingle!

[not_that_sasuke]

Who: Everyone with an itch to explore.
What: DID SOMEBODY SAY EXPLORATION? Feel free to create your own starters as well!
Where: Morimori Academy, Heart ver.
Warnings: None; will edit as needed.

[The location is only too obvious when he awakens. How recently had he seen that bunk above him? And how often? Six months wasn't a long stretch of time comparatively, but when you've spent a good two years in complete darkness, waking up to such a sight definitely stands out. And even beyond that, there's something about the coloration here...

It doesn't take him long to notice a few key things. 1: that his body lacks any coloration, and 2: that the face peering out from inside the mirror - in full color no less - isn't his.

...So. It's his turn now. A sense of fear begins to constrict his heart, but he pushes aside the feeling as best as he can and makes for the door. The sooner it's over, the better...]

[A - the dormitory hallways]

[When he steps into the boy's dormitory hall to begin investigating, he freezes at the sight of the mirror down the hallway. Even though it's quite some distance away, he can see flesh tones in there, and somebody waving cheekily at the viewer.

His first instinct is to back into his room and try to see if he can't get past the mirror and out the window, but if someone spots him quickly enough, they may just be able to catch him instead.]

[B - the forest]

[Either way, he can later be found walking into the dense forests around the school, all the way to the barrier surrounding it. While he seems initially surprised upon hitting the barrier to the west of the classrooms, his expression quickly changes to one of contemplation. His hand curls up under his chin as he considers what all of this means.

It's definitely a smaller campus than he remembers. That, and... odd, too. Since it's his Heart, he would have thought it would be around... But if it cut off here, there's no way that could be in this World after all. How strange...]

Comments

A puzzle appears...

[worldkeys]

[ When they enter, there's three students puzzling around some books on a table. A bakeneko, a tanuki and an inugami all stand there, seemingly at a loss. The students, you see, had been assigned a book to read, but they were only barely paying attention when it happened. While most of the other students had come and taken their own books for tonight's reading assignment, there's still enough that the students aren't sure which is theirs based on the books present.

When asked, each one will give what little they know.

The first student, the inugami, says, "I think my book has something to do with the seasons."

The second, the bakeneko, says, "I think mine had something to do with food? Or it sounded like it, at least. Maybe I was just hungry when I heard the title..."

The third, the tanuki, says, "I've read it before with my mother. There was a girl, and some piece of clothing that was really important to her."

The books are as follows:

Snow White
The Three Little Pigs
Little Red Riding Hood
Cinderella
Rapunzel
The Golden Goose
Hansel and Gretel

Each one has a simple and what would probably be a brightly colored cover, if there were any colors to this World. ]

[800isenough]

[Well, at least someone seems to have faith in Miss Bristle Butt. Liao follows her quickly, his pace brisk to match hers. But if she's expecting any words to calm her down or to comfort her then she'll be in for some disappointment. Liao keeps quiet all the way to the library. There, they'll receive the next puzzle from the three students.

It's definitely a more challenging puzzle than the first, especially since none of these fairytales are familiar to Liao. He'll have to consult Harley on this.]

Unfortunately I know none of these books. I apologize, but I cannot be of much use to you here, Lady Harley Quinn.

Snow White to Inugami!

[hesmypuddin]

[Harley's tail is mostly unbristled by the time she and Liao reach the library, though it was probably for the best that they had made their way there in silence; she'd needed very little to finally blow up and doing so at Liao would have been unfortunate.

She is standing right next to the snake-man, ears pert with interest as the students explain their issue.

Harley glances sidelong at Liao as he explains his issue, nodding slightly.]

Seems'a couple' ya aren't from modern times... I wouldn't expect ya ta know a lot of these stories.

[Her blue gaze lifts to the titles remaining on the shelves as she considers the phantom students' descriptions.]

Let's just take 'em in order, shall we? None of these are about the weather or seasons, specifically... [Her gaze falls upon Snow White and she reaches to pull it from the shelf.] But I'm thinkin' tha' this one is yers.

[She hands the inugami the book.]

[worldkeys]

[ The Inugami looks at it a moment, then nods. He seems delighted. ]

Yeah, I think this is right! I think I only heard the "Snow" part. Thank you!

[ He'll bow then head off to go read, leaving the other two students behind. ]

[soloactor]

[Having finished his examination of the explosion -- with some fascinating new intel to show for it -- Lalli decides that he probably ought to take the other course where Liao and Harley had gone. She seemed to respond negatively to him telling her how dumb she was, he had noticed; while this didn't terribly bother him, he knew that it would be a lot easier to get things done if Harley wasn't pissed off all the time, and so he resolved not to actually call her names anymore.]

[Silently, he pads up to the doorway of the Library, and speaks quietly.]

...Sir. I have a report.

[800isenough]

[Lalli's stealth is quite amazing. Liao almost misses the scout's presence behind him, noticing it only when the scout had almost reached him.

Turning around, he nods at Lalli, signalling that the scout has his full attention. Hopefully Harley doesn't snap at the lad again though; she seemed to have somewhat calmed down, but honestly Liao doesn't know if he can trust her to put her temper and dislike of Lalli aside, long enough for them to get the job done.]

[soloactor]

[Lalli barely glances at Harley.]

The explosion was the movement of a... sort of invisible magical wall thing, around the building and the forest. It moved outward. I walked around the edge and saw a gate-type thing sitting on the other side, which looked important.

...So once you finish this, we should go back there. The wall might have moved again.

[hesmypuddin]

[You know that tingling spine feeling you get when something undesired is creeping up on you from behind? Like, you haven't even seen or heard anything, but you know it's there and you know you want it to go away.

Like a creepy ex-boyfriend, or that smelly-mouth breathing-kid from high school that spit food when he ate came to sit near you at lunch?

Yeah. That's the feeling Harley gets when Lalli makes his presence known. Her tail bristles, but she keeps herself (barely) from demanding to know why he followed them.

Her ears perk forward a touch, however, at the mention of the gate.]

Sasuke mentioned somethin' important out in the forest... If there hasn't been anythin' else, that's probably it.

[With that, she turns her attention back to the patient phantoms waiting at the bookshelf, dismissing the issue for the current one for the one being. She studies he bakeneko for a moment and then sighs, looking back at Lalli with a very measured degree of patience on her part.]

Would ya find that pigs or a goose would make ya hungrier ta talk about? [She points to the waiting bakeneko phantom behind her.]

They say that they think their book has something ta do with food, or sounds like it, but that they just might 'a been hungry. It's either The 3 Little Pigs or The Golden Goose... I'm leanin' toward the Goose, since it seems more likely ta make a cat hungry.

[See... She's asking for input. Look how nice she's being right now. Even if it's killing her.]

[soloactor]

[Lalli moves a little closer, looking at the books and the monsters more than he's looking at Harley.]

Cats do eat birds.

Pigs... what's a pig? [He looks to her, genuinely puzzled. God dammit, Lalli.]

Golden Goose to Bakeneko!

[hesmypuddin]

[Harley doesn't complain that he's seemingly to indirectly communicate with her. As he looks at her and asks the latter, her ears flatten against her skull and she bites back a retort of "YOU!" Instead, she will explain... As simply and as calmly as she can.]

It's an' animal both wild an' domesticated... known for the way it roots around and wallows in its own filth... raised for meat.

[She stops there, because anything else would just be unnecessary and rude. However, she reaches for The Golden Goose, pulling it from the shelf, and extends it to the bakeneko phantom.]

I'm pretty sure this one is yer's...

[worldkeys]

[ She takes it, and looks it over. ]

Ah, yeah! Golden Goose! Thanks! ...But now I'm even more hungry. I guess I'd better finish my reading so I can go get a snack...

[ She'll take her assigned reading and leave. ]

[hesmypuddin]

[Harley let's out a relieved sigh as bakeneko phantom accepts the book and moves off to complete its assignment. Her gaze moves to the tanuki, similar to how she looks now, but still a bit different.]

An' yers has a girl with a piece of clothing that was really important ta her, huh?

[Her gaze shifts to the remaining books and she finds she is settling between two titles.]

Cinderella or Red Ridin' Hood... [She begins musing to herself, rubbing her chin as her tail tip flicks back and forth.] Cinderella was poor... she had the glass slipper. The glass slipper was what helped the prince figure out she was his princess, 'cause it only fit her foot.

Little Red... She had her hood... her gran made it for her in some versions'a the story... She wears it everywhere an' it's how she gets her nickname...

But is it more important than the shoe? The glass shoe changed her life, an' Red jus' liked wearin' her hood... I mean, she's a kid an' it's definitely important, as her gran gave it ta her, but...

[She frowns and looks back at Liao, consciously not looking at Lalli because if she's mad, it'll be harder to reason this out.]

I'm thinkin' Red Ridin' Hood, 'cause she's a kid an' everythin' is super important ta kids... but I ain't fer sure it's the right book...

[800isenough]

[Liao listens to Harley's reasoning carefully, but with him being a throwback to the early centuries of the AD millenniums, he really has not much context of the stories to help Harley better with this.

But what he does have is a tolerance for pain, a calmer temperament to take failure and a willingness to be a guinea pig. So when Harley hmms and haws between the two books, Liao steps up to the plate.]

If there are two choices, and we cannot decide between either...then I shall take the risk of the first, if that is alright with you, Lady Harley Quinn. [Does this sound familiar Lalli? Hopefully it doesn't end with him growing more scales or turning more snake-like!]

[hesmypuddin]

[Harley frowns, but his reasoning is sound, all things considered. Honestly, she's not the type of girl to keep someone else from taking the hit, so she's not going to protest.]

Alright... But if it ain't Red Ridin' Hood, it's Cinderella... So Red should be the first try...

Red Riding Hood to the Tanuki student!

[800isenough]

[And with Harley's permission he takes the Red Riding Hood book and offers it to the tanuki student.]

Is this the book you were thinking off?

[worldkeys]

[ The tanuki student looks it over and then you can practically feel the beaming. ]

Yeah, this is it! It's been awhile, so I didn't remember many details. Here, this is for you as thanks!

[ Liao will be handed a book of Mother Goose rhymes before the tanuki leaves with their book, but there will be only one rhyme contained within:

THE KILKENNY CATS

There were once two cats of Kilkenny.
Each thought there was one cat too many;
So they fought and they fit,
And they scratched and they bit,
Till, excepting their nails,
And the tips of their tails,
Instead of two cats, there weren't any.

As well, a sudden, distant rumbling will accompany the further expansion of the barrier. The torii gate is now no longer blurred by the barrier, but still can't be reached. ]

[800isenough]

[What a strange and uncomfortable rhyme. Liao thanks the tanuki and turns back to his companions, holding out the book to Harley.]

Another rhyme. Unfortunately its meaning is lost to me, but that distant rumble must be the barrier. Let us depart back to the forest and observe the changes there.

[hesmypuddin]

[Harley takes the book as Liao hands it to her, eyes moving over the only rhyme within. She reads it and frowns...]

Yeah, fine... but... [Abeat and then.]

Sasuke's Heart... [She looks at Liao, then Lalli, her attention focused on the new puzzle.] Sasuke warned me that there was another him that I might see... Ta be careful with 'im. That he lies... Could this mean the two'a them? Have either of ya seen anythin' like that?

[800isenough]

[That...does sound worrying.] Perhaps his reflection? The boy within the mirror looks to be him, but there are some minor physical differences. Their personalities are also quite dissimilar.

[soloactor]

...yeah. The boy in the mirror.

[Lalli pauses a moment, trying to remember something.]

Sasuke said it's... his brother.

[It seemed like the colourful boy was trapped in there, but if they ever need to go into mirrors for any reason, he'll definitely be careful.]

[hesmypuddin]

[Her gaze moves between Liao and Lalli as they tell what they know and she frowns again.]

He did his best ta not stand in front'a a mirror when we talked... [A tail bristle and growl of annoyance.]

We'll deal with it if we hafta... Let's go check out the barrier an' see if anythin's changed, ya know? If not, we can see what we've missed in the buildin'.

[She'll let them lead the way.]

BACK TO WHERE THAT TORII GATE WAS!!

[soloactor]

[Without further comment, Lalli takes the two of them back to the point of the forest he'd been at before -- though he goes a little fast. Once they get close, he holds one hand out in front of him to test the waters; is there a barrier there, still?]

[worldkeys]

[ They can get much closer to the gate than before. Otherwise, nothing else has changed. ]

[hesmypuddin]

[Harley's tail begins to bristle again, but at least it's not at Lalli this time, right?]

Sonnuva- [She exhales sharply, looking at the pair with her.] Where haven't we checked inside?

[Because she needed to get the hell out of this place before she blew her top.]

[800isenough]

[He's not entirely happy that the barrier isn't down yet. It seems like they've been in Sasuke's heart for far longer than Hinata's, and that's obviously wearing down on Harley's patience.

Liao crosses his arms, thinking carefully back on the places he's seen. One place stands to mind for the soldier, most likely because of its familiarity to him.]

...the infirmary. [He supplies quietly.] We have yet to investigate that room yet.