[KIN'UN]

[detentionroom]

[You needed an escape.

For a moment– however brief, or however not– you longed to get away. Perhaps you envisioned a vacation upon sunny, beachy shores, palm trees at your back and seagulls floating in the air. Perhaps you envisioned nothing at all, and merely accepted that anywhere but here would do. Either way. . .?

You blink. . . and you wake up slouched on a school desk, arms folded with head resting between. You lift your gaze and realize that you've woken up in the middle of a classroom, seated in one of the. . . uh, very few functional desks that remain. The others have been broken into pieces, with legs and splinters of wood scattered across the floor. Deep claw marks decorate the walls, having gouged the sheetrock with jagged, violent gashes. The window curtains are closed, but they too have been torn and ripped to shreds, with holes showing a dark and unidentifiable landscape beyond the four walls which trap you.

And written on the blackboard, in large, white letters that seem to glow in the midst of the dim room lighting, is a warning]

DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR NAME.

[. . . you are not alone]

[Each and every new arrival awakens dressed in a high school-issued track uniform. The design is up to the players, but each uniform is already color-coded to match the group at large. Somewhere on your body is a new marking: a mysterious floral design shaded the same color as your track uniform. It is glowing very gently. And in your pocket you feel. . . something warm. Further investigation reveals a tiny little omamri, tucked away in your outfit, for safe keeping. Huh! What a nice gift!]

[For now, the front door to the classroom is locked. No matter how hard you try– with physical prowess or otherwise– the door cannot be opened.]

[But hey! You can poke around the area, if you'd like! Maybe get to know your new classmates. . . ? Try not to panic. For now, everything is. . . calm]

Comments

[demergo]

[ ! he jumps a little because wow that was loud. though he tries to give a small smile afterwards. ]

R-right. There's nothing wrong with it. [ has not seen this man sit but this is now Fact in his mind. ]

So then...were these things written to make us want to go home?

[ratiocinations]

[i'm sorry ahead of time, he can be really loud suddenly]

In what way? I suspect they've been written because they want us to play the part of students.

[demergo]

[ he'll do his best to get used to it! ]

But that voice wanted our names, didn't it? So it could help us go home? And if they're mean to us then we would want that... or umm, most people would want t-that, I think. I don't want to go home.

[ratiocinations]

[Ah. The missing piece of context.]

You'd rather stay in a place like this? We don't even understand what's happening.

[demergo]

[ shaking his head, oops. ]

Uhh, not here. I think? I mean I'd rather stay here than go home, but umm.

[ hmm. he should- yeah, he should. ask. ]

...this really isn't prison?

[ he had assumed it was and then assumed it wasn't and now his head kind of hurts. ]

[ratiocinations]

[...Ah. More context.]

I cannot sufficiently answer that.

[ ... ]

It is a classroom, yes, or at least made to look like one. But it is one that we cannot leave, and we know not why we're here or what awaits us. ...Are you used to prisons?

[His image in the yearbook. It would track.]

[demergo]

[ yeah that's a prison uniform and not some new bondage fashion teens are into. ]

It's where I was when I fell asleep. That's where I want to go back to, not home. [ saying that like it's nbd. ]

I thought that this was another exercise the Warden had put together for us...you don't know about Warden-san either? Or, um, the rabbit that talks. J-Jackalope-san.

[ratiocinations]

[The honorifics. A young man from Japan, then...]

I see. No, I don't. Tell me about them...?

[demergo]

I can, but, a-are you sure? If you don't know about them then you're not a prisoner, right?

...then you probably shouldn't be talking to me. I'm a murderer.

[ratiocinations]

[His chest bubbles up with a noise that would've been morbid amusement if he had released it; but he does not. Instead, the corners of his mouth twitch slightly.]

No, I'm not a prisoner. I was in my flat before I awoke here. But, ah... That's quite a crime you're admitting to, dear boy.

[He isn't as jarred as he should be, clearly. Being around murderers is not... ideal, but this is a strange situation, and let's be real. It's nothing new for him. While it is reason to have his guard up, this young man is so very open and sincere about it all, and his observational talents do not tell him that this is a farce.]

[demergo]

[ he wrings his hands together, looking away. ]

I know. I know it is. [ he doesn't sound nervous or even as timid as he did a second ago, but he's also not beaming with pride or anything either. he's somewhere in the middle, unsure. ]

That's why I let you know. [ ... ] Do you want me to go away now? I can leave you alone.

[ratiocinations]

[It is not... the oddest reaction to one's crime he's experienced among men. No, to him, he simply sees it as acceptance.]

Away? And why? [Actual question.] Do you expect to commit violence upon any of us here?

[demergo]

Because it's bad to associate with murderers? [ ? very much heard. ]

But no. No, not at all. I don't want to hurt you or anyone else here. You've been nothing but nice to me.

[ratiocinations]

Generally, yes.

[It's bad to associate with murderers. He'll not lie about that. But the last bit all but confirms his suspicions that this young man is not a variable to be concerned about... not yet, anyway.]

But if you give your word you'll not harm any of us here, I see no issue with your presence here. Especially since we've no choice in the matter right now. If your reputation becomes problematic later, we will deal with it then.

[demergo]

...really? [ very quietly. ]

You really wouldn't mind being around me?

[ratiocinations]

Well, as I said: do you give your word?

[demergo]

[ nodding emphatically. ]

I do. If you'll hold me to it, I do.

[ratiocinations]

Excellent. Then I will hold you to it. In exchange, there'll be no immediate reason to hold you at arm's length.

[Hopefully that is comfort?? Enough??]

[demergo]

Okay! [ his smile is bright, brilliant even. ]

Did you still want to know about Warden-san and Jackalope-san?

[ratiocinations]

[And all he can think is that he must have been so deprived before, to show such eagerness now. A crueler person would find this so easy to manipulate.]

Of course. Whatever you wish to share, especially if it may be relevant to where we find ourselves now.

[demergo]

[ looks away from canon ]

Then I'll start with... Warden-san. I like him better but he's usually the one who talks to us, and he's the one who judges us, so he's more important. I think.

Warden-san is both shorter and younger than me, and he's in charge of all ten of us, the prisoners, in Milgram. We're all, uh, murderers, and through the three...trial system he decides whether to forgive us or not for our crimes.

[ratiocinations]

[Ten prisoners in a place called Milgram. All murderers, at that.]

Trial... system? He is the sole judge in that?

[A prison Warden?]

[demergo]

Yeah, that's what he calls it. I didn't understand it at first but no one else does either, so it's not just me...

I think, umm, there's usually supposed to be more judges? [ he's not well studied on japanese law, but he knows that least. ] But we only have Warden-san. The trial is three rounds, where we each get inter-interrogated and then he does something to us each time. I'm not sure what it is, because it was like my mind went blank...but he looks into our memories and hearts.

After he sees that he decides whether to forgive us or not. So umm, there's three verdicts total.

[ratiocinations]

[This sounds utterly fantastical. But it is in line with everything else happening, so.]

And what happens to those who are forgiven? They are… set free?

[demergo]

Warden-san wouldn't tell us no matter who asked. But- [ he smiles, just a little. ] Warden-san forgave me in the first round.

Umm, but those that he didn't...they said bad things started to happen to them. They started to have bad dreams? And um, hear things...