No. No! You KNOW who's in there!

[not_tomorrow]

[Up in the North Wing, there's a pounding on one of the doors. Someone or something wants out. But what's worse is the crying. The sounds of a woman, frightened to the point of tears, pounding on the door, hoping someone will let her out.]

P-please... [She sobs.] Please, Harry, open the door.

[The sobs continue for a while longer, alongside the desperate pounding on the door.]




Please don't leave me alone. Please!




Somebody?



[The weeping begins again.]

Comments

[fluffydeathdealer]

-! [Since his younger half had the panicked questions part down, he quickly went to grab her some tissue, offering it to her.]

Did you hit your nose or something? Do you want some ice?

[not_tomorrow]

No, no, I'm fine, really. [She takes the tissue and dabs at her face. Then the nurse turns back around, her face cleaned off.]

See? Just a small bleed, nothing to be worried about. I'm not sure what brought it on, but I'm okay. Sorry to scare you both.

[Lisa smiles at them both, trying to calm them down.]

Where were we again? Oh, right. This place is really strange. Ryou said you knew more about it.

[onethirdthesoul]

If you say so... [Ryou seems a bit doubtful, and still clearly fretful, but he sits down regardless.

Since Lisa was addressing Aniki more than him, he kept quiet so as not to interrupt.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

U-un. I've been here longer, so I can answer whatever you need to. Well, as far as I know-

[Okay, Ryou, stop babbling... he smiles awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.]

What did my Shoutei tell you already? [He shoots Ryou a questioning look.]

[not_tomorrow]

Not much besides how this place is a school on an island and that how people appearing on here is a common occurrence.

[She gives the younger Ryou an apologetic look.]

[onethirdthesoul]

U-un, that's about it! [He waves a hand at that look, smiling pleasantly. There was no reason to look apologetic, he was freely admitting that he knew all of nothing about this place.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Sitting on the counter, Ryou ponders his words thoughtfully before he answers.]

There's not much specifically that can be told about the place itself. We know that the place is old, deserted, and surrounded by an impenetrable barrier that extends pretty high up. Whoever runs this place is capable of projecting holograms, so we don't actually know that the ocean beyond the barrier actually exists, but we're assuming it does.

Sometimes the headmistress speaks through an intercom, but I've never gotten to talk to her myself. Apart from her, the only staff members are the nurse and the lunch lady. Everyone else is in the same boat as you. People come here from all sorts of places, and all sorts of times - I've met people here from hundreds of years in the future, and hundreds of years in the past. So it's kind of difficult to pin down where - or even when - this place is situated.

[not_tomorrow]

[Lisa looks a bit overwhelmed by all this information, but not as much as one might think.]

So, we're all in a school another world... Do you know what the headmistress wants? I don't think I could be a teacher.

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ryou over here is probably more overwhelmed by all this new information than Lisa, then. He stays quiet, blinking a few times with a knitted brow as he tries to take it all in.

A barrier...holograms...! The time-traveling thing he already knew about, of course.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

She says that we're all here to learn, so I don't think she's hiring. But she's never said anything clearer than that, to my knowledge. I don't even know her name.

[not_tomorrow]

We're all students? But I just finished my training as a nurse.

[She takes a cookie and nibbles on it thoughtfully.]

How long have you been here?

[onethirdthesoul]

[Instead of twiddling his thumbs and looking as useless as he felt, Ryou grabs a cookie and idly, slowly eats it as he listens to the two of them.

What was he even sitting here for right now...? Aniki had it under control, and neither of them were addressing him anymore. It'd be rude to leave though...

Sigh. He'll just wait, he supposes.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

Uhm. Three months or so...

[He sighs softly. Saying it out loud makes it feel more amazing that he hadn't noticed.]

Shoutei only arrived a few days ago, right? I didn't get to warn you how long you might be here. Sorry.

[not_tomorrow]

Three months. Wow.

[That's rather discouraging. All that time, and nothing clear.]

Oh, right, so you're Ryou. [She beams at the younger boy, then turns to the elder.]

What's your name?

[onethirdthesoul]

U-un, it's okay Aniki. I planned for a long stay when I got here...

[He fades out again, returning Lisa's smile. Hadn't he said they had the same name? Oh well.

Three months... He was going to fall behind in school again.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Looking over at the other Ryou, he reaches out a hand to pat him on the shoulder, gently.]

Still, it's a long time...! You could think of it as a vacation, though.

[Wait, she'd said she thought they were twins, right? Raising his hands awkwardly, he shook his head.]

About that... I'm Ryou, too. We're the same person... only just a few years apart. B-but if it's too complicated to think of, it's fine if you want to call me something else!

[not_tomorrow]

[Now that did throw her for a loop.]

You're both the same person? How's that even possible?

[She glances from one to the other. No, that can't be right. They're definitely just twins.]

[onethirdthesoul]

[Ahah! Finally a chance for him to say something useful. Ryou raises a hand up.]

Well like Aniki said, there's people from all different times and places here! So if I'm from 1996, and Aniki is older than me, that means he's just me from the future!

[fluffydeathdealer]

That's right! I'm not entirely sure what year I've come from, but I'm definitely older.

[...that really should come out less easily than it did.]

[not_tomorrow]

[An odd expression crosses her face as she listens to them both.]

1996... But it's 1983. I think.

[Her eyes go from one boy to the other. The same boy, just from different periods of his life. And from the future. One of her eyelids twitches.]

Do... Um, do you have some water?

[onethirdthesoul]

...Are you okay, Lisa-san? [He saw that eyelid twitch. Aniki will have to be the one to offer water, not him. It wasn't his dorm, after all.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

U-un. I can get you some, hold on.

[Hopping down off the counter, he goes to get some purified water and comes back with a glass of it.]

It's a shock, so maybe you should sit down.

[not_tomorrow]

I'm not feeling so well. I think... I think it's just the shock of it.

[She flops down in the chair and gratefully takes the water. The nurse takes several sips.]

It didn't really sink in until you mentioned what year you were from.

Um...[Her eyes dart around, trying to think up a change in subject that didn't send her mind spinning.]

How old are you both? You look like you could be students.

[onethirdthesoul]

Un, it's a lot to take in... Don't worry, you'll get used to it.

[He sighs, leaning forward in his chair to look up at Lisa through his fringe.]

I'm fifteen.

[fluffydeathdealer]

Eh, really, Shoutei? I thought the difference was larger than that... I really must have gone through a growth spurt in the last year or so.

[Poor thing. She really was losing her mind because of this. He didn't blame her one bit]

I'm seventeen... I was sixteen when I came here, but my birthday passed without my noticing.