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"Onii-chan, the train's so eeeempty…"
"Niko-chan, when we took the late train, you did nothing but complain about how crowded it was."
"But this is… it's so quiet! This is how horror movies start, isn't it? Me and onii-chan, trapped on a cursed bullet train… w-what if when the doors open, we see the mystical Mogek - "
"There are other people on this train, Niko-chan."
"Uwah - but the boy with the weird hair and creepy smile doesn't count!"
"Niko-chan! It's not nice to talk about people behind their back! Especially when you're loud enough for them to hear you! Do you want to get thrown off the train?!"
"T-They'll throw us off the train?!"
Silas, for his part, busied himself by staring at Hana-chan's phone, not listening. Now that he had access to the Internet in the train, he was having quite a bit of fun browsing the Interwebs. One of Silas's favorite sites, Yomiyora, apparently had a very dedicated news section.
...at least, Silas thought it was news. They talked about world events a lot, and seemed to have a pretty vested interest in RikuRiku.
He was in the middle of browsing a particularly amusing post consisting of a number of users making fun of an Amberrish poster for asking a dumb question when he felt a strangely familiar poke on his cheek, making his head roll a bit to the left. "Hana-chan?" Silas was surprised.
"I woke up early," Hana explained as she collapsed next to him and let out a long yawn. She looked a lot more bland in her school uniform, though she kept her purple scarf and cap. "Thought it would be… a good idea. I regret it. I hate you. Bear the brunt of my hatred and vitriol, why don't you."
"How much did you sleep last night, Hana-chan?" Silas asked worriedly, noticing the bags underneath her eyes.
"Oh, a few hours. Four, maybe. You?" Hana yawned again.
"O-Oh, ahh… more like two, for me, to be honest."
"Woo. Someone else to join in on my suffering." Hana stared off into the condensation of the window. "I got home late. Yumika-san was being a… well, it just… it didn't go well. Freaking… idiot's gonna get herself hurt…" Her eyes glazed over. It looked like she was flitting in and out of consciousness. Her two irises rolled over in his direction. "So, what's your excuse?"
"Oh, err," Silas shrugged. "I ended up working longer than I thought moderating on Juubun."
"Juubun…" Hana said, drearily. "Sounds vaguely familiar." She let out a long, drawn out yawn. "Agghhh… I hate mornings like these. Everyone's so slow and… stewy. What I wouldn't do for a bowl of oyakodonburi…"
Her head started lull backwards. Her eyelids flitted shut. "I'm gonna take a nap. Please don't wake me unless it's a homicide or something. Actually, even in that case don't wake me up."
"What if the homicide was me?"
"Then I will be sad." Hana said matter-of-factly. She yawned again. "...please do not get involved in a homicide, Sai-kun. I don't think my poor psyche will be able to handle it."
"I'll resist the urge to kill, then," Silas smirked. Big Sister's face replaced one of the letters in the train announcement board above them - she was rolling her eyes.
Silas thought it might be a good idea to get some rest, too. He tried to shift his body so that he could use his super-comfy new-sort-of scarf as a headrest. Hana seemed to be doing something similar, holding her wool cap and her balled-up scarf close to her chest to form some sort of really thin, haphazardly strewn pillow.
It wasn't the epitome of comfort. But it was good enough.
A thought occurred to him.
"Hey, Hana-chan."
"Nnn." Hana tilted her head to show she was listening.
"Do you know about any… libraries? Quiet places, preferably?"
"Ohhh, libraries, uuhnn…" She closed her eyes. Her words were slow but deliberate "There's one at... the Culture Park, I think. Mura… Murara… Murakami Memorial Library. My mother knows the Chief Archivist there. Nice place. Lots of old, sickly people, though, but it's quiet. And… of course, there's the one a few blocks from Yamaha; Miyao Central, I think it's called. Bright, open spaces, private rooms and stuff. But sometimes it gets crowded. Why do you ask?"
"I was hoping to find a place to study." Silas said, indirectly. He decided that directly mentioning Kamasaki-sensei would be a bad idea. He hoped, inwardly, that she couldn't taste his duplicity. He swallowed his saliva, and continued: "It's... harder, studying at home, somehow."
"Ahh… yeah…" Hana chuckled. "It's… really easy to get, ahem, distracted when you're alone in your room."
"Do you think we could go together?" Silas prodded.
Sleepily, Hana tapped her chin with her finger. "...absolutely, actually. I'd love to. This over the weekend?"
"O-Oh, I was actually thinking more like this afternoon…"
"Hmm. That'd work too, actually. Did you want to pull an all-nighter or something?"
"Ohh… hmm. I… I didn't think of that."
"Well, whatever you come up with, consider me onboard. I think it'll be nice. I haven't been there with a friend for a while. Anything that gives me an excuse to be away from Yumika-san."
"Oh…" Silas squirmed slightly at that. "Okay… well, whatever works, works."
"Oh, and, uh…" Hana's eyes opened a fraction. "Did, err… do you have Yumika-san's… multitool. Thing?"
Wordlessly, Silas nodded. "It's on, too."
Hana sighed. "Phew. Okay. So, uh, Yumika-san told me that you should keep that off most times of the day. Only turn it on if you think you're about to say something incriminating. She gave me one, too, but I kept mine off." She pulled out the yellow blinking multitool. "...I honestly don't know where she got these. They seem very… illegal, whatever they are."
"I think they're cool," Silas admitted.
"Oh, I am not going to try to argue against that," Hana smiled. "I just think… I don't know. It doesn't seem like something Yumika-san should have." She slumped her shoulders. "...gods. She's going to do something stupid again. I know it."
"It's for a greater good, right?" Silas said.
"...this time." Hana retreated into her scarf-pillow. "But… considering Yumika-san and 'proportional retribution' are foreign concepts to each other, I… nevermind," she finished quickly, looking away. "It's not something I should just…"
"A-Ahh…. Unfair." Silas joked halfheartedly.
"As much as an… an idiot Yumika-san is, and as much as I am pissed off at her right now, I think that it's… something she'd rather tell you about herself," Hana explained. She groaned. "I certainly don't have the… energy for it. Ugh. Nothing tastes good today..." she muttered. She shifted her body, releasing some of the tension in her posture.
A short moment of silence.
"...Yumika-san feels like she needs to be there for everyone, you know, Sai-kun?"
"Nnn…" Silas nodded his head, slowly.
"So. She's, err. She feels like she is in a special position to do that. She tries harder than most students ought to. She… she doesn't think much about... " she lowered her voice. "...she isn't above causing harm to others, if she thinks it'll protect those she cares about. She's done it to me before."
"Y-You mean, for you?"
"Nope!" Hana grinned. "To me. It's all water under the bridge, though. I deserved it, anyway."
"Ah…"
"Yumika-san… she's ruthless when she wants to be. And that's as far as I'm willing to tell you."
Hana went silent, leaving Silas to stew in contemplation. He'd had a feeling… but it felt strangely cathartic hearing it from someone else. He shivered slightly, glad that they were all on the same… "side."
...was that what it was, now? Were they at war? Would they all have to start drawing lines like the feudal lords in Akataiyou?
Silas shook his head. He needed to do something to get his mind off of things...
"S-So, um, library…?"
"Oh, yeah." The girl stirred. "Like I said, I'm good with the idea. It sounds fun. Just say which library you'd prefer and I can lead you there." Silas seized up suddenly - without warning, Hana had decided to playfully flick his forehead with her finger, sending odd strands of his hair flying into his field of view. "Make sure you don't trip over your shoelaces and get run over by a bus, or something."
"T-Thank yo… what?! I'm not clumsy. Not at all!" Silas shot back, flustered.
"Sure, sure. If you say so." Hana smiled smugly, and closed her eyes. Silas thought he heard her swallow something. Within seconds, it seemed, she was fast asleep; Silas's retort died on his lips. It probably wouldn't have been clever enough to suitably defend himself anyway; but still. It left him feeling unsatisfied. Resigned, he shifted a little bit of his weight on Hana's arm to steady himself comfortably. He closed his eyes and let his thoughts wander as they barreled on their way towards Yamaha.
Clarify how much time will be allotted for the Event:
[] [Event: Time] A Quick Study Session
It shouldn't take more than an afternoon for Silas to figure out what tutoring a person is like, riiiight? Besides, he has a lot of things he needs to do… (Roll 1 Event Dice. Costs one [AS] action. This will probably be enough to appease sensei.)
[] [Event: Time] Be Thorough
On second thought, maybe Silas should spend more time with Hana about this. Sure, it would cost him some opportunities, but it'll be a good learning experience! Or something. (Roll 2 Event Die. Costs two [AS] actions. With more time, Silas might get to know Hana better, as well as develop his own skills as a tutor.)
[] [Event: Time] Goof Off a Little
Being in new, interesting places sounds like a great chance to just screw around somewhere that isn't home. They can spend some time studying, of course! But Silas wants to see a bit more of the world outside his home. (Roll 2 Event die. Costs two [AS] actions. Doing juuust enough to fulfill Silas's obligations as a dutiful student. Silas and Hana will spend some time wandering around the location they are in.)
[] [Event: Time] Pull an All-Nighter
It takes a special kind of masochism to willingly subject oneself to staying up until past midnight for the sake of schoolwork. Silas may not consider himself a masochist… but now would be a great time to figure out for sure! (Roll 2 Event Die. Costs two [AS] actions, and two [AS] actions will be subtracted from the weekend turn. Hana will have those damned Amberrish letters burnt into her skull.)
Choose a location for the Event:
[] [Event: Location] Murakami Memorial Library
A quiet place that eschews grandeur; it was first commissioned in the Saisei Era to serve as a historical archive, and only recently entered the public domain. The only people that come to this kind of library regularly are old, graying adults, with their weird adult habits, like the use of physical library cards instead of V-Cards embedded into a chip on your wrist, like any normal Mihokujin.
[] [Event: Location] Miyao Central Library
A chic, accessible place with lots of amenities, created with funding from the Youth Recreation Act and "generous" taxpayer expense. It is a regular spot for students and young people to hang out in, study, drink foreign coffee, hold Ninja Fighter tournaments, make out in the private rooms, do other things in the private rooms, listen to music, and do basically anything other than actually read the books.
Because Hana and Silas live close to each other, any TALK or PLAN OUTING action targeted at her may refund its action cost during the school week.
Choose an extra [SOCIAL] action:
[] [SOCIAL] CHAR: Talk with someone: (Who?)
[] [SOCIAL] CHAR: Atone to someone: (Who?) (Must have negative REL)
[] [SOCIAL] INT: Observe someone: (Who?)
[] [SOCIAL] COUR: Challenge someone: (Who? Candidates: Allen Furai, Dorima Shiru, Maeda Kirino, Ichiro)
[] [SOCIAL] INT: Manipulate someone: (Who?)
-[] Goal: (Clarify)
-[] Method: (Clarify)
[] [SOCIAL] CHAR: Plan an outing with a friend: (Who?)
-[] Intended Turn: (Write-in)
-[] Location: (Write-in)
-[] Event: (Write-in)
[] [SOCIAL] CHAR: Invite a friend home: (Who?)
-[] Intended Turn: (Write-in)
-[] Event: (Write-in)
