pokebox | LOCKED TO blazingspirit

[The first thing Ishida is aware of is that it's too bright in the room.

Ishida rolls over irritably, punching the mattress and letting out a sound that managed to be both soft and really annoyed before opening his eyes; he's got his back turned on the light source, but he can see the shadows being cast upon the bed, soft light streaming in around a cross-braced frame. Almost like it's coming from some sort of...

...window.

The realization jolts him and before he can stop himself he's on his feet, boots striking heavy against the hardwood floor (and that's not right, either, none of the floors in the school had been like that), and he's quick to round on the source of that light; the visual confirmation is striking and immediate, and the view of the city street just beyond the glass is enough to make him want to cry.

Ultimately, he doesn't; he forces his attention elsewhere, trying to get a feeling for his surroundings. The door's shut; it takes about half a second of glancing over to verify that it'll unlock from his side, so that's not a worry. The window looks like it'd open; it's older, so he might have to force it, but it doesn't seem sealed shut. There are bars on the outside, but they look like security measures to keep people out rather than anything intended to keep him in - the sort that probably has a latch somewhere so he can get them off or swing them open, and if he looked hard enough he could probably find it.

So he's not trapped in here. That's a good sign. It would be a much better sign if he recognized anything outside that window.

For a moment that freaks him out a bit, though after a while he tries to force himself to shake it off; he'd gotten that note the evening before, right? Telling him to come to the physics lab in the morning; claiming that someone had found a way out. He doesn't remember much that'd happened after that, and it bothers him; trying to force the memories just ends up agitating him. He remembers being the first one there, and getting kind of fuckin' irritated about it; he remembers hearing something behind him, thinking that finally someone else had shown up, and then...

...a lot of nothing, that's what.

He imagines it'll come back to him eventually; it doesn't matter now, does it? What matters is that apparently the note had been right, as he's definitely outside now, even if he doesn't know where the hell he is. Hadn't one of the theories being thrown around been that they'd been kidnapped, brought somewhere else instead of the actual school they were supposed to be attending?

But then, if they'd managed to escape, where the fuck are the others?

He tenses immediately at the thought of them; there's no sign that any of them had been in the room with him recently, no physical indicators of any of them, and the fact that he'd apparently passed out here in his damn clothes and now had no idea how he got there isn't really a good sign either. Any sense of personal exploration is promptly shoved aside in favor of looking for them; he's vaguely pleased that his assessment of the actual door was fine and there's no trick to it, it just unlocks and swings open, but that's quickly forgotten in the wake of the realization that this is some sort of residence and while the rest of the rooms are definitely furnished (albeit sparsely; outside of the bed, the one he'd awakened in had had some sort of desk and a dresser and a bedside table and...not much else, and the rest of the place wasn't much more complete than that), there's no one else here. And there doesn't seem to have been anyone else here for quite some time.

Ishida swears under his breath. He doesn't care much for those stupid motherfuckers he was supposed to consider his classmates, but that doesn't mean he wants them to die, either; where...are they, though? He continues wandering around the apartment, confused; he's completely lost and can't think of an explanation for...anything that's happening, and isn't that sort of moment where Kirigiri shows up with a really convenient plot device or something? It's practically a contractual obligation by now, right?

He rakes a hand backward through his hair, starting to get really annoyed by now, when his fingertips brush over a spot high on the back of his head, lingering there for a second; he winces a bit, though it's not through pain - there's suddenly something at the back of his mind that he can't quite shake, the idea someone had...attacked him somehow...

Shit.

He's quick to bolt downstairs, taking the steps two at a time and jumping the last few, uttering more profanity than is really necessary the entire way down - if something had happened to those goddamn idiots after they'd escaped and he was seriously the only one left - ]

Stupid bastards can't keep themselves alive even after we escape the goddamn killing game, you have to be fucking kidding me...

[The path to the front door is thankfully straightforward, though he does check to see if there are any signs of the others in the rooms down there; after being greeted again with, quite predictably, absolutely nothing, he moves to ditch the place entirely. He slings the front door open so hard that it bounces back on its hinges after smacking into the wall, slamming it behind him as he makes his way out; he's immediately pissed to realize that while the weather hasn't gone full winter yet, it is cold as balls out here and the door is one of those that can be opened easily from the inside while being completely latched from the outside, and he didn't think to locate the damn key.

After a rather heated one-sided insult session with said door, he decides that it's not worth kicking it down for the sake of finding a fucking windbreaker and sets off toward...god only knows what.

Thankfully for the sake of not completely wasting his time, it soon becomes obvious that finding anyone in this city without help isn't going to be a thing; unfortunately for the sake of actually finding said help, he's wound up in an area that's entirely residential with no goddamn idea how to get to a goddamn business district or...something. He does the next best thing he can think of, that being storming up to one of the doors and just banging on it like hell; surely someone's got to have some sort of sympathy around here.]

I need your fucking help, there's been some sort of incident, a bunch of kids might be about to fucking die so just open the door -

[...absolutely nothing. Ishida gives the door one last strike before moving to check his watch, only to find that the fucking thing is broken because of course it is; judging by daylight, though, it's got to be early afternoon at the latest.

Great. Apparently no one takes a goddamn day off around here.

However, since Ishida is either very optimistic or very stubborn (hint: it's probably the latter), he's quick to move on. He manages to catch someone at home who has no idea what he's talking about and seems to speak English fluently; Ishida manages to change the yelling he's doing about Kibougamine Gakuen to Hope's Peak Academy, but that doesn't exactly help with the whole...not-knowing-what-he's-talking-about thing the lady he's talking to has going on. She manages to point him to a district where most seem to speak Japanese; he leaves abruptly without thanking her for it, and resumes what he was doing there.

He manages to have very little luck there, as well, if one takes "very little" to mean "absolutely none"; he's not giving up, however, and at the very least one of the apartments actually seems to have lights on in the front room. So presumably somebody's got to be there; banging on the door is go, then.]

Hey! If you're in there, I need your goddamn help, there's some sort of incident that went down in my school and I'm not sure where anyone else is, but it's fucking important and if you know anything about Hope's Peak Academy you need to know about the shit that's happening there, we're looking for fucking help, come on -

[Mondo hears the shouting, but it doesn't register right away. He hears the words and understands them, but they're so far removed from the reality he's been living in here that his mind simply glosses over it. It doesn't take him long to place that voice though, and Mondo bolts off the couch and toward the door as soon as it hits him.

Ishimru. His brother.

There's something off about the voice, but he's both too relieved and too shocked to figure out exactly what it is at the moment. Why is Ishimaru here? Did he die already? That's not... that's not fair! Mondo tries to get himself under control before he pulls the door open, fully prepared to see that stupid white uniform and those big red eyes he remembers far too well.

What he isn't expecting to see is... well, everything else. Especially the eye flames.]

Wh-what...?

[He stares in stunned silence for a moment, trying to find words for just how confused he is.]

What the fuck, kyoudai!? What happened to you!?

[Well, that works...]

[While Mondo may not be able to find a reaction, Ishida certainly can; it takes him a moment to register what he's even looking at when the door swings open, but once he does - once Mondo starts speaking to him and everything sinks in - it clearly startles him badly. He staggers back, trying to put distance between himself and the figure at the door (it can't be his brother, can't be can't be can't be it's fucking impossible); his eyes are wide, alarmed, and while he doesn't flat-out bolt it's obvious from the way he's still edging back a little that he's strongly considering.]

Wh...what the hell?!

[It's not the most eloquent start, but it's something.]

What are you doing here?! I don't...you shouldn't fucking be here, you're - !!

No, you shouldn't fucking be here! This is some kinda afterlife or something and you're not dead!!

[But the fact that Ishimaru is standing in front of him implies that Ishimaru is indeed dead. Mondo shakes his head, trying to come up with some other explanation. Unsurprisingly, he fails to find one.]

You're not dead!!

[Maybe if he repeats it enough, it'll be true.]

No, I...!

[He tenses sharply at that. Takes another step back, despite himself.]

S-Somebody found a way out of that fucking school - they wanted us all to meet upstairs, because there's a way out and...a-and...

[He can hear his voice rising in spite of the faltering, but he can't bring himself to care; he's shaking, badly, though it's difficult to tell if it's because he's upset or because he's furious.

Probably a combination of both.]

I think someone attacked me, someone fucking attacked me and I don't remember much and then I woke up here, I don't...I don't fucking understand, kyoudai, what the hell is going on?!

Hey, calm down! Look, I know it's fucking hard, but we aren't gonna get anywhere if you don't calm down!

[He needs to calm down too, and Mondo takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself.]

I woke up here around... a couple of weeks ago, after... the trial.

[He doesn't really remember the execution, but he figures that's the last thing Ishimaru wants to hear anyway.]

I'm dead, and I think this place is some kinda purgatory or something. I'm not really sure. I haven't been here long enough to find out. But since you're here... I guess that means that whoever attacked you...

[He trails off, looking away.]

...I'm sorry, kyoudai. I'm so fucking sorry.

[Well, that gets the shouting to let up a little, but that doesn't mean he's relaxing any; he's still trembling sharply, and after a moment he shakes his head as though trying to clear it, as though by doing that reality will kick in again and things will start making sense.]

So I'm...dead. I'm fucking dead.

[He finds himself drawing his lip into his mouth, chewing on it for a moment, though as soon as he notices he makes himself stop.]

...I...

[God.]

...It's probably fuckin' weird to say it, but it's...good to see you again, kyoudai.

[Mondo is about to agree to that - it is weird to say it, but he does agree - when something finally hits him.]

...Have you been cussing?

[That's... really weird, and very new. Uh.]

...Are you okay? Well, I mean obviously you're here so not... exactly... but I mean, what's up with your eyes? And your hair?

[...kyoudai, of all things.

It doesn't seem to bother him either way, though; he just shrugs at that, really, smirking as he does so.]

Why do you sound so surprised? This happened after I talked to you!

[um

what]

After you... talked to me...? But I... I died, kyoudai. How did you talk to me?

[dude bro

u ok]

[nope!]

There was something in the school that let us talk to your spirit. We talked to Fujisaki, too!

[................

oh okay so you're crazy, gotcha]

That doesn't make sense, kyoudai. I don't remember talking to you at all, so I'm pretty sure that couldn't have happened.

Well, all of us definitely saw it, not just me!

[because clearly somebody here is wrong. spoilers, he's pretty sure its you.]

Look, I dunno what you saw, but it wasn't me, I can tell you that much.

[He's pretty sure he'd remember the white hair and the uh. the eye flames...]

But that's not really important now. So you talked to me and this happened?

[He'll just sort of gesture to... all of you.]

Exactly! You were there for me, kyoudai, when I needed it most; I owe you one for it!

[He still sees literally nothing wrong with this; what the hell is that look for?]

[...............]

I'm really not following. How did your hair turn white and why the fuck are your eyes on fire?

[Yes he is going to keep asking this until he gets a valid answer.

...Something occurs to him after a moment and he takes a step back from the doorway so Ishimaru can enter.]

Well, c'mon in, I guess. No sense keeping you out there in the cold.

[...yeah, he appreciates it. What with it still being, y'know. Cold as balls out here.

It seems some things haven't changed, though, given that he enters and just sort of...stands there, as though unsure of what to do now that he's in there; his posture is still tight, but it's less rigidly so - his stance is far more squared-off than the usual at-attention position.

His gaze flicks upward toward his hair, however, when Mondo asks about it; he rakes a hand back through it while he thinks before eventually just kind of shrugging again.]

Fuck if I know. Some sort of possession thing, I guess!

Possession.

[Mondo repeats that, glancing at him as though he can't believe what he's hearing.]

Obviously I didn't possess you. I'm right fucking here.

[He moves to flop on the couch, gesturing for his friend to join him.]

So is that gonna wear off or something?

[Ishida twitches sharply, his hands tightening a bit at his sides at that question; he doesn't refuse the offer, however, throwing himself down onto the couch next to Mondo and generally giving the least number of fucks in the county when it comes to his posture in doing so.]

What the fuck are you talking about, "wear off"?

[Mondo glances at him, trying to figure out why that looks so familiar. It occurs to him after a moment that it looks familiar because that's the exact same way he's sprawling on the couch. He straightens up without really thinking about it, resting his hands on his knees.]

When are you gonna go back to normal? Y'know, not cussing and shit? I mean, fuck, you haven't broken down in tears yet - which is kinda creepy now that I'm thinking about it...

Tch. Why would I break down?

[That just gets an irritable look in your direction, really.]

I'm glad to see you, and if I'm fuckin' dead there's nothing to be done about it - crying won't fix shit, and it'd be weak besides, right?

[...is this a trick question...?]

Well... well yeah, but you tend to cry a lot. Or at least, you used to. Before this happened. This uh... "possession" thing.

[It hits him then that Ishimaru didn't answer the question. He doesn't know - or maybe he does know and the answer isn't a good one. What if he'll never go back to the way he was? What if he's stuck like this - some sort of weird fusion between the two of them?]

Are you... are you okay like this?

[The question probably comes from out of left field, but it's something he needs to know.]

[...what are you even.]

Of course I'm okay - why wouldn't I be?!

[Really wigged out, that's what.]

W-Well I mean... if you're gonna be like this for... however long we'll be here...?

[His voice just increases in volume as he continues, and Mondo cuts himself off there to clear his throat awkwardly.]

You don't wanna go back to the way you were?

[That increase in volume doesn't escape his attention, but he isn't really sure what to do about it; Mondo's words give him something else to focus on, though. He laughs a bit, though the sound is cut-off and strange - the sort of sound one makes when they aren't sure what else to do but they're pretty sure they're supposed to be doing something, and they're kinda hoping the answer will just miraculously present itself if they keep acting like everything's normal.]

I don't get what your problem is, kyoudai - this is who I am.

LOCKED TO blazingspirit

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