Nope's Peak [Day 6 Date] Shuichi Saihara

[pecker]

[Shuichi, huh... She theorizes it's just because he's the only one who played a full round of the game with her. In that respect, his selection is actually a slight point of annoyance among the storm of them, which she lied about because she wants to stay in the game. It's a white lie anyway - she doesn't hate him, and he seems intelligent and kind. That doesn't mean she sees any way at all that they're compatible, though. Well, she'll just have to put on a positive face and make it work. It got her through the date with Kaito... for like five seconds, but still.

Huh. For some reason, she feels annoyed again.

At any rate, when Shuichi arrives, she's gotten a basket from the Wizard of Oz set (Toto was removed and set somewhere nearby) and put the savory food she made in it: some onigiri, each with little bits of fish or egg in them. She's stretching out her bingo prize by using it in small amounts. Anyway, it wasn't too hard to find a cloth among the set pieces either, so she wound up shoving some things aside and setting up a fairly cute (if small) picnic area in the middle of the floor. But she couldn't find another place to put Audrey II, so it is inexplicably looming behind her, making this look more like some kind of jungle picnic than the mountains. As for her outfit - she was tempted to just wear her usual one, since it'd be easier to put costumes on over her bikini. But he's funny to tease, so in the end wearing something that would have to be taken off just seemed like a better idea. She has this totally cute dress on, just hanging out on the blanket waiting for him to show up.]

Comments

[truthstranger]

Mm. I know that knights are overly idealized, and the common conception of them is basically a fantasy... but it's not a bad ideal to have, to be that dedicated to protecting someone, I think.

[pecker]

Maybe. I don't know that it's something a real person can pull off though... that's why it's such a nice fantasy.

[truthstranger]

You're probably right about that.

Assassins are a bit romanticized too, aren't they? In a different way, obviously. One of my friends was... sort of an assassin, but...

[pecker]

[She's not sure if she's surprised or confused by that revelation, but she's not sure if the point of contention is that someone like him would have an assassin for a friend, or that an assassin would keep friends in the first place. But then, he worded it a bit strangely.]

Umm... what do you mean by sort of an assassin?

[truthstranger]

...

Sorry... It’s complicated. I shouldn’t have put it that way. For all intents and purposes, she was an assassin.

[pecker]

[Check out that defensive hand over his entire face... that's one hell of a secret he must be keeping, especially for someone that sounds dead. She finishes the other onigiri, not sure what to make of it. But she has no reason to spy on him for more details... Niwatori actually seems fine either way letting it drop.]

Mmm. Well, either way, it's a deadly profession. People romanticizing assassins... I don't know... they want what they can't have? 'Forbidden love,' I think that's what it's called.

[truthstranger]

Mm, or the allure of danger is exciting... something like that.

[ He relaxes a bit going back to talking about this in general terms. ]

[pecker]

I see... Everything is a balancing act. People who live comfortably want thrills, just like people who live dangerously want comforts.

[As if on cue, she wipes a bit of rice off her mouth and starts inspecting the tarts again, eventually picking out a raspberry one.]

This is one of my favorite flavors... you know, birds love to come and pick at berries like this when they're on the bush? They have to be pretty careful of the thorns, but everybody loves them!

[truthstranger]

Haha... it sounds like that would be inconvenient for the people trying to grow them, but also pretty cute.

And, I do hope you like it...

[pecker]

[First, she'll pour a little tea to wash down all the rice. After a couple sips, she nods and picks up a fork.]

Let's see, then...

[Getting a chunk that has a full raspberry, cream, and a bit of crust, she takes a big bite and savors it a bit.]

Mm, this is... really sweet. I don't mind though, I think it's pretty good.

[truthstranger]

[ He seems a little relieved she likes it. ]

Ah, good. I like fruit because it's less sweet than a lot of other desserts, myself. Chocolate would be more traditional, but...

[pecker]

Um... No, no, you made the right decision. The 'tart'ness is what evens out all the sugar, right? It's somewhat better.

[truthstranger]

Mm, I'm glad.

[ He finishes up his onigiri and takes a pear tart for himself. ]

[pecker]

[Nodding, she takes another bite, and absently continues after.]

Though I don't hate chocolate either, I just think it's better on its own...

[Wait, this is rambling. Hmm...]

Soooo....

Your lady assassin friend - how did you get acquainted with her?

[truthstranger]

Ah, well... you've probably heard that the last time people were in this school, it was a killing game, right? I was actually in... a similar one, in my world, before that. I met her there.

[pecker]

Ah. More killing games, huh... [Niwatori's response here is likely remarkably underwhelming.]

Mmm, I still really don't know anything about either one of these, though. Only Futayo-san has really talked about it to me, but not in much detail. Are they battle royales?

[And this is probably an overly glamorous term...]

[truthstranger]

Er... no. It's more... about deception, and turning people against each other. To 'win', a person had to kill someone and get away with it... that is, not have everyone else figure out they did it. If they were found out, they were executed. In my game, if everyone got it wrong, everyone else was executed.

There were... various motives given, to make people willing to do it...

[ He's explained this enough times and has enough distance from it now that he doesn't sound completely agonized thinking about it, though he's clearly still unhappy about it. ]

[pecker]

[Niwatori is listening intently, though it may seem a bit off that she's also gone back to eating her tart. In all seriousness, she probably shouldn't be thinking that she wished she could trade death games.]

It sounds like it's the kind of situation that proves people will betray you... I-I'm sorry.

[Though, she would know that coming in.]

Are you having difficulty with that? Dating people who caused you pain before. I think I would.

[truthstranger]

Mm... most of the people here weren't involved in that game. And the ones who were are mostly the people who helped me get through it.

[pecker]

Ah... I see, you survived together, right? I guess that makes sense...

[People helping each other in a death game... she can't wrap her mind around it as well, but it brings back memories. A sleepy boy, and ...

She looks down at her hot drink, thinking.]

[truthstranger]

Well... more or less.

[ Actually some of them died and were revived, but. He'll leave it there for now. ]

Sorry, this isn't very good date conversation. What sort of things did you do, before coming here...?

[pecker]

[Well, he just said it's not good date conversation...]

Oh...Don't worry about that.

First, do you have any guesses?

[truthstranger]

Guesses about what you do?

[pecker]

Exactly. Just for fun though.

[truthstranger]

Hm... Well, you said you hadn't worn costumes [ her usual outfit notwithstanding... ] but it sounded like you'd done some acting before. Probably not officially performing, but something similar...? That could be a lot of things. Like a hostess...? Or maybe a spy.

[ He says the last like he's joking, but then a thoughtful expression crosses his face. ]