the general - day zero.

[foxhounds]

THE GENERAL day zero Ivan has told you what you're meant to do in the coming days, and she's also told you that there's an hour before other souls will start washing up on the shores. She has to leave to prepare, but you're all together in the lobby of the mansion. Take it as a chance to meet each other and get to know the people you'll be working with.

Comments

[hopefragment]

You... think this is fun?

[Just what kind of people has he been stuck with, here?!]

[gravesite]

Well, yeah. People die all the time, right? We're not doing anything terrible by helping them along.

[ He tilts his head to the side, gazing back at the other boy curiously; could there have been something wrong with what he'd said? ]

[hopefragment]

[I definitely don't fit in here at all!]

I... don't know if I agree with that.

[Except he doesn't, not really. Isn't it terrible? Even if they're all already dead, this isn't the kind of thing he feels like he should just go along with.]

Have you killed anyone before?

[gravesite]

[ Has he killed anyone before...? Although, considering what he is, it's not exactly uncommon for him to say that he has; he's not Mikazuki or Souza after all, not a decorative sword. ]

Of course I have. [ He pauses then, glancing towards the boy's expression, to see how he takes to that statement. ] But don't be too surprised! As odd as it sounds, I'm... a sword. How much Japanese history do you remember?

[hopefragment]

[Hinata definitely looks a little unnerved at the revelation that this guy has killed people... as far as he knows, this is at least three of six people here who've killed someone in the past.

But then he mentions sword... and this has got to be some kind of metaphor, right?]

Uh... just the basics we learn in school.

[gravesite]

[ It's not much of a metaphor, sadly, as much as we wish it was. He tries to explain. ]

Mm, I see... At the very least, you know what samurai are, right? Do you remember those long, pointy objects that they fought with? They're usually pretty shiny, and reaaaaally sharp.

Anyway, if that was too literal— [ Looking down, he points to the hilt of the sword at his side. ] That's me. When I said I've killed people, it wasn't that I had a choice. Swords are used to kill people, it's as simple as that.

Is that too confusing?

[hopefragment]

[Hinata's kind of looking a little annoyed and impatient; he's Japanese, of course he knows what samurai are, and yes, he knows what swords are. Is this guy making fun of him-!? But then-

That's not just confusing, that's downright impossible!]

I knew all that until you got to the part where that's, uh. That's you.

[Hinata never asked for any of this weirdness. Please let him just go to school with the acceptable level of weird that's the Super High School Levels.]

You're obviously a person, not a literal sword.

[gravesite]

Me, a person? Not necessarily. [ Here, he waves his hands, clearly not wanting to go into the lengthy, nitty-gritty details. ] I can give you the long story about the year 2205, and how I was summoned and everything, or you can take that for face value.

If that sounds too strange, you'll probably meet swords that'll tell you the same thing — they'll be here in an hour.

[ But him and his strange, sword spirit self aside... ] Tell me, are you anything other than a student? Do you have any skills that would be useful to us?

[hopefragment]

...

[Right, he'll take it at face value. At least for now, because protesting how insane this all seems just isn't worth it. Even if it might make him feel better.

Instead, he freezes a little when he's asked if he's anything other than a student.]

Well, I'm a student of Hope's Peak Academy. Everyone there has a special talent. It's how they get scouted to go to that school. There's no entrance exams or anything, it's just based on raw talent.

It sounds really dumb, but... [He sighs and rubs his face with one hand. It really does sound stupid, even to him, but there's no point hiding it from these people.] I've forgotten what my talent is.