⒊ [Action/Voice]

[theogre]

[Even though it's been two weeks since she's returned from the draft, things haven't gone back to normal for Sakura Oogami. It feels like the energy in Luceti is tenser than normal, that the conversations are heavier. It could just be the company she keeps, but it's having an effect on her exercising nonetheless. Becoming stronger is just as much a goal as it is a method to clear her mind and relieve some stress for the Super High School Level Fighter. Very early on the 13th, she decides two things. She's going to take out some of her stress, and she's going to try to address Luceti as a whole.

Early in the morning, then, anyone will be able to find Sakura depositing cement slabs used for karate outside of Community Housing 5. It's not just one or two slabs, though. By the 8 AM has rolled around, she's carried nearly two-hundred broken slabs of cement to the ground floor. This is work, but she'll stop to speak to anyone who needs to speak with her.

After that, she can be found running through the village. Eight in the morning is a late start for her, so she decided against running in the forest. Unfortunately, Sakura running is a terrifying sight to some. After looping around the town three times and showering, she'll address her journal.]

I apologize for the mess I have left outside of the fifth community housing building. As far as I am aware, there is no "dump" in Luceti, is there? I am in need of a place to dispose of a large amount of broken cement. I will take care of it as soon as I can.

I am also wondering if anyone is familiar with remodeling the apartments. I find myself with too much space and wish to convert some of my rooms. [...] Or build a new place entirely, if such a thing is possible.

[She's about to end her message, but she remembers something at the last second.]

And to the New Feathers of Luceti, welcome. I am Sakura Oogami. If you find yourself in need of answers or moving furniture and other heavy items, I am more than able to assist. If any of you are familiar with Hope Peak’s Academy, I would like to talk to you as soon as possible.

[Once that's over and done with, she can head to her final destination. House 21, you have a visitor. Knock knock.]

Comments

voice;

[etudes]

... Huh.. [ she blinks a few times to herself. ]

Did Sakura-chan suddenly find a lot of broken cement somewhere? That's weird, I didn't know broken cement could just grow freely out in nature..

voice;

[theogre]

Hello, Ichinose-san.

I was breaking cinder blocks as part of my training. It seems I have broken too many, however. [It's a shame. It took her two months to gather so many...]

[etudes]

[ .......

There's another long pause. Honestly, at this rate Sakura will get used to them from Kotomi, but it's just since her brain is still blocking the different honorifics.. And then when she does speak up, she starts about something else - maybe she thought her question never reached Sakura or something, since her brain blocked out the entire response. ]

What kind of house does Sakura-chan want to build?

[theogre]

[She's not used to them yet, though. She wonders if she should repeat herself for a moment, but Kotomi speaks up before she can. That's a relief.]

I am not looking to build a house. I am looking to build a dojo.

[etudes]

A dojo? [ She does know what they are - even if she lacks street smarts completely, she has lots of book smarts, so she's read about them before. ]

That sounds interesting.. I don't think there's been one like that in this place before. Did Sakura-chan have her own dojo too back home?

[theogre]

[For a moment, there's a fond smile on Sakura's face. She does not often get to talk about home. She misses it. She wonders if she'll ever go back, not to Hope's Peak Academy, but to the outside world.]

My family has run a dojo for three-hundred years. It is a place that is very important to me.

[etudes]

Three-hunderd years is such a long time.. it must be an amazing dojo.

[ Honestly, she can understand why it's important. For the longest time her world had consisted of.. well, just her house where she lived with her family and her garden, they were everything to her. So being attached to a place is really normal to her. ]

... I wish I could see it sometime..

[theogre]

It is. I am very proud of it.

[It's so important to her that she's compromised herself over it before.]

If I finish my dojo, through whatever means...would you...join me for tea?

[etudes]

.. Sakura-chan would like to drink tea there with me..? [ It's amazing to her. An invitation like that.. to a girl who's hardly had human contact all her life back home it's like a treasure. ]

There's nothing I'd like to do more than drink tea together with Sakura-chan in her new dojo. It sounds great..

[theogre]

I would. An ideal dojo is used for both training the body and focusing the mind. [It's not an invitation Sakura ever thought she'd make—meditating is one thing, but since arriving in Luceti, she's also just wanted a place to feel like home. Surely, it wouldn't be a bad place to relax, too.

If it ever happens.] I will have to get started, then. It may take some time.

[etudes]

Does Sakura-chan need help? Um.. I'm not very strong, but I don't mind helping if there's anything I can do..

[theogre]

...for now, I need to plan. Building a dojo will not be easy. I may need to earn one by participating in the missions this place offers.

[etudes]

.. You can build a dojo because of the missions? [ she didn't know that.. and she'd offer to help, but.. yeah, kotomi on missions is generally a bad idea for everyone involved. ]

Sakura-chan is so strong though, being able to go on missions..

[theogre]

If what I have been told is correct, I can use points earned on missions to receive gifts from our captors.

[It's a broken system, she knows this, but she will abuse it if she has to.] I have not gone on a mission yet, so we shall see. I take it you have not, then, Ichinose-san?

[etudes]

I heard so too. But.. I wasn't sure what kind of gifts it could be. [ Yes, she's only replying to the first half since her brain didn't even register the question.. ] I didn't know it could be anything you wanted at all..

[theogre]

If my information is accurate, then I will be apply these points for shift assistance or items I may need. In theory, you could ask for other things from home as well. Is there anything you would like from home?

[etudes]

[ It makes her think for a moment. Of course there's important things back home, but she has those here too - books, a violin.. but then again, there's one thing that's there and not here that is actually important. ]

I guess.. there's one thing. It was a gift from my parents..

[theogre]

[She can think all she likes. Sakura's patience can be easily tested at times, but she's fond of Kotomi. She'll wait patiently.]

What sort of gift was it?

[etudes]

A teddy bear. [ Somehow there's something fond in her tone as she speaks about it, something a liiittle less blank. ]

It was really, really cute, and nice to hug.. My birthday present.

[theogre]

[Sakura would rather not see a stuffed bear ever again, but not every stuffed bear is Monobear...]

It sounds like a wonderful gift, Ichinose-san. Maybe you will see it again someday.

[etudes]

[ Don't worry, Sakura, Kotomi's bear is normal.. ]

...

I hope I'll see it again soon.. If I see it here somehow, I'd like to show it to Sakura-chan..

[theogre]

There are times when your belongings [Her school ID, complete with rules about killing] may arrive in the shops. Have you ever looked?

[etudes]

I've looked before, but it never showed up. I've found my violin there though, so.. that already made me really glad. It's very important to me too.

[ .. ah, it makes her think of something!! ] Would Sakura-chan like to listen to my violin playing sometime?

[ Don't say yes if you know what's good for you, Sakura. That violin playing could've been used for an execution, practically. ]

[theogre]

You can play the violin? [For a moment, Sakura is surprised. She was uncertain as to what kind of skills Kotomi had aside from reading, but...violin playing is an impressive ability.] I would enjoy hearing that.

[Why are such things narrated to begin with? It was obvious Sakura would make that choice along, even if the violin playing is indeed horrible. She was doomed from the start!]

[etudes]

[ It's true, I've led her into this trap to begin with. True despair.. ]

Really..? [ She seems rather excited. Well, excited in Kotomi terms, which means it's a blank sort of excitement, but.. it's the nuances in the blankness that count. ]

I'm glad.. I'm so, so glad. There's nothing more fun than playing the violin for my friends.