week 0 - training facility

[murdergame]

blood match week zero



week zero

When you first wake up in your room, an announcement will play on the television.

You’ll be spending your first week before the game officially starts at a vast facility that has been completely submerged underwater. This facility consists of a central hub surrounded by four smaller spherical buildings. You can get to each subsection by either taking a shuttle or walking across a long glass tunnel.

Setting
Competitors
Private Conversations

Comments

[onewith]

[Whether he's tactful or tactless, it doesn't really matter to Mayu. Her response is going to be the same regardless - which is to say, she lets out a sharp gasp of surprise and takes a step back, one hand fluttering up to her chest in what seems to be a gesture of nervousness.]

...she's my sister.

[goddamnphonies]

[Holden smiles the way they should more often in the movies, if they're really supposed to be so sentimental and all: His eyes crinkle up while his eyelids go down halfway.]

That's great. That kills me. That's how they get you, isn't it? You care so much about getting back to them. But a lot of people are brothers or sisters. Even though more families have only children these days, which is remarkable.

[onewith]

"Get you"..?

[Actually, the only part of what he says that she's confused by is the "them" - she only has one person she wants to return to. But, if he's speaking about a general you, then that would make sense.]

If everyone cares that much, then everyone will be very motivated to work together and find another way out.

[And then get blown up. She's okay with that. It just means less work for her if everyone tries to run away and ends up dead, and then she can go back to Mio.]

[goddamnphonies]

[Laughter.]

Yeah, right, because everyone has such a good role model. My older brother, D.B.? They started calling him that to be short for "demolitions boy". [This is a complete lie.]

You seen anything promising in that direction, though? Like, remotely better than sealed tight?

[onewith]

[Mayu isn't really sure what to make of that, and her expression makes that rather clear. She looks almost like she wants to ask about Holden's brother and his nickname, but before she can, he's already asking her a question.]

...not really. But, I'm sure... even if I don't see something, someone else might.

[goddamnphonies]

Well, you know what they say about eyes and what's better than one pair. [He puts his hands over his kneecaps and his feet tap the architecture, arrhythmically.]

They probably have a lot of cameras, though, so it evens out. And those pesky collars, for that matter.

[onewith]

Hmm... I wonder if what they say about the collars is true.

[That they'll blow people up for sabotaging the game and that they'll all get detonated if there isn't a winner after a certain amount of time, that is. Considering how strange all of these people are, she can believe that they were all brought here from other worlds - and if that's the case, they're not necessarily lying about the collars.]

It would be very frightening if it is... don't you think?

[goddamnphonies]

There's enough people here, and for that matter a lot of idiots, that somebody will probably try to find out-- [This situation has a lot of aspects Holden doesn't understand; he reaches for his own neck compulsively, but is repulsed by the notion of scratching it, and just rubs at the skin as the sweat only gets worse until he looks the woman in the eyes and tries to grin again.]

And that guy's not gonna be me, or probably not you either, Miss...?

[onewith]

Mayu. My name is Mayu.

["my name is mayu and i'm wondering if we're even going to make it a week without someone getting their head blown off," basically]

And you are..?

[goddamnphonies]

[Holden can't really hide his guffaw; his hand just covers his mouth as he reaches up to wave. Sorry. There was a different Mayu in Hunter's Game.]

I'm Holden. Pleasure to meet you and all, Mayu.

[onewith]

[That's not a reaction she was expecting at all, and it makes her furrow her brow.]

Is.. there something funny about my name?

[goddamnphonies]

[Oh no. Oh, no, Mayu has furrowed her brow.





That kills him. He puts up his hands. His book falls out of his hands. His body falls out of the tree. He reaches up for a branch and pulls himself into a reasonably comfortable position of sitting on the ground.]

I'm sorry, Mayu. Really I am. I didn't want to make some kind of joke at all. I just knew someone else with that name lately, even though it's not common where I'm from. That's it.

[onewith]

Oh.

[She still looks a little baffled - she really can't tell if he's making fun of her name or not. But he's apologized, so she tries for a small smile.]

...it's okay. I guess it must have caught you by surprise, then.

[And there's even two Mayus this go-round! Aren't you happy to hear that, Holden.]

[goddamnphonies]

[He hasn't even met Mayu (other) and Atsuko. There are barely half a dozen cute girls here and that's still too many. Girls. They just catch him off guard left and right. It's downright bizarre, if you want to know the truth, that half of the human race has to be so mysterious.]

Yeah. I can see how it must have sounded now. [He shrugs, trying very hard to look cool without actually laughing again so he ends up having a very moody teenage boy lemon sucking face.] Don't worry. I won't mix you up or anything. You're not a singer or a stuffed animal collector, are you?

[the other Mayu is literally a singing (ex) robot. Holden will not take this well]

[onewith]

Um... no.

[Instead of singing she gets possessed and laughs like a maniac, and and instead of collecting stuffed animals she dresses her sister up like a doll, which is arguably worse. But she's not going to get into that because she doesn't want everyone to peg her as a threat right off the bat.]

I had some stuffed animals when I was little, but it's not like I collect them or anything...