ardent | 008. [Action - Catchall post/Nightmare Castle]

[A - Daytime.]

[In some ways, some things never change; after the first twenty-four hours in the castle, Ishimaru is mostly sticking to the downstairs. He's always been a believer in the devil-you-know method of coping with things; even back in Hope's Peak, he was reluctant to explore the upstairs levels after they'd been unlocked. Things haven't really changed here; if anything he's...well. For all intents and purposes, the kid's studying; he's taken to sitting in the library for long hours, taking down extensive notes on what's written in those books and cross-referencing them like mad.

He still hasn't found his Pokémon yet; it's making him anxious. Studying is keeping him centered, at least.

There is one thing that's a bit different from the usual, however, and that would be the sword he's got strapped at his side at all times. It's not the sharpest thing in the world, and likely wouldn't hold up well in any sort of fight against a properly-maintained weapon, but it's something to defend himself with just the same.

So clearly, he's been upstairs at some point...]

[B - Nighttime.]

[Of course, nighttime is when he's actually putting that sword to good use; as much as he's usually a noncombatant, he's surprisingly adept with it, and since he's become aware that there are both kids and horrific goddamn monsters here, he's been refusing to stay in the safe zones at night, instead wandering the halls and trying not to be too jumpy himself.

He wasn't able to properly protect people back home, and he's convinced people have died due to his mistakes; he's not going to allow that sort of thing to happen twice.]

[OOC - take your pick on whatever you want to do with this one, and if you want to go with something else entirely I'm good for that as well; just specify A, B or whatever it is you want in the comment subject!

ALSO if you need a pink sigil, this idiot is like the last one in that he's got one.]

Threaded | Flat

[John too, is on the prowl through the castle at night. The sound of a fight is what inevitably drew him to Ishimaru, because what if someone needs help?]

[Ah, protagonists.]

[John's weapon of choice is a dulled but rather heavy-looking mace instead of a sword. And unlike Ishimaru, he's not alone. At his feet prowls a sleek, unfriendly-looking Umbreon and over his right shoulder lays a small, shiny Whimsicott. She doesn't seem quite as unfriendly as the Umbreon, though she does seem to poof up upon catching sight of Ishimaru. Almost like a cat would when they're trying to look menacing. John taps her on the nose and whispers something to get her to calm back down because, lord, Phoebe, chill, this boy is a friend and you are not even remotely menacing no matter how poofy you get.]

[John rests his mace over his left shoulder and raises his free hand in a wave as Ishimaru finishes of whatever monster it was that he was preoccupied with. To John, it kind of looked like a clown but lord only knows what it actually was.]

Man, I hadn't taken you for a fighter but I'm glad to see you're okay! I just heard a struggle and came running just in case... [Since there ARE a lot of non-fighters that got mixed up in this mess, after all.]

[Oh hey it's a Vanille - bouncing around, looking around - Oh! Isn't that!]
Ishimaru!
[He's here too... and look at that sword. And all those books - Vanille is suddenly going to just... be behind you, with a smile.

She can hold back the tears. After all - this is their first meeting in-person!]
So that's how big you are!

[Ishimaru isn't the only one who wants to take out the monsters to protect the others, Mondo's out and about with the exact same goal in mind. He isn't doing it because he couldn't protect people back home; he's doing it to make up for what he did (does? technically it is "does" since he hasn't done it yet) back home. He feels like he has to look out for the others, but that doesn't change the fact that there's some sense of excitement. After all, he hasn't gotten to properly fight in a long time.

And then he ran into another version of himself.

It hasn't occurred to him that this other version of himself was a monster. He didn't get a good enough look at the other version of himself to tell that there were some things that were just a bit off; in the daytime it would have been obvious that this wasn't him, but things went by so quickly he didn't have time to really get a good look at his attacker.

Mondo's coat is sporting several new rips, but he's unharmed for the most part. There's a thin line of blood running down his right forearm, but he's still gripping that pickaxe and doesn't seem to notice that he's bleeding. Mondo's breathing is shallow and quick; he just barely got away from that other version of himself and he's terrified it'll pop back up and he won't be able to escape this time.

He doesn't notice Ishimaru at first, instead quickly moving down the hallway in an attempt to put as much distance between himself and the other version of himself as he can. He hears footsteps and whips around, eyes wide and expression openly afraid for a moment before he gets control of himself.]

Shit, Ishimaru, don't sneak up on a guy like that!

[Never mind the fact that Ishimaru wasn't sneaking up on him...]

...Wait, what the fuck are you doing out here? It's dangerous! There's fucking monsters running around, apparently!

[Not that he's seen any besides the other version of himself, but that's not the point.]

[[He's certainly not the only one hitting the books. Once Rose had her fill of searching the castle, she decided to comb through the library for answers. And she really just hasn't stopped. At some point, she moves to collect another book and spots Ishimaru. Taking the new book and her notes in hand, she decides to sit by him.

Two heads are better than one, right?]]

So what does that book say? Anything useful?

B

A

B - Dangan Ronpa spoilers in here!

A