koiwamizuiro | 2nd Dive: Exploration [Action]

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2nd Dive: Exploration [Action]

[Some time has passed since Ai first entered Luceti, and even now she was growing accustomed to life in the village. Slowly, but steadily. It was a much quieter place than what she was used to back in Kibitou.

The draft had come and gone, but the girl hadn't taken part in it, and she was thankful for that. Her recent entrance into this peculiar world was enough to deal with on its own, though she had kept herself as informed as she could as to what exactly was going on.

Today, she had initially tried to simply soothe herself with another walk around the village. It had developed to be a certain routine for her that she often practiced, and the weather was more pleasant than it had been before, warmer. She was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and blue denim jeans, along with her yellow jacket on top that she had regained possession of upon entering Luceti.

However, curiosity got the better of her and she ended up heading to several places that she had intended on checking out earlier, diverging from her walk a bit.]

Action I.

[Firstly, Ai found herself near the Bakery in the morning, a certain scent inviting her to come even closer and see what was available that day. The girl had wondered whether she would be able to find anything like her favorite Imagawayaki dessert here to buy later (or get, rather), so she would inform herself of what was offered here. Besides, she was also feeling hungry now, so her timing couldn't have been better.

One may find her right at the time she has an inner discussion with herself as to what to get, or they may find her wandering close by later with a croissant in her hand, already eating it contentedly.]

Action II.

[Then, Ai found her way to the front door of the Battle Drome. From what she had understood, this fascinating facility wasn't just a combat simulator, and she wanted to test out its capabilities for herself. She had read about it and already had a few scenarios in mind, but that didn't necessarily mean that she couldn't use the help of somebody around offering to help her understand it a bit more.]

Action III.

[The Library was also a place the girl wanted to check, the last location on her route today, though she didn't have anything particular in mind upon entering it as she simply went on browsing. Maybe there was something informative as to the worlds of the other people she met here? Or perhaps there were different works of fiction made by authors from these other worlds that could intrigue her? Regardless, she wouldn't mind having some reading material to go through before she went to sleep each day.

Ai would spend quite a bit of time here, thinking as to what she would get and what would spark her interest the most.]

Action IV.

[Finally, when the sky has already darkened, Ai would take a small break near the river close to her new come, Community Housing Building #2, and clear her head some with her eyes watching the stars and her body resting on the grass. Anyone wandering around this late would be able to catch her there.]

(OOC: You can stumble upon her anywhere along her route. Reading the reflections post I have linked to is not necessary as it simply shows her initial thoughts and impressions of Luceti right after she gets herself an apartment.)

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[The girl nodded at Kouki's words with understanding. Perhaps she would find out more and would get a better idea of how things worked only until after she had actually seen a scenario created with her own eyes. And she had to even interact with one, for starters.

She then glanced at the touch screen with her brows furrowed when Kouki began fiddling with it, eventually turning her gaze back to him to answer.]

Well, I was thinking about creating a pool that looks similar to the one I used in my high school... [She then scratched her cheek a little before adding anything else.] ...But if that is difficult, then I guess any pool in general would do.

[There was also the fact that Kouki didn't even know how it looked like to begin with, so... for now, at least, that limited her options a bit.]

A pool, huh? I can make a typical pool, since I don't know what your school's look like.

[He could use his old high school's pool as a reference, but the details might be different.

Now that he knows what to make, he start working on the touch screen. He'd normally do it faster, but Kouki deliberately slow it down for her to follow and he explains how he does it.]

First of all, you put in the information like this...

[He try his best to explain to her. Since he's showing her how, it's easier than just giving her instructions.

It almost make him wish for Atsuro to come back to Luceti again. His best friend can probably do this better than him.]

[Luckily enough Ai was picking up on what Kouki was doing on the console, her eyes intently watching every step while her brows were furrowed, her expression focused. What experience she had with computers in general almost certainly helped in this aspect, though; she would have had a harder time understanding all this if she was from one of those worlds where such technology didn't even really exist.]

...I see. [She nodded slightly, glancing at Kouki in a short break between the things he was doing on the console.] ...What matters most is that the pool is long so that I can practice swimming from one way to the other without having to switch direction often.

[As for recreating the exact same pool from her memories, the girl would resort to giving this a try herself sometime, hopefully using what Kouki was teaching her here to her advantage.]

[Which he's thankful for. If Ai came from a world where technology doesn't exist, or advance far enough, this would take a lot longer to explain.]

Yeah, that's what important for a pool. You can make adjustments later, like making it longer than a typical pool. But only after you learn the basics.

[Which is a typical thing to do. Master the basis, then you may try doing more advanced levels.

He's almost done setting up the basic pool scenario.]

Yes, that is my plan.

[She wouldn't want to get ahead of herself anyway, it took all of her concentration just so that she could learn the basics from what Kouki was doing at the console. Just knowing that would be a huge step ahead on its own.

While he worked on finishing up with the final adjustments on the scenario, Ai spared a few seconds to move her gaze away from the console and bow slightly in his direction.]

I am Ai Nanasaki. It is a pleasure to meet you.

[He's just about done with the scenario when she bowed. His hand paused and he looked at her with a blink. A short moment later, he smiles.]

It's nice to meet you as well, Ai. I'm Kouki Wakahisa.

[The girl lifted a curious brow when she straightened her shoulders, looking at Kouki while also making sure she was catching on with what he was doing in the meantime with the console settings he fiddled with.]

Have you been here long, Wakahisa-san?

[She crossed her arms behind her while she slightly leaned forward towards the computer.]

Hm? Yes, I have.

[And he's done, pressing the final button to initiate the scenario in one of the rooms. Kouki removes his hand and give her a smile.]

I've been here for almost three years, so fairly long enough.

[There's a time when he went home and continue with his...adventures, for the lack of better words. But when he returned, barely a day passed during his brief absence.

Three years of being stuck in this deceptively peaceful world.]

[She nodded back and turned around towards the scenario that Kouki had created, her features showing her expectation.]

A lot of people I have met seem to have been around for a long while like you... and even longer. [She looked back to face him as she spoke though, tilting her head in his direction.] And I have realized that only one month is enough to get used to this place... At least it was for me.

[Yet, her feelings on the matter were certainly a subject to change in the time she would inevitably spend here, as well as what she feels about being away from home for this long.]

[He follows after her, both interested in continuing their conversation and see how his scenario look. For all he knows, he might have overlooked something and need to fix it later.]

After you get the usual explanations and a place to stay, establishing some type of routine helped in getting used to living here.

[Miss Mari once told him and his friends something like that. In a stressful situation, if people can establish a semblance of a normal life, they can live peacefully until the lockdown's lifted.

Unfortunately, it wasn't so simple at the time. If there's something he can give the Malnosso points for, it's giving them food and electricity.]

Between the experiments and drafts, it's very easy to get settled.

[Now they're outside of an available room's door, he pause and gestures to it.]

After you.

[She nodded her head in Kouki's direction as she walked, what he was saying making sense to her.]

They did, yes. Though I suppose, in a way, it is precisely the Malnosso's plan to make it easier for us to get used to all of this so that we help them on their missions and drafts... So that they can help us in return, if they ever decide to.

[As ever, she certainly had her doubts about that and it showed in the tone of her voice, but it was a thought that she had processed in her head a fair amount already.

So that was why she decided to focus her on the scenario Kouki had created instead, her eyes widening a bit and her brows furrowing as she inspected the room they were now in and she had led them to. While it was not exactly like the pool she used back in Kibitou High, there were definitely some similarities; the boy had supposedly made it similar to his own high school's pool back home.

It was definitely an otherworldly experience to see all of this, which was all essentially a simulation, appear so lifelike and realistic to the simple Japanese school girl regardless. Even the water in the pool sparkled under the light coming in from the windows, as it would be like if it was actually there.

There was a look of amazement in Ai's eyes as her head turned around and her gaze took in her surroundings, her back to Kouki as she spoke both to herself and to him.]

Wow... This is really impressive... It is simple, but it looks very real anyway... [Next, she would be walking up to the water in the pool and feel it with her hand before any further praise.]

[Kouki nodded. While it's not his exact opinions, it's no secret that the Malnosso used the villagers in drafts, experiments and missions. Despite his misgiving due to the nature of a few experiments, Kouki knew the Malnosso have a lot of information and power.

Information and power he intended on getting, one day, before he returned to his part of the multiverse. He's powerful enough, but the Malnosso's information was more important to him. They may have information about a few, certain matters he care about. He just need to keep reaching for a chance to see them and grab it.]

More or less. Even if we hate them, working for the Malnosso would help in the long run.

[He turned his attention to the pool, watching Ai examining the scenario with a smile. He managed to draw upon his almost fading memories for this. He almost forgot about some parts of his old human life, so he have to work with the vague impressions in his mind.]

Thanks. I did my best with it, but I still have room to improve.

[When she feel the water in the pool, it seems surprisingly cool. The battle dome was very good at simulating the feeling to stimulate their senses.]

[Not really agreeing or disagreeing with the boy, Ai only lifted one of her brows as she looked at him with an uncertain expression on her face.]

If they truly did want to help, I think they could cooperate with us more than they do.

[The information Ai herself would desire from the Malnosso, if they had it to begin with, would involve confirming some things she had read from the guide that no one from the village could say for certain that were true. Whether people vanishing from Luceti actually returned to their respective homes that they were taken from, whether there was a way to go back there on their own, and if time in their worlds actually had stopped while they were there. Believing that it had was a comforting thought, but knowing for sure would be even more so.

As for the simulated water; it was cool, and while most people would say that it was exactly like it would be in the real world, to Ai it still felt like there was just something a little bit off about it. She couldn't put her finger on what, but she had a distinct feeling about it regardless.]

It is not perfect, but... back in my world, such technology does not exist yet... Seeing this is just a bit overwhelming to me. I wonder how swimming here would be like.

[She didn't vocalize her thoughts about the simulated water to him though, not really knowing how to explain it anyway. Regardless, there was still an excited smile on her features as she turned her head around once more to take in that she was, in fact, in a virtual reality.]

Broadly speaking, yes. But as with any organisation, you'll have people with many, different opinions.

[According to Bil, not everyone in the Malnosso cares enough about them. Yes, there's a group who earnestly want to help them. But Kouki knows how people can be.

Some want to help. Others are selfish and want to use the villagers' strengths for their own needs. Others just don't care. Everyone else lie somewhere in that spectrum.]

Swimming in them is almost the same as using a real pool. [He smile as he watch her test the water.] It's a pretty good substitute if you don't want to make the trip to the beach, or build your own pool.

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