OPEN POST ♞ HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO ME

[optimistical]

WHO: Makoto Naegi and anyone else!
WHERE: Various parts around Recolle!
WHEN: 07/01
WHAT: What do you do after accidentally breaking your little brother's jaw............. wallow in guilt, that's what
WARNINGS:

ONE

Naegi really isn't the type to hang around bars. He's already learnt his lesson after Manon somehow managed to drag him into one last year and she forced him to drink till he was red in the face (he thinks he's a pretty forgiving person but damn... that's a hard one to pass), but sometimes... a drink does sound good.

Especially if you're drowning in guilt.

So when Naegi goes for his nightly visit to the local casino, rather than sitting at a poker table or the roulette, he finds himself sitting at the bar. It's a rare sight considering that he hardly ever goes near it whenever he's here but there he is... a drink in his hand and his head on the table. He can either be:

A) Not drunk (yet) because he hasn't really started drinking. He has his head down on the table because he feels so damn ashamed that he can't really lift up his head right now to look at anyone. The beer in his glass is still full and it looks like he's wallowing more than actually doing any drinking.

B) Already drunk. Luckily(?) for him, it doesn't really take much for him hit this point anyway. The one good thing about going out with Manon that night was that he knows what his limit is so he doesn't need to figure out what it'll take for him to become a little tipsy. Now the new reason why he has his head on the bar table is that he's lightheaded and red in the face. Getting up might be a mistake so he'll just stay here. And loiter, probably.

TWO

Pretty much the same prompt above but at a bar not inside the casino. Both options A and B are avilable as well! The only difference about this prompt (asides from the location) is that...

... there's a crane with him.

He couldn't leave it at home while he's out for the night. He possibly can't ask Daisuke to look after it, not after what happened a few hours earlier, so he brought it out with him. It occasionally pecks his head or pulls on his hair while his head is on the bar table but he doesn't do anything to stop it.

He's wallowing in guilt right now, crane, please leave him be.

THREE

Naegi knows that he has to go home eventually. He knows that running away does nothing and he has to face the truth but for this one night... he thinks he'll avoid going back.

He doesn't exactly have the money to rent a hotel room (well... maybe more like he doesn't want to spend the money for one) and he doesn't want to inconvenience his friends to ask if he can crash at their place. In fact, another reason why he doesn't want to contact his friends is that he doesn't want them to find out why he needs to be out of the apartment for tonight. It's already shameful enough for him to know what he did but it might be worse if others knew, so he decides that maybe walking around the city for the night will be a good idea. The only problem is that after hours of walking, sitting down on a random bench to rest...

... causes him to knock out.

Thankfully, the crane is with him so if anything happens, it would probably wake him up. Maybe... Quite possibly... Not really. It will just stand next to him as he sleeps sitting up and wouldn't really do anything if someone were to approach so if you were to draw on his face, take his wallet (spoilers: it's empty), or steal his shoe, it won't really do anything.

It's such a loyal bird.

WILDCARD

Anything is game! PM me or toss me a private plurk at northpaws if you want to do something outside the above options or to discuss anything! Will be replying with action tags rather than prose!

Comments

1b;

[steadycourse]

[The bar is one of the last places Ishimaru is normally seen around the casino, but he's here for once. Mostly because he spotted his friend inside (and it's not difficult to spot Naegi even at a distance). They usually don't allow underage people to even come in, but since he's pretty well known for being a stickler about underage drinking, the young gambler walks before taking a seat next to Naegi.

He orders a couple glasses of water and orange juice before looking at him.]

...Makoto? [He's in his usual white suit, but the image is probably ruined by the fact that he just ordered orange juice.] Did you have a huge loss?

[optimistical]

[ unlike ishimaru, naegi never likes dressing super fancy whenever he's at the casino. maybe it's because he doesn't want to spend the money on a suit or maybe because he thinks it's too stuffy but regardless, the most he ever comes in here is with a white dress shirt and tie, but tonight... he's just in a simple t-shirt and jeans. nothing fancy and when ishimaru takes the seat next to him, asking him a question, naegi just turns his head (but doesn't lift it) to look at him. ]

Ah, hi, Kiyotaka... [ he would normally raise his head to properly talk to him but he keeps it on the counter. his voice is low and there's a pink shade across his cheeks ] Uh, no, not really... I didn't gamble today.

[steadycourse]

[He notices the light flush to Naegi's face, an obvious sign that he's at least somewhat tipsy from his drinking. It's truly an unusual sight to see and despite the differences he and Naegi hold, he's still one of the closer friends he has here.

So, there's concern bright in his red eyes. Ishimaru is pretty much awful at hiding his emotions outside of a poker table.]

This isn't normal behavior for you though! So, tell me what happened!

[Naegi isn't even in the plain outfit that he normally comes in with! He's even more undressed!]

[optimistical]

[ ah... tell him what happened... naegi rolls his head back until his forehead is on the counter. he doesn't answer or reply back right away, just thinking back to what happened and although it can't be seen with his face pressed against the table, he grimaces. he stays like that for a few seconds, his sense of time and sluggish movements being attributed to his drinking, but he then slowly pushes himself up until he's bent over the counter, arms crossed and propped up on his elbows. boy... where does he start... he doesn't exactly want to go into detail what happened but it's certainly something that he would say if ishimaru pushed a bit. ]

I... hurt someone I'm really close to.

[ he doesn't look at ishimaru as he speaks, his gaze downcasted and off to the side. there's a drunken look to the way his head is slightly tilted. ]

I hurt them. Really badly. They said forgive me but I don't know.

[ he doesn't know if he can forgive himself but he leaves it open-ended enough that it could be interpreted in different ways ]

iii

[compendiem]

[ By the time Minato comes by Naegi, he's already missing both his shoes, and possibly his wallet as well, and he's sporting spiraled cheeks and a very thick, lush mustache.

He should probably... wake him up... But instead, Minato edges by the bench Naegi is sitting on, and pulls out his camera, pointing it at the crane. Angles it just right, so that Naegi's face is in clear view in the same frame, and lets the flash go off. ]

[optimistical]

[ naegi is so worn out after the events of the day (including some of the drinking) that all of this happens without him waking up. the crane, the ever-loyal bird that it is, does nothing as that happens and it continues to do nothing as minato sits next to naegi. however, once the camera's flash goes off, the crane absolutely freaks out and starts screaming, flailing its wings and trying to kick both minato and the camera. the sudden hell shrieks wake up naegi and as he jerks forward, his face accidentally gets smacked by a wing. ]

U-Uwaaah! What's going on?!

[ HE JUST FEEL ASLEEP FOR A MOMENT AND WOKE UP TO CHAOS??? ]

[compendiem]

[ This is a very expensive camera that Minako bought for him and he did nothing to earn, so it's something that he clutches close to his chest to make sure the lens doesn't get scratched up by a warrant wing or flailing arm.

...Is it too late to hide behind the bench, pretend he'd just come running to the scene, and let out a very flat and unconvincing ] —ahh. What's going on?

[optimistical]

[ luckily for minato, naegi's face is being hit with the crane's wing multiple times so it obscures his view and prevents him from seeing minato going to hide behind the bench (that jerk). he has to spend his time trying to tame the bird ]

I--I don't know, something must have riled him up-- [ he says as he tries to calm it down. this isn't the first time that the crane has completely freaked out on him so naegi kind of knows what to do to get it back to normal. a lot of petting and talking to it in a soothing voice so after a few seconds of that, it finally calms down. it does stare (is it... glaring??) at minato but at least it's no longer attacking anyone ] Phew... there... I think it's better n--

[ with all the chaos over, naegi notices that his feet are kind of cold and feeling breezy? so he looks down and-- ]

--hey! What happened to my shoes?!

[ wait till he notices that his wallet is gone ]

3

[flametheif40]

[He is out on a stroll...]

[ It's not even my fault this time! I didn't run away, they did! sort of...is this going to be a yearly thing?? Wait...the Hell? A bird?]

[He slowly goes up to the man on the bench...and looks at the crane, slightly freaked out by it...and tries to gently wake the guy up]

Dude....Dude....What is up with the freaking bird? and are you homeless, runaway, or drunk? I've done two of those, can ya guess which ones?

[He smiles pleasantly, hopefully he didn't wake up an angry drunk...but the freaking bird is something else!]

[optimistical]

[ the crane just watches as naegi is gently stirred awake. luckily, it doesn't take naegi long to wake up, though he does wake up confused ]

Mm, huh?

[ wait what, what's going on? oh, he must have fallen asleep and he didn't realize it... it takes him a few seconds to really comprehend what was asked and since he just woke up, he didn't hear the first question, only the last two. he rubs the back of his head as he looks around (damn, it got really dark all of a sudden...) ]

Oh, uh, none of those... I just... fell asleep out here, I guess.

[ though he was drinking a little bit earlier, it wasn't anything bad enough for him to drunkenly fall into a coma in a park... probably ]

[flametheif40]

[He steps away from him a few steps to give him space]

Oh...got stood up by a date?

[He looks at the crane intensely for a moment]

Okay, seriously WHAT is with the bird? Is it something from your memories? Or are you the Dog Whisper of birds?

[optimistical]

No, nothing like that.

[ naegi might have made a bit more of a fuss about that but hey, he'd rather have someone think maybe he got stood up for a date rather than the actual reason... anyway, he appreciates the change of topic. he can talk about the crane (which continues to stand there and stare) ]

Ah, yeah, it's from my memories. Retrospec gave it to me a few months ago so I guess you could call it my pet now... I wish I was the Dog Whisper of birds, though. It doesn't really listen to me.

Three

[falsepretentious]

[It's not often that Byakuya wanders around at this time of night. But right now, he is anyway.

From a distance, his eyes manage to catch some familiar sight, and he runs forward until it becomes clear. That sure is Makoto Naegi's crane, laying atop Makoto himself as he sleeps on a bench.

This is unacceptable! Byakuya quickly reaches out to jostle the sleeping shorty's shoulder.]

Makoto.

[optimistical]

[ the crane looks rather happy to see byakuya and it raises its head, trying to ask for pets. hello, friend!! please pet it because the dead human it's sitting on is not giving it proper attention. while that happens, naegi finally stirs away when byakuya jostles his shoulder ]

Hmm? [ huh? what's going on? who has their hand on his sho-- oh ] Ah, Byakuya...

[ naegi rubs one of his eyes, seemingly not fazed at all that there is a crane laying on top of him ]

What are you doing out here...?

[ he asks as this is a public place and he's not the one who fell asleep on a bench ]

[falsepretentious]

[Ah, his good friend the cane. Byakuya reaches over and gently pets the crane's head as if it were second nature to him while addressing Makoto in a scolding tone.]

At the moment, what I'm doing is not sleeping on a random bench. Now what about you, Makoto?

[optimistical]

[ the crane appreciates the pets and is happily occupied by that so there is no risk of it pecking naegi's eyes out as he speaks and rubs the back os his head. man... byakuya really knows how to hit him directly with these kinds of questions... ]

Ah, um, I... didn't mean to. I sat down after walking a while. I guess I was just really tired?

[ he must have walked a lot... but being intoxicated probably helped him fall asleep faster ]

wild card

[reaquila]

[ Nanashi's just minding his own business. He's casually walking around the area and then he spots Naegi with the freaking crane. w h y ]

McNaegi....? Are you okay?

[He's heard things about that bird from Daisuke. This is the first time seeing it in person. help]

[optimistical]

[ this is after naegi had a few drinks so he's a little red in the face. granted, he's not feeling as tipsy as he was before since the fresh air and walking around is helping so he's not as bad as he should be. however, his reactions are still a little slow. ]

Hey, Nanashi. [ he should greet him first ] Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little lightheaded.

[ which is the truth but also he's acting like it's totally fine that he's walking with the crane down the street. also... ]

--Wait, did you just call me... "McNaegi"?

[ oh my god, is this how he's going to be known from now on... ]

[reaquila]

Did you hit your head or something?

[Naegi looks dizzy and hopefully it's not too serious.]

I called you McNaegi because you're the Mcnugget man.

[He's never going to let that one go, SORRY.]

1a!

[spiritoso]

[ Naegi is easy to spot, so when Kaede is passing by on one of her breaks, she decides to head into the bar. Being a well-known pianist has its perks, because she's easily let in despite the age restriction and she heads straight over to the bar to sit down next to Naegi. ]

Hey! I never see you over here.

[optimistical]

[ when naegi hears someone sitting next to him, he doesn't think twice of it, assuming that maybe it's just another bar patron but when he hears kaede's voice, he knows that he can't just ignore her. so, he raises his head and forces on a smile. in this au, he's a little better at hiding his emotions and not being an open book but even here, it's not too hard to tell that the smile is strained ]

Hey, Kaede.

[ he sits up straighter and pushes the glass of beer to the side, half-done in shame but also half-done so he doesn't accidentally knock it over while talking to kaede ]

Yeah, I just thought maybe I'll get a drink, though I haven't found the courage to start drinking it just yet.

[spiritoso]

[ Kaede can tell the smile isn't as genuine as it normally would be, but what's even more telling is the fact that he has beer with him at all. ]

I was kinda surprised to see you here, especially with a drink.

[ It's tempting to exclaim that in surprise, but traveling so much has made her learn that that's not necessarily the type of reaction she should have. ]

Have you had a rough day?

1a finally oops

[nachetanya]

[ Natalia found a paycheck for the Stone Pegasus Casino in her apartment. ... She has never worked there. Hell, she's never even been there. and for that matter if it's called the Stone Pegasus why are there big griffon statues outside of it? This makes no sense. so when the young woman wanders in here to inquire with the staff about this anomaly...

...

Well, she's told to wait in the bar as they find a manager. I guess it's busy tonight. She sighs, and ends up sort of just sitting there at the bar, not yet noticing Naegi but she will. Soon, probably. ]

[optimistical]

[ naegi doesn't notice natalia sitting down at the bar nearby because he still has his head pressed down on the table. he's been like that for a while now but he figures that maybe he should finally sit up and drink the beer he got. it's not like he can exactly return it so he shouldn't waste his money. as he pushes himself up though, he accidentally knocks over a small bowl of peanuts with his hand, causing them to spill all over the counter. he immediately goes to apologize and gather them up ]

A-Ah, sorry.

[nachetanya]

Oh no, it's fine-

[ . . . Oh.

Oh, she knows this one! She blinks her red eyes once, and then twice, and then she smiles a little bit, shrugging. ]

Hello!