coffeejunkie | 02nd beat; written

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02nd beat; written > voice

House 40 Rules
Version 2
[Some of you might remember a certain set of house rules going up prior to Yuri's disappearance. Otonashi isn't exactly second-in-command, but Hinata is emotionally out of commission, Naoi had already taken the burden of announcing her departure, and Noda is MIA.

Oh, and Yotsuba is too young to be making rules.. even though the potential for comedy is there.]

1. No loud music, shouting, or being loud after 11pm. There’s a little girl trying to sleep! It doesn’t matter if you stay up late, but keep the noise down.

2. Keep your eroge and other 18+ fare safely put away! If it’s left out in the living room, I’ll confiscate it. Yotsuba shouldn’t have to see that and neither should any visitors!

3. Everyone follows the rules. Even you, Noda..!

4. Please?

5. Try to keep your rooms clean.

6. Clean up after yourself in the kitchen.

7. Don’t leave your underwear in the bathroom… Keep that clean too.

8. The house is everyone’s responsibility, not just one person’s! Especially not just mine.

9. DON’T KILL EACH OTHER. I don’t care that it “didn’t matter” in the afterlife, it always matters!

10. Don’t make medieval traps! This includes BUT ISN'T LIMITED TO hammer traps, falling ceilings, collapsing floors, and spike pits! If you saw it in a JRPG dungeon, you can't make it in the house! (We can play an RPG instead.)

11. Don’t train in the living room! Keep it to your own room if you insist on doing it in the house…

12. Yotsuba: Make sure you go to school and do well. If you do, I’ll make sure to pick you up a gift at the end of each week. Oh, and find an adult that isn’t Noda if someone is bothering you!

13. Continue respecting Hayate.

14. If you want to set up an in-house visit, mark it either on the white board that Yuri set up or somewhere we can see it. It's better to let everyone know.

15. Don’t measure yourselves in the living room… Why is this even a problem..?! I won’t tell you that you can’t do it privately, because I know that’ll make you just want to do it more.
Noda, this means you… I've heard about your "competitions" and I'm telling now, I don't care..!

16. House meetings are still held on Sunday.

17. RESPECT EVERYONE'S PRIVACY. Knock before entering rooms unless it is an emergency! If I see you barging in, I'll... yell at you!

18. No throwing furniture, halberds, weapons, people, or… goldfish…

19. Why is there a goldfish named after me again..?

20. Okay! Please follow the rules. They aren’t even that hard to follow, you guys…

21. Don't discount me because I'm not Yuri! I don't think I should have to put on a bow and thigh-highs to enforce a rule around here...

-- voice;

[Well, there is a distinct lack of Yuri-specific rules. Like it or not, Yuri Nakamura is no longer in Luceti. He's in no rush to replace her, but the acceptance and healing process has to start somewhere. So, he might as well be the one to take initiative.]

I think that should do for now, unless I missed something... Any, uh... suggestions? [No punishment games though! Otonashi isn't much of a disciplinarian.]

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[ ..............Wow. She only read about half of those, and she's still cringing. ]

I'm glad I don't live at your house.

Eh?! These are tame and necessary..! There were a lot more and they were more, uh... [FULL OF DEATH but he won't say that, not exactly.] ... H-harsh.

[Yeaaaah, those rules...]

For rule number eleven, I'd suggest telling people to do their training outside of the house. Less indoor accidents, even if they're careful.

[New... new rules. And not in Yuri's handwriting either.]

[He stood in the middle of the kitchen, staring at the list, tired bags under his eyes. The glass of water he'd left his room to get was making his fingers cold, prompting him to take a small sip of it.]

[He'd been following Naoi's example and locking himself in his room for days on end, slinking out for food, the bathroom, and little else. In fact, staring at this list was the longest he'd been out of his bedroom in almost a week.]

Keeping a kitchen clean is one thing, but making people keep their own rooms clean? And no traps? That's basically like saying 'no fun'.

[ In fact, she would sum up these rules just like that: no fun. ]

I'm not going to check the rooms for cleanliness, it's just a good thing to live by..! [But..! The SSS and fun can be really, really scary.] And it's not fun to have to clean up after someone falls for a trap... or worse, fall for one yourself..!

I-I would, but the person this rule is aimed at would... uhh, probably just make a point to train in my room if I did that.

[Noda takes great pleasure in getting a one-up on Otonashi. Especially in stupid ways!]

So it's someone who have a problem with you?

[And lives in the same house as you?]

It's one of those "talking it out is not an option" thing at hand, right?

[Of course he expected something like this from Hinata. So when Otonashi catches the other boy checking the new rule set that had replaced Yuri's, he tentatively, almost shyly, places a hand on his shoulder.]

Ahh... It's... been a while since you've come out.

[He flinches slightly at the hand on his shoulder, his head snapping to the side to see who was touching him. Upon seeing Otonashi standing there, his shoulders relax, turning back to the list, but not really... seeing it.]

...Yeah. [He shuffles his bare feet, rubbing them over each other to stave off the cold from the floor tiles seeping into them. He'd been lounging around in the same rumpled clothes for days: a pair of baggy plaid pajama pants and his red t-shirt.]

[...Otonashi might notice the bruises on his knuckles from punching the walls in frustration. Surely all of this was just a part of the mourning process for him.]

...New rules? [It wasn't clear if he was making an observation or asking for an explanation. Either way, he didn't look over at the other boy.]

But it's definitely fun to watch someone fall in one! Maybe you should try it. Then you wouldn't have so many rules.

You're taking care of Yotsuba now?

No, no no, I have! When these traps are around, people die... [Especially the weak-minded, like Noda.]

B-besides, I didn't say anything about humane traps!

Ah. Yeah... I've tried talking with him! ... S-sort of.

[But they always seem to end up antagonizing each other.]

I don't know what to do about him...

[Otonashi needs to turn up his protagonist charm more.]

I would try giving you advice, but I don't know which guy you're referring to.

[The SSS is going to be the death of him. He notices the bruising, but refrains from bringing it up outright.]

Mm. We don't need a lot of the other ones anymore... [Of course, he won't drop Yuri's name when Hinata is having so much trouble with it already. But letting these feelings sit and grow worse is no solution.] I thought this would be... a good start. She's probably on her way to moving on, isn't she..?

We should... try to do the same.

I'm going to do my best..! I don't think any other arrangements were made for her, and I... can't just leave her. [And the SSS does not have a lot of good-parent material in it otherwise.]

[But every protagonist needs opposition, no matter how stupid it is!]

Uhhh... have you ever met a guy named Noda? Purple hair, halberd... doesn't talk much...? Can't stand intelligent conversations? Even if you haven't... just imagine a static video game rival.

[Other rules. Yuri's rules. Even if Otonashi doesn't mention her name, his shoulders tense some, looking down at his feet.]

[Moving on... Was she moving on? Or had she gotten stuck somewhere else?]

...I promised that I'd never let her be alone. [He sets the water down on the counter, feeling his hands start to shake.] She'd... she'd been here for a year before we arrived, I'd... I'd broken my promise.

[He swallowed audibly, trying to clear the lump in his throat that made his voice waver.] I-I was trying t-to fix it, a-and... [No good. He brought a hand up to hide his face, gritting his teeth to avoid sobbing. But no matter how hard he was trying, that raw emotion shook on his words.] ...a-and she disappears before I can... d-do anything...

[And he'd been doing so well at hiding this from everyone, only to have it start trickling out when put on the spot.]

[~~You can say that again~~]

That's very noble of you. I'm glad you're going to try. I wouldn't want Yotsuba to be alone around here - she's a real great kid after all. [Not to mention it would be too hectic for Avatar House to take her in with the effort they put into taking care of Ikki (as well as being on guard for the possibility of other future children popping up).] And I bet Yuri would be glad for that.

[ ... ]

Wait, who sets traps for their friends to actually kill them?

Ah, are you friends with her? It seems like she's been here a long time, and she's... qu...ite the character. [Said with a hint of fondness, of course. He has a definite soft spot. The mention of Yuri has him hesitating, but he keeps his calm.]

Yeah, I hope so... I want to see everyone through this.

... You guys sure are fond of rules, aren't you?

[ She mostly remembers the ones Yuri put up last time, though. At least he seems pretty reasonable, judging from those rules. ]

[He says nothing at first. The politics behind Yuri and Hinata have seniority; there is a history there that partially eludes him. But as soon as Hinata blames himself, he snaps his head up.]

You didn't break your promise! You didn't have any more choice than the rest of us! [Whatever shyness he had exhibited flew away from him, leaving fire in its wake—not anger, no—never anger, but resolve. Otonashi pushes Hinata's hand out of his face and—since it's clear to him that it's necessary—pulls him into an embrace.

It's anything but gentle, but there is no ill-will behind it. This feels like the right solution, and it is all so familiar. Some people need time to mourn, some people need to vent— Hinata had his chance with both. Now he needed a friend.]

None of us came here because we wanted to! What else could you have done?! She would have gone on that mission no matter what you said! You can't tell her no...

... Uhm, already dead people. [Hmm, better clarify that.] D-dead people who decide that death doesn't matter anymore.

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