vivarium | CALHOUN HOUR - Get ready to party!

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CALHOUN HOUR - Get ready to party!

Every third day, there would normally be an Ambidex Round going on, but today, it's different. Calhoun still screeches for everyone to wake up, that will never change, but instead of trying to rush people into a Chromatic Door, he instead splits everyone up into groups.

Child Test Subject (Kariya) with Fancy Test Subject (Zelos)! That's Team One.

Team Two will have the Nice Test Subject (Hershel), Hat-wearing Test Subject (Akiko), and Ditzy Test Subject (Aoi)!

Team Three is the Giant Test Subject (Jake), Also Nice Test Subject (Colette), and the Blind Test Subject (Light)!

Finally, the rest will be Team Four, with Tiny Test Subject (Clive), Mean Test Subject (Heiji), and Will-Gladly-Drug-Again Test Subject (Ema).

Oh, why is Team One having only two people instead of three? Where is the French Test Subject (Enjorlas)? Well, he got sick too, there must be something going around, so he was also quarantined for this moment, but don't worry, Team One! Calhoun has something up his sleeves for you, so you're not missing out.

But anyway, each team needs to go into an AB Room and stay in there. This is going to be a fun game, and anyone who refuses? Well, then he can gladly make those bracelets go off, and then you can have a nice long death. It's up to you, really, but let's make this easy and have fun inside the rooms, okay?

Well, he'll see you all soon!

BASIC INFO ✖ TEAMS + ROOMS ✖ POST-GAME MINGLE ✖ CALHOUN'S CORNER ✖ GENERAL MINGLE

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yeah, but it gets better! So I wake up, and I hear someone singing. This must've been when I was real little, 'cause I have to jump up to this window to hear who it is. There's this little girl outside in a brightly-colored kimono, and she's singing while she's playing with this ball. There are cherry blossoms everywhere, and all of a sudden, this gust picks up and she's gone!"

As he spoke, Heiji motioned with his hands, trying to represent the path he'd taken outside. "So I run out, and there's no one there, just this big tree she was standin' under. And then just when I'm about to give it up, I find this little glass bead on the ground right where she was! It was a sign, Hershel!"

Yes clearly this was density! Er... destiny!

This was a cute story at least, Hershel smiled along, probably more at Heiji's enthusiasm than anything. Man, when he got going- still, he was glad this story didn't end with gunshots or something equally dramatic, just vanishing girls.

"A sign?" He's not entirely sure what that means, a sign that she got kidnapped by vengeful Japanese gods? A sign she was a ghost? "Of what?" For god's sake Hershel, get your shoujo manga love senses going already and figure it out.

"That we gotta meet again someday!" Heiji brought a hand to his chin. "Or maybe we really did meet again, and I just don't remember." This amnesia stuff really sucked.

"I bet I looked all over for her after that, and..." He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking around. "Wait, I don't have it? Did I lose it?"

OH GOD HE COULDN'T REMEMBER WHERE HE'D LEFT HIS LITTLE GLASS BEAD OF DESTINY

WHAT IF HE LOST IT

WHAT IF ZERO HAD IT

Hershel just regarded him for a moment, confused, before a look of realization went over his face and he smiled. "Ah, so you had a childhood crush on her. I wonder if you ever found out her name."

Zero probably had it.... That's the first thing Hershel thought at least, but he was nice enough not to say it. Let's be real, if Zero had it he totally threw it out or something.

He raised his hands placatingly. "I'm sure it's somewhere, maybe Zero even let you keep it! Do you remember anything strange when you first searched through your pockets? Maybe you dropped it or put it aside not realizing it was important."

"H-Hey! Don't say that so loud!"

Nevertheless, now that Heiji had had a moment or two to get over the shock, he realized that it was most likely a lost cause. "I would noticed it if it fell out. And something like that, if I'd found it, I definitely woulda kept it. It's not really something people normally keep on 'em, you know?"

For better or for worse, Heiji's ridiculous attention to possible ~~murder~~ clues would have immediately clicked into place. "Only thing I can think of is when I was in the Ambidex Room, when I'd been out for a while. But all that water..."

Sob sob what if it was lost forever?

"Shoot, and they're all locked now! I gotta wait for another round to see if it's in there!"

Hershel tried not to look amused, he really did. "Ah, right, sorry." You're not denying it, Heiji... "Your secret's safe with me." Unless everyone else figures it out, no promises.

He turned to the AB rooms, crossing his arms. "Well, we'll just have to make sure to check next time voting comes around- do you remember which you came out of?"

And he glanced back to Heiji, a little unsure. "Though... I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not but you might want to ask Calhoun if he has it. He might have cleaned the room and found it, or took it off you when we got here."

"He'd probably just charge me 500 coins for it or somethin'," said Heiji as he pointed to the room he and Light had come out of.

"Anyway, what about you? What'd you get?"

"Well, it'd be something to save for, right?" You'd be lucky if Calhoun didn't make you stab someone or something equally gory, let's be honest. "I'll keep an eye out, just in case. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find it eventually." Hopefully not in Zero's grasp.

And he brightened a bit. "Oh, you were right about the foil, I had a memory about a match in a tournament my school's fencing team must have been in." He seemed pretty pumped. "I think I was pretty good at it too, I won the match. I wonder if we won the whole tournament."

Thanks, Hershel, you're a pal. Heiji clapped him on the back. "I knew it! Maybe you were even captain of the team. I think you'd look good in a fencing uniform."

Though how on earth Hershel managed to fit that magnificent mane in there was anyone's guess. "Speakin' of which, does that mean you're still in high school? Cause Clive just told me he was in his twenties."

And man oh man was that ever a shock.

Anything to help with your shoujo manga crush, dude. Hershel looked a little sheepish but still pleased. "I'm not sure I was that good, but maybe. I um, I also remembered my father, even if he was just in the stands. It's nice to know what he looks like."

That's actually the greatest puzzle the Layton series has ever known. "I'm not sure, in the memory my body seemed the same, though it's kind of hard to tell. I'm fairly certain if I'm not in highschool I'm at least fresh out of it, so anywhere between fifteen to eighteen." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "I'm thinking sixteen or seventeen feel the closest... I get the feeling you, Akiko and I are about the same age, maybe Colette too. I wonder why Zero keeps going for so many teenagers."

And then he looked surprised, for a very different reason. "Oh, really? I assumed he was, I guess just from the memory I got he seemed older." He glanced over to wherever Clive was, looking curious. "... I suppose he does look more like a highschooler." And have a pause before Hershel looked back to Heiji a bit more solemnly. "Have you spoken to him lately? How is he doing?"

"Hey, that ain't bad! Maybe he even taught you how to fence. You see your mom or anyone else there? I bet you'd be a good older brother type." Granted, any younger siblings might end up walking all over their brother's good intentions, but...

"And Clive seems fine to me. A little down about his missing beer, but still nursin' that grudge like always." Unlike Clive, Heiji rarely stayed angry for long, so the sheer power and stamina of Clive's continuing hateboner for Hershel was a little awe-inspiring. "Didn't look like he was fainting from hunger, either, so I think he's getting by okay."

Heiji lowered his breath to a conspiratorial whisper. "Say, uh... kinda off topic, but... you wouldn't happen to have any spare coins, would you?"

"Maybe he did- and no. I had a friend come up to talk after the match but I didn't get to see his face because our masks were still on." Hershel answered. "Though maybe he was a sibling... it's so strange to think of things like that, isn't it? You or I could be only children or have more siblings than we know what to do with." Heiji would probably be way better at getting kids to listen though, he somehow got a certain kid detective who will not be named to occasionally.

Hershel looked relieved to hear that, more the Clive doing fine than his continued hateboner. "I'm glad he's okay right now, he must be running out of food soon though. I wonder if Calhoun would be willing to give him some if things got bad." He did not sound hopeful at all about that, shockingly.

Oh, whispering time, Hershel nodded, giving Heiji a concerned look. "Of course, I have thirty left if you need it, did you not do well with coins?"

"I kinda doubt it. But can't we just sneak him some food out of the cafeteria, now that we got access to it?" Sure, it was a little against the rules, but who was going to know, right? Right? "Besides, the way I see it, we'd be doing Zero a favor. Can't have an experiment when your test subjects are too hungry to move."

Heiji had the decency to look a little embarrassed. "Well, not exactly... see, I got together enough coins for a shinai. But I didn't have any left over for a toothbrush..."

PRIORITIES.

"I've been wondering about that- I'm a little afraid Zero and Calhoun would consider it breaking a major rule and well..." You know, murder whoever did it with drugs. He sighed. "Hopefully it won't come to that, if it does at least there are options."

And Hershel stared at him for a beat before his brow furrowed. "Heiji, you bought a shinai before necessities? I understand wanting one and being tempted but really, you should think of your basic needs first!" Nag nag nag sorry he's a motherhen sometimes. "Sometimes you guys and your priorities really concern me... well, I'll buy you a toothbrush and toothpaste- I'm going to get shampoo too, so we can share that if you'd like. As long as we're careful it should last for a while."

... "So you got a shinai?" He's trying not to look extremely interested about this, he's supposed to be scolding...

"For givin' a few lumps of mystery meat to someone? That's pretty ridiculous, even for them." Clearly if Heiji was ruining this place, okonomiyaki and scones and tea for everyone!

"Well, yeah, I mean... I was really excited seein' one there, and -- wait. 'You guys'?" What was there someone out there with priorities as questionable as Heiji's?!

"That's true... and it hasn't really been stated that we can't bring food out." Still, it made Hershel nervous. Calhoun was more than happy to drug Ema for kicks, who knew how far he'd be willing to go to make a point.

And he sighed. "Yes, Ema was considering saving coins just for those... snackaronis? Instead of buying what she really needed, and don't get me started on how ridiculous Jake can be." He doesn't even know about the stabbing yet, or that'd be a whole new can of worms. "Well, at least a shinai will be less dangerous than a shovel."

He considered for a moment before smiling. "When my arm gets better would you teach me more kendo? If it's not too much trouble."

~~Ema's reputation would soon pass into legend~~

Heiji laughed. "Of course! I gotta see how you turn out, after all! Course, it's a whole different kind of fencing from the one you're used to. In the meantime, we can just work on footwork. Er, well, I guess you can work on footwork and I'll just have to take it easy on that for a little while."

Curse you, leg wounds!

Wait until they find out that she stabbed Jake for coins and Jake went along. The gossip is going to go insane.

"Thank you Heiji, I really appreciate it. It'll be interesting to see how different the styles are, I have to say I'm pretty excited to see." What a nerd. "I should start saving a little here and there for a foil too." Though now he was going to have like five coins left so... it'd be a long wait. The dream.

"Oh, that reminds me, how's your leg doing?"

"Yeah?" Heiji brightened at once (yesss a foil that would be great). "Then I'll help ya save up for it, too! Er, y'know, when I get some more coins..."

He scuffed the ground a little with one foot. "Eh, it ain't bad. I figure if it was going to get infected, it would've by now. I'm bein' careful with the dressing, but the scab's already starting to itch. I bet in a few days it's gonna be driving me crazy! What about your arm, huh?"

Hershel shook his head, amused. "You don't need to worry about that, save your coins for when you need them. Actually just give me a second, hold that thought."

And he's going to run off to go buy the shit and come back after a few minutes, holding out a toothbrush and toothpaste. "Here you go- I hope you don't mind blue." At least it wasn't MURDERRRR red. "What were we- oh, my arm's doing well enough, I'm a bit worried I'll forget it, do something strenuous and reopen it."

Such was the high action life they led. He glanced down at the shampoo he also bought, popping the cap open and- "... it smells like apples?"

Heiji leaned forward and sniffed at the shampoo. "Hey, you're right. What, are they trying to make us hungrier or something?"

Not that he could complain too much as long as he could get a little cleaner. "We could always put your arm in a sling, but that might be more inconvenient than just leavin' it like it is. Say, you get a chance to meet all the new arrivals?"

"I guess it could be a worse smell." Hershel shook his head, closing the cap. "Let me know if you'd like to use it anytime, at least your hair looks pretty manageable." Aren't you lucky...

"If I open it again maybe- and most of them. I haven't met um... Enjolras?" He probably pronounced that wrong. "I've met Kariya briefly when he first came out of the elevator, and I showed Colette and Akiko around a bit. Actually Akiko and I got to play a few of those terrible games in the lounge, she's quite fun." He smiled, it was fun and Akiko's cool, ok. "What do you think of them all?"

"Sure, but I'll probably just keep using the soap. It should be good enough, right?" Because Heiji was a dude who did not understand the importance of shampoo, and also because Hershel probably needed it more. Looking forward to seeing those lovely blow-dried locks, bro. "We stay in here much longer, though, and we're gonna start needing haircuts."

"No one I've talked to has seen that Enjolras fella at all. He must've gotten sick right off the bat. Let's see, as for the others... Colette's a real peach, and Akiko's a good kid. As for Kariya, I ain't really sure."

He crossed his arms, frowning a little before he started speaking again. "I started talkin' to him about kendo and he started glaring at me and asking if I could beat someone up with a shinai. So I said that if ya wanted to, you could beat up someone with your bare hands, but that ain't the point of kendo. Then he gets kind of hot under the collar -- wants to know if I could hurt someone in here if I had to. Like if a shinai was a toy, or a real weapon."

Everything will smell like apple wherever he goes. "It's almost been two weeks, I really wonder how long this can go on." He shook his head and decided to focus on the important stuff. "Do you think this guy caught whatever Mr. Kaguragi has? I wish Calhoun would give us some details about what's going on, he just keeps throwing around the word 'quarantine.'"

Hershel blinked at that description of their conversation, frowning a moment after. "Do you think he was afraid you could hurt him now that you had it? I guess that's understandable, being panicked given the situation. If that is the case he might just need some time to get a feeling for everyone."

Heiji sighed. "That's what I was thinking, but we got no way to confirm for sure. Well, it's not like this place ever really seemed sanitary, but... we should look out for symptoms."

He shook his head. "Nah, see, that's what I thought at first. So I tried reassurin' him, and he made it pretty clear that's not what he meant at all. I think what he was gettin' at was that he wanted insurance against other people in the group. Or Zero, I guess, but considering he's got us all on a lead already, I'd say that horse has already left the barn."

Heiji motioned with one hand. "Instant I say yes, he starts actin' all sweet and talking about cooperating. Said something about not being able to afford stuff by himself and so on -- only I saw his score, and he ended up with more coins than I did.

"He offered to lend me some coins if I paid him back later, and I couldn't see a reason to refuse, only..." He trailed off for a moment. "I don't know. Guess I'd rather have someone be a real jerk to me out in the open than pretend to be nice to my face."

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