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[ Welcome to hell! Welcome to hell!

Which is to say, welcome to the morning after Ouma and Shuichi's game went a little further than it probably should have. Ouma had ended up killing even more time in the tacky love hotel by giving it another, more thorough investigative sweep -- not that he found anything particularly useful, but it's good to know the layout of the place and what exactly can all be found in there item-wise. Who knows what might end up being useful or relevant in this mutual killing game fiasco. Although he lowkey hopes some of the shit he found never ends up being relevant -- but knowing Miu, it's possible.

So Ouma's a little sleep deprived, between staying out that much later and...the general exhaustion...plus his inability to stop thinking about it. Even though he'll act like he slept like an absolute baby, 'cause he's a liar. He's even dragged himself to the cafeteria for breakfast, because that's how utterly unaffected he is. Plus, he is hungry.

Thankfully (but also annoyingly, because now he's gotta go see what they're up to right now), most of the ~*~student council~*~ of Angie's, aka the brainwashed idiots, aren't really around right now. That leaves...Korekiyo, Maki, Miu, and Kaito. What a wack group. Although one of the others might show up later...or altogether, since they're teaming up. No Shuichi either, which is interesting.

But not unsurprising, he supposes.

He doubts anything would've happened to him, but there's a paranoid part of him that kind of wonders.

He's almost considering just nabbing some snacks and taking them up to his room right now, because this is pretty uninteresting!! No fights breaking out or anything. Plus, the meal quality around here has really taken a nosedive since Kirumi's death. Oh, well...

The Monokubs will probably show up to say something inane, so he should stick around. ]

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[ Stop the presses ladies and gentlemen because Shuichi Saihara is small-talking...

Ouma seems perpetually carefree as he walks through the courtyard, idly wondering what everyone else is up to (granted, a good portion of them are confining themselves to curfew right now) but not too concerned with that kind of thing right now. Mostly because he's with Shuichi. Shuichi's not exactly bodyguard material out here, but it's reassuring nonetheless just to have someone else around. He's not really used to getting that privilege!

Ouma hums thoughtfully at Shuichi's question, bringing a finger to his lips. ]

Well, my tastes are pretty varied...but I don't like kiddie stuff. Gorey movies are kind of gross to watch, too... But I bet you're into those, huh? The ones with the dead bodies and stuff? ...Naaasty!

[ He's just going to run his mouth about this dumb topic as they make their way into the school. ]

[He can totally do small talk! He's not that much of a socially awkward loser. Usually. But he is kinda looking it right now, having been somewhat called the fuck out on his taste in movies. He frowns, maybe just faintly defensive.]

I mean...I don't mind that kind of stuff in a drama or thriller or something.

[He won't outright say he likes mysteries. He will not openly be that much of a stereotype.]

But I don't really like it in horror movies and the like when it's just for shock value or whatever.

[He can't help but notice, as they reach the school doors and he holds on open because je's just a polite kid like that, that Ouma only really specificed what he doesn't like. Which...yeah. Unsurprising. If there's an indirect way to answer a question, Ouma will apparently always find it.]

[ Ouma looks pretty amused by Shuichi's reaction to that, and it's already painfully obvious where his tastes run now. ]

Haha. You like crime films, don't you? ...That's so you.

[ Ouma can't help making a comment about this as he waltzes inside the school, courtesy of Shuichi holding the door open for him. ]

Well, I don't think those are boring, at least!

[ So they might be able to find a movie they both like at this rate? Amazing.

He's already heading down the hallway. ]

[Called the fuck out. But at least Ouma doesn't make fun of him for it. Shuichi gives him a thoughtful reaction as the other boy passes him, puzzling over that answer.]

...Do you root for the criminals?

[He can't imagine Ouma's in it for the same reasons as him, after all, an interest in justice and finding the truth. And given how Ouma seems to often present himself as "the bad guy" for whatever reason, Shuichi can't help but wonder if he just admires the other half of these matters more. Plenty of kids like playings cops and robbers, after all, and it wouldn't be nearly so common if none of them ever liked being the robbers.]

[ That sounds like an almost fishing sort of question to Ouma, but at the same time it's something most people wouldn't even wonder or ask, knowing him and his title. Because duh. So that makes the inquiry kind of interesting. Ouma gives a short laugh before answering. ]

C'mon, is that really a question?

[ Well..."answering." It's implied, anyway.

At least he won't leave it at that, tacking on: ]

But I do admire the cops too, y'know! There's just no thrill at all without them. You've gotta have some boring guys around to really show off how cool a good criminal is.

[Maybe he wouldn't have to fish for information if Ouma would just be straightforward about things. But that wouldn't be Ouma, he supposed. And there admittedly is a weird sort of entertainment in having to work to get even the simplest answers. He can kinda see how it could be something like a game, and he knows Ouma's fond of those.]

I'm not sure that's "admiration"...

[It does offer a lot to think about, though, in regard to Ouma. Assuming he's not just fucking around anyway.]

[ Ouma pauses at the stairs near the end of the hallway that descend into the school basement, humming in thought as he places a hand on the railing and leans on it.

...Yes, he is totally waiting for Shuichi to go first. It's not a gentlemanly motive at all, but if asked he'd totally play it off as one. ]

Hmm... Maybe it's only the ones that can look cool and figure things out despite having a super lame profession I admire? 'Cause then they just make the criminal evading them even cooler.

[ He's putting a lot of thought into this.

Or blowing hot air. Either way. ]

Unless the criminal finally ends up getting caught by them. ...Yeah, I could probably fall for an otherwise dull character like that!

[ ouma you are being so incredibly unsubtle right now

you're lucky shuichi's a fucking moron. ]

That's...fair, I guess.

[Guess who's just...heading down the stairs, oblivious. Look, he's just happy Ouma's having an ordinary conversation with him and being generally nice. He certainly looks content right now to just muse over the potential hidden meanings to Ouma's words that definitely have nothing to do with him at all.]

[ this absolute chucklefuck

It's good that Shuichi doesn't catch on though, because Ouma didn't quite intend for him to, anyway. It's kind of satisfying in itself just to say something that blatant (well, not really blatant, but as far as Ouma being blatant goes--) and not have Shuichi pry too hard into it. Ouma would probably short-circuit a little if Shuichi ever took him at face value, anyway.

Content with this, Ouma will just follow down after Shuichi, smiling almost wistfully at the other's back.

But as soon as they near the bottom, and it's clear there's nobody else down there or really around at all (if anything, they'd probably be on the higher floor -- that's where the new labs opened recently, too), Ouma will hop off the steps and make a beeline for the nearby game room slash A/V room. Although he does turn around in the middle of his fast paced bounds both to ensure Shuichi is keeping up with him and to chatter at him some more. ]

Sooo you're definitely the type to try and solve the case in a movie or TV show before the characters do it themselves, aren't you?

[How many times can Shuichi get called out in a five minute walk? Ouma's going for the record here, alparently. He colors just faintly, glancing away while he fusses with his bangs.]

I...yeah, sometimes.

[Most of the time. And he totally gets annoyed when the characters are being really dense about obvious stuff or when they hold off on showing some key evidence he needed to figure it out until the last minute for drama. Almost defensively, he does peek back up as Ouma as they duck through the game room.]

But I'd bet you try to figure out how the culprits could have gotten away with it.

[ The real reason Shuichi doesn't like horror -- the characters are too dumb for him.

Ouma's glad to have Shuichi's taste in fiction pretty much pegged (little do you fucking know, Ouma), but he ends up grinning when Shuichi throws it right back at him, shrugging like he'd just been caught. ]

Yup! You got me. Of course I'm thinking about those things, too... I wonder if I'm any faster at it than you? We could even make a game of it sometime.

[ Naturally, he'd find a way to flip something like that into a game. They're in a game room right now, so he's thinking about games!!

But he's always thinking about games.

Ouma goes ahead and grabs for the A/V room doorknob to open it up, making his way inside and expecting Shuichi to follow suit. ]

[Shuichi of course follows, almost amazed that they've really gotten this far without any kind of shenanigans or bullshitting. Just. Wow. Friendly conversation and actually coming to get a movie like they said they would. Holy shit.

He hasn't really been in here since...y'know. Investigating Rantaro's murder. And he certainly hadn't had the time to have a very thorough look at the movie selection at the time. It's a little weird having that memory on deck just being in here, but he tries to shake it off and just peruse the racks of movies.]

Did you want to see if they have any crime movies, then?

[They've got a pretty large library down here, but it's hard to say how much any any individual genre there is before diving right into it. He picks a movie from the wall at random just to see if he can work out what kind of organization they've got going on here.]

Oh, are you accepting my game that easily? Maybe I should incorporate some higher stakes...

[ Y'know, to make it more interesting.

He trails off on that point though, seemingly not too serious about it as he moves to inspect another shelf, pulling out a title to inspect it himself. ]

But shouldn't we pick a few out? Just in case the first pick completely sucks or something. You absolutely can't judge a movie by its case, after all!

[ That's usually a book thing, but. It still applies. ]

I'm not sure that's the best kind of game to wager anything on. It seems kind of hard to judge objectively...

[The best strategy for dealing with gremlin nonsense, as he's learned, is countering with logic rather than just pointing out the nonsense or saying no. Ouma often goes for the most clearly absurd suggestions and obvious lies, so it's likely that he doesn't actually expect anyone to believe him go go along with his shit. He must enjoy the reactions to that stuff on it's ownt, but he seems to enjoy it more when his nonsense is engaged in some alternate way. Which means...something. Shuichi will think on it more when he's not trying to multitask looking through movies.

Nothing seems to be arranged in any particular order, frustratingly enough. Thanks, Monokuma. But there are some familiar titles, at least.]

That's a good idea. We can each pick a few? I figured we'd taken them back to one of our rooms to watch, just to avoid any trouble with the student council...

O-kay! Sounds good to me.

[ Uh. As long as it's not his room, because he's kind of got a whiteboard with everyone's faces on it along with his conspiracy scribbles and it's just not kosher for Shuichi to see that. Or anything else...in there...since he's also stolen some evidence from the past crime scenes.

Ouma raises a brow at whatever title he's just pulled out, but keeps on talking in his usual manner. ]

Oh, but it'll prooobably have to be your room... My player is like, completely busted up!

[Shuichi pauses in the middle of pulling a movie case off a shelf, casting a worried look in Ouma's direction.]

What happened to your room?

[This is genuine concern, for all that past experience should have taught him to take anything coming out of Ouma's mouth with a grain of salt.]

[ Ouma notices Shuichi's look and promptly waves a hand, as if attempting to dismiss Shuichi's concern. ]

No, no-- It's my player, not my room. It just doesn't work! I tried watching a movie a while back and it wouldn't even turn on. What luck, huh?

[ Ouma continues rifling through the titles, acting natural. Or well, as natural as Ouma can be...which is more or less a constant state of suspicious. ]

Maybe I can feed it to Kee-boy or something...

[Whoops. He looks a little embarassed to have fumbled that, but forced himself to go back to looking through movies. Doesn't have to be a big deal if no one makes it one, chill out you anxious nerd.]

That's...pretty bad luck.

[Just from that story he can't help but suspect there's something more to it -- like he did something to said player or whatever -- but now is not the time to pursue such suspicions. Now is the time for goodwill and trying to be friends with the guy he hooked up with. Besides, what does it matter if Ouma wrecked his own video player or not? It affects no one but him.

And hey, by some miracle, he's at least found one movie he heard about but never saw. It looks like he might be pretty good, so he holds onto that one, tucking it under his arm as he sighs.]

Is picking on Keebo that much fun for you...?

Ehhh? But I'm not picking on him. He can't eat real food, anyway.

[ That's...not the point, Ouma.

Granted, he knows it's not the point, either. And he knows he's purposefully riling Keebo up, but let him live. (No, let Keebo live...) ]

Ooh, if I ask him, I wonder if he could play my movies for me? Like a dynamic projector!

[ He would definitely be keen on that idea.

Ouma has a few movie titles between his fingers, but he grins at the next one he pulls out. ]

...Have you seen this one, Saihara-chan?

[ It's some edgy looking Sherlock Holmes-esque title, which means Shuichi probably hasn't seen it, even if he'd surely be familiar with the characters. ]

I don't think he has any functions like that...

[Well. He could, maybe. Shuichi doesn't know for sure. But it seems like a safe bet so far to assume Keebo doesn't have much in the way of extraneous useful functions.

But they already kinda bickered about Ouma being a teeny bit nicer to Shuichi today. Starting it back up over someone else would probably be tempting fate, so he's happy to latch onto that subject change, pausing to lean and peer at the movie in question.]

Oh...no, I haven't even heard of it before.

[It's probably American or something. He's more of a reader than a movie buff, so he's not that familiar with foreign stuff.]

It looks like it could be good, though.

[ Ouma actually thinks it looks awful and unrelatable, but-- ]

Yeah, I agree! Maybe we should try this one...

[ It's only pertinent for him that Shuichi sees the case, anyway. Don't ask why.

He stacks it between his fingers with his other choices, transferring them all to one hand like he's got all his ducks in a row here. ]

So what did you find?

[ He pries, curiously peering at the movies beneath Shuichi's arm right now. ]

[GOSH WHAT COULD THAT BE...

Selecting one more movie he'd been peering at on the shelf, he raises both cases for Ouma to see. One is more a thriller than a crime movie, but it had seemed close enough the the genre they'd been talking about to be worth a shot.]

I only looked a little, but...I mean, we can always do this again sometime and look through the rest.

[Wow, what optimism for the future of both their friendship and their continued lives in the middle of a killing game. He's thinking positive.]

[ Shuichi is so pure...

Ouma's doing his best to corrupt him though, so there's that.

Although not optimistic at all, Ouma feels genuinely happy to hear that sort of sentiment from Shuichi -- mostly because it insinuates investment from Shuichi's side in maintaining their friendship. Not exactly a keeper of friends, this strange territory for Ouma. But the unexplored stirs up as much (if not more) curiosity as it does hesitation for him.

The bright smile he flashes in response to Shuichi's words isn't fake. ]

Yeah! We gotta... So Saihara-chan better stay alive. I'll say bad things about you if you die without at least taking me on a few proper dates.

[ Zero mood sensitivity, as per usual... It's probably hard to even tell how serious he is with any of the latter statement because of it, but. He's kinda serious.

You'll never catch him alive admitting that, though. ]

[Y'know what's pure? The slight flush that comes to his face in response to that...joke? Was it a joke? Knowing Ouma, it could be. But it could also not be. And that smile didn't feel like the insincere grins he got so often, but that could just be Shuichi wanting to believe the best...

Fuck, is this a date? It's not exactly what he'd had in mind when asking, but...he can't say he hadn't had the thought in those spare moments before going to sleep or getting ready to pick Ouma up afterwards. It's...kind of a date-ish activity, perhaps as close as they can get while trapped in a place like this. He hadn't really thought of Ouma in a romantic light before, but then...y'know. The hotel happened. It's not not to consider the option after something like that, or at least he thinks so. And for all that Ouma is strange and exasperating and frustrating and often kinda mean, he can objectively also say that the Ultimte Supreme Leader is oddly fascinating, stimulating, smarter than he lets on, fun and even surprisingly thoughtful on occasion.

It...wouldn't be terrible, maybe. He thinks.

Of course, maybe he's just trying too hard to justify the hookup to himself, belatedly grasping for some romantic element to normalize it all in a backwards sorta way. Maybe it's kinda pathetic to be having such thoughts after what had been treated like a spontaneous one night stand, though one that hadn't even gone all the way. Maybe he's just clinging to anything vaguely resembling affection he can find in this hellhole. Maybe he should be worrying about whether they're even friends before considering shit like this.

Maybe he needs to actually say something already.]

I'm trying...

[Ugh, he can feel his face burning just to get the two words out. He drops his gaze to the movie cases in his hands, idly shuffling between them to examine the summaries and try to look more nonchalant than he feels. It's not very effective.]

[ He's definitely taking note of how affected Shuichi seems by his "joke", wondering how much he's reading into it. Shuichi's face is coloring, and oh, that's cute, Ouma thinks.

Satisfied with his selections here, Ouma is already moving for the door, stacking everything precariously under a single arm-grab. ]

Hmm...? Are you trying to stay alive or trying to give me a proper date?

[ Ouma already knows what he meant by that, but since he left it ambiguous...of course he's going to take advantage of that. His grin is slightly more mischievous now as he looks over at Shuichi while reopening the door dividing the A/V room and the game room.

It's ridiculous to expect Shuichi to entertain the idea of dates or whatever in this situation, anyway. He's totally just joking.....sure. ]

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