[AQ] Certainly Not Spooked [Junko & Juon]

[Juon]

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A Fright To Remember
+ Description: Due to their positive influence with the school, the Guardians have been allowed to stay after dark (with supervision from Kirishigi-sensei) for a Guardians-only test of courage through the school’s basement…
+ Go in with a friend!: +2 Guardians, -1 Roost
+ Chicken out: -1 Guardians, +1 Faberge
+ Go in, but ditch your partner: -1 Guardians, +1 Roost
+ Go in, but ditch your partner to sneak into other areas of the school: +1 Guardians, +1 Faberge, +1 Roost
+ Requirements: Must be a Guardian
+ Submitted by Hatta

It seemed as if he'd only been a Guardian for a day, and something was already happening that demanded his participation. It wasn't any kind of event they were running, though; nothing that demanded any work, at least; rather, it had been pitched as a social event, "bonding between members" or something along those lines.

That was where the difficulty came in for one Corea Juon--he wasn't sure he really wanted tonquite "bond," or anything of the sort. He still felt horribly out of place--while he'd been attending Seiyo, the Guardians members had always seemed like some kind of untouchable entity, like a clasa above the regular student body. He'd never had any interest in interacting with them, nlr had any of them ever expressed any desire to interact with him, either--so the feeling was quite mutual, and hadn't changed, at least for him. Thinking himself among them was terribly difficult, even with the knowledge that they were all united under their possession of a Guardian Character. And frankly, that made him feel even worse about his own--the knowledge that the Guardian Character was a representation of the would-be self... He could only imagine that anyone exposed to Clip for sven a short amount of time would judge him.

"You look spooked already," the small thief snickered over Juon's shoulder as they approached the entrance to the school's basement. Kirishigi-sensei had approved the organization of a Guardians-only test of courage. Though Juon desperately loathed those sorts of things, he felt oblogated to attend--if only ao that he could give an excuse to skip whatever came up next.

"I just don't see anyone I know, is al... Oh no," he groaned, spotting a single familiar facw among the gathering crowd of Guardians: Kinko Junko. He certainly wouldn't have pegged her for a Guardian--and this would've meant she had her own Guardian Character, too. He was still surprised to see her there, though; her bubbly, overly-optomistic attitude, eagerness to help others, athleticism...

No, wait, he realized. She really was a perfect fit for a Guardian.

He already was starting to feel that this was going to go badly.

[junko ୧( ॑ധ ॑)୨]

Of course she was one of the students dumb enough to be excited for a test of courage. She had plenty of courage !! Tons of courage!! Courage out the wazhoo! Well, moderately out the wazhoo. She couldn't ignore that time one of her friends had spooked the pants off her and she ended up crying. But she didn't have to admit it either. This would make up for it. She could prove she was a brave soul no problem! Why, now she had the help of a special little character. How could she not totally ace this test?

She'd packed a few snacks in her handy dandy backpack, slinging it over her shoulder. If she was seen without her small feline shaped bag on her back, it was cause for concern. The girl seemed to drag it everywhere, worried she was going to go hungry at any point it seemed. Tama saw no problem with it but she didn't exactly encourage it either. It was a tad extreme in some cases but she'd let it pass for this event, it didn't seem like an entirely stupid idea at this point...

The two hurried out of the dorms and towards the school, amazingly not running late for the first time. Not that Junko could tell, it was dark as heck. Darn dark. BUt she supposed that was the point of a test of courage. Wouldn't exactly be very brave to go into the basement in the middle of the day. She still wondered how Kirishigi-sensei thought being allowed to stay in the basement of the school for the night was considered a reward for the group's 'positive influence'. Dark scary basements hardly screamed reward or positive influence.

It wasn't too large group just yet but she definitely recognized the other Guardians as she got closer to the meet up point. She made a bit of chitchat with the others for a bit, getting herself excited as they stood waiting for the event to begin.

Tama's attention was on the other small charas the accompanied the Guardians. She didn't see very many other charas in mass numbers. It was a bit thrilling as well as nerve wracking. She was an ace dealing with young girls, other guardian characters on the other hand she had less experience with. She paused for a moment, noticing a certain chara eyeing them both. She wasn't fond of the looks of him...he looked quite...shifty.

She floated down closer to Junko, resting on her shoulder. Noticing the chara suddenly on her shoulder, she glanced around wondering what had caused her to suddenly get so shy. She perked up, a big smile on her face as she spotted a very familiar face.

"Ah!! Juon!!"

She walked over to greet him before catching a glimpse of his guardian character, her eyes suddenly sparkling. "Oooohh !! Is that your chara?! Wow!! He looks so cool!! Like...like...a ninja or something!" She nodded her head. "As to be expected of Senpai."

[Juon]

Clip had made eye contact with Junko's Guardian Character before he'd even noticed Junko herself, once Juon had so begrudgingly pointed her out; immediately snickering with amusement, the small thief floated up a little higher to cease his hiding place (not that it really was worthy of being called that) to properly display himself.

Though Juon had been less than willing to be noticed by Junko, the inevitable had happened either way; he wasn't sure if this was a good or a bad thing: good, in the case that at least he knew someone that was here, but also terrible in that she certainly wouldn't have been his first choice in wanting to do something like this with. For one thing, he didn't particularly want her to meet Clip, and for another, he wasn't always the best with this sort of thing (as was proved for him as well by those bastards on campus who had gone around scaring people), and he'd already made a fool of himself in front of her once.

He already felt tired after her greeting, and all he could muster up was to raise a hand in a casual wave. Clip, on the other hand, was quite full of energy.

"A ninja? No way, I'm a thief," he sniggered, continuing to eye Junko's own chara, curious as to her own disposition. Juon couldn't help but stare a bit, too, trying to acquire a gist just from the appearance of her character. It was tough, though, but it certainly seemed like a more serious personality.

"I didn't know you were a Guardian, too," was all the third year could offer in terms of starting some kind of conversation. "Do they always do stuff like this?" Granted, he didn't know if she was just a recent addition, too; but smalltalk helped kill the time before they could start the test, anyway.

[junko ୧( ॑ധ ॑)୨]

He seemed awfully sluggish, she almost wondered if he was really going to be up for the event. She wouldn't have been surprised if she found him asleep with the way he was acting. He hardly seemed pleased to be there. That's okay Juon, Junko was here now to make it all better!!

And by better, that of course means worse.

She tilted her head, eyeing Clip once again. "A thief???" She tilted her head to the other side and back and forth for a few minutes before letting out a small gasp. "Oh!! Like in an rpg! That's so nifty!" She smiled at Clip, Tama less impressed with his identity. A thief was the last thing she wanted around her, let alone Junko. She'd have to keep an eye on that one.

The small character glanced off to the side, hardly paying attention to the two of them. "Ah yeah! I've been a Guardian for a bit longer than the new recruits." She beamed. "Mmm...well this is the first time I've participated in a 'test of courage' since I joined. I've mostly been to meetings so far."

Made tea, talked the teacher's ears off. Y'know. Stuff.

"I'm glad they're doing it though! I don't think I would've ran into you until a meeting! This is much more fun." She nodded her head. "I didn't peg you for the Guardian type though...what made you agree to joining?" She looked at him curiously, his lack of enthusiasm or really his reluctant attitude towards socialization in general made her assume he'd just kind of stick to his own thing. Instead of joining a faction.

[Juon]

Clip beamed with pride at her compliment, before floating his way over to Tama to give her a once-over in curiosity. He flew circles around her, examining every angle, before settling in front of her, leaning in with curiosity. "Hmm, you supposed to be, like, a knight? A night-knight? Heheheh..." came his amused chuckles as he readjusted his scarf, pulling it higher up around his mouth.

"Meetings, huh," Juon was meanwhile deducing, trying to get a better idea of what it meant, being a Guardian. Still was he not really all-for the whole concept in the first place, but in the end he didn't really have too much of a choice now that he'd gone and joined up.

Grimacing slightly as she'd asked his motivation, he gave a noncommittal shrug and offered his unimpressive default answer of, "I figured it'd look good for when I apply to universities." Clearing his throat a bit--as truthfully it was a bit awkward at the fact that she, who had probably joined up for the good-hearted intentions that the faction itself was built upon, was now facing him, who had joined for somewhat... self-centered reasons. He felt quite non-worthy next to her, which was an odd feeling considering the fact that he wasn't really a big fan of her traits in the first place.

Either way, they were spared the topic as one of the other Guardians called that they were ready to start, and that students should enter in groups of two to head down into the basement; apparently, there'd been some kind of 'something' hidden down there, and that the first pair to go in deep enough, find it, and make it out would be considered the 'bravest' of the Guardians.

Another competition with pairs; he looked to Junko automatically, if perhaps rather unenthusiastically.

[junko ୧( ॑ധ ॑)୨]

The small character seemingly ignored his comments, rolling her eyes slightly as she refused to look at him. A thief of all things. She felt for poor Juon, what a nuisance surely. How would a thief be anything but a bad influence on the poor child. She'd have to encourage Junko to interact with them more often, he needed SOME sort of good influence...

The young girl gasped slightly, a hand to her chin. "I'd never thought about that...!" She paused for a moment before smiling back at Juon again. "That's actually really cool! You're pretty smart Senpai." She winked at him, elbowing him playfully in the gut. What a smart thinker, as to be expected of Juon-senpai. She'd have to write that down somewhere so she'd remember it later on. There were turning out to be so many good points about joining the guardians, she became happier about her decision with each one.

Junko's head perked up instantly as it spun towards the direction of one of the other guardians, a big smile beaming on her face. "Ah it's starting its starting!" She practically hopped up and down in her place, looking back to Juon in excitement. He was looking at her with a weird face, she almost wondered if he needed to use the restroom..."Oh! You wanna pair up Senpai? We'd be a force to be reckoned with!"

Yeah because that went well the first time.

[Juon]

'Really cool' she'd said. He frowned sheepishly at her elbowing of his side, raising a hand to rub the back of his neck to try and blow off the moment; it felt awful coming from her, even though it was meant as a compliment; but he only felt himself only further proven of her more worthiness of their title, and him the more selfish. It put an uncomfortable pit in his stomach.

Thankfully, they weren't forced to dwell on the topic for too long, as the were starting to get called inside. He shrugged in agreement to the idea of them teaming up, not overly-interested in the idea, but he figured that he'd ultimately rather pair up with someone he knew then potentially prove himself a chicken to someone he didn't know. "A force to be reckoned with, huh," he uttered.

As they headed inside, pairs were already starting through the doors down into the basement, and he started on the path of following. There was a sense of dread growing in his chest, though he doubted it was out of fear of the test of courage itself, right? He played plenty of horror games, he was well-versed in this--well, digitally, at least. And what could possibly harm them down here, anyway?

"Hey, Kinjo-san," he prompted though, just to double check as to where exactly she stood. "You're not afraid of the dark, are you?" She didn't seem like the type who could be afraid of anything.

[junko ୧( ॑ധ ॑)୨]

Her mind at least, they were a force to be reckoned with. With his wits and her....with her! They could take on the world. Maybe. Probably. Well they'd probably both manage to do just fine. It wasn't rocket science. Just the dark.

She looked at him for a moment before shaking her head. "Nah...well I mean if like there was light and it suddenly shut off-- yeah maybe I'd be a bit spooked but, I know it's gonna be dark so it's not as scary." She shrugged. Knowing it was going to be dark was a lot less frightening than going in and being suddenly plunged into the dark.

She followed next to him down the path, humming softly as she kept her upbeat look on the whole thing. So far so good honestly, it was going way better than she had originally anticipated. Which was amazing because for some reason she'd had such a wild streak of things going poorly compared to what she expected. So for things to be going smoothly it was mildly refreshing.

She looked at him, suddenly curious. "What about you Juon-senpai, are you scared of the dark?" She asked, in a teasing voice.

[Juon]

Her note of teasing provoked him immediately, and he felt himself involuntarily straightening up a little higher, his grimace ever deepening; he heard Clip chuckling wildly over his shoulder, but it was quiet enough that he hoped they wouldn't hear. At least Junko wasn't scared of the dark--hopefully that would make things easier, though in the back of his mind he had already convinced himself that she was likely already proving herself braver than him, and that he would most certainly have his ass handed to him in this.

Yes, he was making a competition out of it, even beyond the base one, against his teammate--he would prove braver than her, dammit. He had to.

Even though events he was unaware of had already proved the opposite.

Nevertheless, he held determination--which was good enough for him, considering he wasn't often very motivated.

"I'm not scared of the dark," he confirmed monotonously, as they'd made their way to the bottom of the stares.

It was true--there was nothing but blackness ahead, and the only sounds they were greeted with were their own footsteps, and the footsteps and whispers of the other pairs that were already making their way around.

He gulped. "How do you want to, uh... approach this," he offered, suddenly feeling very out of ideas. He may not have been afraid of the dark, but he was rapidly finding out he didn't know how to operate in it.

[junko ୧( ॑ധ ॑)୨]

It was fairly hard not to notice Clip's wild laughing, it had most certainly caught Tama's attention. The tiny knight eyed him curiously, wondering what exactly what brought on such a crazy fit of laughter. The little thief seemed quite pleased with himself, she simply shook her head with an unimpressed sigh. She admittedly felt terrible for quietly judging the character based on the supposed title he'd announced to Junko but she simply could not warm up to him as easily she did the others. She prayed for poor Juon.

"Hmm well...let's see what this puppy has to offer!" She looked at him eagerly. She was very curious in general but it seemed to be at its peak with this trip. "We can go in, look around and make it back out while finishing the 'test of courage' easy peasy! We're already acing it by just going in normally and waltzing around right?"

The test of courage itself seemed quite simple in itself.

There was no requirement to bring back an item or prove you actually gone through the whole basement now that she thought about it. They simply had to make it through the night in the dark of the basement. She figured the two of them could ace that no problem, especially with Juon.

She wasn't quite sure what her feelings were based on but, she was almost positive he'd be quite determined to see this through at the very least. She'd made a good pair in her mind.

[Juon]

"Right... right," he offered limply. "I guess we'll just pick a direction and go for it, then." He turned to her instinctively for some kind of confirmation, only to realize that he could barely even see her--it was nothing more than an outline at best, and the small outline of Tama next to her.

Pausing, he wondered how this would be best approached. Turning to stare back into the darkness, he looked back again and sighed. "Grab onto me, or something," he then prompted, waiting for her to do so before he started off into the black abyss that stretched beyond them.

"Weren't we supposed to find something too, or whatever? ... I wasn't really listening when they were going over instructions," he muttered. "A 'something' was hidden down here?" ... He hadn't bothered to remember--he'd still been agonizing over the whole idea of everything at the time. He could already hear other pairs getting deeper in; the sound of their footsteps and mutterings were getting farther and farther away, it seemed like, and he wasn't exactly fond of the idea of losing--not that he'd even bothered remembering what the stakes were, or whether or not this was even a competition in the first place.

[junko ୧( ॑ധ ॑)୨]

"Sounds good enough to me!" She nodded her head, replying a bit louder. It'd get annoying eventually but it was probably best she got loud, if he couldn't see her all that well. At least that's what she figured might be a good idea. She paused for a moment, hearing him sigh. Yikes maybe she'd been TOO loud after all.

After a hesitant moment she grabbed onto the back of his shirt, giving it a couple slight tugs as she let him know she had a good hold. She was a bit surprised he offered, she had figured he was the type who'd rather she keep her distance instead of get closer. But she supposed it was probably safer and he was more keen on not getting lost than anything.

"Oh shoot, were we...?"

If that had been mentioned, she had most DEFINITELY overlooked it. "I guess...we'll just have to keep an extra eye out for anything...out of the ordinary?" Besides herself of course, Juon. She didn't exactly want to miss out on whatever it was they were supposed to be looking for. What in the world could they look for in this dark anyway?

[Juon]

It was true; he was never one for being close, and physical contact was never his favorite thing (a result of his sister having always been so clingy; though he'd enjoyed it once, it now tended to repulse him), but it only seemed to make sense that they try and do their best not to loose each other. He appreciated, at least, that she took the minimal in simply grabbing onto his shirt; that didn't bother him as much as he was expecting.

"Yeah, we... I guess we grab something and bring it back. But whatever that was..." he shrugged, not that she could probably see. "Actually, they might not've mentioned it... I guess we just have to go look, or... whatever."

Holding out a hand, he waved it in some random direction, before settling it. "Let's go... this way," he decided, starting off toward it, only to immediately knock his shins into something, followed by the feeling of a table ramming into his stomach; letting out a grunt and reaching his hands out, there was... a wall there. Hobbling back a few steps, he rubbed the now-tender areas, trying to get a grip on his bearings again.

"... On second thought, you lead."

[junko ୧( ॑ധ ॑)୨]

"I wonder what the heck we were supposed to grab..." Nothing came to mind. She really couldn't think of something that Kirishigi might decide would be something they'd have to pick up. Maybe a book...? A star keychain? She should've paid more attention and she wished she had've. Maybe if she was lucky enough Juon would manage to figure out what it was. Or maybe she was counting too much on her luck....

"Oh okay!" She chirped, making very easy to know where she was. In fact, it was probably a safe bet on his part. Knowing the young girl, she'd make it VERY easy to tell where she was in this dark maze with her 'enthusiasm' alone... "So you grab onto my sweater instead then and we'll set off!"

She'd wait a moment, waiting to feel the tug on the bottom of her sweater before setting out. She'd made sure to equip herself with a nice comfty sweater, the later they were out the more likely it was to get colder. She wasn't going to chance shivering like crazy when she was trying to focus on having fun! This was supposed to be fun right? Right. Right!

"Hey Juon-senpai. What do you think the item might be?"

[Juon]

"We'll find out eventually, I guess," he offered. "If it's something weird or gross, though, you can grab it." His tone was with joking implication, but he was probably more serious than he actually realized. Not because he was easily grossed out or anything (he told himself...), but because it would be more fun to see her reaction. "But I'm sure it'll just be something general... knowing this is the Guardians and everything, maybe it'll be some, like, toy egg, or something..."

He'd been following along with a hand on her sweater, having initially sighed as he'd grabbed on. He remarked internally that it was probably a good call to have worn--he was just in a plain shirt, and there certainly was a damp chill down here.

Or was it actually getting colder?

"Is it just me, or does it feel like the temperature's dropping..." He grimaced slightly as he brought it up; was this supposed to be part of the whole 'scary' thing? Was something going to jump out now? Was this just a distraction someone was pulling so that they could really just set something up in the background to surprise them with later? "Is something happening?"

Was he getting really paranoid, all of a sudden?