[AQ] Newts Eyes and Bitter Lies [Sayuri/Mitsuo]

[Sayuri]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}

The Witch's Brew

+ Description: A second year student who has quite the fascination with the occult made a challenge that whoever drinks the brew she made out of mysterious ingredients and finishes it will get a cool 20,000 yen from her! If you lose, though, you'll have to give her 1,000 yen for every attempt. But so far, no one's been able to hold down the concoction. There's no rules stating you can't attempt it with a friend, and she doesn't seem aware of Guardian Characters. Will you try the challenge?

+ Seek her out and try the challenge! But realize you can't down the concoction and lose. That's a thousand yen gone from your pocket. At least you tried: +1 Guardians, +2 Faberge, -1 Roost

+ Seek her out and try the challenge! This is nothing. You drink it and win: +1 Guardians, +3 Faberge, +1 Roost

+ Convince a friend to try the challenge and cheer them on. There's no way you'd do it yourself: +2 Guardians, -1 Faberge, +1 Roost

+ Seek her out and tackle the challenge with a friend and agree to split the money if you win or 'split the bill' when you lose: +3 Guardians, -1 Faberge, +1 Roost

+ Seek her out for the challenge and cheat your way to victory by making your Guardian Character help out. It's not called cheating if you don't get caught!: -2 Guardians, +1 Faberge, +2 Roost

+ Investigate and accuse her of rigging the challenge. There is no way she's not manipulating people just to get money: -1 Guardians. -1 Faberge, +3 Roost

+ Requirements : Minimum Level 1

Submitted by Gio

Since her earliest days of middle school, Sayuri was rather hesitant to believe everything she heard.  She had always been the subject of a large amount of bullying due to her numerous absences, but when her parents finally pulled her out of school the rumors started.  She read them over social media via anonymous accounts, whispers and gossip about where that strange Kagawa girl had disappeared to.  They started making up lies about her until finally she shut her accounts for good and turned a blind eye to it all.  Since then she had made it an absolute goal of hers to never give into the words of anyone else.

Well, at least until she heard about the so called 'witch's brew.'  The rumors had started with the opening of the Culture Festival between the two schools, claiming that one of the students in her year had received a recipe from the Haunted House in West Otonoki.  It seemed childish at first but the more Sayuri thought about it, the more it seemed to be true.  She'd watched kids walk awake a darker shade of green than she had ever seen on a person.  Besides, if magic eggs were real then why weren't witches?

Now she stood cornered at the top of the stairwell, three upperclassmen holding bottles of a rather murky looking substance as they waved it around in front of her.  Her wallet was still clutched in their hands despite having handed them the thousand yen.  "Y-you know what, I don't really think that looks safe..." She replied, swallowing hard as they pushed the bottle in front of her face again, "Are you sure that's approved by the teachers?  It looks a bit... rotten.  Not that I think anything you've made is rotten, but I don't really think I should be drinking that... would you mind giving me my money back?"

Mitsuo Takahashi

[Mitsuo Takahashi]

Mitsuo hummed to himself as he walked down the corridor, his bag on his shoulders as he did so. Really, he was on a mission to find the people who were making the 'Witch's Brew' - something that his year had started to talk about pretty frequently ever since the Culture Festival started. Something about them getting it from West Otonoki, and that they were handing out a pretty big sum of money for completing it...well something like that. Mitsuo wasn't really in it for the money though. Really, the more he heard about it, the more he wanted to try it; after all, who ever had the chance to do something like this? And besides, it might even taste good!

Skipping a little down the school, he stopped himself when he spotted a group of students - three tall upperclassmen and...a short meek-looking girl? Actually was she okay? She looked a little nervous, now that he thought about it. As he looked back at the three upperclassmen near the stairwell, he found out why; they were holding what looked to be dirty-coloured liquids in their hands. His eyes grew big and wide. Did he hit the jackpot? It must have been; they were the ones handing out the Witches' Brew! What luck!

Though to be honest, was the girl okay? She didn't look too happy about the idea...and they were kind of shoving the bottles into her face. Maybe she decided she didn't want to try it after all? She did look a little too docile to do something like that...Oh maybe he should help her a little? "Excuse me!" he called out, walking up to them with a grin. "If she doesn't want to try it, I will!" He gave them yet another toothy grin. "Don't worry about the money, I'll pay you your due!"

[Sayuri]

Sayuri had just about had it with their taunting, opening her mouth to present a very strongly worded but still very polite argument as to why they should return her wallet when another voice was heard. She turned her head around slowly, worried it would be another member of their very inappropriate gang when she spotted a new boy walking towards them. Or was she the new one? There were honestly so many people at this school she was in an absolute tizzy over who was who. At least more people meant more possible friends, right?

Nevermind, nevermind! Whatever chances he had of being her friend flew out the window as he offered to drink the strange substance. Sayuri shot a look between the gangly upperclassman and the poor boy before shaking her head at him. "Um, I really don't think---"

"Shut up," One of the guys said, pushing the wallet back towards the girl as they began to crowd around Mitsuo, holding up the mixture in front of his face. They were pulling the same act on everyone it seemed, asserting themselves as the dominant party to force the victim into a corner. "You can try it but she's already paid up. If you wanna keep her from drinking it you're gonna have to down two servings."

Pocketing her wallet, she strode over to the group with as much courage as she could muster, putting herself between the gang and their newest victim. Though her back was straight her face was splotchy with embarrassment and fear that they might just end up killing the poor kid. "I'm really sorry you've gotten involved in all of this but I really, really don't think you should drink that. It's got.... er.... a weird scent to it? And it's kind of thick? I don't think it's very healthy for you to be quite honest." I don't think you'll survive drinking two, either.

[Mitsuo Takahashi]

Mitsuo stared up at the upperclassmen, blinking at them in a rather blank manner. Well, wasn't that rather rude of them? The girl didn't seem like someone who would hurt a fly, and they were treating her so badly! He wanted to yell at them 'Well, that wasn't very nice!' if not for the tall upperclassmen shoving said bottle into his face. Now that he was actually face to face with it, he could really see the concoction in all its glory. The dirty-coloured liquid, the odd repulsive smell and...what were those bits floating inside? Or was he imaging things?

But at the mention of having to drink two servings, the boy paused just for a second - before a wide grin broke across his face. Two servings! "Is that a challenge?" he mocked, ignoring the girl in front of him. It was clear that the female student was concerned about him...but hey, he had been trying to find them to begin with, and he did interfere in their earlier conversation. Besides, he didn't like how they treated her - he was determined to down the whole two bottles and wipe off the intimating looks on their faces. All with a smirk too! He was sure he could do it!

"Don't worry about it!" he said brightly to the girl in front of him. He would offer his name, but they would have to do introductions later. First, he would need to address this whole Witches' Brew business! Fishing out his own wallet, he immediately slapped a thousand yen note into the upperclassman's hand, before grabbing one of the bottles. "If I succeed, you're paying me twice the amount, deal?" He gave them a cheeky grin. Quickly, before anyone could voice their objections, he popped open the bottle's top, holding it up as if in triumph. "Bottom's up!" And he immediately downed it in a single go.

[Sayuri]

Sayuri gasped the moment the boy downed the strange concoction, hands flying up to cover her mouth. The strange sludge moved slowly through the tube into the poor boy's mouth leaving the girl with a bad feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. Beside them the upperclassmen laughed at his antics. They were seriously impressed he'd managed to down it in one go. As the guy in the front grabbed the money and stuffed it in his pocket, the guy in the back reached into his bag and pulled out another bottle. It was the same as the last one with that murky gray substance swirling around in it. This one even seemed to still have a few chunks left from the mixing process.

"Please reconsider, he's already drank one. Isn't that enough for you guys?" Sayuri was trying her hardest to not lash out at these upperclassmen but it seemed they had other plans. Her words merely brought a sneer to their faces as they shoved another test tube in her hands, backing them into a corner once more.

"Alright you got one down. Here's the second. Either you drink it or she drinks it, but either way I'm going to be walking away with your money so you better choose fast," He rolled his shoulders back confidently as he glanced between the two. Sayuri held the bottle tightly in her hands as she stared down at it, stomach acids bubbling at the mere thought of even tasting the brew.

"You guys aren't being fair with all of this. We won't tell anyone so please leave!" She bit her lip as they shrugged at her, finally giving up and turning to Mitsuo, "Are you feeling alright? You drank it awfully quickly. If you want I could... try... to drink this one..."

[Mitsuo Takahashi]

The moment the murky substance hit his tongue, Mitsuo nearly wanted to gag. It tasted absolutely vile. Bitter and horrid; and did it taste sandy? In that second, he regretted ever wanting to find them to drink this strange thing. Obviously, with a title like that and the strange colour of the water, it was definitely something that wouldn't sit well with anybody. But! The second-year couldn't back down now! He had come all this way to find them and agreed and everything, so he couldn't simply call it quits! As the last drop entered his mouth, he quickly swallowed, trying his best not to think about the repulsive mixture that was now going down his throat. Ugh.

But he lifted his head up, and flashed them the best grin he could probably produce. No way was he going to let them know that he was finding it absolutely repulsive! Even though his face was a little pale from having drunk it - but he quickly showed them a thumbs-up. "That was great!" he said, doing his best not to stutter halfway through. He had to drink another one; come on Mitsuo, you can do it! Just pretend it's a delicious smoothie!

Even as they backed them into the corner again, Mitsuo still did his best to keep a wide grin on his face. He wasn't going to back down at all! But the girl seemed so worried for him. He clapped a hand on her shoulder, trying his best to smile at her. "Don't worry about it!" he said, though it was clear that he was finding it difficult. He couldn't let someone like her worry! And it simply made him feel bad that she had to drink something when she didn't want to! Besides, he agreed to their challenge, so why not? "I'll do it!" With that, he quickly took the tube from her hands, popping the lid open and drinking it straight.

Oh god this was even more repulsive than the last. It wasn't just bitter; it now had these large chunks of...whatever it was, their gooey texture was absolutely nasty. He wanted to hurl right there and then, but he couldn't! He must keep it in!

...Except he couldn't. Dropping to his knees, he clapped his hands over his mouth, trying so hard not to vomit on the floor.

((I actually flipped a coin to see if he would succeed or not LMAO - and it landed on FAIL so here we go))

[Sayuri]

The upperclassmen scowled as the boy smiled at them, going so far as to glare at the last bottle they had handed the other girl. There was absolutely no way the guy would be able to handle two bottles of the same mess. The three of them could barely finish one without gagging over the absolutely putrid liquid. As the guy manned up and took the final vial, they looked away. He was going to end up spewing his guts up if he kept going like this. They would have offered him a third just to finish it off but they didn't bother to carry that many on them. Usually one would do the trick, two was pushing it.

The second the liquid disappeared from the tiny bottle the upperclassman sighed. They dug into their pockets to pull out a few wads of cash, only for the guy to drop to the floor. This was definitely not a reaction they were expecting, but hey, at least this meant they won. Ignoring the protests of the other girl, they shoved their way over to him and stared him down.

"Looks like our win, kid," they said, laughing to each other before turning and leaving. The moment they were gone, Sayuri dropped to her knees and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Are you okay?!" She asked quietly, shrugging off her cardigan quickly and spreading it out onto the floor. There was no way the teachers were going to appreciate yet another hallway to clean but she had nothing else to catch his oncoming sickness with. "I honestly didn't think you'd be able to handle both. It's okay if you need to throw up, don't worry about it. Actually, it might be a bit better for your stomach if you get rid of it all. I don't think it'll digest very easily."

The boy in front of her seemed to be suffering so she reached out lightly, touching his shoulder with the tips of her fingers to try and see if he was alright. She didn't want to upset his stomach anymore than the toxic liquid already had but she did want to offer him some comfort. "Breath deeply through your nose, that's it. Oh gosh, I wonder if I should call the nurse...."

[Mitsuo Takahashi]

Mitsuo was barely registering what the upperclassmen were doing; in fact, if he could, he would probably try to give him a wide grin to show that they had nothing on him because he was a-okay! ...Except he was clearly not, and he was doing his absolute best not to regurgitate both his last meal and the contents of the disgusting concoction. Instead, even as they sneered at him and walked away, all he was doing was press his hands to his mouth as hard as possible, as if by doing so it would prevent him from vomiting all over the floor. He was hardly listening to the girl next to him, not wanting to cause a scene out on the hallways.

But he could feel his stomach churning, and his body was absolutely rejecting the revolting liquid.

In the end he couldn't hold it in.

Quickly, as he felt it rising up his throat, he lowered his head to the floor - and vomited everything right out. The contents of his stomach hit the floor, a mess of grey, green and yellow and a horrible stench permeated the air. His body shook from retching, his nose burned from the vomit and he felt a little light-headed. But at least he wasn't feeling that nauseous anymore. Even if he could taste the repugnant vomit in his mouth.

As he began to gather his bearings, it was only then did he realise he had just vomited right onto the poor girl's cardigan. "Oh god, I'm so sorry...!" he said, but it was a rather weak response, his hand flying to his mouth to try and wipe off the leftover vomit stuck to his chin. God it stank. He did his best to listen to the girl's advice, but all he could think about was the acidic sting inside his nose. He turned his head a little, to face the girl next to him, trying to give her a smile; he shouldn't get so easily down by something like this, after all he was the one who had decided to search for the upperclassmen to begin wi--

Oh man.

He clapped his hands to his mouth once more, the ever familiar feeling of nausea washing over him again. "I think I'm going to be sick again-" he suddenly said, his face going pale. God he really needed the nurse - he wanted to tell her, but he was fighting so hard against the rising bile in his throat.

[Sayuri]

The second the boy's head lowered, Sayuri brought her hands up to his hair. She'd had her fair share of sticky bangs and she knew the other wouldn't like the feeling of vomit running down the side of his face and crusting on his scalp. As his stomach heaved and bile hit the ground, she turned away to give him some privacy. Of course the sounds didn't help much with how violently he was expelling his guts onto the floor, but perhaps she could give him some peace of mind that he wouldn't have to face this alone. Once the sounds had ceased and the shaking had died down, she moved her hands from his hair to his back, rubbing light circles as he came down from the sickness.

"See, all better," She said, smiling at him kindly as he started to gather his thoughts. She took the short moment to grab her bag from the other side of the room, bringing it back over to hold out her water bottle. He could use a bit to wash the taste from his mouth and wipe off his face.

"Here, you can use this to clean up. Don't worry about giving it to me after, I can always clean it up..." The state of her cardigan was a different story. The poor cloth was absolutely ruined from the poor boy's vomit. Pieces of the witch's brew were still floating around in the thick mess and she did her best not to cover her nose. It would be rude to the other, especially with it being her fault they were both in this mess.

Sayuri brought her arms up to her sides, hugging herself closely as she tried to think of the best way to dispose of the cloth. She could carry it out of here and pray it didn't drip on the floor while bringing the other to the nurse's room, or she could leave it here and call a teacher. She had a feeling the teacher would only bring more problems along though.

It was the sound of the other boy's words cutting off that had her returning to his side though, a comforting hand on his back once again as the poor boy went pale. "It's okay, let it all out. I'll help you get to the nurse after this and she'll give you some medicine to calm that stomach of yours. She might even have some crackers to help settle it all."

[Mitsuo Takahashi]

Mitsuo barely registered that the other's hands had pulled his hair back, as he vomited everything out. Even as the other gave gentle comforting rubs to his back, he didn't move for a while, his face grimacing from the acidic taste in his mouth. As he slowly wiped the vomit away from his chin, he only then turned in a rather sluggish manner towards her. Man this was a terrible sight for her to see wasn't it? After all his confidence, now she had to see him both fail and throw up everything onto the floor. He was half-expecting the girl to leave, or to stand somewhere far away - and he honestly wouldn't blame her for doing so.

Oh man, he felt so sick.

Without a moment's hesitation, he ducked back down to the floor, and the rancid smell assaulted his nose once again as he vomited. Thankfully, it wasn't as much as before - for he had probably expelled most, if not all, of his stomach's contents right out on the ground - but it still couldn't take away the disgusting taste in his mouth. With yet another grimace, he brought his hands up to wipe the vomit off of his chin. This time, he did notice the girl's attempt at soothing him, and he smiled back at her once again. Still, it was weak. "Oh thanks," he said, taking the bottle of water gratefully. Taking the top off, he washed his hands first, before taking a great gulp of water; careful though not to let the bottle touch his mouth. He didn't think the other would appreciate having someone else's vomit on her own bottle.

Once the water took away much of the acidic taste in his mouth, he finally refocused back down on the floor, staring at it sadly. "I'm really sorry about your clothes..." he muttered weakly, before looking back at the girl. Honestly if he wasn't so gung-ho about the whole thing, they might not even be in this situation to begin with. At least he was feeling much better now. "I'll help you buy a new one once I uh...explain this to my parents."

[Sayuri]

Sayuri hummed as the other threw up, allowing him a moment to catch his breath as she raised a hand to her nose. With how strong the smell was and how quickly it was spreading, she held no doubts that a teacher would be here shortly to investigate the mess. Of course the two of them wouldn't get in any trouble simply for being sick in the halls, and she had a feeling if she explained the situation, those nasty bullies would get in some sort of trouble. The teachers might even be inclined to stop the whole Witch's Brew fiasco if it caused this sort of mess.

Once the other was back up, Sayuri took a step back to give him some room. The air was getting stale in the stairwell but the other would definitely need some space just to recover. The water was well received and Sayuri was grateful she could offer the other at least that much. Her arms were still wrapped around herself as she added another foot between the two of them.

"O-oh, don't even worry about it!" Sayuri said, glancing at whatever clean parts remained of her sweater before looking at the other, "I have plenty more at home, you don't need to worry yourself over it. If anything, I'm happy it could at least be of some service to you! If you need any help explaining this to your parents I could give them my account. I mean, I get sick all the time so I can understand where you're coming from. I can even reimburse you for your money if you'd like, it's no problem!! I...."

Her words trailed off as she realized she was beginning to talk far too much. The other was struggling and she was just running her mouth. Quickly shutting up, she walked over to where the sweater was and tried her best to pull the sides over. The ground below it was stained with vomit but at least the chunks were fairly contained. "Ah, I suppose we'll have to throw this out somewhere.... My name is Sayuri, by the way. Kagawa Sayuri. Thank you for your help earlier, it was honestly too nice of you."

[Mitsuo Takahashi]

"N-no man," Mitsuo said, though it was a considerably weak response, for someone as energetic as he was. He grimaced again, his tongue clicking against the roof of his palate as he could taste the vomit still on it. He quickly swung the bottle back up, again not letting it touch his lips, as he took another gulp of water to wash away much of the putrid taste in his mouth. He shook his head once again at the other girl, trying his best to be as adamant as he could be in the state he was in. "I'll buy another one for you; it's my fault we're in this mess to begin with. I'm sure my parents will understand." He did his best to give her a reassuring smile, but unfortunately it was a little lopsided.

The second-year watched as she moved towards the sweater - and attempted to pull it over. Oh man, she shouldn't have to do that. It was his vomit after all. "Look no you don't have to do that-" he started, putting down the water bottle off to the side. He shifted his position a little so that he could grab another side, attempting to close it over too. "I can throw it out, you shouldn't have to touch something disgusting like this." He pulled the sweater up carefully, trying not to let the vomit spill all over, and looked expectantly at Sayuri, as if expecting her to give him the other ends of the clothing so that he could wrap it all up.

"Ah, it's nice to meet you Sayuri!" he nodded at her greeting. "I'm Mitsuo. Takahashi Mitsuo." At the other's thanks, he shook his head again, smiling feebly at the other. "No it's fine. I was searching for them because I wanted to try the challenge anyway. I mean, who knows maybe the brew tasted good!" The freckled boy attempted to flash her a grin, though it seemed a little weak. He soon pulled a face, remembering how the upperclassmen treated her. "And besides, they were horrible to you. I couldn't just leave you alone while they were trying to make you drink something you didn't want to."

[Sayuri]

"I... well, alright," Sayuri said, finally conceding to the other as she tried her best to not worry over that lopsided smile. She'd find a way to fix things up in the future if the two of them got to meet again. As grateful as she was for other's generosity, she had more than enough sweaters to burn over something as important as Mitsuo's health. Sacrificing one or two wouldn't make a terrible dent in her closet, "Let's just try to get to the health center first, okay? We can discuss this once you're feeling better!"

As the other bent down to help her with the sweater, she smiled gratefully and closed it up the rest of the way. In one smooth motion she wrapped her two ends around his, tying it into an effective knot that would hold the majority of the gunk from slipping on the floor. There was a bit of rancid liquid seeping through and dripping on the floor, a stain still forming where the sweater once was. No doubt it would be there for the teachers to find later on when they reported the incident. Holding up one hand to her nose, she tried her best to keep the stench from overwhelming her as she held the sweater up to the other. She couldn't carry him and the leftover brew all the way to the nurses.

"Here, why don't you grab that. I think there's a trashcan at the bottom of the steps. We can throw this away down there and I can help you the rest of the way..." Handing off the rest to him, she skipped around him and went to gather her things. Her water bottle and wallet were still out from before and she made sure to pack them up tight before slinging her back over her shoulder. With that all cleaned up, she slid next to Mitsuo and grabbed his arm. "It's nice to meet you, Mitsuo. I'm really grateful for what you've done, I don't think I would have lasted half as long as you with that brew. Now, do you think you can make it to the nurse's office with my help?"

[Mitsuo Takahashi]

Mitsuo flashed her a grin, a knowing grin for having 'won' the battle, but it admittedly a little weaker than he had wanted it to look. But at her words, he immediately nodded vigorously - he needed to cover up for his odd smile from earlier after all! - but he instantly regretted it as nausea crept up again, brought up by the sudden dizzying movement. He quickly looked back down, trying to will the feelings away. Gosh, he needed to be careful about what he did next.

He smiled at her the best he could when the other quickly pulled the other two ends towards him and typing it off. It didn't help the smell much, but at least the vomit was now all gathered up in the clothing. As the other held towards him, he immediately stood up - and wobbled slightly from the quick movement, jeez didn't he just chide himself just now for doing that earlier? - before raising a hand to rest onto the wall so as to steady himself. He hadn't realised how the whole act had made him a little weak in the legs. The other must have noticed right? He gave her yet another smile, hoping to reassure her that he was alright.

"Yeah-" was his response, taking the tied up sweater. He watched as the other quickly went around to gather her things - but he startled slightly when she suddenly slid her arm into his. Whoa whoa whoa, he was okay! He didn't need help! "Yeah - I'll be fine, honest," he immediately said, trying to discreetly pull his arm out of hers as he slowly walked. He could do this by himself no problem! "The trashcan at the end of the stairs, right?" he said, trying to send her his usual beaming smile as he held up the sweater in his hand. The acrid smell pricked at his nose, but he wasn't going to show it...! Okay maybe he would, if the slight wrinkling of his nose was any indication. "I can do it!"

[Sayuri]

The moment she felt the tug of his arm she let go, allowing for the other to stand by himself. She hadn't expected him to be so adamant about walking on his own, but not everyone was like her. She was more than willing to take the help of others. They barely knew each other though, and even if she needed people when she was sick didn't mean he felt the same. Trying her best to give him some space, she let go of his arm and grabbed the railing of the stairs. There were only a handful of steps to reach the bottom. If they were on one of the actual floors she could have used the elevator, but the middle of the stairwell was an awkward place to travel. They'd have to make the most of it if they wanted to get anywhere at all.

"Yup, end of the stairs," she confirmed, taking her time descending to keep an eye on the other. She had nothing else to catch puke in but he seemed to be handling it well enough. His stomach was definitely stronger than hers ever was. "I'm sure the nurse will have something to help you. She always has some sort of medicine to help with fevers and stomach aches." They were already reaching the bottom of the stairs, the cardigan in Mitzi's possession as Sayuri stopped at the bottom. The boy's face was scrunched up with the smell but at least it seemed somewhat contained. The farther they walked away from the accident the cleaner the air became. Light streamed through the windows, filtering past them to the hallway.

"I can let your teacher's know you'll be absent, if you'd like. I'll probably end up passing your classroom anyway on the way to mine," If he managed to stay in school he'd get his assignments later, and even if he wasn't her notes were of a far lower caliber. There was no way a 2-D class would be anywhere close to the other second year classes. Not to mention her notes were an absolute mess.