Monad Application
Nov. 23rd, 2014 12:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aiaicaptainOOC Information
IC Information
Name: Jas
Timezone: -5 GMT – Eastern Standard Time (United States)
Journal:regdichab
Player Contact:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
regdichab
Timezone: -5 GMT – Eastern Standard Time (United States)
Journal:
regdichabPlayer Contact:
IC Information
Name: Aiichirou Nitori
Canon: Free!
Gender: Male
Age: 26 years old at his time of post-canon death.
History: LINK
[This headcanon is specific for Monad – following the events of Free!]
After graduating from Samezuka Academy, Aiichirou Nitori took to studying at the local university. His curiosity for science, personal interest in sports, and natural inclination to nurture set him on the path to become an occupational therapist. He wanted to continue to make meaningful connections with other swimmers despite his own inability to compete on the professional circuit.
Nitori’s first year went by quickly, and he fell into the swing of university life with relative ease. His life maintained the aura of pleasant normalcy, and he was content. He maintained his friendships with his former teammates by several means; such as sending emails and letters, making phone calls, and writing text messages whenever he was reminded of them. He pushed himself to stay involved with his friends, no matter how busy his own personal life was.
Unfortunately, during his second year of college Nitori experienced a heavy loss when Rin Matsuoka died unexpectedly just before the holidays. The loss hit Nitori hard, as Rin had been an idol of his for years, and life slowed to a crawl for the months that followed. Aiichirou attempted to support his Samezuka classmates – especially the underclassmen who had both Rin and then Aiichirou as their captains – following the tragedy, which helped him sideline his own personal feelings.
Ai quickly found solace in his involvement with others, despite how it caused him to overextend himself. It not only solidified his resolve to become a therapist and help those around him, but it also allowed for him to become immersed in a new “normal.” His studies excelled, and his free-time was spent continuing to reach out to his friends during his years at school. This trend of filling his schedule to tend to others continued well after his own graduation – as he sought to keep himself as occupied with others so that he could help make a difference wherever he was needed.
Personality: During high school, Aiichirou had fit the bill as the typical, unassuming student. He was not particularly gifted in any one thing, and his short stature ensured that he blended with the crowd. Despite his average qualities, it was Ai’s personality that captured the hearts of his friends and teammates.
Aiichirou was an optimistic young man. He often wanted to expose the silver-lining of a situation so that he could improve the mood for those around him. From displaying optimism in a bad situation to going out of his way to support his friends, Ai never hesitated when it came to pleasing people. Nitori wished to be a positive force within his friends’ lives, because it was what he felt they deserved. Ai was quick to pour his faith in another person, because he felt he could easily see the limitless potential each person around him possessed.
His drive to nurture others brought him genuine joy. He took in a great sense of accomplishment when he was able to successfully assist those around him. Ai even wrote in his diary on several occasions that by witnessing other people’s happiness, he felt his own spirit lift. Nitori’s dedication to making others happy often led to his own personal negligence. There were several instances during Rin’s more volatile emotional episodes that Nitori stood his ground and attempted to soothe his friend instead of worrying about his own wellbeing. Aiichirou had a tendency to become so focused on others that he often neglected his own personal well-being.
Beyond his personal negligence, Ai also had a difficult time in recognizing his own strengths. Since he tended to put his superiors on a pedestal, he assumed that he could not measure up to the standards they had set. Because of this, he was quick to become disheartened in his own abilities when he compared himself to others. It wasn’t until Rin pointed out Aiichirou’s strength in stamina-related events that Ai began to see his own positive qualities.
Nitori’s dedication to his friends allowed him to become quite perceptive. From someone’s likes and dislikes to someone’s typical daily routine, Ai had a knack for picking up on facts that surrounded his friends. He would jot down his findings in his diary so that he could store information away for later use. Ai had a sharp-memory and could easily recall details such as the names of rival swimmers from past competitions.
Aiichirou naturally picked up on information regarding those around him due in part to his own tendency to chat. He showed little hesitation in asking questions or starting a conversation if there was an issue he wanted addressed. Though he enjoyed talking, Ai oftentimes found himself annoying the person by giving out too much information or getting hooked on a particular curiosity.
The annoyance of others did not manage to bother Ai. He was able to separate himself from a situation if another party got irritable, so that he would not take an outburst personally. This ability to pull back from a situation ultimately assisted in his friendship with Rin during their first year at Samezuka Academy because he could still take a positive approach to each interaction despite Rin’s own emotional instability.
Despite being a rather forward young man when it came to his friends, Ai scaled back and would become rather timid in situations that revolved around himself. Lacking the confidence in himself that he has for his friends, Nitori would become jumpy and stutter while trying to explain himself or try to sink back to avoid bringing more attention to himself. Unable to properly assert himself, Nitori instead focused on asserting for his friends so that they could avoid feeling the same uncertainty of self.
Powers/Abilities: n/a
Keepsakes/Mementos: His diary, his observational journal of Daphnia, small collection of porn magazines, his swimsuit from his Samezuka Academy days, Samezuka gym bag.
Sample: Aiichirou held his phone steady in one hand as his other scratched behind the ears of a large Akita. He was a sucker for dogs, and this particular fellow had just looked so serious! In fact, he had almost been too afraid to approach and ask if he could pet it. The dog was hardly impressed with Ai’s gentle touches, but that didn’t face the young man in the slightest. No, he could appreciate just how dedicated this dog was to watching over his owner, and the dog had looked up at its human companion with such love and affection that Aiichirou had to stop for a photo. It had reminded him for too much of an old friend for him to pass up. So after a few murmured encouragements, he snapped a photo of the dog before thanking its owner and continuing on his way.
The young Japanese man buried his face in the screen of his phone not long after parting ways with the stranger and his dog. A smile crept over his features as he admired the picture. The resemblance was uncanny! He’d done an excellent one in picking this one out, if he could say so himself. His fingers glided over the screen so that he could properly send this image to its intended.
It had been a few days since he’d managed to text Sousuke, and he only hoped this would be a proper apology for dropping off like he had. Ai found himself more scattered these days, and he was well aware that he would have to be the one to reach out to his old friend for communication purposes nowadays. The fact didn’t bother him in the slightest – it was just the way things had been since Rin’s death.
Sousuke was just an Akita without a companion, and Akitas were always a withdrawn breed. Thus, his reclusive actions were easily explained. Ai just needed to continually reach out to his dear friend until Sousuke realized that this was safe.
He flipped his phones keyboard and began to type:
“Yamazaki-senpai! I found a dark, brooding guy like you. He’s very handsome and serious, what a good dog. Sorry for being so negligent with my messages lately. We should go out to eat next week. I will clear my schedule if you oblige! (゜▽゜;) “
He pressed send, drifting his hand that his phone rested in upward as the animated mail icon played. Since he had received his first cellphone, Aiichirou had been determined that this helped send his text messages faster - it was far too ingrained of a superstition for him to stop.
After his message sent, Ai slipped his phone back into his pocket and turned his attention back towards the sidewalk that spanned before him. The setting sun had begun to paint the familiar cityscape a hue that brought him great comfort nowadays. It was probably considered “waxing poetic” to admit to such things, but regardless the colors of the sun-dyed sky were reminiscent of individuals that he dearly missed. The reds and oranges were such bright, confident hues that his thoughts couldn’t help but briefly wander to Rin and Momo whenever he actually had the chance to stop and take it all in.
He didn’t even have a substantial idea of why sunsets caused him such nostalgia. Perhaps in his grief, he had grasped at straws to assign something infinite to the dearly departed, something that he could look at every day to substitute the fact that they were no longer around. Maybe his mind had just taken to color-coding his friends so that he could easily equate them to other irrelevant things in his life. Aiichirou didn’t have an answer, and really he didn’t care to delve deeply for one.
He was content to merely accept that he never felt alone when he noticed a sunset, and that was enough to keep him happy.
The buzz of his phone against his thigh brought him out of his thoughts. He pulled the device back out, his face still glowing with contentment as he read over the new message.
“The door’s unlocked. Please come on in when you arrive.”
Aiichirou responded to the text with a simple affirmation before he scrolled back up into the conversation to double-check the room number. While he’d been to this apartment building before on a separate occasion, it was not to see this particular client. Mr. Watanabe Tadasu had been an up-and-coming triathlete before suffering from a career-ending knee injury. He had been recently reassigned to Aiichirou for therapy due to Ai’s natural gift in soothing particularly volatile patients. Truthfully, Ai had expected a much harder case when he first glanced over Tadasu’s files that listed his penchant for impulsive outbursts – but had been pleasantly surprised with how receptive this person had been upon the first meeting.
In fact, he seemed to hang on to every word Ai said! How this man had been considered a troubled case was beyond him. Tadasu clamped his hand to Aiichirou’s shoulder often and stood close as if they were old friends. It was a little strange at first, but Ai had convinced himself that this was just how his patient chose to show his gratitude – and who was he to police how someone expressed themselves?
So their first few meetings had been met with startling success. They had both gotten to know each other, and Ai felt he had a good grasp of his patient’s headspace when it came to how the injury had affected him. They had even agreed on a rough model for a rehabilitation schedule. Originally, Aiichirou had hoped it would be a finalized draft, but Tadasu had begun to drag his feet when he realized their meetings at a local café would stop once their training regimen had begun.
So, Ai agreed to one more meeting where they could finalize their schedule for the coming weeks. Yet the day before the meeting was supposed to take place, Tadasu cancelled on him – citing that his knee had begun to act up and left him unable to walk the distance to café. He then asked if Aiichirou could drop by his apartment so that they could hold their final meeting and get his therapy underway.
Aiichirou wouldn’t have dreamed of saying no. They needed to work fast, so that they could restore strength to the affected knee. It wouldn’t do anyone good to delay the therapy much longer.
The young Japanese man slipped into the familiar building and began to round the stairs. His hand trailed the black railings as he made his ascent up to the fourth floor. It was always an oddity to find a building that had dared to have a fourth floor, and even stranger to find people who dared to live on it! He certainly wouldn’t have wanted to live on a “death” floor, but he was also well aware of his own superstitious nature. He probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep well at night for fear of ghosts peeking out of his closet – or something strange like that.
He arrived at room 404 and checked his phone one last time just to make sure he had it right before he grabbed the knob and turned it.
It was unlocked, just as Tadasu had mentioned! He stepped into the apartment and gently closed the door behind him. He slipped off his shoes before turning back around. It was dim. He could hear the gentle murmur of the evening news in the background.
“Watanabe-san?” he called into the silence, “I’m here!”
Aiichirou began his approach to the living room, hands gently beginning to wrap around the shoulder strap of his bag. Why did it have to be so creepy when he’d just been thinking about superstitions!? He’d have to scold Tadasu before the meeting. He didn’t have the nerves for this sort of thing!
He turned towards the living room, fully expecting to find the other man there. He was greeted with nothing but minimalistic furniture and a burning white candle on a glass coffee table. The news played to a seemingly empty room.
His knuckles turned white as he began to clutch his bag. He heard shuffling behind him and whipped around. Ai prayed that it was a prank. An ill-timed prank by someone who assumed they knew each other a little too well, sure – but he’d forgive it in his relief of realizing he wasn’t stuck in some freaky ghost apartment.
In an instant, Tadasu’s hands were grasping at Ai’s shirt and pulling upwards. The young Japanese man cried out in surprise before he tried to wrench his assailant off of him. When using his arms didn’t work, he went with a much dirtier tactic: he struck his attacker’s injured knee with his own.
What happened next, Aiichirou could barely comprehend. He heard the noise his patient made, but didn’t register it nearly as well the sound of his own skull hitting the glass table. Ai’s bag fell from his shoulder with a clatter. He was too disoriented to even shove the other man off of him when he felt his weight on top of him.
The entire world had slowed. A dull ache grew in the side of his head just as hands clamped around his throat. His teeth gnashed together as his own hands shot upwards and wrapped around the other’s wrists He opened his mouth, trying to force a plea out of his throat but nothing came. He couldn’t summon the air to speak.
Why?
Why was this happening!? His eyes attempted to focus on his assailant’s face – as if maybe making eye contact could sway them from this current predicament.
Ai was fairly certain that had only made the situation worse because he swore the person above him was smiling. It was a wide, clenched smile paired with sharp eyes that bore themselves into Aiichirou’s memory.
Terror swelled in the smaller man’s chest. The pressure around his windpipe continued to increase, a seering pain now accompanying it. His head swam. He could feel the blood vessels in his head rushing to the surface of his skin. His temples pounded.
Ai tore at the person who sat on his pelvic region. He flailed his legs and squirmed in hopes of doing something to knock off the other’s center of balance. He would take anything as long as it would save him.
But it didn’t deter the man above him. In fact, his attacker retaliated only by beginning to grind his hips downward. Ai took no pleasure in the movements, as his lungs began to burn with a lack of oxygen. His head began to tremble on his neck, as if it were straining to stay attached.
No.
Ai didn’t register that his grip had begun to slip, or that his struggling had begun to slow. He could no longer register any sensation besides the burning pain in his lungs and the crushing pressure in his throat.
No, not like this.
Ai never registered the drool that dribbled from his mouth as his tongue and throat desperately worked to force a scream through, nor did he register the pooled tears that began to stream down his face and soak into his hair.
The only thing that existed was the vacuum in his chest that begged for life and his rapidly deteriorating consciousness—both were woefully short-lived.
His eyes rolled back into his head as his body unraveled under the pressured.
Mindset: Despite the tragic circumstances of his death, Ai is very eager to make the most of this newfound afterlife. He is still social and talkative toward those he knew, though he is warier of approaching strangers than he was in life. He makes a solid attempt to block out what happened to him and tries to not spill the beans on how exactly he died.
G̶̶l̨͡i̵͢t̷c͝͠h̕é͠s̷̷͡: As Ai met his end unexpectedly at the hands of another, any sudden movements from other players or NPCs will cause him to go into alert. In fact, the idea of being in close quarters with anyone is enough to make Nitori uneasy at this moment in time. Anything with oddly sexual themes will also cause Aiichirou a great deal of discomfort given the circumstances surrounding his death.
Horror tropes are something that Nitori also easily falls prey to. He is a jumpy young man and possesses a weak constitution for anything that could be considered depraved or disgusting. Aiichirou is especially freaked out by vermin or critters that would be considered “slimy.”
Ai also fears lacking a connection with people. Being unable to communicate or form bonds with other people would leave him feeling empty.
Canon: Free!
Gender: Male
Age: 26 years old at his time of post-canon death.
History: LINK
[This headcanon is specific for Monad – following the events of Free!]
After graduating from Samezuka Academy, Aiichirou Nitori took to studying at the local university. His curiosity for science, personal interest in sports, and natural inclination to nurture set him on the path to become an occupational therapist. He wanted to continue to make meaningful connections with other swimmers despite his own inability to compete on the professional circuit.
Nitori’s first year went by quickly, and he fell into the swing of university life with relative ease. His life maintained the aura of pleasant normalcy, and he was content. He maintained his friendships with his former teammates by several means; such as sending emails and letters, making phone calls, and writing text messages whenever he was reminded of them. He pushed himself to stay involved with his friends, no matter how busy his own personal life was.
Unfortunately, during his second year of college Nitori experienced a heavy loss when Rin Matsuoka died unexpectedly just before the holidays. The loss hit Nitori hard, as Rin had been an idol of his for years, and life slowed to a crawl for the months that followed. Aiichirou attempted to support his Samezuka classmates – especially the underclassmen who had both Rin and then Aiichirou as their captains – following the tragedy, which helped him sideline his own personal feelings.
Ai quickly found solace in his involvement with others, despite how it caused him to overextend himself. It not only solidified his resolve to become a therapist and help those around him, but it also allowed for him to become immersed in a new “normal.” His studies excelled, and his free-time was spent continuing to reach out to his friends during his years at school. This trend of filling his schedule to tend to others continued well after his own graduation – as he sought to keep himself as occupied with others so that he could help make a difference wherever he was needed.
Personality: During high school, Aiichirou had fit the bill as the typical, unassuming student. He was not particularly gifted in any one thing, and his short stature ensured that he blended with the crowd. Despite his average qualities, it was Ai’s personality that captured the hearts of his friends and teammates.
Aiichirou was an optimistic young man. He often wanted to expose the silver-lining of a situation so that he could improve the mood for those around him. From displaying optimism in a bad situation to going out of his way to support his friends, Ai never hesitated when it came to pleasing people. Nitori wished to be a positive force within his friends’ lives, because it was what he felt they deserved. Ai was quick to pour his faith in another person, because he felt he could easily see the limitless potential each person around him possessed.
His drive to nurture others brought him genuine joy. He took in a great sense of accomplishment when he was able to successfully assist those around him. Ai even wrote in his diary on several occasions that by witnessing other people’s happiness, he felt his own spirit lift. Nitori’s dedication to making others happy often led to his own personal negligence. There were several instances during Rin’s more volatile emotional episodes that Nitori stood his ground and attempted to soothe his friend instead of worrying about his own wellbeing. Aiichirou had a tendency to become so focused on others that he often neglected his own personal well-being.
Beyond his personal negligence, Ai also had a difficult time in recognizing his own strengths. Since he tended to put his superiors on a pedestal, he assumed that he could not measure up to the standards they had set. Because of this, he was quick to become disheartened in his own abilities when he compared himself to others. It wasn’t until Rin pointed out Aiichirou’s strength in stamina-related events that Ai began to see his own positive qualities.
Nitori’s dedication to his friends allowed him to become quite perceptive. From someone’s likes and dislikes to someone’s typical daily routine, Ai had a knack for picking up on facts that surrounded his friends. He would jot down his findings in his diary so that he could store information away for later use. Ai had a sharp-memory and could easily recall details such as the names of rival swimmers from past competitions.
Aiichirou naturally picked up on information regarding those around him due in part to his own tendency to chat. He showed little hesitation in asking questions or starting a conversation if there was an issue he wanted addressed. Though he enjoyed talking, Ai oftentimes found himself annoying the person by giving out too much information or getting hooked on a particular curiosity.
The annoyance of others did not manage to bother Ai. He was able to separate himself from a situation if another party got irritable, so that he would not take an outburst personally. This ability to pull back from a situation ultimately assisted in his friendship with Rin during their first year at Samezuka Academy because he could still take a positive approach to each interaction despite Rin’s own emotional instability.
Despite being a rather forward young man when it came to his friends, Ai scaled back and would become rather timid in situations that revolved around himself. Lacking the confidence in himself that he has for his friends, Nitori would become jumpy and stutter while trying to explain himself or try to sink back to avoid bringing more attention to himself. Unable to properly assert himself, Nitori instead focused on asserting for his friends so that they could avoid feeling the same uncertainty of self.
Powers/Abilities: n/a
Keepsakes/Mementos: His diary, his observational journal of Daphnia, small collection of porn magazines, his swimsuit from his Samezuka Academy days, Samezuka gym bag.
Sample: Aiichirou held his phone steady in one hand as his other scratched behind the ears of a large Akita. He was a sucker for dogs, and this particular fellow had just looked so serious! In fact, he had almost been too afraid to approach and ask if he could pet it. The dog was hardly impressed with Ai’s gentle touches, but that didn’t face the young man in the slightest. No, he could appreciate just how dedicated this dog was to watching over his owner, and the dog had looked up at its human companion with such love and affection that Aiichirou had to stop for a photo. It had reminded him for too much of an old friend for him to pass up. So after a few murmured encouragements, he snapped a photo of the dog before thanking its owner and continuing on his way.
The young Japanese man buried his face in the screen of his phone not long after parting ways with the stranger and his dog. A smile crept over his features as he admired the picture. The resemblance was uncanny! He’d done an excellent one in picking this one out, if he could say so himself. His fingers glided over the screen so that he could properly send this image to its intended.
It had been a few days since he’d managed to text Sousuke, and he only hoped this would be a proper apology for dropping off like he had. Ai found himself more scattered these days, and he was well aware that he would have to be the one to reach out to his old friend for communication purposes nowadays. The fact didn’t bother him in the slightest – it was just the way things had been since Rin’s death.
Sousuke was just an Akita without a companion, and Akitas were always a withdrawn breed. Thus, his reclusive actions were easily explained. Ai just needed to continually reach out to his dear friend until Sousuke realized that this was safe.
He flipped his phones keyboard and began to type:
“Yamazaki-senpai! I found a dark, brooding guy like you. He’s very handsome and serious, what a good dog. Sorry for being so negligent with my messages lately. We should go out to eat next week. I will clear my schedule if you oblige! (゜▽゜;) “
He pressed send, drifting his hand that his phone rested in upward as the animated mail icon played. Since he had received his first cellphone, Aiichirou had been determined that this helped send his text messages faster - it was far too ingrained of a superstition for him to stop.
After his message sent, Ai slipped his phone back into his pocket and turned his attention back towards the sidewalk that spanned before him. The setting sun had begun to paint the familiar cityscape a hue that brought him great comfort nowadays. It was probably considered “waxing poetic” to admit to such things, but regardless the colors of the sun-dyed sky were reminiscent of individuals that he dearly missed. The reds and oranges were such bright, confident hues that his thoughts couldn’t help but briefly wander to Rin and Momo whenever he actually had the chance to stop and take it all in.
He didn’t even have a substantial idea of why sunsets caused him such nostalgia. Perhaps in his grief, he had grasped at straws to assign something infinite to the dearly departed, something that he could look at every day to substitute the fact that they were no longer around. Maybe his mind had just taken to color-coding his friends so that he could easily equate them to other irrelevant things in his life. Aiichirou didn’t have an answer, and really he didn’t care to delve deeply for one.
He was content to merely accept that he never felt alone when he noticed a sunset, and that was enough to keep him happy.
The buzz of his phone against his thigh brought him out of his thoughts. He pulled the device back out, his face still glowing with contentment as he read over the new message.
“The door’s unlocked. Please come on in when you arrive.”
Aiichirou responded to the text with a simple affirmation before he scrolled back up into the conversation to double-check the room number. While he’d been to this apartment building before on a separate occasion, it was not to see this particular client. Mr. Watanabe Tadasu had been an up-and-coming triathlete before suffering from a career-ending knee injury. He had been recently reassigned to Aiichirou for therapy due to Ai’s natural gift in soothing particularly volatile patients. Truthfully, Ai had expected a much harder case when he first glanced over Tadasu’s files that listed his penchant for impulsive outbursts – but had been pleasantly surprised with how receptive this person had been upon the first meeting.
In fact, he seemed to hang on to every word Ai said! How this man had been considered a troubled case was beyond him. Tadasu clamped his hand to Aiichirou’s shoulder often and stood close as if they were old friends. It was a little strange at first, but Ai had convinced himself that this was just how his patient chose to show his gratitude – and who was he to police how someone expressed themselves?
So their first few meetings had been met with startling success. They had both gotten to know each other, and Ai felt he had a good grasp of his patient’s headspace when it came to how the injury had affected him. They had even agreed on a rough model for a rehabilitation schedule. Originally, Aiichirou had hoped it would be a finalized draft, but Tadasu had begun to drag his feet when he realized their meetings at a local café would stop once their training regimen had begun.
So, Ai agreed to one more meeting where they could finalize their schedule for the coming weeks. Yet the day before the meeting was supposed to take place, Tadasu cancelled on him – citing that his knee had begun to act up and left him unable to walk the distance to café. He then asked if Aiichirou could drop by his apartment so that they could hold their final meeting and get his therapy underway.
Aiichirou wouldn’t have dreamed of saying no. They needed to work fast, so that they could restore strength to the affected knee. It wouldn’t do anyone good to delay the therapy much longer.
The young Japanese man slipped into the familiar building and began to round the stairs. His hand trailed the black railings as he made his ascent up to the fourth floor. It was always an oddity to find a building that had dared to have a fourth floor, and even stranger to find people who dared to live on it! He certainly wouldn’t have wanted to live on a “death” floor, but he was also well aware of his own superstitious nature. He probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep well at night for fear of ghosts peeking out of his closet – or something strange like that.
He arrived at room 404 and checked his phone one last time just to make sure he had it right before he grabbed the knob and turned it.
It was unlocked, just as Tadasu had mentioned! He stepped into the apartment and gently closed the door behind him. He slipped off his shoes before turning back around. It was dim. He could hear the gentle murmur of the evening news in the background.
“Watanabe-san?” he called into the silence, “I’m here!”
Aiichirou began his approach to the living room, hands gently beginning to wrap around the shoulder strap of his bag. Why did it have to be so creepy when he’d just been thinking about superstitions!? He’d have to scold Tadasu before the meeting. He didn’t have the nerves for this sort of thing!
He turned towards the living room, fully expecting to find the other man there. He was greeted with nothing but minimalistic furniture and a burning white candle on a glass coffee table. The news played to a seemingly empty room.
His knuckles turned white as he began to clutch his bag. He heard shuffling behind him and whipped around. Ai prayed that it was a prank. An ill-timed prank by someone who assumed they knew each other a little too well, sure – but he’d forgive it in his relief of realizing he wasn’t stuck in some freaky ghost apartment.
In an instant, Tadasu’s hands were grasping at Ai’s shirt and pulling upwards. The young Japanese man cried out in surprise before he tried to wrench his assailant off of him. When using his arms didn’t work, he went with a much dirtier tactic: he struck his attacker’s injured knee with his own.
What happened next, Aiichirou could barely comprehend. He heard the noise his patient made, but didn’t register it nearly as well the sound of his own skull hitting the glass table. Ai’s bag fell from his shoulder with a clatter. He was too disoriented to even shove the other man off of him when he felt his weight on top of him.
The entire world had slowed. A dull ache grew in the side of his head just as hands clamped around his throat. His teeth gnashed together as his own hands shot upwards and wrapped around the other’s wrists He opened his mouth, trying to force a plea out of his throat but nothing came. He couldn’t summon the air to speak.
Why?
Why was this happening!? His eyes attempted to focus on his assailant’s face – as if maybe making eye contact could sway them from this current predicament.
Ai was fairly certain that had only made the situation worse because he swore the person above him was smiling. It was a wide, clenched smile paired with sharp eyes that bore themselves into Aiichirou’s memory.
Terror swelled in the smaller man’s chest. The pressure around his windpipe continued to increase, a seering pain now accompanying it. His head swam. He could feel the blood vessels in his head rushing to the surface of his skin. His temples pounded.
Ai tore at the person who sat on his pelvic region. He flailed his legs and squirmed in hopes of doing something to knock off the other’s center of balance. He would take anything as long as it would save him.
But it didn’t deter the man above him. In fact, his attacker retaliated only by beginning to grind his hips downward. Ai took no pleasure in the movements, as his lungs began to burn with a lack of oxygen. His head began to tremble on his neck, as if it were straining to stay attached.
No.
Ai didn’t register that his grip had begun to slip, or that his struggling had begun to slow. He could no longer register any sensation besides the burning pain in his lungs and the crushing pressure in his throat.
No, not like this.
Ai never registered the drool that dribbled from his mouth as his tongue and throat desperately worked to force a scream through, nor did he register the pooled tears that began to stream down his face and soak into his hair.
The only thing that existed was the vacuum in his chest that begged for life and his rapidly deteriorating consciousness—both were woefully short-lived.
His eyes rolled back into his head as his body unraveled under the pressured.
Mindset: Despite the tragic circumstances of his death, Ai is very eager to make the most of this newfound afterlife. He is still social and talkative toward those he knew, though he is warier of approaching strangers than he was in life. He makes a solid attempt to block out what happened to him and tries to not spill the beans on how exactly he died.
G̶̶l̨͡i̵͢t̷c͝͠h̕é͠s̷̷͡: As Ai met his end unexpectedly at the hands of another, any sudden movements from other players or NPCs will cause him to go into alert. In fact, the idea of being in close quarters with anyone is enough to make Nitori uneasy at this moment in time. Anything with oddly sexual themes will also cause Aiichirou a great deal of discomfort given the circumstances surrounding his death.
Horror tropes are something that Nitori also easily falls prey to. He is a jumpy young man and possesses a weak constitution for anything that could be considered depraved or disgusting. Aiichirou is especially freaked out by vermin or critters that would be considered “slimy.”
Ai also fears lacking a connection with people. Being unable to communicate or form bonds with other people would leave him feeling empty.
