Wire-framed and bugged, yet sharp and intent, narrowed down and scrutinizing: it's the shade of pale Easter egg shells, the dusted, pale morning sky a quarter after sunrise—

A pair of eyes gaze down and upon my own. They blink once, twice.

Hands come up to adjust the frames— holy shit, they're friggin' big— and a thin line forms between her lips as her eyebrows crease, and a shadow forms over my face as she leans in, dusting her chin with an index finger.

"...you're awake."

Her voice, obviously. She blinks— once, twice, thrice— then she retreats with a sigh, a puff wheezing from her nostrils, eyes focused elsewhere as they flicker, restlessly, to the room we're currently in.

Gray, is what I can say. Large florescent lights hang high from the ceiling, and light tumbles and pools 'round the room, stacking long, dark shadows behind stacked skyscrapers of cardboard boxes strewn around at random. Something crinkles against my back where I lie: plastic sheets, I deduct, confirmed by the blue that flickers at the edge of my vision.

Before me is the girl who'd waken me up: she's relatively short, with large, round, wire-rimmed glasses framing her (currently narrowed) blue eyes. She's awfully plain, in her dusty-blue sweater tucked over a white dress shirt and dark-gray tie, but her face seems to hold an array of expressions, of features, and she's currently glancing at me with an unsure mix of irritation and mild bewilderment, wary eyes darting just past my gaze.

"Aaahhh…" her voice is uncertain, and she adjusts her glasses again. "Well. Uh, hey. Do you, by any chance… recognize me?"

I don't, in fact. The answer seems wrong, however— my mind is clouded, heavy, and a dark cloud of disorientation and uncertainty swirls within the depths of my consciousness, and darkness hangs by a thread at the back of my vision. My body is limp, unresponsive, from where I lie, splayed on the floor; I feel sluggish, tired, and all I can muster is a low grunt beneath my voice.

"Eh." She gives me an unamused look. "A case of 'Laser-Guided Amnesia', it seems. Or… maybe just temporary amnesia, probably, since you still seem to be the air-headed Tachibana-kun I've always known." There's a pause, and she's narrowing her eyes at me again. "Wait. Do you even remember your name…?"

Ah. There's the question of the century. I don't actually— though the name surfaces something new in my mind.

Before I can answer, however, she sighs— irritated— and she pulls her glasses off her face and cleans them with her shirt, rolling her eyes at me (though she doesn't seem to know much of my location, as her gaze is unfocused, cloudy, and they're just centimeters off from where I am).

"You don't. 'Course. Not that I should be surprised, really. ...probably. Um, anyway. Your name is Tachibana Nagisa." She quirks an eyebrow at me as she replaces her glasses. "That stirs something in you, yes?"

...eh? Well...

Yes

No

...actually, it does. Oddly enough. The fog thins out a little, and something within me awakes: albeit, only a little. Nonetheless, it's better than nothing at all. "...m— maybe…"

She tilts her head at me, curious, but says no more. "Interesting answer. Guessing that's more of a yes, though." She reaches out a hand to me, peering down at me once again with those narrowed eyes.

"Name's Yukimura Bunko," the girl says, walking forwards and handing out a hand to mine. There's a pause, a scowl, then: "And don't call me Yuki-san or whatever. Bunko's just fine."

First name basis, huh? When I grab her hand and heave myself up— sparing a little huff of a thanks— she catches my incredulous gaze and simply shrugs innocently, shouldering her fluffy peach locks behind her back, a puff of exasperation escaping between puckered lips. "Raised in the West a little. Didn't grow out of it."

"Hey, hey." I hold my hands up innocently. "Was never meant to judge you. Really," I stress, when all she does is raise an eyebrow at me. "Really."

"Really…?" Bunko echoes flatly, but any objections I have is dismissed with a simple wave of her hand as she turns away with another huff. "Tachibana-kun— don't even bother. There's others waiting outside, and we can't keep them waiting…"

"'Them'...?"

"Yes." She nods, once, stiffly. "There's… something important for you to see. We're gathering everyone, as of right now. It's… alarming, for the lack of a better word. Best you see it yourself, though, before you can come to any conclusions."

That doesn't sound good.

"Not at all…" sighs Bunko, catching my expression once again. "You show your feelings really easily, you know."

"Really now?" I quirk my head at her, and she snorts a little in amusement, her chest rising once as a mild smirk plays at the edge of her lips.

"Yes, yes. As always…" her voice trails off, and then her expression hardens into a steel mask. "But that isn't important now. This is vital. No room for any kind of fun and games."

She turns, stalks ahead of me and to the door that's stationed in a far corner: and she pauses, glancing over at me, face ashen for the briefest of moments before she nods once and says:

"Follow me."

Crap beginning but hopefully the later chapters make up for it…

Ah, okay. To those who are following Toward Something of Uncertainty… that's not dropped. I'm still workin' on it. ...somewhat.

But! SYOC time. It's intentionally vague, so careful when submitting your OCs because… this'll be a unique SYOC story. All I can say is that it could be related to TWoU. Maybe. ...maybe.

So, rules!

- All original talents. And no Lucksters, ?, stuff like that.

- They must all be 16-17 years old, more on the 17 side. Oddly specific, but it's important.

- Original OCs! No reuse from other stories.

- No first come, first serve. I'm looking for quality OCs, especially for this story. Take your time!

- All Japanese characters. No foreign names, but they could've been raised in the West, like Bunko. But!— Japanese names.

- Don't ask questions about what's left out on the form: I know what's on it and what's not. All intentional.

- If you do, however, do it over PM! I'll be glad to answer it for you privately and fix any potential mistakes.

- ALL APPS GO THROUGH PMs. Title it "SYOC OC NAME: SHSL SO-AND-SO." So— "Yukimura Bunko: SHSL Storyteller." (And, yes, that's her title.)

- I won't be posting this on my profile. If you want to copy it, then replace the 'www' in the address bar with 'm' to convert it to mobile. You should be able to copy then.

So! Form—

BASICS

Name: (Eastern order, please.)

Gender:

Age:

Super High-School Level:

Appearance: (Be specific! Eye color, hair color, hair style, clothes, height, body build… be as descriptive as possible. An image would be nice, as it's possible they'll be drawn out visual novel style.)

Physical Ability: (Are they physically strong? Can they overcome someone trying to kill them?)

PERSONALITY

Outward Impression: (What kind of vibe do they give off? How do they act around others? Basically what it says on the tin.)

Inner Thoughts: (What are they more like inside? What do they think, feel? What do they think of themselves?)

Goals and Motivations: (What drives them? What keeps them going?)

Strengths: (What are they good at? Strong-willed? Optimistic?)

Shortcomings: (What it says. What parts of them hold them back? Weaknesses and negatives in personality, really. That sort of thing.)

Overall: (Basic overview of their personality in at least a paragraph. Can include whatever you want, like MBTI and stuff like that.)

Likes:

Dislikes:

HISTORY

History: (What were they like up until this point in time? What happened? Influential people? How'd they get their talent? What influenced them into what they are now? This should be pretty hefty.)

HIGH-SCHOOL KILLING GAME

Role in Trial/Investigations:

Killer/Victim? Why?: (EITHER OR. No exceptions.)

Possible Motives: (Even if you choose victim, still type something out if possible.)

Fears:

Secrets:

Execution: (Again— even if victim, try and come up with something.)

OTHER

What kind of people would they befriend?: (Relationships and the such.)

Other: (Anything else you'd like me to know?)

Free-Time Events?: (What would you like discussed in Free-Time events?)

Quotes: (What they'd say. At least six, with one introduction. Really get their voice in.)