Zompania Draft - Draftees only, days 1-3.5

[lucetimods]

Who: All Draftees
What: This is your death. Followed by your time-traveling life and desperate bomb hunting.
When: From May 22 to May 20 to early May 23 (days 1-4)
Where: Zompania
Summary: Information post here
Rating: Varies on thread, please mark explicit material.

This post is for the draftee-only portion of the Zompania draft--the day 3 death, time travel to day 1, and then the events until the arrival of the reinforcements. Be sure to use the above info post for any plotting needs you might have. Enjoy!

Please note that there is a specific top-level comment thread for:

• The day 3 arrival of the draftees and the 6 hours that follow until the bomb is dropped
  
• Death--This thread can be treated as REFERENCE ONLY. Responding to it isn't necessary.
  
• Threads prior to departing for Zompania--post resurrection freak outs, arguments over how to proceed, etc.

All other threading, from day 1 until the reinforcements arrive, should be conducted as normal.

Be sure to tag this post appropriately: [canon] character name

Comments

[screw_fate]

[Stressful is right. That's the last thing Neji needs right now, and he reacts sharply.]

Shut the hell up!

[He doesn't need this. He doesn't need any of this. He doesn't need dying and then being told he has to go back and stop his own death, and he doesn't need Lee's shouting...

The sharp command to his teammate hails from the quiet spot Neji's found to sit and try to process -- not immediately visible to the eye, it's nevertheless easy to trace the shout back and find Neji. He's not glaring -- in fact, his eyes are squeezed tightly shut, and for once his forehead his bare.

The seal's still there. It's as though the death never happened. But he remembers it, he remembers being dead, and all he can hope is that it won't be like that when he returns home.]

[niceguypose]

[He freezes as he hears the shout and looks straight towards Neji, his eyes watering.]

Neji! You... you too?! [He looks and sounds a little broken as he says that. Could Neji have truly died as well?]

[screw_fate]

[Neji doesn't want that brokenness -- he's feeling plenty broken himself. But more than he doesn't want that, he does want his teammate close by. Someone familiar, someone he trusts, someone he knows he can rely on.]

Yes. Me too. Everyone, I think.

[He rubs his forehead, fingers pressing against the seal, as though to assure himself whether or not it's there. After all, upon dying, it's supposed to activate and then vanish...]

[niceguypose]

Everyone?! You mean to say... We're all dead?!

[screw_fate]

I don't know. I don't... feel dead. [That sounds stupid.] Lee... I haven't been able to find a mirror. Is my seal still in place? [The Byakugan isn't great for seeing your own skin from an outside perspective, unfortunately.]

[niceguypose]

Y-your seal?

[He leans forward and puts an unnecessary amount of effort into squinting at his forehead.]

It - it is still in place. [But he knows what that means. A smile starts to light his face.] It is still in place!

[screw_fate]

[Neji lets out a breath of mixed relief and regret. Admittedly, some part of him had hoped that the impermanent deaths of Luceti might have freed him from the seal, but at the same time, right now it is something known and familiar, no more change for him to deal with.]

Thank you.

[niceguypose]

[He remembers seeing Neji dead, after the seal had faded away. So now, the sight of that seal on his forehead is making him feel more alive than he has been since they left Luceti.]

I... I am so glad that you are alive, Neji! Could that mean... Could I be alive as well?! [He looks down at his hands, only feeling slightly deterred by not having any telltale seals.]

[screw_fate]

I would assume we're in the same condition... [Just to be sure, though, he reaches out and touches Lee's hand. Physical contact outside of combat is not something he casually indulges in; as a Hyuuga, he's all too keenly aware that his hands are weapons, and even a light touch can be an attack. But there's nothing casual about this.]

You're certainly warm.

[niceguypose]

[His smile only grows warmer as Neji reports that. The physical contact is so very rare from someone like Neji (even if Lee himself doesn't mind physical contact with his friends often) - and aside from helping Lee with his predicament, it reminds him that Neji is really here. Alive.]

That must be the warmth of youth! Of being alive! Neji, I'm so glad that we're both alive! Gai-Sensei would be so proud!

[screw_fate]

[He'd like to quibble on that, but Neji decides ultimately it isn't worth it; right now, it is simply a relief to be alive.]

He'll be even prouder if we go back and destroy the people who tried to kill us. [Who succeeded, he thinks; whatever happened, they certainly were dead.]

[niceguypose]

Ah... Y-you think so? [That's right. They're still on a battlefield, called out to war once more.] Yes... That is what Gai-Sensei would want! We absolutely must overcome our enemies!