Antithesis [Ryuu]

Ryuu had explored the ship as well as everyone else, because while saving energy would be important if there truly was no food, it wasn’t like they would just blindly follow him. No, they would have to see that he was trying, that he truly wanted to help everyone out (well, no everyone, but nine people was more than half), that he was willing to do things himself as well. It was something his father had taught him. However, Ryuu hadn’t explored far, knowing that others would go deeper and later they would report their findings. Then Ryuu could come up with a plan of how to get out of here, how to get the nine out. He just needed more information to be able to set anything in stone.

And so, after examining the storage room and finding various different items one could kill another with, including poison, rope, and various weapons, Ryuu found himself on the upper level of the deck, leaning against one of the poles in the coolest place on the deck, and one of the best places to look out at the rest of the deck, other than the crow’s nest that would take way too much energy to climb all the way up to. For just a simple childish moment, Ryuu let himself think that he was a pirate captain and they were sailing the high seas looking for the fountain of youth or some sort of treasure. Then he snapped back to reality cursing himself for such childish thoughts and wasting time that could be used to construct a way out. If they all died, it would be because of that moment when he wasted his time. Even a split second could mean life or death. He couldn’t allow himself to get distracted.

He saw N1 near the Captain’s Chambers, though he was obviously not stupid enough to try to go inside after the display not long ago when Teruru died. The body seemed to have been moved, and the blood on the deck was no longer there. It was as if Teruru never died, yet they all knew what had happened (except maybe Asher, he didn’t seem to understand, and if Ryuu allowed his emotions any leeway, then he would feel bad for the guy). Ryuu stood and slowly made his way towards N1. As a non-expendable, he needed N1 to do as he said, and follow his orders. And Ryuu had a feeling that N1 was suspicious of him because of his treatment towards N9, and how N9 seemed to have known his name despite them not meeting before. He took up a position next to N1, and remained silent for a few moments. Without even looking towards his shipmate, he spoke.

“Do you think we can get off of this ship?”

He knew the SHSL Reject was one who was most likely to fall to despair, though Ryuu didn’t discount him because of it. As long as he was willing to do what he said in order to survive, they wouldn’t have a problem. He did feel that N1 didn’t believe that he could do what he said, even though strategically, keeping hope for even the doomed ones was a very important strategy, because if one did not believe they could get out of this situation, they wouldn’t. Hope was a powerful tool when crafting a strategy, but N3 was right to a degree, as one could never rely upon it. It was almost as bad as relying on luck. Almost. Definitely not as bad, but just as stupid. Just because one may believe that something will happen, didn’t mean they couldn’t just stop and it would happen, they would have to make it happen. And Ryuu planned to make that absolutely clear later.

Ryuu did, however, want to understand where N3 was, and therefore how he could use N3 to get them all out, including N3 himself. He didn’t want to fight, he didn’t want to anger him, and he needed to know what skills he had to put him to use. What his morals were, how far he would be willing to go to get off the ship. Those were what he was looking for, probing N3 for. He needed to find something to use to prove his non-expendability. Everyone here had a talent, well besides N10, and each of them could be useful in their own way, even if some of them he was willing to have them do something that would end up killing them, and others he wasn’t willing to send straight to their death.

“Back to my family.” He remembered his father telling him a war was coming, and that he needed to be on the top of his game for it, and that’s why he went to Hope’s Peak, so he could hone his skills and truly be worthy of his title, and be ready for what was coming. He didn’t know what, he wasn’t an analyzer or seer or anything like that. He was only a strategist and he had to wait until the war came in order to stop it. Maybe this ship was the first strike by the enemy. Kidnapping the hopes for the future, and making them kill one another. It was only a matter of time before his dad found them and would save them, but he wouldn’t depend on that, no, he would find a way off regardless. "If they're alive.  And if not, I would just go back to what I always did.  What would do?"

Ryuu needed to know who N1 was, and how to use him, which meant knowing where the Reject came from. So of course he would turn that question into an emotional response. He couldn’t know N1 when it came to how he planned, and things such as that. If they managed to get off the ship, Ryuu had plans to find their way back to land, despite the vastness of the ocean. But answering with that would not have gotten him the information he wanted from N1. He rather turn the question on N1 and see how it responded.

He only half-lied with his answer. He would avoid his family, especially if they saw what was happening on this ship. He would focus his efforts on being a strategist for the government, and trying to stop whatever the hell happened from happening again, and he would live the same life he always had, minus his family. His family would just get in the way. He couldn’t get emotionally attached to anyone anymore, because then he would have to make decisions that tore him up. He needed to be able to put his father into the expendable pile if the need arose, but on this ship he could already feel his emotions latching onto a couple of people, as if he knew them already, despite not remembering anything about them. No, he couldn’t let it happen. He had to remain emotionally distant from everyone.

His eyes watched the sky above them, the clouds slowly drifting away as the ship sailed on, as a slight breeze passing by. “You won’t have to if you don’t want. I can get you whatever life you want off of this ship.” This way, he could try to establish loyalty and a reason for N1 to not kill him. Sure, after they were off the ship, Ryuu would probably not live up to his word, though there was a chance he would. It depended on the conditions on land. If they were still relatively normal, like the last he remembered, then he could do it, Ryuu was sure. “Within reason of course.” It wouldn’t be smart of him to promise something he couldn’t actually end up doing. “My father is a wealthy man, my reputation, my family’s reputation would make it so I could give you any life you wanted.” Ryuu wasn’t an analyzer, he couldn’t tell what would actually work on a person, but he normally was alright with the whole ‘manipulating someone into doing what he wanted’ thing. If, of course, his emotions didn’t get in the way. Pesky, pesky things, emotions were, always getting in his way of distance.