Panic at the Time Loop
Not for the first time in his looping life, Sosuke couldn't help but be impressed by the power of teamwork.
The young soldier had almost made it to the hanger, fully intending to hijack the Arbalest and make his getaway, when the maintenance crew had barred his way like a human phalanx. He couldn't well shoot them, or any member of the crew, and simply tried to go around through one of the lower levels. This apparently was where the real trap was sprung, ambushed from either side of the stairwell and stopped before he could even throw himself off the railing.
Sosuke had been bodily dragged back to the briefing room, handcuffed and duct taped, plopped into a chair, and was now trying to avoid the two primary questions that would spell his doom.
1) Who?
2) How?
He knew Kutrz was somehow responsible for the latter, but was too focused to make any warnings about opening this Pandora's Box. He managed to avoid this issue last time by giving them outright lies that took them well away from where the real deed had been done, but this meant that Mao and Weber were wise to his game. He couldn't use it again, and the way that the Captain had kept eerily quiet throughout the interrogation had made him restless.
"C'mon Sosuke. All you gotta do is tell me. It won't go beyond this room." Kurtz tried his most convincing and earnest smile, which was ruined by the fact he was holding a microphone for the boy to speak into. It seemed the entire crew wished to learn about this absurdity, managing to even catch whispered wagers about the position and person. Many said tsundere. Some thought one of the merc crew he once traveled with.
"...Sagara, Sosuke. 721812910." He repeated once again, eyes staring forward like some sort of one-line mannequin.
Now it was Mao's turn, swaggering around to the other side of him and leaning an elbow on the chair, 'unintentionally' letting her breasts hover close to the boy's head. The two had been alternating attacks, both trying to place good cop. He knew who they intended to use for the bad. "Come on, Sosuke. It couldn't have been that bad. Besides, if you just tell us, this can all go away." She smiled, which was quickly snatched from her lips when Sosuke's eyes snapped over to her.
The stare was like steel, utterly unbending and cold. "You would be surprised." He warned, then resumed staring forward. He could lie. Say it wasn't consensual, which would shut them up for all eternity. But the truth wasn't nearly as clear cut, as it hadn't been....at first. And if they found out later, he'd never hear the end of it. Ah! He almost forgot.
"Sagara, Sosuke. 721812910."
Without missing a beat, Kurtz was at his side once again. "Look, do you want the Captain to come over here?" All three of them looked to the silver-haired lass who'd been standing in the corner of the room, flanked on either side by her senior subordinates. Her expression was in a state of nigh constant flux, while the men had expressions seeming carved from stone. Kanlin had tried to save the boy, but the will of the mob would not be denied. "Cause we both know when she comes over here, it ain't gonna be pretty. I gotta say, even I don't know what she's gonna do. So why not just tell us, and get it all over with."
The longer Sosuke stared at the captain, the more that unease grew. It was a mix of concern, anger, and several others he couldn't entirely comprehend on his own. But he knew that honestly, he was sick and tired of being treated like a POW. ".....very well. But on two conditions." He didn't look at either of them as he spoke. "One, I am freed and allowed use of the dry erase board and the markers. Two, in the event that no one has wagered correctly, I will take all of the winnings, or will take half if someone managed to do guess right. Are these terms acceptable?"
From the way they nodded as they cut the tape from his legs and unlocked the cuffs, he took that as a yes. "I will give you this one last warning; You can't handle the truth." As more people poured in to nearly overflowing, he shook his head and walked over to the board. If that was how they wanted it, fine by him.
-----
"And that is a 'Roanapur Special'."
Sagara turned to survey the damage, allowing himself a hint of a smirk as he stared at the crew. Some were pale. Others were green. A small fraction, like Weber, had disappeared to empty their stomachs. Mao was slumped in her chair, her stare a mix of awe, shock, and something he couldn't quite identify. She crossed her legs and took several moments to collect herself before finally speaking. A fact Sosuke found most admirable, considering few could even look him in the eyes.
"But..what happens if there's a survivor?"
"Well, obviously, a male will simply continue intercourse with the corpse until they've ejaculated." He explained, keeping his tone calm and clinical as several more men disappeared for the lavatory. "And the female, from what I've been told, usually takes the corpses' fingers and.."
"Okay okay! I get it!" Mao cut him off, shaking her head vigorously to try and get the images our of her mind.
"Very well, though there are instances where both parties actually survive, as Levy-san and I did. And when a person loses their virginity in such a manner, it is technically called a 'Roanapur Cherry Party'." He looked away to the red dry erase marker he had in his hand, absently running it along the board. Damn. Seems he went through the entire marker.
Maybe he shouldn't had drawn all the blood.
He briefly shrugged and turned back around, hoping to see the Captain's reaction to this little event. But she was nowhere to be seen, and this fact took a very nasty bite out of his initial smugness. But before he could ask, the ship suddenly lurched to the left, metal groaning in protest as people were bodily thrown to the floor. To Sosuke's growing horror, a off-sounding cackle ripped through the intercom, which unfortunately deepened into a kind of war cry that made his blood run cold.
"THAT HUSSY'S DEAD!! I don't care what she can do with both hands! For taking my Sosuke's virginity, there can be only death!"
The young soldier was silent several long moments, just staring at the intercom while others had lost control of their motor functions and/or bowels. At the devolvement into madness, all he could do is sigh and shake his head.
"Can't handle the truth indeed."