vatheon | ⊙ sharing chocolate [closed]

The locals.

[She answers to clarify, and then grabs one for herself, unwrapping it clumsily. She's successful, at least, so she takes a bite out of it cautiously.]

It seems they'd like everyone to celebrate.

[For whatever reason.]

[ right, right... makes sense, considering how adamant the locals have proven themselves a few times. he's noticed this at least from watching other people become harassed by them during particular occasions— though it's hard to say when they'll act like that, really; though it usually coincides with a curse.

akise pops his own chocolate he had been working on unwrapping just prior between his teeth— it really isn't bad! a little rich, but otherwise the fine quality you'd expect in your valentine's chocolates; he even makes an 'mm' sound in agreement.

he sort of blinks at tsubaki as he chews, since she was evidently still working on her own battle with the wrapper by this time; her vision really was terrible. he reaches for another chocolate and unwraps this one just as effortlessly— although not for him. ]

Here. [ he holds up the chocolate at her lips for her. ]

[To her lips...?

Oh. Tsubaki hadn't been expecting that. She'd nearly gotten her own chocolate out, too, but seeing the the one directly in front of her face is just a little distracting. So...she bites into it, timidly, before taking it off his hands.

The other one she'd been unwrapping, she sets on her lap for the moment.]

...

[And she swallows.]

It is very sweet.

[Not unlike the ones Zelos had made, actually but also very different from it, too. She licks her lips, before taking another bite.]

[ as she takes the one he's just offered her off his hands, he casually finishes unwrapping the other she had set on her lap before returning it to her as though it were nothing. he reaches for another piece for himself after this. he doesn't necessarily care for chocolate, but he doesn't have anything against it either, so this was fine. ]

Milk chocolate material is. There are more bitter and acidic flavored chocolates available as well, though you usually wouldn't expect those on Valentine's Day. [ setting the wrapper for the one he'd just unwrapped along with the others in a neat pile on the table. ] ..You were at the Plaza today?

[ and he bites into his own. ]

[She listens intently, having not noticed that he even grabbed the other chocolate from her lap. Once she is done with her current piece, though, she grabs that one too as she listens to him. He seems to know a lot, and she almost feels like she should be taking notes.

She just nods instead, though.]

I was. A--a friend invited me. [Or at least, she considers him a friend. Maybe kinda.]

...And you?

[ AT LEAST SHE IS MAKING FRIENDS this is good. he was admittedly a little worried about her in the social interaction department, considering she'd mentioned never being outside of the cult save once— supposedly due to him, actually. he wasn't exactly the best role model for healthy social habits seeing as he skipped class quite often and proved himself to be distant in general, but he wasn't inept! just hard to catch the attention of unless you wanted to ~talk about murders~ or the like. ergo, why he would dive into the who, what, when, where, and why so quickly in conversations. it's always a little odd to be asked that sort of thing in return, especially if it's a personal question rather than something to do with an investigation or the like; therefore, he straightens up a little at tsubaki's question. ]

..Hm? Nothing pertinent. I did stop by the park to ask a few questions concerning the murder, but otherwise things have been uneventful.

[ LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT HOW MINENE THREW SHIT AT THE WALL......... ]

[She saw her throw that shit at the wall actually, h e h. But nope, she sure doesn't want to talk about that either.

Somehow, the whole 'friends' thing has been working out, though, so for that she has to be kind of thankful. In her opinion, he'd been a good enough role model for her--but then again, she supposes anyone would be, when compared to someone like Funatsu.

She looks disgusted at the thought of him, quite unintentionally, though she actually eases her expression after hearing what Akise's said.]

Murder?

[She looks intrigued, maybe even surprised. It's enough for her to take a pause in her chocolate-eating, though she's certainly not afraid.]

[ TOPICS HE CAN GET INTO 2012!! he even makes a subtly amused sound if you're sharp enough to catch it and leans in ever so slightly to begin explaining, as though it were confidential information of some sort. though to be honest, he wasn't just going to give her a word-for-word public report— he had his own opinions about the incident at hand. ]

Well, last night one of the residents in the apartment upstairs next to Yukiteru-kun and Gasai-san's was killed. It was on the network this morning.

[ DOES THIS SEEM IDK

SUSPICIOUS???

AT ALL????? ]

[YEAH...

MAYBE A LITTLE. Not that she is surprised at any of this information. Well, at least not about the part where it took place right next door to Yuno and Yukiteru of all people. Her expression is rather flat, and the only surprise is that she hadn't realized.

She was simply preoccupied with other things.]

Is that so? I wasn't aware. [Shit, they live in the same building, too.

--Hrm.]

I take it there hasn't been too much information about it, if you are investigating.

Not yet. Except— [ there's a brief pause, as he stops himself from overlooking a fact. ] There was an unintentional broadcast earlier when someone found the crime scene, and a lot of people are accusing that person. There's no evidence in the matter though.

[ his tone indicates he doesn't buy it. ]

I recorded that particular broadcast if you'd like to see.

[Already, she's forgotten that this is supposed to be anything resembling a Valentines' Day "date" at all. Though it's okay, because sadly, talking about murders is actually far more in her comfort zone, and...probably his as well, though she admittedly can't be sure.

She simply listens, and then after a moment of consideration--]

You've already watched it multiple times, I am sure. Correct? [She's assuming.] But I don't see how it could hurt.

...I am curious.

[tl;dr: yes sure why not]

[ he smiles with an 'mm' sound in agreement. she'd be assuming correctly— it's why he'd made sure to record it, after all. it's not out of habit for him to document these sort of things; the ability to record the happenings on the network that vatheon so heavily relied on was an immense convenience for evidence among other things.

he retrieves his sfc from the coat of his pocket, inputting a few short commands into it before offering it in tsubaki's direction. while waiting for her to play the file currently pulled up on-screen, he leans over and opts for another piece of chocolate. ]

[Taking his cue, she does the same, grabbing a piece of chocolate for herself; chewing on it contently as the feed starts. She is no stranger to a crime scene, she supposes, so she is not quite startled by what she sees--not to mention she was expecting something like this.

There is so much red, matching the color of her miko. And she's watching as the person in question deceptively pulls out the knife from what she now realizes is the person's neck.

Just a tilt of her head as the feed cuts off, and she tries to process what she's just seen.]

...

[Static.

After a moment, the sound begins to irritate her, and she hands the SFC back to Akise for him to shut off and put away.]

Well, I can certainly see why they suspect him.

[ he pops the piece of chocolate he had taken for himself just a moment ago into his mouth before accepting his device back from tsubaki. switching it off, he returns it to his jacket's pocket. ]

Convenient that he happened to be on feed at the time, isn't it? Usually a killer trying to hide that fact would exercise caution.

[ and we all know yuno has some bizarre neck-slicing kink BEST EVIDENCE RIGHT THERE. ]

Edited 2012-04-22 03:42 (UTC)

[Convenient...

Yes. That is one word for it, anyway. Just by watching it once, she has to wonder who this person may be. It's hard to tell whether he is showing remorse for what he's done, or...something else entirely, when he removes the knife.

She nods.]

Perhaps someone wanted us to see it. I do not recognize him.

Eridan Ampora. From what I understand, he wouldn't be very difficult to make look guilty— thus, the public's response. Although he was living with the victim at the time, so I question why he would put himself in blatant suspicion if he planned on denying it.

[ a slight wave of the hand as if to dismiss something ridiculous— the general public's profile of the killer was way off base as far as he was concerned. ]

...Was he aware that he was being recorded?

[She asks the question; though of course she doesn't expect Akise to be able to read his mind or anything. She is simply curious, because well--

Frankly, it didn't seem like he was aware at all.

But then, she knows someone had to turn on the feed.]

[ he narrows his eyes in thought— he clearly remembers eridan outright saying to one of the other trolls that he wasn't aware of how the recording had managed itself. akise had written all of this down as it happened, so he could easily double-check should it be necessary. ]

He wasn't, according to the responses. I can't think of any suitable reason a person would condemn himself, especially if he were to claim his own innocence afterward. Of course, this brings into question the possibility of an unknown party's involvement.

[True. Guilty or not, it isn't a scene that anyone would want to broadcast, in light of what's happened to the victim. He does bring up a good point though, that this likely points to someone unknown.]

You did mention that this victim lived right next to the First and the Second.

Perhaps it isn't a coincidence.

[Her tone is even, as if to say "I wouldn't put it past them." Though she have to wonder what reason either of them would have to kill the victim...

She doubt they've even heard of this survival game of theirs.]

That was my initial line of thought. It's doubtful that they have an alibi outside of each other, which is obviously not reliable. The only thing lacking would be a clear-cut motive— which, from my understanding, Eridan has. However messy it might seem, it was a well-executed crime.

[ just gasai's style, even. however, he won't say so aloud. ]

Considering how closely they resided, I suspect that if this was Gasai-san's doing, the victim may have discovered something incriminating about her.

[ it's well-known by now what drastic lengths she would go to keep her own secrets safe— a pathological liar and a psychopathic killer isn't a good mix, after all. ]

I honestly believe that if this were the case, Yukiteru-kun was uninvolved. It's both outside of his nature and not a course of action I believe he would take within Vatheon.

[ that, and his reactions when akise had brought up the topic earlier to him had kind of made it obvious. yukiteru isn't exactly the best liar. ]

[She listens intently, because this is the kind of thinking that saved her. The kind of thinking that was able to out Funatsu for the scum he really is. It is a well-executed crime, she has to admit; because if it leaves people questioning who did it, she supposes the murderer has done his job.

We would see how long the uncertainty lasts, though, with people like Akise about.]

You could be right. I'm afraid I never did get a chance to see just what he is capable of.

However, the Second seems quite protective of him— so although he may not have been directly involved, it's possible that he may have been a part of her motives.

[Whether he knew it or not.

What if Yukiteru were threatened in some way, or if he showed hostility towards him for whatever reason?]

Definitely a possibility— it was most likely either due to Yukiteru-kun or to keep her web of lies intact, if it was in fact her. [ he's not particularly fond of her at all, which would explain his choice in a more cutting analogy for her motives. and because tsubaki wasn't familiar with yukiteru's aptitude for this sort of thing, he attempts to paint a clearer picture for her: ] From what I've observed, Yukiteru-kun has only acted maliciously either unintentionally or through Gasai-san's influence— most prominently the latter. Murder just isn't his style— and he'd certainly have neither reason nor motivation to do so outside of the game's perimeter. Gasai-san is different though, harboring both an irrational mentality and quite a few skeletons in her closet.

[ literal. skeletons. he'd know, considering he had them dug up; and in a non-metaphorical sense, he'd actually unveiled something about her before arriving here in vatheon— the fact that she was faking her identity. he hadn't attempted to bring this information up again here in vatheon, even though he realizes yukiteru is from an earlier point— a point before his parents had died. ergo, why akise has been careful about not presenting future information too easily. although he hasn't really had the chance to, what with the way yuno never left him unattended. ]

[By now, Tsubaki's pretty much mastered unwrapping the chocolates. It's amazing how addicting they can be; she finds herself continuously grabbing another one before she'd even really decided she wanted more. But there's plenty; she doesn't seem to mind it at all, so she continues on doing so while she listens to him.

She feels like she's getting an insight into those two that she hadn't really been able to get, only going on their brief encounter in front of Deus and maybe some newspaper clippings related to incidents at their school. But even with her limited knowledge, she can agree with his assessments.

She nods.]

This is true. Though either way, I actually have not seen either of them enough to know for certain... [if it was them. her.]

Do you plan to confront them?

[Or maybe Yuno at least--

If he could even manage to find the two of them apart.]

[ he's somewhat given up on chocolates on his end, as he's far too engrossed in the conversation at hand. tsubaki's question causes him to pause for a moment in thought— technically he already had spoken to the both of them about the topic, although it was more of an inquiry rather than a confrontation. he's not confident that confronting yuno with yukiteru would be the right decision— but separating the two of them was presently nigh impossible. the only plausible method would be to contact yuno directly and attempt to hold a conversation with her without pissing her off. he decides to remember this method though, should he ever need to put it to use. ]

Maybe. I'd like to see how things develop for a little while at least... though rest assured, I'll definitely be solving this case.

[That's probably a good stance to take. A careful approach would probably more effective than confrontation, especially with someone like her. Even back home, she hadn't planned to confront Yuno or Yukiteru per se; merely lure them into a trap along with the Fourth. It may have worked, and it may not have-- but now she supposes she won't ever know.

She lets out a sigh then and nods. She has the confidence that he would things out.]

In that case, I wish you luck. I...won't be much help, I'm afraid.

[Though he'd be more than willing to try, if he for whatever reason needed her.]

[ a careful approach is always good, but with yuno it was best to take both a careful and defensive one— when cornered, she would operate solely on a knee-jerk reaction, which was needless to say both violent and frantic. not to undermine her intelligence though, as she was clearly a cunning individual— how else would she had been able to keep up the ruse of an completely different identity this entire time? not to mention how far she got with her lies... though ultimately, akise was sure they those lies would ensare her in the end. it might take a little patience though. he dismisses yuno from his mind, as he's certain he shouldn't dwell on this at the moment. ]

Don't worry about it. You've already proven helpful simply by your cooperation— I appreciate it.

[ having allies or someone to rely on was nice. that aside, it was also nice to have someone to discuss this type of information with. he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it, even. in fact, he'll be reaching for a final piece of chocolate now; this one is flat in shape, so he splits it in halves, offering one to tsubaki— it's only courtesy he figures, since it's the last piece. ]

[It is certainly far more addictive than she'd imagined; but she accepts the half-chocolate happily, thinking nothing of it. She may not have even noticed that it was split into half in the first place. It's more of a casual, mindless gesture than anything, and combined with the comfort of hearing his words, it's certainly an experience to be remembered.]

Of course. [There's a nod, as if to say you're welcome to his silent 'thank you.'] I'm always happy to oblige.

And if you do happen to think of anything I can do to put the Second in her place, I'll most certainly follow your lead.

⊙ sharing chocolate [closed]

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