mahouiku | Afterparty 2: The Regretening

Afterparty 2: The Regretening

[That was... a lot of things. Edna was no happier about the turn of events or how it played out than most nor is she happy about the idea of having a murderer among them, but like everything else that is not something she or anyone can do anything about right now. However, she does know a thing or two about fighting on through the bad. And she knows a lot about the weight of murder; by hand or by vote, the guilt is the same. But she refuses to be crushed by it.

For those who do not want to be alone, they will all find cards delivered to their addresses, stating that they are invited to a meeting half an hour from now in the gym of the middle school. It is by no means required, but she does suggest that they come together and discuss some things as a group as well as to avoid being alone at a time like this.

There they will find... a large variety of food from the convenience store, set up on a table she put together.

...she can't cook okay.

Despite this not being her usual role, she will do her best to make sure she visits everyone who does decide to come and makes sure they're doing-- well. As well as can be expected at least. If they need a good smack, she'll offer it. Or a hug, if that's better.

Otherwise, she's here to offer them a place to talk about any ideas they have regarding how to move forward from here so that something like that never has to happen again.]

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[Zack's there, but he'll be silently watching the meeting from the back of the room. For your own safety, do NOT drag him into the conversation.]

[She won't drag him into the conversation. But she will quietly come sit with him for a while. Knowing how upset he was about Elize... this must be especially irritating for him.

Instead while she sits there she quietly hands him a small folded up picture. Her art is decent-- cute, really. If he opens it, he'll find a picture of Eliza that she drew. Dragon is on it too.]

...I doubt you need a reminder of why we need to keep fighting. However... I thought you should have it anyway.

[...]

[He takes the picture and folds it up. It goes straight into his pocket without a word.]

... Where's Dragon and Crown?

When I investigated her room, Dragon was at the door. He should still be in there. I'm not familiar with Crown, but it's possible Crown is there as well.

[And since he might need the company--]

Do you want to go get him after this?

Actually, I want to go get them as soon I can.

[She sacrificed himself to save him from that sick bastard... Taking care of her Pokemon is the least he could do to repay her.]

Crown looks like some kinda deer. You'll know it when you see it.

[Okay that's something to look at for. In any case, she understands how Zack feels.]

Alright. But take something to eat with you.

[Right now she should probably be here for the others. She smiles wryly.]

Don't worry. I'll keep everyone here in line while you're gone.

Thanks.

[He's gonna take a bag of chips and walk out for a moment. He has no idea when or if he'll make it back. Pokemon are weird.]

[Recette is late. She has her phone out and flicking through photos of the crime scene that she was out getting. She has Eliza's phone, the bow tie, and anything related to the crime that wasn't nailed down spread out in front of her on a desk.]

Who did it who did it who did it...

[Is being muttered as she looks through pictures on the phone. It... might take her a moment to notice anyone trying to get her attention.

At... at least she's not crying anymore????]

Edited 2017-04-03 04:20 (UTC)

[Edna feels the same way. So she'll wordlessly join her in her search.]

...can you sent messages or pictures to specific people with this thing?

[Was there evidence on the phone itself they missed? That's what Edna's thinking. But she's not exactly the best person to search a phone.]

What if they tried to hide it because they couldn't destroy the evidence on it?

I... I dunno. I think. I searched through the phone several times!

[She'll hand it over to Edna. She might just be cursed with technology.]

Can you even destroy these things?

It doesn't seem like it. Regardless... either Eliza was here sometime before her death or the culprit came here with the phone.

We know Micah mentioned the Middle School in her alibi because she's been taking books from there. [So did One, however...] Could she have gone their for books and dropped it? It's not very solid.

And Dahlia and Szayelapporo also lack abilis we can confirm since Fav will not substantiate whether or not room service was ordered or not.

It wasn't hidden. The phone.

[Stupid phone.]

Do you think that if room service was ordered that it would be recorded somewhere?

[She's had enough bad influence that breaking and entering is not gonna be protested against much.]

Recette...

[Something twists in his chest. He'd been distracted tending to Zange, but you'd have to be deaf to not hear how upset she'd been, and he regrets not going to her sooner.]

I know you want to find out who did it, and I think it's good that you're doing so much. [His hands hesitate. Almost lays one on the back of her hand, but decides against it ultimately.] But please don't push yourself too hard, okay? That's what me and everyone else is here for, so lean on us too.

Taiki....

[She'll... actually stop looking through her phone to look up at him.]

I... thank you.

[She'll try and smile weakly.]

I promise that I'll try not to do anything stupid or overwork myself.

[Pause.]

I was talking to Eliza earlier this week how everything would be okay. I said a bunch of stuff about investigating everything we could find.

[She makes an frustrated look and lowers her head.]

I'm not very useful at trials. I know that. So... I think that maybe if I balance it out by being super useful at investigating stuff, everything will turn out less sucky.

[The twisting hurts. No, he has to say something. Taiki can't let that be.]

...No, Recette. That's wrong. [He shakes his head.] Everything you do here, whether it's during the trials or investigation or anything else... All of it matters. We're all in this together, even if sometimes it doesn't feel that way, and everything we do is important. And you're a part of what keeps us going. You're doing your best, and your best is helping a lot of people.

[He smiles, head tilted to the side.] So... Please don't be hard on yourself. Keep your head up, okay? And don't be afraid to ask for help.

....!!!

[Recette looks back up in surprise at Taiki.

It matters.

She's helping.

Recette tries to blink back the tears as she feels an genuine smile stretch across her face.]

Eheh.... it's weird. A lot of my friends back home said stuff like that.

[She smiles and puts down the phone and reaches out her hand to Taiki's, hesitating from just grabbing it and instead keeping it out in an offer of an hand shake.]

Righto... Taiki, can I have your help next week investigating?

You've got good friends back at home if they told you that, because it's true. And I'll do what I can to help you get back to them.

[Smile wide, Taiki reaches out to grab her hand, gentle but firm, and gives it a solid shake.]

I'll help you out, Recette. We'll work together and find a way out of here. I promise.

[Eruna turns up, and while she does have her PSP with her again, she is actually going to approach some other people first for a moment here before she decides to sit and play like she did last time, starting with--]

Hey, Edna-chan? Can I talk to you about something?

...yes? What is it?

[Edna's been trying to make rounds with everyone since she was the one who asked them all out for this. Admittedly she's a little relieved to take a moment to stop and speak with Eruna.]

Soooo... I don't know if you heard Zack mention it, but the two of us had been talking a few days ago about an idea we had?

[It was brought up during Zange having a... bit of a moment at the execution, but--]

Would you be interested in meeting with us tomorrow sometime after Fav probably has one of his dumb announcements to share?

Oh, that. Yeah. I heard. Sure, I'll meet with you.

[The people involved are all people she's come to trust-- and if she can help, then she'll do what she can.]

Where at?

[And here, she lowers her a voice a little more.]

We were thinking maybe the Auto Shop? We also wanna make sure that Fav and M-chan don't hear about what we want to talk about with everyone, hence why I'm saying something about the meeting now rather than just messaging over the network tomorrow after the announcement.

[Edna also keeps her voice down so as not to draw any more attention if they can get away with it.]

...that might be a problem. When I was investigating room 21 with Zack, she projected her voice when I messed up the password too many times. She didn't show up physically though. I'm not sure what her scope of vision is. Maybe it was just the laptop, but... I figured you should know.

We could try meeting in room 22. There's nothing electronic in there. And I still have the key that locks it.

Oh, good idea! That's probably even better since it's more private than the Auto Shop...

[And in case they did manage to keep it secretive enough, to throw off anyone who might be trying to listen in--]

Great. Then... it's a date.

[.............. omfg now she wishes this was a date I MEAN--]

Yeah!! Be sure to wear something cute for it, okay? Then again, you probably don't need to worry about that because you already make everything cute when you're wearing it.

[w o w eruna that's really gay]

[ Zange is... here, but she's not herself. She's upset and she doesn't know what to do but sit there with a rather blank expression. She is definitely not in the mood for this right now.

Especially over what happened. ]

[Eruna is going to take a seat next to Zange now after talking with Edna and while she isn't going to just hug Zange without asking or invade her personal space too much, she does hold out a drink wordlessly.

Do you want one, Zange?]

Ah... thank you.

[ She'll definitely take that drink, even if her voice is a bit quiet. ]

No prob! Is there anything else I can get for you, Zange-chan?

[Do you want any of the food here too?]

[And while Eruna is on one side, Nanami will sit on the other. She won't say anything either, but she may offer up quiet words if Zange wants to hear them. After the "execution", she had heard that familiar voice sounding like it was splintering apart from her place on the floor with Recette and Zack, and while she doesn't know if anything she can do will help...

Nanami remembers. She remembers late Thursday, when Nanami's own world had felt like it was shattering to pieces, and Zange had been the one to find her. To try and help in the only way the other girl knew how.

So Nanami will sit, and she will wait. And she will just be there, in any way she can.]

Ah... Nanami-san.

[ Her voice is quiet but she manages to look at the other girl, even if she's a bit nervous. ] H-Hello.

[Nanami manages a smile with a bit of nerves mixed in, but turns out more reassuring than not.] Hi, Zange-san. I'm not disturbing you, am I? I can go if I am.

[As with a lot of the others, Taiki will be pretty uncharacteristically quiet, aside from going to speak to some others who seem like they need it. The night has taken its toll on him as well, and his heart is weary.

However, even if he's quiet, Taiki will still try to make sure he appears as welcoming and open as possible to anyone who approaches him. If someone needs comfort or wants to plan what to do going forward, he'll engage with them in a heartbeat.]

[Nanami is usually soft-spoken and of few words, and while that hasn't exactly changed, she is still different. Between the game on Thursday and the gruesome execution they had been forced to witness, it should have been enough to break her...

And yet.

Her heart hurts. There is no denying that. But there is a straightness to her back and a spark in her eye that hasn't left.

She is determined. More determined than ever to help everyone get back home and get back to the people they care about. So she will sit quietly, and will probably not be the first to engage much. But if talks of plans surface, Nanami will get herself involved.

Whatever she has to do, she will help herself and everyone else leave this place.]

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Afterparty 2: The Regretening

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