yogen | semi-open // something he must handle on his own, the windblown way

[ Ultimately, he still feels the weight.

Miyuki Shirogane's previous life at Shuchiin Academy feels even further than it did at the beginning of the year, having dealt with the fullest extent of Yogen's cold environment. Joining the student council on high, and seeing the President's lifeless body crucified. The accusatory stare from her brother, followed by a rollercoaster of an investigation. He was used to staying awake, used to being sleep deprived but he can't remember the last time he felt so deflated, so defeated. He still didn't feel satisfied, still felt sick to his stomach.

He had to finish this part. At the very least, he needs to get closure on this.

He has to try his hardest. Whatever talk about "ultimates" and the existence of magic just made the pressure on him that much stronger. The pedestal that he saw in his head was raised exponentially, and he absolutely needed to prove, at least to himself, that he can grow more. He can be better.

So, after thinking on it, after the meeting, he made it a point to catch Hiro before he went home. ]

Arisu. [ He's nervous, approaching him. Miyuki's last interaction with him was less than ideal, but he's doing everything he can to shove it down. Stay calm. Don't falter. Keep composed. ]

Do you have a moment? I'd like to have a quick word before you go.

[ It's easy to catch him for how slow he is to pack up his things to leave, his autopilot taking him downstairs to the lockers where he used to wait for Maya if he didn't spot her leaving her classroom at the same time.

He's there when Miyuki finds him, looking a little lost at the break in routine, but eyes narrowing when he spots Miyuki and is addressed. He's never in a talking mood, but now even more so, not to his sister's supposed murderer.

But, just like his sister, as much as they grumble and dislike doing things, they still do, when asked. It's like back in front of the student council, with Hiro staring at Miyuki and expecting him to say the first words. ]

[ Actually standing in front of him, he flashes back to before. When he had to confirm that that was actually Hiro Arisu, and then someone passed by to tell him to hold off on stabbing him right then and there.

Thanks, Sakasaki, you bought him a couple days that resulted in a lot of accusations being thrown around by him without a clear conclusion. ]

I want to give you my word. I had no hand in any of this.

[ He's going to be quick in his next words. ]

However, I can't possibly understand the frustration you're going through. I have a little sister back home-- I don't know what I'd do if someone had taken her from me.

[ If someone killed Kei, he might actually legitimately kill someone in return. But, that wasn't worth dwelling on. This wasn't his point. ]

That's why, regardless of what we've figured out, I want to do right by you and your family. All I need is for you to give us a sign on how to do so.

[ the sign is him stabbing Miyuki in the—

It only happens in his head, body always slower to react and put to pause in the face of all the words being thrown at him, thoughts trailing behind a second too late and already there's something more to react to. The fact that he wants to believe in promises, but has been proven time and time again that he can't. The deep gnawing hurt at the mention of a sister, and the justification of "I don't know what I'd do" twisting into "I could go off the rails and nobody could blame me." And the want to do right, when there's nothing that can make this right, when there is no "your family" when all he had before was Maya, and now, it's only him.

His wish is the same as last time's: he wants to know who did it, doesn't care why, doesn't expect concrete evidence in such a short time but suspects are good enough when there's so few of them left.

He holds his palm up flat, presses his thumb against his wrist and taps his finger against his palm, like one would to turn on and use a PDA. Then he points at Miyuki. Give. ]

[ Ah.

...Well. The last time that someone else used his PDA, this whole mess started. That being said, he did just say that he wanted to make good, and... theoretically, that's a lot less harmless than the alternative.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his PDA and turns it on. ]

Here you go.

[ There's a slight worry, but Hiro doesn't seem the type to actively cause that kind of trouble. Right? ]

[ He takes the PDA in his hands, staring down at the screen for a moment— honestly, there's a real temptation to type out something to the effect of
un: m.shirogane
It's me. I did it. I killed Maya Arisu and the vice principal.
but his pettiness only goes as far as the thought.

Instead, he scrolls up through the forum until he finds that initial message that triggered Miyuki's downward spiral. He points to the words "student council" before pinching the air with his other hand and turning his wrist, like one would to unlock the door. ]

[ ...student council? So... ]

You want to go inside of the student council room?

[ That... well, there's no problem with that. If he wants, he can absolutely lead him there. ]

[ It's a deep breath that Hiro lets out, shoulders dropping and handing the PDA back with a little nod. He's never been inside the student council room before all this happened; Maya studies in there sometimes when she needs the peace and quiet the library can no longer provide, but she's never invited Hiro in there with her.

It kind of makes his stomach churn thinking of being back in there, but...

He has to see. ]

...Understood.

[ It's clear that it's distressing to him, but it very well could be a form of closure for Hiro, so it sounds pretty important to get him there.

As such, he'll go right ahead and lead him back to the student council room, grabbing his keys to unlock the door and...

...deep breaths, Shirogane.

He opens and it and enters, standing to the side. Come on in, Hiro. ]

[ Hiro follows easily enough, trailing behind Miyuki until he gets to the student council room door at the end of the hall and stops. Reminds him of the first time he was called to the counselor's office and just stopped. The same apprehension, the uncertainty, the fear.

He steps inside, letting the door swing shut behind him.

The room is clean, now, thanks to the janitor making rounds. ...I guess the janitor leaves murder scenes alone until people are able to investigate it, they're considerate like that. A glance up at the ceiling, down at the ground, over at Shirogane and then at the window that Hiro walks towards, leaning in and peering out the window at the courts below. ]

[ Miyuki really doesn't... know what he should be doing here. He stands near the door, idly rubbing the back of his head. It's been a little under a week, and it already feels like nothing's happened here. His eyes travel up to the ceiling as well, as if the answer would just appear to him.

Ugh. He feels sick. Earlier in the day, he'd dared to say something so awful during the most recent meeting, as if he'd actually done anything productive. All he did was make accusations and make unfounded claims.

Part of him wants to take a second look himself-- something to help prove that there was chlorine at work, something, anything, but from where he's standing, everything looks like it's the same. Not to mention... he's still most likely a suspect. The last thing he needed was Hiro to believe he was concealing evidence.

...what's the right option here? ]

... [ He coughs. Breaking the silence. ] Had you... been in here prior to Wednesday?

[ There is no right option, just treading water trying to avoid the wrong ones. Interrupting Hiro's thoughts could go either way, but it's probably for the better that he stops dwelling and pulls away from the window to look at Shirogane.

He shakes his head. Student council members keep their seat when they move up in grade level and aren't killed before then, so Maya has been on the council for at least a year and a half; in all that time, Hiro has never been inside. ]

...I see.

[ It's an innocent question-- really, he hadn't been very keen on how most of the things he's heard about how the student council works. There wasn't much of a reason for him to make waves about it, but he'd hoped for more of an open door policy as it came to the student council.

Well. That's nothing he can really change right now. ]

You can rest assured, if you do need to come here in the future for any reason... someone will be here to let you in.

[ Whether it's him or Ishimaru. Which, sure, he's volunteering Ishimaru for it, but it's probably fine. ]

[ What... does Shirogane even think he would need to go here for? All that's here is the reminder of his sister's death, and the fact that her murderer still walks free. Weeks, months, years down the line if he's still here, all he'll be reminded is the day he lost his anchor and how he stood by and let it happen, and in just a couple of weeks Maya's death will be forgotten, she'll be forgotten, everything she's put into the school unknown and uncredited and they're not even going to— they'll be smiling and laughing at Tokyo Disney and it's not— he's not—

he breathes out, a little shuddering breath, slow strides towards the door like he's seen enough and means to leave, pausing for a second when he's next to Miyuki, lips twisting like he's thinking of what to say or how

doesn't, though,

What he does is squeeze his eyes shut, turn towards Miyuki, pulls out his knife and plunges it into Miyuki's body. ]

[ Some people handle grief in different ways, although it's all Shirogane's personal biases coming out. To him, the student council room was a sanctuary, a place to decompress slightly from his schoolwork and the stressors that followed him. Granted-- there was always work to be done. It was the brief respites, playing a ridiculous game with Fujiwara, reading manga with Ishigami before Iino arrived, and of course, his mental sparring with Shinomiya... where else could they happen but here?

Not here. If it weren't for his duties and his stubborn pride, he'd stay far the hell away from this room.

Still, it seemed like Hiro was done in here. Miyuki turns momentarily to get the door--

Sometimes, a person can just sense danger. They just know something's off. Whether or not they can do anything about it is another matter. Miyuki swivels around-- ]

Ari--

[ And is greeted by a searing pain in his stomach. His eyes drift downward. It was hard to tell initially, perhaps Hiro had a killer right hand that smashed him in the stomach. No, nothing like that. He knew what this was, and he went pale.

Miyuki Shirogane was taking accountability for what had happened. Yet again, Shirogane loses. ]

[ Miyuki's vision dims, darkness falling almost immediately— his body is cold, stiff with shock, there's the vague sensation of falling, almost as if— but then there's a cracking sound, and the room stops spinning, light and color returning blurred.

Hiro opens his eyes to see his hands coated in blood, red and hot with the sort of sticky thickness you will feel even after washing your hands raw a dozen times. He leans back, rocks forward, bends down to take the student council room key before turning away.

The door closes softly before Miyuki's eyes, with a click of the lock, and departing footsteps.

...

Squeezes his eyes shut. Opens them. Still red.

Hiro lets the key drop to the ground in front of the student council room, bright red blood against warm hardwood floor, and goes home. ]

[Sometimes you just happen to coincidentally head to the student council office.

Except this time, it isn't a coincidence.

There's a part of her that feels a sense of frustration that she wasn't able to look at things for herself on the day of; by now things are probably already gone, erased, so there's no way —

And then she sees Hiro, leaving and the key dropping. There's blood on the ground, and that makes her freeze in completely stunned silence for a moment, maybe two. But then she immediately realizes the correlation for a minute and whips her head back in wide-eyed realization before knowing that no, what she shouldn't be doing is going to make chase on the person that left. The fact that she knows who means she can deal with them later...

...if that later even happens.

But for now she scrambles to grab the keys dropped on the floor, her hands trembling as she tries to put the key in the slot, fails the first time - god, she's so lucky nobody else is here, seeing this - and only manages to finally get it in and opens the door wide open just to see...

Oh.

Well, then.

She doesn't scream, not at first, because she's left completely stunned, but Inaba realizes she has to get herself together, this isn't about her, this isn't the first time she's seen something like this, but for some reason, it kind of twists something but let's ignore that for now.

This ain't about you, Inaba Himeko. Just, for a goddamn second, act—

Her fingers wrap onto her pendant for a second, pocketing the keys for now before running over to Miyuki, her voice tense as she tries to push out certain emotions from her voice, instead, replacing it with even more frustration.]

Hey! We need to haul your ass to the doctor's office now!

[The words come off as more snappish than intended, but she's going to grab his arm immediately, to attempt to tug him in the direction of out, because, no.

This isn't something that she's going to simply just leave alone.]

[ He thought he had died again. Miyuki wasn't sure how long it would take for someone to bleed out from a stab wound, but the instant that he felt himself falling and his vision went blank, he made the correlation. Ah. That's what death feels like.

The sharp crack broke the silence, but he was too groggy to process it or really what... had just happened. His heart sank once he saw the door close on him and he heard it lock. No way to unlock it from the inside, no way out, he's done for--

Was this what it was like when he died the first time?

The sluggish panic, wanting to dash over and pound on the door against his body's will, but it was impossible. His body was tired enough as it was without the added stress of a stab wound and the need to keep himself standing. All he could do was slump against the wall, hand over his wound, hoping for something, anything that he could do to pop into his head.

Come on, figure it out. Even if you're useless, you don't want to die here again--

His thoughts are interrupted by the door opening, and his breath hitches. Miyuki wasn't sure what to expect; he's a sitting duck like this, no way to defend himself if someone had come back to finish the job.

It didn't register to him until he felt someone yank on his arm, and he heard an authoritative voice. ]

Ina--

[ Miyuki lets himself be led away, wincing as he keeps his hand covering the wound. It stings, but at the very least, he can swallow his complaints. No one else needs to hear how pathetic he is today. ]

Say anything more or complain and I'll kick your ass into the world beyond this. You're my responsibility now, mister 'student council idiot'.

[What a pain. She was never a huge fan of people in the student council to begin with -- she still recalls just how pissed off the one in Yamaboshi was. But this is a completely different deal.

Even so, she can't help herself.]

I should at least be able to help with the supplies in there and assess you more properly in the office. I'm not some professional or anything, but I know enough. Well, if the nurse is still there, then I won't have to do it myself, though.

[It helps that she's observant when she has to be, things that honestly would be good in the medical field in spite of her not really being interested in it. And well, certain things have basically made sure to drill certain things into her head, too.

Regardless, what she's super ungrateful for is the fact that the student council room and the nurse's office are just... why are they on completely different floors?! She's lamenting this all too real fact right now. And while the stairs would probably be better for being in a rush, the elevator is a much safe route and Inaba is not here to take any risks.]

Edited (added one line) 2022-02-02 16:22 (UTC)

[ He clams up pretty quickly. Whatever thoughts he may have about being considered anyone's responsibility don't linger-- that's natural, she's the one who found him. He'd think the same thing.

Miyuki just... doesn't feel like he can complain. He's alive, and he'll at least be treated. There'd typically be a part of him that absolutely would want the nurse to check on him over Inaba of course, but that's more of the awkward teenage boy coming out of him.

When in the elevator, he tries to steady his breathing, wanting to pull his hand away from his stomach but he just knows he'd faint if he saw his palm stained red.

He's quiet, but is finally able to get out-- ]

...Thank you.

[ Groaning, he can't help but ask. ]

Did... did he try to attack anyone else...?

[ She must have run into him, or seen him... otherwise, he wouldn't have left the key... right? ]

Edited (added line) 2022-02-03 03:18 (UTC)

You're welcome.

[Her answer is just as equally quiet as she lets out a bit of a heavy sigh, leaning against the wall of the elevator as it goes down before looking at her watch to check the time.]

I saw him as he was leaving. I didn't follow or chase after him since my priorities lay elsewhere.

[She doesn't need to explain why, does she?]

We can deal with that later, though.

[ He gives a sigh of relief. Ideally, he didn't take his aggression out on anyone else-- just the one person he knew of that his ire was towards.

Dealing with it later... ]

...nothing to really deal with. [ He shakes his head. ] Arisu... he thinks I did it, so if he was going to do this anyway...

[ Miyuki has absolutely no metric on how to feel about someone who just stabbed him. It's not something he can easily brush off because fuck it hurts. ]

If you weren't fucking injured, I'd be punching you right now. Of course it's something to deal with.

[Even if Miyuki may not have a metric on how to feel, Inaba herself has strong feelings about it, and the ones that are winning out at the moment that bubble up to the surface is frustration. She'll be the emotional one for him. Ironic, given how often Inaba seems to lean on a sense of reason.]

Well, if he seriously cared about killing you for absolutely certain, he probably would have stabbed me on the way out, so... it ends up feeling more like venting because we ended up going in circles to the point where we arrived at a conclusion that it'd be difficult to find out who properly did it.

[Her shoulders sag as she hangs her head, but there's a wisp of a sad, solemn, smile. When she speaks again, it's... with a voice full of weakness, of something heavy.]

I'm sorry.

[And then there's the ding of the elevator opening on the first floor and she steadies her voice with a breath, her gaze fixed on what's ahead of her, tense.]

Anyway, we're here -- let's keep moving.

[ It's just his nature as a pushover. Naturally if it had been literally anybody else, possibly even present company included, he'd be furious once he was better. Wary, but furious. After running his mouth so much, even going as far as to accuse his sister -- the one who was murdered in the first place -- part of him can't help but feel it was deserved.

Although, part of him thought that anyway. Clearly, it wasn't something he should bring up right now. ]

--It's alright.

[ It'd be funny to him, everything set aside. Someone who's extremely analytical, too serious for her own good, trusts nobody and yet, has an air of being trustworthy themselves... it's like a certain somebody he knows.

Probably for the best to leave that thought where it is.

Anyway, it's time to get moving again. With a groan, he cautiously exits the elevator. Seriously hoping that nobody'll come out and surprise him. ]

["It's alright," he says.

Inaba opens her mouth as if to say something to retort that, but ultimately decides against it with a shake of her head. Honestly, she doesn't think that it's alright. None of this is.

It's all wrong and maybe that's what frustrates her the most.

Because in a way, hearing that about something like this makes it feel for a moment, almost that it's supposed to be normal. And sure, she's been here long enough to know that yeah, it happens a lot around here: the murder, the stabbing.

But...

She can't agree.]

I'll keep an eye out for us. If someone problematic shows up, I'll handle them; you can go to the office ahead of me.

[Of course, she doesn't have full confidence that she'd win, but at the very least she can buy time, better than nothing.]

backdated to jan 15th, hiro arisu (feat himeko inaba)

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