(mingle) cat herding, round two

[sisters]

( on february 2, transfer students will find that there are notes hung up around the dormitory with doctor's scrawl handwriting that a few people might recognize scribbled across it. it reads: )

TRANSFER MEETING
february 2, 5:00 p.m.
dorm common room

( the early-arrivers will find that amami is already set up in the common room, making himself comfortable on the far side of one of the couches with a sketchbook, but beyond a wave and a smile he won't offer much to speak of. it's only once it looks like there's a good handful of people that he'll glance around, grimace a bit, and speak up. )

So... I'm sure you guys already know why we're here, right?

( rest in piss, hiro. legend almost took two transfer students with him on his way. )

I know I might not be the person anyone wants to hear this from, but I figure everyone's had some time to gather evidence and any witnesses we might've had by now. I don't like the idea of this continuing more than anyone else, and if we want to keep it from happening again, it's probably best if we compile what we know.

( and unfortunately what he knows is nothing, because he was busy getting stabbed, so the floor is officially open. )

---

(ICly, this meeting begins on February 1. However, to keep us from trapping ourselves in another time cube, when things start to slow down, Amami will pitch that they regroup in a couple days. The details don't matter so much, but you can assume they'll come back for more discussion intermittently if anything new comes to light before Disney. This doesn't all have to be in one day! Feel free to PM/ping me anywhere if you'd like me to add any other helpful links. )

• IC Recap - Maya & VP's deaths
• IC Recap - Hiro Arisu's death
• OOC Recaps - Miro board & Google doc
• Meeting Recap - What's been covered
• Per mod guidance, the murder methods abide by Knox's commandments

Comments

[protect]

[ The Ultimate Gamer in question has been watching you two. Anyway, she's going to come over and pat his head. She has to reach up to do it given how much taller he is than her, but she manages it just fine - pat, pat... ]

Thank you, Komaeda-kun. It's important to know where the note was in the first place... Maybe.

[ At the very least, they should know that it wasn't in the classroom. The fact that he was tampering evidence is less good, but... Well, unfortunately they have more pressing matters than someone coming clean about their meddling. The important thing is that someone had found it. ]

In mystery games you have to be getting all the clues that you need to solve it, right?

[ This isn't a game, but it follows the same basic principle: If evidence is hidden from them, the group won't be able to solve it. ]

[commences]

( he leans forward because she's small compared to him, so it makes patting him easier. komaeda isn't like a dog, but he should take little pleasures from ultimates when they show themselves, and so he accepts this one just for a moment. he closes his eyes, allowing the two, and then he leans up properly as he looks down at her. )

Hiyori-kun can put together the pieces now, right?

( like there's some hope he will, but komaeda did tamper with evidence, and while that's beneath him, he just wanted to see their hope grow; that his little meddling meant nothing to them. with his hands behind his back, he looks towards inaba, thinking about her question, but then back to nanami. )

Then they'll do well in getting them, I believe.

[protect]

[ give her a break she's doing her best

It's just a small bit of affection, and but there's a little flicker of happiness as he allows it given how reticent he had been when she first arrived. Without him leaning forward she might have had to stand on her tip toes to pat him, and she has to tilt her head back to look up at him in return. ]

Mm. We'll figure it out.

[ Though knowing Komaeda, he likely has a few ideas already. He isn't always inclined to speak them directly (or at least, he hadn't during their class trials,) but he finds ways to make sure them known. So... As frustrating as that can be, Nanami trusts him here too. ]

You want to help everyone too, right? For everyone's sake.

[ For those they had lost, and for those who were left behind to grieve now too. ]

[commences]

Something like that, they can help themselves, but... I just wanted to push them.

( he becomes quiet as he listens, closing his eyes with a slow nod. he understands what she's getting at with him, how she's trying to praise komaeda by feeding him attention, and working well with others. it's a blessing that he doesn't think of these gentle gestures as something a person would treat their dog. he accepts them willingly, and looking towards the group. )

They're getting somewhere thanks to you. I hope they know who to place their trust in now.

[protect]

We all have to trust each other, right?

[ That's a part of doubting to believe too. It's so that they can trust each other honestly, it's so that there's no lies and no secrets out of fear of shining a light on the darkness and finding a cruel truth hidden behind it. But Nanami believes in Komaeda, and she's willing to place her trust in him now as much as she ever hs been.

... ]

Do you know the answer, Komaeda-kun?

[ Not just sum of the parts, but the whole. It was always like that during the Killing Game. No matter how difficult the mystery was, he would quickly find the right answer, but he would never offer it to any of them. But he would never let them fall either. He offered his guidance time and time again, so... Nanami wonders if it isn't the same here and now. ]