(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

[notsosou]

[How do you know it was h- okay yeah the fingerprint dust... He's not the only person who knows how to do it! Probably!]

......

[He's not getting away without an explanation here, is he? Stalling once worked, maybe he could keep doing it... but then it undermines his own point, doesn't it? He's trapped between two jaws of his own making.]

...Because the 28th is the day I found him wounded on the second floor. Whoever'd shot him had just left him and the gun there... I went and got the nurse and she took him home for the day at his request... so you can see why it's weird.

[Handily, Rantaro is nowhere in that explanation; it's Shin's idea of a defense.]

Ahaha... I didn't want to mention it because it makes me look pretty bad doesn't it? Especially since I took the gun and bullets in case someone else would find and decide to use them... before you ask, there weren't any fingerprints on them.

[A straight up lie, he hasn't checked, because he knows what happened.]

That said... Don't think this had anything to do with Hiro's murder. Otherwise why not just finish him off right then? Probably Hiro just tried to stab a student council member and got shot for his trouble... but it means we know he had to have come back to school that night.

[He doesn't actually know about Miyuki's own stabbing, rip.]

[sisters]

( amami making big old eyes at shin like he is very surprised at this event happening but actually he's just surprised he hasn't been tossed under any vehicles.

shin... friend... )

[taketori]

[ So, the day before. She took him home at his request... but, how true could that be? How easy would it have been for the nurse to turn around and-- no, he doesn't have enough information to go down that route.

Still, it wasn't like Miyuki really knew Rantaro got stabbed either, so he's completely clear. There's a good chance someone might have brought up the insinuation that Amami had a hand in Maya's murder, but at the same time...

...well. ]

It makes you look really bad. In fact, it makes you completely suspicious.

[ Between Komaeda potentially feeding Shin bad information, putting him back in the hotseat and word traveling at a weird pace around here... he has to clear it up. ]

Arisu stabbed the only student council member he had his eye on after the meeting on January 15th, and if you think I'm capable of using a gun, you're sorely mistaken.

[ He'd. Legitimately probably shoot himself in the process. And then get stabbed again and be dead. ]

That aside, I can't overlook the possibility then of Arisu being weakened by his wound. Even after being treated, it'd still hurt like hell. It might not have been the direct cause, but it may have contributed.

[sisters]

And you think Hiyori-kun is going to be any better at handling one? He's sharp, sure, but he's skittish, and not the type to chance a dangerous situation either if it's something he can help. I can't see him being the type to do anything other than what he said.

( okay, he didn't want to be involved, but... if the alternative means that people are gonna start looking at shin instead, amami doesn't want to let that slide. he's not the type to let someone he likes so much take his fall in a situation like this. )

All of that aside, whether it contributed or not, ( and he's grimacing here, ) I don't think the gun wound should be treated as equivalent to what happened after. I mean, if it was their intention to kill him, there's no reason things couldn't have ended then and there, and there's nothing tying it to when he was found in the office either.

( and here, he looks expectant. )

Or do you think the wound somehow made him walk himself in there, too?

[notsosou]

[So this is what it's like to be defended in a trial... even if that's kind of a cutting description...]

I'm revealing it now, aren't I?

[Something something if he was really the murderer something would be even more reticent... hopefully.]

...

[That's news to him... Shin's trying to think through what he'd do if he genuinely didn't know the culprit. Probably press the issue?]

Then you wouldn't mind showing your wound, right? If it really happened then, it would have healed a bit by now.

[As opposed to however much three days would take. It's possible Miyuki got someone with magic to heal him, but then it would be completely gone.]

[taketori]

In his case, it's not so much about being able to handle one, but more about knowing what to do once one's been used.

[ Really, he wants to trust Hiyori with this. He was decent enough to help him out before, but at this point, he's nervous about everything. Such a tightly wound web, he doesn't even know where to begin unraveling it. ]

I'm not dismissing that it's unrelated, but I'm keeping it in mind that it may be a factor. For that matter, being that he did at least make it through thanks to the nurse, I wouldn't believe at all that the intention was to kill.

[ Miyuki can't figure who'd shoot him. How many people here are even capable of using a gun? Even so, even if it was a case of self-defense... it wouldn't be too difficult to aim to kill. Right? ]

In that respect, I don't believe the person who shot Arisu would've been the person who killed him, unless they met again after the fact. Even then, there's nothing to suggest that.

[ --but anyway. If that's what Shin wants, then... he carefully lifts his shirt up to reveal his side. Magic wasn't a factor here at all... so for his luck, the worst thing he has is a scar where he was stabbed. ]

[commences]

Now, now... isn't two against one unfair, who will back up Shirogane-kun even if he's wrong.

( YALL. get it together! )

[dereban]

[Look, the person who patched Miyuki up is not getting her ass involved in this.]

[taketori]

[ and then there's THIS GUY ]

If I'm wrong, then I don't want the backup. While I'm at it though-- I suppose you could also shed some light as to why you decided to change the number on the note.

[commences]

Don't fight battles you can't win.

( inaba is NOT helping you, step off twink! )

[taketori]

Ngh--

[ Alright, so he's outnumbered, and he'll have to walk himself out of this corner he's suddenly in on his own. Fine. ]

...Says the person who decided to shift the blame back onto me. Still, this isn't about me. It's about being deliberately misleading.

[sisters]

Komaeda-kun might make people take the long way around, but he's never actually impeded an investigation if you take the time to listen to what he's saying. Why don't you go find someone else to pick a fight with if you want to argue so bad?

( leave his friends alone wtf... )

[taketori]

I don't know if you realize this, but we're in the middle of trying to figure out who killed someone. Why the fuck would I want to take this the long way around?

If you think all I'm doing is picking a fight, then fine. I'll leave it back to the rest of you. But stop thinking that asking these questions is somehow an attack on you.

[ fucks sake. He'll take the L on this one. ]

[commences]

Why should it be easy? Why not polish your skills while you can, sharpen your eyes to see the truth before you, pick up new talents to use them accordingly.

( he could say something about shin, but this isn't about being better than someone else. this is about to growth, motivation, learning to doubt, learning to trust. )

You can learn so much if it wasn't for your mouth.

( ... he scoffs, rolling his eyes before trying to calm himself down. )

Take the long road, see the sights, a person only has one life here; at least show the time and effort you put in to be meaningful.

[taketori]

[ --Oh. He almost bit. In fact, he literally had to bite his tongue to keep himself from saying anything. Show the effort to put in to be meaningful? Who the hell is this guy to tell him off about how he learns, about the effort he puts in?

What the hell's the point of fighting that right now?

Time for a break. He's simply going to stand up and get some fresh air. ]

[notsosou]

[He'd call this impeding an investigation... but he's not going to say anything. Just have this expression in the background.]

[sisters]

( maybe misled would be a better word? what matters is that he usually walks them to a correct answer, even if it's a longer route. )

[commences]

( hehehehe. )

[notsosou]

[Do we want a longer route??? Does anyone want a longer route??? Miyuki's got a point.

It's like saying someone gets you back to room temperature in the end after they turned down the dial on the thermostat in the first place...!

He sees you 'heheheh'ing, Komaeda.]

[sisters]

( of course not, but would you rather solve it slowly or not at all? having someone who knows the tricks and walks you through them doesn't feel so bad then, does it? )

[notsosou]

[It won't stop feeling bad until half the tricks aren't Komaeda Originals TM... okay it'd still feel bad but for more mundane feeling stupid reasons.

He's just not very well disposed to people who'll play these sorts of games... himself included.]

[shimashima]

[ Honestly, Alice is puzzled himself, trying to follow the discussion's many turns, but Rantarou Amami is right. The Fairy Godmother of Hope Komaeda simply appears to have his own methods of leading others to a conclusion to reach, so perhaps he should speak up to vouch for the fellow, too... ]

Indeed... After Sara Chidouin tackled him to the ground, he approached me to speak of relevant topics such as keys.

[notsosou]

[Shin is this close to asking Komaeda if he's volunteering but he'd probably say yes and he won't do that to Miyuki even with the butting heads going on here.]

Looks like you're in the clear...

[Addressed to Miyuki. That could be a scar from a different wound... but Shin doesn't want to take this too far. That's enough pushing things back for it to make sense for him to accept it... and it also protects Miyuki from further accusation too.]

Right... they're probably entirely unrelated events. Ahaha, it's good for us, since the murderer would have had to go through with whatever plans they had despite it. Maybe it means Hiro was easier to kill that morning... but it also means that Hiro would have no reason to go to school early... unless a meeting had been planned for that time.