(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

[starrypoint]

[...

he supposes his water under the bridge philosophy works well now, even if that water is murky or poisoned. accusing someone doesn't take away that trust, but it does put it on hold -- he thinks of sara and her desire to believe in him, throwing her hat in the ring. he thinks of her wanting to get to the truth that she'd accuse her own friends, just to clear them of suspicion and trusting that they can for everyone else to see.

subaru guesses it's like that, and isn't jealous one bit at the experienced they've had getting this far.]

Okay. Haha, you know, I was thinking you've been a little different lately... but you're still the same Hina-chan through 'n through. [he'll rub his face, focus focus] You can cry after we're done here.

[maybe he will, too. if they'll come. they never do, frustration swirling in their place, but maybe.]

The one person who I know would never do this is Natsume though, because Macchi and Hiroppi were important to him. So that's the one person I believe in without a single doubt, and... because he wouldn't do this to me, knowing what he does.

[something that no one else does, in full. some have the first half of the story, though he doesn't know that, but not the second -- natsume can snap and claw and bite into all he wants, his heart is far too understanding to put subaru through what happened with his father a third time.]

I promise that, Hina-chan, and I'll explain better why if you want, but not in front of everyone. It's unrelated, and not their business. Okay?

[futurebullets]

[It's such a blow to his heart that if Hinata really were the same person, he would've swayed right there on his feet. He almost doesn't stop himself from reacting outwardly, and that's perhaps the most jarring thing of all.

Akehoshi probably has no idea, really. How much devastation is in those words, just as much as they are salvation.]

Do you... really think so? [Quietly, quietly.] Do I really seem like that to you?

[The words are halting. Fragile as they hang there.

He almost wants to laugh. Tell Akehoshi he doesn't think he can anymore, because Nanami had been a special case that will probably never happen again, and even that was such a challenge because he has to fight to even feel right anymore.

But he doesn't. Because if Akehoshi can find Hinata in the labyrinth of his own tarnished mind, then maybe there's some truth to what he's saying. He can be entrusted with this as well.]

...It's getting a little stuffy in here, don't you think? [Hinata tilts his head and shuts his eyes, breathes out a sigh as if bored. The only thing that gives him away is the way that even with his loosely folded arms, his feet are positioned like he's ready to take off at any second.] Let's get some air outside the dorms, Akehoshi. [And to the others who might be listening in:] If anyone is still concerned about him being the suspect, someone can come check on us if we haven't returned in half an hour.

[He hates putting a time limit on it; he doesn't know how long or how deep this conversation may go. But he's also very aware that in bringing out this evidence for everyone to see, the spotlight is on Akehoshi in the worst possible way.]

[starrypoint]

[it's a strange question, strange reaction he almost starts at before hinata moves on, casual and giving a good excuse for momentary leave; subaru tilts his head a moment before he nods, sticking his hands in his pockets and playing with the rounded quartz there as he intends to follow the other where he should go -- outside the dorms or just outside the door, it doesn't matter, as long as he can stop feeling the varying gazes burning against his skin.

he's always been aware of other people's eyes. it's a blessing and a curse, and right now it's somewhat suffocating. subaru gives a reassuring smile to anyone concerned, because it's hina-chan? there's nothing to worry about, he'll be fine.

... ... ...

once they're away, the smile drops into something more subdued, eyes unable to stay on hinata and focusing on the snow-patched ground of february. subaru shifts on his feet, looking out at the school and breathing out the white smoke that comes from the cold, as if just taking a drag from a much needed cigarette. he can't have them as an idol, but he's thought of it before -- it's hard not to, when one of his teachers does it every so often.]

Natsume and I have been friends for three years, [he starts out,] but that's just a small part for why I trust him.

[...]

The reason he wouldn't do this to me is 'cause I've already dealt with it twice before -- it's not that long of a story, but it's kinda hard to talk about 'cause... no one here knows, Hina-chan. For the first time in my life, my name really doesn't matter.

[it's nice. people like hanging out with him for him. there's no first impressions marred or overly glamorized by being the son of akehoshi, or being subaru akehoshi of trickstar, he feels like a normal high school boy and as weird as it was at first -- it's without a doubt an experience he finds a breath of fresh air, though it wasn't like he was suffocating badly home. expectations are something he lives to exceed, and he thrives beneath the spotlight...

... but he can't exactly deny that this isn't nice, too. years of school lost to a tremendous tragedy now regained. yumenosaki is precious to him and he loved every bit of what happened there, but yogen's gained a space in his heart too.]

I hope that doesn't change.