[ch. 3] post-trial, w/ akechi

[asswipe]

[She's less ~forceful~ than she was last week, but that doesn't mean she doesn't hunt him down an hour after the trial like she did last week. This time, at least, she's not greeting him with snark.]

... What do you plan to do now?

[About the partnerless, she means. The four partnerless she was hoping to avoid, really. But, well.]

Comments

[doublecrows]

I'm aware.

[NOT. . . EVEN ARGUING IT]

But don't misunderstand me. My gift can only be used once, and at the cost of my own life. Would you throw yourself on the dagger for anyone, when there are others here you care about that you have to protect?

[asswipe]

[opens her mouth

closes it

opens her mouth again]

Jesus Christ, I hate this place! I take back what I said. Don't do anything.

[doublecrows]

[VERONICA. . .]

I don't intend to. [. . .] I would have, for Ion-san last week, if Natsuo hadn't come back. Eichi would have been able to pair with him then as well.

But there was no need, and so I held it in abeyance.

[asswipe]

[LOOK... LISTEN........ Akechi is a piece of work, but she doesn't want him to die.]

Then hold it into abeyance until we end this. Just because you can sacrifice yourself for someone else doesn't mean you should, holy shit.

[doublecrows]

I'm aware. Believe me, I'm in no rush to die.

[who do you take him for!!]

But it's an option, should someone I'd prefer to see remain alive be on the chopping block.

[asswipe]

[an asshole tbh]

Well... As long as nothing else happens to leave us with an uneven number of partnerless, you won't have to worry about anything like that.

[doublecrows]

[tru]

Precisely. Let's hope that our killers from here on out are conscientious, right?

[asswipe]

Not that I disagree— But, wow. Way to make it sound like we're talking about saving the environment.

[doublecrows]

[he puts something as serious as MURDER so mildly]

If only it were that simple.

[asswipe]

[squints.]

Yeah, if only.

[doublecrows]

[WHAT]

Veronica-san. You know who one of the Blotters is, don't you?

[asswipe]

[She pauses, like. Um.]

... I had a theory, but I don't know anything.

[doublecrows]

And what's your theory? I can confirm if for you, if you're correct.

[a. . . h]

[asswipe]

... That 2B killed Fitzgerald, but her partner didn't consult her about killing Monika.

[uM.]

But— But if I was right, wouldn't 2B have taken revenge during the trial? And how the hell would you even be able to confirm something like that?

[doublecrows]

2B killed Fitzgerald.

[he says so matter-of-factly]

I imagine she handled the katana, which is why it didn't have any fingerprints. I spoke to her about the possibility of being betrayed, but she doesn't seem to think that she was.

So while I can confirm 2B's involvement, I can't say anything about who killed Monika.

[which is unfortunate]

[asswipe]

... Jesus Christ, you're serious.

[y i k e s!]

Well, that's just great. We have not one, but three murderers walking around that no one knows are murderers. And the Crafters might be lying about the number of killers each trial, too. That's— That's really great.

[well. make that two mystery murderers, since... 2b is 2b no more tomorrow. ~the magic of backtags.~]

[doublecrows]

I doubt they're lying. That wouldn't make for a very fun mystery to solve.

But I'm certain they're being very particular about the answers they give.

[asswipe]

Particular... Like their definition of a "killer" is different from what we think, or they didn't consider what happened to Hijikata, Monika and Dave as part of the trial?

[doublecrows]

The latter. Even though I can't say that for certain.

If they only consider "Blotters" to be "killers," then the answer will be "two" every week.

[asswipe]

And we'll be stuck scratching our heads, trying to make sense of it like idiots.

I wonder if there's a way we could phrase it to get a straight answer out of them. That's... That's a really big disadvantage.

[doublecrows]

"How many people have delivered a killing blow this week?"

It should get us a far more specific response.

[asswipe]

... Did you come up with that wording on the fly? Because I have to say, I'm a little impressed.

[doublecrows]

[a little smug, now that he doesn't have to pretend to be humble, because what's the point?]

Thank you very much, Veronica-san. I am, on occasion, rather clever.

[asswipe]

If you were trying to gloat, you could have gone without adding "on occasion." Just saying.

[doublecrows]

[HE JUST]

[SMILES]

[asswipe]

[why is he this way.]

... Okay. So you're good with implying you're an idiot the rest of the time? Noted.

[doublecrows]

[WOW]

That is not at all what I implied nor said.

[asswipe]

Hey, I told you to leave "on occasion" out? Don't blame me telling you what it sounds like.