THE FIRST INVESTIGATION

[strangerpeople]

THE FIRST INVESTIGATION

[As Friday morning dawns, everything is quiet. Serene, even. It's been almost two weeks since the beginning of their stay here, and the time to fulfill the Commander's ultimatum offer is almost up. It seems that no one's taken her up on the offer, so far.

Maybe the lack of murder will continue, as everyone starts to go about their day....but there's only one way to find out.

Let's go about our normal routine, shall we?]

Comments

After all the body-touching

[losergod]

[ C will be in the Mess area trying to make coffee or some hot beverage or another for anyone that wants it after all that mess. Unless you want soda. Then you can have that. He looks very tired and rather put-upon.

If you're done with your investigating, come here and Talk and relax, maybe. ]

[beguiledcard]

[ Talking isn't what he's jumping to.

Really, he's just... going to sit down at the table and stare down at his hands. There's definitely a haunted look in his eyes from the hell that was today. ]

[losergod]

[ Here, have some coffee. He can't do much better than this but.

... It might be slightly glittery outside, though. ]

Mister Kurusu--a... ah. Akira... will you be all right?

[beguiledcard]

[ The coffee "suddenly" in front of him earns a soft blink, and then he looks up at C. He manages a tired sort of smile that doesn't even remotely begin to reach his eyes.

He initially just responds with a small nod. His voice sounds dangerously close to that kind of tired that just leaves a person feeling empty. The kind that even eight hours of sleep wouldn't help with. ]

... Thanks, C. [ hesitantly wrapping his hands around the cup, and focusing on the warmth for now ] I'll be...

[ And he falls quiet for a couple of seconds as he holds a blink. He shakes his head. ]

... okay, maybe. [ a beat ] This is probably my... tenth time? [ with his voice sounding a tad bit... off - like he's sort of out of it, at this point ] Seeing a dead body of someone who either was a friend... or more. Or could have become one, if we'd had enough time together. Maybe that's why all I feel is... numb.

[losergod]

... It's... hard. Isn't it.

[ A statement, not a question. He knows the pain. He's felt it firsthand. ]

I'm... I'm sorry. I wish I could do more to help you through it. I... I didn't deal well with it, myself, either, when it happened to me.

[beguiledcard]

[ He just stares down at the cup, an unreadable expression on his face, right now. ]

... Everything about this place is hard, C... But, that's why we'll need to find it in us to be each other's strengths...

[backuphero]

Hey, C.

[The inflection is normal but the tone is all wrong. It's dull and low and a good match for the way Jonathan is moving as he sits down, as though he's been hollowed out and it still aches.]

If we're keeping that memorial, there's... a picture of a man she really cared about over there. She should be there with him. You can draw, could you...?

[Abruptly he presses the heels of his hands to his eyes, still refusing to cry. There's no point to it, not when there's still a murderer loose somewhere in this shitty two-floor space dormitory....]

[losergod]

... I could.

[ He could definitely do what Jonathan is asking. ]

Is there... anything in particular you want done?

[backuphero]

Just... the way she looked, singing. I mean, you were there, right? Happy, but... no, not just "happy", not really just that. Driven? Damn it, I'm not... I'm not the one who's good with words....

[He knows that doesn't make sense, but he can't make himself talk any more. The One Who's Good With Words isn't here, and thank God for that, she doesn't need to see things like a sweet woman with a beautiful voice dead in a bathroom.

He's still resting his head against his hands like that, as though pressing on his eyes will make him stop seeing what he did.]