[ Shuichi was in fact just sitting in his room reading, and he looks up in surprise at the knock. He's not expecting anyone, and Ouma wouldn't knock... But whoever it is came up to the fourth floor of the apartment building, so probably they're looking for him specifically.
By the time he opens the door she's a few steps down the hallway, and he sees the package first before noticing her. But when he does— ]
[Miu jumps like she's been caught and for half a second contemplates running, but... That would look ridiculous right now. She sighs softly at herself and then turns, folding her hands behind her back.]
Saihara-san. Hi. [She pauses, aware that she's wearing Kokichi's signature white outfit, aware that he's certainly going to notice it, but she approaches again anyhow.] Sorry if I disturbed you.
[ He definitely notices it—there's an obvious start of surprise on his face when she turns around and he really gets a good look at her—but he doesn't comment for the moment, instead bending down to pick up the package. ]
It's fine, I was just reading a little. This is for me...?
Yeah. It was Christmas yesterday, but I missed it, so I'm delivering some presents through the day.
It's... It's not much. But you've been kind to me, so I figured... [She trails off, looking a bit embarrassed.] It's the least I can do. You can open it now, if you want.
[She hesitates and looks around the hall as if for an excuse, but there isn't one she can grasp readily. And besides, there's a lot she has to discuss with him anyhow... Better now than to put it off, right?]
Sure. If it's not a bother or anything. I wouldn't want to keep you from anything. [But she steps up anyhow to follow him back inside.]
Like I said, I wasn't doing anything important. I'd enjoy the company.
[ He moves back into the apartment and gestures her inside.
The apartment appears to have a large glass door facing onto a deck, but is otherwise unremarkable, and too small to fit much more into it than a bed and a few other pieces of furniture. But he has, at least, acquired a chair—a worn armchair tucked into one corner.
[What is it with the boys she knows and their tiny apartments? It makes her place look luxurious in comparison.
Not that she's judging, but she's amused, peering curiously at the deck a moment--it'd be nice to sit out there and read when the weather's nicer--before taking a seat on the chair.
She feels a little silly now about the more joking part of the gifts, but whatever!! He has to have a sense of humor if he hangs out with someone like Kokichi so. It's probably fine. She still watching him expectantly, a tad anxious.]
[Oh, he actually likes it. And the hat looks absolutely ridiculous, just like she'd sort of hoped, and he's being stupidly kind of cute about it all. She covers her mouth quickly, but she can't help but start laughing.]
Are you disappointed? Smoking's a terrible habit to pick up. [But her chide is playful as her laughter begins to subside and she watches him with a genuinely warm smile.] There's something else too. An actual gift.
Mm, I told you I wasn't old enough to smoke anyway.
[ But then he picks up the second note, and he turns more serious as he reads it. Then he picks up the notebook and turns it over in his hands a couple of times. ]
...Ah. Thank you, it's really nice.
[ And he glances up at her again, sitting there in Ouma's clothes, and wonders if that explains some things or just makes everything more confusing. ]
You're welcome. I figured you could get some use out of it-- Observations, or a personal journal... Whatever.
[She brushes invisible dirt from her pants and wonders how Ouma wandered around n this and kept it looking nice. She also knows she probably has some explaining to do, but isn't sure where to begin.
At length she speaks up hesitantly] I... went back home. I mean-- Back to my world. If Ouma-kun was a bigger problem than usual the past couple days, that's probably why. [She tries to smile like it's a joke, fails, and looks down at her lap again, fingers curling at her knees.] He was... pretty pissed when I came back. I guess because he couldn't take it out on whatever was actually responsible, he blamed me. I was an easier target.
[Miu realizes she's babbling a little, because it feels good to just talk, but she needs to get to what she actually wants to talk about. Another brief hesitation and she speaks slowly, uncertainly.]
But, ah... We worked it out. Everything's--Okay now. Better, actually, I think, but...
[ He has so many things he wants to say to that, questions about her and assurances that Ouma wasn't a problem, exactly—but they all fall out of his head when she gets to the last part.
A chill runs through him despite his best efforts to remain calm. ]
Not much. [That she can say with honesty.] Sixteen students trapped together, given motivation to kill each other... Last two standing win.
Momota-san and Iruma-san... [She trails off, hesitating, because while she assumes Shuichi might be someone who'd know who's alive and who's not at the end, she can't say for sure. Kokichi already warned her, more or less, not to say anything to Iruma because she didn't even know her own death. And she also assumes that, since Kokichi knows both of them, Shuichi probably does too. They all seemed to be part of the same class, after all.]
[Which confirms for her that Shuichi is one of the survivors and therefore would know--
Her fingers curl and uncurl against her knees a couple times, the question rolling around in her mouth like a heavy. She's pretty sure she already knows the answer. SHe's pretty sure he already knows the question is coming, though the way she poses it is more like trying to confirm a fact.]
[ There are so many things he could say about what Ouma did, and it takes him a moment to sort through them, and push down the feelings welling up in his chest enough to voice them. He tugs at the lip of the deerstalker cap a bit automatically. ]
He... tried to use his own life to end the game.
oops forgot to warn for V3 spoilers all up in here, just in case. jazz hands.
Oh. [It's said on a rush of an exhale, and her fingers clench tightly into fists again. Her head swims. The loss of her mother is also still too fresh and raw, and though she'd had a feeling, it hurts to have it all confirmed. Like, somehow, hearing it out loud makes it real.
But Kokichi's still here. In this city, he's alive and well, but-- But... What happens if this place decides to send him home? Her heart feels like it skips a beat in her sudden fear and the lights dim drastically before she gets a hold of herself and they go back to normal.]
Ah-- Sorry.
[She doesn't think she's ever going to get the whole story of that out of Kokichi, but she's not entirely sure if she can handle hearing it all right now either. Miu shifts and hugs her knees to her chest, curling up in the chair as if to shield herself.
Slowly she wets her lips and tries to think of what to say.] Did it work?
[ He looks grim, like he can't avoid doing every time he thinks about that trial, and his eyes itch with the threat of tears before he blinks them away. A faint layer of frost starts to appear on the bedspread, but he doesn't seem to notice. ]
But we took his ideas to heart to end things shortly after.
[That's-- good? It's something, at least. A victory in the end is still a victory.]
Stupid. [He was so stupid. It's ironic that she's mad at him for this when it's hardly like it matters now-- So maybe she can understand Kokichi's own misplaced anger at her a little better now. Dammit. It's not like she can do anything about it now, not like she could've done anything about it before, and the feeling of helplessness mingles with frustration.
Miu looks up to study Shuichi and then the frost growing over his bed. For a moment she's not sure what to say, if she should say anything, but at length she speaks:] Have you cried? Since you got here, I mean. Seeing your friends alive again, the loss of your old life, dealing with everything... Have you let yourself mourn yet? Screamed and cried or anything else? It's... It's okay to. You should just let it out, or it'll bottle up and come out like that. [She nods at the frost]
Edited (love html. love to one day actually be able to use it) 2017-12-28 02:12 (UTC)
[ He looks up in surprise, and touches his hand to the edge of his eyes before glancing to see what she's looking at and exhaling a long sigh. ]
I have. I think I cried meeting every one of them... and again when telling them how it ended. Ah, when telling Ouma-kun and Momota-kun, at least. ...And more than that besides. But... I'm happy to be here, and I'd like to be able to talk about it without...
It's fine to cry. I don't think they mind that much, because... Well, it shows you care, I guess. That it still bothers you. No one's going to expect you to get over that.
Ah, I guess what I'm trying to say is... Don't feel like you have to hold that sort of thing back or get over it.
[It's her own clumsy way of trying to make sure he's okay-- He's the one who had to actually live through it, after all. She plays with the straps on her pants, twirling them about her fingers as she thinks.]
I kinda had a feeling, but... Thanks for confirming it. Ha... I hate the truth sometimes.
[ But he still changes the subject away from his feelings. ]
I'm glad... that Ouma-kun is opening up to you a bit. I didn't know you were gone, but he definitely seemed... lonely. [ lonelier than usual ] I gather you talked quite a bit... Um, is there a reason you're wearing his clothes?
She had a feeling that question was coming, but somehow she still wasn't quite prepared. She looks up at Shuichi and drops her feet back to the floor, smoothing out her clothes--Kokichi's clothes--and her face begins to turn red.
She could say the real reason, but that's somehow more embarrassing ("I maybe sort of appeared and fell on him while he was in the bath and got soaked?") so instead she goes with a delicate clearing of the throat.]
I, um. Spent the night at his place...Last night. And my clothes got... kind of ruined, so... ["Ruined" is an exaggeration and this explanation sounds 10x worse than the truth. RIP.] I just haven't really had the chance to change back yet, I've been a bit busy.
[ Fortunately or unfortunately Shuichi doesn't make the obvious assumption from that. Given how Ouma is, there are a lot of possible ways someone's clothes could get ruined.
He is a little skeptical that she couldn't have changed if she really wanted to, though. She seems like she's probably enjoying herself. ]
I see. Well, they look pretty good on you, anyway, so I'm sure it's fine.
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By the time he opens the door she's a few steps down the hallway, and he sees the package first before noticing her. But when he does— ]
Ah, Hinasaki-san!
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Saihara-san. Hi. [She pauses, aware that she's wearing Kokichi's signature white outfit, aware that he's certainly going to notice it, but she approaches again anyhow.] Sorry if I disturbed you.
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It's fine, I was just reading a little. This is for me...?
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It's... It's not much. But you've been kind to me, so I figured... [She trails off, looking a bit embarrassed.] It's the least I can do. You can open it now, if you want.
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Sure. If it's not a bother or anything. I wouldn't want to keep you from anything. [But she steps up anyhow to follow him back inside.]
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[ He moves back into the apartment and gestures her inside.
The apartment appears to have a large glass door facing onto a deck, but is otherwise unremarkable, and too small to fit much more into it than a bed and a few other pieces of furniture. But he has, at least, acquired a chair—a worn armchair tucked into one corner.
He sits on the bed himself, package in his lap. ]
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Not that she's judging, but she's amused, peering curiously at the deck a moment--it'd be nice to sit out there and read when the weather's nicer--before taking a seat on the chair.
She feels a little silly now about the more joking part of the gifts, but whatever!! He has to have a sense of humor if he hangs out with someone like Kokichi so. It's probably fine. She still watching him expectantly, a tad anxious.]
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You really got me some?
[ He sticks the hat on his head as he looks the pipe over, grinning helplessly. ]
Ah, it just blows bubbles...
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Are you disappointed? Smoking's a terrible habit to pick up. [But her chide is playful as her laughter begins to subside and she watches him with a genuinely warm smile.] There's something else too. An actual gift.
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[ But then he picks up the second note, and he turns more serious as he reads it. Then he picks up the notebook and turns it over in his hands a couple of times. ]
...Ah. Thank you, it's really nice.
[ And he glances up at her again, sitting there in Ouma's clothes, and wonders if that explains some things or just makes everything more confusing. ]
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[She brushes invisible dirt from her pants and wonders how Ouma wandered around n this and kept it looking nice. She also knows she probably has some explaining to do, but isn't sure where to begin.
At length she speaks up hesitantly] I... went back home. I mean-- Back to my world. If Ouma-kun was a bigger problem than usual the past couple days, that's probably why. [She tries to smile like it's a joke, fails, and looks down at her lap again, fingers curling at her knees.] He was... pretty pissed when I came back. I guess because he couldn't take it out on whatever was actually responsible, he blamed me. I was an easier target.
[Miu realizes she's babbling a little, because it feels good to just talk, but she needs to get to what she actually wants to talk about. Another brief hesitation and she speaks slowly, uncertainly.]
But, ah... We worked it out. Everything's--Okay now. Better, actually, I think, but...
He told me... about the killing game.
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A chill runs through him despite his best efforts to remain calm. ]
Ah... he did, did he? How much did he tell you?
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Momota-san and Iruma-san... [She trails off, hesitating, because while she assumes Shuichi might be someone who'd know who's alive and who's not at the end, she can't say for sure. Kokichi already warned her, more or less, not to say anything to Iruma because she didn't even know her own death. And she also assumes that, since Kokichi knows both of them, Shuichi probably does too. They all seemed to be part of the same class, after all.]
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[ That answers his main question, which is if Ouma had told her that he himself had died. He had sort of assumed that would be something he'd omit. ]
Yes, that's... what happened. Though, we ended it before it was down to the last two survivors.
[ Even if not by much. ]
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Her fingers curl and uncurl against her knees a couple times, the question rolling around in her mouth like a heavy. She's pretty sure she already knows the answer. SHe's pretty sure he already knows the question is coming, though the way she poses it is more like trying to confirm a fact.]
Ouma-kun... Didn't survive... Did he.
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[ There are so many things he could say about what Ouma did, and it takes him a moment to sort through them, and push down the feelings welling up in his chest enough to voice them. He tugs at the lip of the deerstalker cap a bit automatically. ]
He... tried to use his own life to end the game.
oops forgot to warn for V3 spoilers all up in here, just in case. jazz hands.
But Kokichi's still here. In this city, he's alive and well, but-- But... What happens if this place decides to send him home? Her heart feels like it skips a beat in her sudden fear and the lights dim drastically before she gets a hold of herself and they go back to normal.]
Ah-- Sorry.
[She doesn't think she's ever going to get the whole story of that out of Kokichi, but she's not entirely sure if she can handle hearing it all right now either. Miu shifts and hugs her knees to her chest, curling up in the chair as if to shield herself.
Slowly she wets her lips and tries to think of what to say.] Did it work?
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[ He looks grim, like he can't avoid doing every time he thinks about that trial, and his eyes itch with the threat of tears before he blinks them away. A faint layer of frost starts to appear on the bedspread, but he doesn't seem to notice. ]
But we took his ideas to heart to end things shortly after.
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Stupid. [He was so stupid. It's ironic that she's mad at him for this when it's hardly like it matters now-- So maybe she can understand Kokichi's own misplaced anger at her a little better now. Dammit. It's not like she can do anything about it now, not like she could've done anything about it before, and the feeling of helplessness mingles with frustration.
Miu looks up to study Shuichi and then the frost growing over his bed. For a moment she's not sure what to say, if she should say anything, but at length she speaks:] Have you cried? Since you got here, I mean. Seeing your friends alive again, the loss of your old life, dealing with everything... Have you let yourself mourn yet? Screamed and cried or anything else? It's... It's okay to. You should just let it out, or it'll bottle up and come out like that. [She nods at the frost]
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I have. I think I cried meeting every one of them... and again when telling them how it ended. Ah, when telling Ouma-kun and Momota-kun, at least. ...And more than that besides. But... I'm happy to be here, and I'd like to be able to talk about it without...
[ He trails off vaguely. ]
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Ah, I guess what I'm trying to say is... Don't feel like you have to hold that sort of thing back or get over it.
[It's her own clumsy way of trying to make sure he's okay-- He's the one who had to actually live through it, after all. She plays with the straps on her pants, twirling them about her fingers as she thinks.]
I kinda had a feeling, but... Thanks for confirming it. Ha... I hate the truth sometimes.
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[ But he still changes the subject away from his feelings. ]
I'm glad... that Ouma-kun is opening up to you a bit. I didn't know you were gone, but he definitely seemed... lonely. [ lonelier than usual ] I gather you talked quite a bit... Um, is there a reason you're wearing his clothes?
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She had a feeling that question was coming, but somehow she still wasn't quite prepared. She looks up at Shuichi and drops her feet back to the floor, smoothing out her clothes--Kokichi's clothes--and her face begins to turn red.
She could say the real reason, but that's somehow more embarrassing ("I maybe sort of appeared and fell on him while he was in the bath and got soaked?") so instead she goes with a delicate clearing of the throat.]
I, um. Spent the night at his place...Last night. And my clothes got... kind of ruined, so... ["Ruined" is an exaggeration and this explanation sounds 10x worse than the truth. RIP.] I just haven't really had the chance to change back yet, I've been a bit busy.
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He is a little skeptical that she couldn't have changed if she really wanted to, though. She seems like she's probably enjoying herself. ]
I see. Well, they look pretty good on you, anyway, so I'm sure it's fine.
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