Week 1, Post-Investigation: Sei

[withsadness]

[Feeling incredibly sad about Lion, Mary is just sighing and teetering on a spring ride. She's not doing anything or talking to anyone, so it's easy enough to start a conversation about potentially incriminating evidence!]

Comments

[withsadness]

[Fortunately, Mary doesn't consider Sei much of a threatening presence. That, and she hardly scares easy, so she turns when she hears her name, and then shifts her weight in her seat to turn the rest of her body, too.]

I don't mind. What's wrong? Are you sad about Lion, too?

[feminitis]

[Time to join her, then... Seizaburo takes a seat on one of the other spring rides.]

I am. [Not that they knew each other well, but... it's sad when anyone dies. She can't - or rather, couldn't - help but feel sad even when it was her enemies that were being cut down, back in Japan.] But I'm a little worried about tomorrow, too. And I'm worried about you.

How are you feeling about all of this? ...other than sad.

[withsadness]

I'm okay...

[Mostly just sad. She sways idly on the spring, her eyes traveling down toward the ground.]

I'm scared they'll get the wrong person. I hope whoever did this pays for it, even if I'd be happier if nobody had done anything in the first place, and it's not fair to whoever has a murderer for a partner.

[Just, you know. Other than that.]

Why are you worried? Do you think something else bad will happen?

[feminitis]

...we got the right person the first time, didn't we? It wasn't fair to their partners, but we got them. So maybe we'll get them this time, too.

[Sei hopes her smile is encouraging. She's not sure anything really can be encouraging in this situation, though - particularly not with what she has to say next.]

I searched the park today along with the man who has dog ears. We found a shirt that was too small for most of us to have been wearing... but it looked like it might fit you or Max-kun. [i hate having typed that] Anyone could have taken it from one of the stores, so it doesn't mean you did anything. But I want to make sure you'll be all right if it comes up when people are panicking tomorrow.

[Basically, Mary is going to get one very dedicated whiteknight at tomorrow's trial.]

And I wanted to make sure you knew about the shirt, so it didn't come as a surprise...

[withsadness]

[Either Mary knows nothing about it or she's a convincing faker, because her eyes snap back up to Sei's face in horrified surprise.]

You think it's evidence?

[feminitis]

[The look on her face breaks Sei's heart. ...yes, it's better that this comes up now instead of unexpectedly tomorrow; this way, Mary can steel herself for it.]

I don't! It looked like someone got carried away painting and threw the shirt away after people got dirty. But it was there when we went looking for evidence, so somebody might think it.

[withsadness]

But...why would anyone use a shirt that would fit someone as small as me or Max?

[She'd think that maybe someone just wanted to protect their own clothes, but if they couldn't fit into it, that can't be right at all.]

Thank you for letting me know. I don't want to say something wrong tomorrow just because I'm scared.

[feminitis]

I don't know... I suppose it might have fit some of the smaller girls as well, but it really did look like it was made for a child. [Maybe it's some kind of a red herring...?]

But I don't think that you had anything to do with it, which is why I came to you with this. ...I'll help you however I can tomorrow, all right, Mary-chan? My partner will too, I'm sure. He's a little rough around the edges, but he isn't a bad guy.

1/2

[withsadness]

[Mary takes a deep breath in silence, then slides off of the spring ride until her feet touch the ground.

[withsadness]

[And then she steps forward and gives Sei a hug.]

If I remember the profiles right, I like him. He's really nice. You're nice, too. Thank you for believing in me--I promise I had nothing to do with it. I liked Lion, and I really like Izaya so I'd never try and get either of them hurt.

[feminitis]

[Oh.

She's always thought it was especially unfair that Mary has to be subjected to something like this at all, but when the girl's arms come around her, that just hammers it home. She wraps on arm around her to return the hug and brings a hand up to ruffle her hair.]

I know you wouldn't. We'll figure out who did this, just like last week. I promise.

[withsadness]

I promise, too! I'll do my best!

[She'll help sniff out the criminal!]

Is there anything else you can tell me about what you found, or was that all that there was?

[feminitis]

[mary will do her best... good.]

The shirt had some red paint on it, and there was a can of red spray paint that still had paint in it there, too. But that's all we found there.