withsadness | Week 4, Friday: Reaper Detectives -1

Week 4, Friday: Reaper Detectives -1

[So, here they are at Worth Every Penne. It's only the right thing to do after today's discovery. Mary isn't in a very talkative mood and she doubts the rest of them are, especially Alex or Izaya...but they need to. Because they have a job. She stares down at her plate with her hands twisting up a napkin, hair covering her face. She speaks, but it's almost to herself.]

I didn't think it would take this long, but because it did...I thought we'd all make it.

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[ if she were her usual self, Alex might comment that she had thought the same. that she kind of thought she'd go this whole game without losing any of the people she was closest to.

but she isn't her usual self. so she's just sitting here in silence, for now. ]

[Izaya is smiling. It is a calm, quiet smile, as he sets a hand on Alex's shoulder.]

You're still in this game. Don't give up on guiding the Players along the path that will bring him back, okay?

[ she hardly reacts to the touch, just letting out a quiet sigh. ]

We don't even know what that path is.

We know we have to support the Players for it. Let's start with that.

[Much like everyone there, Ichigo is quiet - he's staring down at his own plate, as if it holds all the answers.

After a moment, he places his elbows on the table, resting his forehead in his hands.]

...I thought we would, too. Somehow.

[There's another moment of silence, before he lifts his head and looks over at his fellow Reapers.]

I - He wasn't the nicest person, but...At the end, I could tell he cared about us. All of us.

And...I think we owe it to him to find his killer.

Have you talked to Akira?

[The implication is obvious: was this a reaper kill? She still doesn't look up at him, though her teeth clench. It's not that she suspects Akira, exactly, but they don't know his partner yet. And none of them have made any moves outside of their performances at trials, so what, exactly, painted a target on him other than the hand he had in helping interrogate Junko?]

I just want to know.

...I haven't, not today. But - I did on wednesday, after I woke up from passing out. And he - seemed like he was telling the truth. He promised that they weren't going after any of us this week - and I believe him.

[He sighs.]

...I know it's hard to believe in. And I won't get in any of your ways if he did do this, I promise. But...

I just don't think he's the kind of person to offer peace and then use that to stab someone in the back.

But he doesn't know all of our identities, right?

[She doesn't mean to say it as sharply as it comes out. She's just...upset. They're all upset.]

Of course not.

[He's trying to be calm, he knows they're all upset - but that comes out harsher than he means it to as well, as if he's hurt by the assumption.]

All he knows is Alex, who was with me when we met up with him. I haven't - I haven't been as close as I was with him before -

[Before everything came out.]

- So I wouldn't talk to him about any of you. Especially not when we haven't even really decided what we're going to do about...everything.

[He looks like he's telling the truth, at least.]

Edited 2018-04-07 03:17 (UTC)

I'd like to...

[ she knows this makes her look bad. and selfish. but, fuck it, honestly. Alex's voice is quiet, and she pauses for a second. but then doesn't actually raise her voice at all with her second attempt. ]

I'd like to save all of the Erased. If we can.

[ that's a pretty mild way of putting it. it doesn't even sound that different from her stance before, which was 'if we can, we do it, if we can't, fine.' but it's worth saying, even so. ]

[Honestly? It's completely understandable, and he nods, slowly.]

That's all I want, too. That way...Jonas and Jacopo can come back.

[Because it might be selfish, but...it's something people would definitely want.]

...I mentioned this earlier, but...we only have two reapers that have to kill left. Depending on how the trial goes tomorrow....it could be left all on Akira's shoulders. And the moment he dies...

[...It'll most likely be all over. For the game, and for the Erased.]

If the Composer is betting on the ending she wants....then we need more time to figure out what it is. And that means...that we'll have to join the other side.

I could do it.

If that is what we're supposed to do. If it would help. I could do it.

We should stay together.

[She doesn't want anyone to go off and do something on their own.]

If we're going to do that, we all should.

I think it's more about balancing the scales.

But if one of us switches teams, it's not like we can't stay in contact. It's really just a matter of making it official. Really, it just means both Reaper groups working together. Right?

...Two of us.

[Ichigo pipes up, quietly.]

If we decide to work with them, in order to get to the 8th week...two of us would have to make the switch. That's the bare minimum.

[She doesn't want to hear this. She can't. It's basically the same as being abandoned.

At least, that's how she feels right now, with Jacopo gone and her rationality in question. Mary isn't sure if she wants to cry or scream, so she pushes away from the table and stands.]

I don't want anyone to go.

Mary -

[He stands up himself, reaching out for her.]

There's - the other option. That we all switch sides at the same time. After all...

There's nothing in the ending conditions about our team being wiped out.

[Mary pauses and then takes his hand in both of hers, staring down at it.]

I don't care where we are as long as we get to be together as long as we can. It's not like we're hunting anyone anymore. It's not like that's our purpose.

...I know.

[His voice is soft, and he kneels down to be eye level with her, just like he always does.]

Even if we had to separate, we'd still be together. We're not pitted against each other - we have a goal now, right? Both sides of us. So in that way...it would be less like we're parting, and more like...we're gaining two more people to be together with.

[He gently taps his chest for a moment.]

And even now...you, me, Alex, Izaya....we've made a bond with Jacopo - a heart - that stays no matter what, even if he's gone. Because he left that bond - that heart - with us. With you.

So...you're not alone, Mary. You'll never be alone, I promise. Because our hearts are always with you, no matter what.

One big heart?

[She wonders if she, a creature without a heart, can really stake a claim in something like that.]

I know you'd never break a promise on purpose, Ichigo.

Yeah. One big heart.

[If she told him, he'd say yes - he's been friends with hollows, after all. Just because she's something that wasn't human to begin doesn't mean she can't form bonds with people.]

So...We're not abandoning you. We can't, you know? Because we're all with you, in you and your memories of us.

...I agree.

[He nods, softly.]

We're a team. And we need to figure this out - not just for everyone who's died, but...for Jacopo.

[To give him and the people they cared for their second chance.]

I'm not accusing you of being loose lipped, Ichigo. I'm just saying that if he only knows about you and Alex, how would he know to eliminate the rest of us at targets?

Then Jacopo might not have been killed by the Reapers. It might have been a Player - Or you might be right, and he and whoever his partner is killed Jacopo.

[He sighs, shutting his eyes tightly.]

I don't - I don't know.

...I'm sorry.

Can you let us know what he says?

[Her voice wavers. It sounds like she's holding back tears, now, the sharp tone of voice leaving her.]

Please. I just want to know before tomorrow.

[Mary....

He gets up, going over to her side and giving her a gentle, comforting hug.]

...I'll see what I can do. Alright? I can't promise anything, but...

...I can ask.

[At first, Mary feels like she doesn't want to hug...but she can't be mean to Ichigo, so she leans her head against him, her fists bawling in his shirt, instead.]

Where do we go from here?

[Everything feels...different now that one of them is gone.]

I don't want...to end up alone again if we make a mistake.

[He would have understood if she'd pushed him away - but she didn't, and for that?

He's very grateful.

He lifts his hand to the back of her head, stroking it gently.]

We'll see what happens after the trial, alright? But...remember how we know that we need more time to figure out what the Composer wants?

[...]

We're running out of it, right now. And...if we don't figure it out, then everyone...then Jacopo really will be Erased.

I also want to know. Please be certain that he's telling the truth, Ichigo.

....I will.

[He looks back down at his plate, shoving it away after a moment.]

...Don't really feel like eating anymore.

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Week 4, Friday: Reaper Detectives -1

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