Day 15

[pandatrash]

[There are really only two important things to note about Day 15:

One, your tablet informs you that there's a killing night tonight! Tonight we're back to normal; only one murder, please!

And two, there is shitty prepackaged deli sushi in kitchen. So uh, y'know. Enjoy that.]


((Trust sheets - Due on Tuesday, 6pm PST
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Comments

[purrtagonist]

[ERIKA. . .]

[he pauses, like he's pondering his answer, before--]

Nah.

[and then he returns to making lock picks]

[very_good_end]

...I see.

[she'll just, seethe for a moment.]

I have no way of physically taking it from you, so the issue ends there at the illegal removal of property via theft.

...Just another way she failed me, I suppose...

[purrtagonist]

[scoffs, glancing up at her again, expression unimpressed]

Seriously, Erika?

[very_good_end]

Indeed.

[peers at what he's working on]

What are you carving there...?

[purrtagonist]

Lock picks.

[wags one at her]

And if you tell me the real reason you want the wine cellar key, I might consider giving it to you.

[very_good_end]

Real reason? There is no ''real reason'. It's mine to ask for, therefore I ask for it.

How, in the course of your being a barista, did you come to learn how to craft lock picks, Kurusu-san?

It's a rather intriguing hobby.

[purrtagonist]

[says mmmm-hm in that way where it's obvious he doesn't believe her]

It's a fun hobby. I got into it after watching one of those heist movies as a kid.

[very_good_end]

And so you wanted to emulate your heroes... so to speak?

[purrtagonist]

So to speak.

[shrugs, twirling a lock pick around in his hand adeptly]

Plus, it makes me feel cool.

[very_good_end]

Do you actually know how to use them?

[purrtagonist]

How do you think Ichigo and I managed to break into the "DO NOT ENTER" room?

[very_good_end]

[shrugs] I heard no details, so I had no impression of how.

In that case, you already can break into the wine cellar anytime you like. Doesn't that stand to reason?

[purrtagonist]

[lifts his head at her again, brows quirked]

I think you're misunderstanding the reason I won't give it to you. I don't really care for wine, nor do I have a particular attachment to the wine cellar.

[he's being CONTRARY b/c she acted like she had a RIGHTFUL CLAIM to the key, that's all it is]

[very_good_end]

[stares]

You would not be giving it to me, Kurusu-san, you would be returning it to me.

[purrtagonist]

Aaaand that's why I'm not giving it to you.

[STARES RIGHT BACK]

[very_good_end]

[takes a deep, labored breath, holding back emotion]

The academy does not 'belong' to anyone, which means the wine cellar was unclaimed, and therefore mine and Futayo-san's by principle of "finders keepers." As Futayo-san has passed on, its rightful ownership defaults to me.

[grinding her teeth]

Your continued possession of that key is therefore a mistake, which you will rectify by returning it to me.

[purrtagonist]

[SIGHS. DEEPLY]. and suddenly he's holding the key in one hand (where did it come from), twirling it around his index finger

You do realize I see through that, right? And that I tend to default to being extremely contrary when people try to tell me what to do?

[very_good_end]

There's nothing to see through, because it's the truth!

[she's shouting it, now, but doesn't pounce for the key, just holds her hand out again]

Just return the key to me, Kurusu-saaaaan!

[purrtagonist]

[unfazed]

She found the key inside of a fish, actually.

[very_good_end]

[mmmgh]

That... doesn't matter! It was with me that we found what it opened!!

Just give it back!!

[purrtagonist]

And Will was the one who gave me the wine to give to Dazai back after our first killing night, so I'd suppose that you two weren't the ones who found the wine cellar.

[tilts his head at her]

. . . don't lie to me, Erika. You know you don't have to.

[very_good_end]

I don't know or care about "what Will did!" It was locked and undisturbed when we found it!

[has balled her hands into little, shaking fists]

There. is. no. LIE! It was Futayo-san's, and now it's mine, so just hand it over!

[purrtagonist]

[standing up now, using the wall to brace himself]

. . . would you like to speak in private, Erika?

[very_good_end]

[she's still crowding him, face and body tense, tears starting to form in her eyes]

Only if you hand over that key!!

[purrtagonist]

[it's the tears that do it]

[he offers her the key, but his gaze is affixed on hers, like he's looking right through her]

[he knows why she wants this. he would have given it to her from the beginning, if she had approached him honestly]