tribridfreakshow | meadowlark ; ic inbox

Depending on who you ask, I'm never the most fun person to speak to.

[Self-deprecating or entirely self-aware? Hard to say, given that it's Akechi.]

I'm surprised you enjoyed having your father here. That seems like something kids our age would never prefer to have. We're meant to revel in our independence, after all.

[Sometimes Akechi acts like an observer of teenagers instead of a teenager himself. It shows. How do you do, fellow kids? And all that.]

he and his brother killed themselves two years ago. makes things a little different.

[...she did warn him this wouldn't be fun.]

[Suicide. And to think—that's how his mother went, too. Killed herself in shame. Forgotten and disgraced, her son nothing but a blemish on the world.]

I would think it does.

Why would he and his brother do such a thing? Suicide tends to be a very lonely act.

it's complicated.

there was this... horrible thing living inside me and it was killing me. my dad had it pulled out of me and put into him, and then he made sure it couldn't ever come back. my uncle didn't want him to have to go alone.

the whole thing was my fault.

And they died, leaving you with that knowledge.

Family can do such horrible things to their own.

it's not the first time i've been abandoned. i should have known it wouldn't be the last.

everyone is selfish. it's easier when i remember that.

You'd do well to do so.

Did your father recall his suicidal deed?

no. i didn't ever tell him either since it's not like it would have really changed anything.

[That was a selfish question more than anything, one asked to pry out some information he needed otherwise. Not that she needs to know that.]

And despite all this, you're still sad that he's gone.

Being here should be seen as practice with that reality.

honestly, i can't decide if i'm even sad or just angry.

i kind of just want to punch something.

Ah, too bad that I'm not a protagonist of a manga. I would offer you an outlet for that.

I believe this is where video games are meant to adequately fill that void. I'm not very good at them myself, but that is where virtual reality allows for venting of frustrations. Being a virtual version of reality, and all.

i wouldn't want to hit you anyway.

does it really help if it's not actually real?

A particularly frustrating video game can prove to be quite the distraction.

just don't be surprised if i suck and wind up punching the machine in the end and it works better.

[Well, that's assuming he'd be able to observe.

... Is that what she's assuming?]

I wasn't inviting myself along.

[And therein lies the fact that Akechi is bad at social interaction. He has nothing to gain from this, as far as he can see.]

and i'm not actually going to try and play any videogames so you're off the hook.

[Don't worry, Akechi. She's got you. She doesn't want to see anyone anyway.]

but i appreciate the suggestion.

My other suggestion is to take a bike ride. That is how I tend to handle frustrations. That and coffee, but I believe we're all too poor to indulge in such things.

maybe i'll go for a run.

my uncle is trying to get me a job i guess. maybe i'll treat you to coffee if i find one.

[Little does she know what Caroline is going to get her involved in. At least it's more profitable?]

Coffee is quite expensive, but we can do a sandwich instead.

Though Ren may be able to make coffee for both of us for free. He's looking into being a barista.

that would be nice of him. is that something he's done before?

When he moved to Shibuya, he lived in the attic above a coffee shop called Leblanc. While the atmosphere was truly something you couldn't look away from, the man behind the counter made the best cup of coffee in the entire city.

Ren was his ... apprentice of sorts.

is that how you two first met each other? coffee?

No. I went to that coffee shop on a coworker's recommendation.

He and I met before that at a news station. I was the scheduled guest that day.

sounds a little like a case of it's a small world then.

to be interviewed? sounds like you're a celebrity.

I am.

There aren't many eighteen year old detectives in the world. As it turns out, I was only the second. Unfortunately, being the second meant I inherited the title ...

Though I suppose it was fitting just the same.

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