pc catchall for kaoru (twinsightful)

[foodbin]

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[foodbin]

[She tilts her head as she comes in.]

The last few things?

[twinsightful]

Last affairs, you know? [He'll shut the door and head back for the couch where the notebook sits. ]

[foodbin]

[She looks towards him, expression twisting.]

None of us know if anything is going to happen to you yet. You don't have to do that.

[twinsightful]

[...he just kind of laughs helplessly. ] I know how to do basic math, Emma. It's okay.

[foodbin]

[She shakes her head.]

We don't even know what's going to happen at the trial. It's a little bit early to jump to that, isn't it?

[twinsightful]

Maybe. But I'd rather be prepared than caught off guard. Wouldn't you...?

[foodbin]

Maybe, but...

[She pauses, choosing her words carefully.]

I just don't want you to be scared, okay?

[twinsightful]

[She's trying, which is nice, but a hand comes up to cover his face a bit.]

I appreciate the sentiment. [But...] I'm not going to believe in false hope though. Without either of them...I don't...

[He's not a defeatist, but he's also pretty sure saying "without either of them, I don't believe there's a reason for me to be kept around" won't fly with her.]

I think we're all scared at this point. This is the highest number we've seen since we got here, and our luck is dwindling when it comes to catching culprits.

[foodbin]

We've managed to find somebody guilty every week. Sometimes more than one a week, even.

[But... After a moment, in response to where she assumes he was going with that statement:]

...Miki told me about the two of you. I'm... so sorry.

[twinsightful]

[He's about to comment on that, but Emma mentions that fact and from the expression change she may as well have slapped him across the face, frankly. It's a sudden shift of "mostly fine" to "definitely not fine" and he stares at her for a second.]

...it was my own fault. [There's a slight smile then.] Not that I regret it, or her, but it was on me since I'm the one who kissed her first and brought it to her attention. Without that, we would have stayed friends.

But she did tell me you knew.

[foodbin]

[There's a fraction of guilt there as she sees the way his expression changes, and as a result, her voice is gentler than normal.]

...You don't have to think of it as anybody's fault, you know. Neither of you did anything wrong.

[twinsightful]

I know. [And he does seem to know that, but he looks at the notebook again to press a pen to the page.] We talked about it, knowing that one of us could be corrupted or die at any time. We decided it was worth it anyway.

[...] I always kind of thought it would be me first though, not Lili.

[foodbin]

[After a few moments:]

She seems like the kind of person who would be a great partner.

[twinsightful]

Yeah. She reminds me of my favorite person, so it was almost natural.

[foodbin]

[After a few moments:]

Sorry. You probably don't want to talk about this.

[twinsightful]

[There's a small shrug.]

What I want doesn't matter anymore, I think. Things are happening regardless so I just have to follow along.

[...] She was the best partner I could have asked for, trying to burn our house down aside. Once I looked at her and realized she was just like him, it was much simpler.

[foodbin]

It matters to me, at least. I know there's a lot we don't have control over, but...

[A small sigh, but she tilts her head.]

Who is he?

[twinsightful]

[...he shakes his head.]

Some other time, perhaps. The focus should be on what we're doing here and not home, shouldn't it? [But he smiles softly just to show he's not upset about the topic.] We may not have a lot of control here, but I also refuse to believe we're completely powerless.

[It's just that some have more power than others.]