kanesanchan

[felinguistic]

Comments

[namelessfighter]

[ he doesn't like being ignored. whatever shiraishi is up to, it can't be that important if he's just standing around, can it? so he's storming up with a scowl. ]

Oi! What are you doing out here that you can't answer someone who's calling you?

[felinguistic]

[ he waved, geez. did kanesan want a smile and a pat on the back too? ]

Thinking.

You're interrupting it, as a matter of fact.

[namelessfighter]

Thinking about what? How we couldn't save an innocent girl in the trial? None of us could, but you didn't have to be so harsh with her. Or were you more angry about who she killed?

[ he's deliberately trying to find the right buttons to push to provoke shiraishi haha! maybe that'll get him to actually fucking talk. ]

[felinguistic]

[ that just gets him a flat look. ]

More about the two other murders we didn’t solve, and how many demons there are potentially waiting around to possess us. Are you angry because you were fond of her, or because she’s being punished even though she was acting in self defence?

Would you be this angry if it turned out we’d been dragging information out of a demon wearing her skin, and you’d been demanding people treat her nicely and gently the whole time?

[namelessfighter]

This isn't about me. Are you always so adamant not to talk about yourself that you have to twist everything around to someone else?

[felinguistic]

There’s nothing I’m interested in sharing.

[ simple? Really? ]

[namelessfighter]

[ he crosses his arms, unimpressed. ]

If you ask me, that's the type of person who needs to share the most.

[felinguistic]

But I didn’t ask you.

[namelessfighter]

You didn't have to. I'm telling you.

[ he tilts his head, frowning. ]

Do you even care about anyone here, with him gone?

[felinguistic]

Unsolicited opinions are always the best sort.

[ said with a definite air of sarcasm. ]

You seem very prone to wild assumptions. That sort of thing can get you into trouble.

[namelessfighter]

Sometimes they're necessary.

[ he doesn't miss the sarcasm, but he's not backing down. apparently he thinks it's necessary here. ]

Am I wrong, then? Is there someone here you care about, besides yourself?

[felinguistic]

I'm sure most people here care about themselves to some degree. We all have a vested interest in getting home again, don't we?

[namelessfighter]

That isn’t what I was asking and you know it. Out of everyone here who’s still alive - do you care about any of us at all?

[felinguistic]

Why are you even asking? It’s not like knowing one way or another will change how either of us treats the other. [ hmmm ]

Or are you seeking a sense of superiority?

[namelessfighter]

Always making assumptions, aren’t you? Do you do it on purpose, to convince yourself not to bother with anyone else?

[ he uncrosses his arms, setting one hand on the hilt of his sword out of habit. ]

It’s not about superiority - it’s about finding out who is worth trusting, in this place. The demons may wear our faces, but no one here will find a way out if we don’t still find a way to work together. But you…

[ kanesan steps forward, eyeing shiraishi with a frown. ]

You’ve shown only self-interest, and you hardly bother to work with any of us outside of that. What do you hope to accomplish on your own? How do you intend to accomplish that if no one will trust you enough to give you what could be vital information? Why should we give anything to you at all?

We can’t work together if we don’t understand each other, and we can’t understand each other if you insist on keeping everyone at arm’s length.

[felinguistic]

A little rich coming from someone who has just made a lot of assumptions about me in the past five minutes.

[ he’s smiling, but there’s something of a knife edge to it. ]

For someone who barely interacts with me, you certainly think you know a lot about me. Do tell — how did you find all this out? Have you been spying on me? Snooping around when I’m not looking? Whispering questions and queries where I can’t hear them? Or is it just because we don’t move in the same circles that you presume I’m doing nothing while you run around making sure everyone knows how hard you’re working?

We’re all trying to survive. That I don’t have an active death wish should be more than enough to guarantee I’m not sitting back and just waiting for demons to overtake us all. Or would you prefer I spent half my time patting suspects on the head and lying to them that everything’s going to be fine in an attempt to seem a little bit nicer before they’re voted to their death. Hm?

[namelessfighter]

[ if kanesan is offended by anything of this, it doesn’t show. he only waits until shiraishi finishes, not moving except for a shake of his head. it's almost like he's disappointed...? ]

There you go again, always hiding behind your words.

[ he takes another step closer, head canted to the side contemplatively. ]

I wonder… is there something else you’re afraid of, besides dying here?

[felinguistic]

No.

[ it's not said too quickly, or as anything other than an answer. ]

I have things to do, so I don't want to die here. But if I do, then that's that. It's out of my control.

[namelessfighter]

All of us have other things to do.

[ but that can’t be all there is to it. there’s always a reason that someone avoids talking about themselves so adamantly as shiraishi, he’s sure of it. ]

What is it, then? What are you trying to accomplish?

[felinguistic]

[ he just frowns slightly. ]

What are you trying to assign meaning to, here? I'm trying to get myself home, like the rest of you. Preferably, I'll manage it.

If I'm trying to "accomplish" something, that it's that.

[namelessfighter]

[ once again, that isn't what he meant, and he has to wonder if shiraishi is being deliberately obtuse just to get under his skin. he seems like the type to do that.

and unfortunately, it's working. his voice is tight when he speaks again, as is the grip on his sword. ]

Then do you care enough to work with the rest of us to do that, or do you plan on trying to do it all on your own?

[felinguistic]

As I've said -- you're making assumptions. Just because I'm not running around with you doesn't mean I'm not running around with anyone.

[ his eyes do slide to that grip kanesan's got on his blade, but they slide away again just as easily. ]

[namelessfighter]

As long as you're not getting in the way, I don't care who you associate with.

[ there's a frustrated sigh, accompanied by a shake of his head. his hand doesn't move from his sword, and his grip doesn't loosen, but he's not drawing. ]

...The heart is supposed to be what distinguishes humans, but I wonder if you really feel anything in yours, or if you're just trying to convince yourself that you don't.

[felinguistic]

Yet here you are, bothering me over who I do or don’t associate with.

[ frustration goes both ways, really. what exactly are you trying to achieve here, kanesan? ]

What do you have then, being a blade not a person? Are you really in a position to be lecturing anyone on what you presume a heart should be like?

[namelessfighter]

A human body comes with a human heart and all the emotions it holds.

[ maybe he’s a little too snappish when he replies. he’ll regret this later, maybe, when he hears the echo of kunihiro’s voice scolding him for being too rash. ]

I can understand why it would be difficult to deal with such things, but to deny them altogether will only get in the way of the mission. It means you can break at the worst possible moment, when you’re needed the most.

[ is that what shiraishi is doing? kanesan doesn’t have a way to know for sure, but it seems that way, from where he’s standing. ]