[oh thank god she's free. she'll give him a little nod as she slips into the room. why is the furniture this week awful where is she supposed to put these... oh well, she is not one to think ahead.]
(Anyway, he's going to lead her over to set things down? On the chest? Or something. He'll just turn it over on it's side so it's flat, even if there isn't a lot of space.)
(Which isn't a promise that he'll answer everything. No, he'd never promise something like that. But... an attempt can be made.)
Fire away.
(He's going to go ahead and help himself to one of the mugs. Of course, he hasn't forgotten the night before but... well, this is Hikaru's moment. He'll give her that.)
It's not about the fight or anything, so... don't worry.
[JUST SIGHS INTERNALLY FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE AT HUA CHENG
She'll let her hands rest against her own cup, though she doesn't pick it up yet.]
Claude... I know... you said it's easy to lie. And I know you said how... how awful a liar you are, to somebody else. [A very tired disappointment flickers, a stinging hurt and concern.]
But... why didn't you defend yourself during the trial? When people were thinking it might have been you?
(If anything, he's a good one. Lying comes too easily to him, it's practically second nature for him to lie and bend the truth. He's not ashamed to admit it. It is who he is and the sooner Hikaru and the others realize it, the wiser they'll be, he thinks,)
Do you mean why I let myself be searched? And agreed to all of their tests and questioning? I had nothing to hide. A search would have revealed nothing but arguing against it would have only wasted more time. The same goes for avoiding the interrogations and tests. The quickest solution was to just put up with it at all.
(He shrugs,)
I knew it wasn't me and I knew the facts and evidence would prove it if given enough time to play out.
I... I know, I... meant that... lying isn't necessarily a good thing, Nii-chan. That's what I meant by awful.
[Because she knows he has a sharp tongue and a smart mind, and to a mind who acts with her heart first, it's taking effort to put that aside and address things as they are.]
If you had nothing to hide, then why didn't you just say so from the start...? When Lup-chan was trying to say it might have been you, too... even if you didn't want to start an argument, why didn't you at least try?
Even if you thought you wouldn't be a distraction that way... I think it did the opposite for some people.
It was exactly like Alyssa said. Once the accusation was made, people made up their minds. We could have said anything we wanted and only the evidence would have cleared us.
(And yes, he'll just casually bring her up in the conversation despite everything,)
Maybe if it'd been allowed to go on longer and the theory had been allowed to grow, I would have said more but before that could happen, there was so much chaos, I think most people just moved on.
Really, I can't give you the right answer here. I can bring up my points and you can bring up yours. There's no right or wrong answer here.
[She doesn't seem to mind. She isn't particularly close to Alyssa, but she does flinch a little bit at the thought of people accusing her as well.]
We've missed evidence before, though... we missed evidence this time, with Shima-kun. Evidence alone can't always prove somebody innocent or guilty, it's... it's just a puzzle piece.
...
I trust you. I really do. So... please be patient with me. I don't...
[Her fingers tighten against her cup.]
I don't know what the right thing to do is, sometimes, with... with complicated people like you.
(He's quiet, for a long time, looking down at his cup and just feeling the warmth in his hands for a bit before he finally speaks up, quietly,)
I'm sorry. (Truly,) To be fair, no one really does. Not even myself, at times.
I don't... really know how to stop. (And to be perfectly honest, he isn't sure he wants to because that means coming clean about a lot of things,) I've just come from one messed up world to another.
(...)
I didn't kill Raven. But there are also things I can't say about other things. Not yet.
She wants to ask why, and it shows in the discomfort of her silence.]
You don't have to apologize, Nii-chan. Being complicated isn't... it isn't something to be sorry about. The boy who was tossed around by every world he knew is going to be complicated, so... [yknow. Storytime and all]
Just... are you going to be okay? Really, actually okay? You were so angry at the trial some times... And if there's things you can't say, I... I understand. I won't ask.
But do... you have somebody... anybody... to talk to?
[It isn't her. But... so long as he has someone...
...
She'll hesitantly bring her cup to her mouth. The taste isn't appetizing, with how tense she currently is. But it's chamomile, and that was the point. Nobody is relaxed here anymore.]
I... Is it foolish of me to ask what I can do, Nii-chan?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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It looks like someone was ready.
(With tea! How nice. He'll step to the side, holding the door open for her to come in.)
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Eh? Is that bad?
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(Anyway, he's going to lead her over to set things down? On the chest? Or something. He'll just turn it over on it's side so it's flat, even if there isn't a lot of space.)
Make yourself comfortable.
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She'll easily plop the mugs down. Her face looks fine today! Maybe it was just a bad dream.]
I needed to talk to you about a couple things, if that's okay.
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(Which isn't a promise that he'll answer everything. No, he'd never promise something like that. But... an attempt can be made.)
Fire away.
(He's going to go ahead and help himself to one of the mugs. Of course, he hasn't forgotten the night before but... well, this is Hikaru's moment. He'll give her that.)
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[JUST SIGHS INTERNALLY FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE AT HUA CHENG
She'll let her hands rest against her own cup, though she doesn't pick it up yet.]
Claude... I know... you said it's easy to lie. And I know you said how... how awful a liar you are, to somebody else. [A very tired disappointment flickers, a stinging hurt and concern.]
But... why didn't you defend yourself during the trial? When people were thinking it might have been you?
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(If anything, he's a good one. Lying comes too easily to him, it's practically second nature for him to lie and bend the truth. He's not ashamed to admit it. It is who he is and the sooner Hikaru and the others realize it, the wiser they'll be, he thinks,)
Do you mean why I let myself be searched? And agreed to all of their tests and questioning? I had nothing to hide. A search would have revealed nothing but arguing against it would have only wasted more time. The same goes for avoiding the interrogations and tests. The quickest solution was to just put up with it at all.
(He shrugs,)
I knew it wasn't me and I knew the facts and evidence would prove it if given enough time to play out.
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[Because she knows he has a sharp tongue and a smart mind, and to a mind who acts with her heart first, it's taking effort to put that aside and address things as they are.]
If you had nothing to hide, then why didn't you just say so from the start...? When Lup-chan was trying to say it might have been you, too... even if you didn't want to start an argument, why didn't you at least try?
Even if you thought you wouldn't be a distraction that way... I think it did the opposite for some people.
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(And yes, he'll just casually bring her up in the conversation despite everything,)
Maybe if it'd been allowed to go on longer and the theory had been allowed to grow, I would have said more but before that could happen, there was so much chaos, I think most people just moved on.
Really, I can't give you the right answer here. I can bring up my points and you can bring up yours. There's no right or wrong answer here.
no subject
We've missed evidence before, though... we missed evidence this time, with Shima-kun. Evidence alone can't always prove somebody innocent or guilty, it's... it's just a puzzle piece.
...
I trust you. I really do. So... please be patient with me. I don't...
[Her fingers tighten against her cup.]
I don't know what the right thing to do is, sometimes, with... with complicated people like you.
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I'm sorry. (Truly,) To be fair, no one really does. Not even myself, at times.
I don't... really know how to stop. (And to be perfectly honest, he isn't sure he wants to because that means coming clean about a lot of things,) I've just come from one messed up world to another.
(...)
I didn't kill Raven. But there are also things I can't say about other things. Not yet.
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She wants to ask why, and it shows in the discomfort of her silence.]
You don't have to apologize, Nii-chan. Being complicated isn't... it isn't something to be sorry about. The boy who was tossed around by every world he knew is going to be complicated, so... [yknow. Storytime and all]
Just... are you going to be okay? Really, actually okay? You were so angry at the trial some times... And if there's things you can't say, I... I understand. I won't ask.
But do... you have somebody... anybody... to talk to?
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At least here, there's something he can truly smile about. A knowing smile, one that doesn't give away much but there's a sense of relief,)
Yes. (It's a simple answer but an honest one doesn't need much explanation,) There are different people I can talk to about different things.
But there's someone here who understands me better than most. I have my secrets but I'm not alone.
im gonna punch claude von riegan in the face
She'll nod.]
Okay...
...
Okay.
[It isn't her. But... so long as he has someone...
...
She'll hesitantly bring her cup to her mouth. The taste isn't appetizing, with how tense she currently is. But it's chamomile, and that was the point. Nobody is relaxed here anymore.]
I... Is it foolish of me to ask what I can do, Nii-chan?