Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "...but you are only a boy."

ofmanydevices (ofmanydevices) wrote in disappear_rpg,
@ 2009-07-09 22:32:00

Entry tags:

Who: Toshimi and Tom
What: Tom searches for more information.
Where: A local eatery
When: After school
Why: Because Tom is still a stalker.

Thomas returned to the table and sat down across from the lithe athlete seated opposite. He set the cup of tea ont he table and moved it over to her.

"Thank you for agreeing to talk to me. I... uh... I'm trying to find out some information and I think you're the only person I can ask."

He felt weird. Pushing around liars and people who couldn't be bothered to have a sense of morality was one thing, but Nawanaka was an innocent girl who'd just had the misfortune of seeing something she shouldn't have. It was an experience they had in common, and Tom was moderately sympathetic to that. But he needed to know what the crime scene looked like. He needed to know how Sato Kei had died or else he had one big hole in the middle of his investigation.

(Post a new comment)

thrown_to_winds
2009-07-10 03:09 am UTC (link)

"Thank you for the tea," Toshimi said, swirling the cup around a little. She'd never really spoken to Sagaki before, so it was rather unexpected to be approached by him.

"Information?" she repeated, thinking. She wasn't close to many people in the school, so she had very little private information about anybody. The only things she had intimate details about that others didn't were the baseball team and NakaCo...well, the only things that other people in the school would be interested in, anyway. Unless he meant to ask about the expeditions into the other world, in which case Toshimi was in some serious trouble. Still, it was easier to think positive. She sipped some tea.

"What do you want to know?" Toshimi asked.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

ofmanydevices
2009-07-10 03:28 am UTC (link)

Thomas sighed and sucked in a deep breath.

"Sato Kei. I've found out things about his death that leave me... unsure about things. I heard that you..."

He looked down and away from her. Faking sympathy was a lot easier in this case, but he needed the information and only she could give it.

"If you could tell me what you saw, just... a description, it would clear up so much. I could prevent anyone else from having to go through what you did."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thrown_to_winds
2009-07-10 03:58 am UTC (link)

Oh. For a moment Toshimi let a wince cross her face, but then realized what she was doing and fell back to her usual serene expression.

"Sorry, Sagaki-senpai," she said, "I'm afraid my description of the, uhm...event, is actually less detailed than what you'll hear from others. I doubt it would be of interest to you."

Something was weird about what he said, though. What had he heard that was so unsettling, and just what was he planning to do about it? Toshimi considered the possibility that he was some kind of undercover cop, and dismissed it as highly unlikely. Still, the question did bear asking. "Are you investigating the case or something?" she asked pleasantly.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ofmanydevices
2009-07-10 04:07 am UTC (link)

"I've heard a little bit, but from you I'll know it's the truth and not rumors."

He lifted his cup and took a sip from his tea. It was sadly cold, but that's what happens when you refuse to eat or drink anything you didn't prepare yourself. When he put the cup down he looked back toward the girl.

"I worry that someone might have killed Sato... san... but there are some suspicious stories out there, and ... some information that doesn't make sense. I can't really bring this up to the police without some kind of proof, something solid. So... I ask... I'm sorry that I had to ask you."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thrown_to_winds
2009-07-10 05:13 am UTC (link)

"Well..." Toshimi stared into her teacup, wondering if there was a way to keep the conversation under her control. Hadn't she initially thought that Sato had been killed, too, based on where he'd died? The theory that Toshi had come to accept since then wasn't exactly something she could explain to anyone who asked. Either way, she'd already had to deal with the detective, and if people kept asking her about Sato Kei, she might have to go back to thinking about what she'd seen again. Toshimi had no intention of doing that.

"I don't have much to offer as far as solid proof goes," she said, still keeping her amiable tone of voice. "Or anything, really. I was only there for a minute or so." She paused. It was just as it had been with the police officer: what she'd seen was no secret, and she didn't mind people knowing, but she didn't want to have a conversation about it.

She'd just have to try and keep it shallow. She forced a smile. "What have you heard, anyway?" If he really wanted her opinion, Toshimi figured she could go "true" or "not true" without thinking too hard.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ofmanydevices
2009-07-10 05:24 am UTC (link)

"Well..."

Thomas thought of everything he'd heard so far. He shifted the cup back and fourth in front of him and then glanced toward Toshi with a curious eye.

"He was found in a classroom. He was found by the English teacher, and then you... They say he was sitting at a desk. I don't know anymore then that..."

He reached up and tapped his chin, glancing toward the ceiling in that "thinking about things" kind of way.

"I have know idea if there was blood or if he looked bruised. Discoloration of the body could indicate poison..."

He swallowed. There was one more rumor, one people had started whispering around the same time as Sato's death. One he knew was at least true, some how, but he didn't know if had any connection.

"...And there's a rumor that his death may be connected to what happens when you open a door the wrong way..."

He looked at the thin girl and waited quietly for her responses, trying, and likely failing to look as non-threatening as possible.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thrown_to_winds
2009-07-10 05:54 am UTC (link)

She nodded, "That much is true. He was at his desk." She affixed her gaze to a decoration on the wall behind Tom. "I don't remember many details about it," she said. "Only that he was positioned like he was--" her voice caught. She took a sip of her tea as she tried to compose herself. Why was it so difficult to say, like he was taking a nap in class? She was getting too close to it again. In her mind, she backed away to safer territory. Taking a breath, Toshimi tried again. "He was at his desk."

She might have reacted to Tom's statement of the rumor, but she'd thrown her guard up for the exact purpose of controlling her reactions. In this situation, she decided quickly, the easiest thing to do would be to play dumb. "Why?" she asked. "What happens when you open a door the wrong way?" For effect, she smiled again.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ofmanydevices
2009-07-10 06:00 am UTC (link)

"Like he was what? Were there any distinguishing marks? Words? Anything to suggest..."

Tom caught himself getting too involved in the questions. The closer he got to an answer the faster he wanted to arrive at that answer.
He placed his hands on the table to steady himself.

"I'm sorry." He said quickly.

"They say... that if you turn a doorknob in the wrong direction on a sunny day on the hour it opens to a... different place. I don't put much stock in it, but people started talking about it when this whole business started, and it's come up a few times since.

There's also the story that while he was supposedly gone people saw him acting weird. Of course the same can be said of Kouchiesi Oubai. A second year oh disappeared under similar circumstances. I can't tell if the two are related."

Thomas looked at her to gage her reaction. He wondered idly if she had some connection the conspiracy he was slowly unraveling. He doubted it, but no harm in checking.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thrown_to_winds
2009-07-10 06:43 am UTC (link)

"I didn't get a close look," Toshimi said. "Sorry." It was basic enough of a fact that she could keep her emotional distance from the whole affair.

It made her rather uncomfortable that people were already connecting together Sato Kei, the doors, and Oubai Kouchisei's "disappearance", but she was able to disguise her reaction as the kind of expression one might have while trying to solve a math problem. "Hmm..." she voiced, placing a hand on her chin in thought. "I don't know, Sagaki-senpai, that sounds like the kind of thing that people just make up to see how far they can go with it."

"As for Oubai-san..." she tapped her fingers together. "Well, he's decidedly still alive, isn't he? I was under the impression that he was stressed about midterms and tried to run away from home." She paused. While it was true that Tom was getting uncomfortably close to the truth, if she tried to steer him away from it now, it would only confirm his suspicion--except, rather than believing something paranormal was happening, he would likely think that it implicated their group's involvement in the murder. Fortunately, Toshimi had plenty of self-control, so she kept her cool. "It's possible that Oubai-san was upset about Sato-san, I suppose," she mused.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ofmanydevices
2009-07-10 05:21 pm UTC (link)

Tom lowered his face until his mouth was hidden behind his hand between thumb and index finger. This had the effect of drawing focus to his eyes.

"Like I said, I didn't put much stock in it. But there are plenty of murder cases where the killer will tie their crimes to some sort of abstract concept... the zodiac killer, or the son of sam... sorry those are American cases.

Either way it helps to define their methods, and creates a pattern. Even if the rumor doesn't mean anything, if it's tied to the death then that makes it a clue."

He leaned back in his seat. The girl had given no indication that she was friends with Oubai, or part of that group. It didn't mean he could trust her, but thus far she'd proven to be completely innocent. That was unfortunate in Tom's eyes. He wasn't sure how to go about being nice and would rather have had something suspicious to press her with.

"Oubai, I mean Oubai-san told me that he'd run away because of his mothers death. So far nothing ties him to Sato or the murders. It may just be a coincidence but it's an extremely remarkable coincidence, one that stretches credibility to it's breaking point. Though if he is lying, he's lying to protect the one who kidnapped him."

He paused for a moment to take a sip of his tea.

"You can see how this whole thing feels wrong some how, how the facts don't line up. It's not nearly enough to make any accusations, but taken with the current widely held belief it makes no sense. Just like..."

Tom paused. Toshimi wasn't the only one who had memories she wanted to steer clear of.

"...Just like a case I'd looked into before."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thrown_to_winds
2009-07-12 08:08 am UTC (link)

"It is weird," Toshimi replied, stirring her tea absentmindedly. "But..." She wondered if she would be able to deny the connection without looking suspicious. Better not to risk it, she decided. She didn't really want to pursue the discussion further, and wondered if it would be easier to change the subject without making it obvious, or to gulp down the rest of her tea and excuse herself. She took another sip. It was still fairly hot, and there was enough left that swallowing it all in one go would probably be painful and draw too much attention. A subject change it was, then.

But too abrupt of a subject change would be out-of-place. She was quiet for a moment, then noted, "You sure know a lot about this stuff, huh, senpai?" Her usual smile returned to her face. Toshimi found herself vaguely wondering if all Americans knew that much about crime (what with all the guns being freely exchanged, and all the police movies), but figured that it must just have been Tom. "Do you want to be a detective when you're older, or something?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ofmanydevices
2009-07-12 11:20 pm UTC (link)

Tom's mouth squished up in a frown, and he leaned back.

"I... uh... I dunno. My father owns and runs a company that makes high end computer software, but he made it clear he doesn't intend for me to take over... he'd rather I not be involved in his business."

Tom put his chin on his hand. He wasn't really accustomed to people asking what he wanted, well they asked 'What do you want?" in that angry tone to find out how to get rid of him, but not usually in general conversation.

"I never really put much stock in the police."

Finally he shrugged, and gave up on trying to answer.

"I suppose not, but that doesn't leave too many job openings for my skill set. Maybe I'll just figure it out when I get older."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thrown_to_winds
2009-07-15 06:01 am UTC (link)

Tom may have been frowning, but Toshi met it back with her usually blithe smile. She made a mental note that he was involved with a software company--potentially someone she would have to deal with in the future. The way he made it sound, though, it didn't seem likely that Tom himself would be a factor there. "That just means it's all up to you...I guess." She was enjoying her tea too much to think about how much of it would really be up to him.

She sipped her tea again. She didn't much like talking about the future, either, but it was better than their previous subjects. Getting people to talk about themselves usually worked wonders in her experience. She nodded to herself; he may have been nosy, but he was still human.

"Is that so?" she responded politely. "Well, I'm sure it'll work out."

Of course, she realized a moment later, that letting the subject drop like that left it open for him to decide what to talk about. Not wanting to have to discuss corpses or the future, she went for her default topic. "You're pretty athletic, Sagaki-senpai. Do you like sports?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ofmanydevices
2009-07-15 06:24 am UTC (link)

Tom cocked his head to the side. The girl was very inquisitive. No one else had been so discuss things, or him for that matter. Perhaps she was trying to investigate the murder case as well. It did line up, he had acted friendly at first too.

He was so busy contemplating the notion that this girl may be a rival, or a potentially ally, or a serial killer that her question caught him off guard.

"Well... I... I've had training in a few martial arts disciplines."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thrown_to_winds
2009-07-15 08:33 am UTC (link)

"Martial arts, huh? That's interesting..." she replied. Toshimi's only real experience with martial arts was when she'd done kendo with her gym classes. She wondered if she could gain any helpful experience for the other world by studying them further, but dismissed the idea. Where would she get the time or money for that? "Self-defense is important in cities like this, isn't it?" She hadn't forgotten that incident with Reizo...although it wouldn't have made much of a difference if she'd been skilled in martial arts, anyway.

"And..." She'd hoped that he'd at least speak enough so that she didn't have to keep thinking of subjects. She took another sip of her tea. There had to be something other than murder that he would talk at length about. "You're from America, right? English class must be a breeze for you."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ofmanydevices
2009-07-15 01:51 pm UTC (link)

Nawanaka was relentless. Thus far she'd managed to avoid tipping her hand at all, while still needling him about information. Rarely had Tom faced so formidable opponent. Somewhere deep down inside he felt a great sense of excitement over future meetings.

He lifted his cup of tea, and took a long sip to give him a second to answer. In truth all his classes were a breeze, and they rarely taught things he didn't already know. But he wasn't about to give away all his advantages.

"I do alright. It's easier then you would think, but I moved to Japan when I was pretty old, and I'd already studied the language here."

He'd also read up on three other current languages, and one dead language, never knew what latin would come in handy.

"What about you? Do you... umm.. like sports?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thrown_to_winds
2009-07-16 10:27 am UTC (link)

"Mm-hmm." Toshimi nodded, listening. Of course people who spoke English always said it was easy. She always did well on her English exams (well, on all her exams, really), but she could never understand what was going on in American movies. "You're lucky," she remarked, not bothering to explain what she was thinking about.

She was gradually making her way to the bottom of her teacup in case the conversation turned in a different direction and she had to leave. But there! Tom asking about sports was like throwing out a life ring, if the conversation were being compared to, say, being thrown out of a boat in the middle of the ocean. Finally, a subject that she was comfortable with.

"I like sports a lot, actually," she said. "I've been playing baseball practically since I could walk. Iburi's team has always been our favorite, so I was really excited to move here. I haven't been to a pro game yet, though..." she trailed off for a second. "Do you watch them? The season so far has been really exciting." It was the largest amount of personal information she'd freely offered so far.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ofmanydevices
2009-07-16 04:10 pm UTC (link)

'Well Baseball is America's past time. Mom always thought I should go to at least one game before we moved back to Japan, but we never managed."

That wasn't a complete lie. More an exaggeration. Tom figured in all of the arguments he'd heard his parents having, certainly whether or not they should attend a baseball game may have been in there some where. It was popular after all, he could remember kids playing it all the time in elementary school.

He quirked an eyebrow at Toshi. He'd trained himself to catch strange word choices in a conversation.

"Our favorite?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thrown_to_winds
2009-07-17 04:08 am UTC (link)

"Hm, so you've never been either?" she said. "That's a shame...I wonder if it's much different from how it is in Japan." She'd never even seen an American game on television. "I should watch sometime..." She didn't know if they actually showed them, but she could always try to find them online.

"Oh," Toshimi said, "that's to say, my father's and mine." She'd thought that the context was obvious enough. Didn't everybody follow the same sports teams as their families? "Actually, most of my town, too," she continued. "It's the only team in Hokkaido, so it's very popular, although some people do prefer the Tokyo teams. Sendai's team also has a following because they were the closest team before there was one in Iburi. Pretty much everyone in town watched baseball..." Before she could stop herself, she found herself saying, "But you don't want to hear about that." Her face didn't show it, but in her head, Toshimi was kicking herself. She could only hope that he wouldn't start talking about murder in the opening she'd left.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ofmanydevices
2009-07-20 05:23 am UTC (link)

Tom waved his hand and shrugged.

"It's okay, I don't mind hearing about you."

Oddly, Thomas did want to hear more about her. The girl had given him enough information to work the Sato case, and no doubt, just like Tom, Nawanaka had realized he was pumping her for information, and trying to steer the topic of conversation away from information about herself. He was going to make her work a lot harder to steer him off track.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thrown_to_winds
2009-07-20 10:47 am UTC (link)

Although Toshimi was glad that he didn't opt to turn the conversation back to his original inquiry, that was still not the reaction she expected. While it was true that it was easier to talk about herself, just why was it that he was interested in hearing it? Caught a little bit off guard, she let a moment pass before mumbling, "What a nice thing to say," and picking up her teacup to fill the time until she thought of a better response.

The drink was now cooled down enough that she could drink it in full mouthfuls. Toshimi didn't want to make it seem like she was trying to rush out, but she still felt like if she allowed the conversation to continue too much longer, it would turn against her. She drank as much as she could while still being subtle. "There's not much to hear," she shrugged, "Uh...I guess I spend most of my time either playing baseball or studying." Only one sip's worth of tea remained. Toshimi finished it off and set the cup back down.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ofmanydevices 2009-07-21 03:20 am UTC (link)
	Thomas nodded. Her story matched the information he'd gathered on her. But he figured it was because this girl was clearly a devious master mind. he lifted the cup of his tea and took a sip, then looked down swirling it about. He decided to play things cool, and not confirm anything. "I guess I.... I dunno.... you've probably heard about what I do." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thrown_to_winds
2009-07-22 07:29 am UTC (link)

"Um..." Most of the things Toshimi had heard about him were bizarre and sometimes conflicting. Something about beating people up? Well, he'd certainly be capable of it, she figured, but if it was true, she didn't want to bring it up. The information she'd learned from this conversation--he was from America, was linked to another software company, liked investigating, and knew martial arts--was both more reliable and made for more polite conversation. Easiest thing? Polite dismissal. "Yes, I've heard," she said simply, and that was the end of that.

Toshimi glanced into her empty teacup, regretting having finished. Even though she could now make an excuse to leave, she figured it would be rude not to wait until he finished as well. Rushing to finish had indeed been an ill-thought-out move. "It's rare for me to go out for tea," she said. "Is this place a favorite of yours? The atmosphere is quite nice." She mused to herself that it actually might have made for a pleasant afternoon, if the original intention had been to have a good time instead of a murder investigation.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ofmanydevices
2009-07-22 11:46 pm UTC (link)

"I umm... I've actually never been here before. I do enjoy tea though. I have a small hot plate in my room that lets me boil water."

He took a sip from his own cup, and his eyes darted around the room. He scanned the decor, as well as the patrons, and food for anything suspicious. Nothing jumped out at him, so he returned to the girl sitting nearby.

In truth he had gotten the information he needed from her, and he doubted she owuld be providing any further thoughts, which meant he had no further need to talk to her. For some reason he began trying to come up with another topic of conversation to keep the discussion going longer, but that failed him.

Finally, realizing he didn't need to discuss further he downed the last of his tea and nodded to her.

"Well I think that this has been a very productive afternoon. Thank you for the conversation Nawanaka-san."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thrown_to_winds
2009-07-23 05:53 am UTC (link)

Toshimi smiled as usual. At least he had no excuse for prolonging this discussion. Other than that first part, she'd managed to keep the conversation mostly under control, so she counted that as a win in her column. As far as she could tell, she'd also gone without divulging anything secret or even having to think too hard about any of it. She didn't know about calling it "productive", but as long as she could head back to the dorm in peace it made no difference to her. "Thanks again for the tea, Sagaki-senpai."

She stood up and slung her schoolbag over her shoulder. "Well, I've got homework to do. If you'll excuse me..." She nodded politely to Tom and left the shop.

(Reply to this) (Parent)