[ let giyuu hold a hand ]

[coastal]

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week 0, monday

[coastal]

[she sure harassed him on the bus - and now it's time to harass him afterward! lili is going to actually go find giyuu sometime in the middle of the day, and announce herself rather plainly]

Hey.

Think you have enough of a grasp on the situation to answer my questions now?

[two poorly socialized people. nothing will go wrong here.]

[baori]

[ when she finds him, he'll be just minding his own business, perhaps petting one of the rabbits and dressed in something that is a far cry from what he was wearing on the bus.

but, uh, it'll take him a second to know what she was talking about. what was it that she was talking about... ]

About what would get me to hurt someone?

[coastal]

Sure, we can start there.

[that

said

lili fucking loves the bunnies so she doesn't mind this.... instead she's going to wander into the room and sit down - and another one of the bunnies will hop on over to her. she opens her arms for it immediately. kawaii.]

[baori]

[ none of the rabbits have attacked giyuu yet so he's all but thrilled. years (decades?) of being attacked by various animals to finally meet soft rabbits that show no signs of malice towards him is so refreshing. ]

Shinobu Kocho and Dimitri.

[ he says plainly as he looks at the rabbit in his arms. he...probably should elaborate with that but he doesn't. ]

[coastal]

[why is giyuu's life so hard. but lili blinks at that, in surprise. she didn't know that giyuu and dimitri knew each other but]

... they're the reasons why you'd hurt someone? Or they were involved in what happened before?

Shinobu said that she'd tell me the story if you said it was fine...

[baori]

[ because canon hates him but also gave him the thickest plot armor known to demon slaying man. ]

Both. [ kind of? hm. giyuu expands on this one because this is unfortunately a bit complicated. ] ...because of what happened, I don't want anything to happen to either of them. They've dealt with enough as it were.

[ he wouldn't call it a "story" but he's sure that she was sparing talking about what happened back on the island behind his back, which is rather kind. ...except he has been dunking himself left and right. ]

[coastal]

[ . . . hm. she tilts her head]

Can I ask what happened? Some people have been mentioning things... but I'd rather hear it from you.

[like, she thinks she has enough to put the picture together, but still. she tries to be fair.

tries.]

[baori]

Starting from what point?

[ sorry but it's so broad and he doesn't know if she just wants specifics or the whole story. did she just want to know what happened between the three of them or what his "crimes" were? ]

[coastal]

[sorry naru but]

The beginning?

[a beat]

If you want information in exchange, that's fine.

week 0, dieday

[coastal]

[they honestly probably cross paths shortly after uhh, everything. lili finds herself around the public bath, seeming like she's about to enter it - when she notices giyuu.]

You.

Did you see anything odd in there?

[baori]

[ perfect.

giyuu has been trying to make himself and what he saw known so he's glad that someone ran into him this time around instead of the reverse. ]

I did.

[ hm. ]

...did you not see anything odd?

[coastal]

No.

[she frowns]

But Yin Yu reported it to me - and Zenitsu informed me that in the manor, only select people would see things prior to investigation on Saturday.

[baori]

[ only select people being able to see things on the day of investigations but everyone else saw nothing until the day of trial. well isn't that just peachy? ]

Yin Yu was with me when we found the blood.

[ so, that's really what happened, huh? ]

This explains how few people are talking about it.

[coastal]

... so there really was blood.

[she frowns]

There's smudged footsteps outside the Mess Hall - but no one else could see it. It's nothing I didn't expect, given that Tsurumaru said that he would be going there... but I suppose that he left before the doors locked.

[baori]

[ he nods once.

but...smudged footprints, huh? giyuu has no choice to believe her since he won't be seeing any of those when he wanders in that way if what she's says is true. given everything he knows, he does. ]

You spoke to Tsurumaru the night before what happened?

[ giyuu, in no way shape or form, means to pry deeper than necessary but he is curious. that's more information than he's used to. ]

[coastal]

I did.

[and - it's a rough memory, one that she already regrets, but she's never been the type to obscure the truth for any reason. not even her own comfort.]

He was meant to stay with us - Ookurikara and myself. In the end, it was very crowded in the Dragon Cabin. He decided in the evening that he wanted to go to the Mess Hall... but I did not like him being out by himself, so we eventually left to look for him.

We weren't able to find him. He never made it back to his own cabin, and he never wandered back to the bonfire that we could tell.

week 2, sunday

[coastal]

[it's after everyone fusses after him - because she's rather sure she doesn't have the right to approach him. not when she's pretty sure what got him in such trouble, and she—

. . .

I don't want anyone to get hurt, she'd said.

oh, what does that matter now?

but wherever giyuu is, she's gonna be searching for him.]

... Might I have some of your time?

[she'll ask this time, as polite as she ever gets]

[baori]

[ given his condition, giyuu wouldn't be very far from the nurse's office. he'll likely have been stubborn enough to stumble a short ways away from it because he doesn't want to just sit in a single place.

well, not in this environment. nevertheless, he'll greet lili with a curt nod. ]

Of course.

[ he sounds positively exhausted and looks horrible, but he's pushing through it all. no need to be dramatic. ]

[coastal]

[ . . . he says of course but.

she's going to start by bowing at the waist, lowering her head to him.]

.... I said that I didn't want anyone to get hurt - but I still questioned you. And I respect your decision, and acknowledge what you've done for us.

[ . . . ]

Even so, I'm sorry.

[baori]

[ ....

....

giyuu will look away from lili and at the ground. ]

You don't have to apologize to me. [ he sounds apologetic in his own right. ] You did nothing wrong and it was my information to give.

[ his voice changes slightly for the frustration building within him&mdasht;his exhaustion still lacing every word he says. ]

I'm tired of the secrets that we're forced to keep.

[coastal]

[ . . . . she just can't help but note - ]

... you and Kara really do seem similar sometimes.

[she might've been hearing that a lot lately, but she nods.]

You're not the only one. It's stupid, and frustrating - and feels like we'll get nowhere at all if we don't start to break these chains.

[baori]

[ kara? who is kara? bold of anyone to think that kara or giyuu have traded names.

but he'll move onto the part that matters and, well, the root of why he did what he did and what he has been doing. he's exhausted but he'll do his best to stand firm here he stands. ]

Exactly.

[ no hesitation or room for arguing here. ]

I never planned to play by their rules, and I still don't. [ he takes a moment to look where his right arm used to be... ] However, I do plan on being more careful.

[ you know, since he only has so many limbs left to lose? ]

[coastal]

... I would hope so. Dimitri and Shinobu will fret about you, and I can't really forgive anyone who makes Dimitri unhappy.

[when did dimitri get himself an attack kitten.

but regardless - ]

... you've already sacrificed enough for us anyway. The rest of us just ought to be working harder so you're not the only one who has to make the hard decisions. Or that you aren't in that position in the first place.

[baori]

[ .....

he has to correct her about a few things first... ]

Kocho's furious with me and I'm uncertain of what Dimitri feels.

[ they might have been the ones to help treat him after he lost his arm but he's not a complete idiot when it comes to the two of them. just mostly an idiot when it comes to the two of them. ]

But losing an arm is a fair price for what is at stake here; don't think it won't stop me from continuing to do my part in all of this. [ sorry not sorry?? why would any of them simply stop just because they lost a limb? ] Others can do more if they feel the need but I won't back down from what I've started.

[coastal]

Being mad at someone doesn't take away from how much you care about them.

[if anything, she'd understand being angry at someone for doing something that caused them to get hurt? if kara did the same thing as giyuu, she would be worried, but also deeply angry as a kneejerk reaction. she's too emotional for otherwise.

though she nods when giyuu continues to speak.]

I imagine it won't. I don't think that your resolve is so flimsy that you'd be intimidated by something like this. [considering what it took to say something in the first place?] I don't want to ask more of you today after you've already given so much but...

... if there's anything I can offer you in the future, just say so. Even if all I have is information - but if you'd like to take my healing serum, it's yours. I don't think Yin Yu or Flayn would be angry at me for offering it.