[ Mitsuru had taken the manila folder, read it as diligently as expected of her - nobody would expect anything less from her. It doesn't matter that she feels hollow on the inside, appearances must be maintained. The hurried apologies of the scientists around her might as well fall on deaf ears, although she politely acknowledges them all the same. She is the head of the Kirijo Group now, she must conduct herself with proper decorum, although her inner self feels broken.
Kaito Nagano is indeed a name that is familiar to her; a third year like herself, president of Gekkoukan's Botany Club... also someone who has always seemed to have held an abject dislike for her, for no reason that she was able to place. Now though, reading this file, it's becoming all too clear why he's only ever greeted her with an extremely frosty reception at best.
It's no different when Mitsuru enters the boy's room... if one could call said room that. A cell definitely felt more to what it actually is. Every fibre of his being seems to exude one thing when it comes to her: hatred. She's no stranger to being a polarising figure, everything about her; her family's status, her wealth, her influence... let's just say it has never always brought out a positive reaction in people. But this... this is an abject dislike of her in the extreme.
She's careful not to let any kind of disconcerted feelings on this matter show on her face. The scientists seem afraid of him, this boy, another one of that man's experiments... and wasn't it already going to be hard enough to leave that monster's legacy behind? Now, here she is, face to face with yet another remnant of it.
Yes, the others are definitely afraid of him, it's written all over their face, but Mitsuru... no, she isn't afraid of him. Even with the way he looks at her as he addresses them, as if he's barely containing himself from springing upon her. No, all she feels is... remorse, pity even, perhaps? Nagano might have become Ikutsuki's project, but what had become of his family and in turn him... well, the fault of that lies with her family's legacy. There is no escaping that fact, compounded when he uses the term enemy.
One thing is for certain, no matter how much he might hate her, he's not going to be staying here anymore. Her tone is cool as she addresses him, not hostile, just careful not to betray anything that she's feeling right now, in this moment. ]
All of your family's medical expenses will continue to be handled by the Kirijo Group, of that I can assure you.
Additionally, you will no longer be staying here - instead, you'll be accompanying me to the Iwatodai dormitory upon my return. We will make arrangements to have your belongings moved there accordingly.
[ She casts her eyes around the assembled group of scientists, as if daring them to show some kind of objection. They don't. Though some of their expressions might convey mixed feelings on the matter. ]
[ Something shifts in the teen's gaze, well before she speaks. The hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and scar-riddled fingers curl into his palms, balling them into trembling fists. His self-control is point for point as measured as hers, for he waits until after all is said to spit his retort. ]
I'm not the kicked dog in this room right now, Kirijo. [ He leans ever so slightly towards her while he speaks, but to the already-anxious scientists he may as well have lunged at their throats. As a group, they shuffle back towards the door. Kaito holds himself there, looking like he wants to say more... but the rage seething in his eyes dies down, and he takes a step back. The malice in his voice is gone; in its place, a faint hint of understanding. ]
Save that pity for yourself, for... whatever the hell it is you're grieving for.
[ Make no mistake—the redhead constructed her facade immaculately. There was nothing to read in either her gaze or her level features. Yet this simply confirms more of Ikutsuki's sins. One of the experiments performed on Kaito awakened a preternatural sense of empathy in him, uncannily accurate to the point of being mistaken for mind reading.
Kaito turns and stoops to grab a luggage case from under his bed. He tosses it on the mattress and flips the lid open before glancing over his shoulder. ]
I accept your terms, though I imagine I didn't have much choice in the matter to begin with. It beats being stared at by those cowards like I'm some starving beast.
[ How does he know? If Kaito's file mentions this particular ability of his then it's not a part that Mitsuru had reached yet during the walk here. As such, she's taken aback for a moment and though she's careful to mask it, she finds herself wondering, questioning whether she's really so transparent in her reactions? In her emotions? Surely not, not when she's had years of practice, years to perfect it - the perfect mask.
Still, losing her father... this was never something she could have prepared for. Although she had always feared that it would come to pass sooner than expected. When the others move back, she doesn't move, keeping her gaze on the boy in front of her, whilst speaking over her shoulder to the gathered group of scientists. ]
Leave us please.
"But Miss Kirijo, we really must insist th-"
Please, do as I ask. Do not concern yourselves, I will be perfectly fine.
[ Naturally, they don't want to leave the head of the company alone in this space but they can't exactly disobey her either. That and they're not exactly unaware of her capabilities. The compromise is them leaving, but remaining right outside the room. Something Mitsuru herself is more than aware of. She turns her attention back to Kaito. ]
It is true that I am grieving but I would ask that you speak not of my personal matters. It is of no concern to you.
[ While she might have detected something like sympathy in his voice, her own is cold, formal, clipped. She had always dealt with things by shutting everything and everyone else out, shouldering the burden alone. Why should anything be any different now? The subject is off the table as far as she is concerned, as bent and broken as she may feel behind the perfect facade. ]
That being said, I am glad that you accept my terms. [ And yes, it's true that he doesn't have much choice in that but... ]
Shuji Ikutsuki is dead. [ She speaks his name with no small amount of venom, despite her relatively measured tone overall still. ] You will not be subjected to any further observation or experimentation. You will live at the dorm in the same manner in which the other members of SEES do - as close to an ordinary high school student experience that we can manage, given the circumstances.
[ The discomfort that comes from the feedback of her emotions is just slightly trumped by the satisfaction that swells from watching her (inwardly) squirm. Kaito's empathy is a curse that almost rivals his Persona in severity, causing him constant migraines and forceful emotional overflow just from touching someone. She'll see it all and more eventually, so he's happy to take in this small, petty victory while he can.
But it's a hollow victory, all said and done. The pain that gnaws at her is most certainly from the loss of someone close, and even he isn't so cruel as to feel nothing over it.
Either way, Kaito's pulled out of his thoughts by the girl's icy tone. It's far too familiar. ]
Suit yourself. I don't really care. But for your sake, you'd better have someone you can confide in. A lone tower is doomed to crumble—and become a liability on the battlefield.
[ ...The third year's lips twist downward, thoughtful. He didn't have to add that latter part. 'Stop being so soft.'
If the news of Ikutsuki's passing shocks him, he certainly doesn't show it. In fact, that impassive expression of his hasn't shifted much since calming down and acquiescing to his new assignment. Still, hearing her voice match his furor from earlier...
Rather than continue to stare at Mitsuru and make presumptions, Kaito begins to grab his clothes and begin folding them. ]
Should I be thankful that one of my demons has been erased? That I can live an "ordinary high school student" life? Please. All this means for me is that my collar and leash are being passed from one pair of hands to the next. There's no such thing as ordinary for us, Kirijo. Not while these Personas lurk in our heads, and not while Shadows still exist.
[ While the rhetoric is harsh, his tone remains level. In little time, he has his suitcase packed full with his clothes, books, and Evoker. The only item left signifying his existence in the room is a small, well-trimmed bonsai on a dresser near the door. Kaito zips his suitcase shut and lugs it onto the floor.
Golds find their way back to the heiress. ]
Let's clear the air before I move in. I don't like you. I hate everything your family and company has done to ruin my life and the lives of everyone who's been affected by Apathy Syndrome. But I don't care who's giving me orders at the end of the day, whether it's you or Ikutsuki or that transfer student who's leading SEES. It doesn't matter. I'm gonna be fighting to the crack of someone's whip until the Dark Hour's gone or I'm gone.
That's all I've got left for me, Kirijo—so use me like the weapon I am.
I thank you, for your concern - despite your professed lack of care.
[ Despite everything, his words do manage to strike a cord somewhere deep within her. How many times had her father told her something similar? That she needed to open herself up to others and accept their help... yet somehow she still remains so reluctant to do so. In the days since he had died, had she not been avoiding the others? Avoiding their concerned faces, their expressions of sympathy...
And she's still doing that now. ]
Your feelings are understandable.
[ Her answer is like that of a politician - careful, evidently well-trained in how to react to such a statement of dislike... or how not to react rather. That being said, her response is truthful. It is understandable. How ashamed had she been of the legacy her family had left upon this world after all? That being said, nobody likes to be told how much they are disliked personally, yet with all that she has been through over these few days, with all that she has lost... it's as if she's become numb to it. She had already been struggling with her will to carry on the fight, rising to this... well, it only seems pointless. ]
An apology from me no doubt means little to nothing to you in the face of your and your family's suffering but regardless, I offer it. I've sought only to atone for my family's grievous mistakes up till now.
I have no desire to "use" you as you put it. But if as a weapon is how you wish to proceed, then so be it.
I will return to the dorm just to make the necessary introductions to the rest of SEES, although you will have already seen many of them at school.
I will be scarce for a while - much to your relief I am sure. I have business to attend to. Our leader is more than capable of overseeing you and ensuring that you settle in.
[ Funeral arrangements for her father... adjusting to the idea of taking over a business empire years earlier than she had ever thought she would... contemplating her own role with SEES going forward... that kind of thing... ]
I care in the capacity that I won't let you drag me down.
[ His reply snaps out an instant after her reply leaves her lips. He does sympathize with her, but in his mind it's purely out of coincidence. There's no other basis for it. He knows when someone's running away. Their steps are far too familiar not to recognize.
If he were properly looking to make her atone in a facetious manner, this apology would ring hollow. It still does, forthright as her delivery may be—but the motivation to hound her for a more emphatic response just isn't there. She's too beaten to show her emotions, and he's too burned out to show his.
Beyond that, there's something else. Two words that dig into his conscious. To atone. They twist his stomach into knots, batter at his cold countenance until he can no longer maintain his icy glower.
Kaito swallows back the bile bubbling bubbling in his throat. ]
...I'll accept your apology when this is all over, [ he murmurs; a sharp departure from his severe tone. ] When the Dark Hour is gone, and my loved ones regain the lives you... your family's actions robbed them of.
[ There's no snark for the rest of her words. He's finished antagonizing her for tonight. Kaito takes a seat on his bed and props his arms on his suitcase. ]
I know them all. Ikutsuki made sure I was keen on all of your field capabilities.
[ A beat. Golds turn away in favor of a nonexistent spot on the immaculate wall. ]
Rest assured, the Dark Hour will be gone. I will take responsibility for my family's actions and the lives that have been affected by them.
If you know every member of SEES as you say you do, then you would know I do not drag anyone down. Nor do I run from anything.
[ It's odd really. There is clearly nothing between them that resembles any kind of friendliness, nor does it seem like there ever will be. Yet Mitsuru finds his harsh comments... oddly helpful. There is a part of her that wants to run, she knows that feeling is lingering within her, just below the surface. This boy's comments... well, she'd just have to make doubly sure that she does no such thing.
Her gaze turns to the only object left in the room that appears to be his. The bonsai. ]
We leave shortly. [ It's not a suggestion. ] Do you intend to bring the bonsai with you?
[ Despite the hostilities she's still Mitsuru. Still the elder sister figure of SEES, still checking that he hasn't forgotten something that might be important to him. ]
[ There's no excitement in his tone; even if there was, he imagines she wouldn't take it at face value. Golds follow Mitsuru's gaze to the dresser and the solitary bonsai sat upon its surface.
Without missing a beat, Kaito strides over, flicking his wrist. An orange Zippo worn with dents and scuffs falls into his gloved grasp. The scratch of metal against flint ignites a flame that he sets to the foilage. It spreads in an instant, greedy and ravenous.
The third year pockets his lighter and drags himself and his luggage next to her. ]
And now Ikutsuki's out of both our lives.
[ Quiet steps lead him out of his prison. He doesn't spare the eavesdropping scientists a single breath. ]
[ She watches that bonsai go up in flames, her eyes narrowed -of all the idiotic, stupid things to do- Of course one of the scientists steps right back into the room to hurriedly put it out with an extinguisher. If they hadn't then it would have set off the other safety measures, automatic sprinklers and such. A facility like this should be easily prepared for something as simple as a fire after everything else that had gone wrong in the past.
Mitsuru wastes no time catching up and rounding on him. ]
What on earth are you thinking - doing something so incredibly foolish?
[ Is this idea of making a point? If so, she's not impressed. Her steely-eyed expression says just as much as she attempts to step in front of him, in his tracks. ]
Let me speak plainly to you.
If you are in any way a risk to the dormitory and especially its inhabitants, Nagano, then I will have zero qualms about destroying that lighter and sending you right back to this facility.
Do I make myself clear?
[ Her family's guilt be damned. She's not accepting someone who might be a danger to the rest of SEES if it came to it. The thought of a fire of all things... after what had happened to Akihiko when he was a child... it doesn't bear thinking about. ]
[ Kaito eases to a halt after she strides past and steps in his path. The fire may be put out, a smolder remains in his gaze as his features light up. ]
Speaking plainly now, are we? What should I make of everything else?
[ Golds narrow, but his smile continues to sharpen. ]
You couldn't be clearer if you were invisible, Kirijo. Make no mistake: I'll fight and die for SEES' objectives. If it means we beat the Dark Hour, I'll throw myself in front of every Shadow.
But this place? I could care less what happens. If it burns, it burns—and all the better. It's not SEES. It's Kirijo Group. It's below the dirt to me. I won't let those lines cross.
[ A beat. Kaito lowers his shoulders and relaxes a bit, awaiting whatever reaction his words have struck in her. ]
Anything else you'd like to emphasize?
please forgive my slowness ;; manic week plus brain dead in random heatwave
[ His words do strike a chord with the redhead - how can they not when she had been raised to always put the Kirijo Group and its preservation first? Before anything else in her life; her relationships, her wants, her desires, all of it...
Still, Mitsuru never expected anyone else to understand that. Let alone someone who had been affected by the group the way that this young man has. She takes a calming breath, rarely one to ever lose her temper or overreact. Such a reaction simply wasn't dignified, never let them see you sweat, all of that she had been taught and made her the kind of person she is.
When she speaks again, she does so clearly, calmly, despite any sudden flare of emotions she might have felt on the inside. How many times in the past had she wished that Kirijo Group had never existed after all? Or that she could run away from it? How would she really feel if the entire thing were burned away and turned to ashes? ]
I do not expect you to even remotely care about the Group after what you've endured. But any displays of wanton destruction will not be tolerated by me.
[ She moves to stand to one side again, folding her arms. ]
While you are with SEES you are under the command of our field leader and of myself. Watch yourself.
I do not expect you to like or trust me, or any of us, I just expect you to follow our rules.
That is all I have to say on this matter. Let's make haste and get out of here before you're liable to set fire to something else.
[ Kaito tilts his luggage forward and renews an unhurried shuffle. Look at her try to recompose herself as if the facade hasn't already cracked. He's more than satisfied with this rebuttal. Knowing that the indomitable Ice Queen of Gekkoukan is far from what her reputation implies is good enough for him.
If he finds a reason to stoke that fire again, he'll know just how. Or so he thinks. ]
And the only flammable thing I see nearby is your temper.
[ Teeth flash in a grin devoid of sincerity as he passes her once more. Thrown over his shoulder: ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indeed they must c:
Kaito Nagano is indeed a name that is familiar to her; a third year like herself, president of Gekkoukan's Botany Club... also someone who has always seemed to have held an abject dislike for her, for no reason that she was able to place. Now though, reading this file, it's becoming all too clear why he's only ever greeted her with an extremely frosty reception at best.
It's no different when Mitsuru enters the boy's room... if one could call said room that. A cell definitely felt more to what it actually is. Every fibre of his being seems to exude one thing when it comes to her: hatred. She's no stranger to being a polarising figure, everything about her; her family's status, her wealth, her influence... let's just say it has never always brought out a positive reaction in people. But this... this is an abject dislike of her in the extreme.
She's careful not to let any kind of disconcerted feelings on this matter show on her face. The scientists seem afraid of him, this boy, another one of that man's experiments... and wasn't it already going to be hard enough to leave that monster's legacy behind? Now, here she is, face to face with yet another remnant of it.
Yes, the others are definitely afraid of him, it's written all over their face, but Mitsuru... no, she isn't afraid of him. Even with the way he looks at her as he addresses them, as if he's barely containing himself from springing upon her. No, all she feels is... remorse, pity even, perhaps? Nagano might have become Ikutsuki's project, but what had become of his family and in turn him... well, the fault of that lies with her family's legacy. There is no escaping that fact, compounded when he uses the term enemy.
One thing is for certain, no matter how much he might hate her, he's not going to be staying here anymore. Her tone is cool as she addresses him, not hostile, just careful not to betray anything that she's feeling right now, in this moment. ]
All of your family's medical expenses will continue to be handled by the Kirijo Group, of that I can assure you.
Additionally, you will no longer be staying here - instead, you'll be accompanying me to the Iwatodai dormitory upon my return. We will make arrangements to have your belongings moved there accordingly.
[ She casts her eyes around the assembled group of scientists, as if daring them to show some kind of objection. They don't. Though some of their expressions might convey mixed feelings on the matter. ]
no subject
I'm not the kicked dog in this room right now, Kirijo. [ He leans ever so slightly towards her while he speaks, but to the already-anxious scientists he may as well have lunged at their throats. As a group, they shuffle back towards the door. Kaito holds himself there, looking like he wants to say more... but the rage seething in his eyes dies down, and he takes a step back. The malice in his voice is gone; in its place, a faint hint of understanding. ]
Save that pity for yourself, for... whatever the hell it is you're grieving for.
[ Make no mistake—the redhead constructed her facade immaculately. There was nothing to read in either her gaze or her level features. Yet this simply confirms more of Ikutsuki's sins. One of the experiments performed on Kaito awakened a preternatural sense of empathy in him, uncannily accurate to the point of being mistaken for mind reading.
Kaito turns and stoops to grab a luggage case from under his bed. He tosses it on the mattress and flips the lid open before glancing over his shoulder. ]
I accept your terms, though I imagine I didn't have much choice in the matter to begin with. It beats being stared at by those cowards like I'm some starving beast.
no subject
Still, losing her father... this was never something she could have prepared for. Although she had always feared that it would come to pass sooner than expected. When the others move back, she doesn't move, keeping her gaze on the boy in front of her, whilst speaking over her shoulder to the gathered group of scientists. ]
Leave us please.
Please, do as I ask. Do not concern yourselves, I will be perfectly fine.
[ Naturally, they don't want to leave the head of the company alone in this space but they can't exactly disobey her either. That and they're not exactly unaware of her capabilities. The compromise is them leaving, but remaining right outside the room. Something Mitsuru herself is more than aware of. She turns her attention back to Kaito. ]
It is true that I am grieving but I would ask that you speak not of my personal matters. It is of no concern to you.
[ While she might have detected something like sympathy in his voice, her own is cold, formal, clipped. She had always dealt with things by shutting everything and everyone else out, shouldering the burden alone. Why should anything be any different now? The subject is off the table as far as she is concerned, as bent and broken as she may feel behind the perfect facade. ]
That being said, I am glad that you accept my terms. [ And yes, it's true that he doesn't have much choice in that but... ]
Shuji Ikutsuki is dead. [ She speaks his name with no small amount of venom, despite her relatively measured tone overall still. ] You will not be subjected to any further observation or experimentation. You will live at the dorm in the same manner in which the other members of SEES do - as close to an ordinary high school student experience that we can manage, given the circumstances.
no subject
But it's a hollow victory, all said and done. The pain that gnaws at her is most certainly from the loss of someone close, and even he isn't so cruel as to feel nothing over it.
Either way, Kaito's pulled out of his thoughts by the girl's icy tone. It's far too familiar. ]
Suit yourself. I don't really care. But for your sake, you'd better have someone you can confide in. A lone tower is doomed to crumble—and become a liability on the battlefield.
[ ...The third year's lips twist downward, thoughtful. He didn't have to add that latter part. 'Stop being so soft.'
If the news of Ikutsuki's passing shocks him, he certainly doesn't show it. In fact, that impassive expression of his hasn't shifted much since calming down and acquiescing to his new assignment. Still, hearing her voice match his furor from earlier...
Rather than continue to stare at Mitsuru and make presumptions, Kaito begins to grab his clothes and begin folding them. ]
Should I be thankful that one of my demons has been erased? That I can live an "ordinary high school student" life? Please. All this means for me is that my collar and leash are being passed from one pair of hands to the next. There's no such thing as ordinary for us, Kirijo. Not while these Personas lurk in our heads, and not while Shadows still exist.
[ While the rhetoric is harsh, his tone remains level. In little time, he has his suitcase packed full with his clothes, books, and Evoker. The only item left signifying his existence in the room is a small, well-trimmed bonsai on a dresser near the door. Kaito zips his suitcase shut and lugs it onto the floor.
Golds find their way back to the heiress. ]
Let's clear the air before I move in. I don't like you. I hate everything your family and company has done to ruin my life and the lives of everyone who's been affected by Apathy Syndrome. But I don't care who's giving me orders at the end of the day, whether it's you or Ikutsuki or that transfer student who's leading SEES. It doesn't matter. I'm gonna be fighting to the crack of someone's whip until the Dark Hour's gone or I'm gone.
That's all I've got left for me, Kirijo—so use me like the weapon I am.
no subject
[ Despite everything, his words do manage to strike a cord somewhere deep within her. How many times had her father told her something similar? That she needed to open herself up to others and accept their help... yet somehow she still remains so reluctant to do so. In the days since he had died, had she not been avoiding the others? Avoiding their concerned faces, their expressions of sympathy...
And she's still doing that now. ]
Your feelings are understandable.
[ Her answer is like that of a politician - careful, evidently well-trained in how to react to such a statement of dislike... or how not to react rather. That being said, her response is truthful. It is understandable. How ashamed had she been of the legacy her family had left upon this world after all? That being said, nobody likes to be told how much they are disliked personally, yet with all that she has been through over these few days, with all that she has lost... it's as if she's become numb to it. She had already been struggling with her will to carry on the fight, rising to this... well, it only seems pointless. ]
An apology from me no doubt means little to nothing to you in the face of your and your family's suffering but regardless, I offer it. I've sought only to atone for my family's grievous mistakes up till now.
I have no desire to "use" you as you put it. But if as a weapon is how you wish to proceed, then so be it.
I will return to the dorm just to make the necessary introductions to the rest of SEES, although you will have already seen many of them at school.
I will be scarce for a while - much to your relief I am sure. I have business to attend to. Our leader is more than capable of overseeing you and ensuring that you settle in.
[ Funeral arrangements for her father... adjusting to the idea of taking over a business empire years earlier than she had ever thought she would... contemplating her own role with SEES going forward... that kind of thing... ]
no subject
[ His reply snaps out an instant after her reply leaves her lips. He does sympathize with her, but in his mind it's purely out of coincidence. There's no other basis for it. He knows when someone's running away. Their steps are far too familiar not to recognize.
If he were properly looking to make her atone in a facetious manner, this apology would ring hollow. It still does, forthright as her delivery may be—but the motivation to hound her for a more emphatic response just isn't there. She's too beaten to show her emotions, and he's too burned out to show his.
Beyond that, there's something else. Two words that dig into his conscious. To atone. They twist his stomach into knots, batter at his cold countenance until he can no longer maintain his icy glower.
Kaito swallows back the bile bubbling bubbling in his throat. ]
...I'll accept your apology when this is all over, [ he murmurs; a sharp departure from his severe tone. ] When the Dark Hour is gone, and my loved ones regain the lives you... your family's actions robbed them of.
[ There's no snark for the rest of her words. He's finished antagonizing her for tonight. Kaito takes a seat on his bed and props his arms on his suitcase. ]
I know them all. Ikutsuki made sure I was keen on all of your field capabilities.
[ A beat. Golds turn away in favor of a nonexistent spot on the immaculate wall. ]
Don't run off for too long.
no subject
If you know every member of SEES as you say you do, then you would know I do not drag anyone down. Nor do I run from anything.
[ It's odd really. There is clearly nothing between them that resembles any kind of friendliness, nor does it seem like there ever will be. Yet Mitsuru finds his harsh comments... oddly helpful. There is a part of her that wants to run, she knows that feeling is lingering within her, just below the surface. This boy's comments... well, she'd just have to make doubly sure that she does no such thing.
Her gaze turns to the only object left in the room that appears to be his. The bonsai. ]
We leave shortly. [ It's not a suggestion. ] Do you intend to bring the bonsai with you?
[ Despite the hostilities she's still Mitsuru. Still the elder sister figure of SEES, still checking that he hasn't forgotten something that might be important to him. ]
no subject
[ There's no excitement in his tone; even if there was, he imagines she wouldn't take it at face value. Golds follow Mitsuru's gaze to the dresser and the solitary bonsai sat upon its surface.
Without missing a beat, Kaito strides over, flicking his wrist. An orange Zippo worn with dents and scuffs falls into his gloved grasp. The scratch of metal against flint ignites a flame that he sets to the foilage. It spreads in an instant, greedy and ravenous.
The third year pockets his lighter and drags himself and his luggage next to her. ]
And now Ikutsuki's out of both our lives.
[ Quiet steps lead him out of his prison. He doesn't spare the eavesdropping scientists a single breath. ]
no subject
Mitsuru wastes no time catching up and rounding on him. ]
What on earth are you thinking - doing something so incredibly foolish?
[ Is this idea of making a point? If so, she's not impressed. Her steely-eyed expression says just as much as she attempts to step in front of him, in his tracks. ]
Let me speak plainly to you.
If you are in any way a risk to the dormitory and especially its inhabitants, Nagano, then I will have zero qualms about destroying that lighter and sending you right back to this facility.
Do I make myself clear?
[ Her family's guilt be damned. She's not accepting someone who might be a danger to the rest of SEES if it came to it. The thought of a fire of all things... after what had happened to Akihiko when he was a child... it doesn't bear thinking about. ]
no subject
Speaking plainly now, are we? What should I make of everything else?
[ Golds narrow, but his smile continues to sharpen. ]
You couldn't be clearer if you were invisible, Kirijo. Make no mistake: I'll fight and die for SEES' objectives. If it means we beat the Dark Hour, I'll throw myself in front of every Shadow.
But this place? I could care less what happens. If it burns, it burns—and all the better. It's not SEES. It's Kirijo Group. It's below the dirt to me. I won't let those lines cross.
[ A beat. Kaito lowers his shoulders and relaxes a bit, awaiting whatever reaction his words have struck in her. ]
Anything else you'd like to emphasize?
please forgive my slowness ;; manic week plus brain dead in random heatwave
Still, Mitsuru never expected anyone else to understand that. Let alone someone who had been affected by the group the way that this young man has. She takes a calming breath, rarely one to ever lose her temper or overreact. Such a reaction simply wasn't dignified, never let them see you sweat, all of that she had been taught and made her the kind of person she is.
When she speaks again, she does so clearly, calmly, despite any sudden flare of emotions she might have felt on the inside. How many times in the past had she wished that Kirijo Group had never existed after all? Or that she could run away from it? How would she really feel if the entire thing were burned away and turned to ashes? ]
I do not expect you to even remotely care about the Group after what you've endured. But any displays of wanton destruction will not be tolerated by me.
[ She moves to stand to one side again, folding her arms. ]
While you are with SEES you are under the command of our field leader and of myself. Watch yourself.
I do not expect you to like or trust me, or any of us, I just expect you to follow our rules.
That is all I have to say on this matter. Let's make haste and get out of here before you're liable to set fire to something else.
[ The sooner they leave this place the better. ]
no subject
[ Kaito tilts his luggage forward and renews an unhurried shuffle. Look at her try to recompose herself as if the facade hasn't already cracked. He's more than satisfied with this rebuttal. Knowing that the indomitable Ice Queen of Gekkoukan is far from what her reputation implies is good enough for him.
If he finds a reason to stoke that fire again, he'll know just how.
Or so he thinks.]And the only flammable thing I see nearby is your temper.
[ Teeth flash in a grin devoid of sincerity as he passes her once more. Thrown over his shoulder: ]
To new beginnings.