[Day 14, afternoon: Erika]

[purrtagonist]

[YO ERIKA WHAT'S UP, Akira's catching her somewhere on the bottom floor after the debacle with Ichigo and a certain conversation with a certain someone underneath the aquarium tank]

Futayo confessed to killing Maki.

[and that's where he's starting this]

Comments

[very_good_end]

...

Seriously?

[purrtagonist]

[look he looks fucking tired, with a layer of pissed off in his demeanor. he's not beating around the bush, or looking for nice words. he gets along with Erika, even likes her in some aspects, but. . .]

Seriously. And I want to clear something up before I say anything to anyone.

Did you put her up to it? And is she covering for you?

[very_good_end]

Non.

That is... in a word, disgusting. No, I did not. And she is not.

[purrtagonist]

[he's quiet for a few tense moments, shoulders squared, gaze even and narrowed]

. . . you understand why I'm asking you this, right?

[very_good_end]

...Assuming what you've said is true, and not some falsity, you believe Futayo-san innocent enough she would not commit murder without some instruction? I can only say it is not so. I gave Futayo no instructions that she should ever kill. Only that she and I would explore every night, and that she would not kill me because I was her... 'friend'.

[Erika says the word 'friend' like it's a foreign word and she only has a phonetic understanding of how it's pronounced.]

[purrtagonist]

[no, he remembers Erika's desperation, how she had fallen to his feet, begged hi, to kill her, to not send her back into oblivion from which she came]

[. . .]

[he was afraid his refusal may have caused Erika to look for help elsewhere]

[there's another moment of tension, before Akira slumps against the wall, lifting a hand to rub at his forehead]

Okay.

I believe you.

[very_good_end]

As you should, because it is true.

She has been my Watson, Kurusu-san, in the context of Knox's Ninth... do you know what that means? It means I show her the clues I uncover and ask her opinion, knowing that she is lacking in intellect and will give me a plain 'everyman' answer. That is what has made her an ideal assistant for me... and now you are saying she is really outright confessing to the crime?

[sighs]

...That's not much of a mystery, is it?

[purrtagonist]

[wryly]

It's like what I said before, isn't it?

This isn't a murder mystery. It's a psychological horror.

[very_good_end]

You miss the point, Kurusu-san.

If I were to commit, or orchestrate some murder... I would create a real mystery from it. Not some situation where Futayo-san would confess. It is not at all my... modus operandi.

[purrtagonist]

. . . that is part of why I believe you.

[said wryly, with a lopsided smile that contains not an ounce of humor]

The other part is the fact that you were the one you asked me to kill. Not some unrelated third party.

[very_good_end]

[laughs]

What purpose would that have served? You wouldn't have done it.

[purrtagonist]

Obviously.

[since he turned down killing her, too]

[very_good_end]

... [sighs]

I am going to be without an assistant...

[purrtagonist]

[h. . . ha. . .]

An assistant and a friend.

[gently reminding her]

[very_good_end]

An assistant.

[purrtagonist]

As you say, Erika. . .

[pushes away from the wall]

Anyway. . . I should probably-- let people know.

[very_good_end]

...

Will you go out with me the next night?

[purrtagonist]

[ah-- he blinks at her a few times, surprised by the question]

[. . .]

I-- [the way she asks that tugs at his heart, melts away some of his anger at her from earlier. because when she's like that, it's as if the rough, cruel and heartless great detective doesn't exist]

[when she's like that, she's only Erika]

. . . I will.

[and he nods]

[very_good_end]

...Thank you.

[little smile.]

I'll be asking what you think of whatever we find, so you had better be extra-stupid that night.

[purrtagonist]

I'll make sure to purposefully dumb myself down just for you.

[he's. he's joking, but it doesn't quite come off because he's so damn tired]

[very_good_end]

Good.

Until then, is there anything else?

[purrtagonist]

Only a vote to cast. That's all.

[very_good_end]

...Yes.

[purrtagonist]

[there's a pause]

[and then he reaches out to drop a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly]