hashiiba-blog

[hashiiba-blog]

trial | carry | yuudai | [re: tousen]

He had been concentrating solely on the bucket and the hose ever since it had been brought up: they were saying the killer had to have visited the greenhouse, so there must have been someone he missed. He wracked his brain for a missing memory, lost in thought until Tousen’s voice exploded and called out for his support.

He jerked to alert, startled and wide-eyed as he looked at her dumbly and with a stammer creeping out his lips before he too cried out.

“Y-You’re right !! Ichini-kun… you’re talking about the large gym bag Suetsugu-kun was carrying in the elevator when we saw her, right ?!”

[hashiiba-blog]

trial | singularity | yuudai | [re: tetsuya, lowell, umika]

“…I would never work with an accomplice, for the record!! I don’t think it’s easy to trust people to go along with you personally!”

The first thing Yuudai says is probably not the best thing, and it’s not anything that can necessarily clear him, but he doesn’t have evidence and that’s what they need right now. He wears an apologetic smile as he sheepishly rubs the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry, I should be talking more especially when two people’s lives are on the line! I spent my morning with Ichini-kun, it’s true, but my testimony… hm… how do I say it? It doesn’t give you the clear answer you’d all want, huh? I spent around half an hour by myself at the well ruminating over something before I started talking with Ichini-kun. She was doing something with the plants, but I figured I could ignore her until I was done. We talked until the dead body was found.”

Ah, that came off as a little rude. Oh well.

“I can’t say I saw anyone else come into the greenhouse and I didn’t really check whether or not the hose was there. I spent all my time alone on prayer, so it was hard to focus on anything else before I started rambling with Ichini-kun.”

[hashiiba-blog]

chfour | revisiting | open

Though there were a few artistic talents in the class, Yuudai Akimura was definitely not one of them, yet in the end he was there in front of an easel with a canvas-- or rather, he was in front of an empty easel with a canvas leaning against it and flat on the ground. He had truthfully gotten tired of the whole standing up whilst painting business and decided it was 100% unnecessary.

If anything, the easel was being used more as a rack to hold his uniform's blazer for him. Paint covered just about every part of him, some being on his face, his hands, his forearms, his pants, etc. The cup of water he had was a murky, dark color; the brushes he was using were still globbed with paint; and the palette was almost completely covered in colors.

As for the actual image he was painting? Well... Was that supposed to be a dog? It seemed to have a humongous red eye. There was also a balloon of a man with a red kimono and a black scarf next to him?? Maybe?? The background was also a mess of a yellow sky that had splotches of blue and green, and it was touching the subjects of the painting to the point that it covered them. It was clear he was painting in the background after everything else.

When he heard someone come in, he glanced up with a startled yelp, tossing the paintbrush he was holding across the room. It fell against the ground, streaking it with the white mixed with bits of blue paint that had adorned it.

"Huh? Oh! Did you want to use this room? I can just, uh... leave you to it!"

[hashiiba-blog]

trial | katsuie and oichi | yuudai | [re: rui a.]

“You 100% had a choice! Neither of you had to assist him in that! You could’ve stopped him! Even if you didn’t want to be a shining hero… you could have just… you could have just done nothing at all!!”

He slams his hands on the edges of his podium, not particularly carrying about the sting at his palms in this moment.

“Sometimes, we think things we shouldn’t… we think things we shouldn’t… we think… but that’s why we have heroes. We have people to look up to, to take us out of the darkness! We have people who tell us to keep going, to be better, and that there’s hope! Even if we don’t believe in it, we can try and believe in them at least…!”

“You… you let him know that there was no hero to look up to… you told him that hope was useless, pointless, and helped him die. Don’t you see…?”

He found himself yelling at first, as always, but his voice struggled to stay at its normal intensity. The easier the words came to him, the harder his voice became to project. His mind was awhirl yet his mouth was strangely docile. His voice sounded so fragile and meek as he refused to look at anyone, not even the deceased.

“You called him a dying man when there was a chance he could’ve failed and lived… And then you shame a bunch of people who were honestly trying to just bring justice to man none of us knew…? You try to inspire guilt in the people who were confused because this experience is just so new to them and they failed because of that honest mistake…?”

[hashiiba-blog]

trial | run/hide | yuudai | [re: hise, rui a., shinobu]

“…I know they had two truths and one lie. That’s why I said it…”

He mutters the complaint underneath his breath like a child would whine, as if he were the boy who cried wolf. He decides to keep out of it though once he sees the curator’s expression grow dark and his voice grow accusing.

( maybe yuudai really was wrong on his process of elimination– )

Part of him wants to stop the curator, knowing just how incorrect his guess was on the matchmaker’s secret, but he holds back because of self doubt. Besides, in the end, the curator seemed to be right on the account of attempted murder.

Yuudai had nothing to show for his own deductions.

The actor quirks an eyebrow as the three throw each other under the bus yet at the same time keep themselves from telling the full truth. Two of them hold the answer, yet it still isn’t there? He covers his mouth with his hand as he thinks it over before letting it drop to his side again.

“…Pardon me, but I don’t think I follow the motivations here. Someone’s going to die by execution, so if you’re not the killer, wouldn’t it be better to just save yourself now? To save all of the innocent? Whether by altruism or by selfish choice, the route to take should be a pillar of blinding light, easy to grasp at the end of any tunnel…!”

“…Unless, do you two not actually know who killed him technically?”

[hashiiba-blog]

trial | passive with the things you say | yuudai | [re: rui a., aito]

Oh. Wasn’t this fun.

The motive had been something that had been bothering the stunt performer the whole time. Of course, there was plenty of evidence– evidence he couldn’t really wrap his head around ( it was different than strands of hair in blood or petals of synthetic flowers ) and besides the things he wanted to bring up, others already had placed out into the open. It became the very reason people were yelling, though to experience all all of the people he was suspecting and then some to be handling it badly was… definitely a surprise– perhaps more a confusion, for bemusement and shock could so easily overlap and definitions were muddied.

“Awabuchi-kun, who as a winner would admit that they’d be playing the motive game at this stage?”

“Honestly… I’m still trying to debate whether I think the culprit was someone who was afraid of getting their secret revealed or if they already had their secret revealed to begin with. I mean, if your secret was already out in the open, why would you kill? It wouldn’t stop someone from being able to figure it out, right?”

The actor stared at no one, admittedly a little terrified of them all in this moment and instead chose to keep his gaze locked on the dead portrait of the late Shinpei. The other had listened to him, so maybe… this would give him the strength to keep talking.

The dead cannot refute you, after all.

“…I can’t say anything else, but Hisoka-kun is right in case anyone needed to know: none of the secrets were his. If we assume Sasaki-kun’s secret was that he had depression, then Hisoka-kun was one of the five people whose secret was never unveiled!”

[hashiiba-blog]

hisokaito:

Oh. Well, Aito can’t say he was expecting to get an apology for anything. He’d honestly spoken back at the trial with sarcasm after being scolded, so he wasn’t sure whether Akimura was messing with him or was just really stupid. He acted genuine enough, but that could very well be acting.

Whatever, Aito figured, why shouldn’t he accept someone understanding the point of this whole game, anyway?

“Oh…aha, don’t even worry about that, I understand! I’m not heartless either!”

Maybe that was a bit of a lie. He continued to follow Yuudai to the laundry room, speaking more as he did.

“I didn’t really enjoy being that harsh towards Hachimitsu-san, especially when she got so upset…but I had to figure out the truth somehow. It was such a gruesome murder too, I guess I wanted to just get past it.”

Ok, that was at least half true, the murder had made him feel sick. Who said he was never honest?

"A-Aaah, sorry-- I didn't mean to imply--!!  Eugh. Nevermind..."

The actor sighed. He could feel his face heating up with shame and figures this had been the reason that the publicist had so much fun teasing him the first time they met. Besides, putting two apologies into one conversation seemed like overkill and would give the wrong vibe about him to the matchmaker.

He quiets down, listening to the other explain, a little grateful that it wouldn’t be a one-sided conversation.

"I wish I could be like that. You know, the truth is sometimes terrifying that it ends up becoming easier to believe a lie. But... whether it's a gruesome death or not, we owe it to everyone to figure out the truth, don't we?"

"I know people don't seem to like you much, but I support you."

chthree | pastiche | yuudai & aito

[hashiiba-blog]

kanehoshii:

Yuudai was lucky that Junpei didn’t really care enough to pointedly insult someone– well, for most people– though his extremely blunt way of speaking often came off that way. Honestly (though he’d never ever admit it), he thought it was weirdly charming how Yuudai was determined to fairly exchange items, like Junpei had actually wanted to keep his personal picture in some weird hostage situation.

“I mean, maybe a flea market startup. They could at least consistently theme the items they give us…”

But anyway, Miku. He peers at the figure a bit more, as after recieving his own… weird keychain, he didn’t put it past their caretakers to give away bootlegs. Not that he’d ever had a figure before, since they were too expensive for him, but he figured he’d be able to tell if her head was from a different body or something. Yuudai wouldn’t, though, since he’d never heard of her, which makes him look up incredulously.

“Eh? You’ve never heard of Miku? Really? Kids these days…”

[screenshot of yuudai’s roster age: 17 and junpei’s roster age: 16 dot png]

“She’s– no, she’s like, uh… a singer. But virtual… you know? Vocaloid? She has concerts and stuff…”

Junpei quickly realizes that trying to explain Vocaloid was harder than it seemed. 

“Anyway, uh… this is a pretty valuable figure, I think– I mean, they all are, but… I mean, if you want to keep it to sell it later or something, I don’t care. I don’t know if it’s a fair trade for just a picture…”

As he trails off, Junpei seems to cycle through three whole emotions as he considers something, which are in fact all the emotions he’s capable of expressing. Eventually he manages to grind out the rest of the conversation as best he can.

“…Was that, uh. Your brother, or… something. The picture, I mean. Not that you have to tell me, I don’t really care…”

At this point “I don’t care” seemed like a text signature attached to everything he said.

"A consistent theme, huh?"

He mumbles his parroting, and he muses about all the items he had seen people been given thus far. He supposes he really couldn't put a name to any of the various trinkets and objects in order to tie them-- novelties maybe? Though to call a rose-gold wristwatch a "novelty" felt like hearsay.

He allows the utaite to both examine the figure ( honestly as much as he would like to-- it's incredible how much more patient he could be in a place without a schedule from either his job or school ) and attempt to explain exactly who the figure was depicting, a genuine look of interest painting his features.

He sheepishly chuckles and rubs at the back of his neck when he's lightly reprimanded for being ignorant.

"So like... she's still a character then, right? Gotcha. Though if she has concerts, then does an actress dress up as her and lip-sync?"

Yuudai shakes his head when the other tells him of the value.

"You can take it! You seem to like it-- I think... Anyway! I'd rather it go to someone who could get happiness from it than to sell it. I don't need the money that much."

Yuudai expected the conversation to solely revolve around the merchandise and was fully willing to keep it that way, so his eyes widen a bit in surprise when Junpei steers it elsewhere. His expression hardens for a moment before eventually easing up.

"Ah. My cousin actually. But I don't blame you; we used to get confused for twins all the time. There’s not a heck of a lot to distinguish us from one another, but I guess we have pretty different voices. I don’t know why Suji-kun and Mei-kun had a photo of him though… I figured they really only gave out souvenirs, you know?”

chthree | treasure trove | yuudai & junpei

[hashiiba-blog]

kanehoshii:

Honestly, Junpei hadn’t much cared either way if he got paid back for giving away the picture or not– he felt weirder about keeping someone’s personal picture than anything, and he mostly just wanted to hole up in his room and battle his headache. But then, of course, he’d found an inconvenient note, and even though he was blunt he wasn’t rude, so he didn’t want to leave Yuudai hanging. Given what he’d seen of the other boy, that would be like kicking a puppy. 

So, here he was, shuffling into the kitchen only slightly less late than he was to everything else, still a few miles away from anyone’s definition of on time. He still didn’t look his greatest either, as he apparently was trying to ratchet up his deathly pallor by a few notches and combine it with occasional coughs. 

At least Yuudai wasn’t hard to spot, though– when he catches the other boy’s greeting, he raises his own hand halfheartedly as he makes his way over, though he doesn’t seem to be able to match enthusiasm.

“Hi, Akimura-san. Nice Antique Roadshow you have set up here, huh.”

He reaches up to scratch his cheek awkwardly, and then leans forward a bit, peering at one of the items.

“…Is that Miku?”

At the sight of Junpei coming over, he stops waving him over and overall just making a spectacle out of himself. He keeps his smile on, though when he looks down at the items prepared, he starts to have doubts about whether or not these were good gifts. He had been so optimistic about failure just a few minutes before, but now he worried that the other would hate him and think him a fool.

At least at a first glance, the other wasn't insulting the assortment-- as far as he can tell. Maybe it was a stealth insult for all he knew.

"Heh, I guess it looks like that, doesn't it? I would hope it at least looked more like a flea market stall though."

He's nervous as his peer appraises the three items, and the actor tries to judge the other's expression but finds himself unable to decipher much of anything. He's caught up in his attempt at analysis that he skips a beat in the conversation, barely realizing that the other was asking him a question.

"Oh! Miku? Is that the girl in this figure here with the teal pigtails by chance?"

He slides the Halloween edition figure forward a bit.

"Is she part of a show or something?"

chthree | treasure trove | yuudai & junpei

[hashiiba-blog]

hisokaito:

In Yuudai’s defense, Aito hadn’t been the most focused on what was around him either. The matchmaker had been more focused on putting away his notebook on the way back to his room than the hallway in front of him, so he hadn’t had much time to react to Yuudai. After stumbling back a bit, he looked to the actor, listening to his loud apology and nodding.

“Aha…no worries, Akimura-kun. I could have been more aware myself.”

He tilted his head at Yuudai’s question, then nodded, folding his arms as he watched the other boy handle his laundry.

“Oh? Of course, I’m always free to talk to you. Did you need something specific from me?”

Yuudai jumps back up to his feet, clumsily bundling up all his clothes into a much more wrinkled mess. He feels some relief knowing that Aito did not turn him down and seems to at least be wearing a smile-- one that Yuudai can only hope is genuine and not strained.

"Great! Follow me to the Laundry Room, okay? I'll just talk about it on the way. I'm sure you'll be done with me before I even finish, honestly."

He motions, using a tilted motion of his head, for the matchmaker to follow him before he began to stride away. He glances behind to ensure that the brunet is still with him before he starts to speak.

"I guess... you could say I like closure. I'm sorry I'm talking about something so down, but I wanted to apologize about the trial. I've been thinking about what you said and well... I don't think you need me to forgive you for being mean. I mean, you were just doing what was right! Innocent lives at risk for one evil-doer-- n-not that I think Hachimitsu-chan was evil or anything, not at all-!! But... in the grand scheme of things, I was acting really dumb."

He's rambling, and his sigh only seems to serve as a pause before he's at it again.

"I don't think I'll be that soft on anyone ever again. Hachimitsu-chan was just... a special exception. Moral code and honor and all that-- you get me, right, Hisoka-kun?"

chthree | pastiche | yuudai & aito

[hashiiba-blog]

lowellaquaregia:

Lowell wasn’t exactly thrilled by the idea of a hair cap, as he felt overall uncomfortable when something tight squeezed his head - not to mention that it wasn’t exactly a walk in the cake to get all of his hair underneath it. Still, if a hair band wouldn’t do the job of keeping his hair out of his eyes, then he guessed he’d have to bite into the sour apple.

Then again, he couldn’t really dwell on that thought when Yuudai commented so casually how cool he must look underwater with his hair like that. Honestly, how did the stunt performer always manage to make him blush at least once every time they hang out together?

“Uh, t-thanks. I’ll keep the hair cap idea in mind for the next time.”

If he wouldn’t have been in the waters, you bet that he’d rub the back of his neck by now - it was kind of an automatic response when he got embarrassed by something.

Listening to the other’s response, Lowell nodded along and replied shortly after:”Sure, I’m down for it. And… heh, guess having some kinda prize would push us more into giving it our all, yeah? I’m in. But what could be the prize?”

After pondering about it for a moment, he simply said the first thing that came to his mind:”Loser’s gonna cook for the winner? … Unless, uh, you have a better idea.”

Ah, right. Though he suggested a prize, he couldn't think of much himself. The other had already seen most of the gift shop items he had gotten, so he couldn't recommend those-- not that he thought the other would like any of them from what he knew of him. He didn't think he had a lot of things to offer either, and he was just a moment away from suggesting something sentai related on his part before Lowell spoke up.

Thank the gods he didn't have to suggest something so unhumble.

He ends up chuckling out of relief, his voice carrying that bit of sunshine as he manages a proper answer to the painter.

"Haha, I got no better idea really! I'm warning you though, I'm not the best cook. I usually just get packed lunches or buy convenience store food, but if you really like breakfast foods or something, then I can hook you up with a prize if you win! What about you? I'm guessing you're amazing at cooking if you suggested it?"

"Regardless, let's start at the edge and go on the count of three. Whoever does three laps the fastest, each lap going back and forth, wins? That way we're not just testing speed but also a bit of stamina too."

chthree | alacrities | yuudai & lowell

[hashiiba-blog]

chthree | treasure trove | yuudai & junpei

@kanehoshii

The stunt performer had left a note for the utaite, slipping the note at the front of the other's bedroom door. It had been simple and written in excessively neat handwriting:

❛ Meet me in the restaurant!! I'll bring some stuff to see if you like any of it in exchange for the photo! ❜

He didn't specify a time, but the actor didn't particularly mind waiting all day at the planned place. Sure, it might be a bit hellish to stay put, but people came in and out of the place since it held their food. Additionally, it gave him a bit more time to actually inspect the items from the gift shop he had been given.

Sure it was probably a bad idea to just regift things he didn't find too interesting or appealing himself, and he had no idea if the other would even like it, but he could at least try. The least he'd come out of this conversation would at least be an idea of what kind of things the singer didn't like so he could continue his quest of repayment.

The bamboo doll, figurine and magazine are all laid out on the table before him alongside the boy's several hour late lunch when he ends up spotting the person he's looking for-- an easier task what with the bright color of his peer's hair. He raises an arm and calls out to the other, signaling his place in the dining area.

"Wakatsuki-kun! Over here!!"

[hashiiba-blog]

chthree | pastiche | yuudai & aito

@hisokaito

Even with the occurrences of murder and mockeries of the justice system, there were some reminders of life before this experiment-- a fact made only more obvious to the stunt performer when he found himself moving towards the laundry room, a bundle of dirty clothes without a basket in his possession.

Lost in his thoughts, his brisk pace had become automatic. His body piloted itself to allow his mind to wander. His gaze was both everywhere yet nowhere at all, eventually falling down to his feet. Even the jolt of colliding into someone didn't completely snap him out of his reverie. His clothes fell to the floor in a sprawled mess and the actor himself stumbled a few steps back but his stare was still unfocused, and for a few moments he just looked dumbly at the person in the hall he had bumped into before his eyelashes fluttered rapidly, each blink a prayer to consciousness.

"Ah... 'm sorry. Guess I wasn't paying attention."

His voice was quiet at first, but as he knelt down to recollect his dropped articles, he glanced up and seized the moment, raising his voice to a more familiarly loud tone.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Hisoka-kun!! Well, for this, but I guess this works in my favor actually! Are you free to talk for a little bit? I’ll-- I’ll be just a moment, hold up!”

He began to scramble a bit more to grab all his dropped laundry so the other wouldn’t just be stuck watching him. Best not to waste time, he figures.

[hashiiba-blog]

lowellaquaregia:

It was strange to be back at the pool again.

Not too long ago, Shinpei’s body floated in these waters and now, it looked like as if nothing ever happened here - as if the obedient boy’s demise didn’t matter. Could anyone fault him for having conflicted feelings over this?

However, it wouldn’t do him or anyone else good if he avoided this place for the rest of their stay here. At the very least, he knew that this wasn’t the place where Shinpe actually died, so it was a somewhat saving grace in the middle of everything bad that currently occured.

It also helped that he was here with Yuudai.

The wild-haired boy observed how the other jumped right into the pool, only to emerge shortly afterwards. The splashes only got to his legs and it was a rather miniscule amount, barely worth mentioning.

Lowell crouched down when Yuudai came to the edge, returning a grin in kind.

(A note from the mun; just whisk the big beads away from this picture through the power of your imagination, then you’re golden.)

“Eh, don’t worry ‘bout that. Barely felt anything, anyway.”

With that said, he stood up again and took a few steps back - before running forward and jumping into the water as well. Seconds later, he broke through the surface and Yuudai was about to witness Lowell in something that wasn’t his lion mane - what something as simple as water could do to transform someone’s appearance like that…

The landscape painter stroke his hair back with his fingers, eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“Damn, I knew I’ve forgotten something… Oh well, not having a hairband right now ain’t gonna hinder me that much.”

With a shrug, he swam to where Yuudai was.

“Well, you were right ‘bout the water being cold, but that’s just gonna help us in the long run, eh? So, wanna do these laps now? Or should we first leisurely swim around a bit to warm up our bodies?”

The stunt performer shielded himself from the splash with an arm ( though he wondered if he should have ducked underneath the water instead ) before looking towards his peer again. Indeed, the sight of the painter without the very hairstyle that got him lion-related nicknames was surreal but it certainly wasn't a bad difference.

"Next time you come swimming, you can grab a hair cap maybe? I'm sure your hair down like that will look really cool underwater though!"

Not that he'd see much if that were the case. He recalls warnings to not open his eyes underneath the water. What a shame there weren't any goggles or anything around-- at least none that he could notice.

When asked about what to do next, the brunet pondered over it for a few moments before giving his reply paired along with a question:

"I'd say do the laps first! That kills two birds with one stone, yeah? But... do you want to do something along with it? Like the winner gets some kind of prize?"

chthree | alacrities | yuudai & lowell

[hashiiba-blog]

chthree | alacrities | yuudai & lowell

@lowellaquaregia

It's better to finish what you've started, he supposes.

A splash of water in the face usually holds a sobering effect, waking up the person from a dissociative state, so inviting the painter to try their hand at swimming again seemed overall pretty beneficial; but when they arrived there, he was only startled by how clean it was of all the things from the murder. Then again, so was the locker room, but part of him expected to see Shinpei again.

A moment of hesitance dashes away as the stunt performer sucks in his own breath and he jumps into the water, emerging a few seconds later in the middle of the pool. He crosses over to the edge of the pool where he had hastily abandoned his companion, shooting him a grin.

"Heh-- fair warning: water's cold. I didn't get any water on you with that splash, did I?"

[hashiiba-blog]

trial | proclivities | yuudai | [re: michi, hisoka, hisae]

The second he heard the entomologist cry, something snapped within him.

“Fukai-kun! Hisoka-kun! Cease that!!”

The brunet’s voice was especially loud, his expression growing to be the darkest it’s been as a strange amount of passion poured out of his lips.

“I know you’re looking for the truth, but you don’t need to toy with Hachimitsu-chan! Can’t we just coax out information, without cornering her with fear and guilt?! Even if we get a confession, we’re going by it through vile means! I… I…”

“I’m sorry, Hachimitsu-chan. I’m sorry… if this is scary for you.”

In sharp contrast, his voice has become softer, more gentle and somewhat foreign. He wishes he could offer a handkerchief for her or some degree of privacy, but this courtroom allowed neither.

“Hachimitsu-chan, you don’t have to say this until you’re ready and calm, okay? When you’re unafraid, can I ask what you want to say about the knife? Do you mean the one that was in the bowling alley with the scarf?”

[hashiiba-blog]

trial | flower power | yuudai | [re: hisae, attn: umika]

“I’m sorry, Hachimitsu-chan, but are you absolutely sure you were in the tennis hall? A synthetic flower petal was found in the concessions area of the bowling alley– and it was under a large mess too.”

Not that he was sure whether that was an accident or intentional placing, but it was important to bring it up, he figured.

“I’m not saying you’re the culprit, but if you’re absolutely sure that it fell in the tennis hall, then let’s ask Suetsugu-kun too, okay?”

“Suetsugu-kun! Did you notice Hachimitsu-chan’s accessory fall apart when you were with her by chance?!”