Private Conversation with respring for parasomnic

[inordertobelieve]

Week 7, Saturday evening

[ Mikami hasn't emerged from his room even once since the end of the executions and the complete wreckage of the ballroom. When he does come out he at least superficially looks a little better than he has since Friday morning - for one, he's properly dressed. His expression is distant however.

Since there are so few people left in the hotel, he hardly expected to actually run into anybody and that is very fine by him. Not talking to people sounds... great actually.

He'll just head into the mail room and get back his evidence stuff and... He pauses as he sees Aki's scrapbook. He's looked at it so many times before, but he never had any specific feelings on it until now. Maybe he should just...

And that's when the room is entered by a second person and he freezes. ]

... ah, Matou-san. Hello.

Comments

[inordertobelieve]

[ Mikami looks at Sakura, down at the scrapbook, and back at Sakura. ]

... this? I was considering taking it, yes...

[ There's an awkward pause in which he struggles over whether or not he feels the need to justify this action. ]

I have my own notes about the hotel, but she had pictures I didn't have and...

[ ... he breaks eye contact again. Clearly the pictures aren't what he is actually after. ]

[respring]

[ She's quiet for a moment, before walking further into the room so as to not have to shout. ]

If you want it for sentimental reasons, that's okay to admit, you know. [ .... ] I know you...wanted to keep Aki-chan safe as much as I did.

[inordertobelieve]

... I thought she'd be best off by trusting a responsible adult, so I felt it was my duty to protect her.

[ A sigh. ]

People in this place are vile. What did you come here for?

[respring]

It wasn't your fault, though. [ But he's heard that already, so she leaves it at that. ]

I was coming to get her scrapbook, actually. I don't have a lot of things, here, so I wanted to hold on to it. [ she absently traces her fingers around the ribbon in her hair. she had few sentimental items in general, so she was lucky to keep even that. But if she could, she'd like to keep something of Aki's as well. ]

[inordertobelieve]

... right, you were close to her as well.

[ Even saying 'as well' feels strange to him. He hadn't considered himself as 'close to Aki' until this Friday. He was simply her caretaker in absence of others, yes. ]

Do you mind if I look through it before you take it?

[respring]

If you wanted to have it for a while, I don't mind.

[ She doesn't know how much more time they have in place, so switching off seemed a little unwieldy. ]

[inordertobelieve]

I'll give it to you when I'm finished reading it.

[ He'd throw in some comment about Aki having had valuable notes or something but honestly she's 11 and it's not worth it to try and get into that. ]

Have you been alright after everything?

[ ... because Sakura kind of was the only person seeming just as confused as he felt, which was... nice. ]

[respring]

[ A nod, and her smile fades. ]

...not right now. But, eventually.