I'm still comparing your past to my future [W3, Wednesday]

[zerotohiro]

[There's no preamble as he approaches Kyouko's hut and knocks on the doorframe, assuming her partner would be out and about with the rest of the island. It's only when she answers the door and he motions for her to step outside that he begins to speak while walking down the beach.]

So...I have something you might be interested in. Since you wanted me to uphold my end of the deal.

Comments

[evidentiary]

[ LIKE SHE BELIEVES IN THEM? but: ]

It reads like one. This particular style of writing: this will happen in the near future, and you should look for this or that. I have a classmate who would make such predictions...they're annoying and often inaccurate, but I don't wish to discount it just because of that.

[ hm. ]

It has to be connected to a role, doesn't it? Unless this is this week's version of "hallucinations"...perhaps we will all find our own notes.

[zerotohiro]

Okay, got it. So...we should maybe look and see if something happens to Ruby. I don't know how I'm even supposed to warn her about something like this. [He's tugging at his bangs.] And the cigarette burn--there are people who smoke on the island, but I haven't been looking at people's arms? I don't know. Maybe we're reading into it too much aside from a warning about Ruby.

[...he thinks it's more than that, but let's not run rampant with theories.]

It's somebody's role, probably. I don't know how, but they got the note into my pocket without me even noticing.

[evidentiary]

How many people have you told about the note so far?

[ she likes to know things.

...also. ]

It...occurs to me I probably neglected to tell you something you did wish to know the other night.

[zerotohiro]

Not that many? More than one, less than five. [Since I cannot predict who exactly he's going to outright say stuff to.] It's not really the kind of thing I want a lot of people knowing until Saturday, when I know we might be able to use it. Maybe.

[...but he lifts an eyebrow.] Oh yeah? What kind of something?

[evidentiary]

..."Graduation" as I used it was the way to escape the "Killing School Life". It meant killing another student and getting away with it.

[ ... ]

In short, immediately prior to this, I was in a similar game. Although evidence mattered a great deal more.

[zerotohiro]

...no wonder most of this really doesn't seem to bother you. How did you even end up in something like that the first time?

[evidentiary]

...It's not that it doesn't bother me. Even then, I was capable of acting as necessary.

[ le sigh ]

That...is a long story, I suppose. One of our classmates...ended the world, more or less, and then erased our memories and locked us away. That is the "truth" we uncovered, but I can't say I really remember what we have forgotten as of yet. I didn't see any reason to dredge it up for anyone but the Doctor.

[zerotohiro]

Sooo...you're from an apocalypse, you have amnesia, and you were locked inside a building for however long before coming here. [Yikes.] Can't say that sounds like something people would look forward to getting back to. What Doctor?

[evidentiary]

My partner. Regardless...my classmates are back where I came from, so back there I must eventually go.

[ they'll do something stupid and die if she doesn't. ]

[zerotohiro]

Oh, right. I didn't know you were calling him that. But I get it...my team's waiting for me, too.

[He clenches his fist a bit, accidentally crumpling the paper.] But we're not going anywhere if we can't even figure out if this paper is just screwing around or not.

[evidentiary]

...I think it has to mean something. After all...if it appeared in your pocket without you noticing, that has to be the work of the Chiefs. Like with how they set up Yato...but this doesn't seem to be a set-up. So...

It's probably the work of a role, for certain. That means it has to mean something...one would think.

[zerotohiro]

I mean I guess we will find out if I show up dead on Friday. [Wryly.] I don't think it's a set-up either...but I'm not sure if it's helping or a warning. It does kinda read like a horoscope but that doesn't give us a lot to work with. If I don't accept anything to eat or drink from people maybe that'll help.

What kind of role do you think this would come from though?

[evidentiary]

We only know of two roles for sure. The killing role or roles, and the item role. Of the two, the item role seems more likely...?

[zerotohiro]

Unless there's a third role? Why would this week's item be a piece of paper only sent to me?

[evidentiary]

Was the knife we were told was from an item role not sent to one person, also?

[zerotohiro]

...yeah we found that on the ground, didn't we. [Sigh.] But how would something like this help? A warning that something might happen to Ruby and...then what?

[evidentiary]

I'm not certain. Maybe we don't understand enough about how the role works. For example - can they choose any item? Or perhaps they can only choose from a smaller subset? And how is the location determined...?

At the very least, I do not believe they intended to harm you or the group with this particular choice. It's hard to see how this could be used to murder someone, isn't it?

[zerotohiro]

We definitely don't understand enough about how the role works. It was a knife, then the baskets, and now this? How are they choosing and why? And more importantly, why waste an opportunity by doing that...[And even more, more importantly:] Why choose me this time?

Like. I don't think they're doing it to hurt us either if it's the same person. The items so far have been harmless. They could have given us 50 baskets full of snakes or something but they didn't.

So...if it's not supposed to murder us, it's probably meant to help us somehow. A warning.

[evidentiary]

There may be two item roles. Remember what they said: duplicate roles may exist...so, it may be that one of them intends to help and one of them intends to hinder.

[zerotohiro]

It'd explain stuff like the blowdart maybe. I mean the Chief said they'll give out any items a person needs for a murder but we don't know if there are limits or if killers are working with the hurtful item role.

And if there are two, that means we should be waiting for something else to go wrong. Right?

[evidentiary]

I think it means we should keep a very close eye on what "items" are used in this upcoming murder. There is at least one connection from last week, but...

[ ... ]

Before I can confirm it, I'll have to see it happen again...and get it verified independently of myself.

[zerotohiro]

So you're going to wait a week to determine if our items person does something to connect the dots? What are you thinking? And how would you even get it verified? Whatever it is.

[evidentiary]

Unfortunately, I don't have a choice. The only way to find out beyond waiting to see if the pattern matches up again is to get a truthful answer from the Chiefs about it...and if it's something I might be able to figure out alone, I'd prefer not to ask them anything.

[zerotohiro]

...if you figure it out next week before I do, will you tell me?

[evidentiary]

...I'll speak to you after the next trial.

[zerotohiro]

Thanks. That's pretty much all I ask for. [There's a short nod.]

We should probably head back soon.

[evidentiary]

Yes, let's leave. I'll speak with you later.

[ BYE AGAIN ]