☇ 11 | Nobody knows where the hell I've been

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

[ On the edge of the forest Haibara can be found, her backpack lying on the ground beside her where she sat. Instead of going home after school she opted to visit the Plane instead. It seemed that no matter where she went, home or here, she wasn't going to be very happy. But it had been some time since she had visited a certain someone. With her jacket acting as a blanket beneath her for on her lap was her Eevee. She was busy scratching the spot behind the animal's ear, listening to it mew it's own name happily.

In her free hand was a book. It was an ordinary school textbook for the subject of math for her grade-level. Her eyes were darting rapidly across the pages, managing to turn the page every few seconds with her thumb while the book balanced on the remaining digits. There was a bored expression on her face as she appeared to be forcing herself to read it. Or perhaps 'skim it' would be the better phrase to use? ]

Comments

[Gin = cure for boredom]

[ravenchaser.livejournal.com]

[Gin quietly approached from behind, the usual scent of sulfur and blood clinging to his person. The scent should easily be reach the little fox's nose, at least.
His dark clothes fluttered quietly and when he drew close enough to see what she was looking at, he was amused.]

Acting was never your strong pont. [His voice was quiet, but he sounded amused.] You should have stuck to scientific research.

And then the world screamed.

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

[ Eevee's fur bristled when it lifted it's head, nose twitching at the scent. Ai had to drop her book in order to scoop Eevee into her arms. Whether this was to comfort Eevee or herself was definitely up for debate. But thankfully he was only standing behind her. He wasn't able to see that moment of terror wash over her face as she clung to her Eevee. ]

Why do you keep saying I'm acting? I don't know who you think I am but I'm not acting.

[ravenchaser.livejournal.com]

[He didn't answer her question, walking around her makeshift mat to settle down in front of her.

He simply watched her, smoking the cigarette clenched between his teeth in blatant disregard for the health of what seemed to be a child.

He casually leaned an arm on his raised knee, drawn close to his body, while the other leg lay on the "ground."]

Then, do you need help studying?

[Yes. That is Gin offering to help you study first grade Math.

He isn't going to bother trying to uncover your identity at this point; he has something that resembles faith in another's promise to do just that.]

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

[ The forced smile was short lived, but she managed to put on the familiar face of indifference when the smile slipped away. Over and over again she willed the same two words in her head as she looked him straight in the eyes.

Stay clam. Stay calm. Stay calm. ]

No, but thank you. My teacher had already helped before I came here.

[mirakill.livejournal.com]

[ Quiet as anything, she'll walk up to her side. Had Lambda told her yet, or not? ]

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

[ It takes her a moment to realize that she isn't alone. As she turned her gaze upwards she lowered her book. ]

What do you want?

[mirakill.livejournal.com]

Hm...

No other witch has spoken to you, have they?

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

No. And I was hoping to avoid any more of you.

[mirakill.livejournal.com]

You probably won't. But maybe you'll get lucky, and that one has lost her sense of smell.

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

What would make me lucky would be if I could be left alone.

[mirakill.livejournal.com]

You have yet to be that lucky.

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

Apparently.

[mirakill.livejournal.com]

So, as opposed to getting stuck on conversations like your luck, I'm going to ask you something.

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

[ She didn't respond with words, only looking at her with one eyebrow arched carefully. ]

[mirakill.livejournal.com]

Where is my thank you?

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

Excuse me?

[mirakill.livejournal.com]

'Thank you, Bernkastel, for not cheating.'

'Thank you, Bernkastel, for not exposing the lie of my life in five minutes short of being asked to do it.'

'Thank you, Lady Bernkastel, for allowing fair play, as otherwise, there might be dire consequences.'

Something along those lines. To be honest, I find the presence of your friend who requested all of that of me... quite pleasant. Therefore, it keeps getting harder and harder not to end the game so quickly that started on his request.

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

[ With gritted teeth her fists were clenched tightly, nails digging into the palms of her hands. Imagining his face in her mind sent a mixture of fear and anger through her, only to be coupled with the utmost of loathing she held for the woman standing before her.

It was bad enough that her life was toyed with at home. At least there she was able to control her own life. To a certain degree at least. But here-- here was supposed to be the one safe place she could go to. All of that changed though because of the two of them. Once more she was being toyed with in an even crueler manner than before.

There was no helping the emotion being reflected in her eyes as she glared at Bern. She heard her Eevee mew at her in concern but she did not turn her attention away. She dared not. Even with the one Ace up her sleeve tucked away carefully under her shirt she could not risk taking any chances.

She had no pride left. A puppet doesn't have any. ]

... Thank you, Bernkastel ...

[mirakill.livejournal.com]

That's all I came for.

[ Indeed, that was all she came for. With the game at a standstill, the sick satisfaction of holding power until the next move was played, and indeed, letting a pawn know the game was being played was all Bernkastel needed.

To entertain herself for the day, at least.

She could trust Ai, in a sense, not to let it slip to Gin she had said so much. After all, she was a puppet on strings and Bern held scissors. Any mention that Bern was stalling the game and snip. She would start another. ]

Go consult your other pieces.

[ And she left. Dust out of existence, as if she were never there. ]

[ex_fatalist246]

[Satoshi stops to look at it.] Do you even need to read that?

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

[ She sighs a little. ] No, not really.

[ex_fatalist246]

Then why bother? [Satoshi spends most of his time just doing other things in his notebook at school.]

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

Because I have to find ways of pretending to be a child. [ Although her flipping through it like this doesn't exactly help... ]

[ex_fatalist246]

[a pause] It's not convincing. You don't have to broadcast low intelligence to pass off as a child. There are some children that are that smart.

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

For the time being I'll have to try whatever I possibly can. [ Normally she really didn't give a damn or even bothered with the act as much as Conan did, but certain things happen and, well, one has to make a few changes. ]

[ex_fatalist246]

[He sits down across from her.] Try to sit more like this. [He shows: body language more drawn in, eyes more downcast: quieter. smaller. The sort of child who didn't cause much trouble.] And children's voices are different. It's not just because of the growth; the way children pitch their voices are purposefully different. Quiet is fine. Children usually have more cadence in their voices than adults. [Sarcasm is not usually quite so subtle and monotone is not very common at all.] You can hear their emotions in their voices more than in adults.

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

[ She mimicked him, sitting with the same posture as he was. ] I know all that. [ She even allowed her expression to soften just a little to let go of the usual bored look of hers. Even her voice took on a more childish tone, much lighter than before. ] It isn't hard to make the changes. It's the maintaining of it that ends up being tedious after so long. Since I live with someone who knows who I am I never bother at home. And the kids have accepted my way of behaving.

[ex_fatalist246]

[He relaxes, acting as he usually did again.] Consistency is better if you can't keep it up. You can stick to your points then.

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

[ Both her posture and tone of voice returned to normal again. And this time, when she spoke, it seemed that something was lingering on her mind. Her hand went to rest over where she felt the necklace beneath her shirt.] ... I think it may be best to take certain precautions though.

[ex_fatalist246]

Because of Gin?

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

[ She nods. ] It would be safer if we could sever the connection between our schools too.

[ex_fatalist246]

[It occurs to him that they probably could have done that when they had god powers.] We can try willing it. It works for other things here.

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

[ It was bad enough that Gin could possibly find her school back home. She didn't want to risk the lives from another world as well. ] It's the only option there is.

[ex_fatalist246]

[A nod, and then he glances at her.] There's someone you should be careful of. She's not from my world, but she's dangerous. A witch called Bernkastel.

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

We've already met.

[ex_fatalist246]

[Well, balls.] I doubt my family magic could seal her if she became dangerous.

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

I'm certain it's more of a matter of 'when' instead of 'if'.

[ex_fatalist246]

I guess. [a pause, and then, because it's Haibara and he talks to Haibara] I didn't like... the way it looked when she had chess pieces.

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

... Chess pieces?

[ex_fatalist246]

She was playing with a board. [another pause] The pieces looked like humans. One of them looked like a little girl. It was supposed to be a substitute.

[ticktocktower.livejournal.com]

[Curious enough after her first encounter with this place, Aoko had decided to return a few days later to explore it some more.

It was during her explorations that she stumbled on the same girl she had met on her first day here]

-- hello!

[She approaches slowly, a smile on her face and her hands linked behind her back. Wow she is really breezing through that book]

Math must be one of your best subjects, if you can read your textbook that fast.

[asmallamoroso.livejournal.com]

[ Both she and the little Eevee looked up when they heard her. While she may not have smiled the ball of fur did, evening giving a chipper mew of it's name. ]

I'm reviewing for a quiz.

[ She said this rather bluntly but it was the first thing to come to mind. ]

[ticktocktower.livejournal.com]

[Aoko's gaze lingers on the Eevee curiously for a few moments-- what kind of fox is that?-- but she holds that question back for now.

Aoko nods, but doesn't take a seat yet]

What math subject your class studying right now?