yesorwoof | 15S R7 Week 2 Tuesday

[Makima is chilling in the lounge with a book as you do. At some point it happens that she and Kira are alone in the room. After a little silence, she finds herself aware of him.]

You know, I might not have mentioned to you that I've lost memories of my own as well. Is there anything bothering you that you would like to talk about with me?

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From:

onychomance

[Normally Kira would think Makima could stand to be less aware of him, and perhaps take his own book to a more private location. But his highfaluting theories about fate aside, the truth is he can think of at least three or four entities here he'd sincerely believe would spring for that cheap bait in a heartbeat. So it wouldn't kill him to be seen... once in a while. He considers it similar to going to the office.]

Ah, you must be wondering about the uncertainty of my marriage status... I admit was a bit flustered, since it is such basic information which belongs in a formal introduction. But the period when I met that woman and her child is a large gap in my memories. I only remember the last few weeks of us living together, and even that is a bit fuzzy. It seems as though something is meant to be hidden from me, about the nature of our companionship - the existence of the marriage seems the likeliest. I would have assumed we were engaged at the least, and I also can't recall her family name.

[He stops then, not actually believing any of this is particularly useful information. But it got him prattling for a while, perhaps this memory loss bothers him more than he cares to think.]

From:

yesorwoof

Yes, I imagined it would weigh greatly on your mind. Though our group is rather lax in such matters, some people would have seriously considered not admitting that they may have been living with someone before marriage.

[Makima was clearly correct in having him pegged as a man who had more emotions under the surface. Honestly she wouldn't be surprised if he genuinely wouldn't have lived together with a woman before engagement at the least, and that is exactly why he was so bothered that he had to talk about his incomplete understanding of the situation. Her eyes sparkle at something is meant to be hidden from me. This is even more relevant to her line of inquiry than she originally assumed, which is a bit of consolation if she does have to act a bit cooler around a taken man.]

From your account it seems like the child was from a previous relationship, which would lead one to assume that a marriage for love is likeliest, or else a very unique situation arose that caused you to assist them for some other reason entirely. Well? Does your heart go pitter patter when you think of her?

[Spoken like a woman whose heart has never gone pitter patter in her life.]

From:

onychomance

[Kira lets a soft chuckle out about this prying question.]

Sometimes.

[Though it is a necessary lie of omission that this patter is mainly caused when he imagines her learning about his true self, preferably after his hands are already tightly wrapped around her gorgeous neck. He has the vague recollection that he had been holding back from doing this for a good reason. Whatever it is, it's an equally good reason to why he has to subdue reactions like that even while alone with a decently good looking woman like Makima, too.]

What about yours? I'd like to hear what's on your mind through this as well.

From:

yesorwoof

Well...

[Although it's very natural to turn the question around, Makima allows herself to drawl a bit at having to answer so soon in light of Kira's extremely vague statement.]

As I've mentioned, I work in Public Safety, the Devil response force. They kill, demand blood, and sometimes even modify memories. It's my duty, then, to deal calmly with situations rather similar to this one. I'm not happy about my limited resources here or the separation from my important work at home, but I can't say it phases me.

The reason the gaps in my memory are so salient has to do with the recent acquisition of our greatest asset, Chainsaw Man. Some of the important battles are clear, others are not. He's our greatest hope for a number of favorable outcomes.

[Her elbow goes on her knee as she turns towards Kira more completely, a bit blocking any further disclosure about Chainsaw Man.]

Would you say that the memories we are missing have some kind of link to strong emotions...?

From:

onychomance

[Devils, huh... well, Kira can't consider it too far fetched. There are many parts of history unknown to most, which his father is more aware of than he is. There was no need for it in Kira's peaceful life, and he isn't especially curious about this other than what Makima is bringing to the table from it. He considers her question.]

Hmm... Zero called our missing memories an "interesting solution", and said they may come back in time. I think they are likely to contain important information. That may not always be sentimental.

From:

yesorwoof

[She spoke about Devils rather flatly since she had done so at the meeting and Alastor is right there. Though there are some differences...]

They may come back in time? Hm. What was once lost, I suppose. Even if not sentimental, then, the memories may be relevant to our priorities in some other way.

[She puts her hands together in her lap.]

What if you suddenly remembered that the woman you love needed you to marry her soon, or she couldn't pay rent on her house...?

[Her head shakes a bit.]

Nante ne. Kira-kun seems to be coolheaded.

From:

onychomance

[He blinks as she brings up this scenario.]

Hmm. The funny thing is, our rent is one of the few things I do remember - the landlord came to bother us and I paid the next several months in advance. Now that I think of it... She had been treating me coldly before that, and afterwards - well, quite the opposite.

[He seems a bit awkward about that. His love life was going well. Apparently.]

From:

yesorwoof

You mentioned it was a rented home, so I thought of it. That's rather odd. Did she think it showed how many more months you wanted to stay with her...?

[Ordinarily that would paint a woman as rather shallow, but there are circumstances where there's no choice but to think of anything else. Although Makima does want to keep listening, she can't let the privacy of the moment slip by.]

I've been considering the possibility that Zero may be expecting certain individuals to play a role in his game, depending on what they value the most, such as what they still remember or don't.

From:

onychomance

She's fairly odd, yes. [Shinobu is also shallow but his guess for her actual reason is one that he's fine to breeze past to this other topic. Since Makima's gone ahead herself, she'll need to ask him about it another time if she wants the details!]

Hmm... it's possible. Do you already have a theory about what values correspond to what roles?

From:

yesorwoof

[Oh, that's not a flattering description of his??? Wife??? Maybe Makima doesn't have to play it cool after all. And this is the most critical phrase, so her lips form it warmly.]

Think about it. There is one thing we are absolutely certain Zero can do: inflict harm upon the captives in this ship. Who is the one person who could be most thoroughly manipulated by such a threat? Or rather, who are the two persons?

[She sits back.]

...I just wondered if that might happen.

Edited Date: 2023-06-25 06:33 am (UTC)

From:

onychomance

Ah, the Kurashiki siblings...

[Kira's expression is cooly placid, but not exactly pleasant. His encounters with them... have been strange. By now he's come to realize Akane is the one girl who caught him in the middle of his panic attack. And Aoi is just a weirdo all around.]

I do not like to trouble myself making enemies with people I am forced to be confined with, but given their connection to the past Nonary game as well as each other, it really is surprising they don't get more flak from the others. Are we somehow the only ones they elucidated to? Let alone read the cards in the cabin. I already had to explain it to that Power brat.

But yes, if Zero has taken an interest in their game, then it stands to reason he could give them incentives to act as well. They would know best what to do in this situation. Then again, if the emphasis on trials is meant to provide a veneer of 'fairness', that could make them the last ones who would be offered an important role if one existed.

From:

yesorwoof

[Makima managed not to eyetwitch at this mention of Power but it's a near thing.]

We can always bring it up at the next meeting just to be absolutely sure there aren't any special connections or memories that haven't been fully explained.

[She crosses her hands on her knee as she thinks.]

I don't believe that Zero is interpreting fairness in a straightforward way, though. Some of us have offensive powers and others defense or support, for example. And I don't consider the stabbing experiment fair at all. Those with a high physical pain tolerance were at an enormous advantage, and even more so, those with a highly willing partner. The fairest game I can think of is one that had a clearer path to a cooperative outcome like the Prisoner's Dilemma, and the second fairest would have rewarded only one stab per individual, in which case Hermes would have won.

[She takes a breath after saying all that.]

So I don't think Zero would avoid either of them for that reason alone. But even if they were approached, it would be very difficult to prove willing cooperation rather than blackmail. There are several outcasts in our group who would empathize with such a situation. Enemy is a bit of a harsh word.

From:

onychomance

Is it so harsh? Accusing a person of subterfuge doesn't typically charm them, whatever reason you assume they have. So no, Yoshikage Kira won't stir shit with them unless there is actual leverage.

[Empathy? He doesn't know her.]

From:

yesorwoof

That's an interesting stipulation. Suppose there was evidence that one of them had done something bad - an undeniably suspicious reaction to a recovered memory. And suppose that there was evidence that something suspicious happened on the ship - an unexplained note, for example. Even taken together, it wouldn't necessarily mean that the suspicious person had undertaken the suspicious action.

[It seems that she has scenarios in mind for both of these, though...]

From:

onychomance

Well... I can at least try to find out if there are any rifts between them. I just want to keep it friendly so my sleep is undisturbed.

From:

yesorwoof

You must work hard to get a lot with a little boy in the house.

[? ? ? ? ? ? ?]

From:

onychomance

[Kira looks Makima over with a furrowed brow at the change of topic back to his family. Hard to think she just got bored of her other topic.]

It's not too difficult. The boy spends all his time in his room, and barely even talks to his mother either. It must be his rebellious phase.

Do you mean to insinuate something?

From:

yesorwoof

Hm? [She heard him like he had said all he could do and was now thinking about his own feelings again. But there is a reason she seems so capricious.] I'm staying with Akane-chan. I wanted to make sure I kept my own potentially upsetting words to a minimum. She's pleasant enough as a roommate and fellow captive, after all.