what to show And what to conceal

Hikaru Suzuki

What with a crying Bow-Wow, frazzled Ellie, and accusatory Akemi, Hikaru is very glad he managed to pull himself together by the time the attention is on him. He still feels tense, but he's determined not to let it show. This is not the time and place to show weakness.

Emmy | Akemi “The Minister of Justice, hm? Quite the connection for a mere bartender.”

…These projections really did want to get them in trouble, huh?

"…Yeah? I work at a nice bar. We get some pretty high-up customers sometimes. Pretty sure we've had some politicians in from time to time."

He doesn't want to say any more and play his hand more than he needs to. Not knowing how much they know is really stressing him out.

Bow-wow

"I'm sorry, Miss Akemi, I didn't wanna worry y'all…" Bow-Wow seems way too apologetic for someone who just got the gentle yet stern reminder that it's okay to not be okay.

He turns his attention more to Hikaru, but he does at least attempt to stand up, wobbling a little like a newborn deer. It's still the lingering vertigo, he tells himself.

To Hikaru, he adds,

"I mean… guess that kinda makes sense…" He looks at Akemi a little pitifully, like he's considering asking her for help. "I dunno what else Miss Akemi saw but… I got kicked out early…" He's conveniently not mentioning Ellie. "I uh, fell backwards off…. a balcony."

Ellie Carter

"And ya called me MOM?!!? Do I look like your mom?"

Ellie is crashing out. She's not going to be the sweet teacher who politely doesn't acknowledge her student's slip-up, because Bow-wow isn't a fucking third grader. And even if he was, that's not her third grader. Nope, nope. She's never having kids and she's certainly not adopting an adult man here, even if he is still just a teenager. She puts her hands up and closes her eyes.

"Okay. Whatever. Ew. Don't ever call me that again."

She turns to tromp off, waving a hand as she does to at least acknowledge Hikaru.

"Sorry for snooping, Hikaru! If you killed that guy you're probably based as fuck! Bye!"

Emmy | Akemi

"You are the one who fell. I simply failed to catch you in time. If anyone should be apologizing, it would be me for that failure, and Ms. Carter for initially startling you. If I prefer an apology from you, I will say as much. But I will not expect cheer from you after that."

Whether Akemi is incapable of speaking in a soft tone, or if she is merely tense from these events and present company, who could truly say? She rolls her eyes slightly at Ellie's proclamation, but continues to meet Hikaru with a sarcastic tone.

"Hm, a bar customer? It seems rather odd for us to be present in a hotel room with his wallet and political documents, then. Especially accompanied by a note declaring that 'no one needs to know.'" She responds, clearly not convinced. "Your services in that establishment must extend well beyond the bounds of a typical bar, if that's the case. And it looked like that man paid rather well for, what was it, a single bottle of fine vintage wine?"

Hikaru Suzuki

These are… not the things he was expecting to hear, exactly. Though Hikaru's not sure exactly what he did expect to hear. He tries to sort through the things that sound like they might matter - a balcony, Akemi was clearly aware of at least one person's identity - but he can't help but get hung up on something.

"He… 'mom'…? Surely my mother didn't come up?"

Having only been to one projection, he's not sure quite how abstract they can get, but he can't imagine a reason that would be brought up. And Ellie's going on her merry way, so he's not sure how much he's going to get on that front. He can't even really manage a confused 'thanks', given how out of the loop he feels.

Trust Akemi to cut to the chase, though. Hikaru shifts, a tiny bit uncomfortably - right, he should be leaving this room too. No doubt these two would follow, but that's fine because he does still want answers.

"…It's not unusual for wine to cost a lot."

That's the easy part for him to refute, while he thinks up a response for the rest.

"I don't keep up with politics, honestly. Maybe he was up to something that I didn't know about. I can't be expected to know everything about everyone who I sell drinks to…"

Sorry, Bow-Wow, he's just completely blanking your suffering.

Bow-wow

Ellie's outburst makes Bow-Wow wish the ground would open up and swallow him whole. He was kinda hoping he could have dodged that one before he had to unpack his trauma for a little bit- but it seems Ellie herself had other plans. He felt… bad. Terrible, even, that he'd clearly upset her so much with a comment that… had been entirely unintentional.

She kinda did look like his mom, a little… he thinks? It's been a while since he'd seen his mom… maybe he wasn't entirely right about her looking a bit like Ellie.

Either way he kinda… stays still with his usual kicked-puppy demeanor as she berates him, and he's hiding behind Akemi a little bit. He's… yeah. He's pretty sure he's like REALLY pissed her off with that one.

He re-focuses on Akemi as she speaks, though, and nods quietly before looking over to Hikaru instead.

Hikaru Suzuki “He… ‘mom’…? Surely my mother didn’t come up?”

"N-No…no… I called Miss Ellie 'mom' before I… um? Fell off the balcony? I didn't mean to say it or anything! It just kinda…happened! And I think I really upset her by sayin' it."

He kinda gets the impression that aside from that, the smart people are talking, so he kinda shuts himself up. No, he's not having a lowkey internalized breakdown, I promise he's fine!

Emmy | Akemi

Akemi allows Bow-wow to duck behind her, her focus sharply on Hikaru.

"While you are adept at dodging questions, you are truly a terrible liar, Suzuki. You and my uncle would have gotten along famously given that unshakable confidence."

She crosses her arms and glances only briefly at Bow-wow, wondering if perhaps this degree of interrogation was too much for him. There wasn't much she could do about that, unfortunately.

"Goodness, no, I would never accuse you of something as unprofessional as having personal stakes in a murder. I am well aware this is purely business to you. To quote what you told me earier, 'someone wanted him dead.' Here's an easy question, then. Did you get paid to kill Watanabe-san? Or, did he pay you to kill his own enemies?"

Hikaru Suzuki

Hikaru blinks, nonplussed, at Bow-Wow. At least this topic provides a small break from Akemi's enquiries.

"I… right… Well, I'm sorry you fell?"

So it seems Bow-Wow might have some mummy issues, and Ellie… well, Ellie does seem the right kind of age and wrong sort of person to react like that. But now doesn't seem like the time to unpack that.

His face remains fairly impassive - if anything, he's just smirking again - at Akemi's questioning.

"Dodging questions is a talent I've honed, Kuro-san. After all, saying too much to the wrong people… that's exactly why Watanabe-san had to die."

"Tight-fisted bastard like that, it was hard enough getting him to write off the wine as a 'campaign expense'. Can't imagine he'd ever shell out assassination money."

Bow-wow

"Yeah, uh, thanks! It was pretty traumatic." Bow-Wow replies to Hikaru's really insightful apology about the fact he fell off a building. He's kind of… half listening. He feels like the child in the middle of a divorce watching mom and dad fighting. Weird, that.

He's also kind of spacing out. He's there, but until he… feels he can contribute, he's just gonna kind of ambivalently stand with Akemi.

Emmy | Akemi

Akemi doesn't seem nearly as amused by the conversation. She continues to stare daggers at Hikaru.

"Ahh, I see. Is that what your boss told you to believe? Since you yourself seem incapable of having an opinion on the matter. I'm certain you've never been led astray regarding who 'needs' to die, obedient lapdog that you are. Utterly lacking in even the decency to admit what his life cost, and without the tact to think up a remotely believable lie about it."

She taps just below her collarbone to indicate the placement of Hikaru's tattoos.

"I suppose some groups will take in anyone, nowadays. I certainly hope the wardens will have the sense to see you for what you are. Of everyone I have met here, you are perhaps the first person I believe is utterly undeserving of mercy."

Hikaru Suzuki

"Yeah, uh… I can imagine."

It's not that Hikaru doesn't feel at least a little sympathetic to Bow-Wow, it's more that he doesn't want to express it in a way that might make it seem as if he's in any way responsible for whatever happened when they were trespassing in his head(?).

As Akemi calls him out, it really is becoming more apparent that in some way he's kind of… having fun with it? Or at the very least considers the situation entertaining.

"Ah, you wound me. Thankfully, I'm not looking for mercy - I agree that I'll find it hard to find! I didn't expect to be caught, but I knew if I was, I'd have no defence, not really. But look at it this way - I'm by myself in here. No boss, no… anyone else that I may or may not be involved with. I don't wish anything ill on anyone here. I'm more than happy to play nice, and it's not like I'm going to hurt anyone."

"So… Feel free to think what you like of me. From the sounds of it, you killed for a good cause and will be forgiven, and then freed, or whatever they plan, while I rot away here. I'll be nothing more than a footnote in your memory."

Emmy | Akemi

That smile is doing wonders to piss Akemi off. She knows he's getting a kick out of riling her up, because of course he is. She bites her tongue, knowing full well that taking on a much harsher tone here would simply not do. Taking a deep breath, she turned toward the exit.

"You're right, you're utterly inconsequential. But I hardly believe you're as harmless as you claim to be, and I can only hope some of the others here see your act for what it is."

She glanced back at him over her shoulder.

"I look forward to the day that horrendously cheap grin is wiped from your face. You're the spitting image of the man I killed…perhaps you even knew him. I think you'd have gotten along famously."

She turned back toward the door. "And he was just as sure as you seem to be that he was untouchable, right up until the last few agonizing minutes of his life."

Then, she looked to Bow-wow.

"I am going to brew some tea. You may join me if you'd like, Bow-wow-san." That courtesy was the least she could do after all of this.