badend | @sisters

( the knock is followed by a short pause. there's some shuffling behind the door before it cracks open, a few pothos peeking into view over a shoulder, and the look on amami's face says that this doesn't seem to be the visitor he'd expected. )

Ah, Ranger-kun.

( but his expression shifts with the recognition, smile tugging at his lips. )

You need something?

[ Is it weird for him to visit? Ranger isn't a person who struggles with confidence in his decision, but there's something about this situation that leaves him feeling uncomfortable. He's happy enough to approach others in passing, but normally going out of his way to find someone means he has some problem or another that he wants assistance or ideas on - logical, reasonable things.

He angles himself to try and glance behind Amami in an effort to see if he's alone. Keigo shouldn't be here yet, and he feels confident enough in that to continue, ]

You busy? I thought we could go over a few things.

[ What things? Everything. There's been too much lately, and there's yet more still to come. ]

I'm free. Here, make yourself at home.

( because just as he believes, the room is empty aside from the veritable jungle that the two who reside in it have been raising together. amami steps back to let ranger pass before he shuts the door again, and he'll make his way over to take a seat on the lower bunk. chair's free if ranger wants it, but there's enough room beside amami if he opts. clasping his hands loosely in front of him, he'll lean forward against his knees a bit and glance to ranger with an open, if expectant look to him. )

So what's up?

[ It is a jungle in here, and Ranger can only imagine the amount of time and energy put into maintaining the plants and fish that reside within it. It looks nice though, and under any other circumstances it might be a relaxing place to be. As it is, he flops down in the chair, holding his face cards up and placing his free hand in the crook of his elbow. ]

This plan of yours. You're sure it's gonna work?

[ If he'd only come here to ask about that, then he wouldn't have bothered. Even so, it's a fine enough place to start. After all, if he's not then...

...

... ]

It'll work.

( amami's answer comes back quick — no doubt visible in that easy smile of his, and if the question catches him off-guard, he doesn't show it. he can't afford to doubt himself now, after all; can't afford to think about what the consequences might be if it were to fail.

so yes, it will work. it has to. )

This isn't the kind of thing I can gamble with. Why, you having second thoughts?

( ranger doesn't strike him as the type, but even if so, amami wouldn't be able to blame him for it. it's not exactly an easy task he's volunteered for here. )

Not my place. If you're sure, then there's no problem.

[ He's nothing more than the executioner, and so he only needs to carry out his duties flawlessly. If he starts to have second thoughts, then it's the same as doubting Amami's plan. The Ultimate might not be the brightest, but he's not one to play games with the lives of those he cares for. No, he's too thoughtful and too earnest, the type of person who wears his heart on his sleeve.

Then, what is it that's bothering him? ]

It's getting quiet around here. [ It'll be quieter still once he's gone. ] Shin and Sara don't really wanna deal with me anymore either.

[ That's not quite right, but it's not wrong either. Neither one is happy with him, despite Ranger going out of his way needlessly. Nor does he have a room, nor has he been visiting Komaeda's room very much. It's quiet indeed. ]

( oh, so it's like that.

ranger isn't one to do things without his reasons; it's something amami's come to learn. that seemingly flawless, rational approach that might come off as a little cold, a little distant, tends to be utilized in contexts where it can only betray something earnest underlying it. not unlike komaeda in that sense, and maybe that's why the two of them get along so well. in any case, if this is something deemed important enough to mention, amami is happy to hear him out. )

That so? I thought the three of you got along pretty well. ( a short pause, and he'll amend his statement. )

Ah, well I guess that Chidouin-san and, uh... Tsukimi-kun, they did seem to have a bit of a rough patch.

( it's a name he's still unsure if he's supposed to be using or not, but it seems like the other one is being borrowed for the time being, so... either way, he looks to ranger attentively, to see if he'll take the invitation to elaborate. )

They'll be fine.

[ Ranger is certain enough of that. Those kids were able to get along well enough, and once they resolved their differences they could do so here as well. It would be more difficult to reconcile with Ranger, who will be ever loyal to his colleagues and creators.

It's not something that he minds talking about, but it's difficult to explain to an outsider. Ranger and Midori are both alike and different. The latter has no empathy, but is in love with love, while the latter is capable of such emotions but has no concept of romance. Once removed from that environment, but are relatively harmless. ]

A colleague of mine showed up. He can be a troublesome person, but once you remove him from his circumstances he's fine... So we're more or less the same. But he's easy to work with, and he'll be useful to have around. Anyway, they don't like the guy, and it seems like they don't really wanna find a way to compromise with him either... You know, unless it's jumping him now so they can torture or kill him. Like we don't have enough of that.

[ Ranger huffs. Regardless of having involvement in the murders, killing someone who just arrived because you don't like them seem a bridge too far. ]

... So, it looks like they've written me off along with him, 'cause I'm already making my deals with him, I plan on working on him, and I'm not gonna let the guy die.

[ In the interest of fairness, he adds: ]

He caused them a lot of pain, so it's not like I blame them. But it's not like he's gonna hunt any of 'em down. He's easy enough to avoid, and I was willing to be the one to deal with him.

( it's true. a bit of a rough situation to understand from the perspective of an outsider, but maybe it's lucky then, that shin had been so thorough in his warning; it gives him just enough context to make a guess at the situation as it might've been seen on the others' side as well, which certainly isn't quite as generous an assessment. all the same though, amami's feeling on the matter doesn't change too dramatically for that guess he's got in mind. )

For what it's worth, I do think you've got the right idea. Not that I don't understand where they're coming from too, but they've got the upper hand here, so they could at least use it.

( make a bartering chip of the trust and knowledge they've accumulated here. maybe that's amami's own bias speaking though; unspeakable as what the guy seems to have done to t hem might be, amami has always been the type willing to set aside his personal beliefs for a greater good. would have done it again here if it's what it came down to for him. alas, his own situation wasn't so clear cut as to give them an easy target to blame. )

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you a compromise can be a good way to keep someone like that in check. Cut him loose, on the other hand, and he won't have any reason to think twice before causing trouble.

( "keep your friends close and your enemies closer," in a way. either way, amami leaves off with an apologetic smile. )

Ha, this doesn't exactly make me sound like a saint, does it? Still, guess what I'm trying to say is that I can see how that'd sting. No reason for someone smart like you to make that offer if ya didn't have their best interests at heart.

( still, shin does give him a bit of a timeline on when this rift might have kicked up. it wasn't too long ago, he doesn't think, but just for good measure: )

... You mind if I ask when your little chat was?

[ ... ]

Me and him are the same, you know. We used each other and we betrayed each other. It wasn't a place where you could be weak.

[ Midori is a dangerous man, and he's one who cares only about himself, but he is just the same as Ranger. He would do anything to preserve his own existence, he would do anything to get ahead, but so long as it's to his benefit he would rather network. It's the same as saying that he can't be reasoned with, that he should just be ousted and disposed of... But then, isn't that exactly what happened? He was no longer of any use to them.

They used each other, they betrayed each other, that was the game they played. It's as much a defense of himself as it is Midori. It's impossible to separate one from the other, most of all in a place like this where others can't understand.

But he supposes that's getting off topic. ]

Anyway, you're just being sensible. It's not really cruel if someone's fine with that sort of system, right?

>[ It's why Ranger's fine with being used. He sighs, rushing the hair out of his eyes. ]

Valentine's Day.

[ He sounds a little sullen about it. It had been a nice day before then. ]

( there's a bit of a wince as amami listens for the timing, and it's followed up with something like a grimace. a pitying look, but one that's not without understanding. )

Ouch. Rough timing, huh?

( he has eyes, so he doesn't doubt that ranger had plans on that day up until this all unfolded. not that that's what's important here. amami approached it from a threat perspective a moment ago, but if ranger really relates so much, then he can take a moment to recalibrate. if there's anything ranger has left him with, after all, it's been a good impression. perhaps a little sharper then necessary, maybe somewhat clumsy in how he shows his feelings, and it's easy end up caught by the pointed edge of his demeanour if you aren't careful, but that doesn't necessarily mean he has bad intentions underneath it all. on the contrary, he seems... sincere, and thoughtful besides, even if it's shown more through logical support than emotional.

so amami adjusts; two sides to every story and all that. )

Well, in any case, if that's true then maybe he deserves a little more credit. I'm not against caution, but when it's about a place like that... It's not always as simple as just opting out of whatever game they're playing.

( like ranger said: you can't afford to be weak. you can't afford to just walk away, once you've found yourself in a situation like that. it's... not something amami would wish on anyone else, but it's also not as if he doesn't understand the feeling, if only a little. if anything, he's all-too aware of just how much an environment can break down a perfectly reasonable, or even good person. )

The trouble there is probably convincing Tsukimi-kun of that. Chidouin-san might be more reasonable, but he gave me a warning around that time too, and it seemed a bit... personal, for him. He might just be being difficult because of that.

( difficulties in his past with midori, with ranger caught in the unfortunate crossfire rather than a target himself. )

[ how i've had this written in my head but unable to put it on paper for over a year and esp since Kai's mini-story, kill me.............

Ranger draws in a breath; it's easy and natural, a rise and fall in the chest, but there's just the slightest delay between drawing it in and exhaling it. He is a product of ASUNARO; he's the masterwork of Satou Gashu, and yet, he's not. He's been rejected both by the human who created him and that which completed him; accepted by a human turned into a doll which accepted him, by humans unrelated to the organization, and all that weighs heavily on him.

How does he explain all of that to a simple human who he's known for such a short time? Yet his life is just a moment, a breeze in summer, nothing much at all when compared even to the life before him. He blinks, and knows that the human before him as done so thousands of times more since birth. ]

... Hiyori is an idiot, [ He explains, seeming confident enough in his assessment. ] He's annoying, and he causes nothing but trouble, but...

[ He bites his lip, a brief and uncharacteristic moment of uncertainty overcoming him. It would be wrong to call him "family," but that might be the closest word. ]

... ASUNARO would not be as it is without his genius. Harai, Namida, Gashu, Hiyori... If any one of them didn't exist, ASUNARO's creations would not either... They've done everything for the future of humanity...

[ So denying any one of them is denying his existence. ]

@sisters | late feb

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this is hideously late so pls feel free to drop... wheezes as i crawl out of my depressive haze