Trip Out Of Town

[1in_perfection]

The class door rattles shut behind her, and it's only when Mitsuru is certain that there's no one watching that she breathes a sigh of relief. Since her absence, Arisato has done an admirable job of holding the student council together, but it feels good to be back in control and running damage control. (Which there is blessedly little of

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[for_my_father]

Yukari sighs as she exits the change room, sports bag slung over her shoulder. She looks around before heading towards her classroom, needing to grab her school books before leaving for the day.

That's when she sees Mitsuru. She backs up quickly, hiding herself behind a corner before the other girl notices her. Calm down, she tells herself harshly. She's a Kirijo. One of them. Nothing else.

Taking a deep breath, Yukari walks out into the middle of the hallway, heels clicking coldly on the floor. "Kirijo-senpai," she says with more genuine warmth than she'd care to admit as she passes her upperclassman. "Done for the day?"

[1in_perfection]

"...For now, yes." Mitsuru says, carefully. She doesn't usually hear that level of warmth from Takeba, and unless someone has managed to sneak a kitten or dog into the school (and thereby violate several rules) then that seems to be directed at her.

"There will be studying later this evening, of course." And monitoring for Shadows when the Dark Hour arrives, but since they're in a very public place, that goes unsaid.

[for_my_father]

"We just had exams," Yukari says, clearing her throat. Get a hold of yourself. "You're back to studying already?"

Yukari looks over at 2-F, approaching the door. She still needs to get her things, after all. "Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Yukari slid the door open, stepping through. "I saw your makrs on the board. Congratulations."

...why, exactly, does she keep talking?

[1in_perfection]

"I find that it helps keep me focused." As well as take her mind off of more unsavory things. Such as how she's still not certain on just how to address Takeba on what happened in the City.

That might be part of the reason why she follows her through the door.

"And...Thank you. It's good to know I haven't slipped, despite what we had to deal with." Mitsuru keeps her eyes on Yukari as she speaks, still trying to gauge the other girl's reaction.

"And yourself, Takeba? Considering the circumstances, you did quite well."

[for_my_father]

Yukari freezes for the smallest second before continuing to go through the contents of her desk. "Thanks." She looks intensely at one of her binders before putting it aside. "I needed a distraction."

She hadn't meant to say that, but she just rolls with it. She still feels eerily comfortable around Mitsuru. "You had a meeting with President Kirijo-san, right? About where we were?"

[1in_perfection]

"...Yes." If Takeba still has any warmth in her voice, then Mitsuru makes up for it with how cold her tone goes. That said, a one word answer isn't polite, and likely wouldn't be enough to satisfy the junior anyway, so she continues.

"A...Bit of omission was required, but he is satisfied that we will be able to avoid the problem in the future."

[for_my_father]

"Omission, huh?" Yukari finishes stuffing her schoolwork into her bag, then stands up straight, turns around to face Mitsuru, and puts her hands on her hips. "So what should I tell the Chairman, if he asks me? I've been avoiding him but he'll catch on eventually."

An artful way to get more information out of Mitsuru. Yukari mentally pats herself on the back. She does need to know this, after all.

[1in_perfection]

"I would suggest sending him over to me, so I could fully explain the situation." Mitsuru replies, flatly. "But if absolutely necessary, tell him that we were caught inside Tartarus, and spent several days finding a way out."

After saying that, she can't help but make a wry smile. "In the end, it turned out to be for the best that we couldn't figure out what caused that broadcast skip when you explored Tartarus with Arisato. It at least gives some justification on why none of the Group could contact me."

[for_my_father]

"R-right." Yukari looks away, quashing down the tiny bit of guilt still present from that fiasco.

She begins to walk out of the classroom, past Mitsuru. "So do you think it's possible? TO be caught in there past the Dark Hour?" She pauses, shaking her head. "Let me rephrase that: what do you think happens if you actually are in there when the Dark Hour is over?"

[1in_perfection]

"...This is purely speculation, but yes. I do think that since Tartarus only appears in the Dark Hour, anything inside it would also be in stasis, or at least cut off from the outside world, until it appeared again. That's what all research points toward, even though it hasn't been tested." Mitsuru takes a cue from Yukari as well, and shifts her book bag between hands as she walks with the junior.

"As for what would happen in the interim...I'm not so certain. There are still a lot of answers about the Dark Hour, Tartarus, and the nature of both that remain a mystery."

[for_my_father]

"I guess that makes sense." Yukari being Yukari, however, her mind goes one step further. "But if you got out of Tartarus while you were trapped there during the day...where would you end up?"

Oh, Yukari.

That line of thinking making her brain hurt, she decides to attempt to switch subjects. And she would, if only for the fact that the City, and what happened in it, is all she can think about while walking next to Mitsuru. "It could be some doorway into a whole different world."

[1in_perfection]

"..." Mitsuru's eyes slowly slide back over to Takeba. "...An interesting line of questioning." Which is a fancy way of saying she's not certain, herself. "But I would assume that would mean you would simply be outside of Tartarus, and thus capable of leaving the next time the Dark Hour came and went."

"I've also had my fill of new worlds, for the time being." Although as she says that, Mitsuru also digs out her PINpoint. It's nice that the devices don't stand out very much from any other piece of handheld technology in Iwatodai. "Although, the technology still quite useful. I've been able to dial in several new coordinates in the past few weeks."

[for_my_father]

Yukari looks down at Mitsuru's PINpoint suspiciously. "New coordinates? What do you mean?" She looks at Mitsuru, her expression staying the same. "You're just asking for trouble. Just holding that thing could transport you to...to...somewhere else." Yukari has a habit of being very articulate sometimes.

"...where?"

[1in_perfection]

"It never has malfunctioned in my experience." Mitsuru replies. "The technology, at the very least, has been quite stable." Problems with the place she got it from on the other hand. Mitsuru also refrains from noting that transporting her somewhere else is the basic idea and function of PINpoints to begin with.

"A few locations outside of the country." Mitsuru continues, after a moment. "As well as coordinates for Yakushima, the dorm, and recently..." She tries to make this sound as natural and non-risk filled as possible. "I have also been experimenting with cities I have been to in the past. So far, I only have two down, but that's quite serviceable."

[for_my_father]

"That's...nice," Yukari says, starting to feel a little creeped out. She quickens her pace, what Mitsuru's asking her beginning to make itself clear by the look on Yukari's face.

"M-maybe you should talk to Akihiko-senpai about that," Yukari says quickly. "I wouldn't really know anything, after all..." At that, she shoots an unintentionally accusatory glare her senpai's way.

However, curiosity, as always, gets the better of her. "What exactly are you getting at, Kirijo-senpai?"

[1in_perfection]

"...Actually, Akihiko was the one who started experimenting with coordinates in the first place. Having so much idle time thanks to his ribcage, and a PINpoint close on hand, I suppose it was inevitable." To Mitsuru credit, she keeps up an impressive poker face under that glare.

"...To get to the point, Takeba, I suppose that I would like to speak with you about recent matters. And if you would prefer a different locale, then that is easily arranged." It worked well enough with Akihiko in Turkey, so why not Takeba and somewhere other then Iwatodai?